Gaming Friend (1)
Gaming Friend (1)
Dding-dong—
I pressed the doorbell.
Tak-tak.
Then I knocked on the door.
"Excuse me. I'm from Room 603."
Out of a sense of conscience, I didn't bring the squeaky hammer.
Honestly, if someone is a sensible person, they wouldn't think of bashing a stranger's head in the moment they first meet.
Instead, I held a bottle of vitamin drink I bought from the convenience store in my hand.
This was a bribe, and at the same time, a sort of declaration of war.
'I have shown this much courtesy, so you should humanly feel some shame.'
It was a prop for such high-level psychological warfare.
I waited quietly while holding the doorknob.
But.
—Ah, heal!! Give me a heal!!
What came from inside the door wasn't an apology, but a ear-splitting scream.
"······."
The drink bottle in my hand grew cold.
Ha.
I should have just brought the hammer.
To hell with being cultured.
A wave of bitter regret washed over me.
'...Don't the neighbors find that screaming annoying?'
Or is the soundproofing of this officetel just freakish? A crazy design where floor-to-floor noise is direct, but wall-to-wall noise is perfectly blocked.
If not that, maybe everyone just lives believing that indifference is a virtue.
Even though it was the officetel hallway, the air was quite chilly. Goosebumps rose over my thin clothes.
Dding-dong.
I pressed the doorbell once more.
···No response.
Is she wearing a headset inside? The sound of the doorbell probably can't be heard over the game sounds.
'What the hell am I doing in front of someone else's door in the middle of the night?'
Kung, kung.
I knocked on the door again.
Still no answer.
I considered pressing the doorbell one more time, but then lowered my hand.
'···Should I just complain tomorrow?'
It was the moment I was about to give up and turn around.
Dalkak.
The firmly closed door opened like magic.
Fluorescent light spilled through the gap. The figure revealed beneath it was quite defenseless.
Disheveled, messy black hair. A black sleeveless t-shirt. And baggy training pants that looked like they'd been worn for a long time.
She had a haggard look, so much so that it was hard to believe she was the person screaming at the top of her lungs just a moment ago.
"···Who are you?"
A low voice. It was tinged with an emotion that could be either irritation or exhaustion.
I swallowed hard and opened my mouth.
"Ah, I'm from Room 603."
"Room 603?"
Her eyes turned toward me. From head to toe. A very slow and blatant gaze swept over my body.
I flinched for a moment at that look, as if she were sizing me up.
'···What the.'
Only after a long while did she pull back her gaze and lean crookedly against the doorframe.
"Ah··· yes. ···What brings you here?"
I gripped the vitamin drink in my hand tightly. I mustn't get swept up here. I have to say what needs to be said.
"It's nothing else but···."
I chose my words carefully, keeping them calm but pointed.
"It's all well and good that you play games."
"······."
"But you tapping on your keyboard upstairs at night is a bit···."
I trailed off. I thought she would understand even if I didn't explicitly say it was 'noisy.' If something like common sense existed, that is.
"Ah... yes. I'm sorry about that."
She mumbled, scratching the back of her head.
"I got... a little excited."
A crawling voice. The momentum from when she was shouting at the top of her lungs just moments ago was nowhere to be found.
I stared at her blankly. I missed the timing to get angry.
"Ah... yes."
Only an awkward response popped out of my mouth. Just as I was wondering if I should just head back.
Her lips twitched as if she felt wronged, and she added in a low voice.
"No, but."
"...Yes?"
"You'd know too if you play games."
Her eyes momentarily turned cloudy. Something like suppressed madness flickered past.
"It was a promotion match."
"......"
"But our Jungler didn't gank once. For 15 minutes."
"......"
"Even Buddha would pull a keyboard shotgun for that. You admit it, right?"
She was serious. She looked up at me intently, her eyes sparkling as if seeking my agreement.
Ha.
I swallowed a hollow laugh.
Crazy. A real one has appeared.
Honestly, I had run all sorts of simulations.
An ending where I'm reported to the police as a stalker for ringing the doorbell at night. Or a route where I receive looks of contempt just because a man came looking for her.
Even a thriller where a knife comes flying out the moment the door opens.
I had come up here prepared for all sorts of worst-case scenarios in my own way.
'···Crazy.'
To think the excuse she offers is 'Jungle diff.' This was a development I hadn't anticipated.
But what's even more absurd.
'15 minutes of no ganks is a bit much···.'
Is that her words were strangely persuasive.
"······Ha."
A deep sigh escaped me.
I've lost the will to fight. What more can I say to someone with those eyes?
15 minutes of no ganks. That's no different from a Jungler violating a Laner's human rights. It's a reason even a court of law might take into consideration.
I thrust out the vitamin drink I was holding.
"···Here, have this."
"Yes?"
Her eyes went wide. She had an expression that said she didn't understand the reason.
"Drink this and calm down."
"Ah······."
"And."
I paused for a moment, then added in a mock-serious tone.
"If there's a Jungle diff, just surrender. It's better for your mental health."
"······."
"If you keep screaming, next time I'm bringing a squeaky hammer instead of this."
She took the drink blankly. The cold glass bottle moved from hand to hand.
"···Thanks. I'll enjoy it."
"Yes. Good luck."
I turned around without lingering. I felt her gaze stabbing into the back of my head, but I didn't bother looking back.
I said everything I needed to say, gave a warning, and showed a decent amount of goodwill. This was a perfect handling of the situation.
Ttubuck-ttubuck.
My footsteps heading down the stairs were much lighter.
Since I visited in person and showed kindness, she'll surely be a bit more careful. If she's human, she should.
Standing in front of my front door, I pressed the door lock.
Tti, tti, tti, tti.
Tomorrow is an afternoon class.
Come to think of it, that means it's okay to sleep a bit late tonight.
Should I play some games before bed for the first time in a while?
A round of Rel?
'······No.'
I shook my head firmly.
Didn't I just witness it with my own two eyes? That hideous ecosystem that turns a perfectly normal person into a beast in an instant.
That's not a game. It's no different from a real-time digital mental ward.
Then what should I do? As expected, is it the romance of the Storm of Time and Space?
'······.'
If Rel is a game that makes normal people go crazy.
The Storm of Time and Space is a game where only the crazy ones are left.
In that case. I have to turn it on right now.
I turned on the computer and double-clicked the familiar icon.
Wi-ing.
Along with the sound of the fan spinning, a blue vortex swirled across the screen.
"···Hmm."
This heavy scent wafting from beyond the monitor. It's not an ordinary smell of shit. It's a deep flavor, as if it had rotted past the point of stagnation, and even that had evaporated, leaving only the essence.
It was the savory smell of the Storm of Time and Space that stung the tip of my nose.
As if possessed, I opened the chat window.
[[1. General]] TapgolGongwon: 82-year-old Kim Deok-bae halabeoji's Warlord's Challenge with his implants on the line 2/5
[[1. General]] Trolls are Trash: ✌🤪✌ ✌🤪✌ ✌🤪✌ Day 364 of praying for Storm of Time and Space's service termination ✌🤪✌ ✌🤪✌
[[1. General]] It's All My Fault: Ah fuck, Butcher seriously needs a nerf
[[1. General]] Baramjeomuneundal: 91-year-old Lee Young-ja halmeoni's Bruiser Camp bribe with her nursing home fees on the line 2/5
As expected. It doesn't disappoint.
An isolation ward where logic and reason were thrown away long ago, and only pure madness rules. This disorder actually gave me a sense of stability.
But then.
Amidst the flood of rapidly rising text, a particular nickname caught my eye.
[[Baramjeomuneundal]]
'···Eh?'
I remember. It was about a month ago, the first person I synced up with after starting the Storm of Time and Space. We even added each other as friends after the game, but we hadn't played together once since then.
I'm not usually the type to enjoy socializing in games. But seeing them online made me glad. I thought they'd quit, but they were still holding onto this dead game.
'···So you were alive.'
I tapped on the keyboard without hesitation.
[Whisper to [[Baramjeomuneundal]]]: Invite me please
In less than a second, an invitation flew in.
[[[Baramjeomuneundal]] has invited you to a party.]
When I pressed the accept button, it moved to the lobby screen.
[[Party]] TimundoNaeGyehoek: hihy
[[Party]] TapgolGongwon: hi
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: hi
One more person was already there. 'TapgolGongwon.' I could feel an extraordinary level of seniority from the nickname alone.
But it didn't matter who was there. As soon as I entered, I made a sharp declaration in the pick screen.
[[Party]] TimundoNaeGyehoek: I'm going Dark Knight
Dark Knight.
Light of my life, fire of my body. My sin, my soul. Dar-k-tem.
The tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Dar. K. Tem.
He was Dark, just Dark, in the morning, standing three meters tall with his stealth on. He was Dark Knight when wearing the Master Skin.
He was Shadow in the Void. He was Traitor when being blamed by teammates.
But in my arms, he was always Dark Knight.
···Perfect. Only with this level of literary refinement does one earn the right to handle this lonely assassin.
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: Oh, you're on my friends list, are you that Dark Knight I played with before?
They remembered. I typed short and bold.
[[Party]] TimundoNaeGyehoek: Yeah, long time no see. Thought you quit
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: No, just came back after playing Rel
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: Because the person from the unit below came to see me;;
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: I felt like I was going to get a mental illness playing Rel, so I came to purify myself
"······?"
For a moment, the hand holding the mouse faltered.
The person from the unit below came to see her? Felt like she was going to get a mental illness?
Wait. This repertoire is strangely familiar.
[[Party]] TapgolGongwon: Lol, you got ganked by floor-to-floor noise
[[Party]] TapgolGongwon: But Rel is a mental illness, can the Storm of Time and Space really purify you? You'll just get fecal poisoning
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: No. That place is a real internment camp
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: This place is at least a 'nursing home' where we play by smearing shit on the walls together
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: My mind feels at peace...
[[Party]] TimundoNaeGyehoek: ...What did the person from the unit below say?
I carefully typed with trembling fingers.
No way.
Come on, no way. How many apartments are there in South Korea?
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: Dunno?
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: I opened the door and his eyes already looked half-insane
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: He was standing there holding some kind of medicine bottle
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: I got scared so I just surrendered and ran away dd
"······."
Hey. That's a vitamin drink.
And it's not that my eyes were insane, it's that I was tired because I couldn't sleep while you were ruining your promotion match.
The sense of being wronged rose to my throat, but I couldn't bring myself to type it. Instead, a chill ran down my spine.
'···She's really the woman from the unit above?'
The timing, the situation, even the reason her mental state crumbled. Everything fits together too perfectly.
What are the odds that the first Storm of Time and Space friend I ever added would be that woman from the unit above who was pulling shotguns over my head?
Does such a crazy coincidence even exist in reality?
While I stared blankly at the screen, her heroic tale continued in the chat window.
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: Anyway, it was a guy
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: First time I knew a guy lived in our officetel
[[Party]] TapgolGongwon: Oh, was he handsome?
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: Dunno?
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: I wasn't in the right mind to look at his face
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: He just looked at me with those unfocused eyes
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: I thought, 'Ah, if I say one more word, my head is gonna get cracked open'
[[Party]] TimundoNaeGyehoek: ...Did that person swear at you or something?
Unable to contain my curiosity, I poked around. Was I really that threatening? I thought I had maintained my manners.
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: No, he didn't swear
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: But that's what was scarier
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: He kept a straight face and lectured me to surrender
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: It was even more annoying because I couldn't refute it;
[[Party]] TapgolGongwon: Lololol, he hit you with facts
[[Party]] TapgolGongwon: Usually the guy who says the right thing is the most obnoxious
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: Yeah
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: He wasn't wrong, so I just shriveled up and turned it off
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: Thanks to him, I forcibly quit Rel and came here to heal
"······."
Ha. Healing, huh.
To think she escaped the mental ward thanks to me, should I find this rewarding or feel wronged?
Still, the good thing is. Even if she remembers me as a 'crazy guy,' she doesn't see me as a 'stalker' or a 'pervert.'
Seeing how she coolly admitted my pointed advice (to surrender), she definitely has an eye for the game.
I let out a sigh of relief and typed in the chat.
[[Party]] TimundoNaeGyehoek: Good job. Rel is harmful. It's better to rot here
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: Agreed
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: Go go, start the queue
[[Party]] Baramjeomuneundal: I'm running all night tonight
Running all night, huh. As long as I only hear the sound of typing in the chat window instead of the shotgun sounds from the ceiling.
It's a welcome change for me.