Chapter 102
I brushed my teeth, flossed, and even used mouthwash.
Ha-
Just in case, I breathed into my palm and smelled it - it was very fresh.
Before leaving home, I checked my outfit one more time. Black short-sleeved shirt, black shorts, white socks, and white sneakers.
With the hip pack on, I looked pretty decent.
Of course, Yang Juhee hated that I wore this bag. She said it was weird.
─Hey! Throw away that bag! It's totally trashy!
Throw it away?
This bag contained items like a flashlight, lighter, phone charger, emergency food, and a box cutter just in case.
If something happened to me while I was out, the contents of this bag would help me. Ever since I started getting attacked by ghosts, I can't feel at ease without it.
"Alright. I'm heading out."
"Son, have a good time! Make sure to use protection! Put this in your wallet! It's a lucky charm!"
"Ah! Damn it! It's not like that!"
Having to get annoyed first thing in the morning, I felt my blood boil looking at the strange object that ended up in my wallet.
I thought about throwing it away at the utility pole in front of the house... but I just put it back in my wallet.
"I shouldn't litter."
Unlike yesterday's blazing sun, today's weather was quite cool. It's a nice day.
I went to the front of the school.
The meeting time was 10 o'clock, but I must have been too eager because I arrived at 9.30.
I was thinking about looking at my phone while waiting for 30 minutes, but I saw an unfamiliar yet familiar woman standing in front of the school gate.
She was wearing a bucket hat, glasses, a t-shirt with a logo, jogger pants that tightened at the ankles, and comfortable-looking white sneakers.
She looked like she might enjoy basketball, and her outfit was unfamiliar. But her sizable chest, which couldn't be hidden even by the loose t-shirt, revealed her identity.
"Um..."
"Ah!"
Kwon Sua was startled. I was surprised too.
So Kwon Sua wears glasses.
"Oh, these? They're non-prescription glasses, just in case someone recognizes me."
Kwon Sua explained about the glasses even though I hadn't asked. Indeed, both the hat and glasses looked good for hiding her identity.
To think she'd been at the school since 9.30 when our meeting time was 10 o'clock.
I asked.
"How long have you been here?"
"Since 9 o'clock. I ended up leaving too early..."
...She laughed with a somewhat embarrassed feeling. A woman who came an hour earlier than the appointment.
Not 10 or 20 minutes, but an hour? As I was slightly flustered, Kwon Sua asked.
"So what are we doing today?"
"Ah. Today we're... um..."
I felt like the moment had come, and after hesitating several times on the tip of my tongue, I managed to say the words I had practiced and reviewed so much since last night.
"Well then... let's go to a PC room."
"...What?"
Under the bucket hat, beyond the glasses, Kwon Sua's expression spread strangely. It was a moment when my lips suddenly felt dry for no reason.
"Ah... PC room."
What kind of reaction is this? Is this good or bad?
Yoo Dahee and Yang Juhee said there's no better place for high school students to date than a PC room.
Soon, Kwon Sua asked.
"Really?"
Should I suggest going to the zoo instead? After pondering for a while, I came to a conclusion.
"There's a place nearby that's 1,000 won per hour. Not many people there either. It's a bit much to wander around outside in summer, right?"
***
The PC room was comfortable.
The PC room in front of the school didn't have many customers, probably because of the vacation. We sat in what could be called a fairly secluded spot, but Kwon Sua's behavior was very awkward.
"How do you turn on this computer? I can't see the tower..."
"The tower is underneath, so if you press this power button here, it turns on."
Whirr-
The computer turned on. Kwon Sua seemed like it was her first time ever in a PC room.
What reason would an idol, the epitome of an insider, have to come to a PC room? Today's experience would be unfamiliar in many ways for Kwon Sua too.
I even helped her sign up for a PC room membership.
After some twists and turns, we finally reached the desktop.
I racked my brains, feeling like my hair was falling out, trying to figure out what game to play with Kwon Sua, who was in a PC room for the first time.
Should we play Minecraft, which even elementary school kids can play? Or should I have her try something like Overwatch that many girls play too?
As I was pondering deeply, Kwon Sua said.
"...Then shall we play LoL? Do you play LoL, Young-won? I heard a lot of people play it..."
"LoL?"
Oh, shit.
Play LoL with a girl who's in a PC room for the first time?
Should we fight against AIs?
Countless hurdles flashed through my mind.
Alright.
If she wants to play, we should. I'm a tool today.
A tool for Kwon Sua's introduction to PC rooms and LoL.
I should start by making her an ID.
As I was thinking this, Kwon Sua smoothly entered an ID and password and logged into the game with a familiar feeling. I was surprised.
"You have a LoL ID?"
"I play LoL."
Boing-
It was an unexpected response.
"Then what's your lane and tier...?"
"Well, I'm not that good..."
Kwon Sua looked slightly embarrassed. I bet she plays something like support?
I thought that, but I heard an unexpected answer.
"I'm not that good... Mid, Master..."
Wait, Master is... several tiers higher than my Platinum. A Master mid-laner.
How is this possible?
As I was feeling shocked, Kwon Sua said.
"Up until elementary school, I only played games at home..."
How is that possible? It felt like my worldview and common sense were being completely overturned.
Kwon Sua's nickname was "Regional Power-level Mid".
She really was in Master tier, several levels higher than me, and because of this difference, we couldn't play ranked games together even if we duoed.
We couldn't play together because of the tier difference. Because of that, we just played normal games, and Kwon Sua admired my Nasus.
"Wow, it's amazing that you only play top, and it's amazing that you only play Nasus. Don't you get bored playing just one character?"
"Every moment is thrilling."
Ding-
The game queue finally popped. I felt that playing a normal game with an idol was more surreal than struggling with ghosts. What am I doing right now?
"Mid and jungle are coming top now! Top! Jungle is coming top now! Dodge! To the left! To the tower!"
"Ah... Aah, okay."
In the end, we cleanly won the first game. We kept winning the games after that too.
It was a time when life felt unfair, thinking that talented people are good at whatever they do.
"Wow, this is my first time eating PC room ramen. They actually boil the ramen and bring it to you. Wow... How can there be so many menu items...? It seems like there are more options than in most restaurants..."
Slurp, slurp-
We ate ramen too. Kwon Sua was very excited.
Yoo Dahee and Yang Juhee's advice that a PC room date was much better than a zoo date turned out to be right.
Indeed, women do understand women's hearts better.
Anyway, I learned that although Kwon Sua had never been to a PC room before, she was a homebody who often played games at home. Even while doing idol activities, she played various games when she wasn't out and about.
I thought she'd go to elegant cafes to take pictures and post them, or have home parties with other celebrities, so it was quite unexpected.
Yang Juhee's words, "Hey, they eat, sleep, and poop just like us," were really true. Just a person.
Looking at her without preconceptions, she seemed like someone I could have met once while gaming without it being strange.
Of course, the chances were high that we wouldn't have met in ranked games because our tiers were different.
"Actually, I don't really like going out. People recognize me too much, so it's hard to do anything comfortably."
The struggles of a celebrity, I see. Unlike my slight worries, the PC room date was successful.
Before I knew it, it was already evening.
"I had fun today."
I walked Kwon Sua back to her officetel. I had fun too.
"I learned a lot thanks to you too, Sua. Like how I have a lot of unnecessary clicks..."
I feel like I might be able to escape Platinum this vacation. As we were about to part, Kwon Sua asked me.
"So when will you give me an answer?"
By answer, she must mean the response to her confession. I thought it wasn't manly to keep dragging out the answer.
"If we start dating, can you do everything I tell you to?"
"...What?"
Kwon Sua asked back, seemingly flustered. Her face turned bright red.
"Since we'd be dating, skinship would happen naturally... but if it's too early, it might be a bit embarrassing..."
Kwon Sua seemed to have misunderstood something. I added with a serious expression.
"I mean, if I ask you to die for me, could you do it?"
"......"
Kwon Sua made a subtle expression at my words. She didn't answer readily.
Although I didn't show it much outwardly, she might have thought inwardly that it was a strange question.
In the end, that was the extent of the relationship between Kwon Sua and me.
I don't know how it might change as we get to know each other more over time, but at least for now, the relationship between Kwon Sua and me was just that.
A relationship where we couldn't even play ranked duo games together. The tier difference in life was too great.
I was someone who might die at any time if two quirks accumulated. Ever since the "Random Matching" variable appeared, I've been sleeping in tension every day.
In such a situation, having a girlfriend... honestly, for someone unskilled like me, it was too much of a gamble and a reckless thing to do.
"...Then can we at least be friends...?"
Kwon Sua slightly lowered her tail. I had to utter words that I might regret for the rest of my life.
"...No, I'd prefer if we didn't get involved from now on. That's better for you too, Sua. I can't explain exactly... but if you're with me, your life could be in danger."
***
"You got rejected? Hahaha!"
11 PM.
In front of the convenience store near home. With a troubled mind, I couldn't go home and wandered around the neighborhood before settling at the convenience store.
Heartbreak. Thinking it would be nice if someone could share this pain, I called an acquaintance.
Yang Juhee burst out laughing after hearing my story.
"Hey! Don't tell me you got rejected because you suggested a date at a PC room? Did she say she didn't like PC room dates because they're not stylish?"
Yang Juhee laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes. I shook my head.
"No. The PC room date was successful."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. Like you and Dahee said, she said it was cooler and better than wandering outside. She was really good at games too. Said she was originally a homebody."
"What the... no way..."
Yang Juhee frowned. Was there something she didn't like?
"...Then why did you get rejected?"
"I asked if she could die for me. She couldn't answer."
"What? You crazy bastard. Why would you ask something like that?"
Yang Juhee looked at me with an expression like she was seeing a real lunatic. But from my perspective, I had to ask.
"You know too. That my situation is special. If someone's going to be my girlfriend, she needs to be a woman who knows how to sacrifice for me. And she needs to be prepared for death too..."
"Hey, she's not your mom, what girl would die for you?"
Yang Juhee lashed out at me. She seemed unable to hold back from cursing because my behavior was so foolish.
I felt a bit of regret for rejecting an idol's confession... but the die was already cast. I decided not to worry about it anymore.
She'll probably forget someone like me quickly anyway.
"Well, whatever, what idol anyway. Even if you had dated, you wouldn't have lasted long because your worlds are too different. Sigh, I'm hungry, let's eat ramen. Noona will buy it for you."
I ate the cup ramen Yang Juhee bought me and went home. With the cool fan on and a full stomach, I felt sleepy.
When I opened my eyes like that, I was in a dark corridor.
"...It's Random Matching again. Finally, it's come."
Three weeks. It had been 21 days since the last Random Matching.
Coincidence? Or had Random Matching started occurring on a 21-day cycle?
"Anyway, what I need to do is set."
I thought it would be best to head to the basement first.
If there was someone who had fallen into this Random Matching on the way, I should join up with them. With that thought, I was wandering around the first floor when someone suddenly jumped out of a locker in the corridor and startled me.
"Excuse me!"
"Aah!"
I was really surprised by the person who suddenly jumped out.
It was because I had let my guard down, thinking there would be no more variables on the first floor.
After stumbling back almost like a backflip, I came to my senses and saw "Regional Power-level Mid," whom I had seen plenty of today, casting a shadow in front of me.
"...Kwon Sua?"
"...What is this place? Do you know what's going on? I definitely washed up and went to sleep... but when I opened my eyes, I was in a place like this..."
Kwon Sua seemed to be in almost a panic state. Honestly, I was panicking too.
This is Random Matching, but...
"Hello? Is anyone there? Is there no one? I said, is there anyone! Hello?"
Just then, an unfamiliar woman's voice was heard from down the corridor.
Kwon Sua grabbed my arm.
"We need to hide! If she shouts like that... those people will come!"
Hide? Those people? Kwon Sua pushed me into a locker.
Both Kwon Sua and I were now hiding in the locker. It was a moment of confusion in many ways, with an unfamiliar softness pressing against my chest with surprising force.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Someone started passing by the locker we were hiding in. It was a woman I didn't know.
"That person... she was the part-timer when we went to the PC room."
PC room part-timer? The PC room part-timer fell into Random Matching?
"Over here! Come this way! No, we'll come to you! Stay right there! It's dangerous to wander around here carelessly!"
Besides the PC room part-timer, there must have been someone else, as a loud, bright voice shouted from far away.
It might have been my imagination, but it was a familiar voice.
Soon, someone came running down the corridor with a thud-thud-thud, and then hit the PC room part-timer's head with something like a club they were holding.
Thwack-!
It happened in an instant.
"Kyaa! S-stop! Aah! Aah! Ugh, ack, urk, hu... gack..."
The PC room part-timer screamed and writhed under the one-sided violence, then soon stopped moving.
Murder. As that thought flashed through my mind, the murderer with blood all over their face swung the club left and right and shouted.
"Ye-rin! I killed another person! Come quickly!"
"That bitch Im Hee-yeon, she's gone wild. Check her pockets. There might be something good."
"Ah, nothing. Looks like she hadn't looted anything. Not even a common lighter. Broke bitch."
I felt the blood in my whole body turn cold.
For some reason, Im Hee-yeon and Gong Ye-rin were killing people in the Nightmare Corridor.