From what I rember, Hwanhee had definitely completed her full military service in the Army. It had been a while, so I wasn’t completely sure, but as far as I recalled, that was the case. I quickly replied in the comnts.
UncoverTheSecretsOfLondon:
Wait, didn’t you say you completed full Army service?
What’s the truth here?
As I waited, feeling sowhat tense—
Ding!
A new comnt popped up.
Hwanhee:
Oh, the full Army service thing?
That was a lie, haha.
UncoverTheSecretsOfLondon:
...? Really?
I distinctly rembered Hwanhee live-posting about her enlistnt in Ifrit Gallery. She’d even ntioned being assigned to the Army. So, what had happened in the anti?
‘Did she suddenly develop so serious health issue?’
As I considered the possibility—
Hwanhee:
To be precise, I did join the Army, but my health got worse, so I ended up as a public service worker.
UncoverTheSecretsOfLondon:
Is that even possible?
Switching from active duty to public service was unheard of. If that were possible, everyone would switch to public service duty. There had to be a special reason.
UncoverTheSecretsOfLondon:
What exactly made you switch to public service?
This was the big question. I waited to hear her story.
Hwanhee:
Ah, that’s a secret.
But why does it even matter?
I’ve already completed my service.
She had a point. What was done was done.
UncoverTheSecretsOfLondon:
Fair enough.
And with that, the conversation ended.
“Whew.”
I managed to dodge the “Where are you assigned?” question pretty smoothly. I could have co up with sothing, but I didn’t want to risk ntioning a place that might not exist in this world. Satisfied with how naturally I’d sidestepped the issue, I closed the gallery and opened my ga.
Today, I was in the mood for a soccer ga. I’d been planning to play it since before logging into the gallery. Since I didn’t consider my reflexes very sharp, I preferred strategy-based soccer gas where I could set tactics rather than control the players directly. Just as I was adjusting the settings—
“Hey, do you have ti?”
“Yeah, why?”
I had plenty of ti, though I’d eventually need to go back to university. Because of an incident from my past there, I’d been putting off my return.
‘If only I hadn’t ssed up back then.’
Thinking about that frustrating event, I looked over at Yeram.
“My friends and I are putting together a five-man party. Want to join us?”
“I don’t even have an account for that.”
From the way she was talking, she probably wanted to play League of Legends with her, but I didn’t have an account, so I didn’t see how I could join. Besides, why would I jump into a ga with her friends? It’d be like a senior crashing a freshman gathering at orientation.
‘Then again, there’s always that one senior who does.’
I was pondering whether those types of people were common everywhere or just around when—
“I thought you’d say that, so I borrowed an account for you. Let’s play together!”
This ti, she was unusually prepared. She’d even secured an account for .
“Still, you guys are playing together. Wouldn’t it be weird if I joined?”
It was true. Having an older brother join in on a group ga with her friends was bound to make things awkward.
“Oh, co on! Stop being so uptight! I know you’re bad at the ga, but just join us.”
“Hey, calling bad at gas is totally out of line.”
It was a baseless claim. Sure, I hadn’t played League before, so I wouldn’t be good at it right away, but that didn’t make bad at gaming in general.
As I replied—
“Triggered?”
She hit with the “triggered” coback. Honestly, it was infuriating. I had an overwhelming urge to find whoever ca up with that word and give them a piece of my mind.
“I’m not ‘triggered,’ it’s just irritating to hear you twist the facts.”
“Triggered?”
“Oh, co on.”
I rarely used profanity, but the word “triggered” had a way of getting under my skin. Whether or not I was actually “triggered” didn’t matter; once soone started repeating it, you automatically ended up feeling that way.
“Co on, just two gas! My friends want to et you!”
“…Really?”
I wasn’t so kind of creepy guy who was thrilled to show his face to high school girls, but being the center of attention wasn’t so bad.
“Well, I guess I have no choice. It’s hard being this handso and charming, but fine, I’ll play two gas with you.”
“…Never mind, let’s forget it.”
“Oh, don’t dismiss your dear older brother’s words like that.”
“The ‘dear older brother’ thing is so overdone; it’s not a TV drama.”
We bantered back and forth before finally agreeing. I’d give League of Legends a shot.
“Just let your friends know I’ve never played League before, okay? I don’t want to get yelled at for being bad.”
“Of course! No one’s going to yell at you, don’t worry.”
She had a point. Who would berate a newbie just starting out? I’d heard stories, but her friends wouldn’t yell at , right? Reassuring myself, I logged in and waited.
‘This is kind of nerve-wracking.’
Though I’d gad with others through the gallery, I’d never played in a group setting like this—except for building gas where you could stack blocks and fight. I waited, feeling a bit anxious, when—
Ding!
A cheerful sound signaled the appearance of an invite icon in the top-right corner, with options to accept or decline.
“Hey, is the party na seriously ‘IWantToMateWithFuzz’? Is that right?”
Just reading it out loud felt shaful, like my mouth was being violated.
“Yeah, that’s it. Just accept it.”
“…Alright.”
I guess this was how kids expressed themselves these days. I clicked the accept button, and soon after—
“-Mic check, mic check.”
“Hey, idiot, we’re supposed to be on Discord, not here.”
“Why am I an idiot, you rank four scrub?”
“Could you guys shut up? Jihoo’s joining us, so keep it down for a bit.”
As soon as I entered the party, the chat was a cacophony of voices. I figured I’d better let them know I was here since Yeram had just gone to the restroom.
“Um, hello?”
The chat went silent.
It made sense; they’d been joking around inappropriately, only to realize that a friend’s older brother had overheard everything.
‘They must be embarrassed.’
I imagined it was pretty awkward for them.
“Uh… is anyone there?”
Just as I acted as if I was about to leave—
“Oh, hi! You’re here!”
“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Got a bit flustered.”
“Seriously, you need to replace that junk mic. How long are you going to keep using that?”
“Hey, it’s not junk. It’s ‘classic.’”
“Classic, my foot.”
Fortunately, the initial tension had lifted, and they resud chatting freely. Just then, Yeram ca back from the restroom and sat down.
“Why are you guys still talking here? Aren’t we going to Discord?”
From what I’d overheard, everyone seed to be using an app called Discord. Since most gars use it, I didn’t mind joining them there either.
‘Plus, the audio quality is better on Discord.’
I chid in.
“Could soone send the Discord link in chat?”
“Oh, sure!”
And just like that, everything moved along smoothly. We all joined the Discord call, and now the only thing left was—
“So, let’s sort out the positions.”
Apparently, in League, you need to assign positions. From what I gathered, the options were top, jungle, mid, bot (AD carry), and support. It all sounded complex, so I focused on what Yeram was explaining.
“So, you guys take the upper lanes. I’ll go bot with my brother to teach him.”
“Sounds good.”
“If we send a newbie to the jungle, he’ll just get flad.”
“It’s just us playing. No one’s going to fla him.”
“I might fla him.”
“C’mon…”
“Just kidding. I’d never yell at my friend’s brother.”
Despite her reassurance, I had my doubts. Cautiously, I followed her instructions.
“Alright, I’ll go AD carry, and… you’ll go support.”
“Got it.”
I’d never thought I’d end up playing League of Legends in my life, but here I was. Feeling a bit nervous, I started the ga.
A few monts in—
“Hey, Jihoo.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to die?”
“Why?”
“You’re not supposed to last-hit the minions! Stop taking my CS!”
“But killing them gives money. Why should you get all the benefits? This is upsetting.”
It seed that I had, indeed, managed to irritate Yeram.
Reviews
All reviews (0)