Chapter 20
After walking all the way to his studio apartment with his back to Kwon-ju, Ji-won turned on his computer and accessed KakaoTalk on his phone right after showering. Since his last name is Jang… Ji-won scrolled down his friend list for a while until he found Kwon-ju’s buried profile and entered the chat room. The unsent conversation history still contained the exchanges from over three years ago, on graduation day.
[Hahahaha you too]
There were no more KakaoTalk messages exchanged after what he had sent. Looking back at their previous conversations, Ji-won felt embarrassed noticing how curt his own replies were. Back then I was too busy playing games all day instead of going to school. No wonder we lost contact after graduation… He said he knew I was attending Sewon University, so maybe that’s why he didn’t reach out. Ji-won felt guilty enough to regret suggesting they play games together first.
[Did you get home safely?]
[Yes]
[Did yuo get home too?]
[*you?]
Ji-won sent a message first with an apologetic heart, and within 30 seconds it was read, followed by a flurry of messages. Noticing the hastily corrected typo that seemed somewhat urgent, Ji-won opened KakaoTalk on his PC and typed his reply.
[I just got home and finished showering]
[Are you going to sleep soon? I’ll probably play games until late before sleeping]
[No, I’m planning to play some games before sleeping too]
[Then want to add each other now?]
The rapidly flowing conversation suddenly stopped. Just as Ji-won was wondering if he’d been too hasty, a positive response came shortly after.
[Yes, I’ll log in after finishing a few things]
Meeting in the game right after parting ways in person—what a coincidence. Not knowing anything about Kwon-ju’s character, including nickname, class, or exact level, made Ji-won feel oddly excited. I wonder what class he plays. Given his calm and collected personality, maybe his character is similar. Feels like he might play a magic-using class. Though it was just speculation, the image matched well with Ji-won’s impression of Kwon-ju.
[Okay, I’m logging in now]
[Let me know when you’re online]
Ji-won returned to the game screen without reading the next message and began searching through his storage for suitable items to gift. Since I don’t know his exact class, maybe I’ll give him cosmetic items. Based on Kwon-ju’s personality, Ji-won guessed he’d be playing a male character, and was contemplating between two limited edition outfit sets that traded for quite high prices when a chat invitation suddenly appeared.
[Hando: ??]
[Ddaji: Guild Master, why aren’t you checking Discord? ㅜㅜ]
[Hando: I just got home]
[Ddaji: ㅠㅠ Sasa said something came up and he needs to leave the guild..]
[Ddaji: Since both the Guild Master and Vice Master were away, he asked me to let you know when you come online ㅠ]
[Watermelon Doctor: ㅠㅠ I can’t let my newbie go]
[Watermelon Doctor: Can’t let the newbie I raised go~~! No one can take him away~~!]
They were fine just yesterday, but suddenly? The unexpected news of HolyKnightKnight’s guild departure—who had been diligently and earnestly playing the game—caught Ji-won off guard when he’d logged in with a good mood.
[Ddaji: I’m wondering if another guild is trying to recruit him ㅠ]
[Ddaji: He said he’s moving, and it feels awkward to stop him, but another guild might be tampering with him ㅠ I thought it would be good to discuss this with the Guild Master first]
Is he really moving to another guild because of an offer? Indeed, unlike other guild members, he’s a newbie who joined recently, so it would be much easier to poach him with good conditions. He probably attracted a lot of attention while playing with Chelling and other guild members, and after participating in PvP last month, word about his good items must have spread.
So is it a medium or large guild? Or something even bigger? Too many candidates came to mind. Ji-won couldn’t stop him if he wanted to go somewhere better, but he was cautious about the possibility of someone trying to cause discord or misunderstandings. Poaching guild members was a common practice in Arc Serenity where PvP existed.
[Chelling: Meanwhile he dumped a ton of gold in the guild storage saying thanks ㅠㅠ]
[Chelling: Is his personality for real?]
When Ji-won checked the guild storage after Chelling’s message, he couldn’t help but be surprised. The amount inside seemed even larger than if they had calculated an hourly wage for all the time guild members had spent helping him hunt. He really always surprises us. Usually, users don’t pay back guilds that have helped them tremendously before leaving. Maybe he doesn’t know this because he’s a newbie?
[Hando: Is Sasa online now??]
[Chelling: wait a sec]
After asking for permission, Chelling briefly went offline and soon invited HolyKnightKnight to the chat. As soon as he entered, everyone in the chat room started speaking at once, making the screen scroll chaotically, so Ji-won organized things once and asked HolyKnightKnight for the exact reason for his departure.
[HolyKnightKnight: Well, I]
[HolyKnightKnight: I have to move to an acquaintance’s guild..]
In Arc Serenity, claiming to move to “an acquaintance’s guild” was a very common and standard excuse when leaving a guild. Ji-won wondered if he was quitting the game entirely, actually moving to a friend’s guild, or perhaps leaving carefully because something had displeased him.
Tilting his head to the left, Ji-won stared at the character floating in the corner of the chat window. It had the same appearance he’d seen countless times, but today it seemed somehow awkward.
[HolyKnightKnight: I had a lot of fun thanks to everyone taking care of me]
[HolyKnightKnight: I really appreciate it]
Perhaps bothered by the sudden departure, his messages were unusually long compared to normal. Everyone had been extra nice to him as a new guild member who joined after a long time, and although it had been a short period, his particularly long playing hours made it feel like they’d been together for quite a while. I really thought we’d be together for a long time this time.
While it was too sudden, as the number of thank-you messages increased, Ji-won started feeling uncomfortable. It’s not like we helped expecting something in return, so… It would have been nice if we could have kept him, but…
[Hando: It’s okay ㅎㅎ]
[Hando: Even if you move to another guild, come visit us sometimes]
[Chelling: I’ll give you a slot on my tiny friend list ㅠ]
Though it was disappointing, he couldn’t hold back someone who wanted to leave. In the end, satisfied with adding him as a friend, Ji-won gulped down water with a bitter feeling as he watched the newbie he had personally recruited completely leave. It wasn’t the first time guild members he’d directly brought in had left, but… It was only three months, but the disappointment was multiplied. At least we added each other as friends, so I guess we’ll keep in touch?
Just then, a KakaoTalk message arrived from Kwon-ju saying he’d logged in. Right, we’re getting a new guild member. Is this the law of conservation of mass? I hope he doesn’t get bored and quit soon too. His excited mood seemed to be settling down a bit.
[I’ll be by the statue next to the Perias Fountain in channel 15]
[ok ok]
The Perias Fountain was a spacious, secluded map located a bit away from the capital. In the past, the fountain at the center was glamorous and beautiful, occasionally serving as a hotspot for screenshots, but after several major updates introducing high-quality maps, hardly anyone visited it now. He probably chose it deliberately to avoid confusion with other users.
[Guild][Ppojjo: ㅠㅠ..ㅠㅠ…]
[Guild][Ddaji: Stop crying ㅠㅠ]
[Guild][Ppojjo: But Ddaji, you’re crying too? ㅠㅠ]
[Guild][Ddaji: Shut up..]
Guild members who were quite close to HolyKnightKnight kept posting crying emoticons in the guild chat. They probably weren’t sad enough to shed real tears, but Ji-won completely understood their feelings of disappointment. In this atmosphere, bringing in a new guild member right away seems inappropriate…
Planning to meet first and explain about delaying the guild registration, Ji-won moved his character closer to the central fountain. With the character’s fast base movement speed, he quickly approached the center. That’s when he caught sight of a character at the edge of the screen, in the upper right corner.
It was a familiar character. The hair color visible from a distance and the outfit’s general shape were disturbingly familiar. That’s because they belonged to his single-outfit guild member—no, since he’d left, his former guild member. Hadn’t he just seen it in the chat? That knight outfit.
He seemed unaware that another user was on the map, perhaps because of the distance. Or maybe he was looking at something other than the game screen…
[Let me know when you arrive]
Ji-won’s eyes unconsciously shifted to the KakaoTalk window open beside the game, where a new message had just arrived. Asking me to let him know when I arrive means he’s already here.
As he got closer to the fountain, suspicion turned into certainty. When he finally came within range to see the user’s nickname, Ji-won was at a loss for words.
“…”
Is this even possible? Out of all those countless users?
The attempt to deny reality in the face of this incredible coincidence only lasted a moment. Twenty-one years old, gap year student, financially capable of spending 500,000 won monthly on the game. Putting together all the information learned while gaming, everything connected too clearly. Things he hadn’t even considered before now hit him repeatedly like a slap to the back of the head.
So the X-man from orientation he mentioned was Mingyu. The school he got into after his gap year is our university. I thought it was strange how our schedules overlapped in many ways, but I never imagined we’d be at the same school. There are so many universities in the country…
Then the place Sasa was leaving our guild for is, in conclusion, our guild again.
“…”
Is this good? Or is bewilderment the priority? A forced laugh kept escaping as his shoulders shook involuntarily. Having finally grasped the situation, Ji-won placed both hands on the keyboard. He needed to say something, but his hands trembled with disbelief. This coincidence was so extraordinary that it would surely be suspected as a lie if sent to a radio show.
He brought up the KakaoTalk window to explain the truth but was unsure how to start. Should he write out the whole story? Maybe say they seemed to know each other? After making his decision, Ji-won closed the KakaoTalk window.
And then, toward his newbie and junior who hadn’t yet noticed his character’s arrival, he sent a chat message.
[Hando: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Hando: Kwon-ju]
[Hando: Join the guild again]
[Hando: I’ll open applications..]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
