Chapter 2: The Unknown Identity
Lunchtime.
After the exams, the classroom buzzed with its usual chaos.
The sound of desks scraping back, the pop of lunchbox lids opening, the rustle of paper bags from the convenience store, and the laughter and chatter of students filled the room completely.
Someone was watching a video on their phone, someone else was copying homework, and a few others had even fallen asleep face-down on their desks.
Amid all that noise, Kang Tae-jun sat quietly, eyes fixed on his phone screen.
*Origin Fantasia.*
The country’s biggest game community app.
The real-time popular board had been exploding since this morning.
[Abyss Tower difficulty is insane] [Is the admin actually human?] [This party of Shopsop’s is going to take forever] [All the streamers are freaking out]
Tae-jun scrolled through the posts slowly and murmured under his breath.
“…This one really looks tough.”
Right beside him, Lee Hyun-woo, still munching on his hamburger, looked up.
“Another gaming story?”
“New raid just dropped.”
“Been staring at that all morning, huh?”
Hyun-woo laughed in disbelief.
“You really are a human who can’t survive without games.”
“I’m not *that* bad.”
“Then why send raid guides during lunch?”
Tae-jun silently turned his phone toward him.
The screen played the new raid boss patterns that had just been released today.
A colossal black-knight boss. Black fog that swallowed the entire map. Shadow monsters that split endlessly. And a completely different attack pattern once its health dropped below a certain threshold.
Hyun-woo watched for a few seconds, then grimaced.
“Whoa.”
“Just watching makes me tired.”
“The patterns are seriously well made.”
“Can a person actually clear that?”
Tae-jun chuckled.
“But the one who clears it will be someone, right?”
“Who?”
“Shopsop?”
“…Probably.”
Hyun-woo clicked his tongue in admiration.
A moment later he leaned forward, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“But wait a second.”
“What is it?”
“Could Shopsop maybe be a girl?”
Tae-jun immediately shook his head.
“No way.”
“You shut that down so fast?”
“The tone is way too scary.”
Hyun-woo raised an eyebrow.
“Is that even a judgment criterion?”
“A little… she’s got that ‘been grinding for too long, legendary veteran’ vibe.”
Hyun-woo burst out laughing, and Tae-jun let out a dry chuckle as well.
“Seriously. Once you step into a raid, the atmosphere is nothing like high school.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The chat is quiet, but there’s this weird pressure. It’s like the rankers are all on edge for no reason.”
Tae-jun recalled the scene from last night.
The precise, short instructions on every pattern. The instant feedback if anyone made a mistake. And the absolute lack of room for argument.
It had been genuinely terrifying.
“She’s definitely not an ordinary player.”
Hyun-woo smiled thoughtfully.
“I’m still curious, though.”
“About what?”
“Who the heck could she possibly be?”
At that exact moment.
From the front row, where Seo Ha-yoon sat quietly eating her lunch, her hand paused for just a second.
It was the briefest flicker.
Yet she moved her chopsticks again as if nothing had happened.
A lock of her long golden hair slid slowly down over her shoulder.
Tae-jun glanced at it unconsciously, then quickly looked away.
Top of the class.
Great at sports. Great personality. Perfect looks.
Sometimes it still felt like he couldn’t quite believe she was in the same class.
Hyun-woo noticed the reaction and grinned meaningfully.
“Hey.”
“…What?”
“You seriously checking out Seo Ha-yoon?”
Tae-jun frowned instantly.
“No.”
“Then why avoid eye contact?”
“I just… happened to look.”
Hyun-woo snickered.
“But she really is pretty.”
“Eat quietly.”
“What? Embarrassed?”
Tae-jun downed his cola with an irritated grimace.
That was when—
*thud.*
Something landed on Tae-jun’s desk.
“…Huh?”
He looked up and there was Seo Ha-yoon, holding a small milk carton.
“Your face looks really tired.”
“…Ah.”
“You look like you’re about to collapse.”
Tae-jun’s face went blank for a second.
“Thanks, but…”
“It’s fine.”
“After all, there’s just one left anyway.”
Her voice was calm and even.
A few nearby students glanced over curiously.
Hyun-woo smirked and jabbed Tae-jun in the ribs.
“Whoa.”
“Jealous much?”
“Shut up.”
“Shopsop’s the one who helped you first?”
“Zip it.”
Tae-jun scowled, but the tips of his ears were faintly red.
Seo Ha-yoon looked at the pair for a moment, smiled softly, then returned to her own seat.
Tae-jun stared at the milk carton for a second, then whispered quietly.
“…She’s so kind.”
And right then—
Seo Ha-yoon’s phone screen lit up for just an instant.
[Can you raid tonight?]
Sent by—
Shopsop.
But she quickly turned the screen off again, face completely blank.
As if nothing had ever happened.
*
After-school classes.
Tae-jun finally couldn’t keep his eyes open.
The math teacher’s voice drifted softly through the classroom, yet his own gaze was already halfway shut.
*thud.*
His head drooped, then snapped back up.
A few seconds later—
*thud.*
Hyun-woo, watching from the side, shook with laughter.
Meanwhile, Seo Ha-yoon quietly watched Tae-jun.
On the desk sat her still-lit phone screen.
A new raid guide video was paused mid-playback.
She stared at it for a moment, then let out the tiniest, almost invisible smile.
Her gaze returned to her notes as if nothing had happened.
But inside her head, the mistake Tae-jun had made in the raid video flashed again.
*He’s gonna get greedy again.*
A familiar thought.
After so many nights of raiding together, she could already predict his behavior just from watching his playstyle.
And the one who didn’t know that fact—
Was Kang Tae-jun alone.
*
Evening after classes.
The moment Tae-jun got home, he tossed his bag onto the bed.
Then he immediately turned on the computer.
The monitor light slowly illuminated the dark room.
*Origin Fantasia.*
The familiar login screen appeared.
Calm background music began to play.
Right after logging in—
A whisper notification popped up.
[Shopsop has connected.]
Tae-jun’s eyes widened.
“…Whoa.”
His heart gave an unnecessary flutter.
Receiving a whisper from the #1-ranked player was no ordinary thing.
Tae-jun hammered the keyboard.
[Arc Saber: Yes!]
[Arc Saber: Are we raiding today?]
A short while later the reply came.
[Shopsop: Abyss Tower.]
[Shopsop: We’re starting the clear.]
Tae-jun swallowed hard.
The highest-difficulty raid that had just been updated today.
No party had cleared it yet.
Even the rankers who challenged it in real time had kept failing.
The community was already in an uproar.
[Admin made a raid to kill players] [Phase 2 is impossible] [Patterns aren’t even visible—what are we supposed to dodge?]
Yet Shopsop was already beginning to clear.
She was a real monster.
[Arc Saber: Can I join too?]
Silence.
Then the reply.
[Shopsop: Don’t make mistakes today.]
Tae-jun immediately pouted.
“…No, it wasn’t that big a mistake yesterday.”
But the corners of his mouth lifted.
He wanted recognition.
From the #1-ranked player.
A moment later the party formed.
Familiar nicknames started filling the party window one by one.
Veteran guild officer. Pro streamer. Top rankers.
And—
Tae-jun’s own nickname squeezed in between them.
He still couldn’t believe it.
The party chat lit up.
[Raon: This raid is seriously tough.] [Mir: Phase 2 patterns are way too complicated.] [Crown: There’s almost no time to react.]
Right then—
Shopsop’s message appeared.
[Shopsop: Just get past Phase 2 and it’ll be easy.]
The chat went quiet for a few seconds.
Then someone asked cautiously.
[Raon: Isn’t that the hardest part?]
Tae-jun laughed silently.
That was the perfect reply from Shopsop.
A little later the party members’ status changed to green one by one.
They were all ready to enter.
The final message appeared in the chat.
[Shopsop: Everyone in? Let’s begin.]
Tae-jun sat up straight.
No voice, but the chat alone made the atmosphere tense enough.
Even the rankers felt it.
The raid was hell from the start.
Aoe patterns. Instant-kill mechanics. Constantly shifting attack structures.
One slip and you died.
Only a few minutes in, two party members collapsed.
The chat exploded.
[Mir: Sorry!] [Crown: Wait, the patterns are too fast!]
But Shopsop stayed ice-cold.
Her replies came instantly.
[Shopsop: Left.] [Shopsop: Stop dealing.] [Shopsop: Clone spawns.] [Shopsop: Evade now.]
It was perfect.
As if she could see the future.
The short messages contained every piece of necessary information.
Thanks to her, the party barely held the balance.
And then—
When the boss’s health dropped below 30 percent.
A new pattern began.
The entire map turned pitch black.
Dozens of windows started falling from the sky at once.
That was when—
[Shopsop: Be careful with this pattern.]
The message appeared.
Tae-jun’s reaction was just a fraction late.
*BOOM!!*
His character’s HP plummeted by more than half.
The chat lit up immediately.
[Shopsop: Arc Saber.]
Tae-jun felt his heart sink.
He moved frantically.
[Arc Saber: Sorry!]
The reply came right away.
[Shopsop: Don’t get greedy.] [Shopsop: Watch the pattern first.]
Tae-jun swallowed hard.
[Arc Saber: Yes.]
He immediately corrected his posture.
He started concentrating even harder.
His hands moved faster. His eyes stayed locked on the patterns.
And from that moment on.
For the first time, Tae-jun truly watched Shopsop’s movements.
Evade timing. Skill combos. Damage placement. Escape windows.
Every single thing was flawless.
It wasn’t just the chat instructions that were perfect.
The movements themselves were the guide.
Tae-jun couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.
‘She’s insane…’
A few minutes later the boss’s health reached its last 1 percent.
Every party member’s hands sped up.
One mistake and the wipe was inevitable.
The tension was at its peak.
*BOOOOM!!*
With a thunderous explosion the boss’s body shattered.
[First Clear Achieved!]
The chat exploded.
[Raon: We did it!!] [Mir: We actually succeeded!] [Crown: We really cleared this!] [Arc Saber: Whoa…]
Tae-jun let out a huge breath.
His fingertips trembled.
Then—
Shopsop’s message appeared in the chat.
[Shopsop: Arc Saber.]
Tae-jun quickly placed his hands on the keyboard.
[Arc Saber: Yes?]
A short silence.
Then the message continued.
[Shopsop: You were better than before today.]
Tae-jun’s eyes widened.
[Arc Saber: …Huh?]
One more message popped up.
[Shopsop: You didn’t die till the end.]
Instantly other party members’ chats began.
[Raon: Whoa.] [Mir: We haven’t seen Shopsop praise anyone like that before.] [Crown: She praised you today.]
Tae-jun’s face went blank.
She had praised him—the #1-ranked player.
Seriously.
Just that fact made his mood soar.
The corners of his mouth curled up naturally.
Meanwhile—
At the same time.
On her bed in her room, Seo Ha-yoon stared at her phone screen and smiled faintly.
Her long golden hair spilled over the pillow.
The room was lit only by a soft bedside lamp.
On the phone screen floated the quick reply she had just received.
[Arc Saber: Thank you!!]
She looked at the message quietly.
Then whispered, barely audibly.
“…Even so, you’re still far away.”
Yet in her golden eyes, a faint warmth lingered.