Chapter 23
[Party] Sinu: Actually, I just went to where Girmu-nim was with SaltySalt, and I saw the Dalkeum guild members there
[Party] Girmu: Ah…
[Party] Sinu: I heard what you were saying too. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable
[Party] Girmu: All of it? No… Sinu-nim has nothing to be sorry about, I’m the one who should be sorry…;
Technically speaking, it was “Sinu” who had brought turbulence to Girmu’s gaming life. Shin Wooseok was well aware of this fact. Ever since becoming associated with him, Girmu had faced problems from SaltySalt and even within the Dalkeum guild.
[Party] Sinu: Did you also see the post on the free board?
[Party] Girmu: The free board? No…
[Party] Sinu: It’ll be taken down soon so you don’t need to worry about it, but I’ll give you a brief explanation
[Party] Sinu: Basically it’s content that links you and me together and attacks both of us, and I think it’s drawing aggro because of me
[Party] Sinu: But according to what our guild members have gathered and speculated, it seems like someone from your Dalkeum guild wrote the post
[Party] Girmu: Um…
[Party] Sinu: And I just obtained screenshots of some rather incriminating conversations from there, so I’m trying to resolve this… but since you’re also involved, I’m wondering how to approach this
[Party] Sinu: If you’re experiencing unpleasant things in your guild right now
While he wasn’t sure if it was right to tell this to someone who was probably already confused, Shin Wooseok made a decisive judgment.
[Party] Sinu: I’ll tell you straightforwardly
[Party] Sinu: I think it would be better if you left that guild once this issue is resolved
[Party] Sinu: While it would be appropriate for the guild to expel the person who wrote that post since they’re at fault, honestly… the other guild members didn’t seem to be on your side either, from what I saw
[Party] Sinu: Of course, this is just my personal opinion, and you might have felt differently, which is why you need to make the decision
[Party] Sinu: If it’s difficult to decide alone, we can also talk about it together
Just then, Shin Wooseok received a private message from BoatToBottle, who had been inquiring about the poster’s ID in the server chatroom. Shin Wooseok checked each message containing various screenshots and patiently waited for Girmu to continue.
[Party] Girmu: Um… I don’t know where to start
[Party] Girmu: When I first started this game, not too long ago, the Dalkeum guild members helped me a lot
[Party] Girmu: They taught me various things and later suggested I join their guild, but I initially declined…
Even though Youngglory had stopped his pickaxe swinging, Girmu’s pickaxe never stopped. With the cheerful “clang!” sounds as background music, Girmu’s story continued.
*
Shin Wooseok opened his eyes, feeling the piercing sunlight.
‘…I’m dying.’
As he got up with a furrowed brow, he saw the clock pointing to 9 AM.
It had been fine up until he convinced Girmu not to practice in the dungeon at dawn after hearing his story and made him log out. The problem came afterward, when he gathered all sorts of materials to write the post.
Carefully considering his words to prevent any unwanted backlash hitting Girmu, the victim, he eventually finished writing around 5 AM and prepared to sleep. But just before falling asleep, he remembered he had an academic counseling session for returning to university today.
What suffering is this because of some gloomy bastards? He had fallen asleep only about 4 hours ago, cursing while burying his face in the pillow.
‘What time did they say to come?’
Shin Wooseok headed to the bathroom, dragging his indoor slippers. Splashing cold water on his haggard face helped him become a bit more alert. While brushing his teeth, he checked the scheduled counseling time on his phone. 11 o’clock… If he washed up, ate, and got ready to leave, the timing would work out just about right.
[Girmu: Sinu-nim]
Shin Wooseok, who was putting on his coat after getting ready, was puzzled by the sudden Voicecode message from Girmu. What’s going on, at this hour?
[SN: Yes]
[SN: Aren’t you working today?]
Ah. Should I not ask about this either? Shin Wooseok paused while putting on his shoes, flustered, and hurriedly sent additional messages.
[SN: I mean, you usually don’t even check messages during the day]
[Girmu: (photo), (photo), (photo)…..]
[Girmu: Huh? Ahㅎㅎ I have some business outside today]
[SN: You’re not driving, are you?]
[Girmu: Of course notㅎㅎ I’m still getting ready]
Only then did Shin Wooseok relax and check the photos Girmu had sent. They seemed to be screenshots of messenger content…
‘Oh.’
The name of the messenger room was “Dalkeum.” Since Girmu had said he wasn’t there, it seemed like one of the guild members must have sent him these captures. And the content was quite… something.
[Girmu: Two guild members just sent these to me]
[Girmu: It looks like your judgment was right]
[Girmu: I’m going to leave the guild]
Shin Wooseok wasn’t sure whether to be happy about this or not. How should he respond to someone who only expressed their determination to leave the guild after discovering that their guildmates had been badmouthing them for quite a long time?
[Girmu: (photo), (photo)]
[SN: ?]
[Girmu: I just left the guildㅎㅎ]
During the brief moment Shin Wooseok was contemplating, Girmu sent two more screenshots—one showing him clicking the guild withdrawal button, and another showing Girmu performing a “greeting” motion with nothing above his head.
‘Wow.’
What was this decisiveness and initiative? Like someone who truly didn’t have even a speck of lingering attachment…
[SN: Are you okay?]
[Girmu: Hmm… I might feel a little empty]
[Girmu: But I’m okayㅎㅎ Thank you so much for helping me in many ways]
He hadn’t done anything yet. He was planning to time the post for when it would get the most views, so he hadn’t even uploaded it…
[SN: Would it be alright if I save those conversation screenshots and use them?]
[SN: I won’t edit them, just attach them]
[Girmu: Hmm… I’ll ask the people who sent them]
[Girmu: Oh, they said it’s okay!]
[SN: ^^]
Shin Wooseok immediately saved the screenshots and sent them to BoatToBottle.
< Go Noa/BoatToBottle
Go Noa/BoatToBottle
????????
What’s this? Where did you get it?
Internal whistleblowing
Go Noa/BoatToBottle
Wowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It’s a disaster, should be fun
Attach it with the post in the evening
Go Noa/BoatToBottle
ok ok
After finishing this brief conversation, Shin Wooseok switched to the Voicecode app, only to find that Girmu had already sent a message saying he needed to go now and would see him later. Shin Wooseok needlessly scrolled through their conversation history before turning off the screen.
‘Maybe I should stay away from the café for a while.’
After hearing Girmu’s story last night, Shin Wooseok felt somewhat uneasy.
Girmu had said he disliked revealing personal information, to the point that he carefully checked and unchecked advertising consent options when signing up for memberships. Also, he wanted to strictly separate online and offline.
To put it simply, he wanted to separate his gaming life from his real life. While it might sound like drawing a line at first glance, Shin Wooseok felt a bit differently. After all, he too didn’t want to bring the inevitable fatigue he felt in-game into reality.
Just as some people want to socialize with acquaintances both in-game and outside, there are also those who prefer the opposite.
Girmu was clearly the latter. Despite clearly expressing this intention to the Dalkeum guild members, they kept ignoring the boundaries Girmu had set, trying to blur them, and he said he was getting tired of it.
It was inevitable that these words made Shin Wooseok reflect on himself.
A regular customer at the café was watching a <SOG> video, and a party member he met while running a dungeon at his sister’s request coincidentally had the same voice as that customer. He had felt curious about this, and still held onto that unresolved curiosity.
‘Let it go.’
Whether the two were the same person or not, it was curiosity with no benefit.
Yes, they probably weren’t the same person anyway. There are many people with similar faces, so surely there must be several with similar voices too.
‘Besides, Girmu-nim often brews coffee at home.’
Someone like that wouldn’t have a reason to go all the way to a café for takeout coffee. Even if that wasn’t the case…
‘Whether they’re the same person or not, it’s an issue I can simply stop caring about, right?’
Let’s not pretend to recognize that customer in reality even if I meet him. With that resolution, Shin Wooseok arrived at the campus. And it was the moment when he somewhat awkwardly knocked on the department office door after a long time, and opened it after receiving permission.
“Huh?”
“…?”
As if proving that life never goes as planned, the person who had been running wild in Shin Wooseok’s mind until just moments ago was blinking at him, holding a cup with a familiar café logo.
#Chapter 8 What’s a Guild Anyway?
It was a strangely refreshing morning from the start. Maybe it was because the day was particularly clear and sunny, as if the events of the previous day had been a dream. Beodeul thought he was lucky, especially since he had to go out today.
Briefly logging into <SOG> before going out was purely an act of his subconscious. Only after seeing the various notifications that popped up upon logging in did Beodeul realize he had accessed the game, and he muttered seriously:
“Is this what they call gaming addiction…?”
To think that he would play games until just before falling asleep, and then think about logging in during the brief time before going out after waking up. He was definitely addicted.
‘Huh? Mail?’
Among the accumulated mail notifications, Beodeul saw a familiar username and clicked on that mail. It was from MakeAWishBuang of the Dalkeum guild.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
