73.
“Yoo Ji-han. Have you memorized all the gimmicks in the new raid?”
“Uh-huh.”
Kim Dae-seok, who had been sitting next to me and dozing off the entire time, asked me with irritated eyes as soon as class was over.
As I answered carelessly while putting on the coat I had placed on the chair, the guy lowered his head.
“Oh, why is it so tough even though it’s Normal? I have to go into the abyss starting tomorrow and I’m totally screwed.”
“Why don’t you just tell them to leave you and go?”
“I am the only proper healer in the guild.”
Well. In our guild, there was no other healer user other than Haern who could understand the gameplay according to the Raid Abyss’s difficulty level.
Healers were a difficult profession to raise, so there were few of them, but only that the equipment was expensive, hence not many users were able to go on high-level raids.
“Can you come to our guild as a mercenary? I’ll be nice to you.”
“You ask me with great care, while you will probably use me like a dog.”
I grabbed my bag and immediately got up.
This was not the time for this kind of small talk. I was supposed to meet Chae Yoo-jeong, but the lecture ended about 10 minutes later than usual, so I didn’t have time to relax.
“Guys, do you want to go for a drink?”
“No.”
“Then do you want to go to the club?”
“You’re a really amazing guy.”
Even Kim Dae-seok shook his head in disgust at the sight of Eun Hae-seong repeating the same thing every Friday.
Watching one person begging to come to their guild as a mercenary and the other begging to go to a club made me tired.
[Chae Yoo-jeong: Hyung Hyung]
[Chae Yoo-jeong: Is the lecture over?]
[Chae Yoo-jeong: I arrived haha]
[Yoo Ji-han: ㅇㅇ]
[Yoo Ji-han: Write down the location so I can find it]
After replying to the message, I exited the building and headed toward the front door.
Kim Dae-seok, who had been following me and chatting with Eun Hae-seong, stood behind me and whined, hugging my shoulders with both arms.
“Yoo ji~ Are you really not going to help me? Did you forget I bought you a starter pack when you started Zeno?”
“You’re heavy. Get away from me.”
“Our guild isn’t greedy for things like that. It’s a pure place that focuses on just awakening. You can help me after you’re done.”
When I arrived in front of the main gate, I ignored Kim Dae-seok’s words and checked the messenger.
Why is there no answer from Chae Yoo-jeong? He needs to tell me where he’s waiting so I can go there.
“Do you guys still do that, Zenoris?”
“You said you were going to do it, so why aren’t you doing it?”
“I thought Ji-han gave up playing games when he was at school.”
“If you come too, I’ll buy you a starter pack. Be a buffer or healer instead. I’ll take you to the guild.”
“I like things that are cool... but healers and buffers are not cool.”
“What? I wonder how long it took to lay the healer floor. But if you’re going to be a healer, you have to be a female.”
I sent a message to Chae Yoo-jeong again, leaving Eun Hae-seong and Kim Dae-seok alone, who were missing a screw somewhere.
[Yoo Ji-han: Where are you?]
[Yoo Ji-han: I’ll go if you answer]
“Hyung.”
I was staring at the phone screen with narrowed eyes, and quickly turned my head to the side when I heard a familiar voice coming from close by.
“I’m here.”
“You……”
Chae Yoo-jeong, who said he had work to do and was more dressed up than usual, was standing right in front of the front door.
The guy who made eye contact with me raised the corners of his mouth slightly, smiled, and put the cell phone he was holding into his jacket.
“Why are you here? I told you to wait at a nearby cafe.”
“I brought the car out. There was no place to park.”
After hearing that, I belatedly noticed a car parked across from him.
“Do you even know how to drive?”
“Of course. I got it as soon as I turned 20. By the way, Hyung.”
Chae Yoo-jeong asked with a strange frowning expression on his face while his mouth was smiling.
“Are the people behind you your friends? How long is he going to hug you?”
“Ah.”
Now that I think about it, Kim Dae-seok was still hugging my shoulder. In a daze, I took Kim Dae-seok’s arm away while I was looking at Chae Yoo-jeong and gave him a brief greeting.
“It’s just my friend. Hey, wake up.”
“Gasp... that’s the real Gamgack. I’m a fan of yours!”
“Thank you.”
Despite Kim Dae-seok’s rambling greeting, Chae Yoo-jeong shook his hand with a smile.
‘You’re so different compared to when you’re with me.’
All this time with me, he’s been acting like he’s 13 years old instead of 23 years old.
Come to think about it, he signed autographs on the street the other day, right? He has been a popular professional player since he was 20, so he seems to know what to do in these situations.
“Crazy. He’s so handsome. Ji-han, can I ask him to go to the club with me?”
“Is it even okay to ask that? I have an appointment, so I’ll go first.”
I simply dismissed Eun Hae-seong’s blatant request and walked towards Chae Yoo-jeong, whose smile is no better than a mask.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
“Hey, Yoo Ji-han! Are you sure you don’t want to come over as mercenary at least when you have time? I’ll be waiting for you to contact me!”
“.......”
Chae Yoo-jeong, who heard Kim Dae-seok shouting from behind, looked at me.
That bastard…. I’ll die of embarrassment until the end.
As I sat in the passenger seat and fastened my seat belt, Chae Yoo-jeong asked with the corners of his eyes folded.
“Mercenary… you mean Zenoris, right?”
...I didn’t know that Chae Yoo-jeong would bring up Zenoris first.
“That’s right. How did you know?”
“I heard it from Tae-young a while ago. I asked first, and Tae-young just answered.”
He glanced at me as if he was worried that I would be offended.
“That doesn’t matter. It would only be a problem if Tae-young said in an official interview that I was playing Zenoris.”
“Sorry.”
Chae Yoo-jeong started the car and said sullenly as we passed through the front gate.
“I wasn’t thinking straight. For the interview, I contacted the press right away that day and deleted the part related to hyung, so please take a look at it once again.”
“There was no need for that.”
“No. Now that I think about it, it’s not a good idea to watch a video that an unspecified number of people have commented on. Your face will appear there too.”
I also felt uncomfortable about that, so I called Chae Yoo-jeong, but since he sincerely acknowledged his mistake and apologized, I just let it go.
Still, if you can take care of things like this, I’d be happy.
“Okay. Then I won’t worry about it anymore.”
“Yes. Hyung, aren’t you hungry? There’s a restaurant recommended by the director.”
“Where?”
“We have to go up to Gangnam Station, so I think it will take about 30 to 40 minutes. I’ll buy you beef to apologize for the interview.”
“Oh.”
Beef? When it comes to meat, whether it’s pork, beef, or fish, I’d be excited and my eyes sparkled.
How does this guy know that I like beef... He’s so great? I shook off all the remaining discomfort and smiled brightly.
“I like that.”
Chae Yoo-jeong saw my smile and smiled shyly in return, blushing slightly at the tips of her ears.
Chae Yoo-jeong is a year younger than me, but compared to me, who is just a student, he’s a popular professional athlete who has participated in world competitions twice, so I can get this much.
Even the restaurant was recommended by a director who was older than us, which made me believe it even more.
“Actually, I know why you said you were busy last week. Isn’t it because you went to check out a new raid?”
“That’s right. If you want to go to the abyss that appears this week, you have to memorize things like gimmicks in advance at the normal level.”
“You chose the game and abandoned me.”
“What…”
Because it was true, I couldn’t really refute it. Chae Yoo-jeong grumbled in a bitter voice as he stretched out his words and avoided my eyes, looking out the car window.
“I could have bought you beef last week too...”
“.......”
“The reason you rejected me so cruelly was because of the game raid....”
“Stop.”
If I left it alone, he’s going to continue his litany until the third verse, so I finally said something and Chae Yoo-jeong laughed while driving.
‘You’re so handsome.’
The rays of the sunlight faintly fell on Chae Yoo-jeong’s pure white skin. It’s amazing that the facial features are so clear, and the defined lines look so pretty.
Soft hair that sparkled in the light was particularly caught in my field of vision. Below that, a black t-shirt, and a low saturation beige jacket.
“You said you had to go out, was it like an interview again? You’re very dressed up.”
“Ah, this is....”
While the car stopped briefly at a traffic light, Chae Yoo-jeong glanced at his clothes and looked embarrassed.
“I wore it with care because I was meeting Hyung....”
“.......”
I was so surprised by the unexpected words that I couldn’t answer right away, so Chae Yoo-jeong blinked his eyes and hesitated before opening his mouth.
“Does my outfit not look okay?”
“......uh?”
I was so embarrassed that I finally came to my senses and answered like I usually do to my girlfriend.
“No, you look good no matter what you wear.”
“What?”
Ah, shit. I made a mistake.
I felt embarrassed because the topic was too burdensome to have as a conversation between two people who have just met. I was about to apologize and say that I had overstepped, even though it was too late, but then Yoo-jeong’s face, all red, came into view.
“.......”
“.......”
Chae Yoo-jeong, whose neck, face, and even ears were dyed bright red, started the car again with his lips tightly pursed. I also didn’t know what to say, so I crossed my arms and turned my head. An incredibly awkward air settled inside the car.
---
Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor: Meimei
Support on Kofi:
HM: by the time MC realizes that they are the same person, it’s gonna be more embarrassing, Chae Yoo-jeong.
MM: Lol not YC having a meltdown over Ji-han’s automated response
GX: MC is having a gay panic, lovely. I was wondering when it would happen.
We made a Discord Server! please join us!
thank you!! 😍