Chapter 16: PC Bang
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 16: PC Bang
After finishing our gukbap, Seo Ye-rin and I walked outside for a bit.
To be honest, I was planning on just heading home, but she was following me without saying a word. At first, I thought about telling her to get going, but that felt a bit too much like kicking her out.
"Don't you have anything to do?" I asked tentatively, hinting that she might have other plans.
Someone like Seo Ye-rin usually has a packed schedule, right? She’s famous for being popular and having a great personality.
"Nope, no plans. Actually, I’m supposed to be in a lecture right now."
Her words hit me with a heavy thud. It was enough to make the gukbap I just ate feel like it was going to give me indigestion.
"Wait, you... you skipped class?" I asked, taken aback.
Seo Ye-rin clasped her hands together, fidgeting with her fingers as she nodded.
"Y-yeah. I heard you were here, so I just came over."
Her grades weren't my business, but the fact that she’d skipped a lecture just to see me weighed on my conscience. If I sent her away now, I’d feel like a total jerk.
Is she fidgeting like that on purpose to trigger my guilt?
The way her fingers were twitching like a tiny hamster made her look even more pitiful. If I just ditched her here, she’d basically be a crazy person who skipped class just to eat a bowl of soup.
Sigh. But it’s not like there’s anything to do with her...
Just then, something caught my eye.
A PC Bang.
Since the street was lined with studio apartments for college students, there was no shortage of places to hang out.
"You said you play LOF, right?"
Recalling what I’d heard during the last lecture, I pointed toward the sign. Seo Ye-rin looked at the PC Bang and nodded.
"Let's go."
And so, somewhat abruptly, I ended up at a PC Bang with Seo Ye-rin.
Checking the time, it was 4:00 PM. My meeting with Choi I-seo was at 6:00, so two hours was the perfect amount of time for a few games.
As we stepped inside, the eyes of every guy sitting at a computer naturally gravitated toward Seo Ye-rin. Usually, when I walk in, these guys are too busy swearing at each other over their games to even look up. I didn't know they were this good at multitasking.
Does she deal with this every time she goes out?
The intensity of their stares was overwhelming, making me hesitate.
"What's wrong?" Ye-rin asked casually.
No, it’s not that she’s fine with it.
She was just used to it.
Used to the way people stared, the way they’d judge her looks, or the way they’d whisper lewd comments the moment she walked into a room.
"..."
For the first time, I actually felt sorry for her. I think I understood a bit better why she used the handle 'Anonymous 69.'
"I prefer the corner seats."
"Oh, me too."
She agreed instantly. I gave her the seat right against the wall and sat down next to her.
"Whoa, damn. Look at her face."
"Go talk to her."
"Are you crazy? She’s with her boyfriend."
"Is she a celebrity or something?"
Even as I turned on the computer, the murmurs filtered through the game sounds of the room. If I could hear them, there was no way she couldn't.
But she acted like she heard nothing as she launched LOF.
"Woo-jin, what's your nickname?"
She tilted her head slightly to ask. I reached up, grabbed the headset hanging on the wall, and handed it to her.
"Put this on."
"...But we're sitting right next to each other. You want to use the mics?"
"Yeah. I always wear a headset when I play."
That was a lie. To be honest, I don't even like wearing earphones that much. But wearing a headset was better than listening to the garbage noise coming from the people around us.
I wasn't her boyfriend, so I had no reason to protect her, and I wasn't some buff guy who was good at fighting. So, the best I could do was ignore it.
When I held the headset out again, Seo Ye-rin stared at it for a moment before nodding with a faint smile.
"A real pro, huh?"
She even managed a little joke. It was a bit of a bizarre situation—sitting side-by-side while talking through headsets—but we logged into the game regardless.
"Nickname?" she asked again.
"Yeokcheonpot," I replied flatly.
"Yeokcheonpot?"
"It's short for 'All-time Genius Support.'"
It was actually a pro player's nickname, but I’d just copied it.
"What about you?"
I leaned over to peek at her screen. There, in the glorious rank of Bronze 4, was the nickname of a top laner.
"...IWonMyLane?"
As I muttered it under my breath, Seo Ye-rin flexed her arm, showing off a tiny bicep, and nodded.
"I win my lane most of the time."
"Wow."
I suddenly really didn't want to play with her. That’s the kind of name people use when they want to blame their team—as in, 'I won my lane, but we lost because you guys suck.'
Maybe she saw the look on my face, because she pouted.
"What? It's true!"
"Fine, let's just play."
I was Silver and she was Bronze, so we could play ranked together. We queued up immediately.
I picked a 'grab-type' support, the kind that forcibly pulls enemies toward me. Seo Ye-rin, on the other hand, picked a hairy barbarian warrior who swings two axes with a bare chest.
That really doesn't suit her.
Did she realize how much that character clashed with her face? It was honestly hard to imagine.
Anyway, the game started. At exactly the three-minute mark...
— First Blood!
Seo Ye-rin split the enemy character in half and took the first kill.
"Just trust your Noona," she declared confidently.
A small smile played on her lips. It was the happiest I’d seen her all day.
The game continued. Ye-rin crushed her opponent in lane, killing them five times. Everything was going smoothly until...
"Hey, they're all heading your way. Fall back."
That’s when the trouble started. Despite my warning, she stubbornly kept hitting the tower until she eventually got shut down by the enemy marksman.
A massive bounty of gold showered over the enemy. They used Ye-rin’s 'donation' to buy some serious items.
It was just one chat message, but Seo Ye-rin bit her lip and started typing furiously to respond.
"Ah."
But when she hit enter, nothing appeared. She let out a small sigh of frustration. I checked her screen to see what was wrong.
— Due to multiple reports, you have been chat-banned for the next five games.
"You're chat-banned too?"
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't help but comment. She slumped in her seat and whispered.
"I... I was a freedom fighter."
"I really want to say something mean right now."
We ended up losing that game. Despite dominating her lane, Ye-rin kept trying to 1v5 the enemy team until we collapsed.
"Phew."
Watching the defeat screen, she leaned back in her chair, looking drained.
"Support diff."
"You little...!"
I debated whether to rip out the keyboard cable or the monitor cable to smack her over the head with it. But before I could snap, I saw her face.
She had blamed me, but she was grinning like a fool, clearly having the time of her life.
"This is my first time playing a game with a friend."
"..."
"Ah, that was fun. Really fun."
"I didn't have fun at all."
"Hehe, sorry. Playing together made me get a little too excited and I just went for it."
"Sigh."
They say you can't spit on a smiling face. Seeing her so genuinely happy made my frustration with the game evaporate.
"You could play with other people. I'm sure any of the guys you're close with would love to come with you."
At that, her expression turned a bit bitter, and she scratched her cheek.
"Usually, people only ask me to grab a meal or go out for drinks."
"You could be the one to ask them."
"Then people would start rumors that I'm hitting on them. They might even say we're dating."
"Huh."
This wasn't just a hypothetical. The look in her eyes told me this was coming from experience. Maybe it happened in high school, or maybe during the first semester.
I felt like I should say something comforting, but I wasn't good with words, and we weren't exactly that close.
"Just hit 'Ready.' Let's play."
She smiled and focused back on the screen. By our third game, we actually started to find a rhythm.
It was a bizarre duo—Top and Support—but we were doing alright. Especially since Ye-rin actually started listening to me from the second game onward.
"Hey! They're doing Dragon! Can you get here?"
"I didn't take Teleport!"
"Oh, great job, you idiot! Their top laner comes down whenever he's bored, but I haven't seen your face once!"
"Don't fight, just back off! I'm pushing the Inhibitor!"
Our team got wiped out trying to force a fight. I was the only one left, desperately trying to escape.
"Stop them from backing! I'm gonna finish this!"
Suddenly, Ye-rin popped Ghost and Flash, charging at the enemy towers. I thought she’d lost her mind, but her axe-swinging was surprisingly precise.
Following her lead, I threw my life away to interrupt the enemy team's recalls. I hooked one, hit another, and a third stayed behind just to kill me.
"Ah."
I sighed as my character died. I’d stopped three of them, but two managed to get back to base.
I thought it was over as they closed in on her, but then...
— An enemy has been slain!
— Double Kill!
The victory fanfare blared. Incredibly, Ye-rin had taken the heads of the two enemies who made it back.
With one kill for each axe, she proceeded to shatter the enemy Nexus.
"Wait, what?"
The word 'VICTORY' flashed across the screen. Ye-rin and I looked at each other at the same time. The adrenaline rush was off the charts. We ripped off our headsets and shouted simultaneously.
"GENERAL!"
"THAT'S ME!"
In gaming, it doesn't matter if you play like a troll for 54 minutes and 30 seconds of a 55-minute game; if you play like a god for those last 30 seconds, you're the General.
As I danced around 'General Seo' in celebration, she got so excited she kicked off her shoes, stood up on her chair, and raised both hands in triumph.
"General! General! General!"
"Me! It's me! I'm General Ye-rin Seo! That's me!"
We were so caught up in the moment we forgot we were even in a PC Bang.
"Well, look at this."
A voice cold enough to freeze the room drifted from behind us. It was a cool autumn day, but it felt like someone had just blasted an industrial air conditioner.
I slowly turned my head toward the familiar voice.
There stood Choi I-seo, dressed in full athletic gear, looking at me with her hand on her hip and a look of pure disapproval.
With a sinking feeling, I stopped praising the General and glanced at the time on the computer screen.
[6:24 PM]
"..."
I stared blankly at the clock for a moment, then let out a long sigh and looked at Seo Ye-rin.
"Ye-rin... see? This is why I told you we should have surrendered at the 20-minute mark."