The Misunderstanding Spreads
While Kim Hyeon-ah was lost in her thoughts, ideas continued to pour out from the others.
"How about a fashion contest?!"
"I don't think so! Fishing is..."
"Then a pet battle tournament!"
"That's also a bit... How about fishing..."
"How about a racing tournament?!"
"A racing tournament?"
Chairman Yoo looked intrigued. In truth, he had been coveting the mounts Tae-hyun and his party rode. Even at a glance, those large, powerful motorcycles oozed cool!
Actually, after seeing them, Chairman Yoo had tried to buy a mount from the auction house several times, but nothing to his liking ever popped up. There simply wasn't another player with blacksmithing and mechanical engineering skills as high as Tae-hyun's.
Normally, any sane blacksmith player steered clear of mechanical engineering. Ever since Gabriel, the mechanical engineering player, had caused that infamous incident, the stigma had only grown worse.
Anyone who goes out of their way to learn mechanical engineering is a pervert!
Blacksmiths with higher skills than Tae-hyun rarely touched mechanical engineering, and they had plenty of other things to do besides crafting mounts. Furthermore, the only players besides Tae-hyun who dug deep into the subject were Gabriel's crew—the very players running around the Demon's Forge in Tae-hyun's territory shouting, "Hehehe, bomb! It's a bomb! Fire!"
So, it was only natural that mechanical engineering mounts never made their way to the auction house.
Should I have just asked him... Chairman Yoo smacked his lips in regret. His damn pride had gotten in the way! But if he asked Tae-hyun, "Hey, could you make one of those for me too?" the aftermath was all too predictable.
"Aigoo, Elder. If you wanted one, you should have just said so! Hahaha! And here I thought you only cared about fishing!"
It would be pure humiliation!
Suddenly, a lightning-fast idea flashed through Chairman Yoo's mind.
"A racing tournament sounds good. We can give something like the motorcycle you're riding as a reward for first place."
"Uh... shouldn't the prize be cash?" Cain cried out in bewilderment.
Of course, the motorcycle Cain rode was a rare item that could be instantly liquidated for cash if put on the auction house. Still, giving a game item as a tournament reward? Hardcore Pan-On addicts would go, "Whoa! Awesome!" but ordinary people would laugh and mock them: "Lmao, a game item as a tournament prize? lol."
Chairman Yoo dismissed the concern casually. "Then we can give cash and a motorcycle as a secondary prize."
The prize money for a charity tournament was pocket change compared to Chairman Yoo's wealth. The important thing was legally extorting a motorcycle!
"Well, that would work... but wait, who's going to make the motorcycle?"
"Since Kim Tae-hyun is the only one who can make it, he'll have to do it."
"Who's going to tell him?"
"Since it was your idea, you should be the one to tell him."
"..."
Compared to Chairman Yoo, who had rolled around the business world for decades, Cain was just a green, wet-behind-the-ears brat.
Near the lake by the arena, the charity tournament was slowly taking shape.
"We give the prize money to the winner, and donate the same amount..."
"Not the motorcycle, right?"
"Of course not."
"Phew. Then we only have to ask him to make one."
Kim Hyeon-ah, standing nearby, was itching to interject. But it was too embarrassing to butt in now. Cain and that mysterious middle-aged man were technically part of Tae-hyun's party!
Just ask him! Aren't you curious why he's making such a plan?! Kim Hyeon-ah screamed inwardly at Cain. Didn't Cain find this middle-aged man strange? He was asking about the tournament plans as if he were the boss!
"By the way, Elder. Why are you making these plans? Perhaps..."
"...!"
Chairman Yoo flinched. Now that he thought about it, he had gone too far.
Oops, did I act too openly?
Actually, those in the know already knew Chairman Yoo was playing Pan-On. But he didn't want to reveal it to the general public!
"...Did your higher-ups at work tell you to draft a plan like this?"
"...Uh, y-yes, exactly."
Cain was misunderstanding all on his own! Looking at Chairman Yoo's appearance, Cain thought, Is he a department manager or something? Since the Pan-On arena tournament was overwhelmingly the talk of the town lately, he figured the company must have taken an interest.
"Sigh, that must be tough. Higher-ups always force things on you whenever something becomes popular, even if they don't know anything about it. Isn't it terrible?"
"..."
Chairman Yoo hid his guilty expression. Cain's casual words pricked his conscience. Chairman Yoo had no idea Cain was an unemployed guy who had never even held a job.
"Well... I'm sure the higher-ups have their reasons for ordering it, don't they? *Cough, cough*." Chairman Yoo coughed awkwardly, trying to defend the "higher-up." Of course, that higher-up was himself!
"No way! What reasons would they have? They probably haven't even played Pan-On. It's just because it's trending and dominating esports right now, so they're like, 'Oh really? Then give it a try!'"
"..."
Cain was pouring out his resentment of being unemployed right here! Chairman Yoo felt a bit miffed by Cain's outburst.
"Where is everyone?"
Lee Se-yeon logged in and tilted her head, seeing Tae-hyun sitting alone in front of his blacksmithing workstation.
"They went fishing."
"Really? It'd be better to just stay together. What are you making?"
"A ring."
"For yourself?"
"No."
"Huh? Who are you making it for?"
"Maybe. If it turns out well?"
Lee Se-yeon stared at Tae-hyun with curiosity. This guy, who knew nothing but the game, was making a ring for someone?
No, wait. I must be mistaken. He's probably making it for someone in his party, like Cain or Lee Da-bi. Lee Se-yeon quickly came to a neat conclusion. She had been blindsided too many times by trying to predict Tae-hyun's actions!
"Can I ask who it is?"
"I don't know if you'll recognize the name even if I tell you. Ah, actually, you will. She made it to the main tournament too. There's a Vampire player named Evangeline."
Tae-hyun's plan was simple. Craft an item that negated bad luck and use it to negotiate with Evangeline. Not only would he get the ring she possessed, but he could also borrow her Vampire-related forces if possible!
He knew exactly how much Evangeline was struggling due to her bad luck, so this method was highly likely to work.
But to Lee Se-yeon, it sounded completely different.
"!!!!!"
Lee Se-yeon's eyes widened.
"I-I-I see...!"
"Why are you making that face?"
"It's nothing! I'm going to step out for a bit!"
Oh my god...! Lee Se-yeon calmed her racing heart and walked outside.
As soon as she stepped out, she saw Lee Da-bi walking toward her from the opposite direction, carrying crafting materials.
"Ah, hello!"
As Lee Da-bi greeted her brightly, Lee Se-yeon asked urgently, "Did you know about this too?!"
"Huh? Know what?"
"That he's making a ring to give to a player named Evangeline!"
"What?!?!"
Lee Da-bi was even more shocked than Lee Se-yeon. She had been curious about who it was, but a completely unexpected person had popped up.
"W-w-why is he giving it to her?"
"I didn't get to ask that..."
Come to think of it, she hadn't asked the reason. But the two were already letting their imaginations run wild.
Meanwhile, Cain, Chairman Yoo, and Kim Hyeon-ah returned from fishing.
"Hello."
"Unni! I'm back!"
They were puzzled to see Lee Da-bi and Lee Se-yeon looking so startled. What was going on?
"What's wrong, Unni?"
"Well, you see..."
Kim Hyeon-ah wore a face that said, Why on earth do I need to know about this? but everyone else reacted violently.
Cain shrieked in horror. "That bastard is going to propose?!"
"N-no one said it went that far!"
"Wait, do people propose in a game?"
"It happened a few times in Pan-On 1. If both are game addicts..."
"If it's Kim Tae-hyun, he's definitely capable of that."
Everyone buzzed with excitement. In their minds, Tae-hyun was absolutely capable of doing such a thing! Honestly, if they had thought about it individually, they might have realized something was off. But because they were all gathered together gossiping, no one stopped to think.
Only Chairman Yoo was puzzled. "When did that guy even find time to date? He shouldn't have had any free time."
"He must have done it through whispers! That sneaky bastard! Playing games and dating all by himself!" Cain shouted in resentment. He was single because he spent all his time playing games, but Kim Tae-hyun was playing games, dating, and doing everything! Where did this difference even come from?!
"But... they barely even meet in-game, and she lives overseas...?" Chairman Yoo's rational point was completely ignored.
"Alright! Let's go ask him!"
"Who?"
Everyone stared blankly at Cain.
"...Fine! I'll ask!"
"Ah, don't forget to ask about the motorcycle when you do!"
"What's this about a motorcycle?"
But when they went back into the room, Tae-hyun was gone. He had temporarily logged out!
"...!!"
For Tae-hyun, who lived a disciplined addict life, logging out in the middle of a game was usually out of the question. He never logged out unless it was absolutely necessary!
But this time, he had no choice. His university professor had called him.
A simple but un-ignorable text message!
Currently, he was on a leave of absence to focus on the game, but when he was attending university, Tae-hyun was a top student. Being the department valedictorian wasn't something just anyone could do! Furthermore, people who dealt with Tae-hyun often forgot, but he was a student at Korea University. He had taken the top spot in a place where the best of the best gathered. Naturally, he was quite close to his major professor.
What is this? I feel like people are staring at me.
As he walked to the professor's office, Tae-hyun felt strange gazes on him. It felt similar to when he had punched a classmate back in the day and became the center of attention!
Is it just my imagination?
Knock, knock.
Tae-hyun knocked and stepped inside.
"You're here?"
As soon as he entered, a familiar voice echoed. A rebroadcast of the match was playing on the screen!
Slide.
Tae-hyun immediately tried to back out and close the door. But before he could, the professor quickly stepped forward and shut it.
"Where do you think you're escaping to? I watched the match. You rascal. I wondered what you were doing during your leave of absence, and it turns out to be this!"
"How did you even watch this, Professor? Do you play Pan-On?"
"Do I look like someone who plays games? Huh? At my age?" Professor Kim sat heavily in his chair, speaking as if it were absurd.
"People older than you enjoy playing Pan-On, Professor."
"Don't talk nonsense. If there's someone like that, bring them to me. Ah, and the kids in our department brought that to me and told me about it. They asked if that was you. At first, I didn't think it was."
"Didn't you know I liked games?"
"No. You were too handsome, so I didn't think it was you."
"..."
Tae-hyun's face crumpled.
"Yes! That's the face! The one that looks like you're about to eat someone alive..."
"I should get going now!"
"Hey, sit down, sit down. We haven't even started talking yet."
Tae-hyun sat down across from the professor with a disgruntled look. Then, something crossed his mind.
"Wait, the kids in our department told you?"
"Yeah. Apparently, you're famous. It was a bit fascinating how they recognized you."