Chapter 588: Expert
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 588: Expert
“...That trip was a total shitshow, even more than I expected.”
Now that I was back home, I felt that was the only way to define this trip.
Apparently, those idiots ultimately failed.
From what I heard, they managed to flirt with some girls, but the girls' private villa was on the smaller side, and the mountain villa was already occupied by Ahn Hyun-ho and Lee Gyu-a.
They all ended up acting like prickly hedgehogs toward each other, and everyone failed in the end.
I also heard that Ahn Hyun-ho and Lee Gyu-a couldn't get anything done because of those idiots barging into the villa.
“See if I ever go on a trip with those bastards again.”
I let out a sigh and sank into the sofa.
Even though it was just a short trip, I felt like fatigue had settled deep into my bones.
At my grumbling, Choi Jin-ah, who was eating potato chips next to me, tilted her head.
“Why? Wasn't it fun? Bong-geun kept telling me how much fun he had.”
“...I’m sure he had fun.”
“Hmm?”
Thanks to Choi I-seo, he managed to persuade his girlfriend, so he was practically over the moon.
He was so worked up that he kept making a fuss about wanting to buy a separate gift for Choi I-seo.
“Ugh, he’s making such a damn scene just because of that one favor. He said he was going to buy I-seo a gift, so I jokingly told him to buy me a car. Do you know what he said?”
“...What did he say?”
“He told me to pick a model and send it to him. Isn't he insane? Buying someone an expensive car just because they helped his girlfriend match his sexual preferences?”
“It’s kind of like that, isn't it? Like when parents buy you a gift for getting good grades when you're a kid?”
“Wait, did you just make a pun with ‘grades’ and ‘sexual’?”
“...Noooope.”
Choi Jin-ah turned her head away, looking embarrassed.
I let out a sigh, thinking maybe it was a relief.
“I guess I should be glad that bastard is asking his girlfriend instead of looking for other married women with that money.”
“Ugh?! That’s actually the worst!”
Choi Jin-ah immediately looked back at me and shouted in disgust. But considering how chaebols throw their money around, it wasn't an impossible scenario.
Especially for people like us, who see what they do behind the scenes, it didn't sound like a joke.
“...Thinking about it that way, Bong-geun actually seems kind of decent.”
“Right?”
“Tsk. I turned down his request to sing at the wedding, but I should message him and say I’ll do it after all.”
With that, Choi Jin-ah tapped on her phone and sent a text to Bong-geun.
So she had turned down the wedding singer request.
Even so, they were elementary school classmates and he had helped her out in his own way, so she should probably do it.
Watching her text, I stretched and let out a long groan.
“Aaaah! I don’t want to go to school tomorrow!”
It was the kind of whining a grade-schooler would do, but this is what happens to everyone once they start attending university.
My older brothers tell me that being a student is the best time of your life, but I feel like you have to actually go there to feel that way.
Right now, I just hated the idea of going to school and being away from the girls.
“You didn't get into any trouble, did you?”
Just then, Senior Ju-hee sat down next to me. I hadn't taken her on this trip so she could get some rest.
Her warning before I left—that she felt uneasy about me being with those idiots—had turned out to be exactly right.
“Ah, someone did try to pick a fight. But, well, I won. As usual.”
I gave a smirk, thinking I sounded pretty cool, but it clearly didn't land. Senior Ju-hee just sighed as if she hadn't even heard me.
“See? I told you something always happens when you hang out with them. Next time, make sure you go with me. Got it?”
“Yessir.”
As a bodyguard, she probably couldn't forgive herself for the fact that I was put in a dangerous situation—
“Ju-hee Unni was really bored. She said her days off don't mean much when Woo-jin isn't around—!”
Crash!
Senior Ju-hee immediately lunged at Choi Jin-ah. Her movements were as swift as a black panther's.
Watching the 'piggy' get devoured by the 'black panther,' I quietly slipped away.
If I stayed here, I might get caught in the crossfire.
“Ahem.”
“Woo-jinaaa!”
I stood up awkwardly, planning to go anywhere else, when Seo Ye-rin called out to me as she came down from the second floor.
“Hmm?”
With a headset around her neck and wearing a hoodie, she looked completely ready for her role as a gamer.
“Let’s play games! You promised we’d duo!”
“....”
“Are you going or not?! Going or not?! Going?! Going?!”
Seo Ye-rin started doing a little shoulder dance and making a fuss. At some point, the option to refuse had completely disappeared.
I like playing games with Seo Ye-rin.
I really do.
But I hate playing games with a Bronze.
I worked so hard to get up to Gold.
From Bronze to Silver.
From Silver to Gold.
To the rest of the world, it might look like a petty comparison, but between us, there was a fierce and clear hierarchy.
Aren't short people the most sensitive about a 1 or 2cm difference?
When I tried to sneak past her, Seo Ye-rin came running over.
“Where are you going?! I said let’s go to the PC Bang!”
As I headed toward the kitchen, Choi I-seo and Oh Yun-ji happened to be cooking.
“Ah, Woo-jin. Good timing.”
“Ugh, it’s so spicyyy!”
Choi I-seo called me over to taste something, while Oh Yun-ji was next to her, shedding tears as she chopped onions.
“Oh! I-seo! Need help with anything? Should I move something heavy?”
“Yu-na Punch! Yu-na Punch! Yu-na Punch!”
When I ignored her, Seo Ye-rin started throwing punches at my back.
I wondered why she was using Yu-na’s name, but I just pretended not to notice.
If I talked to her here, I’d lose. I’d be sucked straight into the Bronze swamp.
“Here, look at this.”
“It’s too spicyyy! Where did you even get these onions?!”
Ignoring Oh Yun-ji’s screams as well, I walked over to the dining table. There was a worn-out book lying there.
“...A book?”
“It’s a collection of past papers I got through some friends. You need to do well on your final exams this time. You should start preparing now—”
“Ye-rin, let’s go to the PC Bang.”
* * *
“Will I-seo be mad if we eat ramyeon before we go back?!”
And so, we arrived at the PC Bang.
As soon as Seo Ye-rin sat down, she started debating whether to order ramyeon.
“Hmm, how about we order one and split it?”
“Wow, you’re one of those ‘just one bite’ people?”
“Hey.”
Seo Ye-rin giggled and ordered the ramyeon. If we only ate half, it shouldn't be a problem to eat dinner at home later.
I added one ramyeon to the cart with the mouse cursor, but looking at it felt strangely unsatisfying.
“...Tsk, Ye-rin. How about we order some dumplings too? We can handle that much.”
“Ooh, I like it! Then should we just go all out and get a hot bar too? What do you think?!”
“There’s a reason I married you. How are we so perfectly in sync?”
“Hehehe!”
In the end, we ordered one ramyeon, dumplings, a hot bar, Colpop, and even two cups of misugaru.
For a moment, I wondered if it was too much, but I figured if we burned enough calories while gaming, it wouldn't be an issue to eat dinner later.
“Get in here, Woo-jin!”
“Okay.”
The game began.
Seo Ye-rin usually prefers the 'Top' lane, the position favored by lunatics.
So I naturally assumed she’d go there this time too.
“Ah...”
Sometimes you get autofilled into a position you didn't want, and this was one of those times.
“Woo-jin, I got castrated.”
“...You never had anything to begin with, Ye-rin.”
Anyway, we chatted about this and that while enjoying the game.
Two hours later.
After a four-game losing streak that demoted me back to Silver, Seo Ye-rin sat next to me, slurping another bowl of ramyeon she had ordered.
Slurp.
“....”
Sluuuurp.
“....”
Sluuuuuuurp.
“Hey, you’re doing that on purpose to annoy me, aren't you?”
“Woo-jin! You shouldn't blame others! You’re the one who played bad!”
“....”
It was annoying, but she was right, so I couldn't argue. My form was definitely off today.
I played terribly.
“Tsk, I guess I shouldn't play games today.”
“You weren't meant for the Gold life. Hurry up and come down to my level. We’re a couple, after all.”
“I am never going back to Bronze.”
“Che!”
Seo Ye-rin grumbled.
I naturally logged into the Bamboo Forest for the first time in a while.
“Ah, fuck.”
My eyes were assaulted the moment I entered.
I just pretended I didn't see it and moved on to other posts.
“What are you doing, Woo-jin?!”
Seo Ye-rin, who had finished her ramyeon, suddenly poked her face next to mine. She looked at the Bamboo Forest posts and smirked.
“Ah, is it this? The weird rumors people are pushing lately.”
“You know about this?”
“I check it sometimes! And I post there too!”
Well, she was only on a leave of absence, after all.
“Tsk, these kinds of posts are the most annoying. They aren't explicitly sniping anyone, so it’s hard to justify a ban.”
Look at them still pushing rumors about Han Gi-min. Of course, most people didn't seem to care, and only a few were responding.
“Heh.”
Hearing my concern, Seo Ye-rin smirked and rolled up her sleeves.
“Isn't the Sex Master the one who usually normalizes the Bamboo Forest?”
“...Huh?”
I looked at her in confusion, but it was already too late.
Seo Ye-rin logged into the Bamboo Forest on her computer and—
She began spamming the board at an incredible speed.