Shit Gamer (3)
"Why the fuck are you following me?"
"Huh? Why?"
I was flustered seeing Suhyun trailing after me with that bright, innocent look on her face. When she hits you with a cheerful "why?" like that, it just kills any comeback you had. My mind went completely blank.
"Can't I follow you?"
"You can't, right?"
She was asking if it was okay to tag along, so I flat-out told her no and kept walking back the way I'd come. I figured she'd finally given up. But then...
Thud, thud—
I heard footsteps behind me again, sighed, and turned around.
"Why the hell are you still following me?"
"Well... I don't really wanna go back to the PC bang now... and I was curious where you were headed."
"Haa... Fine, do whatever you want."
Makes sense—she probably didn't wanna hang around after I yelled my head off inside. Instead of heading straight back to the goshiwon, I figured I'd buy the kid a drink or something. I looked at her and said,
"Hey, shit gamer. If you're gonna follow, come to that cafe over there. I'll buy you a drink."
"Huh? For real?"
"You said you can't go back to the PC bang anyway. I'll get you one, then quit tailing me after."
"Okay!"
With that, I took Suhyun to a nearby cafe. I ordered an Americano. She got an iced chocolate latte, sat down, and stared at her smartphone.
"Haa... Fuck, all I've got is debt."
From baguette bread to coffee and bus fare. I'd stormed out to pick a fight on impulse and just ended up burning cash. I was pissed, but... it was my choice, so I let out a quiet sigh of resignation.
"Ajussi... you're really different from the boys at my school, huh?"
"Me? How so?"
Her words made me tilt my head. Sure, I'd seen plenty of guys around here, but never any high school boys.
"Most of them aren't as confident as you, oppa? They're kinda... bad at talking."
"Bad at talking?"
"Some run away if you talk to them. Others just skip school altogether."
"Hmm... Yeah?"
I barely stopped myself from blurting out losers. According to Suhyun, most guys at her school either bolt when spoken to or don't show up at all.
"Seeing that kinda stuff makes you seem special, ajussi."
"You think?"
I decided not to push the topic. Yeah, in her eyes, I probably looked weird. I got that much, so I just nodded and sipped my coffee quietly.
Suhyun did the same, drinking her latte while eyeing me.
"...I'll pay you back for mine tomorrow, oppa. Gimme your account number."
"Don't have one."
"Huh? Why not?"
"'Cause it's seized."
She stared at me in shock. Hadn't I mentioned I was a beggar? As she panicked, I slowly explained my situation.
"Ajussi... you're such a pitiful guy?"
"You wanna get hit again?"
Fuck, isn't beating someone with facts a crime? Yeah, I am pitiful, but hearing it straight-up pissed me off. I seriously considered if I could take her in a real fight, but nah—this was just a kid. I calmed down.
"A guy being homeless isn't some drama plot..."
"Believe it or not, whatever."
She looked at me like it was bullshit, so I just gave a wry smile. If she didn't buy it, what could I do? Whatever.
We sipped our coffees and stared out the window. Then,
"Should I just give you cash? I've got some on me."
"Nah, why the fuck would I take money from a shit gamer."
She looked sorry and offered to pay me back. No way was I mooching off a kid like that. I said forget it, stood up. Sticking around longer might make her insist, and she'd probably stop following by now.
"Um... ajussi, can I get your number?"
"You trying to snag my digits too?"
I could already hear whispers around us like should I ask for his number? Now Suhyun too? Why bother giving it out?
"You play League, right? I do too... so we can chat easily."
"Hmm... Fine. Gimme your phone."
"For real? Yes!"
Thinking about it, aside from Jeong-ah, I didn't have anyone to casually message since coming to this world. Suhyun shared my game tastes, and playing together beat solo queuing in silence. Exchanging numbers for off-game contact wasn't a bad idea. I took her phone and gave her mine.
"Sweet, thanks!"
"Yeah. Hey, shit gamer—if I catch you padripping in game again, you're dead."
"I won't anymore!"
We chatted lightly and parted ways. Man, I'm beat. Gotta crash back at the goshiwon.
* * *
Back in my goshiwon room, I flopped onto the bed.
Fuck... I didn't even do shit today, why am I so wiped? Is this what they mean by League being a disease? One little ragequit and I'm dead tired.
Bzzz—
My smartphone started vibrating like crazy.
I told Jeong-ah I'd eaten—a bowl of seolleongtang, spicy as hell. Good enough. I got up, checked my wallet.
"Time to hunt for jobs again?"
Staring at the bills inside, I figured I could stretch it a month if I was frugal. Restart the male subsidy? I seriously weighed jerking off for cash again. No big deal from my position—I wasn't picky about hot or cold rice anymore.
But "sperm donation" sounded too brutal, and imagining some woman getting pregnant with my seed? Shivers. Plus, my body's still off, so job hunting made sense.
I opened the Alba Hell app and started searching. Top hit: male-preferred jobs.
> Male-preferred 20s: Cafe coffee prep & counter part-time. Highly recommended.
> Urgent: Hiring male for PC bang counter.
> Male Coupang part-time wanted.
Lots of options. I scanned for something chill. Normally I'd grab Coupang, but after wrecking my body at the moving center gig, physical stuff was out unless desperate. I eyed the PC bang one above it.
They had a separate cook; just needed a guy to sit at the counter. Easy money, a month tops. I messaged right away, attached my resume. Boss replied quick.
Asked if tomorrow worked; said yes. Better than dragging it out. I lay back to rest.
Riiiing—
Phone buzzed with a call. Jeong-ah? Nope, unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Uh, ajussi?"
"Oh, shit gamer. It's you."
Familiar voice once I picked up. I'd given her my number but hadn't gotten hers. She sounded relieved.
"Whatcha doing, ajussi?"
"Just lying down. Why?"
"Bored? Wanna duo some League?"
"Sure."
Perfect—nerves from the job had me tense. One game to unwind. I sat at my desk, launched League, and she pinged right away.
Gamers all chat the same—short and sweet. We jumped in.
Ran normals for two hours.
"Fuckin' asshole..."
I munched the apple from my pocket, cursing under my breath.
Suhyun didn't troll this time. She played straight, but either she sucked or our teammates were trash-talking machines—blaming us nonstop. We bombed two games hard.
Normals were a shitshow; ranked would be a nightmare. No thanks.
Wrapped it up in game chat and quit. Job tomorrow—time to rest.