Growing Closer to Im Ha-rin
Im Ha-rin wasn't particularly difficult for Jeong Hana to get along with, but she wasn't an easy kid to handle either.
"If you hate studying that much, at least become a pro gamer."
That retort to her scolding parents had kickstarted Im Ha-rin's gaming life, and surprisingly, it was turning out pretty well. But as Jeong Hana had judged, she was still 2% short of making it as a real pro gamer.
From that angle, Jeong Hana stood out among other adults as someone Im Ha-rin couldn't help but feel a subtle fondness for.
Except for that stark white hair and red eyes that drew way too much attention.
'This unnie got sick once and now she's somehow...'
Sitting side by side in the couple's booth, both playing Lost of Fantasy. Im Ha-rin felt a strange mix of butterflies and the thrill of suddenly having an older friend.
'Better than last time, when we just roughly made out for cash anyway.'
With that thought, Im Ha-rin dove into the game with her usual enthusiasm. Lost of Fantasy was hugely popular even among kids at school, so she planned to power-level today like always.
Jeong Hana, meanwhile, ignored her completely, ordered a peach iced tea, set it on her ample chest, and sipped it while focusing on her own game.
"Huh?"
"...What's up?"
Im Ha-rin glanced at Jeong Hana's screen and let out a genuine little gasp of surprise.
"Unnie, you're playing this too?"
"I said I was earlier."
It was from their small talk before ordering the iced tea.
"What's your class?"
"Holy Knight."
"Heard that's kinda lame."
"Hybrids always get that rep."
Im Ha-rin tilted her head at the unfamiliar term.
'Hybrid? What's that mean...?'
She thought of news headlines for a second, then gave up and dropped it.
'Unnie's playing this too, huh. Makes sense—everyone's into it these days.'
Lost of Fantasy, freshly launched, was a hit among anyone who gamed even a little. So seeing Jeong Hana suddenly into it felt like just another ripple in the hype wave.
'Anyway... gotta hit exactly level 30 today. If I play till 10, I can definitely do it.'
Leveling up unlocked new skills. New skills opened new dungeons. Im Ha-rin loved that simple loop, so she dove into quests and monster hunts with gusto.
"Ugh, annoying..."
While looting a monster corpse mid-hunt, she grimaced.
"Why?"
Jeong Hana's question startled her a bit.
"Uh... inventory's full."
Having played other RPGs, Im Ha-rin knew the drill.
Jeong Hana turned, eyed her screen, and chuckled softly.
"Of course it is. You're still using the default bag."
"...Bag?"
"Yeah, bag. You can expand beyond 16 slots."
"For real? How, unnie?"
"Your quests... open your inventory real quick."
Jeong Hana shifted, set her iced tea down from her chest, leaned in close to Im Ha-rin's right arm, and peered at the screen.
"Opened."
"Lemme see... yeah, you haven't done the bag quest. Remember the Alphadisco Excavation Site? That zone?"
"Oh, there? Yeah, of course."
"There's a quest there—pick Moonpetals and turn 'em in for a 6-slot bag. Do that at least."
"Six slots..."
Im Ha-rin pouted.
"That's all?"
"You can equip up to four of those. It'll expand more as you play. Drops from dungeons later too."
"How many slots on those?"
"Raids are way off—ignore that. Questing gets you 10-slot ones eventually. Hits max level, and it'll grow naturally."
Jeong Hana naturally reached out, pointing at the screen. Her heavy breasts pressed firmly against Im Ha-rin's arm in the process, but Im Ha-rin just stared at the monitor, unfazed.
"You equip bags in these visible slots, see? Early game, not many have Expert Professions, so don't buy crafted ones yet..."
"Expert Profession? What's that?"
"You'll do it later. Don't worry now."
Jeong Hana pointed at nearby gathering nodes.
"If your bag's killing you right now, grab these herbs you see."
"You mean Mana Bindweed?"
"Yeah, that. Just gather a bunch, head to a big city later—there's an auction house. Sell 'em there. Use the cash for a bag."
Im Ha-rin blinked, staring at Jeong Hana.
"Unnie."
"Yeah?"
"How do you know all this? First time anyone's told me."
Im Ha-rin tapped away, pulling up Nuteube.
"Can't game during class."
"Obviously."
"So I scour Nuteube and communities for tips and guides."
Jeong Hana rested her chin in her hand, eyeing her.
"And no one mentioned what I just told you?"
"Yeah, the bag—one video, but I forgot. Gathering and Expert Professions? Totally new."
"Expert Profession? First I've heard. I know stuff like 'Black Mage's better than Mage' debates, though."
"You'll pick it up playing. I just learned early."
"That's it?"
"Yeah. And there's a reason your Nuteube folks skip it."
Im Ha-rin widened her eyes.
"Expert Professions make money."
"Ah~"
Money. An absurdly simple answer, but nothing clearer.
"They're hoarding the real honey tips till they cash in first."
Im Ha-rin's gamer brain clicked; she gathered some Mana Bindweed and shrugged.
"Herbs despawn after gathering? Explains not sharing—too much competition."
"Respawns in about 10 minutes, but yeah, rivals suck."
Jeong Hana started to set her iced tea back on her chest but gave up and held it instead.
'Unnie's like this, huh...'
Im Ha-rin marveled inwardly and resumed gaming.
'She waits till I ask for help. Last time wasn't half-assed either, then?'
A total misunderstanding, but Im Ha-rin started warming up to Jeong Hana. No sense of abandonment like with her parents. Skillfully dropping game tips without bruising her pride.
Any gamer at Im Ha-rin's level couldn't help but like her.
"Oh, right—you're hitting 28 soon?"
"Yeah, unnie."
"Gotta hit this dungeon anyway. You're good, so party up?"
Im Ha-rin grinned at the casual invite that benefited them both.
"Sure! I'll carry you, unnie."
"Haa~! That was fun."
10 p.m.
Still a minor, Im Ha-rin couldn't escape this magical curfew.
A close call, but they'd cleared the dungeon clean and logged out smooth.
"A pro-gamer wannabe saying she had 'fun' leaving the PC bang?"
"Pfft, whatever. You'll cover for me, unnie."
"Unbelievable."
The giggling Im Ha-rin seemed to feel buddy-buddy after just one session.
Not that we hadn't done a ton today. She'd caught on to the Expert Profession hint, so we gathered nodes together. Two dungeon runs, and that annoying elite mob quest? With her, we smashed it in two minutes flat.
Truth was, a solo healer crawled at a snail's pace, but a DPS buddy made it a breeze.
Still, I'd figured today would burn time pointlessly, but we'd cut that short.
"Unnie, wanna do this every day?"
"Doubt it."
"Aw, why?"
"You're a student—home for sleep, no gaming in class. I can grind whenever."
Im Ha-rin stared with endless envy.
"By tomorrow, I'll be 2-3 levels ahead. Zones change, dungeons too—no partying right away."
"Sigh... got it. Sucks, but whatever."
Surprisingly, no begging to carry her. Huh, being a girl has perks. Chatting games freely with a high schooler, couple's booth banter? As a guy, that'd be awkward as hell. Landlady wouldn't have asked me to watch her either.
Alright, let's get a bit closer then.
"But if you hit a wall mid-game, ask me."
"How?"
"...Right, no contacts swapped. Gimme your number—adding you."
"Unnie said no last time..."
Guess so. What kind of person was the old Jeong Hana?
"That was then. Same hobby now."
Im Ha-rin grabbed my smartphone without hesitation and punched in her number.
"But unnie."
Down the stairs, hit with chilly wind, she stared at my face... no, my chest?
"Did grandma tell you to hurry home?"
"Huh...? Why? Nah, lost track of time, just crashed."
"I see. No, nothing."
She mumbled casually.
"'Cause no bra."
"......Huh?"
"Figured they dragged you out sudden-like and stuck you with me."
"N-no... how'd you know? If I wore a bra or not?"
Do girls just know? By looking? Without seeing it bare?
"How? Your boobs touched me."
"N-no, illusion! I wore one!!"
I stepped back; she snickered.
"Unnie, why so embarrassed?"
Of course! Getting caught braless!
"I skip it sometimes to the convenience store."
"Didn't wanna know."
I covered my chest with both hands and squatted down.
"You! High schooler! Don't say that! Disaster!!!"
"What's the big deal between girls..."
It is!!!
Anyway, bonding with the landlady's granddaughter—no loss there... right?