episode_0042

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8:00 PM.

Still plenty of time before unnie would return.

Having shed all the frustrations weighing on her in an instant, Lee Jiyoon sat on her chair dressed in her comfortable, loose pajamas.

She wasn’t entirely sure where Seo Woojin lived, but she figured it was somewhere nearby…

Since he was a guy, wouldn’t he have already settled in front of his computer faster than her?

No need to bother with things like removing makeup or whatever.

She quickly booted up the game and checked her friends list first.

But it was clean.

Only the usual people she always saw were marked as “Online,” with no adorable friend requests from any newbies.

What a shame.

She had even thought about carrying him in a match since he’d never played a champion before.

If his MMR was struggling, she could’ve lent him the power of her smurf account.

Pouting, Jiyoon scooted her butt forward in the chair.

Well, maybe he was still doing something else.

Cleaning, cooking, laundry, showering—

Or maybe he hadn’t even gotten home yet.

Still, before they parted ways, she had made sure to say, “This is also part of my thanks, so you have to add me, okay?” so he’d definitely log in today.

He was probably just taking his time.

Her mind was clear, so maybe she could grind her aim a little more while waiting.

Just as Jiyoon was about to put on her headset—

“……?”

A soft Discord notification chimed.

Since she had all her gaming channel notifications muted, it was probably a DM.

Who could it be?

Don’t tell me—that guy again?

Hesitating, Jiyoon moved her mouse as the ding-ding notifications kept coming.

[CZ] —Jiyoon-nim, are you coming back to Apex?

…Yep, it’s him.

[CZ] —I thought you quit since you’ve been playing Valorant lately.

She hadn’t been in touch much recently, having been absorbed in other FPS games, so he must’ve noticed her game status on Discord and sent the DM.

I should turn that off later.

[CZ] —You said playing both would wreck your left hand, so you wouldn’t do it. —Guess hyper FPS is more fun than sweating over tactical shooters, huh?

The feeling of “Ugh, annoying” bubbled up in her head, but Jiyoon still sent a polite reply.

If it were just some random acquaintance, fine—but this guy had connections across all sorts of FPS games, and she knew plenty of people who overlapped with him.

He was also somewhat famous among amateur players.

—No. Someone I know IRL plays Apex, so I just logged in to add them.

If he has any sense, he’ll just say “Have fun” and leave, right?

She hadn’t been vague—she outright said it was someone she knew in real life, so he shouldn’t be dense enough to butt in.

…Or so she thought.

[CZ] —If you’re playing with them, is there room for one more? —You’ve been on a break, so your skills must’ve gotten rusty. —I’ll cover for you.

Yeah.

If he had any sense, he would’ve stopped DMing her ages ago.

Staring at the Discord screen like it was a bug, Jiyoon quickly typed back.

—It’s fine. They’re a newbie anyway, so I’ll be taking it slow while teaching them. —You like sweaty matches, so you’d probably find it boring.

[CZ] —No, no, I love newbies! I’ll match their pace. —By the way, calling them “that guy”—are they a close friend? A girl?

Ah.

Fuck.

—A guy. More like unnie’s friend.

[CZ] —Unnie’s friend, but you call them “that guy”? Are they twins? —They’re unnie’s friend, but younger than her. —And could you stop subtly digging into my personal life like you always do?

[CZ] —Ah, sorry. Didn’t mean to upset you. —Anyway, then it’s fine if I join too, right? —Honestly, if it were just two girls, I’d worry, but since there’s already a guy… —While you teach the newbie, I’ll clean up everything else.

Frowning, Jiyoon stared at Discord before letting out a long sigh.

When gaming, she didn’t mind guys being overly friendly—”Well, they’re guys, so whatever”—and brushed it off without much thought.

But dealing with creeps like this made her want to curse them out to their faces.

If he at least had my photo, fine—but all he knows is my voice. Why is he like this?

Swallowing the urge to block him right then, Jiyoon finally tapped her keyboard again.

—I’ll ask. Not sure if they’re okay with a stranger joining.

Then, taking a moment to cool off, she spent a minute picking music to listen to before typing again.

—They said they’re not comfortable with strangers. Maybe next time.

After sending the DM, Jiyoon right-clicked to mute notifications.

42

“……He’s late.”

11:00 PM.

By now, unnie should’ve been off work and back home.

After three hours of idly scrolling through YouTube, Jiyoon grumbled under her breath.

He could be late because he was eating dinner.

Or showering.

Or cleaning.

But three hours was pushing it.

If she assumed Seo Woojin lived farther than she thought, that didn’t make sense either.

When she’d asked unnie how she met Woojin, she remembered it being at a convenience store near their place.

Did he forget the ID I gave him?

No way he forgot “Jiyoon,”

Maybe he mixed up the birthday I wrote after it.

I should’ve just gotten his number. Didn’t even think of that…

“…….”

Unnie’s boyfriend’s number.

Weird…

No.

Not that weird.

A younger sister getting her older sister’s boyfriend’s number isn’t that strange…

If unnie wasn’t answering her phone, she could contact him instead.

Or just reach out if something came up.

It’s fine. I’m just overthinking it.

As Jiyoon mulled it over with her headset around her neck, the electronic beep-beep of the door lock sounded from outside.

Jiyoon hurried out of her room in quick, short steps.

“…Unnie.”

“Yeah? What?”

“It’s just… Un…”

Give me your boyfriend’s number.

Saying it outright like that was kind of weird, right?

……No.

Not weird at all.

“…You have Woojin-ssi’s number, right?”

“You two still call each other like that?”

“Anyway, you have it, right?”

“Of course I do. Why?”

“Today, when he treated me, I forgot to ask for it. Can you give it to me too?”

“Ahh. Hold on.”

As Jiyoon waved her phone, Lee Hayoon scrolled through her contacts for a while.

Then, right before Jiyoon’s startled eyes, Seo Woojin’s phone number appeared.

“Here. If it hurts again later, contact him directly. Woojin sent a message about it too.”

“A message? What did he say?”

“Something like, a full cure might be hard. Since he’s not a full specialist, he’s not entirely sure about the cause.”

That didn’t matter much.

All she needed was to endure those few embarrassing seconds when they met, right?

Once she enrolled in the academy in a few days, she could just get treated in the infirmary without worrying about others’ stares.

“…….”

As the memory of the “treatment” from earlier resurfaced, unnie’s voice continued.

“You ate dinner, right?”

“I snacked a lot at work, so I didn’t eat. I’m not hungry now either.”

“Really? Then I’ll rest too. Ughhh… Don’t game too much. You’ll ruin your eyes…”

“What? Both are still 1.5, 1.5.”

“You never know. Haaah…”

Yawning and stretching tiredly, unnie disappeared behind her square bedroom door.

Staring blankly at her retreating figure, Jiyoon fiddled with her pajamas and looked down at her phone.

…She really got it.

Seo Woojin’s number.

A strange tension prickled the back of Jiyoon’s neck.

It wasn’t like they’d do anything beyond treatment or maybe gaming a little.

Ugh.

Whatever, screw it.

This is all because of that creepy CZ guy.

No idea how they’re related, but whatever.

Jiyoon immediately returned to her room and flopped onto her bed.

Then, in the empty chat, she typed her first message.

—Hey. —It’s Lee Jiyoon. —Ah, does your phone show names? —Anyway, were you not able to log in today? —Or did you forget my nickname?

Hmm.

She tried to keep it from sounding awkward, but it still felt a little off.

Unnie always added small talk beyond just the main point. Maybe she should’ve added something else?

Hugging her blanket, Jiyoon glared at the chat.

Then—

The (1) next to the message disappeared.

…She gulped.

[Seo Woojin] —No, I remember your nickname. I just had other things to do. —I’m busy today, so maybe tomorrow or the day after? Sorry.

…So there was a reason.

What it was didn’t matter,

but he didn’t need to apologize. Hmm.

Just like at the café earlier,

he must be the type who apologizes easily.

Some guys lose their minds the second they hear a girl’s voice and act all annoying,

but if that creep were even half as decent as unnie’s boyfriend… Ugh.

Face-down on her bed, Jiyoon tapped her phone screen while lightly kicking the mattress with her feet.

—If you’re busy, it can’t be helped. —Are you free tomorrow, then? —I get home around 7 after work.

[Seo Woojin] —Yeah. I can leave work after Hayoon-noona’s class ends, so that time works. —I also ordered the mousepad you mentioned, so let’s play tomorrow.

Huh? Seriously?

He already bought the pad?

Thought he’d ignore it, saying it’s a waste of money.

Who knew such an obedient, well-behaved newbie existed…

How should she describe this feeling?

Touched? Too sad.

Heavy? Fluttering?

Whatever it was, the strange warmth deep in her chest felt nice.

Honestly, newbie-ca—

…….

No, not that, uh…

What was it again…

Ah.

Newbie-raising.

She never understood the appeal before,

but now she got it.

—I’ll carry you hard tomorrow.

Erasing the word “newbie-catching” from her mind, Jiyoon kept chatting with Woojin.

The Discord icon at the bottom of her monitor flashed orange,

but her eyes stayed glued to her phone.

“How can you not fall for that voice?”

“Nah. There are plenty of chubby, ugly girls with great voices.”

“Are your ears broken? Every girl I’ve hooked up with was pretty.”

“Just luck, dumbass. Anyway, if it doesn’t work, just give up. The ones who seem easy already answer DMs and even drop personal info.”

“That’s why I wanna get her drunk and fuck her, idiot.”

“…That so?”

“The Valorant girls are planning a meetup soon. They keep playing other games together too. Some already hooked up behind the scenes.”

“Eh. But the one you want won’t come.”

“Just invite her. With more girls around, she might feel safe enough to show up.”

“Hmm…”

“Also, heard she’s 20. A freshman, so before she gets busy, try asking her out.”

“Fine. But don’t get your hopes up.”

…What is this?

“…….”

Right before falling asleep,

Jiyoon exhaled a tired sigh as she skimmed the Discord message about the meetup’s time and location.

No wonder.

After that RPG game we played together recently, I had a feeling it’d go like this.

Honestly, she didn’t want to go.

It wasn’t that she disliked meeting people.

She just didn’t want to waste energy.

Going all the way there,

drinking,

babysitting drunk people,

watching someone puke their guts out…

Dragging unnie home alone was hard enough—how was she supposed to handle ten people?

Just imagining it made her dizzy, so Jiyoon closed her eyes and shook her head lightly.

—Can’t go. Part-time job.

Leaving that rejection, Jiyoon pulled the blanket over herself and drifted off to dreamland.