Bad Blood

"Have you tried playing this game before?" In a curious tone, Ken continued his inquiries and asked Red.

Even though there was hesitancy, Red still nodded as an answer. 

Red's eyes narrowed into a squint. Ken seemed suspicious by the way he asked random questions. 

"How many years has it been since you started playing?" 

"Not too long ago… but I already stopped playing," Red answered, not disclosing the fact that he had played the game since it was made available. 

Red thought that it wasn't essential to know. If it was, then he would have put it on his resume. 

"Ohh…' Ken slowly nodded as he crossed his arms. 

With a forced smile, Red pressed on, seeking clarity. "What is it for, Coach?" Red asked. 

Ken tilted his head to the side. His expression was unreadable. "Nothing much, really. Come, take a seat here. Let's watch the game together," he suggested, gesturing towards an empty chair beside him.

Ken couldn't help but notice how Red answered his questions with consciousness. 

Red followed Ken's request and sat on the chair at the side. He thought that after sitting in an uncomfortable office chair for hours, this was not bad at all.

Red sat on the chair. His eyes gazed at the television. He realized that Ken was now watching the game, not giving any attention to him. 

Red found it uncomfortable at first, but when he realized that Ken had gotten silent as he focused on the game, he slowly relaxed and was able to watch in comfort. 

'Hmm…' Red's curiosity stirred as he glanced over his shoulder.

He noticed that as Mystic Ravens continued to falter in the game, the players' teamwork and communication worsened.

The atmosphere in the room grew tense as the players' frustrations boiled over. The players were losing patience.

As they became hot-headed, multiple curses echoed in the room.

"F*CKING HELL!"

Red's eyes narrowed as the TV screen glowed in bright light. As the light slowly disappeared the word "Defeated" flashed. 

Mystic Ravens had just suffered a defeat at the hands of their opponents.

"This is your fault! I told you to back me up! You piece of sh*t!" 

"Why did you even go into the enemy's jungle alone?"

"Tsk." 

Red tilted his head to the side. He observed the scene with a furrowed brow. He wondered if this happens frequently.

The players were blaming one another after losing the fight. 

Red knew that It seemed normal, but after a while, this could lead to poor teamwork and players harboring ill feelings toward one another. 

Red's gaze snapped to Ken, who seemed unbothered by the current situation. He was now jotting down notes in a big-ass notebook, which contains their strategies and reflections in the game.

Red would lie if he said he wasn't curious about the content of the notebook at all. 

"Quiet, everyone," Ken abruptly stood up after closing the notebook and putting it to the side. He put his hands together and faced the players. 

Hearing the sudden seriousness in the voice, the players of Mystic Ravens became quiet. As they looked at their coach, they noticed that there was another person with them in the training room. 

They were too engrossed in the game earlier to notice the new presence. 

Red maintained his composure. He didn't look back, even though he could already sense the silent glance that he was receiving. 

In his peripheral vision, Red could see how his co-worker pointed at his back, but he chose to ignore it. 

"Who is that coach?" Yuki's voice cut through the tension, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

Yuki was the person whom Hubert was having an argument with earlier.

Yuki, with his black hair and porcelain-like complexion, possessed soft facial features. He was the team's support player. Despite his youthful appearance, there was a sense of maturity in his demeanor.

"It's my first time seeing that person here," Cameron, another player of the team, spoke. 

Leaning back in his chair, Cameron's long hair swayed gracefully as he spoke. The tattoos adorning his arms added to his rugged charm.

Cameron was the oldest among the players in Mystic Ravens. He was part of Mystic Ravens since its founding 4 years ago. He was the top laner of the team considering that his Adventurer was a ranger. 

"Tsk. Why is that person even here, coach? He's not even looking at us. Is he a statue or something?" Hubert's irritation resurfaced after being quiet for a moment. 

Ken tilted his head to the side. His eyebrows rose up, clearly not like Hubert's sarcastic remark. 

"I don't need any of your lectures here, Hubert." Ken asserted firmly. 

Turning his attention to Red, he apologetically smiled at the way some of the players were acting. 

While Ken had a reputation for being strict, it was often because of to the players' misbehavior. As the oldest here and the one responsible, he sought to maintain discipline within the team.

However, he was seen as the villain instead. 

"Show some respect," Ken uttered in a monotonous voice. 

The players fell into silence after the scolding. Embarrassment reflected on their faces. 

Getting scolded in front of someone new was a shaming experience. 

After the small commotion, Red slowly nodded. He flashed a smile at Ken before standing up to face the players. 

He didn't even know why he was here, yet somehow, he became the reason for the quarrel. 

Despite that, Red still maintained his professionalism. His lips curved upwards forming a big smile.

"It's nice to meet you all." 

However, the others only look at Red with disdain. They were wondering how someone could approach them this shamelessly. He even was the reason why they got scolded early on. 

'It seemed like the players on this team got an attitude problem.'

When Ken noticed the building tension in the room, he awkwardly smiled and stepped forward. 

"What do you think of the game that the players showed so far?" Ken inquired, his tone laced with curiosity. This was the primary reason why he called Red to the training session.

Being the team's sole coach could get tiring, as he had to decide and analyze the games all alone while the players played. This was his first time to ask someone else's opinion about it. 

Ken realized that this wouldn't be a bad thing at all as he had been curious about others' opinions for a long time already. 

"Hais..." Red sighed. He seemed to be not in a favorable position to answer, with the looks he was getting. However, Ken looked at him as if he was desperate for an answer.