[Battlefield] heraaaa: Ah
[Battlefield] jupiter: cktksla gdgdgdgd
[Battlefield] jupiter: Chasa-nim hihihi
[Battlefield] Chasa: Hello.
[Battlefield] heraaaa: Ah, we’re on a win streak right now, of all times ㅜㅜ
[Battlefield] jupiter: We’re not letting go of this streak.
The battlefield grew fiercer as time went on. Along the way, he even ran into familiar faces.
[Battlefield] EarlGreyHighball: Whoa, is this really Chasa-nim? For real? Wow, I always read your customization posts ㅜㅜㅜㅜ
[Battlefield] MangoFlavoredTomato: Chasa-nim, can you die just once for me? ㅜ I wanna take a commemorative screenshot with your corpse.
Sometimes, he even ran into fans with slightly off-kilter requests.
There were matches where their winning streak got cut off and ones where they got lucky, racking up bonus points for consecutive wins. But their rank didn’t climb any further. By that point, the leaderboard was filled with people who had practically sacrificed their real lives for the game.
The weather was great, so why was everyone holed up inside playing games? Damn gaming addicts. Sa-yoon, grinding the battlefield harder than anyone, was the very definition of a hypocrite.
“You don’t have school?”
Lately, Sa-yoon’s daily routine was simple. Home-school-home-school. It was a hamster wheel with no end.
On weekends, he went all in on the battlefield. On weekdays, the only break from gaming was spending a short time playing with Sesame after school before jumping back into matches.
The only notable event in his life was when Sesame, frustrated with his owner for being glued to the glowing screen, attacked his mouse.
Since he had turned down every invitation and meetup, complaints had piled up. But he couldn’t help it. Friends and social gatherings would still be there next month, but once a season’s rewards were gone, they were gone forever.
The 2v2 battlefield required pre-registered duos to queue together, making it crucial to sync up playtimes with a partner.
And Sa-yoon’s duo was always online.
Not that they had identical daily routines—but if someone was always logged in, it naturally raised some questions.
Standing quietly beside Chasa, Killer answered coyly.
[Party] Killer: I’m back.
Wait, when did he even leave? Come to think of it, was he really in college? They might have talked about it once, but the details were hazy.
He thought Killer had said he was a university student… but then again, could that have been a lie too?
Having already been blindsided by him once before, Sa-yoon tried to dig through his foggy memory but gave up almost immediately. Student or not, he was an adult—he could handle his own life.
***
[Guild] Shokrates: I have a question.
[Guild] Shokrates: Does the guild master’s account get rotated between three people?
[Guild] Chasa: Huh?
Sa-yoon, who had been blankly staring at the matchmaking queue, responded a beat late. It didn’t help that, even after reading the chat, it took him a moment to grasp what they were implying.
[Guild] Shokrates: If not, then how were you in the battlefield four hours ago… and still in it now? Are you even human?
[Guild] Furple: I saw you logged in early and thought you were doing a miracle morning routine.
[Guild] Shokrates: Nah, I’m betting he just pulled an all-nighter.
[Guild] Freedeal: Seriously, though, Chasa-nim, you were ranked 13th earlier, and now you’re already 7th…
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Honestly, when I saw you taking it easy at the start, I thought that whole ‘going for 1st place’ thing was just talk.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: But damn, turns out you really have insane endurance…
[Guild] Shokrates: Guess that’s the level of commitment needed to be guild master.
[Guild] Chasa: Haha.
Sa-yoon had nothing to say, so he just let out a short laugh. Not that they were any better—most of these guild members were also grinding the battlefield from the crack of dawn.
Furple, in particular, was a corporate lunatic who had pushed his wake-up time an hour earlier just to squeeze in a couple of rounds before heading to work. It was a relief that no one in the guild was actually gunning for first place.
“The lazy are busiest at sunset,” huh…
Originally, Sa-yoon had planned to stay comfortably within the top 10% and then go all out in the last ten days to secure first place without much trouble.
But when those ten days finally arrived, his rank was only 7th. At this rate, he wouldn’t even get close to first place.
That realization hit like a cold slap, and in response, he sacrificed sleep and practically sold his real life to the game. The past week had become such a blur that he could barely remember how he’d even made it through.
Had he been too optimistic? Maybe he’d underestimated the opening of the season. He should’ve gone all out like a madman from day one.
[Guild] Furple: Chasa-nim, you do sleep, right? ㅜㅜ
Only then did he realize how dry and irritated his eyes felt from staring at the screen for so long. Out of habit, Sa-yoon reached for the artificial tears he kept under his monitor. But every bottle he grabbed was empty.
When did I use them all up? There should be at least one left…
He rummaged through the empty containers for a moment before giving up, pressing and releasing the inner corners of his eyes with his fingers instead. The guild members were right—his average sleep time lately was a disaster.
Through his blurred vision, he saw a blue-colored party chat message pop up.
[Party] Killer: Hyung, aren’t you tired?
“You?”
[Party] Killer: I’m fine.
Even though Sa-yoon had asked out loud, Killer answered through chat. He was sure he had heard Killer’s voice earlier in the battlefield, so when had he muted his mic again? Wasn’t it a hassle to keep turning it on and off?
Before they became a duo, Killer had agreed to use voice chat—but only in the battlefield. And even then, his responses were always curt, limited to things like “Now,” “Behind,” or “Enemy incoming.”
“Damn, your voice must be expensive.”
[Party] Killer: Huh?
“…Huh?”
Had he just said that out loud?
Apparently so.
Staying up for over a day, with half that time spent grinding in the battlefield, was starting to fry his brain.
Even he was struggling, and he was used to pulling all-nighters. There was no way Killer wasn’t feeling it too. At some point, Sa-yoon had formed this image of Killer as a frail, glasses-wearing nerd. Maybe it was because ever since they teamed up, he’d never once seen Killer go out for anything.
[Party] Killer: Didn’t you just say something?
Yeah, he’s not doing great either. Guess I should stop here for today.
Sa-yoon, noticing he was even making typos he normally wouldn’t, decided it was time for a break.
“Ah… I’m done. Let’s pick this up after some sleep.”
The agreement was swift. Despite insisting he was still fine, Killer was the first to log out the moment Sa-yoon called for a break.
Why does he follow my schedule so closely? If he’s tired, he should just say so…
It felt like he had become the CEO of some exploitative black company, refusing to let his employee go home. With that unsettling thought, Sa-yoon got up.
The moment he acknowledged his exhaustion, it crashed over him like a wave. Stumbling toward his bed, he collapsed onto it, feeling like he was sinking into the mattress.
He must have really overdone it, because he was out cold in seconds—completely unaware of Sesame, annoyed by the disturbance, furiously pummeling him with tiny, fluffy punches.
***
[Victory!]
[You have gained 2 battlefield points. Your rank has increased.]
[Temporary guild member ‘Swakkoong’ has logged in.]
[Guild] Swakkoong: Ah, you game addicts. LMAO, still grinding even at dawn.
[Guild] Furple: Koong-ha.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Swakkoong-nim, get your priorities straight. Choosing real life over gaming? Is this what our friendship is worth? ㅜ
[Guild] Swakkoong: ♡♡ LOL, didn’t I literally transfer servers because of you guys? Look at me, a snowman abandoned in the cold ㅜㅋㅋㅋ
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Recruiting party members to hunt down Snowman (1/n).
[Guild] Swakkoong: LMAO, Snowman ain’t coming back. If you were shopping at a high-end mall, would you downgrade to a mom-and-pop store?
Swakkoong was a guild member who had transferred to the server a bit late.
[Guild] Chasa: Welcome, Swakkoong-nim.
[Guild] Swakkoong: New guild master, hi hi~
[Guild] Swakkoong: You’re the only one who says my name properly ㅜ
[Guild] Chasa: Hahahaha.
[Guild] Swakkoong: These guys ditched me the moment transfer tickets dropped ㅜ
[Guild] Shokrates: Here we go again, grandma with her old war stories ㅜ
Swakkoong, who claimed the guild had abandoned him while he was busy living real life with an overseas job, was a Priest. Given that Sa-yoon was a damage dealer with an ingrained appreciation for healers, it was only natural for him to be on good terms with a pure healer like Swakkoong.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Anyway, New York’s cost of living is insane. My back is breaking under all these taxes. Gotta get some therapy when I’m back in Korea.
[Guild] Furple: Oh, Swakkoong, you’re coming back to Korea? When?
[Guild] Swakkoong: Yep, taking leave and heading over next week lol.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: That’s right after the duo battlefield season ends.
[Guild] Swakkoong: You think that’s a coincidence? LMAO. If I called you guys in the middle of a competitive season, none of you would show up anyway.
[Guild] Shokrates: Ah, we’ve been exposed.
[Guild] Furple: How long’s your break?
[Guild] Swakkoong: Two weeks!
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Damn, America’s nice, giving out two-week vacations. O_o
[Guild] Swakkoong: You try living here. You’d hate it.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Anyway, anyone free this weekend for a guild meetup?
[Guild] Swakkoong: Not that Old Guild Master’s gonna show up.
[Guild] Swakkoong: New Guild Master, you wanna come?
The “Old Guild Master” was Killer, and the “New Guild Master” referred to Sa-yoon.
Having just won a battlefield match, Sa-yoon figured he should take a moment to appease Sesame, who was sulking again over being ignored. As he idly scratched Sesame’s head, he glanced at the chat before responding.
“I think it’ll be difficult for me.”
[Party] Killer: Hyung, you just spoke over voice chat.
“Oh, my bad.”
Sa-yoon ruffled Sesame’s fur as the cat perked up, thinking he had been talking to him. Then, moving his hand back to the keyboard, he typed his response.
[Guild] Chasa: I have plans during that time.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Too bad.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Thought I’d get to meet a new face.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Guess it’s just gonna be the same old crowd—boring. ㅜ
[Whisper] Killer: Hyung.
[Whisper] Killer: You…
“Hm?”
[Whisper] Killer: What do you think about meeting people from the game in real life?
