episode_0177

I never knew I was such a competitive person, but as I played the game, a sense of obsession to win filled my mind, leaving no room for any other thoughts.

“Whoa! Dabin, Auntie just joined the 3 o’clock multiplayer. Hurry, help me out!”

“I’m busy too. I just got attacked in this multiplayer game.”

We were currently playing the traditional game of StarCraft, a game deeply rooted in Korean culture.

Honestly, the games I played before like KartRider or the FPS games I enjoyed afterwards, like Sudden Attack, were all heavily influenced by physical skills, where your physical abilities could greatly impact the outcome of the game. But StarCraft, on the other hand, required more mental skills, mainly strategy, when engaging in battles. It’s not classified as a strategy simulation game for nothing. The true essence of this game lies in mental skills rather than physical ones.

In the games before, I could overpower the opposing team with my physical skills, but now it seemed like that wasn’t the case… or so I thought. However, the result this time wasn’t much different. This game, unlike the previous ones, was my stage to shine.

As I mentioned before, StarCraft during my school days was a game enjoyed by the entire nation, almost like a cultural game, and I was quite passionate about it. So even though it had been a while since I last played, just like riding a bike, the shortcuts, simple strategies, and unit operations unfolded naturally through my hands rather than my brain.

And the result.

-Boom!

“GG!”

I was able to overwhelm the game with a result close to a massacre. Even though I was filming Downie, who couldn’t even play properly, we had a close fight at 2:1.

“Ugh, not fun. Auntie is really good at this game.”

“That’s right. Mom, let’s switch teams. Play with me this time.”

“Well, even cold water has its top and bottom. Auntie, let’s play a game together next.”

I hadn’t even agreed to switch teams, but the two of them, chatting and sipping on kimchi stew, were interrupted by an unexpected intrusion.

“Oh, damn. So damn loud!”

A loud voice with curses came from the monitor opposite me. Even though I couldn’t see the face, the voice was filled with frustration, making it seem very unpleasant.

For a moment, I was stunned by what I heard, and I was about to get angry, but then I quickly calmed down, realizing that causing a scene in a public place wasn’t the right thing to do. So I just said, “Sorry, I’ll be quiet,” and sat back down.

Of course, the reactions of the other kids were all different. Downie was about to get angry, but I stopped him, Dajun’s eyes widened in fear, and Davin remained calm. Oh, that Davin. His anger was not loud. Maybe by now, he had turned on the recorder on his phone? Just in case. If we were to clash again, it could lead to physical confrontation, and if that happened, the evidence could be useful when we went to the police station or something.

“Phew, Auntie. Why did you tell us to keep quiet?”

“Hey! If you guys get into trouble, how can I face your parents with a clear conscience?”

Indeed, that’s true. My cousins and their spouses, who are the parents of these children, entrusted them to me believing that I would take good care of them. What if something happens? Who will bear the resentment and worry? Therefore, I can say that it is my duty to lead these children as safely as possible and return them home unharmed…

*Sigh.*

A pungent smell of smoke tickled my nose.

“Cigarettes? Isn’t this place non-smoking indoors?”

“Yes. So please don’t stop me this time.”

Daun, as if things were going well, set aside the selfie stick he was holding and crossed his arms.

But I still held his arm, turned my head cautiously, and stood up to look across the partition.

A man of similar age (not face value, but age) was sitting there, smoking a cigarette and puffing out smoke. Judging by the Irezumi tattoos covering his arm exposed outside his short sleeves, it was clear that he was not a local resident. It may not be good to have prejudices, but if someone is spending the holidays in a PC room like this (probably) doing internet gambling or something similar, it’s easy to tell what kind of person they are.

“Hey, what the hell! How can that be! How can that come out from there!”

I didn’t know what game they were playing, but the way he was making a scene, it seemed like it wasn’t a situation where we could complain about being loud. I was a little taken aback and stared at him with a slightly surprised expression. Then, he looked up, our eyes met, and suddenly his eyes widened, followed by a strange, chilling smile as he took the cigarette out of his mouth, tapped it on the ashtray, and asked me.

“Oh, pretty! Who? Not a familiar face, right? Did you come from a different neighborhood?”

“Excuse me?”

“Did you come down to your hometown with your parents for the holidays?”

Suddenly, he spoke to me in a sweet tone. But who is this guy to speak informally to someone he just met? How rude.

“That’s not the case.”

“Okay, then what do you want from me? Oh, do you have an interest in me? Oh, how embarrassing. It’s a problem when someone is too good-looking.”

I don’t know if he thought he was being witty, but it wasn’t funny at all, and he wasn’t as handsome as he thought, so I just blinked and continued to look at him. I don’t know if it was supposed to be a joke, but it didn’t fit at all and seemed like it would make me sick.

I felt like he would keep talking nonsense if I let him, so I decided to get straight to the point.

“I’m sorry, but this is a non-smoking area. The smoke is also irritating, and there are many minors around here. Could you please put out your cigarette? Or go smoke in the smoking room.”

I tried to be as patient and polite as possible, but he looked at me with a very defiant expression, put the cigarette in his mouth, took a long drag, and then blew the smoke towards my face with a smirk.

“Hoo~”

“What is this…”

“Do you not like it?”

“What?”

“Why should I? Did you pay the rent? Besides, I’m a regular here, right? Should I listen to you just because you came down here for the holidays and came to a place like this?”

“Regardless of whether you’re a regular or not, isn’t what you’re doing against the law here?”

He seemed so nonchalant about smoking that I wondered if it was normal here, and as I looked around, I saw a no-smoking sticker on the wall and pointed towards it, asking.

“What’s that? Hey. From the owner’s perspective, would they praise a one-time customer who happened to come in once? Or would they praise a regular like me who comes every day and boosts sales?”

*Sigh.*

He was truly shameless. Well, if you’re the type to chew people out from the get-go, you probably won’t be the type to curse at first-time customers or spit on the floor or smoke.

Before I could even say a word out of frustration, the guy next to the keyboard spat thick phlegm into the paper cup and flicked his cigarette, then said to me, “Alright. Since I put out your cigarette as you asked, you should do me a favor too.”

I had no intention of complying, but the situation was so ridiculous that I asked, “What is it?”

“Let’s go have a cup of coffee together. Or maybe a drink.”

Unbelievable. There’s no one like this shameless guy. What kind of world is it where someone like this can extort and harass decent people?

Feeling like there was no point in dragging it out any longer, I went straight to the counter to tell the staff about the recent events in an attempt to get him removed. But…

“Excuse me, sir. I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything about that person. I apologize.”

What is this nonsense? Are there really cases like this? When I pressed him for more information, the guy standing there with a smug expression whispered to me, “That person is the son of a well-known loan shark in this neighborhood. In fact, our boss also owes money to that customer’s father…”

Ah, so he’s just a spoiled brat who relies on his dad’s money. Dealing with someone like that would only bring trouble, so it’s better not to get involved. If this PC room is really his territory as he claims, then I had no choice but to leave because I didn’t want any trouble.

“Sigh, it was fun for a while.”

Putting aside my disappointment, I went to fetch the kids back to my seat.

“Wow, up close, you’re really pretty. Miss. Oh, you brought your younger cousins to play during the holidays, right? Well, this fate brought us together, so let me take you somewhere better. Huh? You kids can play around here for a bit. We’ll go out for a cup of coffee?”

Looking at him with his arrogant attitude as he spoke to me in our new location, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

No, even if he’s the villain, how can someone be so one-dimensional? If this were a novel, he would be considered a poorly developed villain at best.

“Alright, that’s enough. We’re leaving, so just continue what you were doing.”

“Hey, no, no. Human relationships aren’t as simple as cutting with a knife. But still, huh? If you’ve come all the way to this neighborhood, why not go see some nice views…”

He kept talking about the nice views, but I knew exactly why he was looking at my chest, so it was more amusing than disgusting. Douni was about to step in, but I lowered my voice and said to him first, “Hey, stop messing around and get lost. How old are you? You’ve been speaking informally since earlier.”

“What?”

“Enough. I don’t even care how old you are, so just get lost. Or rather, we’re leaving, so just ignore us and go back to your seat.”

Who does he think he’s fooling? It seems like these guys really need some education, so I quickly made a plan to start fighting back.