**Arc 2: Chapter 5 – Shadows of the Past**
The café had finally quieted down after the heated match. Most of the patrons had left, save for a few lingering gamers who were too deep in their own worlds to care about anything else. So-ra was back at her station, tinkering with her settings and reviewing clips of her match against Jae-min.
Jae-min, on the other hand, sat at a nearby table nursing a lukewarm cup of coffee. Elyra, invisible to everyone but him, lounged on the seat across from him, twirling a lock of her shimmering hair.
"You're not bad," she said, breaking the silence. "For someone who hasn't played competitively in years."
"Not good enough," Jae-min muttered, staring at the faint reflection of himself in his coffee. "She wiped the floor with me."
"That was the point," Elyra reminded him. "She needed to let loose, and you gave her a reason to."
Jae-min nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. So-ra's reaction during their earlier conversation had been guarded, defensive. She was hiding something—something big. And if he was going to help her, he needed to figure out what it was.
Elyra noticed his pensive look and sighed. "You're going to dig, aren't you?"
"It's the only way," Jae-min replied, standing up.
---
"Hey," he called out, approaching So-ra's desk.
She didn't look up, her eyes fixed on her screen. "What do you want now? Another match?"
"Not exactly," Jae-min said, pulling up a chair beside her. "I wanted to ask you something."
"Let me guess," So-ra said, her tone laced with sarcasm. "You're going to give me another motivational speech about my potential?"
"Not this time," Jae-min said. "I want to know why you're holding back."
So-ra's fingers froze on her keyboard, and for a moment, the only sound was the faint hum of her PC.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice carefully neutral.
"You're better than almost anyone I've seen," Jae-min said. "But there's always this hesitation, this… fear. It's like you're afraid to win too much. Why?"
So-ra's jaw tightened, and she turned to face him, her expression hard. "You don't know anything about me, so don't act like you do."
"You're right," Jae-min said calmly. "I don't know you. But I want to. And if I'm going to keep helping you, I need to understand what's holding you back."
For a long moment, So-ra said nothing. Then she sighed, leaning back in her chair.
"You really don't know when to quit, do you?" she muttered.
Jae-min shook his head. "Not when I see someone worth fighting for."
So-ra rolled her eyes, but there was a faint smile on her lips. "Fine. You want the truth? I used to be part of a pro team—a big one."
Jae-min's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?"
"Yeah," So-ra said, her tone bitter. "We were on the rise, winning tournaments, getting sponsors. But then…" She trailed off, her gaze distant.
"But then what?" Jae-min prompted gently.
"One of my teammates—someone I thought was a friend—framed me for cheating," So-ra said, her voice tight. "They planted fake evidence, and the team dumped me without even hearing my side of the story. My reputation was destroyed, and no one would touch me after that."
Jae-min felt a surge of anger on her behalf. "That's messed up."
"Yeah, well, it is what it is," So-ra said, shrugging. "I started over, working my way back up. But ever since then, I've been… careful. I can't afford to make waves, not if I want to avoid more trouble."
"You shouldn't have to live like that," Jae-min said. "You're not the same person they tried to tear down. You're stronger now."
So-ra looked at him, her eyes searching his for something. "Why do you care so much? You barely know me."
"Because I've been where you are," Jae-min said. "I know what it's like to lose everything. But I also know that you can't let fear hold you back forever."
So-ra stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. "You're annoyingly persistent, you know that?"
"I've been told," Jae-min said with a grin.
---
Later that night, Jae-min sat on a bench outside the café, the cool air biting at his skin. Elyra appeared beside him, her golden eyes glowing softly in the dark.
"Making progress," she said, her tone playful. "Her likability is up to 55% now."
Jae-min smiled faintly. "It's not about the numbers."
"Maybe not for you," Elyra said, leaning closer. "But for me, it's all about the numbers."
Jae-min chuckled, shaking his head. "You're impossible."
"And you're predictable," Elyra teased. "But seriously, you're doing good work. She's starting to trust you."
"That's the goal," Jae-min said, gazing up at the stars. "One step at a time."