Ch.102102 – Girlfriend 5

# 102 – Girlfriend # 5

I brushed my teeth, flossed, and even used mouthwash.

Hah-

Just to be sure, I breathed into my palm and smelled it—perfectly fresh.

Before leaving home, I checked my appearance one more time.

Black t-shirt, black shorts, white socks, and white sneakers.

With the hip pack on, I looked pretty decent.

Of course, Yang Juhui absolutely hated me wearing this bag.

She said it was weird.

—Hey! Throw that bag away! It looks like a total rag!

Throw it away?

This bag contained a flashlight, lighter, phone charger, emergency food in case something happened, a box cutter, and other essential items.

If I got into an accident while wandering outside, the contents of this bag would help me.

Ever since I started getting attacked by ghosts, I couldn’t feel safe without it.

“Alright. I’m heading out.”

“Son, have fun! Make sure to use protection! Put this in your wallet! It’s a good luck charm!”

“Ah! Damn it! It’s not like that!”

Having to get irritated first thing in the morning.

Looking at the strange object that ended up in my wallet, I felt incredibly annoyed.

I almost threw it away at the utility pole in front of our house… but I put it back in my wallet.

“I shouldn’t litter.”

Unlike yesterday’s blazing sunshine, today the weather was quite cool.

Nice weather.

I went to the front of the school.

We were supposed to meet at 10, but I must have been too eager because I arrived at 9:30.

While wondering if I should look at my phone for the 30 minutes I had to wait, I spotted a woman who seemed both unfamiliar and familiar standing at the school gate.

She wore a beret, glasses, a logo t-shirt, jogger pants that tightened at the ankles, and comfortable white sneakers.

She looked like someone who might enjoy basketball, and her outfit was unfamiliar.

But her considerable size, which couldn’t be hidden even by the loose t-shirt, revealed her identity.

“Um…”

“Ah!”

Kwon Sua startled.

I was surprised too.

So Kwon Sua wears glasses.

“Oh, these? I thought someone might recognize me, so they’re non-prescription glasses.”

Sua explained about her glasses even though I hadn’t asked.

Indeed, both the hat and glasses seemed good for hiding her identity.

I wouldn’t have expected her to be at the school from 9:30 when our meeting time was 10.

I asked her:

“How long have you been here?”

“Since 9. I somehow ended up leaving too early…”

…Hehehe—she laughed somewhat awkwardly.

A woman who arrived an hour earlier than our appointment.

Not 10 or 20 minutes early, but a whole hour?

While I was slightly taken aback, Sua asked:

“So what are we doing today?”

“Ah. Today we’re going to… um…”

I felt like the moment of truth had arrived, and after hesitating several times, I finally managed to say what I had practiced and reviewed repeatedly since last night.

“Well then… let’s go to an internet cafe.”

“…What?”

Under her beret, beyond her glasses, Sua’s expression shifted strangely.

My lips suddenly felt very dry.

“Ah… internet cafe.”

What kind of reaction is this?

Is it good or bad?

Yu Dahui and Yang Juhui said there’s no better place for high school students to date than an internet cafe.

Soon Sua asked:

“Really?”

Should I suggest going to the zoo instead?

After much deliberation, I made my decision.

“There’s a place nearby that costs only 1,000 won per hour. Not many people there either. And it’s a bit much to wander around outside in summer, right?”

# # #

The internet cafe was comfortable.

The one near school didn’t have many customers, probably because of summer vacation.

We sat in what could be called a corner, but Sua’s behavior was extremely awkward.

“How do I turn on this computer? I can’t see the tower…”

“The tower is underneath, so if you press this power button, it turns on.”

Woooong-

The computer turned on.

Sua seemed like she had never been to an internet cafe before.

What reason would an idol, the epitome of popularity, have to visit an internet cafe?

Today would be an unfamiliar experience for Sua in many ways.

I even helped her register for an internet cafe membership.

After various twists and turns, we finally reached the desktop.

I agonized over what game to play with Sua, who was visiting an internet cafe for the first time.

Should we play Minecraft, which even elementary school students can play?

Or maybe Overwatch, which many girls play too?

While I was deep in thought, Sua said:

“…Should we play League? Do you play League, Yeongwon? I heard many people play it…”

“League?”

Oh, shit.

Play League with a girl who’s never been to an internet cafe before?

Should we fight against AI?

Countless obstacles flashed through my mind.

Alright.

If she wants to play, we should.

I’m just a tool today.

A tool for Sua’s introduction to internet cafes and League.

I’d have to create an ID for her first.

While thinking this, Sua smoothly entered an ID and password and logged into the game with a familiar ease. I was surprised.

“You have a League ID?”

“I play League.”

Whaaaat-

That was an unexpected response.

“Then what’s your lane and tier…?”

“Well, I’m not that good…”

Sua seemed slightly embarrassed.

I figured she’d probably play support or something.

But I heard an unexpected answer.

“I’m not that good… mid lane, Master…”

Wait, Master is… several tiers higher than my Platinum.

A Master mid-laner.

Is this even possible?

While I was in shock, Sua said:

“Until elementary school, I just played games at home…”

Is that even possible?

I felt like my worldview and common sense were being completely overturned.

Sua’s nickname was “Regional Power Mid.”

She really was several tiers higher than me at Master, and because of this difference, we couldn’t play ranked games together even if we duo queued.

The tier difference prevented us from playing together.

As a result, we just played normal games, and Sua admired my Nasus.

“Wow, it’s amazing that you only play top lane, and even more 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.

The situation of playing a normal game with an idol felt more surreal than encountering ghosts. What am I doing right now?

“The mid and jungle are coming top! Top! Jungle is coming top now! Dodge! To the left! To the tower!”

“Ah… aah, yes.”

In the end, we cleanly won the first game.

And we kept winning the games after that too.

It was a time when life felt unfair, making me think talented people are good at everything they do.

“Wow, this is my first time eating internet cafe ramen. So they 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 at most restaurants…”

Slurp, slurp-

We also ate ramen.

Sua seemed very excited.

Yu Dahui and Yang Juhui’s advice that an internet cafe date was much better than a zoo date turned out to be correct.

Indeed, women understand women’s hearts best.

Anyway, I learned that although Sua had never been to an internet cafe before, she was a homebody who often played games at home. Even while being active as an idol, she played various games when she wasn’t out and about.

I thought she would go to elegant cafes to take pictures and post them, or have home parties with other celebrities, so this was quite unexpected.

Yang Juhui’s words, “Hey, they eat, sleep, and poop just like us,” were actually true.

Just a person.

Looking without prejudice, she seemed like someone I could have met once while gaming without it being strange.

Of course, the probability of meeting in ranked games was low due to our tier difference.

“Actually, I don’t really like going outside. People recognize me too much, so it’s hard to do anything comfortably.”

The hardships of a celebrity, I see.

Contrary to my slight worries, the internet cafe date was successful.

Before I knew it, it was already evening.

“I had fun today.”

I escorted Sua to her officetel.

I had fun too.

“I learned a lot thanks to you, Sua. Like how I have too many unnecessary clicks…”

I feel like I might be able to escape Platinum this summer vacation.

As we were about to part, Sua asked me:

“So when will you give me an answer?”

By answer, she must mean a response to her confession.

I thought dragging out the answer any longer would be unmanly.

“If we start dating, can you do everything I tell you to?”

“…What?”

Sua asked back, seemingly flustered.

Her face turned bright red.

“Since we’d be dating, skinship would naturally happen, but… if it’s too early, it might be a bit embarrassing…”

Sua seemed to have misunderstood something.

I added with a serious expression:

“I’m asking if you would die for me if I asked you to.”

“……”

Sua made a subtle expression at my words.

She didn’t readily answer.

Though I didn’t show it much, she might have thought I was asking a strange question.

In the end, that was the extent of the relationship between Sua and me.

I don’t know how things might change as we get to know each other more, but at least for now, the relationship between Sua and me was just that.

A relationship where we couldn’t even play duo ranked games together.

The tier difference in our lives was too great.

I was someone who could die at any moment 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 without much talent like me, it was too much of a gamble and a reckless thing to do.

“…Then at least as friends…”

Sua slightly lowered her tail.

I had to say 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 would be better for you too, Sua. I can’t tell you exactly why… but being with me puts your life in danger.”

# # #

“You got rejected? Puhahah!”

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 I’d like anyone to share this pain, I called an acquaintance.

Yang Juhui burst into laughter after hearing my story.

“Hey! Don’t tell me you got rejected because you suggested an internet cafe date? Did she say internet cafe dates aren’t stylish enough?”

Yang Juhui laughed so hard there were tears in her eyes.

I shook my head.

“No. The internet cafe date was successful.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Just like you and Dahui said, she thought it was better than wandering outside—cooler and nicer. She was really good at games too. Said she was originally a homebody.”

“What the hell…”

Yang Juhui 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 Juhui looked at me like she was seeing a real lunatic.

But from my perspective, I had to ask.

“You know my situation is special. If someone wants to be my girlfriend, she needs to be a woman who knows how to sacrifice for me. And be prepared to die…”

“Hey, she’s not your mother. What girl would die for you?”

Yang Juhui lashed out at me.

She seemed unable to hold back her criticism of my foolish behavior.

I felt some regret for rejecting an idol’s confession, but… the die was already cast. I decided not to worry about it anymore.

She would probably forget someone like me soon anyway.

“Well, whatever. What idol anyway. Even if you had dated, you live in such different worlds that it wouldn’t have lasted long. Sigh, I’m hungry, let’s eat ramen. I’ll buy.”

I ate the cup ramen Yang Juhui bought me and went home.

With the fan on and a full stomach, I felt sleepy.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a dark corridor.

“…Another Random Matching. Finally, it’s here.”

Three weeks.

It had been 21 days since the last Random Matching.

Coincidence?

Or does Random Matching occur on a 21-day cycle?

“Anyway, I know what I need to do.”

I thought it would be best to head underground first.

If someone had fallen into this Random Matching on the way, I should join them. With that thought, I was wandering around the first floor when someone suddenly jumped out from a locker in the corridor and startled me.

“Excuse me!”

“Aack!”

I was really startled by the person who suddenly appeared.

It was because I had let my guard down, thinking there would be no more variables on the first floor.

After almost doing a backflip in surprise, I regained my composure to find “Regional Power Mid,” whom I had seen plenty of today, casting her shadow in front of me.

“…Kwon Sua?”

“…What is this place? Do you know what’s going on? I was definitely washing up and going to bed… but when I opened my eyes, I was in a place like this…”

Sua seemed to be in a state of panic.

Honestly, I was panicking too.

This is indeed Random Matching, but…

“Hello? Is anyone there? Is nobody there? I said, is anyone there! Hello?”

Just then, an unfamiliar woman’s voice was heard from down the corridor.

Sua grabbed my arm.

“We need to hide! If she shouts like that… those people will come!”

Hide? Those people?

Sua pushed me into a locker.

Both Sua and I were now hiding in the locker together. When a softness I had never felt before pressed against my chest, I was flustered in many ways.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Someone began to pass by the locker where we were hiding.

It was a woman I didn’t know.

“That person… she was the part-timer at the internet cafe when we went.”

The internet cafe part-timer?

The internet cafe 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!”

Besides the internet cafe part-timer, someone else shouted in a loud, bright voice 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 sound and struck the internet cafe part-timer’s head with what looked like a club.

Thwack-!

It happened in an instant.

“Kyaah! S-stop! Aaah! Aaah! Argh, ack, ugh, huh… gack…”

The internet cafe part-timer screamed at the one-sided violence, writhing her body before eventually becoming still.

Murder. As that thought crossed my mind, the murderer, with blood all over her face, swung the club from side to side and shouted:

“Yerin! I killed another one! Come quickly!”

“That bitch Lim Huiyeon is going wild. Check her pockets. There might be something good.”

“Nah, nothing. Looks like she couldn’t steal anything. Not even a lighter. Poor bitch.”

I felt my blood run cold.

For some reason, Lim Huiyeon and Gong Yerin were killing people in the Nightmare Corridor.