Chapter 23: My Eyes Had to Pop Wide Open

Still, it was located closer to the city center than my house.

Even though I practically flew there riding the waves of telekinesis, arriving in front of Jin-wook's house—a distance that took 15 minutes—I hesitated for a moment.

Seeing Jin-seong Hyung's car, it seemed he was still home. I wondered if it was okay to call out a kid who was resting, and all sorts of worries bloomed.

'Hmm, I'm here, but what do I do?'

Stomping my feet in hesitation, pondering what to do, I eventually took out my phone.

I didn't want to let anyone else know that I came all the way here for no reason.

[ Uh, what. ]

Judging by the game sounds mixed in with his voice, Jin-wook seemed to be at a PC Bang (Internet Cafe), not home.

When I asked where he was, he told me he was at the PC Bang we used to go to during our school days, just as I expected.

[ The PC Bang I used to go to with the guys back in the day. ]

"Not home?"

[ Yeah. ]

Right.

His home computer wasn't that good.

Honestly, he could have saved up allowance or worked part-time to upgrade it.

But maybe because his parents didn't really like gaming, Jin-wook used to go to PC Bangs whenever he wanted to play.

"Got it. See you in a bit."

[ You're coming too? ]

"Yeah."

[ Why? Your computer at home is good. ]

"I. Am. Going."

When I articulated each syllable coldly, Jin-wook reluctantly said okay and hung up.

Do they sell alcohol at PC Bangs?

It had been so long that I wasn't sure. I searched my memory for the one time I went with Jin-wook in the past, and headed to the neighborhood PC Bang nearby empty-handed.

Sangtteu PC Bang

When I found out that sign belonged to a franchise, I was a bit surprised that PC Bangs had franchises too.

Is this all a memory now?

Giggling to myself, I walked up the stairs, and the familiar sight of the PC Bang I had seen once before came into view.

As I approached, unlike the old days when I had to push the door open, the glass door slid open automatically.

Seeing it changed to an automatic door, I walked in thinking, 'Even if it looks like nothing has changed, small things like this do change.'

'Jin-wook is... over there.'

Since he came to his parents' house after a long time, it seemed he came to the PC Bang with his close hometown friends.

Right now, a popular 5v5 strategic battle game (MOBA) was on his screen.

The only pity was that Jin-wook was sitting in the middle, flanked by two friends, leaving no seat right next to him.

"Hey, fuck, I said go in!"

"Ult and Flash are both on cooldown, go in where?!"

"No, I'm here, you retard! Come on!"

"A Platinum-trash talking back to a Diamond-trash?"

"You damn hard-stuck Yeti bastard, seriously. Oh shit, hey, enemy Jungler is here. Gotta run."

I don't know exactly what they're doing, but seeing the vicious curses flying back and forth, they must be losing.

Thinking roughly like that, I lost interest.

I sat in the empty seat next to the friend sitting on Jin-wook's left and turned on the computer.

'Ah, my account...'

Looking at the login screen, I rolled my memories around.

When I entered the account I made in the past and logged in, the PC Bang UI informed me that I had 15 minutes remaining.

I was amazed that this time still remained.

Wondering why it was still there for a moment, I paid for an additional two hours on the screen and launched the game I play.

'Ha, this is it (Yas).'

Seeing my character standing there holding a sword, showing off a noble posture with a cold expression, I logged into the game thinking I really did a great job with the character customization.

Looking at my character standing in the village, I zoned out for a moment staring at the screen, wondering what to do first.

'Daily quests first...'

I moved the mouse to change the camera angle and pressed the keyboard to start moving the character.

Although hidden by cosmetic items, my character was actually armed with all sorts of P2W (Pay-to-Win) items. Soon, I began slaughtering monsters for the daily quest.

One sword slash, one monster dead.

Normal mobs stood no chance against my character, which was plastered with expensive cash items to raid strong bosses.

"Wow, look at that damage..."

Startled by a voice from the side as if possessed, I turned my head. The guy acted as if the sound I just heard was fake.

I could see Jin-wook's friend focusing on his game again.

He probably turned his head hurriedly seeing me flinch.

"Hey Kim Soo-hwan, what are you doing? You died, fuck seriously."

"Sorry. Zoned out for a sec."

"This bastard always zones out at the most important moments. That's why you're a Yeti."

"Yeah, shut up Platinum mouth."

"Yeah, better than someone who hasn't even smelled Master tier air."

"You two haven't seen each other in a while and your madness has relapsed."

Then, shifting blame for the earlier death and evasion began.

After swearing at each other, the narration voice [ Defeat ] rang out.

While they were clicking their mice arguing who did well and who didn't, Jin-wook's voice reached my ears.

"Uh, what the. Hwang Eun-ha. If you came, you should have said so."

You only recognized me now?

Well, I also ignore people calling me from the side when I'm focusing on a boss raid, so it wasn't understandable.

"Wait a sec."

The problem is, I am doing that boss raid right now.

A boss that normal players would raid in a party, I was soloing.

The keyboard was being tapped as if playing a semi-performance, changing the viewpoint with the mouse to deflect blades, and right-clicking.

Every time an attack opportunity came, my character's blade landed precise critical hits, gradually shaving down the boss's massive HP bar.

[ One strike, two halves. ]

[ I will cut you along with space itself. ]

[ Is this all you've got? ]

...Ah, shit.

I should have turned off the character voice lines.

The voice actor's performance is really cool, but the problem was that this is a PC Bang.

"Wow, fuck, no wonder you had no money back then."

At Jin-wook's dumbfounded voice, I wanted to ask if he understood the aesthetics of P2W, but...

I am currently in the middle of a sacred Boss Raid.

Because of the unfamiliar equipment (keyboard/mouse), I died three times due to ridiculous mistakes, so I tried hard to ignore the nagging coming from the side.

"Fuck, this RNG pattern bullshit boss seriously!"

BANG!

Of course, there was no rule saying I wouldn't make mistakes two more times.

Watching myself kneel miserably before the Knight Commander boss character who summoned countless bullshit subordinates, I ended up shotgunning (slamming) the keyboard.

I quickly shrank back at the gazes gathering from around me.

"Ack, wow, you curse really well. You weren't like that at home."

"...So."

But the real problem was something else.

Originally, a female college student of my beauty is a creature that men find difficult to approach easily.

Jin-wook treats me without hesitation because he knows what kind of existence I originally was, but to his friends who hadn't even seen my face before, I was like an unreachable ideal.

"Did you two know each other?"

"Yes."

I affirmed Jin-wook's friend's words without thinking, and only realized what I had done after thinking for a moment.

Thinking of the arrows of interrogation that would fly not at me, but at Jin-wook, I apologized to him inwardly.

'Jin-wook-ah, sorry. Hehet.'

Of course, I had the ability to avoid immediate suffering.

Since they wouldn't openly ask things like how we met in front of me, I suggested we leave after I finished the boss.

It took time for the three of them to play two more games while I ran the boss, and only then could we leave the PC Bang.

"Ah, these bastards seriously suck, for real."

Of course, they ruined both games.

On the other hand, perhaps awakened by the experience of failing the first boss clear, I was able to smash all the remaining bosses in one try.

Unlike me, who came out in a good mood, the three of them looked like their friendship had been destroyed to some extent.

"Hey, anyway, I'll contact you when I get home."

"Okay."

"Log in later."

Not only that, thanks to me saying I would borrow Jin-wook, he could escape the immediate annoyance.

He can just ignore texts or calls appropriately later.

"But what brings you to the PC Bang? It's quite a distance from here to your house."

"Just..."

I was about to say that you were the one who came to mind when I got hurt by my brother, but I stopped.

It's not like I'm a girl in love.

I felt like I needed to do something about this dependency of mine.

"Should I go to a psychiatrist?"

"What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden."

"Just, wondered if I should."

We entered a convenience store near the PC Bang together, grabbed a pack of dried filefish (Jwipo) and two cans of beer, and headed to the counter.

Jin-wook tackled me, "What alcohol again from lunch time?"

But seeing me spout nonsense, he seemed to feel that I wasn't in my right mind, so he didn't put the brakes on any further.

"I'm only going to drink this."

"Where? At my house?"

"Are you crazy? Cracking open beer in front of your parents?"

And you, you eat well when I buy it for you.

Why are you nagging and bullshitting when you like it when I pay?

"If I get drunk and spout nonsense in front of your parents like, 'What about my virginity?' or 'I gave it to you,' can you handle it?"

"Hey, you shi..."

"If not, shut up and follow me, Mr. Jung Jin-wook who took his friend's virginity."

At the sudden mention of that incident, Jin-wook made a flustered expression and gestured for me to stop.

Since we were out of the convenience store anyway, who would be watching?

The place I headed to was a park not too far from Jin-wook's house.

It wasn't that big, but it was tucked away in a corner, and not many people came by, so it wasn't a bad place to have a can of beer as an accompaniment.

"What, aren't you drinking?"

"No. Day drinking is a bit..."

"Unexpected coming from the bastard who lived like he owned the world when he first entered college."

"Back then, I really didn't see anything else."

When I teased him playfully, Jin-wook sighed softly and made a face contemplating how he had lived his life.

"Doesn't seem like there's much difference now either, though."

"..."

Originally, the relationship between me and Jin-wook was one where I relied on him unilaterally, and Jin-wook embraced me and kept me from going astray.

Absolutely not lovers, but a relationship like a precarious friend and a pillar supporting him?

Though, it seems something changed slightly after that day.

"Anyway, something happened again, didn't it."

"I don't know. If you say it's big, it's big, if you say it's not, it's nothing."

"You don't know what expression you're making right now, do you?"

Anyway, Jin-wook seemed to intuit that my condition wasn't good again and asked cautiously.

I just smirked at Jin-wook's words.

"My brother said he Awakened."

Actually, I intended to talk while sipping slowly.

But feeling like I couldn't just do that, I downed a whole can of beer in one shot and opened the can Jin-wook rejected.

Since I only bought two cans, perhaps thinking I wouldn't drink much, Jin-wook didn't show signs of stopping me.

He just showed an attitude of listening to my story.

"Jae-hyun did?"

"Said he's E-Class. But apparently, the government is making some Hunter Academy. He seemed to be aiming to be the first batch of students there."

"Really? But considering the pain you went through, that's not..."

"You don't trust it either, right?"

Jin-wook nodded at my words.

Even though it wasn't intentional, unlike me who lived practically cutting off contact...

He, who probably contacted Jae-hyun more often, seemed to be hearing this for the first time too.

"So I opposed it, and he came at me."

"This bastard..."

"Don't be too angry, though. He's still a high school student. He's never experienced the industry and doesn't know well, so that's probably why."

But looking at my face as I spoke calmly, Jin-wook seemed to intuit that something had happened.

He didn't say it explicitly out of consideration for me, but seeing him make a face like he was going to have a word with Jae-hyun, I asked cautiously.

"But, I didn't know how to persuade him. I wanted to hold him back and stop him like a Hyung (Big Brother) would, but since high school, I've been a Noona (Big Sister), not a Hyung."

"So you want me to talk to him nicely as a Hyung?"

"Well. Since we're talking about it, I'd appreciate it if you did. And honestly, no one else comes to mind to talk about this with except you."

Eventually, having poured out my inner feelings to him, I smiled bashfully in front of Jin-wook.

Maybe because a little alcohol went in.

Even though I revealed my inner thoughts easier than I expected, somehow my mood felt quite light.

"Eun-ha-ya."

"Huh?"

It was only for a very brief moment.

I just turned my head slightly at Jin-wook's call.

But at what happened immediately after, I had to open my eyes wide, looking at Jin-wook's face close before my eyes.

"Mmm?"

Another person's lips were touching mine.

A sensation I hadn't felt since that day, and hadn't wanted to feel, was being felt.