They Really Dislike Cats
PM · 11:42
When I glanced at the clock, I realized how late it had become. It was almost nine hours now. I felt a twinge of regret. I still wanted to keep going. There had been roughly seventy challengers today. That was plenty, yet a faint dissatisfaction lingered in my chest like bubbles. Yesterday there had been almost twice that many. Was this what they called “open time”? In the old days I would have protested, but I couldn’t. It was a shame. The bait had gone cold, and I had been surprisingly calm about it. After all, I had already declared I would ban anyone who asked about me. That was only fair. Besides, I had posted nine hours ago and never updated again, so it was natural that the post had been buried. Strangely, even nine hours later, recent comments were still appearing. That was almost a miracle. I quickly scanned my own post. Just a little while ago there had been a few people requesting revenge matches, but now all of them had given up and the notifications had stopped. Too bad, but I would stop here. This was enough. I had played enough to feel genuinely satisfied. And my stomach was starting to growl. [Fur Wheel Slayer] – 1v1 closed. I typed those last words, logged out of VR, and stretched. My sweaty clothes clung uncomfortably, but I wasn’t ready to sleep yet, so I delayed the shower. “I need to recover my Grand Master rank.” I quickly cooked dinner. While I cooked I opened the freezer and ate another scoop of ice cream. The rich chocolate and the spicy stir-fried cuttlefish melted together into something weird and wonderful. To me, with my empty stomach, it tasted like the sweetest thing in the world. My long hair kept falling into my face, so I gathered it up and tied it back with a scrunchie. I hated how long it was. I had considered cutting it dozens of times, but in the end I hadn’t. The reason, I suppose… Well, anyway. “…” Every time I thought about cutting it, her face appeared. That bright, cheerful smile. Eyes full of the happiness of the entire world. “You’re really beautiful, Yunseo.” That was what she had said. “…Hah.” What was the point of that now? I really was an idiot. A self-deprecating chuckle escaped me. The ice cream slid down my hand. I licked it off with my tongue while staring blankly at the contents of the pan. “Oh.” It was burned. A single “-haljjak” sound escaped me as I scooped up the melted chocolate with my finger and stared into the empty pan. ***
-SHUWWWWWWWWW!!!
POOEOOOOO!!!
[Defeat]
“…”
Mmm. It had been a long time since I had seen a dungeon runner dig so deep into the Glen. As I thought that, I popped a chocolate into my mouth. The creamy chocolate and crunchy nuts tasted like heaven, and the frustration of losing vanished in an instant. Well, you could lose. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. KDA was [2/12/4]. A truly pathetic score. And the dungeon runner on my team kept mocking it. ------------ -ChikoritaIsWinner: lol, our Glen -ChikoritaIsWinner: the level just poured out lol, mother -ChikoritaIsWinner has left the lobby. ------------ But I was annoyed. If I was going to be angry, it was at my own team. The moment the match started, the enemy dungeon runner had abandoned all dungeon looting and just kept stabbing the Glen. For most of the game I had been repeatedly ganked and killed. I had played aggressively, of course, which made the deaths worse, but that was minor. The real problem was my own dungeon runner. While the enemy was using the Glen constantly, my ally had brought back almost nothing and in the mid-to-late game had fallen even further behind. This was a serious crime. Imagine a flight attendant dad working his bones to pay for his daughter’s overseas education. Then, when he finally comes home, he proudly asks his daughter what she wants, and she says she’s pregnant and demands money for the abortion. My stomach felt queasy and dizzy. But it was fine. My brain, melted by chocolate, healed instantly. I wanted to send a whisper and start a 1v1, but I had to climb the ladder first. I would hold back. I played solo rank until the small hours of the morning. The result? Six wins and five losses. Barely plus twenty-eight points. Isn’t it a little too stingy compared to the time and effort? Twenty-eight points is too low. Let’s just round it up to fifty. I grumbled to the game company in my head while running a mental situation, but all I got was a hollow sense of self-loathing. The time was 5:49 a.m. “I should sleep.” Fatigue was creeping in. My eyes were already heavy. If I relaxed my back I would probably pass out right there. I took off the VR headset and stripped off the wet clothes. I took a quick shower and scrubbed myself clean. I collapsed onto the bed in my freshly dried body. My whole self melted into the mattress. It felt warm and comfortable. The moment I thought that, a long, wailing cat cry floated in from outside. -UAAAAAANG!!!!!!! -UAAAAAANG!!!!!!! -MEOOOOOOWWWWW!!!! -HIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!!! “Oh. It started again.” Irritation swelled inside me. My chest felt tight. It was like a reflex. When I heard the bell, I felt saliva drip. Hearing those cat voices lit a murderous fire in my heart. The hatred that had deepened for years had turned me into someone with a violent streak. I wanted to tear them all apart. I wanted to rip their limbs off. I wanted to shove a Tylenol pill down their throat. Something in my chest was boiling. That damn cat mom. Stop feeding them around here. -HIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!! -URIYAAAAAANG!!!!!!! The sound was halfway between a cat’s cry and something from a field animal. I couldn’t tell. “Ah.” They really were disgusting. I wanted to kill every single one of those fur wheel kids. I wanted to make a special “cat food with Tylenol powder” edition and feed it to them. Ha Yunseo was the kind of person whose inner demon rose endlessly. Of course she never acted on it. She simply accepted her weakness and faced the present. I got up, went to the bathroom, and took out the orange earplugs I had bought at the convenience store earlier. I pressed the orange plugs hard and jammed them deep into both ears. The sound became a little quieter. That alone made my heart feel lighter. So tired, I fell asleep almost immediately. In my dreams Ha Yunseo wore the gentlest, happiest expression. It was the only moment she could be completely free from this terrible reality. ***
The next day, around two in the afternoon, a message arrived from CloudySky. DING DING!~
I had been in the middle of a 1v1 bloodbath when I quickly finished and clicked the glowing Discord icon. From the single contact that had popped up, I answered in surprise. [CloudySky: Is your schedule free?] [Ha Yunseo: Yes.] [CloudySky: That’s great!] [CloudySky: First, I want to do a broadcast together tomorrow. Would that be okay?] [CloudySky: I want to do it as soon as possible.] [Ha Yunseo: I’d love to.]
RUSTLE RUSTLE. I peeled off the wrapper of the little chocolate bar and bit into it. (CloudySky is typing…) [CloudySky: First, let me explain my idea.] [CloudySky: …Oh, before that.] [CloudySky: What should I call you?] [Ha Yunseo: It doesn’t matter.] [CloudySky: Well then, I’ll call you Yunseo-ssi.] [CloudySky: First, I’ll invite you to my broadcast as a master.] [CloudySky: For the “how did you get invited?” question I’ll say I noticed you’ve been playing Lulu really well lately and our contact just happened to line up. I’ll adjust the words here.] [CloudySky: I’ve invited masters to my broadcast before, so it won’t be weird.] [CloudySky: Just pretend you don’t know about what happened in the gallery. Anyone who brings it up will be banned. You don’t have to worry.] [CloudySky: After the introduction I’ll do a short Q&A, show some solo rank gameplay, answer questions about Lulu strategy or playstyle, and end with a 1v1. Any other opinions?] “Mmm…” [Ha Yunseo: None.]