PC Bang Shift: Jajangmyeon Hell and Teamkill Betrayal
As soon as a jajangmyeon order came in, Haran noona ducked right into the kitchen to start cooking. In less than five minutes, like it was nothing, she whipped up a bowl and handed me the plate.
"I'll go serve it."
"Uh... yeah. You know how to use the card reader, by any chance?"
"I know the basics, so it's fine."
She tucked the card reader into her pocket and headed out with the jajangmyeon plate. She approached seat 67 and was about to set it down in front of the customer. But...
"Um, s-s-sorry! I'm in the middle of a one-shot match, so I can't do the card right now...!!!"
"Sure... no problem. Take your time."
I couldn't interrupt a one-shot match before even setting the plate down. I got it—gamers understand that shit—so I just stood there patiently. Luckily, it didn't take long. The customer turned around once the match ended. Looked like it hadn't gone well; even the shotgun blast seemed half-assed. I could tell from peeking at the screen behind her—it was pretty fucked.
"Here... your card... Huh?"
"Yeah?"
"A m-man serving... Oh. S-s-sorry!"
"Nah, it's cool."
She must've been deep in the match because when she saw my face, she freaked out apologizing. As a fellow gamer, I got it, so I told her it was fine, took the card, and rang her up.
"All set. Enjoy your meal."
"Ah, y-yeah, thanks."
With the payment done, I turned to head back to the counter. Before I left, I glanced at the game she was playing, threw up a thumbs-up, and said quietly,
"Have fun gaming!"
"Ah... yeah, thanks!"
As a fellow gamer showing some respect, I headed back to the counter. I was hoping for a breather now, but—
Order!
"Whoa, another one already—"
Order! Order! Order! Order!
"What the fuck?"
I'd just finished serving one, and now orders were pouring in like crazy. What the hell? I grabbed the receipts to check.
"Jajangmyeon... jajangmyeon... jaja— what the shit!"
Almost all of them were jajangmyeon orders. The fuck?
"Noona, gotta make seven jajangmyeons..."
Order!
"Noona, sorry—eight now."
"Uh... uh-huh."
Orders were flooding in like mad, and I felt my sanity slipping. We repeated the cycle—Haran noona cranking them out fast, me serving—about five times, and I was losing my mind. Who the hell was ordering all this jajangmyeon? Turns out, it was me. I had no idea that one pre-shift ramen order would snowball into this shitstorm.
"Aaaah... please, no more jajangmyeon!"
"Noona... snap out of it!"
"Ah... uh, yeah."
Haran noona was boiling ramen like a maniac, looking zoned out and pissed. I had to calm her down and hustle through this.
**
"G-good work... everyone."
I'd spent nearly an hour serving nothing but jajangmyeon. Serving itself wasn't bad, but some customers kept asking if I was really a guy while I delivered, and that old lady playing baduk stroked the back of my hand, saying how soft it was. Was this why daytime part-time gigs were blowing up like crazy? Those aunties grabbing my hand were straight-up horror movie material.
During a brief break, I sat at the counter.
"Um... excuse me..."
"Yes? Need anything else?"
I thought I could rest a bit, but a customer approached right away. What now?
"Do you have a number? I really like you..."
"No."
Even trying to chill, women came up to the counter asking for my number, and I shut them down cold.
"Ah... okay, got it."
Thankfully, she didn't push and left quickly. I tried to relax again, but since I was near the counter, I could hear their chatter clearly.
"Hey, did it work?"
"Nah, that guy's iron wall... fucking tough."
"Oh yeah? Maybe 'cause of your looks? I bet I could get it."
Please don't come over... I prayed a dozen times in my head, but she was already getting up and heading to the counter.
"Excuse me, could I get your number...?"
"No."
"Ah... please? I really like you. Or do you have a girlfriend?"
"...I'm not looking to date right now. Sorry."
I apologized to her and sat back down. No lie there. Broke as shit, living in a goshiwon—what the fuck was I gonna do with dating?
I plopped down looking glum, scrolling my phone, when—
"Ajusshi?"
"Huh? Jammin?"
A familiar voice hit while I was chilling at the counter. I'd heard she was coming, but no way she'd actually show.
"Who's that? Know a guy?"
"Uh... ajusshi I game with."
Suhyun's voice came with some unfamiliar chatter behind her. Sounded like friends. I gave a casual greeting and sat back down.
I was gonna kill time on my smartphone, watching Mutube till the next order, but—
Order!
"Noona... one ice soda and some sweet potato fries came in."
"Got it."
Order in, so I grabbed the plates to serve. Wondering where it was from, I headed to the seat—and there was Suhyun.
"Oh, ajusshi's here."
"You?"
"Yessir!"
I set her order down and rang her up.
"Suhyun... who's this guy?"
"Ah, ajusshi I met in League. Not like the dudes at our school."
Suhyun's friend next to her asked who I was. Well, we just met in-game yesterday, but we weren't on bad terms. Figured I'd keep it simple and friendly, then head back—but.
"You playing League again?"
"Duh, ajusshi wanna join?"
"I... gotta work."
Still on shift, so I said I'd catch her later and returned to the counter.
"You know her?"
"Huh? Oh... gaming buddy."
Question about if she was a friend as I sat. Friend? More like a jammin little sis vibe.
"What... if a friend's here, can you game next to her?"
"Huh? I'm working?"
"Day shift counter kids play on their phones or grab seats to game. And I've got the counter covered, so go ahead."
"Ah... that'd be too sorry, then."
I came here to work. Wanna game, but that'd dump double the load on noona.
"Orders are slow right now. I'll holler if one comes in. Go game."
"Then... thanks a ton."
With Haran noona's okay, I quietly slid over to Suhyun's side.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Ajusshi not working?"
"Said I could take a quick break, so I came over. I'll bounce if an order hits."
I booted up the PC next to her and sat.
"Ooh... wanna duo League then, ajusshi?"
"League? Sure, but this rig's beast—wanna try other games too."
"What... you wanna play?"
Time to kill, something multiplayer.
"Hey, let's do Battlegrounds."
"BG? Sounds good—wanna squad up?"
Suhyun was down, fired up BG. Her friend joining?
"Nah, she's not playing."
"Why?"
"She doesn't game."
Then why the fuck come to a PC bang? It's for gaming—why drag ass here just to study? Then it clicked.
"She came 'cause I said there's a guy."
"Ah... gotcha."
Didn't get it at first, till "man-meat" clicked. Makes sense—chicks hitting me up for numbers non-stop. Even non-gamers show if a guy's around.
I got it and launched BG.
"Just an hour for me."
"But ajusshi good at BG?"
Her question stumped me. Not pro, but basics are solid.
"Eh, I can hold my own. Add me and invite."
"Roger!"
Figured she'd see soon enough. Accepted the invite, hit ready. Game starts, plane flies, picking drop.
"Spot you wanna drop?"
"Pinging it."
We went silent as the game kicked off. Proper for FPS—no chatter, pure focus. Looting fast, grabbed guns, heard footsteps—spotted enemy, lined up the shot. Then—
Brrrrrt—
Same gunfire sound, my character's down. Before tracing the shot, red text dead center.
"Hoo... you fucking jammin, attention!"
"Yessir..."
Fuck, this bitch... dared teamkill me? Almost called her trash from the League shit before. Shoulda just padripped instead. Teamkill's some next-level bullshit...
"Why'd you do that?"
"My bad, first time BG."
Hoo... raging hard, but I'm an adult—human, not some animal. Let this slide once. Play straight.
"Roger!"
Told Suhyun firm, restarted the game.
Please... get it right this time.