Chapter 48
Although there were only two clues, the fact that Han Beodeul and Girmu had the same voice was the biggest one.
‘There’s no way two people in the world would have that exact same voice.’
…But you never know about these things. Sometimes a voice heard directly and a voice through a microphone can sound different.
The thought that had unconsciously taken root soon came to a halt.
‘I’ve thought about this before.’
There are plenty of people with similar faces, so why wouldn’t there be people with similar voices? That’s what he had definitely thought before. All to avoid finding more commonalities between Girmu and Han Beodeul.
“If I decided not to think about it, why am I doing this to myself?”
Wooseok’s muttering was mixed with a sigh. His curiosity, which he had tried to trample down, would occasionally spring up like this to provoke him.
‘Isn’t it a bit wrong to be doing this when I know the person concerned wouldn’t like it? …Well, I don’t plan to act like I know in front of him anyway.’
Even he couldn’t understand this curiosity of his. He could say with certainty that he had never been this curious about the person behind a user he met in a game.
‘What does it matter who’s sitting on the other side of the monitor?’
There was no need to know, no reason to know. It was just useless information for playing the game together. So why was this curiosity about Girmu and Han Beodeul an exception?
‘Because we have more points of contact?’
Han Beodeul, who went from being an unfamiliar regular at the café to a university senior. Perhaps it was because of this unexpected change in their relationship that they ended up facing each other more often. It’s a very natural phenomenon to want to know more about someone as you spend more time with them.
The time he spent with Girmu in the game and with Han Beodeul in reality had both increased significantly compared to before. So this really was a natural change… right?
Feeling strangely uneasy, Shin Wooseok soon realized why.
‘Girmu doesn’t particularly show curiosity about me either, does he?’
Even though he thought they had become quite close, the line Girmu had drawn remained unchanged. He thoroughly maintained his manners and distance within that line. Perhaps it was even more so because of what he had experienced.
When Wooseok’s mind was filled with thoughts of Beodeul and Girmu against his will, an unexpected message arrived.
< Han Beodeul Sunbaenim
Han Beodeul Sunbaenim
Wooseok, are you at the café today by any chance?
It was a question that cut his ruminations short and brought him back to reality.
‘Come to think of it, I still haven’t changed this.’
Wooseok pulled down the top bar of his phone, read the message that had just arrived, and went into his contacts.
[Han Beodeul Hyung]
Right after he finished editing the contact, his phone vibrated again.
< Han Beodeul Hyung
Han Beodeul Hyung
Don’t you work on weekends? I have an appointment at the café, and if you’re there, I was thinking of stopping by to see you
Unlike Girmu in the game, the real-life Han Beodeul asked everyday questions very naturally. If this were a conversation with Girmu, it would probably…
‘He’d ask if I’m logging into SOG today, and then say what time he’ll be logging in, and that would be it.’
Girmu and Han Beodeul’s way of speaking was strangely similar yet different. At least in real life, he allowed room for everyday small talk.
< Han Beodeul Hyung
I’m at the café right now
I used to work sometimes on weekends
But now that the semester has started, I don’t work anymore lol
Han Beodeul Hyung
Oh, so does that mean seeing you at the café will be even rarer now?
Why is he curious about such a thing? As Wooseok thought about this absently, he realized that he was now considering Girmu and Han Beodeul to be the same person without a shred of doubt. A hollow laugh escaped him.
‘And here I was thinking they might not be the same.’
All his efforts to deny and cover up everything became meaningless. Now he had to admit it. He would never be able to ignore this curiosity forever.
< Han Beodeul Hyung
Lolol so you want to come when I’m not here? I actually need to leave soon anyway
Han Beodeul Hyung
Lololololol no, not that
Han Beodeul Hyung
Remember when you asked why I haven’t been coming to the café lately?
That’s what I was thinking about lol
Han Beodeul Hyung
If I was going to come when you’re not around, I wouldn’t have asked
That was just a joke. Well, either way, it worked out well for Wooseok.
‘This way, reality will probably move faster than the game.’
Wouldn’t it be quicker to become close enough with Han Beodeul to discuss game life than to become close enough with Girmu to discuss everyday life? Especially considering how Girmu was cautious about online relationships.
‘Actually, this probably wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t blurted out that nonsense that day.’
He recalled the embarrassing memory of the semester-opening party and pressed his fingers against his eyes. The fact that he had suddenly asked Han Beodeul why he wasn’t speaking informally was actually a disaster caused by people around him making him drink way too much.
‘It wasn’t even like I was throwing a tantrum.’
Shin Wooseok’s drunk behavior wasn’t anything special. Just tidying up and organizing things that bothered him? But the fact that such words came out as soon as he saw Beodeul’s face meant that it had been bothering him all day long.
In the end, it turned out well because now they spoke informally and exchanged messages comfortably like this.
‘That worked out well, but…’
The words he said afterward were beyond salvaging no matter how he looked at it. He had managed to cover it up by saying he didn’t remember, but still.
‘Wanting to get closer and why did I bring up the game?’
The one fortunate thing for Wooseok was that Beodeul didn’t seem to have heard the game talk properly. If he had heard that too, it wouldn’t have just been a disaster, but a complete catastrophe.
Just as he was having a moment of self-loathing and about to send a reply:
“Oh, found you.”
Hearing the familiar voice, he looked up to see Beodeul standing in front of the table, smiling.
“Hi, Wooseok.”
“Hello, hyung. You got here fast.”
“Yeah. Actually, I was nearby. Can I sit down for a bit?”
When Wooseok nodded, Beodeul sat across from him and asked, “What were you doing?”
Wooseok, who had been thinking only about Beodeul and Girmu the whole time, had nothing to say. He quickly looked down at the table, which was clean. There was only his phone on it.
“Just looking at my phone.”
“Really? You had such a serious expression until just now.”
He couldn’t say that he was regretting the words he had let slip while drunk. Wooseok was trying to find some excuse when he paused.
“Han Beodeul.”
“Huh? You’re already here?”
It was a man with short sporty hair. The muscular man looked like he could easily be believed if he said he was a fitness trainer. As he seemed to be approaching their table, Wooseok watched, and it turned out he was an acquaintance of Beodeul’s.
Wooseok silently looked back and forth between the two men and tilted his head. Just then, the man glanced at Wooseok and asked:
“What’s this? Did you already have plans?”
“Hmm? Ah, this is my junior from the department. Since he happened to be at this café, I thought I’d stop by to see him quickly before you arrived.”
“Then I came too early.”
“Yeah. You usually arrive exactly on time.”
It seemed that this man was the appointment. After Wooseok and the man exchanged a brief eye greeting, Beodeul turned to him apologetically.
“Sorry, my friend arrived earlier than expected.”
“It’s fine. You had an appointment to begin with. I need to leave soon anyway.”
“Okay, see you next time then.”
Beodeul and his friend went to the counter to place an order and then took a seat a little distance away from Wooseok. Coincidentally, it was a spot where Beodeul’s face was very clearly visible from Wooseok’s position.
But soon a phone call came, and he had to take his eyes off Beodeul.
-I’ve arrived at the station. Where are you?
“I’m at a café, but I’ll be leaving soon.”
-What for? Then I can just meet you there.
“No. Let’s go somewhere else.”
-What’s going on? Is your mother at the café?
“No.”
-Then why?
Wooseok got up from his seat and glanced at where Beodeul was sitting.
“Just because. Where are you?”
-I just told you I arrived at the station? Wow, you didn’t listen to a word I said~
“I’ll go to Exit 3, so come there.”
-Okaaay.
Seojin… that is, SaltySalt, gave a short answer and hung up. Wooseok looked down at his phone screen in disbelief and muttered,
“This rude…”
True to his character in the game where he spammed emojis as a concept, his personality was a mess. It’s strange to think they had any connection at all, but that’s what he had thought of SaltySalt ever since meeting him.
“What, so you’re still playing SOG?”
It was as Wooseok exchanged eye greetings with Beodeul and was passing by his table. An unmissable word came from the mouth of Beodeul’s friend.
Shin Wooseok, who almost stopped in his tracks, moved his feet as naturally as possible.
“Yeah. Come to think of it, I started because of you, but I’m still playing.”
“Dude, that garbage game still… I picked up a different game recently. Want to quit SOG and play that with me instead?”
“You’re just going to quit first again like last time.”
“I really won’t this time. Want to go to a PC bang right now?”
…No way? Having left the café without being able to stop, Wooseok stood blankly in front of the door.
‘Calling SOG a garbage game? How could he say that? …Wait, that’s not the point.’
Even if it was factually a garbage game, he couldn’t just stand by and watch someone who had already left try to take those who remained. Especially if that person was Girmu. Wooseok quickly thought of a way to solve this crisis.
‘First, after I meet SaltySalt…’
He headed to the subway, making busy plans. On the way, in his urgency, he opened the voice code app and sent a message to the Grace guild members’ room.
[SN: SOG is seriously a god-tier game]
The number beside the message decreased quickly. Come on, react quickly, you rotten waters. Shout that SOG is a god-tier game and support it right now!
But Wooseok’s telepathy didn’t reach them.
[SaltySalt: ?]
[Shotgun: ?]
[Youngglory: ^^?;;]
[BoatToBottle: It’s not summer yet… Are you already suffering from the heat?]
[SaltySalt: Lololololololol did you get hacked?]
[Goyounghee: What’s going on? Hacked?]
As he arrived at Exit 3 of the subway station, a man who had been looking at his phone with a strange expression raised his head.
“What’s up with you suddenly? Did you go crazy enough to shout that SOG is a god-tier game in the middle of the street on your way here?”
The somewhat delinquent-looking man with yellow bleached hair and several piercings in both ears was SaltySalt. The fact that he was wearing round glasses today to try to hide his sharp eyes was TMI that Wooseok didn’t particularly want to know.
Wooseok immediately grabbed his arm and said,
“Let’s go to a PC bang first.”
“Whoa, are you really going crazy?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
