SKT's Palace Struggle Incident

KkOma seemed shocked by Untara's statement, but he didn't react strongly. After a moment of thought, he said, "Tell me what you think."

Overjoyed, Untara quickly said, "I think the loss in s7 might have been too big a blow to Sanghyuk hyung, making it hard for him to step out of that shadow even now. I feel for Sanghyuk hyung, but we have to face more practical issues.

The new season has started, and the Spring Split is tomorrow. We, SKT, are no longer as invincible as we used to be. We need to accept this reality. Therefore, if Sanghyuk hyung doesn't adjust and continues to play as he did before, it will be very troublesome.

I believe everyone here wants SKT to do better. So, I think we should let Sanghyuk hyung rest for a while, adjust his mindset, and let us juniors try to break through in the upcoming matches."

"You little punk!!"

Wolf's anger surged, and he furiously stood up, intending to berate the defiant guy.

"Banjun-ah!" Bang quietly grabbed Wolf's sleeve, calming him down and signaling that kkOma hadn't spoken yet, so he shouldn't jump in.

Wolf was anxious, but out of respect for kkOma, he had to glare fiercely at Untara one more time before lowering his head and returning to his seat.

Untara was uneasy, having prepared himself for a beating. Although SKT had no history of team bullying, influenced by the prevailing custom of bullying in Korea, he dared not resist if Wolf, who was older than him, wanted to hit him. Seeing Wolf appeased and kkOma still silent, he felt a bit more cheerful and secretly rejoiced in his heart.

"Hmm, what Untara said might not be wrong." After a silence that lasted a full three minutes, kkOma slowly sighed.

"Coach!"

Wolf was truly anxious. This time, even the more rational Bang couldn't hold him back, or rather, he didn't even try.

He was also angry, wondering what kkOma meant by saying that. Did he really want to bench Faker, whom he trusted the most?

"Let's have a vote first. Raise your hand if you disagree with Untara's proposal." KkOma said, looking up, not at the anxious Wolf.

Swish, swish!

Bang and Wolf raised their hands immediately.

KkOma narrowed his eyes and said, "Raise your hand if you agree with Untara."

Untara was the first to raise his hand.

Wolf and Bang breathed a sigh of relief. With a 2-to-1 vote, they thought the punk's proposal would likely fail.

However, to their utter surprise, after a few seconds of hesitation, Blank also slowly raised his hand.

"Little Black!"

"Sun-goo, you rascal!!"

Bang and Wolf were caught completely off guard.

Little Black gave a somewhat awkward smile and said, "Actually, I really enjoy playing with Sanghyuk hyung, but Untara does have a point. Sometimes Sanghyuk hyung's tempo is indeed strange and hard to understand."

"Coach, I think it's unfair if only the starting players vote. It would be best to call all the substitute players to vote on this matter as well. This is also out of respect for Sanghyuk hyung," Untara added.

Over there, Bang and Wolf were almost driven mad, especially the latter, who lacked the composure and repeatedly felt the urge to punch someone. They looked anxiously at Faker, only to find him lowering his head and remaining silent.

"Alright."

KkOma nodded slightly, actually agreeing with Untara's proposal, and said, "In that case, Sun-goo, go and call the substitutes."

This year, SKT's management had not invested heavily in the team, so they hadn't purchased any renowned players from other teams like Peanut.

However, as everyone knew, SKT's youth training program was excellent. Therefore, SKT had selected three players from their youth training this year to join the main team as substitutes for development.

Before long, Little Black led the three substitutes into the room.

Substitute Top Laner, Thal.

Substitute Mid Laner, Pirean.

Substitute Support, Effort.

KkOma asked Untara to repeat his proposal to the three newcomers. Untara spoke with conviction, suppressing the joy in his heart, and presented the matter again.

He was incredibly excited. If he succeeded today, he would become the first player in SKT history to successfully suppress Faker! Thinking about it made him feel truly amazing!

"Those who agree, please vote." KkOma's gaze swept over the three.

After a three-second pause, substitute top laner Thal and substitute mid laner Pirean simultaneously raised their hands.

"Ah, f***!"

Wolf cursed angrily, wishing he could clench his fist and smash the table next to him.

He felt that SKT had changed. Everyone wasn't like this before. Now, these newcomers had ganged up to ostracize Faker, SKT's greatest contributor in history?!

Who gave them the audacity! It was outrageous!

He anxiously looked at Faker again, hoping Faker would say something. As long as Faker spoke, it would surely make a difference! Even if Little Black had ten votes, it wouldn't matter.

However, Faker remained silent, maintaining his posture of lowering his head, not saying a word.

"Alright, the vote is over. The minority obeys the majority. Since everyone thinks this way, let's give it a try. The new season's SKT indeed needs to face more trials than usual. You all need to be mentally prepared. Of course, for the first match tomorrow against KZ, I still hope Sanghyuk will go on first to test the waters. If it doesn't work out, we'll proceed with the result of today's discussion."

KkOma finalized the arrangement, his gaze passing over the happy and excited Untara and others, then over the anxious and angry Wolf and others, finally settling on Faker. He said, "Sanghyuk, come out with me for a moment. Everyone else can go back and rest and prepare for tomorrow's match."

With that, only kkOma and Faker, who had remained silent throughout, left the training room together. The others remained motionless.

Untara forcibly suppressed the urge to curve his lips and gave a dry, appeasing smile to the glaring Wolf and Bang. "Banjun hyung, Junshik hyung, I'm doing this for SKT's good. I believe Sanghyuk hyung will be able to adjust his state as quickly as possible, and then we can continue playing together. What do you think?"

"Of course, that's Sanghyuk hyung!" Blank immediately chimed in, not letting Untara fall flat.

"I believe so too." Pirean was undoubtedly the happiest. He didn't even bother to hide his irrepressible smile.

Bang and Wolf watched from the sidelines. After their initial anger subsided, seeing kkOma's actions, they slowly started to understand. They both felt something was off about the situation today, but kept their thoughts to themselves and left without saying a word.

KkOma's office.

After Faker entered, kkOma didn't sit. He leaned back against his desk, crossed his arms, and looked at Faker, asking, "If I do this, will you be upset, Sanghyuk?"

Faker froze for a moment, then nodded.

KkOma pursed his lips. "I know what Seon-gu and the others are thinking. Unfortunately, SKT is like this right now. Unless you change your playstyle, it'll be hard for you to fit into the current team system. Of course, I'm not saying you should leave. No one has the power to make you leave SKT... What I mean is, are you willing to change for it?"

"If I change, I'll become mediocre. I won't be the three-time champion Lee Sanghyuk anymore."

Faker answered quickly this time, his voice calm but firm. "Perhaps someday in the future, due to age, I'll have to compromise with reality and make some changes to better suit the team. But not now. I'm still sharp now, I can carry the games."

KkOma nodded slightly in his heart. On the surface, he continued to ask, "Then how can you break through? Unless you can find top and jungle teammates like you had two years ago, then..."

"What if I can?" Faker suddenly interrupted.

KkOma was slightly taken aback. He shook his head and said helplessly, "Sanghyuk, the management's investment in us isn't high this year. We can't afford those kinds of players anymore, you know that."

"What if I can?" Faker didn't answer, still asking.

KkOma gently adjusted his glasses. "If you can, then Seon-gu and their 'coup' they're so proud of will be nothing more than bullshit. After all, no matter who it is, what they want to see is still the invincible three-time champion dynasty SKT, not a mediocre SKT that can only struggle to survive in the LCK and strive not to be the last place team in the region."

Faker was no longer silent. The sharp glint in his eyes grew more intense, and his hands clenched tightly. Without another word, he turned and ran out.

KkOma watched this scene quietly from behind. After a moment, the corner of his mouth seemed to lift imperceptibly. He turned around, a fleeting, deep anticipation flashing in his eyes.