Chapter 34
“Hey, Jang Kwon-ju! What are you doing? Let’s eat ramen.”
Kwon-ju had deliberately kept his distance from the group cooking ramen together, but his classmates from yesterday’s bonding session came over and kindly dragged him along. Ji-won looked at him with a satisfied expression and waved him off to go eat, so Kwon-ju gave up resisting and emptied a bowl right where he sat.
“Check-out time! Everyone gather your things!”
He should wash up again since he’d been lying in a dirty place, but he really wasn’t in the mood, so he just left. He should have brought a hat. Regretting this, he got on the bus, and Ji-won sat down next to him just like on the way there, then opened his mouth as if he’d noticed something.
“Your hair’s sticking up.”
Without thinking, Ji-won reached out and firmly pressed down on Kwon-ju’s thick hair. Startled by the action, Kwon-ju jerked his head to the side, and Ji-won, finally realizing his action was sudden, immediately apologized.
“Ah, sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I didn’t wash my hair this morning…”
“Didn’t wash it last night? I’ve touched Kim Mingyu’s unwashed hair after five days.”
It was a mistake, but seeing Ji-won treating it as completely trivial, Kwon-ju held back his words. Since friends normally don’t care if someone doesn’t wash their hair for a day, that reaction was probably normal. Realizing he was the only one overly concerned about how he appeared, Kwon-ju pressed the spot where Ji-won’s hand had touched a few more times. He really should have washed his hair before coming.
For some reason, Kwon-ju felt anxious about various things, while Ji-won, who had been so energetic when he first woke up, was now incredibly tired. They didn’t exchange any conversation. In a bus filled with singing and chatting, only their seats were enveloped in silence.
“…”
Ji-won had been fine yesterday, but today he seemed tired. His head precariously dropped down and then came back up repeatedly. If he’s sleepy, he could just sleep. Though it might be quite difficult to calm down, Kwon-ju was more than willing to offer his shoulder.
Unfortunately, Ji-won didn’t seem interested in sleeping. Since they were almost there, he tried to shake off his drowsiness by opening the cap of the bottled water he’d brought, but the bus suddenly stopped, causing him to spill water all over the floor.
“Ah, shit. Do you have any tissues?”
“Yes.”
Kwon-ju expected to pull out a few sheets, but instead handed over a brand new pack. Well, looking at how much was spilled, he would need a lot. But it wouldn’t be right to use up someone else’s tissues, so Ji-won pulled them out sparingly as he wiped the floor.
The bus, which was almost at its destination, came to a screeching halt before Ji-won could finish cleaning up.
“Ah, I couldn’t clean it all.”
Even as Ji-won’s friends passed by, snickering and asking what he was doing, Kwon-ju steadfastly remained in his seat, only unfastening his seatbelt when Ji-won finally got up. By the time they got off the bus side by side, everyone had long since disappeared to their homes. Yeah, I didn’t expect these bastards to wait for us anyway.
“Thanks for waiting. We’re heading in different directions anyway, so you should have gotten off first.”
“It’s fine. Take care.”
At Ji-won’s words about getting off first, Kwon-ju bowed his head deeply in farewell, feeling that Ji-won probably didn’t want to spend any more time with him. He had hoped Ji-won might suggest playing games together. But that could be done from home anyway. Just as he was about to take a step forward with lingering regret—
“Oh, right.”
The face that suddenly approached made him dizzy. While he was fumbling, unable to step back, Ji-won reached into the pocket of Kwon-ju’s outer clothing.
“What I borrowed earlier. Thanks for letting me use it.”
The rustling sound was definitely that of a travel tissue pack. Why return it like this? Though they’d sat close enough for their shoulders to touch or sat across from each other before, this was the first time Ji-won had approached so closely from the front, and Kwon-ju’s heart felt like it would jump out of his mouth.
He noticed the corners of Ji-won’s mouth naturally turning up in a smile. Despite the cold weather, his lips were neat and pretty without a single crack. Ji-won, completely unaware of where Kwon-ju was looking, casually waved his hand and turned around without any hesitation.
“…”
Feeling like he might collapse at any moment, Kwon-ju forced strength into his legs. He needed to pull himself together. He had to keep his wits about him and not lose his mind. He kept scolding himself endlessly.
* * *
After the MT, Kwon-ju became a celebrity in the game. As he passed through town, some people recognized him and greeted him, asking how much he paid for his items or what class he played. Even right now.
[Swap: Is it true your entire equipment is at +15?]
He had no idea where such exaggerated rumors had spread. To get all items to +15 would require selling at least two buildings, what nonsense. Without answering, he moved to a hunting ground, but he couldn’t concentrate because every five minutes, different users would appear and steal his kills.
[Hando: Should we change hunting grounds?]
[HolyKnightKnight: I don’t know how they keep finding me]
[Hando: Everyone at near max level hunts here, so they just switch channels and roam]
[HolyKnightKnight: Ah..]
Now he understood what Jae-heon meant when he said not to show his items if possible. He had equipped them out of frustration because they kept bothering Ji-won, but he had no idea this kind of trouble would happen.
Finally deciding to change hunting grounds, he was about to select a channel when a guild chat suddenly appeared.
[Guild][Ddaji: Do you guys know the mini-game is open?]
[Guild][Ddaji: RunRun Racing is back………..]
As soon as Ji-won heard that familiar name, he felt like yawning from boredom. Again, recycled content. Instead of wasting time developing pointless mini-games, they should invest in other content. He didn’t think much of it, but he did find it somewhat puzzling that they kept bringing it back periodically. They could at least upgrade the rewards.
But unlike the indifferent Ji-won, Kwon-ju showed interest in this different content he was seeing for the first time.
[HolyKnightKnight: I checked the homepage]
[HolyKnightKnight: It says you only need to use keyboard controls]
The point that caught his attention seemed to be the simple controls. After all, “RunRun Racing” was a game where control wasn’t that important, progressing solely based on luck. If you get many booster items, you can run faster, and if you get trash items like banana peels that no one but fools would step on, you’re doomed.
But Ji-won genuinely disliked this mini-game. It kept coming back every few months, with garbage rewards and no fun. Only those chasing rankings played it earnestly. If they at least offered a limited title for those in the ranking, it might be different, but there wasn’t even that.
[HolyKnightKnight: You’ve played it a lot, right, hyung?]
A lot… not really. He’d only tried this game that confused the identity of Arc Serenity twice when it first appeared, which was enough. Rather than playing this luck-based racing game, he’d rather run one more dungeon in that time. Events that didn’t offer juicy rewards, limited titles, or items didn’t interest Ji-won much.
[Hando: This doesn’t give rewards]
[HolyKnightKnight: Sounds fun though]
[Hando: And yet it’s still fun kkkkkkk]
Ji-won hastily typed without realizing it, then took his hands off the keyboard in embarrassment. He could’ve just said he didn’t find it fun, why did he respond that way? No, it wouldn’t be right to mock content a newbie found enjoyable.
[HolyKnightKnight: Then would you like to play with me?]
[HolyKnightKnight: Every day]
This boring mini-game every day? It takes over 5 minutes for one round. Rational judgment was screaming that using that time to run another dungeon would be better, but his hands had already expressed agreement before he knew it.
[Hando: Sure]
What did he mean by “sure”… He checked his own chat again and gently bit the soft flesh inside his mouth. But it would be weird to take back an answer he’d already given, and he figured it was just a matter of playing along. Maybe it would become fun as they played.
[Hando: Team match?]
[HolyKnightKnight: Yes]
[Hando: Red? Blue?]
[HolyKnightKnight: You choose, hyung]
It didn’t matter much which side they chose. The teammates and opponents were all random anyway. Ji-won casually chose blue, and his character changed into a uniform. His mage robe didn’t come off in the process, resulting in a rather unbalanced fashion.
“Ah, this might get boring.”
Waiting in the lobby already felt tedious. The deliberation didn’t last long. He’d suggest Discord.
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: Kwon-ju]
[HolyKnightKnight>>Hando: Yes?]
[Hando>>HolyKnightKnight: Want to use Discord??]
He was about to add that they could just chat if it was uncomfortable, but before he could type it, an affirmative reply came back. Is he really okay with it? Since he agreed to everything Ji-won suggested, it was hard to tell if he genuinely liked it or was just going along because Ji-won was his senior.
As soon as they connected their voices, the game started. There wasn’t much to explain about the game, so Ji-won just moved the direction keys with an expressionless face. After finishing three consecutive rounds, Ji-won carefully spoke up.
“Hey, Kwon-ju.”
“Yes?”
“You’re really good.”
Is it not skill but luck? But his ability to avoid obstacles was quite good. His reflexes seemed fine, so it was puzzling why he couldn’t avoid enemy attacks.
Coming in first place at the finish line every round and standing there leisurely made him look cooler than if he were wearing items worth hundreds of millions in cash value. It was very different from when he was struggling and flailing with skills before. Why was he so good at this game when he couldn’t perform well even with a +15 weapon?
After playing the mini-game with Kwon-ju for a full seven rounds, Ji-won’s verdict remained the same as before. It would be more fun to turn on a variety show and hunt monsters. He couldn’t take his eyes off the screen, and the playtime was unnecessarily long. Though they did make small talk while playing, it still seemed more beneficial to run dungeons during this time.
“Will this disappear after a certain time too?”
“It comes back periodically, but once it opens, it lasts a week.”
“Ah…”
The small sigh sounded somewhat regretful. Kwon-ju meant it as an indication that he understood, but Ji-won interpreted it differently.
Well, it’s only fair to do things he enjoys too. Thinking that as game mates, he should be considerate, Ji-won suggested first.
“Want to play one more round?”
“I’d like that.”
At this rate, we’ll be running for rankings. With an inexplicable feeling, Ji-won smiled and pressed the matching button with a positive attitude. Sadly, the result was a devastating defeat, landing him in last place.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
