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Hana had practically laughed at her when she’d issued the challenge. “I can’t believe it’s 2071 and you’re still playing Brood War!” “It’s a timeless game, like chess or baduk.” The StarCraft version they utilized for the competitive scene was far more polished, but in Yuna’s opinion, you couldn’t beat a classic. “Play 1v1 against me and you’ll see.”The ancient graphics looked fairly ridiculous on the state-of-the-art curved monitors their sponsors had provided for them, but Yuna’s mind was on nothing but the game ahead.She felt her pulse quicken at the start of the match as she immediately set out to fast expand from her Hatchery. Hana - the genius who only ever picked random - was Terran this time around. It wasn’t exactly a rivalry, this thing that they had between them. It was something far more subtle. Theirs was a bond born of a shared struggle. The lifestyle the gaming house afforded them was a grueling one, with practice and strategy meetings from morning until night. Yuna hadn’t even been able to get out to visit her family since Chuseok. As teammates, it seemed only natural that they would lean on one another, the close proximity making it so that getting along was their only option if they didn’t want to be miserable. She never imagined meeting someone as intensely dedicated to the game as she was, but in Hana she’d met her match and more. And yet...there was something about her that always seemed just out of her reach. Witnessing her star power and terrifying APM, Yuna was quick to learn that being clan mates with the prodigy from Busan was a perpetual exercise in humility.In hindsight, harassment tactics were a bad idea. She’d stacked her mutalisks perfectly, but Hana outmaneuvered her, turrets somehow already waiting for her at ever point she attempted to strike. A perfectly micro’d valkyrie patrol soon put an end to her aerial ambitions while Hana’s ground units began to lay waste to her hive cluster. As if to add insult to injury, the guttural voice of the Overmind rasped out a “Nuclear Launch detected!” and Yuna knew she’d been had. Somehow she’d completely missed Hana’s ghost. Sighing heavily, she tapped out her concession.“GG” She fought to not stick her tongue out at the winkyface that popped up on her screen, but really, she had expected nothing less. Hana always played to win, as they all did. “You’re right. The micro in this game is way more interesting. Anyway, why Zerg? I thought you always stuck to Protoss?” Hana tuned around in her chair to playfully tug at her shoulder. “Just trying out something new,” Yuna muttered sulkily as she brushed off a barrage of teasing pokes.
Not today, Yuna Lee. Not today.
Just like their gaming handles, their mechs complemented each other nicely: Bunny and the Beast. Yuna had been impressed with the technology that MEKA showed off for them, but she couldn’t help but wonder how it came to be that her squad’s gaming reflexes were the only thing standing between the Korean Peninsula and total annihilation. As they climbed into their mechs for the first time, it felt almost claustrophobic within the confines of the cockpit. It must be even worse for Hana, Yuna thought, crouching as she was rather than seated like she was. She activated the HUD to find her girlfriend quiet and pensive as she took in the sight of her new machine. Yuna smirked as she spoke into the microphone.“Battlecruiser operational” she intoned, pitching her voice as low as it could go. At the sound of at Hana’s peal of laughter, she felt as though a weight had lifted off her shoulders. The news reports painted such a pretty picture of the MEKA squad, treated Hana - D.VA, as everyone now knew her - as their de facto leader. After all, the holovid feeds looked so much sleeker showing just one MVP, saving the day with a single, explosive play of the game. The cameras zeroed in on her like rifle scopes, but Yuna saw all the things they missed: technically, Kyung Soo had the best Kill:Death ratio on their combat simulator (a fact that, as Hana’s true gaming rival, he never allowed them to forget), Jae Eun was by far the best pilot, and as for Yuna, well, she had always been the better marksman.In truth, no one on the team envied Hana her celebrity. It was a gift, really, her offering herself up to the spotlight so the rest of them could breathe.
In their last bout with the gwishin, Yuna had been furious that she’d been the first one to go down.“I’m hit!” she’d yelled, more angry than afraid. Over the intercom, she was sure she had heard Hana gasp. Since that day, they’d all promised to be more vigilant. But then the surprise attack came, and it had been up to Hana and Dae Hyun to eliminate the threat all on their own while the rest of the team was “away on leave” - aka recovering from traumatic injuries. By the time Yuna had found out the details, Hana was already on the mend, limbs wrapped in casts signed by her new friends from Overwatch.“Guess I won’t be able to challenge you to Dance Floor anytime soon,” she said as she strode into the hangar. Hana was at the workbench, giving Yuna a grin as she looked up from her tinkering. One of her brave faces. Yuna took a seat beside her and laid a hand gently over her brace-covered wrist.“I’m glad you made the shot.” Hana cast her eyes downward, almost shy. “I had a great teacher," she murmured softly. "Seriousy, Yuna, no one can beat your godlike aim.” She gave her another smile, and Yuna couldn’t fight the feeling that had been welling up inside her. She leaned forward and wrapped Hana in her arms, taking care not to disrupt her sling. They stayed like that for a time, Hana’s face pressed to her neck, hearing only the sound of their heartbeats and the sloshing of the waves outside the base. Yuna felt something wet bleed through the fabric near her shirt collar, but she pretended not to notice. “Yuna?” Hana sniffled but didn’t move, obviously trying not to show her face. “Yeah?”“You know when you told me that StarCraft is like chess or baduk?” “What? Oh, mhm.” Yuna hummed into the softness of her hair. “Humans don’t win at those games anymore. They can’t beat the gwi-, the computers.” Hana didn’t sob then, just buried her face even deeper against her shoulder. Yuna remained silent, giving herself a moment to think. Taken at face value, her words were true; no human grandmaster of either game had beaten an advanced AI opponent in almost a century.“Hana...” Yuna paused, carefully considering her words. “Who do you think designed those computers in the first place? Humans did.” Hana sniffed again.“The gwishin didn’t appear out of nowhere. They’re attacking because human technology got out of control. And if we humans started it, we can stop it.” She gave her a light squeeze. “Hana, you of all people know that you’re not some....perfect decision engine. You’re human, and that’s what makes all the difference. You can see so far beyond what any computer could, do things they would never even consider.” Yuna finally pulled away, reaching out to hold Hana by the shoulders as she looked her in her tear-stained eyes. “And that’s why we’re all safe. Because you trusted your instincts.” She tilted her head to kiss Hana’s cheek.“Thank you,” she whispered, sighing when she felt Hana lay her head back on her shoulder and huddle against her chest.As they sat there together, Yuna’s fingertips stroking patterns on Hana’s back, the buzz of a phone message broke the silence. Yuna snatched hers up with a huff of annoyance and checked the screen: press briefing in an hour. She silenced the device, placing it face down on the bench before wrapping her arm around Hana once more.It seemed the world would always need D.Va there in the limelight, always bright, always smiling, but for now, all that could wait. Hana had earned her rest, and Yuna wouldn’t let them steal another second.