Can't Control Be Bought With Money? 4 - Hyacinth in Bloom

Chapter 4

Beodeul’s eyes blinked rapidly at the unexpected words. It was something he had wanted to say but couldn’t, for fear that his first-timer performance in the dungeon might have left a bad impression. But to his surprise, SonyeoGajang brought it up first?

Thinking that SonyeoGajang might have been waiting all this time to say those words made Beodeul’s lips twitch with excitement. He quickly sent a friend request before SonyeoGajang could take back the offer.

[General] Girmu: I would have seen it later if you had sent the request first haha

But then…

[SonyeoGajang has rejected your friend request.]

Beodeul was so stunned that he couldn’t even process the short message for a moment.

‘Did they accidentally hit the wrong button?’

Beodeul sent another friend request with a smiling face. However.

[SonyeoGajang has rejected your friend request.]

The same message appeared on Beodeul’s screen again. He moved his cursor to send yet another friend request while typing in chat.

[General] Girmu: Haha…?

Rejection, and rejection again. Beodeul tilted his head in confusion.

[General] SonyeoGajang: No wait

[SonyeoGajang has rejected your friend request.]

[General] SonyeoGajang: Why are my hands so fas

[SonyeoGajang has rejected your friend request.]

[General] SonyeoGajang: Hold onna sec don’t req

SonyeoGajang couldn’t even finish a sentence under Beodeul’s barrage of friend requests. By the time Beodeul understood SonyeoGajang’s words and stopped, they had already rejected his request seven times.

[Gallacan] SN back???

Is there a rumor about SN returning for real??

Comments (50+)

Meoisseo: What’s that?

└ GodreumDochi: Isn’t it S1nu?

└ Meoisseo: No idea who that is;;

└ Dorong: Search “sinoo” on MeTube

pano: Did S1nu quit?

└ Jowayeon: No, he went to the military

└ pano: Ah

└ PyoJuboBakJubo: So it was a call of duty? I thought he quit because he stopped uploading videos;

└ kokokoko: He didn’t upload much even as a civilian lol He only uploads when he feels like it

Jikaphallyak: If he’s back, would he carry me?ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I’ve been running in circles at Orgeui Lake for 2 weeks. Or maybe I should just ask him to take over for a bit

└ Hotteokssotteok: Like he’d do that for you lololol But I’m first in line

└ Jikaphallyak: No no I already called dibs on SN’s hands

└ Hotteokssotteok: ;;;

└ Kimchilgap: Crazy pervert;;;;;

neone: Wow if he comes back now, the Grace he was wearing during the summer update might aim for *FC

└ Pojjang: Is the summer update already out?

└ neone: Nono just guessing; but they always release new dungeons in summer

└ Eongguanjang: Summer vacation = new dungeon update is the rule

└ Chunsu: But does S1nu’s return automatically mean FC?? Last time Daze got FC and Grace wasn’t even in the rankings

└ Pineapple: Grace has a lot of working adults, so while S1nu was gone, they were just taking it slow, living their real lives lol If S1nu returns, moment of silence for those office workers who’ll have to reopen their hell game

└ Jollamae: Doesn’t Grace do guild recruitment… I want to go to the first team and watch Sinu’s gameplay in person lol

└ Jjirang: Like you could get in if Grace recruited?lol

└ Jollamae: Why are you always picking fights, you ♡♡?

└ Chabihera: What are the conditions to join Grace anyway?

└ xlspWkd: Nobody knows, it’s shrouded in mystery;

└ Papagons: Not shrouded, shrowded

wlstn03: Why are people looking for him here lol Acting like he’s the only one with good skills

└ Uhurukuuhu: ???

└ wlstn03: None of those who brag about their skills are actually good lol

└ Choigo: Jinsu, calm down;;

└ wlstn03: ? How do you know??

└ Papagons: “dog→that guy” “knowledge→know”

└ akakvkvk: It’s a well-established theory in academia that our Jinsu once faced Sinu in PvP and got utterly destroyed

└ Hollygun: For real lol

└ Haebinu: That’s right

└ Gogupchukjung: Lolololololol They probably never even met because their tiers don’t matchㅠ

ThankYouInEnglish: So is the return rumor true or not lol No one seems to know

└ fooox: Someone asked a Grace guild member in their friend list but got left on read

└ ThankYouInEnglish: Thank you

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: Myu-nim, did you open this month’s special box?

[Guild] Girmu: No, is there something good this time?

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: Eek, this month’s special box is super generous;; I can’t believe you didn’t know, go to the cash shop right now

[Guild] Girmu: Oh, okay;

Every second and fourth Friday of the month was when guild chat became most active. It was the day when regular patches introduced new cash items, making users’ eyes happy and their bank accounts lighter. But not all users could be happy.

[Guild] Girmu: I checked it out, lots of pretty items haha

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: Right, right

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: Reporting in. 50 special box fragments accumulated so far, not a single special grade item!

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: Ah lololololol Beep, that’s normal

What users abbreviated as “special box” or “S-box” was a probability-based item that could be purchased with cash. The item list changed every second Friday of the month, and “special” grade items had the unique characteristic of never being re-released once they appeared.

Outfit items, various scrolls, chairs, and mounts—the list was extensive, but the probability of obtaining special grade items was extremely rare. This was why users cried or rejoiced each month.

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: Sigh… should I open just ten more?ㅠㅠㅠ

[Guild] TangShuShuk: For gambling addiction counseling, call 1336 without area code lol

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: Do you think… I’m gambling because I want to?! My baby is in that box!

[Guild] TangShuShuk: Lolololololololololololol

[Guild] Gajinamu: MakeAWish-nim, calm down;; You already have a special pet

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: But I don’t have THAT one!

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: This person is already beyond help…

It seemed MakeAWishBuang wanted a special grade pet from this month’s special box. Beodeul watched the guild members’ chat and accessed the game’s homepage to check the item drop rates for this month’s special box.

“Let’s see…”

The appearance rate for this month’s special pet was 0.03497%. Well, it would be stranger if it actually dropped. But if it did, it would reverse one’s game life… well, not quite, but it would fetch quite a high price.

[Guild] TangShuShuk: Just wait until some come on the market and buy one lol

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: And when will that be?ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Guild] WatchingChicken: Maybe when you reach max level?lol

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: Just tell me to never get it at all waaaaㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Either way, MakeAWishBuang was endlessly shedding tears in the guild chat as they pursued those terrible odds. While the guild members teased MakeAWishBuang as if to comfort them, Beodeul quietly browsed the cash shop.

“Should I try a few too?”

Beodeul’s luck was neither particularly good nor bad. Still, he had obtained several special grade items before, and so far, he had gotten most of what he wanted. Even if it meant performing an Indian rain dance until the item dropped…

“Oh? This looks nice.”

What caught his eye was one of this month’s special grade outfit items. A fluttering pink dress with a cardigan that would look perfect on SonyeoGajang’s character from yesterday.

‘Would they accept it as a gift?’

As Beodeul naturally moved his cursor to the purchase button, he stopped.

‘That’s right. They said they have another character.’

That was why SonyeoGajang hadn’t accepted his friend request yesterday after clearing Trial Gateway III together. They said they had a main character, and that they would send a friend request when they logged in with that character, but there had been no news yet.

Beodeul’s enthusiasm quickly faded, and he was about to leave the cash shop when he changed his mind and purchased a few special boxes.

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: Myu-nim, if you’re going to open boxes…haha I’d like to open 10 more alongside youㅠㅠㅠ

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: Tsk tsk, where do you think you’re leading Myu-nim into the world of gambling

[Guild] TangShuShuk: ?? Who brought up the S-box to Myu-nim earlier?

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: *cough cough*!

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: Happiness divided becomes 0, but pain divided becomes half haha…

[Guild] Gajinamu: Something seems off?

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: Shouldn’t it be the other way around…?

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: Have you all forgotten…? That’s been wrong since we first met Myu-nim!

[Guild] Gajinamu: Ah lolololol That’s true

[Guild] Girmu: Haha…

The special box was also what had initially brought Beodeul together with the “Dalkeum” guild members.

It happened when the devil who had first dragged Beodeul into <SOG> half-heartedly helped the fragile newbie grow before eventually leaving for another game one day.

Left alone in a game he had just started to enjoy for the first time in his life, Beodeul had no choice but to struggle on his own, learning through trial and error.

Beodeul was what you might call a “game-illiterate” person who knew nothing about games. So he thought that if he just followed the in-game guides, he would naturally become skilled. But that process was far less efficient than tips born from users’ experiences.

By the time he realized this fact, Beodeul had already spent over n00,000 won in cash…

At that time, it was the “Dalkeum” guild members who saved the game-illiterate Beodeul. They said they had smelled a newbie when they saw Girmu wandering around town equipped with common outfits that had no effect and were permanently available in the cash shop.

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: I already miss the Myu-nim from back then…

[Guild] TangShuShuk: Was it Hawaiian Summer back then?? That gangster-style swimsuit that no one bought even though it was new…

[Guild] Gajinamu: I didn’t know Hawaiian meant “you go to Hawaii”

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: I was thinking “who would pay money to wear that”ㅠㅠㅠ when Myu-nim proudly walked by…

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: And you were wearing that ancient cash shop hairstyle…

[Guild] Gajinamu: And doing those inefficient side quests that no one does anymorelolololololol I thought you just had unique taste

[Guild] YucaPrinciple: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠMyu-nimGOAT

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: Myu-nimGOAT!!!

[Guild] Girmu: ㅠㅠ… That’s all in the past

[Guild] MakeAWishBuang: Ah lololololol That’s right, our Myu-nim now knows how to open special boxes!

The guild members were reminiscing about memories that were nothing but embarrassing to Beodeul.

This wouldn’t do. Beodeul decided to open the special boxes right away, if only to change the subject. He was just opening the continent map to search for places where he had gotten good items from boxes before.

[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: .

[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: ? Oh

[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: Girmu-nim is online. I’ll send you a friend request now

As Beodeul belatedly closed the map and checked the chat window, a friend request flew in.

[Sinu has sent a friend request to Girmu.]

*FC: First Clear.