Chapter 394: Gold Run(2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 394: Gold Run(2)
Maybe it was because of that "invigorating stimulant" Choi I-seo gave me.
Whatever it was, I felt strangely energized.
"Let's do this!"
Seo Ye-rin hummed as she took her seat, seemingly full of energy herself.
Two others followed closely behind me: Choi I-seo and Yoo Ah-rin.
For a moment, I felt like a mother duck leading her ducklings.
"What? You guys are staying too?"
It was already heading toward midnight, so I naturally assumed the two of them would head home.
To my surprise, they both looked at me as if I’d asked the most obvious question in the world.
"Isn't that obvious?"
"You expect us to just leave you and Ye-rin here alone?"
"No, I mean, it's not that. It's just that you guys don't even like PC Bangs that much."
At my words, Yoo Ah-rin picked a random seat, sat down, and grabbed a headset.
"I'm going to watch movies. Gonna binge-watch some Netflix."
I guess her love for movies wasn't going anywhere.
I wondered what Choi I-seo would do, but she took the seat next to Yoo Ah-rin and turned on the computer, saying she had her own things to do.
Then, she pulled a notebook out of her bag.
"…You're going to study here?"
When Yoo Ah-rin looked at her with a disgusted expression, Choi I-seo simply nodded.
"Yeah. It's not that different from a study cafe. I just need to listen to some loud music, right?"
Yoo Ah-rin pointed a finger at her and shouted at me.
"This girl is the craziest of them all."
"I have to agree."
"…Why am I the one getting insulted?"
Despite her protest, look at her pulling out her pencil case. She really didn't get it.
"I-seo, I haven't asked because I thought it was a matter of privacy, but… are you the Department Topper?"
Usually, the ones in first place are the ones who act like this.
I had a hunch, and I-seo nodded with a blank expression.
"Of course."
"…."
"First time I've met someone who thinks being the topper is 'of course.'"
Then again, I remembered hearing that I-seo once got a single A.
The rest were all A+s.
"Hey, just watch a movie with me."
"No."
"Then just go the hell home!"
Watching Yoo Ah-rin and Choi I-seo bicker brought a smirk to my face. Those two seemed like they’d get along just fine.
"Woo-jin, let's start!"
Urged by Seo Ye-rin, who was already settled in, I returned to my seat.
I glanced sideways to see what Choi Jin-ah was doing; she was watching some kind of philharmonic orchestra on Neutube.
"Hmm."
She didn't look particularly pleased. She tilted her head as if something was off, then pulled a very expensive-looking headset out of her bag.
"…."
"Ah, the sound quality is a bit poor. I need to hear it properly."
In moments like this, she really did seem like a professional violinist.
"Does it sound different with those?"
"Of course. I have an extra pair; do you want to borrow them?"
"Uh, sure."
Choi Jin-ah rummaged through her bag and actually pulled out an identical pair of headsets.
"Here, Woo-jjin-a."
"Than—wait, what?"
"Use them well. They're expensive."
"Are we just going to gloss over what you just called me?"
"Hehe."
Choi Jin-ah hummed and focused back on her video. I stole a glance at the others, but it seemed they hadn't heard.
What's up with her?
To say she just wanted to be friendly because we were former classmates felt like an understatement; she was being quite bold.
The fact that she whispered it just quietly enough so the others wouldn't hear was the key point.
Leaving the awkwardness aside, I started the game with Ye-rin.
[DEFEAT!]
"…."
I blinked several times at the two words on the screen.
When I turned my head, Seo Ye-rin was already standing up, holding a cane.
"Palm out."
"Wait, Ye-rin. I know I made a mistake just now, but—"
"Hand. Out."
"…."
I sheepishly held out my palm, and Seo Ye-rin smacked it immediately.
Whack!
"Ow!"
"Do better next time."
"Yes, ma'am."
It was just stinging enough to be annoying.
Still, it seemed to wake me up.
[DEFEAT!]
"Where's the cane?"
As soon as I stood up to look for it, Seo Ye-rin fidgeted and cautiously held it out.
She offered her palm.
I smacked it with the exact same force she had used on me.
"Aaaagh! Woo-jin hit me!"
"You deserved that one."
I seriously thought she’d lost her mind when she charged at five enemies by herself.
As I prepared for the next game, I glanced over at Yoo Ah-rin and Choi I-seo.
"Hey, hey, look at this. This part is insane."
"Ah-rin, I told you, I'm studying."
"No, just look. The director's camera angles and the foreshadowing—!"
I was glad to see them having fun.
I wondered what Choi Jin-ah was doing, only to find her playing the tutorial for the game we were playing.
"…What are you doing?"
"Huh? Oh, it looked fun watching you two, so I thought I'd try it out."
I watched for a bit; she was playing quite normally. The only thing that bothered me was how awkward she looked using the mouse.
Noticing me staring at her monitor, Choi Jin-ah glanced at me and offered the takoyaki she had ordered.
"Want one?"
"…No."
"Ah, you kept looking, so I thought you wanted some."
"Woo-jin, the match is found!"
Leaving Choi Jin-ah be, I started the game again.
* * *
"What did you say the record was?"
"Yawn, 12 wins, 15 losses."
I heard Choi I-seo and Yoo Ah-rin talking behind me.
A lot of time had passed.
By the time the next morning arrived, we hadn't even reached Silver, let alone Gold.
It was a relief the PC Bang felt isolated from the outside world, killing our sense of time.
If I had seen the sun rising, I would have felt pretty depressed.
"My butt hurts."
Seo Ye-rin whimpered, rubbing her backside.
Ye-rin, who had played well at first, had gradually turned into a mindless berserker as time went on, resulting in her being the one constantly getting hit with the cane.
Originally, we hit each other's palms, but we switched to the butt because we realized we wouldn't be able to play the game if our hands were too sore.
"Zzz…."
Next to us, Choi Jin-ah was fast asleep, tucked under a blanket.
Eating and sleeping—she was enjoying herself to the fullest.
"Guys, turn your chairs around."
Having heard that our record was worse than before we came to the PC Bang, Choi I-seo finally sighed and took drastic measures.
"We're going to help you."
"Help us?"
Choi I-seo looked at us like a head coach or a manager of a pro-gaming team.
But was there anything she could actually help with?
"Is one of you secretly good at the game? Are you going to give us a bus ride?"
Honestly, the easiest way was to call someone much better than us to carry us.
Even if it was a bit cheap.
But Choi I-seo shook her head.
"No, Ah-rin, Jin-ah, and I are going to help."
"You don't know the first thing about this game."
Yoo Ah-rin chimed in, sipping cola to wake herself up. Seo Ye-rin and I nodded in agreement, but Choi I-seo brought over the notebook she had been studying earlier.
"I just learned."
"Huh?"
"Whoa."
Choi I-seo's notebook was packed with game theories.
"This is what you were studying?"
As I took the notebook in admiration, Choi I-seo nodded.
"Yeah. It's on your bucket list, after all. I wanted to do something for you."
Choi I-seo looked at me with a faint smile. The warmth in her eyes clearly reflected her feelings for me, sending a wave of emotion through my chest.
"I-seo…."
I felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to go over and hug her.
If we weren't in a PC Bang, I would have done it instantly.
Then, Seo Ye-rin, who hadn't exactly been performing well herself, wagged her finger and shook her head.
"I-seo, listen. Gaming isn't something you can do with just theory."
Look at her acting like an expert just because it's a game.
"It's a collection of intuition, gut feeling, instinct, and passion."
"What was that 'instinct' that made you throw the last game?"
"That was the jungler's fault—!"
When I snapped at her, Seo Ye-rin immediately shouted back in protest.
However, Choi I-seo didn't really disagree.
"I realized the more I learned that there wasn't much I could do personally. It's too difficult to learn in such a short time."
"Right?"
"But I'm not the one playing; I'm the one helping. That actually limited what I needed to learn. So, I thought about it—"
I-seo looked at us and made a firm declaration.
"We're all going to play together."
"All together?"
"Yes, all of us."
As we wondered what she meant, Choi I-seo calmly explained. The more we listened, the wider our eyes grew, and we began to think it was actually a pretty good idea.
And just as Choi I-seo was proving her worth…
"Wait, just me?"
Yoo Ah-rin, who had been sipping her cola, shouted in a panicked voice.
"Am I the only one who's been doing absolutely nothing but playing around?!"
"Huh?! What?!"
Startled by Yoo Ah-rin's voice, Choi Jin-ah woke up and slammed her head against the desk.
* * *
Choi I-seo's strategy was actually simple yet intuitive.
"Woo-jin, I see the enemy jungler over there."
"Copy that."
"The mid-laner is missing too. I saw them heading down earlier."
"Got it."
"You don't have to answer. Just focus."
She sat right next to me, watching the game and relaying information.
I can't make the decisions based on the info, but I can provide the info.
I felt like an F1 racer.
I was getting a full briefing on every corner coming up.
This is amazing….
Since I was low-tier, I naturally struggled with map awareness, but having I-seo help like this made things so much easier.
"And Woo-jin, I looked it up, and high-tier players buy these items against that character."
"Oh? Like this?"
Even getting advice like that was incredibly helpful.
It felt like I was using an AI.
It feels a bit like cheating.
But who cared?
Winning was all that mattered, and if the opponents could do it, they were welcome to try.
Choi I-seo was in charge of me.
Then what about Seo Ye-rin?
An even more drastic measure had been taken for her.
"No. Don't do it. Don't go in."
"B-but, that's a kill angle!"
"I said don't. It's not."
"Hmph."
The person holding the cane next to Seo Ye-rin was none other than Bae Ji-hye.
In other words, the internet broadcaster and "Goddess of the Architectural Engineering Department" known as Popo.
She was the specialized relief pitcher and metaphorical muzzle Choi I-seo had called in for Seo Ye-rin.
As a Diamond-tier player—two ranks higher than Gold—who even had experience winning prizes in streaming tournaments, she was the real deal.
"Group up, group up. Teleport."
"I took Ignite, so I don't have Teleport."
"…I told you to take Teleport. When did you change it?"
Of course, she couldn't completely control Seo Ye-rin's reckless nature, but she was at least covering for her mindless charges.
[VICTORY!]
The moment the sweet victory message appeared, I let go of the mouse.
Immediately, Yoo Ah-rin jumped in and started massaging my hands.
"Any discomfort? Does this feel good?"
It was cute seeing her try so hard to prove her own worth after feeling useless.
"Ooh! Ooh! Why are they so stiff?"
Choi Jin-ah, who had ended up in the same position as Yoo Ah-rin, was massaging my shoulders.
It was impressive to see them all working so hard in their own ways.
And so.
[VICTORY!]
"Why is that girl always fighting alone?"
"Maybe because she's bad?"
"It's called being brave! You dummies!"
With everyone's help.
[VICTORY!]
"Bring forth the maidens and the massages!"
"Cut the crap."
[VICTORY!]
"TOP DIFFFFF!"
We steadily marched toward victory.