An Unexpected Request
Seokjun shot me another puzzled look. “Why? What for?”
“So the hospital can reach me.”
I answered matter-of-factly while he stared in disbelief. It was a perk, if you could call it that—one Mom and I had already agreed on. After the whole reporter incident, they wanted a way to stay in constant contact, plus a direct line from the hospital for anything disease-related.
“Man, I’m so jealous.”
Seokjun eyed the phone I’d earned through legitimate means with open envy. Feeling oddly superior, I crossed my legs and smirked.
Over the past week I’d only had two check-ups, but they’d still paid out enough for a student to feel rich. After spending some, I still had 150,000 won left—more than a month’s allowance.
“My allowance just got cut this time.”
“You used to get a lot anyway.”
Ever since exams ended, the otaku trio’s favorite topic had been post-test life. When Byeonghwa complained about his reduced allowance, Seokjun immediately scolded him. Byeonghwa’s monthly allowance was supposedly 200,000 won—already generous for his age—but he still whined that it wasn’t enough.
“Dude, 200,000 won disappears the second I buy one gacha pack.”
“Don’t most parents ban spending allowance on games?”
Coming from a household where game purchases were strictly forbidden, I could only shake my head. Mobile game top-ups started at tens of thousands of won. Byeonghwa scrimped on food just to whale, so he probably couldn’t understand us at all.
“It’s my money. I should be able to spend it however I want.”
“Still, don’t your parents stop you from whaling…?”
The allowance debate raged on until we finally concluded it all came down to differences in parenting styles. As for my house? Game purchases were banned outright—that was exactly why I played FPS games in the first place.
“Hyunwoo, you free for the PC Bang today?”
“Huh?”
Just as the pointless allowance talk was winding down, Juhan suddenly asked if I wanted to go to the internet café. After a short reply, I checked the date on my phone and made sure there were no messages from Mom or the hospital.
“Looks like I can today.”
“Whoa, really?”
Juhan sounded surprised that I’d agreed so easily. I’d postponed plans with the guys so many times because of hospital appointments or promises to Mom. Since I had nothing scheduled, I accepted without hesitation.
“No hospital stuff and nothing else to do.”
“Nice~”
“You sure your skills haven’t dropped?”
While Juhan cheered, Seokjun immediately questioned whether my game sense had dulled.
“Hah, what are you talking about? I’ve been playing a ton at home.”
I snorted at Seokjun’s doubt. It had been a while since the three of us formed an after-school PC Bang trio. Just as we casually locked in the plan—
“Oh right, you said you’d cover five hours last time, didn’t you?”
Juhan suddenly brought up something weird. Me covering five hours at the PC Bang?
“When did I say that?”
“Back when we were talking about your rare disease.”
When I denied it, Juhan reminded me. Only then did I remember my slip of the tongue from before.
“No, that was only if I made a lot of money.”
“But you did make money, right?”
I tried to argue, but he just pointed out that I’d earned cash either way. Compared to what I’d originally meant, this was way too little. Stuck with no choice but to pay for their time, I was wondering if I could back out when—
“If you cover us, I’ll buy you a bowl of ramen.”
“I’ll get you a drink.”
The two started dangling bait to persuade me. Ramen and a drink sounded modest, but no matter how I calculated it, I was still losing.
“I’m still taking the loss here.”
“Eh, same difference.”
I narrowed my eyes at them, but Seokjun just brushed it off with nonsense. Same difference, my ass. They were trying to squeeze every last drop out of me. Well, if I had money, I might as well be generous. I gave in without much resistance.
“Tch, you bastards.”
One generous grumble and one curse later, they understood my acceptance. Once they confirmed it, they raised their arms in celebration.
“Shin! Hyun! Woo!”
“We worship you, oh Goat…”
“Shut your mouths, all of you.”
Anyway, I was heading to the PC Bang with Juhan and Seokjun. Byeonghwa had turned us down because of a family dinner. He’d never been into PC games anyway—strange guy who played three or four mobile games but barely touched computer ones.
Once we stepped outside, the stares started again. Even Juhan and Seokjun noticed the looks directed at me and chimed in.
“Dude, you seriously pull so much aggro.”
“For real, everyone we pass is staring.”
I’d already been dealing with this for two weeks, so I was used to it, but they clearly weren’t. For the record, I was wearing a hat to hide my ears and keeping my tail tucked under my clothes. Even so, the reason I stood out was obvious.
“I mean, your hair’s bright orange to begin with.”
“Well… maybe, but…”
When I pointed at my long hair, Seokjun tilted his head like that alone didn’t explain it. Nothing was more annoying than someone trailing off mid-sentence…
“Maybe, but what? Why’d you stop?”
“I was just wondering if people are staring because you’re a pretty girl.”
“What?”
Under my continued questioning, Seokjun answered honestly. He said maybe they were just looking because I was pretty. I should’ve known it would be something stupid.
“Dude, that’s actual crazy talk.”
“If you didn’t know it was you, she’d be insanely pretty though.”
I reflexively denied it, but Juhan doubled down, saying I’d be really pretty if you didn’t know who I was. Hearing “pretty” from another guy gave me chills.
“Agh, stop saying gross stuff.”
“Seriously though, even knowing it’s you, you’re still pretty.”
“Agh—! Shut up, shut up, shut up!”
Treating their gaslighting as nonsense, I walked a few steps ahead. After some twists and turns we finally reached the PC Bang. True to their word, I paid for the time while they bought me ramen and a drink.
“Huh? When’d you hit Platinum?”
“Just from playing at home?”
Both of them were shocked by my new rank. I used to be around the same level as them—low Gold—but after grinding at home I’d climbed to mid-Platinum. Honestly, games had been going really well for me lately.
“Whoa, you saved that?”
“Dude, your skills actually improved.”
They kept praising my plays—saving teammates with clutch heals or shields right before death, making smart decisions. I still wore my headset off my ears, but if I cranked the volume I could hear fine. We lost some games, of course, but at least none where I got called a troll.
During a break between matches, I picked up a bite of the now-lukewarm ramen with my chopsticks.
“Mmph!”
The moment it hit my tongue, burning heat and spice flooded my mouth. Without thinking, I dropped the noodles straight into the broth.
“What? What’s wrong?”
Seokjun asked as I set my chopsticks down in confusion.
“…H-hot. Spicy.”
I answered briefly while fanning my tongue. Weird. This was the same ramen I always ate.
“Isn’t this the one you usually get?”
“…It is, though…”
After flapping my hands and sticking my tongue out, I puzzled over the inexplicable change. It wasn’t like they’d added extra chili or anything. Then a sudden realization flashed through my mind.
‘Wait… could my taste buds have changed too?’
That was the only explanation that made sense. No wonder the salmon sushi from the mart had tasted so good. In the end, I pushed the steaming bowl toward the seat next to me.
“Damn it…”
“Oh, jackpot.”
Juhan’s excited voice rang out as I angrily handed the ramen over. We played like that for about two hours before Seokjun started packing up his bag. I followed suit and got ready to shut down the computer. Just as I pulled my hat low and slung my bag over my shoulder—
“Ah, excuse me.”
“Yeah?”
Someone suddenly spoke to me. A complete stranger I’d never seen before. He was looking straight at me, so he had to be talking to me. Maybe he was a PC Bang employee? I tensed up, wondering if I’d done something wrong.
“Could I maybe get your number?”
“Huh? Why?”
The words drained the energy right out of me. My number? Why was he suddenly asking for that? Still not processing the situation, I asked back. The guy hesitated before answering in a low voice.
“Ah, because I like you…”
“Ah…”
A long sigh escaped me. The unexpected answer left me completely dazed. I probably needed to respond, right…?
“Um, I’m sorry…”
“Ah, okay.”
At my short rejection, the guy slowly walked away. Still in a daze, I stepped out of the PC Bang, and Seokjun spoke quietly beside me.
“Told you.”
“…”
I had no comeback. Their judgment had been spot-on. Thanks to this, I now knew exactly where I stood objectively. Still, getting confessed to at a PC Bang? That was just ridiculous.