Chapter 19: Because I have a chronic illness

I went out for an IRL fight and ended up meeting a classmate from my department I’m not even close with—here’s the story.  

It wasn’t just a random encounter on the street.  

It was the actual person I’d agreed to meet for the fight.  

No misunderstanding—this was the real IceIcicle who’d hurled insults at me.  

We decided to head to a café to talk first.  

***

Man, this is freaking awkward…  

Personally, I like cafés.  

It’s not home, but it’s got a personal space of sorts, decent desserts, and drinks that help get the brain going.  

Seol Yeonhwa, the genius of the Blue Tower, preferred cafés if she had to meet someone outside.  

To be precise, she disliked everywhere else so much that meeting at a café felt like the only option.  

It’s a place where you can zone out guilt-free, living true to that vibe, and while it’s not as comfy as her own room, it has a relaxed atmosphere.  

Even if it served as a bit of an escape, this time too, instead of wandering around outside, she headed to a secluded corner of the café.  

‘Gasp, I can’t breathe.’  

The hand gripping the mug handle trembled faintly.  

Seol Yeonhwa subtly shifted her gaze, avoiding eye contact with the guy across from her.  

It wasn’t that the guy in front of her was scary.  

She’d just come out to fight for her dignity in a virtual world, only to run into a real-world human, and it threw her off completely.  

They’d bickered over game chat, but who’d have thought it’d be someone she knew…  

They’d never even had a proper conversation, so they weren’t close, but still, it wasn’t pleasant to have virtual karma spill into reality.  

‘…How?’  

How could something like this even happen?  

Seol Yeonhwa shut her eyes tightly.  

She tended to throw out slightly—or pretty—harsh words in chat, but this was the first time she’d actively set up a real-life meetup.  

She’d threatened “Let’s fight IRL if you’ve got a problem” before, but today was genuinely her first time following through.  

And her first meetup lands her a reality jackpot!  

It wasn’t enough to drive her nuts with frustration, but she couldn’t help resenting the damn sky.  

If it’d happened on her fifth or sixth meetup, maybe it wouldn’t feel so unfair.  

But to find out he’s an apartment neighbor, an academy classmate—same department, same class even?  

‘I’m fucked, so fucked.’  

Seol Yeonhwa sipped her coffee with a shaky hand, reflecting on her mistake.  

Sure, stepping up for an IRL fight was a misstep in hindsight, but there had to have been a better way than just slapping on a mask and showing up.  

“…Haa.”  

She knew she was somewhat famous—or would become even more so later.  

That’s why she’d stripped off anything that’d mark her as a Blue Tower mage or an academy student before coming out.  

It wasn’t about fearing gossip—she just didn’t want to see community tabloids later saying stuff like “Saw a Blue Tower mage while gaming LOL” or “Met an academy student with powers LOL.”  

Her plan was to hide all traces of her identity, meet in reality, and overwhelm them with magic right off the bat.  

Like, “Mess with me carelessly, and if I show up in real life, you’re screwed from now on.”  

She’d intended to teach them a lesson so they’d never dare mess with her in-game again…  

But how, how did it turn out like this?  

‘Damn it.’  

She should’ve wrapped herself head-to-toe so no one could recognize her as a classmate.  

Or cast an illusion spell or something.  

Not showing up for the fight at all would’ve been the smart choice, but there were circumstances.  

-Cackle cackle cackle!  

-Haha! How long are you gonna make me shoulder-dance, you lazy pig!  

She could handle them barging into her jungle to harass her at random times.  

She could even tolerate them spamming emotes and shuffling over her corpse.  

-Bwahahaha!  

-Should I kick you with my paws? Nah, I don’t wanna!  

But when they did it dozens of times over 40 minutes, she couldn’t help turning into a demon.  

[Stardust: “Easy.”]  

Yeah, I had no choice but to become a demon.  

Realizing this IRL fight was an inevitable encounter, Seol Yeonhwa felt a surge of frustration and glared at the guy sitting across from her.  

A man with an equally awkward expression.  

Shin Yuseong.  

The polite pretty boy, top of the level test.  

He was a campus celebrity in a different way, with a different vibe from Seol Yeonhwa herself.  

Not yet famous outside the school, but within the academy, he had an untouchable level of influence.  

[“Oh, saw the hot guy.”]  

[“You’ve discovered the lucky hot guy totem!”]  

The moment he’s spotted on the street, it’s chaos.  

That kind of popularity or reaction wasn’t something she envied.  

Even now, she was ignoring the old fogies from the Magic Tower whining about researching magic together.  

Thanks to years of proven work and market evaluation, she—the genius of ice magic dubbed the Fire Goddess—outranked him by far.  

Yet Seol Yeonhwa held the man in front of her, Shin Yuseong, in high regard.  

Not just because he topped the level test, but because the mana barrier enveloping his body right now was truly astonishing.  

A single test could be luck or good condition.  

But that kind of skill?

It could only come from years of honed ability and overwhelming talent.  

Though they’d never spoken, she’d always respected and admired Shin Yuseong for maintaining such prowess effortlessly.  

‘But to think we’d meet like this…!’  

Seol Yeonhwa cursed fate once again.  

And she felt a slight disappointment in Shin Yuseong for showing up to a place like this.  

‘Why would a guy risk coming to an IRL fight?’  

It wasn’t some sexist thought—more like a purely gamer-driven sentiment:  

‘Why the hell does he play like that, damn it?’  

Or maybe even grudging praise.  

No one who plays like such a psycho could possibly be sane.  

So, it was kind of surprising…  

Seol Yeonhwa furrowed her brow slightly, sighing as she looked at Shin Yuseong’s face—called the “hot guy” or “hot guy totem” daily on the community boards.  

Guess God doesn’t give everything.  

Like her, no one’s perfect.  

That sense of kinship and relief mixed with the unchanged fact that she’d met a classmate, hitting her with a dose of reality.

She let out another short breath.  

“Haa.”  

“Hooo…”  

He seemed to feel the same, sighing with a complicated expression.  

Well, there was definitely some serious internal conflict.  

***

Shin Yuseong gazed at Seol Yeonhwa’s porcelain-like face across from him, thinking with a serious look:  

‘Seriously, with that pretty face, she chats like a demon flicking its tongue—isn’t that shocking?’  

[The Goddess nods in agreement.]  

‘Then as a former Hero, how should I deal with this? Let it slide or intervene? I’m torn.’  

[The Goddess expresses regret at the Hero who came out to fight a young student, regardless of the reason.]  

‘I know, so please shut up.’  

[The Goddess grumbles that the Hero asked first, feeling wronged.]  

There really was another presence in his mind, causing serious inner turmoil.  

But sitting quietly, facing each other and sorting their thoughts, they soon found an answer. 

*** 

“I’m sorry for saying harsh things…”  

“No, I’m the one who was rude.”  

Unless one of them took a leave of absence over this, they’d likely be in the same class for years—no need to hold a grudge.  

Even if they weren’t schoolmates, this was the proper way to wrap up a real-life meeting.  

It’s not like they’d come out determined to kill someone.  

…Though she did briefly think about smashing his hands with her fist so he’d never spam emotes again.  

Seol Yeonhwa pushed aside further worries and delusions, quickly standing up.  

It was too awkward to stay any longer.  

“Then I’ll see you at school.”  

“It’d be nice if we could at least say hi when we pass by sometimes.”  

“Yes, I think that’d be good too.”  

They exchanged parting words with polite handshakes.  

But as Shin Yuseong clasped her hand, his expression twitched slightly.  

Seol Yeonhwa, as always, spoke with a neutral face:  

“Oh, sorry. It’s a condition I have.”  

It’s cold because of that.  

That explanation was enough.  

It was something she’d long given up on in life, so she spoke lightly and casually, giving Shin Yuseong a slight nod before leaving the café first.  

Hooo—  

After walking a while to a deserted spot, she let out a deep breath, releasing the ice-attribute mana she’d been holding back.  

Crack—Crunch—!  

A pseudo-breath attack.  

The blue-tinged mana in her breath froze the air, turning the warming spring chill into thin ice.  

A constitution both blessed and cursed by attribute magic—or a devil’s ailment.  

But talking about it seriously wouldn’t solve anything—no one could fix it.  

Not even the Tower Master or a cardinal could—what chance did anyone else have?  

Seol Yeonhwa smirked and shook her head.  

“Time to head home, I guess.”  

Talking to people outside just didn’t suit her taste.  

Having to constantly mind things while with others was exhausting.  

She was naturally built to be alone.  

Today was an exception—she’d been out way longer than usual for someone like her.  

Twitch-twitch—  

As she turned to leave, she unconsciously fidgeted with her hand.  

Probably just embarrassment.  

But the sensation lingered—the palm she’d just shaken felt oddly ticklish.  

Twitch-twitch  

Seol Yeonhwa kept clenching and unclenching her fist all the way home.  

***

After the IRL fight, something else came up for me.  

[The Goddess confidently says it seems like a condition she recognizes.]  

“Yeah, I already know that.”  

[The Goddess suggests curing it to gain favor.]  

“Nah, why bother?”  

[The Goddess frowns, scolding the Hero for lacking tact.]  

“Wait, why again?”  

Currently in the middle of a heated argument with the Goddess.