episode_0011

A secluded place a bit far from the city.

A three-story building stands alone next to an empty one-lane road.

The first floor is the building owner’s house.

The 2nd and 3rd floors consist of studio apartments.

It was the building I currently reside in.

“Huh?”

A flat table placed in the yard.

A woman sitting on it and drinking soju found me.

“Why did you leave school so early?”

Cha Seol-yu.

It was a woman who was the owner and landlord of the building.

The attire was formal as usual.

“Were there any classes on the first day? It’s been so long I don’t remember much.”

“None.”

“Really? But didn’t you have an after-party or something? Why, I drink alcohol with my classmates.”

I shook my head, avoiding eye contact.

Although an invitation came.

I didn’t answer and just ignored everything.

A drinking party with a woman.

It was clear that my body wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Well, given your personality, you probably wouldn’t participate in such a position.”

Why did you ask if you knew?

It seemed like the intention was simply to mix things up somehow.

Although it is burdensome.

It wasn’t very unpleasant.

He just thinks of me like a younger brother.

Because it looks like he’s trying to take care of his younger brother who is not very well behaved.

It seemed like he didn’t regard me as a member of the opposite sex.

“Then, would you like to have a drink with me?”

Cha Seol-yu asked with a grin.

At first glance, it was a light joke.

Normally, I would have just shook my head and gone home.

But today was different.

I stood there and thought for a moment.

‘I can’t practice speaking as an angel today anyway, so I’d like to practice making eye contact with Cha Seol-yu and having a conversation.’

Now is the time to take on the challenge.

It cannot be put off forever.

I need to overcome my trauma as soon as possible and enjoy my life at the academy.

‘I wasn’t mentally prepared, and I was scared, but… Still, if it’s Cha Seol-yu…’

After gathering courage.

I glanced at Cha Seol-yu.

“Why don’t you go in and just stand there blankly? Are you really going to drink with me?”

The moment our eyes meet.

I quickly looked away.

As expected, it was still too much.

‘Let’s do it tomorrow, tomorrow…’

He was a helpless coward.

“No.”

“What, it’s bland.”

“I’ll go in.”

“Okay, go in and get some rest. It must have been difficult being surrounded by women on the first day.”

I bowed my head.

And just as I was about to enter the building.

“Ah.”

I remembered something I had forgotten.

I stopped walking, rummaged through my bag and took out an item.

It wasn’t a big deal.

Squid jerky and a bag of cookies.

These were things I bought at a convenience store on the way.

To give it to Cha Seol-yu.

‘I always have ramen or kimchi for snacks.’

It could be seen as a small reward for delaying the monthly rent.

I approached the bench.

When I handed over the snacks, Cha Seol-yu put down his drink and tilted his head.

“Huh? Why is this?”

“Eat it as a snack.”

“···Did you buy it thinking of me?”

“Yes.”

Cha Seol-yu received the snacks with a puzzled expression.

And looking at the snacks in my hand.

He had a strange expression somewhere.

“···Thank you. I’ll eat well.”

Nod.

I walked in silence and entered the building.

***

In front of a used computer I bought at a bargain price.

I pressed the power button and 3 minutes passed.

‘The booting speed gets slower and slower.’

It was frustrating.

I had a burning desire to build a high-performance computer.

But it couldn’t be done.

Enough to get a new computer.

Because my wallet situation is not comfortable.

For now, I had to be satisfied with just having a computer.

‘I’ll buy it later when I make a lot of money.’

After waiting for another minute, the computer finally turned on.

I grab the mouse.

I double-clicked the icon in the center of the desktop.

It was an online game that I accessed every day.

The genre is MMORPG.

At first it was just a hobby.

Nowadays, gaming is not a hobby but a job.

After purchasing the goods here.

I’m saving up for living expenses by cashing in.

That’s how I prepared my living expenses.

Tuition···. No, I paid the admission fee with money I earned from games.

‘I need to stop doing this now.’

Hyeonta is coming.

Still, I can’t quit yet.

I’m still a freshman at the academy.

Because I’m not in a position to go into a dungeon and make money.

Of course, if you pass the academy exam.

You can actually enter dungeons and earn money.

The problem is that the exam is held in 6 months.

‘Until then, I have no choice but to make money through games. ‘I’m also looking for a part-time job.’

Sooner or later, I had to work part-time.

Develop social skills.

To overcome trauma.

There are other reasons as well.

I don’t think I’ll be able to cover my living expenses through games alone.

The evil of games like me.

Maybe it’s because there’s a lot of rice ink.

Because the prices of game goods were falling noticeably.

‘I hated rice food so much in my past life, but I never thought I’d end up eating rice…’

At that time, I made money at the factory.

There weren’t many women there.

Even if there were, they were all ajummas.

But in this world.

Even places like factories were full of beautiful girls.

That’s why I can’t muster courage.

I was stuck at home and became a glutton.

‘If you become rich as a hunter… We need to invest a lot in game companies here. As an apology.’

As I was thinking that,

Before I knew it, I was connected to the game.

In front of the bright wallpaper background.

You can see characters taking various poses.

They are all wearing animal avatars.

I am one of many characters.

【Jjinta Angel】

A character wearing a pig avatar.

I selected my main character and logged in.

‘Let’s take the remaining buses first.’

I opened the account friends window.

I looked at my short list of friends.

To check if the person who also works as a bus driver is connected.

Then.

【Shuboma089】─ㅎㅇㅎㅇ

Just then, I received a whisper from an acquaintance in the game.

It was a secondary character of the person I was looking for.

It looks like they saw the notification that I was connected and contacted me right away.

【Jinta Angel】─ㅎㅇ

【Shuboma089】─Why did you log in so late today?

【Jjinta Angel】─I was busy.

Nickname: Shuboma.

Numbers 001 to 155.

A crazy game fanatic who owns a total of 155 characters.

And super rice.

When I started playing the game 3 months ago.

He was a person who helped me a lot in various ways.

of course.

Since there were similar games in the previous world, I was able to adapt quickly on my own.

Still, there were difficulties.

Even if you adapt.

It was difficult for me to settle down easily because I couldn’t do anything.

Shuboma provided me with a lot of financial support.

It wasn’t free.

Similar concept to loan.

Schwoma said he liked my game skills because he liked them.

So, he said he would support the cost of upgrading the specs and let’s run the bus together. He told me to repay the borrowed money slowly.

after.

After raising the specs in one month.

I recently paid off the entire amount I borrowed.

‘Now that I think about it, I don’t know what I trusted in lending it to you.’

What I saw while playing games together for 3 months.

I didn’t really have the personality to trust people easily.

‘I guess they didn’t support me because I was really impressed with their gaming skills… ‘I’ll have to ask later.’

For your information, we are gaming friends.

Age, gender, occupation, etc.

No personal information is known to each other.

Because that doesn’t matter to us.

Not a job in the game.

Even if you look into real jobs, it’s useless.

The unspoken rules of the guild we belong to.

Or should I say it’s an unwritten rule?

A gaming friend is just a gaming friend.

There was no case where we became too friendly and even made a kite in real life.

Because it was a guild that only gathered people who hated that kind of thing.

【Shuboma089】─Do you skip all the alt-character homework?

【Jinta Angel】─ㄴㄴ Not yet.

【Shuboma089】─Like A

【Jjinta Angel】─The bus is not running?

【Shuboma089】─I played all my characters.

【Jinta Angel】─Why are you excluding me? ㅡㅡ

【Shuboma089】─You chewed your ear this morning. damn

Did you hear a whisper this morning?

I don’t think I was able to check it because I wasn’t in a good mood.

【Jinta Angel】─Ah. I had to leave early in the morning, so I guess I didn’t hear the whisper because I was busy doing my daily homework.

【Shuboma089】─ㅋㅋ Anyway, go do your alt-character homework.

【Jjinta Angel】─I have to get back to my real bus first.

【Shuboma089】─Ah. Then, give my alt. a ride on the bus.

【Jjinta Angel】─ㅇㅇ Come in.

【Shuboma 089】─Free bus shit~

【Jinta Angel】─Don’t cross the line.

【Shuboma089】─ㅇㅋ···. Just kidding. Only pay half.

【Jjinta Angel】─I will delete your friend.

【Shuboma089】─ㅅㅂ They don’t even give discounts to acquaintances. Okay. I paid the regular price.

【Jjinta Angel】─What is the price? You pay double the bus fare.

【Shuboma089】─Deleted friends and expelled from guild.

【Jjinta Angel】─I’ll give you a ride for free.

As usual.

We started playing the game together.

It was a game that became work, but the enjoyment did not change.

***

After finishing the bus.

While I was peeling fish in chat.

【Jjinta Angel】─.

【Shuboma 105】─Why?

Suddenly, a question arose.

【Jjinta Angel】─Can I ask you one thing?

【Shuboma 105】─No.

【Jjinta Angel】─ㅇㅋ I ask.

【Shuboma 105】─?

What is Shuboma’s gender?

If it’s a woman.

I wanted to ask you one favor.

I broke the unwritten rule and asked Shuboma a question.

【Jjinta Angel】─What is your gender?

【Shuboma 105】─Why do you ask that? Did you also have the South American disease?

【Jjinta Angel】─You look like a South American disease?

【Shuboma 105】─An abbreviation for an asshole who is crazy about men.

right. This world was full of South American birds and no Yeomi birds.

of course.

The ratio of men and women who play games is 50%.

【Jinta Angel】─It’s not like that. I am a man.

【Shuboma 105】─ㅋㅋ Damn no.

【Jinta Angel】─It’s true.

【Shuboma 105】─Why does a man ask other people’s gender in a game? I have to say something that makes sense.

【Jinta Angel】─Would you like to check it out?

【Shuboma 105】─ㅇ? How to check?

【Jjinta Angel】─Voice Go.

I mustered up my courage and started chatting.

Let’s have a voice chat.

The reason for this suggestion was simple.

To practice conversation with women.

That was all.

I can’t ask Cha Seol-yu for a favor.

It’s still impossible to actually talk face to face.

Even making phone calls is difficult.

It was relatively low in difficulty.

‘It’s right now to get used to talking to women on the phone first. ‘Because everything has an order.’

Like Seo Yi-eung.

It was a bit like asking someone I actually knew.

A real acquaintance whose face you know.

A friend in a game whose face you don’t know.

Among them, calling with the latter will be less burdensome.

Talking to a real-life acquaintance was a higher level than that.

‘Anyway, if Shuboma is a woman… Let’s ask someone to practice conversation in the future.’

As I was thinking that,

A whisper reached Shuboma.

【Shuboma 105】─Just looking at this person, I can tell he wants to do a voiceover because he wants to confirm my gender. We all know that if it’s a man, it’s trying to be annoying, and if it’s a woman, it’s trying to run away right away. South American bird shack. lol

【Jjinta Angel】─Stop talking nonsense and invite me to the voice channel.

【Shuboma 105】─Did you forget that our guild does not have a voice channel?

【Jjinta Angel】─Buying a new one.

【Shuboma 105】─Before that, let me be honest. Then, please take into account the circumstances.

【Jjinta Angel】─?

【Shuboma 105】─They say being a man is bullshit. How hungry must it be for a man to pretend to be a man and do his voice acting? Ugh.

【Jinta Angel】─Oh. It’s really frustrating.

【Shuboma 105】─Just saying. I am a woman. Are you still going to do voice acting?

Fortunately, it was a woman.

You have to go in and ask to have someone to practice conversation with.

【Jjinta Angel】─ㄱㄱ

【Shuboma 105】─Wow. They say let’s do it anyway. Maybe it’s a lie that he’s a woman and he’s actually a man! Are you having these expectations? Am I some kind of Schrödinger’s Schwomame?

【Jinta Angel】─Please invite me.

【Shuboma 105】─ㅇㅋ If it were you, I would break the earthenware pot, so prepare yourself mentally.

Not long after that whisper arrived.

【Shuboma 105】─『Shuboma’s voice channel』

【Shuboma 105】─Come in.

Shuboma sent me a link to the voice channel.