Chapter 213

Chapter 213

Bamboo Forest Manager.

Episode 213: Game

Saturday, early morning.

I was riding my bicycle out of the uni.

The sun was shining brightly, and a refreshing breeze was blowing gently.

It was perfect weather for an outing or a long walk along the river trail.

Is this what it feels like for the air to be refreshing?

Suddenly, I felt an urge to just keep riding my bicycle.

But my actual destination was a gloomy shopping center with a PC café inside.

“……”

I wondered if Chan-woo would be working today.

I heard he was neglecting his part-time job since he got a new girlfriend and was making money as a fitting model instead.

Sure enough, Chan-woo wasn’t there when I went inside.

Instead, there was another female staff member, a pretty girl who looked like a college student, probably because the university was nearby.

There are so many pretty girls around that, honestly, she didn’t seem that pretty to me.

Objectively speaking, she would be considered beautiful by everyone.

‘Anyway, my standards have gotten weirdly high these days.’

I clicked my tongue and looked around the PC café.

It was the same scene as usual, but the only difference was that there was nobody.

The people who stayed up all night had already left, and it was a bit too early for new customers to come in.

“Hmm?”

I was about to take a seat in the corner because it would be noticeable to my friends, but surprisingly, someone was already there.

“What, Choi Yiseo is here already?”

It was none other than Choi Yiseo.

Yeah, she was one of the PC café members today.

“Oh, Woojin.”

Choi Yiseo seemed to have had the same thought as me and had taken a seat in the corner, but she hadn’t turned on the computer.

“Why aren’t you using the computer? If you came early, you should’ve started.”

“Ah…um, just.”

Choi Yiseo glances at me with an ambiguous answer. I wondered if sitting next to me was strange.

I quickly realized what the problem was.

“Aha.”

Unlike Seo Yerin, who has always loved games, or Yu Arin, who often came to the PC café because Jeong Chan-woo gave her food even though she wasn’t interested in games.

Choi Yiseo can count the times she’s been to a PC café on one hand.

“Here, Yiseo. This is the power button.”

I smile as I turn on Choi Yiseo’s computer. It seems that recent PC cafés are customized differently from home computers, so she might not have found it.

“……”

I expected a typical excuse like ‘I knew that’, but she just keeps her mouth shut and lowers her gaze.

“It happens. Last time, when we were ticketing together, it was already on.”

Since she only saw the computer turned on back then and didn’t turn it on herself, she wouldn’t have known all this.

If you come early in the morning like now, the part-timer might have turned off all the computers, so you might not know.

“The computer is really, peculiar.”

Choi Yiseo finally mutters a few words while scratching her cheek.

“There are two mice there, right? One is for the next seat, so don’t touch it.”

“What? Why is the next seat’s mouse here?”

“It’s a spare mouse. If the person next to you suddenly has a mouse failure while gaming, you hand that over-”

“Stop it, Kim Woojin.”

“…It was just a joke.”

I thought I could tease awkward Choi Yiseo a bit, but I couldn’t go that far.

Yu Arin walks over yawning, ready to recharge her time.

“Ah, I’m tired. Why are we meeting at this hour on a weekend?”

Yu Arin grumbles, wearing a black cap and casually dressed in workout clothes.

“I’m here because of you guys. What do you need to learn anyway?”

As I let out a deep sigh, comments come from both sides.

“You’ve been playing games with Yerin every day lately, haven’t you?”

“Are you two having a sweet time all night long? Is it fun to play secretly?”

“What’s there to hide?”

The reason the two came to the PC café today was none other than to learn the game.

Recently, Seo Yerin and I got into gaming.

Thanks to that, we often played late into the night, and because Seo Yerin bragged about it, the two decided to join and learn.

“When I see things like this, I really like it.”

Yu Arin, satisfied, nodded and then smacked the back of my head.

Smack!

“It’s just because there’s nothing else to do these days. Why do you like it so much?”

“Sigh, I just feel like going home.”

Holding the back of my stinging head, I listened to the sharp words from Yu Arin and Choi Yiseo as I helped them with the game name and membership registration.

But since they’re university students, there were no issues with the registration process.

I did have a bit of trouble stopping Choi Yiseo from reading all the terms and conditions.

“These days, games teach you everything from the start, right? Once you finish the tutorial, you’ll roughly know how to play.”

About 30 minutes passed like that.

“Don’t do it. You guys, don’t do it. You have no talent.”

Watching them unable to finish the tutorial even after 30 minutes, I couldn’t help but sigh.

“……”

“……”

Both of them awkwardly let go of the mouse. They probably know it themselves. That they’re not cut out for gaming.

“I mean, if you can read, is it right to not be able to do this? Why are you clicking left when it says to click right?”

The moment I saw them both doing the same thing, I felt a frustrating lump in my chest.

“This game is too hard.”

“Isn’t there anything…easier?”

“Sigh.”

In the end, I turn off the game.

I did come to the PC café, so I should do something.

“I’ll have spicy ramen and sausage.”

“They sell fried rice here too? I’ll have rice. We’re each getting a coffee, right?”

‘Ordering food like a pro, which only adds to my annoyance.’

Yu Arin, with her experience in ordering food, expertly finishes the order on the computer.

‘A game to play with these guys…’

After some thought, I clicked on a game icon I’d never tried in my life.

“Oh, shit! It’s Seoul! Choi Yiseo landed on Seoul!”

“Argh!”

Yeah, I never thought that at twenty years old, I’d be playing Monopoly in a PC café with friends.

Yu Arin is delighted to land on Busan, while Choi Yiseo genuinely sighs and slaps her forehead.

It’s my turn next.

Just as I’m about to roll the dice.

“…What are you guys doing?”

Seo Yerin, who said she’d be a bit late, stands behind us wearing a hat and sunglasses.

We were supposed to be learning the game LOF together, but suddenly we’re playing Monopoly , so it’s understandable she’d be confused.

“Monopoly .”

I glance at Seo Yerin. Did she sense all the emotions in my expression?

Seo Yerin pats my shoulder, but.

“Hey, Kim Woojin. Roll the dice already!”

“Three, please. Three, please. Three, please.”

Yu Arin and Choi Yiseo chatter from both sides, urging me to roll the dice.

Honestly, I don’t really care. To be honest, Monopoly isn’t even fun.

I’m just mindlessly rolling the dice, while the ones beside me, as if they’ve been on a dopamine detox, are fully enjoying this long-awaited game of Monopoly .

“Yippee!”

“Oh, seriously…”

In the end, Yu Arin, who emerged victorious, raised both hands and swung her fists, while Choi Yiseo clutched her face and shed the bitterness of defeat.

“Wow, I’ve never seen anyone have this much fun playing Monopoly.”

As I murmured in amazement, Yu Arin, who was beside me, promptly patted my shoulder.

“Hey, ten thousand won. Hand it over.”

“This was a betting game?!”

“We decided to bet money while you were in the bathroom.”

No wonder they were so fired up. Choi Yiseo paid ten thousand won, but I refused.

“I’m not paying for something that happened while I was in the bathroom.”

“You were part of the game, so how can you back out now?”

“No, I didn’t even intend to join!”

“Oh, how stingy.”

I wanted to ask Choi Yiseo for some help, but she was just staring gloomily at the screen displaying the word ‘Defeat’.

I was wondering if I really had to pay the ten thousand won.

“Let me join too!”

Though Seo Yerin seemed uninterested in Monopoly, the mention of a bet had already caught the attention of the dopamine addict.

“Okay, Yerin joins, and we play another round with ten thousand won at stake?”

Yu Arin suggested with a sly smile, and Choi Yiseo adjusted her seat and mumbled quietly.

“Join in.”

Looks like we have some real gamblers here.

I was about to lament being unintentionally dragged into the Monopoly game when Seo Yerin, who had settled right behind us, waggled her finger.

“Tut-tut. Will ten thousand won be enough? You should bet something more exciting.”

“Bet more money? It might get too heated.”

Choi Yiseo seemed reluctant to cross that line, but Seo Yerin shook her head.

“No, not that. Let’s bet something else. Like a wish coupon or something!”

Betting ten thousand won seemed like a better option, though.

“I already have one wish coupon from Kim Woojin.”

Yu Arin loosens her hands, even though she’s just going to click the mouse to roll the dice.

“How about this? The loser grants the winner’s wish? Or should the winner have all three others grant their wish?”

Choi Yiseo wants to set clear rules from the start.

“Hmm, that’s a bit tricky. Let’s agree to grant one wish for the winner. Nothing too excessive.”

Seo Yerin, who seems to be trying to stay sensible, is already spending money on Monopoly.

‘A wish, huh.’

All three seem to be quite serious about it.

I discreetly sent a message on my phone.

– Kim Woojin: Hyung, can you lend me ten million won?

The reply came quickly.

– Big brother: …What’s going on now?

– Kim Woojin: It’s nothing big. I’m in a game, and I really need to win this round.

I need to spend some money too.

– Big brother: Are you gambling?

– Kim Woojin: No, it’s Monopoly with the guys. But I need to spend a bit to win.

For some reason, my brother didn’t reply after that. I wanted to talk to my second brother, but his wife is pregnant, so he’s probably busy and spending a lot.

‘So I can’t spend any money.’

In the end, fate will be decided by the dice, huh.

A wish.

And I can get it from all three at once.

“Just to be clear, asking for permission to date all three, that’s not allowed, right?”

I nodded to Choi Yiseo, who warned me from the side.

That’s not something to be forced like a wish; you have to win their hearts.

However.

A wish might be a chance to open their hearts.

“Stay calm, Kim Woojin. You can do this.”

I even ordered a cup of coffee to get a grip on myself.

“Kim Woojin! Get a hold of yourself!”

I steeled myself, wiping my face with my hands.

“If I win here, the four of us are going straight to a hotel. You can do it, you’re capable of doing it.”

“…?!”

“…!”

“Huh.”

For a moment, the gazes of the three people fixed on me, but.

[Game Start!]

The fateful game of Monopoly where the four of us become one has already begun.