Oct 148 min read

That guy is This guy Chapter 101

101.

After Chae Yoo-jeong announced his intention to take a year off from his contract, a player was transferred to LVS to fill the empty jungler position. It was Kwon Do-hyun, who uses the username ‘Tenet.’

He started his professional career at the age of 18 and has been active for 4 years. Unlike Chae Yoo-jeong, who is an aggressive carnivore jungler, he is a tanking type herbivore supported by physical strength and defense.

He was a jungler. It was in December of that year that Chae Yoo-jeong and Kwon Do-hyun, who had met as enemies several times in competitions, met at their dorm and exchanged greetings. The two looked at each other with a sour expression and instinctively recognized it.

‘This guy has a one of a kind personality.’

He was able to create as much of an external image as possible, such as smiling slightly when the camera was rolling at a competition or being kind to fans. However, the two had something in common in terms of why they created that image.

‘Let’s not make anything bothersome.’

Chae Yoo-jeong and Kwon Do-hyun had similar personalities in that aspect. They didn’t talk nonsense to each other and didn’t ask any questions. So there was less to worry about. He felt more comfortable because they were the same age.

If Chae Yoo-jeong had been born into a normal family, had some level of sociability, and was smart, it made him wonder if he would have lived a life similar to Kwon Do-hyun.

‘Hey, Chae Yoo-jeong.’

Kwon Do-hyun spoke to Chae Yoo-jeong, who was officially unemployed but was still living in the team dormitory.

‘Would you like to play a game for me during your break?’

‘What?’

‘You should use the account I was raising at Zenoris instead.’

Kwon Do-hyun, who said he played Zenoris during his one-month vacation after the world competition, showed his monitor with Zenoris turned on.

It’s Zenoris. It wasn’t an unfamiliar name. Now that he thinks about it, he remembered Kang Ji-hye saying it was fun and asking us to do it together several times. He didn’t reply because he was too lazy to reply.

‘If that’s the case, can’t I just raise a new one?’

‘It’s not as easy as you expect.’

‘I will not do it.’

Kwon Do-hyun’s character was a tanker and Chae Yoo-jeong, who does not play a tank or support even if it costs his life, immediately refused.

A job whose purpose was to heal or help teammates throughout the game was not for him. Well, if that person is Yoo Ji-han, he’s willing to do whatever he can.

Besides, he didn’t have time to play any other games right now. As Chae Yoo-jeong guessed, Yoo Ji-han, who was discharged from the military, started playing Hero like crazy to raise his level and skills.

Unlike in the past, when he only had time to play solo queue in the early morning due to competitions and scrims, Chae Yoo-jeong, who became completely unemployed, was able to play solo queue all day, just like Yoo Ji-han. As such, the two encountered each other more often than before.

Chae Yoo-jeong, who postponed his contract to get closer to Yoo Ji-han, acted more proactively than before.

As for being active, all he did was play harder when he met Yoo Ji-han in the game and occasionally sent him a friend request, but... he tried his best anyway.

As four months passed, his birthday came around and Chae Yoo-jeong turned 23 years old. At that point, Kwon Do-hyun, who noticed that Chae Yoo-jeong was desperate to become friends with the user ‘I’m sleepy,’ asked Chae Yoo-jeong, who was playing solo as usual,

‘Why don’t you use some light-hearted joke instead of approaching like that?’

‘......Light-hearted joke?’

‘Are you going to meet the enemy team like that for the rest of your life and just play games and be done with it? Anyway, since you already know the username, you need to relax and tell some light-hearted jokes.’

Chae Yoo-jeong, who normally would have ignored it or asked what to do, couldn’t refute anything this time and bit his lip.

He was like this every time. Whenever something related to the ‘I’m sleepy’ user comes up, he reacts like this, so even if Kwon Do-hyun wanted to, he couldn’t ignore it.

‘...That’s okay. I’ve sent friend requests a few times so far, but they’ve all been rejected.’

‘That’s because you only sent him friend requests, so of course he rejected you. If you joke around with each other casually and become friends, friend requests will also be naturally accepted.’

Chae Yoo-jeong, who heard Kwon Do-hyeon’s words, was intrigued, and pricked up his ears.

Certainly... from Yoo Ji-han’s perspective, it was natural for him to reject someone he didn’t even know who kept sending him friend requests. He was so blinded by his desire to be close to Yoo Ji-han that he didn’t even think about taking the step.

‘Even if you say it’s a joke, the game chat is easily accessible, so why can’t you do it? And what if that person quits Hero even tomorrow, what will you do then? You’re going to fucking regret it.’

Chae Yoo-jeong, persuaded by Kwon Do-hyeon’s words, thought seriously. Never in his dreams had he imagined that Yoo Ji-han would give up Hero. If Yoo Ji-han really quits Hero... Nothing would work.

‘You want me to tell a light-hearted joke? Me?’

The last time he had a conversation with him in Hero was in the fall when he was 19, when he scolded him through a private message, so he was so nervous that his body stiffened. But it was also true that he felt even worse than that.

Yoo Ji-han, who was joking around with Seo Tae-young, kept appearing in his mind. Maybe... he would laugh and accept the joke?

‘If you’re going to do it, do it now.’

‘What… do you want me to do now?’

‘Then when will you do it? It’s just a joke, it shouldn’t take a lot of determination.’

...He needed it! Dealing with Yoo Ji-han, not just anyone else, required tremendous determination more than anything.

‘Hey, quick.’

Kwon Do-hyun, who did not know how Chae Yoo-jeong felt, stood next to Chae Yoo-jeong while he was playing the game and urged him by tapping his shoulder. Chae Yoo-jeong fidgeted and swallowed his dry saliva.

The game in progress had already passed 30 minutes, and the odds were tilted towards Chae Yoo-jeong, so it would not be surprising if it ended at any time.

‘I-I don’t know what to joke about…’

‘It’s better to be memorable. That way, everyone over there will recognize your username from now on.’

‘If this continues, the Nexus will break. Do it faster. You don’t have time.’

Chae Yoo-jeong’s eyes were shaking wildly. His hands on the keyboard were stiff, like a broken machine.

‘To pull off a memorable joke...?’

The more she thought about it, the more his mind turned white. If he wasn’t confident, he could just give up and try again next time, but his greed and expectations got mixed up and encouraged Chae Yoo-jeong.

Thump, thump!

His heart raced. In a way, Chae Yoo-jeong, who was in a panic, thought of Seo Tae-young, who usually exchanges jokes with Yoo Ji-han on broadcast like it was a natural step for him.

However, among his many, many memories, the one that came to mind like ‘that time’ was something that Chae Yoo-jeong did not expect.

Without knowing what destruction his momentary mistake would bring, Chae Yoo-jeong moved his hand stiffly and struck the chat box.

[All] LVS gamgack(Serrata): JD[2]

[All] LVS gamgack(Serrata): right?

As soon as the chat went up, a cold silence came. Kwon Do-hyeon, who was standing next to him and watching the situation, opened his mouth with an expression that said, ‘This isn’t right.’

‘Hey, that chat was supposed to be a joke...……… ‘

After hearing the advice, Chae Yoo-jeong quickly added to the chat.

[All] LVS gamgack (Serrata): Haha

‘No, that’s not it…’

Kwon Do-hyeon let out a sincere sigh. It seems that Chae Yoo-jeong added a laugh initial consonant to emphasize that it was just a joke, but the timing wasn’t very good.

[All] Hunsu is blocked(Luna): ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I agree

[All] That’s Geminion(Umpa): kya sweet win

The only people who responded to Chae Yoo-jeong’s chat were the oblivious team members who were overly excited to receive the carry bus. There was no answer from Yoo Ji-han until the Nexus exploded.

It was only then that Chae Yoo-jeong sensed something was wrong, and his complexion turned pale as if he had seen a ghost. Goosebumps ran down his spine and fear hit him like a wave.

[LVS gamgack: Look here Sleepy-nim]

[LVS gamgack: By any chance]

At the end of the game, he desperately held on to Yoo Ji-han as if he was grasping at straws at the deal amount window that appeared, but before he could even begin to say he was sorry, a system message came up.

[I’m sleepy-nim has left the lobby.]

Even after Yoo Ji-han saw his chat, he left the chat window without replying. His heart dropped to the bottom.

‘Chae Yoo-jeong, are you okay...? Send a friend request and apologize.’

‘Friend request.......’

After hearing Kwon Do-hyun’s story, Chae Yoo-jeong sent a message to Yoo Ji-han with trembling hands requesting to be added as a friend. However, 10 minutes passed, 30 minutes passed... and an hour passed, but Yoo Ji-han did not receive Chae Yoo-jeong’s request.

The mentality that he had been struggling to keep in shape suddenly broke. Seeing Chae Yoo-jeong lowering his head and swallowing his cries, Kwon Do-hyun noticed and patted his shoulder a couple of times.

‘Next time you two meet in a solo queue, apologize right away. I think he’ll forgive you if you tell him you made a mistake.’

‘…….’

With Kwon Do-hyun’s comfort, a light of hope sparkled in Chae Yoo-jeong’s dark mind.

It wasn’t particularly new for Yoo Ji-han to show a cold attitude toward him. No, to be exact, he was someone Yoo Ji-han always passed by, so it was natural.

So, if we meet in solo queue next time and apologize properly... something might change at least a little.

However, Yoo Ji-han, as if mocking Chae Yoo-jeong, stopped playing Hero after that day.

It’s probably because it’s March and the semester starts. Because he was busy, the game time was only slightly reduced. Even though he thought so and waited for a long time, the day when the ‘I’m sleepy’ user’s record was updated never came.

Only then did Chae Yoo-jeong realize his situation. He thought he had at least one connection to Yoo Ji-han... but it was all a mistake. Because if Yoo Ji-han quits Hero, everything would be over.

What Kwon Do-hyun said became reality.

His worn-out mental strength crumbled at a rapid pace. To make matters worse, as the new season began, Chae Yoo-jeong had to remove his belongings from his dorm and return to his bleak apartment.

Chae Yoo-jeong, who had been living a lethargic life for a week, sleeping in an apartment with the lights off, eventually started taking medicine again.

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