episode_0176

After running for about 30 minutes, I arrived at the PC bang in the city center marked on the navigation. Leaving only Daun, who was taking pictures of me, I sent Davin and Dajun up first and then parked the car in the parking lot. I went straight up to the 3rd floor where the PC bang was located and opened the door to enter.

-Ding dong!

“Welcome.”

As I entered the PC bang, a young man greeted me with a nod and widened his eyes, not saying anything else.

Well, by now, I was used to this kind of reaction, so I responded with a smile and asked him.

“Did two male students just come here?”

“Uh, uh? Oh, they, they took a seat over there. Shall I show you?”

I turned my head in the direction the employee was pointing to confirm that the kids were there, then shook my head horizontally and declined his offer.

“Oh, they’re over there. I’ll go find them. Thank you.”

With a smile, I headed towards where the kids were, and Daun, who was following behind, exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow… Auntie is really…”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Looking at Daun with a cold expression, I chuckled and then headed towards where the kids were.

“Did Mom come?”

“Yeah, so have you decided what to do?”

“Well, I’m not sure. I don’t know if there’s anything Mom can do together. What games did Mom play before?”

“Me? Um… I guess I played StarCraft.”

StarCraft. Although it was created in the West, it was a game engraved with the essence of the Korean people, deeply imprinted in the DNA of us Koreans.

When I was young, I used to go to PC bangs with my friends and was so passionate that I even went to Seoul to watch a few matches. But that’s just my story, and nowadays, if you mention a pro gamer to kids, it’s probably League of Legends, known as LOL, rather than StarCraft. More people around the world probably know Faker than Lim Yo-hwan.

I wondered if these kids even knew how to play StarCraft.

After discussing, we divided into teams of 2:2 and suggested playing a game. We decided to put Daun, who had to film me, on our team, and Davin and Dajun would be on the other team for a competition.

Well, it didn’t matter to me, as I came to play with the kids, but when I asked Daun if he was okay with it, he said he didn’t have a big hobby for games, so it didn’t matter to him.

As we decided on the teams and the game to play, the employee from earlier approached us and handed us something, which turned out to be a cup of beverage.

“What’s this?”

“Oh, it’s not a welcome drink… just a service, haha. It’s peach iced tea, so feel free to enjoy.”

I asked Daun if places often give out drinks like this, and he replied that some places do offer complimentary drinks like this from time to time.

“Oh, I see. Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Haha, sure~”

I just expressed my thanks, but the young employee seemed to have a relieved expression as he received my thanks and then left with a hint of regret in his eyes.

“Hey, Davin. If Auntie goes over there and asks the employee for a free ramen, do you think he’ll give it to her?”

“Yeah, I think he might.”

Dajun and Davin whispered to each other.

“What are you guys talking about? I wouldn’t do that.”

“Well, we were just saying. Right? Let’s play games.”

After a brief exchange, Dajun quickly launched the first game they chose.

The first game they decided to play was a game that had been around for 10 years, discontinued, and then upgraded and brought back. It was none other than KartRider.

Since I didn’t have a Nexon ID, I borrowed Davin’s spare account to play, and I could get a rough explanation through Daun.

“Hmm, so there are item battles and speed battles, and in item battles, teamwork is important, right?”

“Yes, it’s important to understand the items and use them at the right time.”

“Yeah, I get the feeling.”

“Do you really understand?”

“From the way you look at me, kid. But there was a time when I was unbeatable among my friends in StarCraft. Have you heard of xx East Storm Zerg?”

“Oh, your retro vibes are still strong. Haha.”

Although Down seemed a bit offended by my response, we soon started the game and I decided to focus solely on the game.

The first round was an item battle. The map had a forest-like background, and the graphics were quite impressive, probably due to the modern nature of games these days.

“Wow, this is amazing.”

“Haha, oh! If you press the go button at the right time when the countdown ends, the start booster activates. Then you can hit the ground running…”

Before Down could finish his sentence, the countdown ended, and I pressed the go button at the right time. As a result, I quickly took the lead.

“Wow, you’re doing great.”

“See, I told you I’m good at this.”

As we raced, I passed a box with a ‘?’ mark, and an item appeared in my item slot. Following Down’s explanation that defensive or trap items usually appear when you’re in the lead, a banana item appeared, and I strategically placed it in the next box area.

And then…

“Argh! Why did you step on that!”

I heard Da Jun’s frustrated voice from behind, indicating that he had stepped on the banana I had placed.

The rally continued. I began to experience the effects of various unfamiliar items one by one, and by the end, I had a good grasp of all the item effects.

Now it was just a matter of using them strategically. Although I was often hindered by items and used them carelessly without knowing their effects, as the ancient fighting game saying goes, “You have to learn the hard way.”

Muttering to myself, I skillfully navigated each curve without a single collision, even using drift boosts, and began fiercely chasing Da Jun and Da Bin’s team, who were in the lead. Utilizing various hindrance and booster items, I managed to overtake them on the final lap with a near-perfect play and secured first place.

Our team won the first round.

“Wow… What the heck?”

Da Jun, who was sitting behind me, stood up abruptly and approached me, questioning me.

“Huh? What’s up?”

“You’re not a pro gamer, so how did you manage to drift without a single collision in a game you’re playing for the first time… and you even memorized all the shortcuts and didn’t fall behind? Tell me honestly, have you played this before?”

“Nope. I don’t even have an ID to play with.”

“I can’t believe it. You’re a natural talent.”

Da Jun looked at me in awe.

“Wow, Mom, what’s your secret? Were you always good at games? Or did you suddenly become a physical genius as you got older?”

“I don’t really know, I just do it and it works.”

This response only fueled Da Jun and Da Bin’s frustration.

“Come on! Let’s play another round. The last one might have been a fluke, and now that we’re getting along better, we won’t go down without a fight.”

“Hehe, okay. Let’s do it.”

Indeed, winning is the best part of the game. Even though I started playing with the kids to bond, winning made me feel even better.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

And so, the second round began.

The map has changed to a snowy field, but it seems like the items are not much different from the previous round, indicating that there are no special items specific to the map. If the items haven’t changed, all we need to do is familiarize ourselves with the map. After making one lap, we had figured out the shortcuts and how to bypass the traps. Then, at around halfway through the third lap, the fierce pursuit began.

“Whoa! Davin, set up some traps.”

“I only have a shield. Hyung, you set them up!”

“I only have a shield too!”

It’s foolish to announce the items you have like that. They’re still just kids.

Since they only had shields, I didn’t feel the need to use water bombs or water flies. So, I used items like magnets or boosters to catch up as much as possible, then quickly ate two items at the item acquisition zone and set up traps right away.

-Thunk!

The two of them crashed into the barricade I set up.

With the sound effect and the gasping from behind, I leisurely crossed the finish line and secured first place.

“Cut!”

Using the term that Dayoung had told me to use at times like this, it’s quite fun to see them trying to disassemble and die.

“Wait, is this even possible? How can a beginner like him do that well?”

“How would we know? Just think that our mom is talented or something.”

They probably initially thought of me as some kind of newbie when forming the team.

“Hey, life doesn’t always go the way you think it will.”

I couldn’t bring myself to cast a curse like I did to Manager Kim in the past during a drinking session, so I just left it at that.

Ah, it’s enjoyable. Thrilling. As expected, you have to win when you play a game.