Morning Roll Call and the Rainy Day Game
*Huff, huff...* Morning inspection today... *Ah, what is it?* *Ah, yes.* *Huff, huff.* Today's morning inspection will be conducted indoors, so please turn off the TV and take your seats. End of transmission.
The broadcast cut off sharply. Between the song lyrics drifting from the TV, the steady patter of rain echoed through the room.
I could smell my favorite scent. The earthy aroma that always clung to me on rainy days.
I hated stepping out into the rain, but I loved sitting indoors just listening to its sound.
"May I turn off the TV?"
"Yeah."
Without smoothing out the blanket, Han Jihye simply shoved the mattress into the pile of blankets and gave a half-hearted reply.
"Ah, man, that pisses me off. It's so annoying."
She muttered it in a drawl.
"Hiik! I'm sorry!"
"Huh? Ah, yeah. Sorry about that."
Was it really my fault? What did I do wrong?
"Don't worry about it. You feel bad when it rains."
Jeong Seung-ah explained gently. Yeah, last time it rained there had been a bit of low pressure.
Apart from that, Han Jihye's disheveled hair looked even more vibrant now. The way it spilled across the bed in direct contrast to her current mood made me smile despite myself.
After clearing up the inspection, I sat down. Not long after, the door clicked open.
"Is everyone here?"
"We're here—"
"Ah, Jihye looks like she's in a bad mood?"
"I'm fine—"
"Then I'll keep it short. Nothing special today, and it's Monday, so you all know the roles are split. 1st Barracks... since it's a rest week, just relax and enjoy it. I'll call you separately when there's work to do."
Monday.
A rest week had finally arrived.
In other words, the week we'd been trying to treat Yeon Byeori's addiction.
I glanced toward Yeon Byeori. The moment the seniors left, she had crawled back to the bed and was already clutching her phone.
It wasn't as if I'd been doing nothing during this period. You can't fix anything just by thinking *it'll be fine*.
Of course, it wasn't like a sudden flash of inspiration had hit her either.
I'd searched the internet, but all that came up were things like *Understand how your gambling looks from the outside*, *How gambling affects our minds*, and *You have to accept that gambling will take something from you*.
Those abstract lectures had zero effect on Yeon Byeori. She was already fulfilling all three conditions—she was just doing it for fun.
So the method I'd come up with was simple.
"Yeon Byeori Superhuman-nim."
"Ye—"
"Want to play a game?"
I was looking for something she could focus on. Even I thought it was ridiculously straightforward.
But what could I do? It was important to start small.
"What kind of game? Mobile?"
"Yes. It's a team game. Three people on a team."
*Hmm.*
Was she interested, or not? She answered, but it felt like her soul wasn't really here.
I noticed her gaze was fixed on the phone. She was probably just answering out of politeness.
"Maybe you're not interested?"
"Um... a little?"
That eased the tension a little. Forcing someone who hated it would only make us both feel awkward.
It was a shame, though. I'd found a game that let us chat at a comfortable pace.
"What is it?"
"Ah, Jeong Seung-ah Superhuman-nim. No, wait—remember what I said last time?"
"...About solving Yeon Byeori Superhuman's addiction?"
"Yes. That's why I looked it up."
Still, it felt wrong to just send her off. What if she played with me instead?
I said it with a smile, but I knew she was doing it for my sake, so my eyes got a little watery.
Thanks to Jeong Seung-ah putting in that much effort, I resolved to try my best.
Besides, I didn't play games often anyway. I'd never had the time.
...I couldn't just turn down the seniors' offer, though.
Right. Time was on my side here. If I said "I don't like games" outright, I'd only be rejecting Jeong Seung-ah's kindness in front of everyone.
"Then this game..."
"Hey."
"Superhuman Seo Harang?"
"Three players, right?"
"Yes."
"I want in too."
Kim Heejin said that. She sounded bored.
Yeah, Han Jihye looked rough around the edges and the weather wasn't exactly motivating.
"Understood."
My voice rose a little.
Did she think I was excited? To be honest, I was. Having two seniors take part in something because of me felt thrilling.
Yes! Today I could finally be the main character!
"You sure? I did a little studying while watching that broadcast."
"Really? You're going to carry me?"
The word popped out. The one the YouTube streamers always shouted.
It was usually used in good situations, so it had to be a compliment.
But I had to be careful when I didn't know the full meaning. I'd been burned before for trying to act like I understood. And even if it was just a casual phrase, it still rubbed me the wrong way.
Since this wasn't related to unit life, I decided to ask straight. The seniors had said it was better to admit ignorance than pretend to know.
"What does carry mean?"
"...What? You're serious?"
"Harang..."
"No, is there something I should be looking at? This?"
I asked genuinely. I had no memory of anyone giving me pitying eyes like that before.
I thought back to the seniors' looks so far. All of them had been after my Awakening story.
This time I hadn't said anything like that, so the suspicion only grew.
"Have you ever played games with people your age?"
"Games? No way. I should be working an extra part-time job instead. Even the uncles barely go to the adult PC rooms, so there wasn't anyone to play with."
The already humid atmosphere grew heavier with the rain.
I hadn't intended to bring up my own troubles to weigh everything down. I had no intention of bragging *I'm this miserable!*
"Then right now I'm super excited! Even if you're seniors, you're people around my age, right?!"
I raised my voice a notch. The forced tone didn't sound great to my own ears.
"R-Really?"
"Yeah... that's right. Let's have fun. If I mess up, don't yell at me."
Jeong Seung-ah and Kim Heejin both seemed ready to play without any fuss. Thank goodness!
I told them the game name, downloaded everything, launched it, finished the tutorial, and started.
It was a top-down game where you fought matched opponents. More deaths meant loss.
The theory was perfect. Even with the clearer vision after Awakening, there were no blind spots.
"I will carry you all! Carry!"
I shouted boldly and stepped into the game world.
...
"Ah... I'm sorry."
I lost.
Five games. Four losses.
Even the one I won, I hadn't really done anything. I died first, and that was it.
And now, in the final game we chose, my sixth loss.
Again, I had done nothing.
The despair from my own helplessness was painful. If someone else had lost, it would be one thing, but knowing it was me made me want to crawl into a hole.
"It's... it's okay, Harang. Thanks to you going first, we could set the tempo easily."
Jeong Seung-ah watched my expression harden in real time and comforted me. But right next to her, Yeon Byeori's personal record kept flashing in my vision.
*Kill 3, Death 2, Assist 14.*
"What... it's just a game. Don't look so gloomy."
Next to Kim Heejin, the record flashed: *Kill 13, Death 4, Assist 4.*
"That's..."
I forced out my voice. When I looked up, a mirror was reflecting me.
*Kill 1, Death 8, Assist 2.* The worst record you could hand out anywhere.
If this kept repeating six times, even the strongest mind would shatter.
I cried.
This time it wasn't an act. The tears came because I was genuinely sorry.
"But it's unfair... you two played so well, and one mistake ruined everything..."
"No, really it's fine. Don't worry. It's just a game?"
"Whether you win or lose doesn't matter. Just enjoy it however you want. Right?"
Comforting me only hurt more. It felt like being stroked with a steel wool pad.
Still, with the seniors going this far for me, I couldn't just sit there moping. I forced myself to stay focused.
The moment I thought I was okay, the enemy team sent a chat.
- (Enemy) LMAO trash lol just surrender
Ah.
- (Enemy) Don't even play lol we'll win with our feet lol
- (Enemy) If you're bad don't even act cocky lol can't do anything?
- (Enemy) BUGBUGBUGBUG!!!
"I'm sorry..."
"No! No, no! It's really okay! We're really fine! Just ignore those chats! People who say that are trying to raise their ego a little!"
Jeong Seung-ah's voice didn't reach me. The 'lol' letters were shattering me in real time, the ones that ripped apart the fact that I couldn't do anything.
"...Ugh."
"Hey, Harang's crying again? Total crybaby."
"No... I'm not crying..."
I pushed the tears back down that had slipped out at Han Jihye's words.
I wasn't supposed to cry like this. I hadn't cried over anything this lame since before.
Why did it feel like my tear ducts were suddenly weak? My whole heart felt soft.
So what was Kim Heejin doing?
- Hey **** where you from? I'll kill you
- (Enemy) ehehehe scary lol lol boyfriend?
- (Enemy) Aho Pongpong hyung
- Where you from
- Wanna fight?
- Actually
- People who can't even look you in the eyes ****
- **** don't talk **** like trash ****
The chat was flooding with galaxies.
My precious Kim Heejin had given up three days of chat restrictions as repayment for fighting for me.
Only after seeing that conclusion did I finally understand.
Ah, I could never touch games again, huh.