The After-School PC Cafe (5)
The workshop during lunch hour was, as always, filled with what I could only call white noise.
I was slowly turning the turntable, alternating my gaze between the front and side profiles of the Agrippa bust.
"Hm."
I scraped the clay from my fingertips, then used the back of a rounded spatula to smooth the slope of the face cleanly, from the forehead down to the chin. Where the volume of the skull at the back of the head looked a touch lacking, I rolled a small ball of clay, pressed it on, and worked it flush with my fingers so no seam would show.
And while I was busy shaping the skeleton of the piece, a voice far more excited than yesterday's drifted over from behind me — Sunbae, chattering away as usual.
"So get this — I checked my email this morning and there's a new sponsorship in! They're sending me TWO limited-edition luxury bags, free, worth over three million won each! Isn't that insane?"
"……That's incredible. I suppose it's because you take such beautiful photos all the time."
Astonishingly, the one faithfully chiming in with Sunbae's chattering was Jeong Hye-in. True to form, she had settled into her usual spot beside me today, rubbing her thumb along the groove of the wooden carving knife she'd pulled from her pocket while dutifully responding to Sunbae's stories.
For having only spoken to each other for the first time yesterday, the flow of their conversation felt remarkably natural. I allowed myself a small smile as I scraped away a clump of clay.
Only a year apart, and yet that's why she gets to be the senior, I guess.
Whenever Sunbae's voice started creeping up in volume, she'd catch herself and tone it down. When the conversation's tempo sped up — in case I couldn't follow — Hye-in would jump in at just the right beat to keep things flowing. The moderate buzz of noise and the easygoing atmosphere didn't interfere with my work at all. Honestly, it wasn't bad.
Time slipped by like that, and then a faint warning bell chimed through the speakers, announcing ten minutes until fifth period.
"Oh, wow, it's already this late? Lunch lately feels like it's got a 1.5x speed buff attached… Anyway, let's hurry back to class."
Sunbae gathered up the snack wrappers she'd left scattered around and rose from her seat. I, too, carefully draped a dry cloth over the bust and wiped my hands clean with wet wipes.
Once all three of us had finished tidying up, we filed out of the fifth-floor multipurpose room and started down the central staircase.
But just as we rounded the corner of the stairwell, the sound of three or so boys clustered together noisily on the fourth-floor corridor came drifting up the stairs.
"Hey, you guys hear the rumor during lunch? The Seonghwa PC bang in front of school is gone, and Jungwoo Electronics is opening a directly-run PC bang in its place."
"……??"
Thrown by the completely unexpected topic, I nearly missed my step.
"I saw it myself. I skipped out of school with my older friends again today and went down that alley to get some tteokbokki, and the whole five-story building that used to have Seonghwa PC bang? Emptied out overnight. Every single floor."
"Holy crap, so the Jungwoo Group really did buy the whole thing! But why would they suddenly open a PC bang in some random corner of the neighborhood?"
"…Beats me. Probably some kind of project to let students get an early hands-on feel for Jungwoo Electronics' new premium PCs or monitors, that sort of thing."
The conversation wrapped itself up neatly in the plausible packaging of corporate marketing strategy. But for someone who already knew the real truth behind it all, I couldn't exactly focus on what they were saying.
Just then, one of the boys who'd been quietly listening jumped in out of nowhere.
"Or just go ask the youngest daughter of the Jungwoo Group yourself. She's in our year, isn't she?"
At that, the other two let out incredulous laughs.
"Are you crazy? That's a bit… you've felt it too, right? There's this aura around her, like she's completely out of reach for commoners like us."
"Tell me about it. As if she'd even bother talking to us. I heard that last year, the only people who've ever heard her voice directly are her homeroom teacher and that famous girl — and that's it."
The boys' absurdly exaggerated gossip slowly faded into the distance as they walked away. I exchanged a single glance with Sunbae walking beside me, then stole a careful look at Hye-in.
Here she was, with people openly trading that nonsense about auras right in front of her — not quite gossip, but close enough. Worried she might be hurt, the words slipped out of me before I knew it.
"Uh, you know, we don't pay any mind to rumors like that, so there's no need to let it get to you."
It was, as far as I was concerned, a decent attempt at comfort, delivered in the most nonchalant tone I could manage. But not even a speck of displeasure crossed Hye-in's face. If anything, she looked utterly indifferent — as if she'd heard this kind of talk so often it had long since stopped registering. She was simply unbothered by remarks about herself.
Because Hye-in's attention was already fixed entirely somewhere else.
"…It seems Grandfather finally made his move."
"Yeah, from what we just heard, that sounds about right."
Was that what bothered her? Sure, if the PC bang near the school attended by the Jungwoo Group's youngest daughter suddenly vanished and the building emptied out, all eyes would naturally turn to her from every direction.
But contrary to my expectations, Hye-in only stared at me for a moment, looking faintly dissatisfied with my unenthusiastic reply. Then her eyes lit up, and she made a proposal I never saw coming.
"Judging by how fast they work, they'll have the building emptied and fully set up by tonight… Want to come with me again today?"
"…You mean the PC bang, right?"
"Yeah. Of course, feel free to say no if it's too much."
"……"
The legendary PC bang whose building her grandfather had bought outright in a single day, just for his granddaughter. The thought of taking another barrage of capitalism's mid-range jumpers there made my head throb — but the prospect of using computers on a whole different level from your cookie-cutter PC bang rigs proved too tempting to resist, and I nodded.
"Alright. But I've got academy classes tonight, so I can only play for about an hour. Don't expect a marathon."
"That's plenty."
At my conditional acceptance, Hye-in gave a small, crinkled-eyed smile, as if just going to the PC bang together was enough to make her happy. That's when Sunbae — who'd been rolling her eyes back and forth between us, eavesdropping — quietly raised her hand.
"Um, that Jungwoo Group PC bang everyone was talking about outside… I don't really know what it is, but you two seem to be going together… could I tag along?"
At Sunbae's cautious question, Hye-in nodded as if there was no reason on earth to refuse.
"Of course. If you have the time, Sunbae-nim, come with us."
"Really? Yes! Actually, I'm a huge gamer! I've always wanted friends to game with comfortably — this works out perfectly!"
And so, having fully intended to just wrap up my major orders today, I somehow found myself forming a three-person PC bang party. Well… in for a penny. Might as well enjoy the full high school life while I was at it.
After seventh period ended, we grabbed our bags and stepped out the school gate to find a black sedan waiting with its hazard lights on, same as yesterday. Spotting us, the secretary stepped out of the passenger seat and opened the rear door.
"Young Miss, shall I take you straight home?"
"No, take us to that PC bang Jungwoo Electronics just opened."
"……I see the news has already reached you."
The secretary's gaze shifted naturally toward me and Choi Soo-ah, standing on either side of Hye-in. She swept a quick once-over of our faces through her sunglasses, then opened the car door without a word.
"Get in. I'll drive you there right away."
The sedan pulled out of the school gate and stopped in front of the five-story commercial building barely three minutes away. The moment I stepped out of the car, my jaw dropped and wouldn't close.
The shabby old building — a sundae soup house on the first floor, a billiards hall on the second, and nothing but the rundown Seonghwa PC bang on the third, just until yesterday — had transformed into an entirely different space. Sleek matte-black floor-to-ceiling glass wrapped around the whole structure, and a massive neon sign glittered from the rooftop: Jungwoo PC CAFE.
"Wow… he really thought to buy out an entire building, first floor to fifth, and turn it into a PC bang in that little time?"
While I stood there mumbling with a dopey look on my face, Sunbae was having her own wide-eyed meltdown beside me.
"Whoa! I've never seen a PC bang this big and shiny in my life! This is insane, seriously!"
"Let's head in. The staff will show us the way."
The automatic doors slid open, and marble floors and lavish lighting that wouldn't have been out of place in a luxury hotel lobby greeted us. The two uniformed employees at the desk bowed a crisp ninety degrees, as if they'd been waiting for exactly this moment.
"Welcome, Miss Hye-in. Please proceed to the VIP lounge on the fifth floor with your party."
We rode the elevator up to the fifth floor — and were bowled over all over again by an interior quality that seemed impossible for half a day's setup. Premium gaming chairs, dual monitors, and dazzlingly bright liquid-cooled PCs, all arranged in perfect spacing.
"Whoa… this is incredible. Anyway, let's sit down and figure out what we're playing first."
We took the three seats tucked into the farthest corner, one after another.
"I've never played that soccer game you two were talking about in the car. Since all three of us are here, let's do a team game!"
"Then I'll set it to whatever you play most, Sunbae-nim. What do you usually play?"
"Me? I'm a total hyper FPS addict. You know that five-versus-five game? I play that thing seriously!"
"Oh, I like that game too."
It was a game I'd played on and off myself as a stress reliever up until last year, so I happily agreed. Still, I couldn't help glancing sideways at Hye-in, wondering if someone so dead-serious about a soccer game that she'd pushed her club to 140 trillion would keep up in an FPS.
But she was already launching the game with practiced ease, logged in and ready.
No way…?
Hit by a ominous premonition, I hurriedly logged in as well and stole a glance at her monitor. On the hero gallery tab of Hye-in's account, there wasn't a single empty slot. Every released skin was collected at one hundred percent, and the weapons the characters carried all gleamed gold.
"Huh… okay, fine, the skins I get. But those golden weapons aren't something you buy with money — you have to earn points by winning ranked matches. How did you get them for every single character?"
At my interrogation, Hye-in averted her eyes awkwardly and clicked her mouse.
"I… just played in my spare time, here and there. Hurry up and send the friend requests. Let's just play."
"You call that 'here and there'?"
"That's right, Sihun hubae! That's our Hyein hubae for you! I'm logged in too, so invite us already!"
"……"
Badgered by the two of them, I had no choice but to create a casual game lobby and search for their usernames.
Skins and golden weapons you can get with money and time, so…
Right. There was no need to worry about any of that. A simple check of their actual skill would be enough. Sure, it was two seasons ago now, but I'd clawed my way to Diamond once, so I could probably carry them at least a little.
Even if my form had slipped a bit from focusing on sculpting, I still considered myself to have a decent game sense. The moment both friend requests went through, I clicked on their profiles to check their peak ratings from last season.
And my fingers froze solid on the mouse.
Jeong Hye-in — currently Diamond.
Peak record: Master 1 — two losses away from Grand Master promotion.
Choi Soo-ah — currently Grand Master 4.
Violent numbers and glittering emblems bloomed sharp and clear on the monitor. Sitting on either side of me were apex predators of a completely different ecosystem from the Diamond locals I'd fought tooth and nail just to barely scrape into.
I swallowed without meaning to and turned my eyes away from the screen. Choi Soo-ah and Jeong Hye-in were staring blankly at me with looks that said, Why aren't you queuing us up already?
"……"
Right. I'd just been a little too focused on sculpting to keep up with the game, that was all. If I'd actually taken gaming seriously, I'd have hit Master easily.
Maybe even Grand Master, honestly.
And with that flimsy moral victory under my belt, I silently pressed the button to start the match.