Chapter 27
“My schedule? Sure.”
Ji-won was about to open his gallery without much thought when his junior suddenly asked about his hideous class schedule while they were talking about food. Then a question occurred to him that made him pause. Since they were in different years, it’s not like they’d be taking the same courses, so why ask?
“Why do you want to see my schedule?”
“I haven’t made any friends in my year yet.”
“Huh…?”
“I’d like to see you between classes if possible…”
To someone who didn’t know that Kwon-ju preferred being alone more than anyone else, these words would have seemed pitifully sad. The sunlight beautifully illuminating his face through the transparent window and his downcast gaze added appropriately to the sense of sorrow.
Compassion naturally bloomed in Ji-won’s heart, as he didn’t know much about Kwon-ju’s high school friendships.
“You must have your own friends. I’ll just say hello and go so I won’t disturb you.”
“No, I’m on my own too since I just returned from military service this year. But almost all my classes start at 8 AM…”
“Most of my classes start at 8 AM too.”
“You?”
A freshman?
When Ji-won asked with a disbelieving face, Kwon-ju readily showed him a captured photo of his schedule. What the hell, why is it so similar to mine? From 8 AM classes to floating gaps between them. It was so remarkably similar that Ji-won would have believed Kwon-ju had copied his schedule if he claimed so. Do all messed-up course registrations end up looking like this?
“How did you end up with a schedule like this?”
There were even some courses that didn’t seem appropriate for a first-year student. All unpopular lectures with poor professor ratings. Almost no electives, just packed with major courses. Surely upperclassmen must have given some advice about how to organize a good schedule during orientation. Ji-won thought that Mingyu, who was in the same orientation group, must not have done his job properly, but then remembered he was busy being an X-Man and decided not to scold him.
“This is too harsh right after admission.”
“I didn’t know how to make a proper schedule.”
Fair enough. Ji-won looked up from his phone and nodded at Kwon-ju. He wasn’t the type to blend well with others in high school either. Although all Ji-won knew about him was what he saw during club hours, Kwon-ju would always sit quietly alone, watch, and then leave.
Come to think of it, hadn’t they talked about course registration in the game before? Ji-won had assumed that even a freshman would know about it, but he really didn’t know… He should have said more back then.
“By the way, hyung.”
“Yes?”
“Do you always have lunch with your friends?”
Before Ji-won could ask why, he understood the meaning behind the question. If a junior who had no close peers and wanted to see him between classes was asking about lunch companions, there could only be one reason.
And Kwon-ju, whose thoughts had been accurately perceived, was extremely tense. Ji-won’s circle of friends whom he had secretly envied in the cafeteria. Those lucky people who were born two years earlier, assigned to the same class as his senior, became friends with him, hung out together, and even ate together. None of Ji-won’s friends would think of it that way, but to Kwon-ju, it was a blessing greater than winning the lottery.
If he ended up attending the same university, he really wanted to eat with him. Though he was too nervous to speak, he couldn’t back down now. After taking a moment to collect himself, Kwon-ju broached the main topic.
“Would it be okay if I had lunch with you?”
At the expected request, Ji-won looked at Kwon-ju’s face, still bathed in natural light. It makes sense that eating alone would be difficult right after entering university. Even Ji-won himself always ate with his peers, whether in the school cafeteria or at restaurants outside campus. After returning from military service, he could eat anywhere without caring, but Kwon-ju probably wasn’t there yet. So he must have eaten alone today too.
“Sure. Let’s eat together.”
For Kwon-ju, who had been perfectly comfortable eating alone in the high school cafeteria for three years, there were no more challenges left, but he didn’t care how Ji-won pitied or misunderstood him. His face brightened at the unexpectedly easy permission.
“…Thank you.”
There’s nothing to thank me for. With an obviously happy expression, he even slightly bowed his head, and the sight was quite touching. He seemed to struggle with socializing. To Ji-won, who didn’t know whether Kwon-ju had friends in high school or not, the only apparent problem with this otherwise normal junior was his shy personality.
If they kept running into each other at school, he could naturally introduce Kwon-ju to first-year students too. Ji-won didn’t mind meeting new people and becoming friends, and he was confident he could quickly get to know any junior.
“It’s just awkward now, but you’ll make friends with your classmates soon. It’s only the first week after admission, after all. I’ll help you too.”
“…”
Having experienced Ji-won’s sociability firsthand, Kwon-ju knew how well he approached juniors he wasn’t acquainted with. While he understood Ji-won wanted his high school junior to adjust well after their reunion at the same university, this wasn’t what Kwon-ju wanted at all. He simply wanted to be with him both at school and in the game.
“By the way, about us meeting in the game like that.”
“…Yes.”
“I was so shocked that day I couldn’t speak. My hands were shaking as I stood my character there wondering what to say.”
If Ji-won was that surprised to learn it was a junior he knew, how much more shocked must Kwon-ju have been to discover it was his first love? Kwon-ju couldn’t sleep at all that night. All those days of casually chatting in the game flashed through his mind, making him regret so much he wanted to break his fingers. Fortunately, he didn’t think he had said that nonsense about starting the game because his crush asked him to, so he was finally able to fall asleep around dawn.
“Me too. That’s why I replied late that day…”
“I see. If we hadn’t met at the opening ceremony, we would have continued not knowing who each other was, right? It’s also really amazing that we came to the same university and same department. We could submit this story to a radio show.”
The former was truly coincidental, but the latter was planned. If I told him I retook the entrance exam to attend the same university and department as hyung, he’d be creeped out.
“After seeing my test scores, I thought they would be just right for this university.”
“That’s how people usually decide. I’ve only attended for a year, but if you have any questions, just ask.”
The time he dreamed of during his hellish year of retaking the exam was even happier than he had imagined. A conversation face to face, just the two of them. When he was with Ji-won, the conversation flowed smoothly. It wasn’t the club room, and neither of them was wearing school uniforms, but nothing had really changed.
“By the way, I’m really curious about something.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“What kind of items did you buy?”
Items, suddenly? Seeing Kwon-ju’s expression like he’d heard something completely random, Ji-won added:
“You seemed troubled when I asked before.”
“Ah, that wasn’t because I was troubled.”
He had hesitated momentarily because the item’s owner had told him not to show it around. But that was only when he thought Ji-won was just the Guild Master; now that he knew the person behind the monitor was Ji-won, there was no reason to hide it.
“I was just thinking about something and couldn’t answer quickly. I’ll show you when I get home later.”
“Really? Then I’ll take a look this time. You’re almost at max level, so it’s about time to figure out your item setup direction.”
After chatting for about an hour at the café, they parted with plans to meet in the game. Even though they said goodbye in real life, they were friends who could meet again on their computers.
Having met his game friend in real life, Ji-won sat at his computer as usual after showering, with an excited feeling. Then a thought suddenly crossed his mind: since they knew each other anyway, why had he only been thinking about chatting via keyboard until now? Ji-won immediately sent a KakaoTalk message to Kwon-ju.
[Have you ever tried Discord?]
[No.. what is that?]
Kwon-ju, who only joined the announcement open chat and had no interest in casual chat rooms, seemed to be unaware of Discord’s existence.
[It’s something where you can screen share and voice chat]
Screen share. Voice chat. As soon as he confirmed the KakaoTalk message, Kwon-ju immediately pushed all the messy files on his desktop into the recycle bin and replied.
[I’ll install it and be right back]
[Ok send me your nickname and code]
[It should be in the lower left]
[Got it]
Shortly after, Kwon-ju sent his three-character name and four-digit code. Is it normal to use your real name as your nickname? That’s unusual.
[Just enter the server I invited you to]
[I’m in]
[Come to the voice channel on the left]
He must have found it right away, as there was a sound indicating someone had entered the channel.
“Can you hear me?”
– Ah.
“I can hear you.”
– I can hear you too.
Ji-won only used voice chat when playing FPS games with friends or when tackling bosses that were difficult to clear without leading, so one-on-one was almost a first for him. The only time he had done one-on-one calls was when he had a girlfriend. Unaware that the junior on the other side of the screen was already flushed with heat up to his neck, Ji-won just thought it was a bit awkward.
“This is convenient because you can also screen share to show items. The PVP zone opens on Wednesday, so it would be good to check before then.”
The PVP zone, which opens unexpectedly once in a while, was a place where you could find and collect items scattered around or participate in hunting boss monsters that respawn once an hour for big rewards, but it was also fraught with danger. Since the notice came out last week, it’s almost certain it will open with this week’s update.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
