Jin-ho’s opponent was using a PS4 controller.
The player selected Lili.
As usual, Jin-ho picked Jin.
The round started.
Jin-ho immediately backdashed to create distance.
His opponent did the same.
Compared to Jin-ho’s consistent movement, Lili’s backdashes looked noticeably less refined.
Lili closed the gap first and used Down 3.
It connected.
She followed up with Down Forward 1.
Jin blocked it.
Jin-ho responded with a quick jab, and it landed cleanly.
Lili’s health bar dropped slightly.
Jin-ho thought to himself,
“I’ll go on the offensive this time.
This pace is too slow for me.”
After that, he began applying wave dash pressure.
He threw out an Electric.
Lili blocked it.
Another Electric.
Blocked again.
Jin-ho crouch dashed forward.
Expecting another Electric, Lili ducked.
Instead, Jin immediately used Down Forward 1.
Mid check.
It landed cleanly.
Jin-ho slowly started gathering information on his opponent’s habits.
Jin followed with a Down 4, which also connected.
Afterward, he backdashed away.
Rather than overcommitting, Jin-ho slowly poked Lili down.
Low risk, low reward.
No hellsweeps.
The second round started.
Right as the fight began, Lili threw out a Matterhorn, Down 3+4.
Fortunately, Jin-ho had already backdashed far enough to avoid it.
He immediately punished with a Can Can, Down 3+4.
A standard combo followed, taking a huge chunk of Lili’s health.
Jin-ho wave dashed forward to close the distance.
His opponent panicked and used a spring kick.
Blocked.
Electric.
Launch.
Combo.
Dead.
Jin-ho took the second round.
As for the final round…
The summary was simple.
Pressure.
Pressure.
More pressure.
Jin-ho kept forcing his opponent into pressing buttons.
Lili repeatedly got clipped by precise Electrics.
This time, he finally used Jin’s Hellsweep and converted it into a combo.
After a few more pokes, Lili went down.
Victory.
His opponent immediately requested a rematch.
The next set ended the same way.
Jin-ho only managed to get one Perfect across all six rounds.
Getting six Perfects in a row was far harder than people thought.
After the games ended, Jin-ho fist-bumped his opponent.
The player had lost, but showed no frustration.
He had simply run into someone far stronger.
Jin-ho felt someone pat his shoulder.
He turned around to see who it was.
“I want to play a set with you.
Do you mind?”
It was the Kazuya player from earlier, the one who had lost.
“Sure thing, I don’t mind at all.” Jin-ho smiled as he accepted the challenge.
Jin-ho’s previous opponent moved away, leaving the station open.
The man sat down and connected his controller to the console before pressing Start.
“My name’s iKARi.
That’s my IGN, by the way.
You are?”
“My name’s Jin-ho,” he replied before continuing,
“I haven’t chosen an in-game name yet.”
Jin-ho’s current Tekken 7 IGN was just a placeholder.
Excellent.
He had chosen it on a whim without much thought.
Part of the reason was because of some of Lee Chaolan’s voice lines.
Soon, both players selected their characters.
As usual, Jin-ho chose Jin while iKARi locked in Kazuya.
The stage selected was Infinite Azure.
No walls.
Not long after the loading screen began, both players started warming up with movement routines on their levers.
As soon as the match started, both immediately backdashed to create space.
iKARi was the first to move.
Wave dash.
Wave dash.
Forward Forward 3.
Jin-ho blocked.
But he was forced into crouch.
iKARi immediately followed with Down Back 4.
It connected.
Jin-ho lost a small portion of health.
Then came Down Forward 2, likely expecting a sidestep.
Blocked.
Jin-ho punished with 2,4, knocking iKARi away.
He immediately chased with a wave dash.
Electric.
Then another crouch dash.
Hellsweep.
iKARi had expected another Electric and got caught off guard.
Combo.
Jin-ho continued wave dashing forward.
iKARi got up.
Electric.
Blocked.
Down Forward 1.
Blocked again.
Then:
2,1.
2,1.
2,1…
delayed 4.
Counter hit.
Ikari got caught pressing.
Jin-ho converted it into a combo.
Because Infinite Azure had no walls, the damage was lower than usual.
Jin-ho dashed forward but suddenly stopped just outside range.
He was wary of While Rising 2.
Seeing the hesitation, iKARi immediately fought back with an Electric.
First Electric.
Second.
Third.
All blocked.
Because Jin-ho had the life lead, iKARi was forced into aggression.
Jin-ho switched gears.
Wave dash.
Down Back 4.
Hit.
Down Forward 1.
Then another.
And another.
He repeatedly used mids to stop iKARi from ducking.
Trying to break the momentum, iKARi used a Down Jab.
It landed.
Then everything changed.
While Rising 2.
Perfect timing.
It clipped Jin-ho right as he attempted another Down Forward 1.
Launch.
However…
iKARi dropped the combo while trying to convert into a Perfect Electric route.
“Tsk.”
Annoyance flashed across his face.
Jin-ho immediately capitalized.
No hesitation.
A few exchanges later, he closed out the first round.
The second round started.
This time, both players opened with Electrics.
Neither wanted to commit.
Just movement and timing. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Trying to catch each other.
iKARi wavedashed.
Jin-ho thought another Electric was coming.
So he ducked.
Wrong choice.
While Crouching Down Forward 3+4.
Knockdown.
Guaranteed Forward Forward 4 follow-up.
Jin-ho got up.
Wave dash.
One.
Two.
Three.
Hellsweep.
Crouch Dash 4,1.
Again iKARi wavedashed.
Jin-ho ducked.
Wrong again.
Forward Forward 3.
Launch.
Combo.
Jin-ho’s health immediately dropped to Rage.
He stayed on the ground.
iKARi stomped with Down 3+4.
More damage.
Jin-ho tech rolled and backdashed to reset neutral.
iKARi continued wave dashing forward.
Jin-ho suddenly threw out a hopkick.
Caught.
Launch.
Combo.
Not enough.
One combo or a few pokes would decide the round.
The sounds of arcade sticks echoed rapidly.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
A few people had gathered behind them.
They looked impressed.
A newcomer keeping up with iKARi at this level was unexpected.
Then…
For some reason, Jin-ho started wave dashing.
First.
Second.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
No attack.
Nothing.
iKARi kept fuzzy guarding.
Still nothing.
The moment he finally pressed a button…
Electric.
Counter hit.
Jin-ho’s gamble paid off.
Rage Drive activated.
More damage.
The people watching widened their eyes.
As the combo ended…
KO.
Jin-ho exhaled in relief.
Now on the brink of losing the first set, iKARi became noticeably more aggressive.
The next round started.
Wave dash.
Electric.
Hellsweep.
Jin-ho stayed grounded.
iKARi stomped him with Down 3+4.
The life lead quickly snowballed.
And eventually…
iKARi took the round.
The next round started.
Still aggressive.
Still relentless.
Jin-ho guessed wrong repeatedly.
He stood up.
Hellsweep.
He ducked.
Forward Forward 3.
Every 50/50 went against him.
Jin-ho frowned.
Something had changed.
More importantly, how was he supposed to adapt?
2-2.
Final round.
Winner decides the first set.
iKARi immediately used Electric.
Jin-ho answered with Back 1 into Zen.
The stance transition slipped under the high.
Zen 1+2.
Launch.
iKARi flew into the air.
Combo.
A huge chunk of health disappeared.
This time Jin-ho stuck to him like glue.
No breathing room.
Electric after Electric.
Blocked.
Then iKARi ducked, expecting another Electric.
Wrong guess.
Uppercut.
Launch.
Jin-ho had read him perfectly.
Another combo.
iKARi entered Rage.
This time Jin-ho didn’t wave dash.
Instead, he ran straight at him.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Grab.
iKARi panicked.
He tried breaking it.
Wrong break.
The throw connected.
Victory.
“WOOOH!”
The people behind them grew into a small crowd.
Their match had drawn attention.
iKARi had lost…
But he didn’t waver.
Instead, his eyes became sharper than ever.
The second set starts.
Both duke it out, trying to out maneuver each other.
This time.
iKARi won 3 – 1.
He adjusted to Jin-ho.
Jin-ho thought to himself what changed, but important how can he adapt to the changes.
The third set starts.
Unlike before, most of them were just poking and small tekken.
both of them on the edge.
If you want to know who’s better in small tekken between the two.
It would be Jin-ho.
iKARi only focused on a window to launch his opponent and conditioning.
While Jin-ho was more open to change up this.
At this point, the scales tipped towards Jin-ho.
As he now 2-0 against iKARi .
As the small tekken and poking continues, he’s just offering his head to Jin-ho.
Had enough with this, iKARi did a wave dash pressure.
To which followed by a hellsweep.
Jin-ho anticipates this, and ducked to block it.
iKARi’s characer staggers.
Jin didn’t use a while rising move.
Instead goes to the maximum damage route.
He pressed Up Forward after a few frames in the sky he pressed 4.
Dealing more damage than While rising 2.
And it was enough damage to Defeat iKARi.
If he uses a different move, it won’t take out iKARi.
The people behind him clapped from the match.
iKARi reacted later, sighed then offered a fist bump to him.
Which Jin-ho gave him back.
Pressed by the newcomer, they started to talk to Jin-ho.
Slowly, Jin-ho got to know the fellow players.
One by one, they asked Jin-ho for a match.
Which Jin-ho accepted, it is a good opportunity for him to learn.
During these hours.
He played countless amount of matches.
Slowly increasing his knowledge on other characters.
He lose to someone, he didn’t become discouraged, instead in make him think more when fighting.
From Xiaoyu, with her countless setups.
Negan with his oppressive pressure.
Yoshimitsu that makes your head scratch.
And a lot more.
He stayed there grinding, he lose count on how much he won and lost.
iKARi rematched with him, this time winning against Jin-ho.
Jin-ho felt like he was getting more and more, almost getting addicted to this game.
As long he plays, nothing matter to him as long he learns.
Like a madman.
People come and go, Jin-ho wrist was taking a toll to him.
He rested for a bit, instead just talk with his fellow player.
iKARi asked for Jin-ho’s kakao, which he gaves to iKARi.
Players also asked for his number, contacting him for a match down the line.
Jin-ho smiled at this moment, getting to know new people and play.
It seems that this choice of going pro is going to a good direction.
It’s getting dark now, iKARi and his friends already got out a while ago.
There were only few people left still playing.
This batch of people were the hardcore players, Their ranks Tekken God Omega or Prime.
And most importantly character specialist.
From Lei, Xiaoyu, Shaheen, Master Raven and other character that are hard to succeed in pro play.
Jin-ho lost multiple times with them.
Either due to unfamiliarity or not breaking throws properly.
They were they to giving this newcomer a beating, surprisingly Jin-ho still won a few sets against.
Although it was barely.
This session made him hate grapplers even more.
His senior on the arcade mocking at him for not breaking his throws.
He is a Armor King/King user.
Trying to mentally unbalance Jin-ho.
They Ki-Charged Jin-ho when they win.
A disrespectful action.
Thankfully, they are some people that guide Jin-ho.
Like certain moves that are interruptable and duckable.
Teaching while whopping his ass.
You learn in Tekken from losing.
The clerk that is still working looks at Jin-ho still playing.
Wondering why he still here so long.
Jin-ho at this moment was focusing, his opponent was using Marduk.
He’s so focused that no sound outside the game can be heard for him.
When he finally won, he ki-charged and tea bag his opponent.
After losing consecutively, and getting ki charged himself, this is payback.
The people crowd as they saw Jin-ho’s ki charge.
His opponent laughs in defeat, affected him a little.
“How he’s improving so fast though, It likes he knows my timing and spacing.” His opponent thought about the sets with Jin-ho.
From clean sweeping him to losing to him.
“This guy…
is special.” He thought to himself.
“I heard he joined the tournament, this ain’t going to be easy.” He thought to himself.
Jin-ho had enough playing for today, he stopped and packed his arcade stick back on his bag.
Saying goodbye to the people left, after that he goes out.
It was already nighttime when he stepped outside.
Jin-ho glanced around, watching the city move with life as groups, pairs, and lone pedestrians passed along the streets.
He checked his phone and saw that his mother had already sent him some money.
So he decided to grab a meal before heading home.
While walking, he thought about what to eat.
He passed food stalls, a ramen shop, a fast food chain, and more.
If he couldn’t decide, he would probably end up eating instant noodles again.
His phone buzzed.
Jin-ho checked it.
It was iKARi.
“GG’s.”
Jin-ho replied.
“GG’s as well.”
Then he put his phone away.
He walked for a few more minutes, not really focused on food anymore.
Instead, he took in the city around him.
People were taking selfies, others were busking, and life continued around him.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“Am I wasting my time here?”
He could just go home, eat, and start thinking about setting up a stream.
But he quickly shook the thought away.
He wasn’t missing anything important.
Eventually, he decided on the ramen shop.
He hadn’t eaten ramen in a while, and just thinking about it made him hungry.
After hours at the arcade, he was thirsty.
Not drinking for some time.
He entered the shop and saw there were still seats available.
He sat down and looked at the menu.
His eyes moved across the pictures and names, slowly deciding what to order.
After a while, he made his choice and placed his order.
While waiting, he took out his phone.
He searched for how to set up a stream, planning to learn it for later.
Soon after, his food arrived.
He set his phone down and began eating.
He ate with focus and appetite, with no distractions.
His phone buzzed again.
He frowned slightly but ignored it while chewing.
A moment later, it buzzed again.
This time, he checked it.
It was his mother.
The message read:
“Are you eating well right now, my son?
You didn’t eat instant noodles again, did you?”
He took a quick photo of his meal and sent it.
“I’m eating well.”
His mother replied:
“That’s good.
Don’t eat it too often.
It’s not good for your body.”
“Okay, Mom,” he replied.
He continued eating and soon finished his meal.
After paying, he left the shop.
Instead of going straight home, he decided to walk toward the Han River.
It was a sudden decision, just a whim.
He walked slowly since it wasn’t far.
As he got closer, he began to hear faint music and crowd noise.
The sound grew louder.
Then he realized it was a live performance.
As he approached, the voice became familiar.
It was Ji-min.
Near the river, a large crowd had gathered, cheering in sync.
He looked toward the stage.
aespa was performing outdoors, promoting their song.
He moved closer to get a proper view.
He was surrounded by people watching the performance, a mix of passersby and fans.
Up close, the outfits looked different from what he had seen on television earlier.
Seeing them in person, he became more aware of Ji-min’s presence.
She performed with such intensity that it was hard to look away.
Jin-ho silently acknowledged the effort she put into her comeback.
As the performance ended, Ji-min and her teammates stood catching their breath, recovering from the choreography.
After a few seconds, Ji-min spoke into her mic.
“Did you enjoy it?”
The crowd responded with a loud cheer, with fans screaming the loudest.
Then aespa began their usual promotional comments, required by the company.
To him, it was just background noise, and he did not pay attention.
He decided he had seen enough and turned to leave.
But the crowd density had increased, making it harder to move out.
The outdoor performance had drawn even more people as it went on.
“We will give a signed poster and mini album to one lucky audience member today.”
The crowd erupted again, and Jin-ho found his exit even more blocked than before.
He sighed and tried to push through carefully.
On stage, aespa began scanning the audience, gesturing as they looked for someone.
People raised their hands, waving to get noticed.
But in reality, the staff controlled the selection.
A staff member noticed someone moving away and, for some reason, pointed in his direction.
A spotlight shifted and landed directly on Jin-ho.
He instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sudden brightness.
“Oh, there’s our lucky audience member!”
Ningning announced with a bright smile.
The members smiled as they confirmed the selection.
“Please come up here!
Our lucky person for today!” Winter called out.
At that moment, Jin-ho could only think:
“What the hell?”
I want to eat some ice cream!