SKT's Palace Intrigue

kkOma seemed shocked by Untara's words as well, but he did not react too strongly. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Go on."

Untara was overjoyed at this and hurriedly said, "I think the loss at S7 may indeed have dealt too great a blow to Sang-hyeok. Even now, he is still struggling to emerge from that shadow. I feel sorry for him, but we have to face a more practical problem.

"The new season has begun. The Spring Split starts tomorrow. SKT is no longer as invincible as it once was, and we need to accept that reality. So if Sang-hyeok does not adjust and keeps playing the way he used to, it will be a problem.

"I believe everyone here wants SKT to improve going forward. Therefore, I think Sang-hyeok should temporarily step down and rest, taking the time to adjust his mindset properly. Let us younger players try to make a breakthrough in the upcoming matches."

"You little punk—!!"

Wolf's anger erupted. He sprang to his feet, ready to give this insolent bastard a savage scolding.

"Jae-wan!" Bang silently grabbed Wolf's sleeve, calming him down and signaling that kkOma had not spoken yet, so he should not speak first.

Wolf was anxious, but out of respect for kkOma, he could only glare viciously at Untara once more before lowering his head and returning to his seat.

Untara was deeply uneasy. He had already prepared himself to cover his head and take a beating. Although SKT had never had any incidents of internal bullying, Wolf was older than him and had grown up under Korean bullying customs. If Wolf wanted to hit him, he would not dare resist in the slightest. Seeing Wolf persuaded back into his seat while kkOma still said nothing, Untara began to smile again, secretly rejoicing to himself.

"Mm, perhaps Untara is not wrong," kkOma said with a slow sigh after remaining silent for a full three minutes.

"Coach!"

Wolf was truly panicking now. Even the more rational Bang did not stop him this time—or perhaps he simply did not try.

He was angry too. He did not know what kkOma meant by saying that. Did he really intend to bench the Faker he trusted most and make him rest?

"Let's vote first. Raise your hands if you disagree with Untara's proposal," kkOma said, lifting his head without looking at the anxious Wolf.

Swish, swish!

Bang and Wolf raised their hands immediately.

kkOma narrowed his eyes. "Those who agree with Untara, raise your hands."

Untara was the first to raise his hand.

Wolf and Bang relaxed slightly. Two against one meant this brat's proposal was probably dead.

But to their utter disbelief, after hesitating for several seconds, Blank slowly raised his hand as well.

"Blank!"

"Seon-gu, you bastard!!"

Bang and Wolf had not expected this at all.

Blank revealed an awkward smile and said, "Actually, I really like playing with Sang-hyeok. But Untara has a point. Sometimes Sang-hyeok's tempo really is strange. It is impossible to understand."

"Coach, I don't think it would be fair for only the starters to vote. It would be best to call in all the substitutes and have them vote on this matter too. It would also show respect for Sang-hyeok," Untara added.

Over there, Bang and Wolf were nearly driven mad, especially Wolf. Without Bang's composure, he repeatedly struggled to hold himself back from punching someone. They anxiously looked toward Faker, only to find that Faker had kept his head lowered the entire time, saying nothing.

"Alright."

kkOma nodded slightly, actually agreeing with Untara's proposal. "Then, Seon-gu, go call all the substitutes over."

This year, SKT's management had not invested heavily in the team, so they had not bought already-established players from other teams like Peanut.

However, everyone knew that SKT had always done an excellent job with its academy system. Thus, SKT had promoted three academy players to the main roster this year as substitutes, so they could gain experience.

Before long, Blank led the three substitutes into the room.

The substitute top laner, Thal.

The substitute mid laner, Pirean.

The substitute support, Effort.

kkOma had Untara repeat his proposal to the three newcomers. Untara spoke forcefully, suppressing the joy in his heart as he explained everything once more.

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

"Those in favor, vote," kkOma said, his gaze sweeping over the three of them.

After a pause of three seconds, the substitute top laner Thal and substitute mid laner Pirean raised their hands at the same time.

"Ah, fuck~!"

Wolf cursed under his breath in fury, wanting nothing more than to clench his fist and slam it down hard on the table beside him.

He felt that SKT had changed. Everyone had clearly not been like this before. But now? These newcomers had actually joined forces to push out Faker, the greatest contributor in SKT's history?!

Who gave them the nerve?! It was utterly infuriating!

He anxiously looked toward Faker again, hoping Faker would say something. As long as Faker spoke, it would surely work! Even if Blank's side had ten votes, it would not matter.

But Faker did not speak. He remained in that head-lowered posture, silent from beginning to end.

"Alright, the vote is over. The minority yields to the majority. Since everyone thinks this way, we'll give it a try. SKT in the new season will indeed have to endure more hardships than usual, so you need to prepare yourselves mentally. Of course, for tomorrow's opening match against KZ, I still hope Sang-hyeok will go up and try first. If it truly does not work, we will follow the result of today's discussion."

kkOma finalized the arrangement. His gaze passed over the happy and excited Untara and the others, then over the anxious and angry Wolf and the others, before finally settling on Faker. "Sang-hyeok, come out with me. The rest of you can go back and rest. Prepare well for tomorrow's match."

With that, only kkOma and Faker, who had not spoken at all until then, left the training room together. Everyone else remained motionless.

Untara forcibly suppressed the curve of his lips. Facing Wolf and Bang, who were glaring at him, he gave an ingratiating dry laugh. "Jae-wan hyung, Jun-sik hyung, I'm doing this for SKT too. Sang-hyeok will definitely be able to adjust as quickly as possible. Then we can continue playing together. Don't you think?"

"Of course. That's Sang-hyeok!" Blank immediately agreed, not allowing Untara to be left hanging.

"I believe so too." Pirean was undoubtedly the happiest one. He did not even bother hiding the smile that he could not keep from spreading across his face.

Bang and Wolf watched coldly. Once their initial anger faded, kkOma's behavior gradually made them realize something was off about today's affair. They kept their suspicions to themselves and left without saying anything.

kkOma's office.

After Faker entered the room, kkOma did not sit down. He simply leaned back against his desk with his arms crossed, looking at Faker as he asked, "Does what I did hurt you, Sang-hyeok?"

Faker paused, then nodded.

kkOma pressed his lips together. "I know what Seon-gu and the others are thinking. Unfortunately, this is what SKT is like now. Unless you can change your style of play, it will be difficult for you to fit into the team's current system. Of course, I do not mean that you should leave. No one has the ability to make you leave SKT... What I mean is, are you willing to change for this?"

"If I change, I will become mediocre. I will no longer be the three-time world champion Lee Sang-hyeok."

Faker answered quickly this time, his voice calm but resolute. "Perhaps one day in the future, because of age, I will have no choice but to compromise with reality and make certain changes to better accommodate the team. But not now. I am still sharp right now. I can still carry matches."

kkOma nodded faintly to himself, but outwardly, he continued asking, "Then how can you break this deadlock? Unless you can find top and jungle teammates like you had in the previous two years, otherwise..."

"What if I can?" Faker suddenly interrupted him.

kkOma froze slightly, then shook his head with a helpless sigh. "Sang-hyeok, management has not invested much in us this year. We cannot afford to sign players of that caliber anymore. You know that."

"What if I can?" Faker did not answer. He only asked again.

kkOma adjusted his glasses. "If you can, then Seon-gu and the others' so-called 'coup' will be no different from a fart. After all, regardless of who it is, what everyone wants to see is still that invincible three-time champion SKT dynasty—not an ordinary SKT struggling to survive in the LCK and trying desperately not to finish last in the region."

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

kkOma quietly watched from behind. After a moment, the corner of his mouth seemed to lift imperceptibly. As he turned away, the deep anticipation in his eyes flashed and vanished.