Chapter 213: Game
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 213: Game
Saturday, early morning.
I was heading out of school on my bike.
The sun was blazing, and a refreshing breeze fluttered by. It was the kind of weather that made you want to go on a picnic or take a long stroll along the riverside path. It felt like the very air was infused with a certain crispness.
For a moment, I felt the sudden urge to just keep riding forever.
However, my actual destination was a PC Bang tucked inside a gloomy commercial building.
“…….”
I wondered if Chan-woo was working today. I’d heard he’d been slacking off since getting a girlfriend, making ends meet as a fitting model instead.
When I stepped inside, Chan-woo was nowhere to be seen. In his place was a female part-timer; she looked like a pretty college student, likely from one of the nearby universities.
To be honest, since I was constantly surrounded by exceptionally beautiful girls, she didn’t strike me as particularly stunning. Objectively speaking, though, she was definitely on the prettier side.
Man, my standards have gotten ridiculously high.
Clicking my tongue, I scanned the PC Bang. It was the usual sight, with one exception: it was empty. Those who had stayed overnight had already left, and it was a bit too early for the morning crowd to start trickling in.
“Hm?”
Since my companions today were bound to stand out, I had planned to grab seats in a corner, but someone was already there.
“Wait, Choi I-seo? You’re here already?”
It was none other than Choi I-seo. Right, she was one of today’s PC Bang members.
“Ah, Woo-jin.”
Perhaps she’d had the same thought as me, as she had claimed a spot in the corner, though her computer wasn't even turned on.
“Why aren't you playing? If you got here early, you should’ve started.”
“Ah… well, just because.”
She gave a vague answer, stealing a glance at me. I wondered if sitting next to me felt awkward for her, but I soon realized what the real problem was.
“Aha.”
Unlike Seo Ye-rin, who had always loved games, or Yoo Ah-rin, who didn't care for them but frequented PC Bangs because Jeong Chan-woo gave her free food, Choi I-seo had probably been to a PC Bang only a handful of times in her life.
“Here, I-seo. This is the power button.”
I smiled and turned on the computer for her. Modern PC Bang computers are often customized differently from home PCs, so it’s easy to miss the button.
“…….”
I expected a typical excuse like, “I knew that,” but she just kept her mouth shut and looked down.
“It happens. The computer was already on when we did the ticketing last time.”
Back then, she’d only looked at a screen that was already active; she hadn't turned it on herself, so she wouldn't have known. And since it was so early, the part-timer had likely turned everything off.
“Computers are… quite strange these days,” Choi I-seo finally muttered, scratching her cheek.
“There are two mice there. One belongs to the seat next to you, so don’t touch it.”
“What? Why is the neighbor’s mouse over here?”
“It’s a spare. If the person next to you is gaming and their mouse suddenly dies, you hand them that—”
“Don’t mess with me, Kim Woo-jin.”
“……It was just a joke.”
I thought I could tease her a bit since she was so out of her element, but I couldn't push it too far.
Just then, Yoo Ah-rin came trudging in, yawning.
“Ugh, I’m beat. Why are we meeting this early on a weekend?”
Wearing a black cap and a loose tracksuit, Yoo Ah-rin grumbled as she approached.
“I’m only here because of you guys. You’re the ones who insisted on learning.”
When I let out a deep sigh, both of them chimed in from either side.
“I heard you’ve been gaming with Ye-rin every single day lately.”
“Are you two just dripping with honey while playing all night? Is it fun, keeping it a secret and playing by yourselves?”
“Who’s keeping secrets?”
The reason they’d come to the PC Bang today was to learn how to play. Recently, Seo Ye-rin and I had really gotten into gaming. Because of that, we often stayed up late playing together, and after Seo Ye-rin bragged about it, these two had insisted on joining in.
“You guys really do love me, don't you?”
As I nodded with satisfaction, Yoo Ah-rin immediately smacked the back of my head.
Thwack!
“I’m only doing this because I have nothing better to do lately. ‘Love him,’ my foot.”
“Sigh, I suddenly just want to go home.”
Rubbing my stinging head and enduring the verbal barbs from Yoo Ah-rin and Choi I-seo, I started by telling them the game’s name and helping them sign up. Since they were college students, they didn't struggle with the registration process—though I did have a hard time stopping Choi I-seo from trying to read every single word of the Terms of Service.
“Most games these days teach you as you go. Once you finish the tutorial, you’ll have the basic idea.”
About thirty minutes passed.
“Stop. Just stop, you guys. Don’t do it. You have zero talent for this.”
Watching them fail to finish the tutorial even after thirty minutes, a groan escaped my lips.
“…….”
“…….”
Both of them looked embarrassed as they slowly let go of their mice. They probably realized it themselves—that they simply weren't born to play games.
“I mean, if you can read, shouldn't you be able to do this? I told you to right-click, so why are you left-clicking?”
Seeing them both making the exact same mistakes made my chest tighten with sheer frustration.
“This game is too hard.”
“Is there… something easier?”
“Whew.”
In the end, I closed the game. Since we were at a PC Bang, we had to do something.
“I want spicy ramyeon and a sausage.”
“Oh, they sell fried rice here too? I’ll have that. We’re all getting coffees, right?”
Their food ordering skills are pro-level. That makes it even more annoying.
Perhaps because she had experience ordering food, Yoo Ah-rin skillfully placed the orders through the computer like a professional.
A game I can play with these two…
After some thought, I clicked on a game icon I hadn't opened in my entire life.
*
“Oh, shit! Seoul! Choi I-seo got Seoul!”
“Aaargh!”
Yeah, I never imagined that at twenty years old, I’d be sitting in a PC Bang playing Blue Marble with these girls.
Yoo Ah-rin cheered because she’d landed on Busan, while Choi I-seo let out a genuine groan and slapped her forehead.
Next was my turn. Just as I was about to roll the dice—
“……What are you guys doing?”
Seo Ye-rin, who had mentioned she’d be a little late, was standing behind us wearing a hat and sunglasses. She’d expected us to be learning LOF, the game she and I usually played, so seeing us playing Blue Marble must have been quite a shock.
“Blue Marble.”
I slowly turned my head to look at her. Did she sense the complex emotions in my expression? She gave my shoulder a sympathetic pat.
“Hey, Kim Woo-jin! Roll the dice already!”
“Please a three. Please a three. Please a three.”
With Yoo Ah-rin and Choi I-seo barking at me from both sides, I rolled. I was already checked out. Honestly, Blue Marble wasn't even that fun. I was just mindlessly rolling dice, but the two next to me were enjoying it as if they’d been on a dopamine detox their whole lives.
“Booyah!”
“Ugh, seriously…”
In the end, Yoo Ah-rin won, throwing her hands up in the air, while Choi I-seo covered her face, tasting the bitterness of defeat.
“Wow, I’ve never seen anyone play Blue Marble with such intensity.”
As I muttered in amazement, Yoo Ah-rin immediately thumped my shoulder.
“Hey, ten thousand won. Hand it over.”
“This was a money bet?!”
“We agreed to bet while you were in the restroom.”
No wonder they were so fired up. Choi I-seo handed over her ten thousand won, but I refused.
“I’m not paying since you decided that while I was gone.”
“You were part of the game! Don't try to back out now.”
“I’m telling you, I never agreed to it!”
“Wow, so stingy.”
I wanted to ask Choi I-seo for help, but she was staring gloomily at the screen where the word ‘DEFEAT’ was plastered. I was debating whether I should just give her the ten thousand won when—
“Count me in too!”
The dopamine addict, who had seemed completely uninterested in Blue Marble until the mention of a money bet, suddenly had a glint in her eye.
“Okay, Ye-rin’s in. Another round for a ten thousand won pot?”
As Yoo Ah-rin made the proposal with a grin, Choi I-seo adjusted her posture and whispered softly.
“Bring it on.”
Great, they’ve all turned into high-stakes gamblers.
I was about to lament being dragged into another round when Seo Ye-rin, who had taken the seat right behind us, wagged her finger.
“Tsk, tsk. Is ten thousand won enough? We should bet something more exciting.”
“More money? I think things will get too heated.”
Choi I-seo tried to set a boundary, but Seo Ye-rin shook her head.
“No, not that. Let’s bet something else. Like a wish bet!”
I thought sticking to ten thousand won would have been better, but—
“I already have one wish from Kim Woo-jin, though.”
Yoo Ah-rin started cracking her knuckles as if she were about to do something more strenuous than just clicking a mouse to roll dice.
“How are we doing this? Last place grants a wish to first place? Or does the winner get a wish from all three losers?”
Choi I-seo was already trying to solidify the rules.
“Hmm, that’s a bit tricky. Let’s have everyone grant one wish to the winner. Nothing too extreme, though.”
They seemed to be trying to keep their sanity, but even Seo Ye-rin was already looking into the game’s cash shop.
A wish, huh.
All three of them seemed pretty serious about this.
I stealthily sent a text on my phone.
The reply came almost instantly.
I needed to spend some cash too.
For some reason, he didn't reply after that. I thought about asking my second brother, but his wife was pregnant, so he was probably busy and short on cash.
I guess I can't pay-to-win.
So, fate would be decided by the dice.
A wish bet. And I could get one from all three of them at once.
“Just in case, let me be clear: you can’t wish for us to allow you to triple-date or anything like that, okay?”
I nodded at Choi I-seo’s warning. Of course. That wasn't something to be won through a forced wish; it was something I had to earn their hearts for.
However… a wish could certainly be the catalyst to opening those hearts.
“Stay calm, Kim Woo-jin. You can do this.”
I even ordered another coffee to sharpen my focus.
“Kim Woo-jin! Get it together! Focus!”
I rubbed my face with my hands, steeling my resolve.
“If I win this, the four of us are heading straight to a hotel. I can do this. I’m the man for the job.”
“……?!”
“……!”
“Hah.”
The three of them stared at me in stunned silence for a moment, but—
[Game Start!]
The fateful game of Blue Marble that would unite our hearts had already begun.