Chapter 393: Gold Run(1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 393: Gold Run(1)
The atmosphere was great at first.
"Woo-jin, I think we can actually pull this off today, don't you?"
"...I guess so."
To be honest, I felt so confident that I wanted to apologize for internally looking down on Seo Ye-rin’s gaming skills.
After starting the session with three consecutive wins, it was only natural for us to get a bit cocky.
I was playing Support, and Seo Ye-rin was in the Top lane.
Since we were on opposite ends of the map, we rarely had to coordinate directly, but we were both playing well and carrying our own weight.
"Woo-jin, I’m going to get a drink. Do you want one?"
"Oh, I’ll order them."
We each ordered an energy drink that looked like a cocktail and sipped on them as we started the next match.
[DEFEAT!]
"That’s a shame. If I had played just a bit better, we would’ve won."
"Sorry, Woo-jin. I didn't do so great either."
Losing one game wasn't a big deal. In fact, a loss was bound to happen around this point.
[DEFEAT!]
"Ugh, why did they do that there? Serious teammate diff."
"I told him to stop coming! Why does the Jungler keep ganking my lane?!"
[DEFEAT!]
"Okay, this one feels unfair."
"Phew, let’s just go straight into the next one."
[DEFEAT!]
"..."
"..."
[DEFEAT!]
[DEFEAT!]
[DEFEAT!]
After six consecutive losses, the mood turned icy. Before we knew it, we were snapping at each other with increasingly sharp tongues.
"Ye-rin, are you kidding me? Why did you dive there? Huh? Are you trying to lose? Are you trying to make me quit gaming before I enlist?"
"...Sorry."
[DEFEAT!]
"Kim Woo-jin, attention!"
"Attention!"
"Do you want to die? I told you I had it under control. Why did you come over just to feed and die?"
"I'm sorry!"
[DEFEAT!]
"Aaaaaagh!"
"I’ve forgotten how to win this game."
By now, evening had arrived.
Since we were getting hungry, we decided to grab some food to refresh our minds.
"Oh!"
A voice from beside us made both our heads turn.
To my surprise, Choi Jin-ah—the woman I had dismissed and ignored as a voice phisher—was standing there.
"Hello!"
"You're here."
"...What the?"
Choi Jin-ah greeted Seo Ye-rin, not me. It seemed Ye-rin had told her where we were.
"She said she was bored and wanted to watch, so I invited her."
"Mr. Woo-jin, you must have been so engrossed in your game that you forgot my request, didn't you?"
"..."
I pointedly looked away and ignored her.
I was about to say she couldn't sit with us anyway since we were in a couple's seat, but...
"Woo-jin, let's move seats."
Seo Ye-rin stood up abruptly and suggested we relocate.
"Why? Jin-ah can just go somewhere else and do her own mukbang."
"...I'm not a broadcaster."
Same difference.
"Oh, come on. How can you say that? She came all this way to watch our Gold Run."
"But we're on a date."
When I muttered that in a small voice, Seo Ye-rin frowned slightly.
"What date? Do you think this Gold Run is a joke?"
"...No."
"We have to hit Gold, don't we?"
She has a tendency to get overly immersed when it comes to games, and this was clearly one of those times.
In the end, we moved. I sat in the middle, with Seo Ye-rin and Choi Jin-ah on either side of me.
"I'll have the Jjapagetti~"
Ye-rin hummed as she ordered her food. Unlike Ye-rin, who was a pro at this, Choi Jin-ah looked a bit lost.
"W-Wow. There are so many options? Do I just click this?"
"Sigh, give me the mouse."
I leaned toward Choi Jin-ah and showed her the basics of how to order.
"Aha."
She caught on quickly and started ordering whatever she wanted to eat.
After we all had a quick meal...
"Woo-jin, gazua!"
"Alright, let's do this."
With a fresh mindset, we jumped back into the game. Meanwhile...
"Fried Udon and a Tornado Potato are ready."
"Ah, over here, please."
Choi Jin-ah was starting her second round of eating.
The game went smoothly.
[VICTORY!]
"Phew."
"That was clean."
Nice, nice.
We had broken the losing streak, so we high-fived, celebrating the start of a new winning streak.
Slurp!
The loud sound of noodles being inhaled made me turn my head. Choi Jin-ah had turned her chair around and was watching us.
She was busily devouring a cup of ramen.
Slurp!
When she noticed me staring, she hurriedly stuffed the remaining noodles into her mouth, swallowed, and cheered.
"Fighting!"
"Uh, yeah."
She really did just come here to eat.
As our Gold Run stretched into the late hours of the night, our first guest arrived.
"Yawn... You guys are seriously still at it."
Yoo Ah-rin had shown up, wearing nothing but a hoodie despite the chilly weather.
She watched us while yawning, and I hurriedly greeted her.
"Hey, Ah-rin! We're in the middle of a team fight right now!"
"What's a team fight?"
"It's when everyone fights at once."
"Woo-jin! Peel for me! Peel!"
As we focused on the game, Yoo Ah-rin’s attention shifted to Choi Jin-ah.
"Just how much did you eat for there to be this many plates?"
"Haha... I just finished a diet recently."
"Looks like you're about to start another one."
"No, I'm not!"
In the meantime, we were moving our hands frantically.
"Ugh, what is he doing?"
Watching a teammate suddenly try to 1v3, I let out a deep sigh and typed into the chat.
"This little...!"
I had saved his life so many times when he was about to die.
"What is this guy saying?"
It seemed he had mistaken me for a girl getting boosted by her boyfriend.
"This guy?!"
I am the manager of the Bamboo Forest. I was about to show him the keyboard skills I'd used to strike down countless idiots—
[DOUBLE KILL!]
[TRIPLE KILL!]
"Phew."
A victory report came from Seo Ye-rin’s side, who had been playing silently.
Then, she typed exactly one word.
I expected Seo Ye-rin to say something back, but she just ignored him.
I wondered why she was being so quiet.
"I'm chat-banned, so I can only type once per game."
"..."
I guess it's the same here as it is in the Bamboo Forest.
[VICTORY!]
After winning the game thanks to Seo Ye-rin’s carry, I tried to pay some attention to Yoo Ah-rin, who had arrived earlier.
"Ah, ack!"
"Oh? Ooh!"
Choi Jin-ah and Yoo Ah-rin were sitting half-and-half on one chair, playing a game together.
It was Crazy Arcade, a game I used to play back in elementary school.
It was a game two people could play on one computer, and the two of them were having a blast.
"Well, as long as they're having fun."
I was about to jump into the next match when Yoo Ah-rin shouted without taking her eyes off the screen.
"Hey, hey! Don't start yet. Choi I-seo said she's coming soon."
"I-seo?"
"Yeah. Didn't you say you were staying up all night? So I-seo said she's brewing that 'health drink' she drinks during exam periods to bring over."
"...For just a few games?"
I thought they were taking this a bit too seriously, but Yoo Ah-rin just grinned and replied, still focused on the game.
"You said it was on your bucket list. So we're helping you out for real."
I was actually a bit touched.
If I had known, I would have written something more impressive on my bucket list.
Honestly, reaching Gold rank in a game is a bit lame for a bucket list item.
"And I heard that your game rank actually helps a bit with military life. So we're helping with that, too."
"Ah."
That made sense. The military is just a gathering of guys my age, after all.
The higher my rank, the more respect I might get in my own way.
"Ah, I lost."
"Phew... that was a tough battle."
Having finally lost to Choi Jin-ah, Yoo Ah-rin threw her hands up and sighed.
Then she hopped up and plopped herself right onto my lap.
A cozy, fruity scent enveloped me.
"Hey, how many games did you play today? Did you win a lot?"
Choi Jin-ah quickly turned her head away as if she’d seen something she shouldn't have.
Yoo Ah-rin didn't care at all and acted naturally.
I was a bit flustered at first, but it didn't feel bad, so I just stayed like that and looked at the monitor with her.
"I think we've played about twenty games."
"That's a ton."
"Tell me about it. Honestly, it's less about fun now and more about a sense of duty."
"Geez."
Leaning against me, Yoo Ah-rin glanced to the side.
There sat Seo Ye-rin, leaning back in her chair with a sleep mask on that she’d found from somewhere.
"Is she sleeping?"
"She said she rests like that between games because her eyes get tired."
"..."
Yoo Ah-rin reached out and gave Seo Ye-rin’s forehead a sharp flick.
"You're dead, Yoo Ah-rin."
"Ehehehe."
Despite the warning, Yoo Ah-rin found it funny and did it a few more times until Seo Ye-rin finally couldn't take it anymore and ripped off the mask.
A chase ensued between the two of them.
Watching them run all the way out of the PC Bang, I let out a hollow laugh.
'I-seo said she was almost here.'
Since outside food isn't allowed in the PC Bang, I figured I should go out and drink it there. I was about to head out when...
"Mr. Woo-jin, I've been thinking."
Suddenly, Choi Jin-ah called out to me, tugging on my sleeve.
"Yes?"
"We're the same age and former classmates, so isn't it a bit weird to keep using formal speech?"
"..."
Well, technically, she was right.
Because of me, the other girls had started using formal speech with Choi Jin-ah as well.
It probably did feel like there was a bit of a distance.
"Why did we decide to use formal speech again?"
"Because we agreed to draw a line and treat it as a blind date arrangement rather than being classmates."
"Ah."
I think I remember that.
But now, it felt like we were closer to being classmates than blind date partners.
"So you want to drop the formalities now? It might be a bit awkward."
"You used to call me Jjin-a all the time back then. You called me 'Dear Jjin-a.'"
"That was a long time ago."
"Can't we just do it like that again? Ye-rin calls you 'Woo-jin-a,' right? Something like that."
"You want me to use an elementary school nickname now?"
That's embarrassing.
"Anyway, just be comfortable. I mean... be comfortable, Woo-jjin-a."
"What?"
What did I just hear?
"How is it? Doesn't it have a nice ring to it? It kind of rhymes. Jjin-a, Woo-jjin."
"It's annoying because it sounds like you're trying to be cute."
"Who was the one who called me Jjin-a Jjin-a every single day...?"
"Sigh, whatever. Just order something else to eat. I'm going to go see I-seo."
"See you later, Woo-jjin-a."
"..."
"Hmm, it's not bad, is it?"
I don't even know anymore.
I just ignored her and walked out of the PC Bang to find the other two standing in front of Choi I-seo, who had already arrived.
Both of them were drinking something from a water bottle I-seo had brought.
"Pwah! It's so bitter!"
"Ugh! You seriously drink stuff like this during exams?!"
"I mean, I've been drinking it by myself until now. But the effects are guaranteed."
Choi I-seo handed it to me as well.
Since we couldn't drink it inside, we had to finish it all out here, but seeing the others' reactions, I was hesitant.
To stall for even a moment, I changed the subject to something else in I-seo’s hand.
"What's that?"
"A cane."
"...A cane?"
It was thin and definitely looked like a switch or a rod.
When I asked what she brought that for, Choi I-seo just shrugged.
"I don't know. I was told to bring it, so I did."
At that moment, Seo Ye-rin snatched it away with a grin.
"From now on, if you play badly, you're getting hit on the palms or the butt with this!"