The Game That Started with My Sister and Spread Like Wildfire
I was just about to download a fairly hefty game when the chatter outside the living quarters grew louder. The seniors who had been out on missions were finally coming back.
Originally, I had planned to do some cleaning. What else could I do inside an empty living quarters? That was the conclusion I had reached after turning it over in my head.
But thanks to all my past experiences, my actions were now programmed. I had realized that lying still was best. I figured that if I moved around now, the seniors would just scold me for no reason, based on how they had reacted in the past.
I was terrified of growing up.
“Still, it’s nice to get some work done after a while.”
“If you know that, you should come out more often. Don’t just help with your mouth in the middle of it.”
“That’s not very nice.”
“Han Jihye-nim, the Hero, please don’t act spoiled. It’s disgusting.”
“Byeori’s not cold to you? You’re all loose with Harang.”
“I only act cold because you make me cold.”
“If Harang had acted spoiled, I would have just let it go.”
“Well… what can you do? She’s such a cute little sister.”
“I’m a cute captain too?”
“Please…”
The voices were getting closer.
“You two, are you going to smoke and come back in? I’ll head in first?”
“Understood.”
“Eh? What’s this? The lights in the living quarters are off?”
“I turned them off. Harang-nim, you should sleep a bit more.”
“Well done.”
“They’re praising the seniors? Completely smitten. The whole unit is turned upside down, just like that.”
“Why are you acting like you’re not happy?”
“Caught?”
With those words, the door rattled open.
“Welcome back.”
I had already stood up from my seat and prepared to greet them long ago. Even if I had been allowed to, it would have been too dishonorable to lie down and welcome them.
“You weren’t asleep? You turned off the lights and left anyway. What’s the point of the seniors showing you care? Right?”
“Why are you snapping at a sick girl?”
Kim Heejin blocked Han Jihye. I was grateful deep down, but her worry made me feel even more on edge. I wondered if her sharp gaze was too obvious.
“So what were you doing?”
Jeong Seung-ah slipped into the seat right beside me. She seemed curious about the game I had just downloaded.
“I’m downloading a game.”
“A game? The one we did back then?”
I shook my head quickly. That memory was a truly embarrassing past I wanted to forget.
Playing the game until I cried right before it ended… No, did I really cry? It wasn’t as bad as the time I had completely broken down from Ji Yuna’s teasing, but the shame was the same.
Anyway, I had erased the game from that time. I had deleted it completely so I wouldn’t have to download it again.
“This time it’s just a game I’m playing alone.”
“Something like a tycoon? Operating a store or whatever?”
“I don’t know exactly because I heard it from my sister. According to her, it’s about raising something. Even marriage.”
“Marriage? How old was she again?”
“Exactly twenty.”
“So it’s an age when girls dream about those things. Does she have a boyfriend? Last time she seemed so pretty, cute, and kind.”
“Hmm… I’ll ask.”
I sent a text.
[Is there something you want to ask? Can you answer right now?]
[?]
[What is it?]
[Ask everything]
The second I hit send, not only did the 1 disappear, but a reply came almost immediately. Of course—she had seen the notification while playing the game and checked it right away.
[Do you have a boyfriend?]
[Boyfriend?]
[Yes!]
*Thud.*
Honestly, I was a little startled. How had my sister, who I had always had to watch over, grown up so fast?
It felt like she had surpassed me, who had never even had a boyfriend until now.
[Who is it?]
[Harang]
That’s me!
Over and over again, as I tried to process it, my sister spoke first.
[The name of the character I’m raising right now]
[Is the character’s name also Harang?]
[You’re too similar]
[No no]
[I can name my own character]
Then it wasn’t the same as marrying a character whose name was your own family?
I was a little startled in a different way. Even if I thought positively, I figured it must be because my sister’s social circle was small.
For now, I replied that I understood. I wouldn’t think about it right then.
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“…You’re not paying enough attention to my sister? She seemed like a good kid last time. Treat her well.”
Han Jihye said that.
Yeah, now that we were all the same gender, it didn’t matter.
After answering, I sent a text to my sister, then went back to the game app I had left in the background.
It turned out the download was already complete.
“So why suddenly a game? You don’t usually do things like that.”
“I was looking for something to do for the last three days and my sister told me right when I needed it. If you’re irritated, I’ll delete it right now!”
“Who said anything? We’re not complaining about it. We told you to rest in the first place, right? What you do is up to you.”
Kim Heejin said that and sat down next to me. On the opposite side from Jeong Seung-ah.
“Let’s take a look at the one you do first. If it’s fun, I’ll download it too.”
“You don’t play games, Kim Heejin-nim? Last time, Harang was doing something weirdly like you were copying her.”
“I play if I want to. Don’t get in my way?”
“Understood.”
Even as Kim Heejin growled fiercely, Byeori didn’t care. Probably because they had been together for a long time; even threats didn’t work on her.
Byeori had already returned to her seat, but her gaze was still fixed on this side. She seemed curious.
“Shall we watch together?”
“I don’t mind. Since Harang-nim recommended it, I have no choice.”
As if she had been waiting, Byeori slipped over.
She then glanced at both sides. One was Kim Heejin, the other Jeong Seung-ah.
At first glance, they looked like flowers on both sides of me. Up close, it was the junior surrounded by two seniors, but life is a comedy from afar and a tragedy up close.
“…Please move aside?”
Jeong Seung-ah said that, and Byeori shook her head. Just to watch? She must feel uncomfortable.
As if she had been waiting, Byeori came up behind me and gently rested her chin on my shoulder.
“Superhuman Seo Harang.”
“You don’t have to use formal names. It’s better this way anyway.”
“If it doesn’t bother you, then it’s fine.”
It was actually Byeori who would feel more uncomfortable, not me.
Unlike the curls of Han Jihye, my hair was long. It probably tickled when it touched my skin and might block my vision.
“I don’t mind. Let’s just see what kind of game it is. Maybe it’s better not to touch the game side and reach toward this side.”
Understanding Byeori’s reason, I started the game.
After a fairly standard tutorial, I was given one character.
A normal warrior with a single star. It looked exactly like the character that came with the basic package.
Black hair, slightly sharp eyes. It was the exact character my sister had sent as a screenshot.
Just a tutorial character?
The already shabby character’s reputation had completely plummeted.
Not just the character, but the game itself had my complaints. I felt a strange sense of kinship that the character who looked similar to me was treated exactly the same as me.
“Eh? This one looks like Harang!”
“Is this the one you’re raising?”
“What? Harang is raising Harang.”
“Yeah, it’s a normal-looking character that would come out in a game. Harang-nim.”
“You’re full of honey dripping from your eyes when you think of your junior? Seung-ah, how about you?”
Each added their own comment while watching the game. Since I had to raise the first one no matter what, I decided to raise it.
“What should I name it?”
“What nickname do you usually use in games?”
“…I just used my real name.”
“Then let’s do that.”
The name of the character that looked like me became my own name. It felt like I was getting even more attached.
Anyway, the game was easy enough for me, who had no talent. It was about choosing options in a fantasy world with the weapon in my hands and advancing forward.
And, according to my sister’s description, it was incredibly weak. Even though I had chosen what I thought was optimal, every stat was still below B in reality.
Eventually, my character was buried in a grave before long. The sad tombstone illustration perfectly matched her uncelebrated death.
“Harang!”
“Aigo! Harang has died!”
“Our Harang is buried in a shabby grave! What do we do! Aigo!”
‘A traveler who left no achievements, here she rests.’ Harang had worked so hard, but there was no reward.
“In the afterlife, you should be faithful…”
It felt like they were even going to carry a coffin and dance. That was why I had said it was lame.
“Ah, the package ad popped up.”
When I returned to the lobby, the package carnival greeted me as if it had been waiting.
A 50,000-won event package. When I closed it, a 10,000-won monthly subscription package. When I closed that, a heavy 100,000-won package.
Since I wasn’t the type to spend money on games, I skipped it. Especially because my character was already buried in a grave, and it came out like this, my motivation was even lower.
White-nim wasn’t spending money here, right? If unni had earned it and poured it into games like water, it would be a little sad.
…What was I thinking just now? Unni? Did I say unni instead of oppa?
I quickly shook my head and erased the word from my mind. Somehow, I felt like my heart was being devoured by my body.
It was the seniors’ reactions that made me forget the strange sense of estrangement. Jeong Seung-ah and Kim Heejin, who had been beside me, both looked interested.
Byeori, who had been behind, had already taken out her phone and was typing as soon as the game started, as if she liked it from the beginning.
The other seniors showed reactions of interest cooled by the packages, and Han Jihye…
“Ah, crap, so what happens to that?”
From the moment the game started, her interest had already faded, and she had gone back to her seat to watch a drama.
Anyway, the game I had unintentionally started with my sister’s text message had spread through the entire living quarters. If it hadn’t been for the character who looked like me being behind, I might have enjoyed it a little.
Still, since there was nothing to do for the next three days, I had to keep going. If I let the seniors know about this trend and disappeared alone, it would be embarrassing for them too.
…Huh? Right now, while everyone was busy with their own tasks, wasn’t this a secret chance to tidy the futon?
Since I was the only one secretly sucking honey and it felt too obvious, I quickly began rolling up my blanket as if looking for an opening.
“Harang, unni is watching. Don’t think about doing anything.”
“Understood…”
It seemed best to just do as I was told.