Solar's eyes narrowed into a squint as she shot a glare at Red who was teasing her.
"Stop teasing me, Red." She rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms together.
Red's laugh bubbled up in response to Solar's playful irritation. Amused, he strolled towards her side of the table and sat in front of her.
There was already a variety of foods on the table, so he did not need to order anything except for a drink.
"How are you, Bud? It's been so long since we last saw you." Cj exclaimed as Red sat on the chair.
"It's not like we saw each other too, Man." Eric countered that made all of them laugh.
Red flashed a warm smile. "It's fine. Just busy with work." He replied.
"Didn't you just graduate a few months ago?" Cj asked as he counted the years of Red's education. "And you too," he gazed at Solar.
"Yup." Red nodded.
Red and Solar, among all of them, were the only ones who continued and finished their studies after leaving the professional scene.
Jules chose to become a small cafe owner with the help of the money they won.
Cj became a normal office worker, who sometimes livestream different games online.
Eric, who doesn't have any interest in studying, opened his own gym that was still thriving until today.
"Congrats, Bud, and Solar."
"Congrats, Brother Red! Congrats, Sister Solar"
"Nice one!"
Smiling, Red nodded and said his thanks. His eyes flew to Solar when he hadn't heard anything from her except saying her gratitude.
Solar's gaze softened slightly as she watched the interaction between her friends. Despite her initial annoyance, she couldn't help but be calm in the atmosphere that surrounded them.
"Why are you so quiet?" Red asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.
Solar tilted her head to the side. "I don't know."
Red chuckled. "Didn't you get a computer science degree or something?"
Solar's expression brightened at Red's question. "Yes, I did," she replied, her voice tinged with satisfaction after hearing her achievement.
"Woah! Isn't that degree hard?"
"I know right!"
The others also reacted.
Red's eyebrows raised in genuine interest. "What are your plans now that you've graduated? then"
Solar shrugged her shoulders. Her smile dropped don as she hadn't thought of that yet. "I don't really know. I kinda just got that degree to have something." she sighed deeply. "I kinda don't know what to do next."
Jules, ever the supportive friend, chimed in with encouragement. "That's fine, Solar! You'll soon know what you want to do!"
Solar chuckled before nodding appreciatively at Jules's words.
"Thanks, Jules. Oh right, I heard about the rumor regarding the tournament that would soon take place," Solar shifted the topic by opening another one.
It was something that she wanted to talk about.
Talking about the tournament, they all looked at each other. It was as if an angel had passed that all of them suddenly became quiet.
Cj cleared his throat. Placing his hand on the back of his head, he looked at them with uncertainty.
"Uhm… Actually… I got offered to join Black Dragons…" Cj uttered in a low voice. He was quite ashamed and uncertain whether it was right to announce the news right now.
However, given the timing, this was the only time he could think of.
"Woah! That's nice, Cj!" Jules and Eric both exclaimed.
Red smiled and nodded while Solar raised her hands for a thumbs up.
"That's nice, Cj! Aren't they in the top 10 last time?" Red's voice was laced with genuine curiosity.
Cj sheepishly smiled. " Yeah." he nodded excitedly.
"I started streaming months ago as a hobby. I gained viewers in just a short amount of time because the viewers said they liked my content. Then the manager of the team contacted me just weeks ago as they saw my stream on the app."
A wide smile appeared on Cj's lips as he told the story of how he got scouted. It was his first time talking about it as he kept it a secret for a while.
Cj wanted his former teammates to know, since he wanted to know their reaction about it first.
"Woah!"
"You should accept that if you like. That's such a good opportunity!" Red exclaimed, feeling proud.
Cj looked around and also heard multiple praises. The worry in his heart subdued. He thought that telling it to them would be awkward.
"I'll think about it then." Cj smiled widely. Now, he can finally relax and think about it thoroughly.
"How about you guys? Don't you want to get back to the professional scene once again? It has been so long since we stepped foot on the stage."
Hearing about it, they realized that it really had been long since they went on the stage and fought side by side with each other.
Their names were almost forgotten by people.
"I started playing once again…" Red's revelation hung in the air. "Just days ago."
His words surprised everyone except for Solar.
"Yeah and I caught him playing yesterday," A soft laugh escaped Solar's lips. The truth was she and Red played for hours before she went offline close to midnight.
Jules's eyes sparkled. "You know what? I've been thinking about it too," he admitted, a hint of excitement creeping into his voice.
Eric nodded in agreement, his gaze distant as he reminisced about their past achievements.
"Do you think we would be able to set foot on that stage again?" Solar suddenly questioned.
Red looked at Solar. Even though he didn't know the answer, he instinctively nodded. "If Fate will let us."
"I'm afraid if that time came, I won't be able to join anymore…" Cj answered as he thought of the pending offer that he had. "I'll still support you guys, though." He smiled.
Jules and Eric patted Cj's back.
"How about we play right now?" Solar flashed a subtle grin on her face as she laid her back down comfortably in the chair.
"Let's go!"
Cj and Eric looked at each other in excitement. The two of them immediately agreed to it.
"We can do that," Red grinned, also feeling excited about it.
He would be lying if he said he didn't miss that feeling of fighting side by side with his friends.
"Guys…" However, unsure about it, Jules slowly raised his hands to state his opinion. His eyes were fixed on the untouched food on their table
"Uhm... Can we eat first?"