On the Same Team

The next morning.

Kang Tae-jun walked into the classroom at about the same time as always. He'd wrapped up the game earlier than expected the night before and gotten a full night's sleep. And yet his face still had a strangely vacant look to it.

"You're here."

Lee Hyun-woo, already in his seat, lifted a hand. Tae-jun gave a light nod and set his bag down beside his chair. Hyun-woo studied him for a moment.

"You don't look tired today."

"Yeah."

"So why do you look so out of it?"

Tae-jun didn't answer. He pulled out his textbook instead. Last night's final messages were still sitting in the back of his mind.

And then—

He'd simply been chosen as an event partner. It was an in-game thing, and it didn't mean anything more than that. And yet that last sentence refused to leave him alone.

There were plenty of players far better than he was. Just counting the rankers, there were more than he could name. And she had passed all of them over and picked him. For Tae-jun, that fact was every bit as heavy as it was happy.

Hyun-woo snapped his fingers.

Snap.

"Hey."

"What."

"A person is talking to you. Are you even listening?"

"I'm listening."

"Liar."

Hyun-woo propped his elbows on the desk.

"Thinking about the game?"

Tae-jun hesitated for a beat.

"...Yeah."

"Called it."

Hyun-woo shook his head.

"Did Shopsop chew you out again?"

"Not this time."

"Then what?"

Tae-jun hesitated, then answered.

"Just... something kind of important came up."

"In the game?"

"Yeah."

"What is it?"

"It's a little early to talk about."

Hyun-woo narrowed his eyes.

"Suspicious."

"What is."

"You hiding game stuff is the most suspicious thing of all."

"I'm not hiding—"

Before Tae-jun could finish, the classroom door opened.

Seo Ha-yoon walked in. Her long golden hair was neatly arranged, same as always, and a textbook and a small notebook were tucked in one hand. The students around her offered greetings as naturally as breathing.

"Hey, Ha-yoon."

"Hi."

Ha-yoon answered with a light smile. Then, on her way to her seat, her eyes met Tae-jun's.

"Hi."

"Oh— hey."

His reply came a beat late. Ha-yoon didn't walk past. She stopped.

"Is something going on?"

Tae-jun blinked.

"Why?"

"Your answer was late."

"That much?"

"A little."

Her gaze lingered on his face.

"You don't look tired today, though."

"Yeah. I slept well."

"So you're thinking about something else."

Tae-jun gave a short laugh.

"Is it that obvious?"

"A little?"

When Ha-yoon tossed his own words back at him, Hyun-woo burst out laughing beside them.

"This guy's been zoning out since he sat down."

"Lee Hyun-woo."

"What. It's true."

Tae-jun shot Hyun-woo a look, then turned back to Ha-yoon.

"There's just something I'm a little nervous about."

"Something you're nervous about?"

"Yeah."

Ha-yoon didn't ask what it was. She simply studied his reaction for a moment.

"Is it something you want to do well?"

Tae-jun thought about it, then nodded.

"I think so."

"Then being nervous makes sense."

The answer was more matter-of-fact than he'd expected. Tae-jun looked at her, a little thrown.

"You're not going to tell me it'll be fine."

"I don't even know what it is yet. How am I supposed to say it'll be fine?"

"That's... fair."

Ha-yoon smiled faintly. Tae-jun rested his hands on the desk.

"But if I mess up, other people could get hurt too."

Ha-yoon considered that for a moment.

"Is it something you're doing with someone?"

"Yeah."

"Then you're not carrying it alone, are you?"

Tae-jun lifted his head. Ha-yoon went on as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"If there's someone who agreed to do it with you, then when it goes well, you did it together — and when someone messes up, you figure it out together, right?"

"Still, if I mess up—"

"If they were looking for someone who never makes mistakes, they wouldn't have asked you to do it with them."

Tae-jun's expression froze for a moment. Ha-yoon turned toward her own seat without putting any particular weight on the words.

"Don't start worrying before anything's even happened."

And with that, she went back to her desk. Tae-jun watched her go for a moment. Hyun-woo muttered beside him.

"Ha-yoon's good at this."

"Yeah."

Tae-jun's reply was short. Strangely, he felt a little lighter than he had a moment ago.

Lunchtime.

As the classroom started to get loud, Tae-jun pulled out his phone. Out of habit, he opened the Origin Fantasia community. And the moment the front page loaded, his hand stopped.

The team list from yesterday's registration had been officially published. Tae-jun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tapped the post. Dozens of team names filled the screen. Famous ranker nicknames were scattered all through it. And at the very top—

Tae-jun stared at the screen for a long time. His nickname really was sitting right there next to Shopsop's. And underneath, posts analyzing predicted rankings were already flooding in.

Tae-jun's finger stopped. He tapped one of the posts. The comments were stacking up fast.

Tae-jun's eyes lingered on the second-to-last line for a long time.

As long as he doesn't hold her back.

He already knew that. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gap between Shopsop and himself was wide. He'd improved a lot lately, but objectively speaking, there were far more players better than him.

That was when Hyun-woo leaned in and peered at the screen.

"What are you looking at?"

"Just the game."

"Another event?"

Hyun-woo glanced at the screen without much thought — then his eyes went wide.

"Wait."

"What."

Hyun-woo jabbed a finger at the phone.

"Arc Saber."

"Yeah."

"That's you."

Tae-jun nodded, as if there was no point denying it.

"Yeah."

Hyun-woo's face went still, then immediately flipped to shock.

"Dude!"

A few students nearby turned to look. Tae-jun lunged to shush him.

"Keep it down!"

"No — you became partners with Shopsop?"

"That's why I said keep it down."

Hyun-woo dropped his voice.

"When?"

"Yesterday."

"Why are you only telling me now?"

"What's there to brag about at school."

"That's not the point."

Hyun-woo looked like he still couldn't quite believe it.

"The number one player in the rankings picked you. Herself."

Tae-jun looked back down at the screen.

"That's why it's a lot of pressure."

"From what?"

Tae-jun showed him the community comments. Hyun-woo's grin faded a little.

"Because of this?"

"It's not like they're wrong."

"About what."

"There are a lot of people better than me."

Tae-jun said it evenly.

"If Shopsop had gone with another ranker, the odds of winning would've been higher too."

"But she picked you."

"Yeah."

"Then that's the end of it, isn't it?"

Tae-jun looked at him. Hyun-woo set his burger wrapper down on the desk.

"I don't know games, but you think someone sitting at rank one picked a partner without thinking about it?"

Tae-jun couldn't answer. Hyun-woo kept going.

"If you can't do it, you practice. If you mess up, you fix it together."

"Easy to say."

"So you don't trust Shopsop's judgment, then?"

Tae-jun's face tightened at once.

"That's not it."

"Then we're good."

Hyun-woo picked his burger back up.

"The person who matters already decided you were fine. So why are you sitting here by yourself saying you aren't?"

Tae-jun had nothing. It was Hyun-woo logic — simple to the point of being blunt. And somehow, it was hard to argue with.

That was when a voice came from close by.

"So you became partners?"

Seo Ha-yoon. Tae-jun lifted his head.

"Ah."

She didn't seem to have caught the whole conversation.

"Was that the thing you were nervous about earlier?"

"Well... something like that."

Ha-yoon gave a light nod.

"Congratulations."

Tae-jun smiled, a little awkwardly.

"It's a little early for congratulations."

"Why?"

"The event hasn't even started."

"You still got chosen, though."

"The results have to come out well first."

Ha-yoon tilted her head slightly.

"You're not allowed to say congratulations until the results are in?"

Tae-jun lost his words for a second.

"That's not what I—"

"Then congratulations."

Ha-yoon smiled, soft and easy.

"Do well."

"...Thanks."

She didn't press any further. She just went back to where her friends were sitting. Hyun-woo watched her go, then looked at Tae-jun.

"You're getting a lot of congratulations today."

"I got one."

"Your face looks like it got more than one."

"Just eat your lunch."

That night, Tae-jun logged in a little earlier than usual. The moment Arc Saber appeared in the village square, a party invite arrived.

Tae-jun accepted immediately.

Shopsop opened the practice content immediately.

It was a practice dungeon built to run almost identically to the real event. Today's map was a completely different layout from the day before. The moment they entered, the path split in two. A different mechanism waited at the end of each route. Activating one device opened the other person's path; once the partner advanced to the next section and triggered their own device, your path opened again.

In other words — being fast on your own wasn't enough to clear it. The two of them had to keep matching each other's pace.

Their characters split apart.

First section. Five monsters appeared in front of Tae-jun. Their attack power wasn't high, but they came at him from different directions. Tae-jun put an attack into the nearest one. One down. Two. He dropped the third as well. Shopsop's progress was displayed at the top of the screen.

Tae-jun finished the last monster. A device appeared in front of him. One press and the next door on Shopsop's side would open. But Tae-jun's hand hesitated.

Still eighty-three percent. If Shopsop was in the middle of a fight, opening the door might trigger the next pattern immediately. Tae-jun waited.

Eighty-four. Eighty-five. Eighty-six. A little later—

Only then did Tae-jun activate the device.

Clank.

The door on Shopsop's side opened. A moment later, a message came through.

Tae-jun froze.

Tae-jun checked the top of the screen again. There was a small icon he hadn't noticed.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Tae-jun moved on to the next section without much of a reply. But the second section went much the same way. This time Tae-jun finished his fight first. The device was right in front of him. And he waited again — just for a moment. Just in case pressing it first would put extra pressure on Shopsop. In the end, his timing on the device was late again.

When they met in the final section, Shopsop's character stopped moving.

Tae-jun's hands stopped.

There was no reply for a moment. And then—

Tae-jun's eyes locked on the chat window. She'd nailed it.

Tae-jun took his hands off the keyboard. He couldn't deny it. The comments from that afternoon were still sitting in his head.

He's going to hold her back. She picked the wrong partner. It would've been better with another ranker. If he made a mistake, he'd just be proving all of them right.

Tae-jun hesitated, then typed it honestly.

This time the reply came a little late. Tae-jun looked at his character. A moment later—

Tae-jun's hands stopped. The next message followed immediately.

Tae-jun couldn't say anything for a while. Ha-yoon's words from that morning suddenly came back to him. If there was someone who'd agreed to do it with you, then you succeeded together — and when someone messed up, you figured it out together.

Hyun-woo had said something similar that afternoon. Shopsop had picked him herself, so why was he sitting there alone deciding he wasn't good enough?

And now the person in question was saying the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same thing.

Tae-jun typed his reply slowly.

A moment later.

The practice dungeon reset from the beginning. The two of them split apart once more.

This time was different. Tae-jun cleared his section fast. The last monster went down. The device appeared. The indicator at the top of the screen—

Tae-jun didn't hesitate. He activated the device immediately.

Clank!

The passage on the other side opened. Shopsop triggered her own device at almost the same instant. The door in front of Tae-jun opened too.

Next section. This time Tae-jun ran a little behind. One monster held out longer than expected. But even though Shopsop had finished first, she didn't press her device right away. The instant Tae-jun's fight ended—

Clank.

The door opened on exact timing. Tae-jun ran into the next section without thinking about it.

They were watching each other's pace. If one of them was faster, they didn't just surge ahead — they waited for the moment it was needed. If one of them fell behind, the other made the time for them to move.

In the last section, the two characters met again. A massive mechanical boss slowly rose to its feet. Red light flared along both of its arms.

Tae-jun attacked first. Shopsop moved to the opposite side.

Boss health: seventy percent. Circular attack zones bloomed across the floor in several places. The two of them peeled off in different directions.

Fifty percent. The boss's body rotated. Tae-jun caught a small magic circle forming behind it — a pattern that hadn't been there before.

Both characters moved at the same time. Tae-jun went left. Shopsop went right. A massive explosion split the space between them — but both of them were outside the attack range. The instant the boss's assault ended, they rejoined in the center. Their skills landed together.

KRA-KOOM!

The boss's health dropped fast. Ten percent. Five percent. The last attack. Tae-jun shoved the boss first. Shopsop's skill chained in perfectly. The giant machine's body collapsed, and the results filled the screen.

Tae-jun looked at the results and let out a breath. The time was noticeably shorter than their first attempt.

The reply came immediately.

Tae-jun smiled, a little sheepish.

A moment later.

Tae-jun looked at the chat window. Before, that might have felt like pressure. But it was a little different now.

He didn't have to be good on his own. If he made a mistake, Shopsop was there. And if Shopsop missed something, he would catch it. That was what a partner was.

A little later, Shopsop spoke first.

Tae-jun opened the event menu. The registered team information came up.

And below that was one empty field. Tae-jun looked at it for a moment, then sent a whisper.

Tae-jun blinked.

A moment later.

Only Tae-jun's character was left in the square. He looked at the team info window again.

The cursor blinked slowly in the empty field. Tae-jun put his hands on the keyboard, then took them off again. Nothing came to him as easily as he'd expected.

Being partners wasn't just joining the same party. It was trusting someone else's choice. And placing your own choice right there beside it.