A Masterclass in Misunderstanding

Cain's voice was thick with raw emotion—the kind of desperate, heartfelt despair that only a chronically unemployed job-seeker could muster. Sensing the sheer weight of his distress, Ha-yeon took a startled step back. Her hesitation gave Cain a moment to catch his breath and regain his composure.

Calm down. Who on earth is she?

No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't figure it out. She wasn't anyone he knew in real life, and he had certainly never seen a university senior who looked like her.

Hmm... In times like this...

It galled him to admit it, but his most reliable anchor in a crisis was Tae-hyun.

Cain felt strangely indignant and wronged, but Tae-hyun was only just getting started.

Cain nodded, completely convinced. When it came to dealing with wicked people, there was truly no one better than Tae-hyun. He was malice incarnate!

Cain looked ahead. Ha-yeon was just about to speak again.

Step.

"Hold it right there!"

"??"

"I won't be fooled by your wicked schemes!"

"What... what?"

"Your plan has failed, so beat it!"

Is he insane?

Ha-yeon felt her mind go completely blank for a moment. Since their last conversation, she had done some research on Pan-On in her own way. Through that, she had learned that the Korean team was actually quite formidable. Even to someone like her who knew nothing about the game, their tournament match videos were thrilling enough to make her hands sweat! In those videos, the player named 'Cain' was surprisingly cool and heroic. A heavily armored tank who rampaged across the battlefield with wild abandon! He practically exuded raw power and charisma.

If she had gone a step further and looked up the actual player behind the avatar, this misunderstanding would never have happened. But all Ha-yeon had watched were in-game clips. Thanks to that, this bizarre miscommunication had blossomed.

Of course, completely oblivious to Ha-yeon's actual thoughts, Cain laughed triumphantly.

"Hahaha! I can see the frustration on your face now that your scheme has been exposed! Farewell! I'm leaving! Go back and tell whoever sent you that cheap tricks like this will never work on me!"

With that dramatic declaration, Cain spun on his heel and began to sprint away like a madman.

Thud-thud-thud-thud—

Having only just created her account and barely leveled up, Ha-yeon stood no chance of keeping up with his speed. Only after Cain had completely vanished into the distance did she finally snap out of her daze.

"What... what... what kind of absolute lunatic is he?!"

While Cain was experiencing a shift in how he was treated in the real world, Tae-hyun was going through something similar.

"Hello there."

"Ah, I saw you in the tournament the other day! My son asked, 'Isn't that the hyung from next door?' so I took a look, and it really was you! Haha, you were amazing!"

He was now at the level where the local neighborhood uncles he occasionally saw at the mountain spring during his workouts could recognize him. As he took a stroll around the neighborhood, he kept hearing things like, "Haha, my grandson was talking about you," and "My son asked if you could give him an autograph if I ran into you." It felt incredibly surreal.

This never happened back in Pan-On 1...

During the Pan-On 1 era, he had kept his identity completely hidden, so he had never experienced anything like this. While Pan-On 1 had been popular, Pan-On 2 was on an entirely different level.

In truth, Tae-hyun had lived an excessively quiet life. All the buildings and land in this area belonged to his father, Kim Tae-san. Despite being the son of a massive landlord, the locals barely recognized him. Even the uncles at the mountain spring used to look at him with eyes that said, Why is that young man always working out here? Doesn't he have a job?

Step.

"Well, if it isn't our favorite young man! It's been a while."

"Hello, ma'am."

Gang Hyun-suk, the owner of Gang's Sundae Soup, recognized Tae-hyun and greeted him warmly.

"We haven't seen you around much lately. Has our soup lost its touch?"

"No, not at all. I've just been a bit busy with work."

Between the tournament and the broadcasts... and the fact that he had been working out at home using his newly installed equipment, he hadn't had much time to eat out.

"Hoho. I watched your tournament, by the way."

"What?! You watched the tournament?"

Tae-hyun was genuinely surprised. It was an incredibly mismatched combination in his mind: the middle-aged soup restaurant owner and Pan-On!

Well, actually, come to think of it, even people who seem completely unrelated to gaming are playing it these days.

"Of course! It's the only thing my daughter plays, after all."

Since Ju Hyeon-yeong's work and hobby were both cooking, her mother, Gang Hyun-suk, had always worried about her. She had recommended various hobbies, but the only one her daughter actually stuck with was Pan-On!

"Ah. I see..."

"Speaking of which, I'm really curious about what my daughter does in Pan-On. She's making lots of friends, right?"

"Uh..."

Tae-hyun was about to say, She just cooks in Pan-On too, but he stopped himself. Looking at the mother's eyes, which were brimming with hopeful expectation, he simply couldn't bring himself to tell her the cold truth.

"...Of course she is!"

"Oh, what a relief!"

It wasn't entirely a lie. Ju Hyeon-yeong probably had a decent number of chef friends in the game, after all.

Buzz— Buzz—

Just then, Tae-hyun's phone began to vibrate. It was his university junior, Jeong Su-hyeok.

"Well, if it isn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Su-hyeok, the guy who got knocked out in the qualifiers! What's up?"

"...Senior..."

"I'm just kidding."

Ever since his team was eliminated from the tournament, Jeong Su-hyeok had been completely out of touch. He had confidently told Tae-hyun, Please watch our match, Senior! only to get knocked out immediately. It was the ultimate embarrassment! To Su-hyeok, who deeply revered Tae-hyun, this defeat was incredibly humiliating. Of course, Tae-hyun had forgotten all about it the moment it ended, so he didn't care in the slightest...

"So, what's going on?"

"Ah. I have something I'd like to consult you about... and also, well... ugh..."

"?"

Tae-hyun raised an eyebrow. It wasn't surprising that Su-hyeok wanted to consult him; the junior was always trying to get his advice on the most trivial matters. But what was this other business that made him hesitate so much?

"Well, just come over for now."

"Yes? Where to?"

"You remember that sundae soup place we went to last time? Come there."

"Understood!"

Hanging up the phone, Tae-hyun nodded and turned to the owner.

"I can head inside for some soup now, right?"

"Of course, young man! You're welcome here anytime."

The owner patted Tae-hyun on the back with a bright smile.

"What did he say? Did he say yes?"

"Uh, well, he told me to come over, but..."

"Great! Good job!"

"Um... I don't think he meant for you guys to come along too..."

Jeong Su-hyeok muttered hesitantly. Surrounding him were several of his university seniors. They weren't listening to a word he said. These were Su-hyeok's seniors from his department, which also made them Tae-hyun's university juniors!

Ugh... Senior Tae-hyun is going to be so mad...

Su-hyeok fidgeted anxiously, filled with dread. The root cause of this entire situation was a single message he had received earlier. That message was none other than an offer to join a professional gaming team! Even though his team had been eliminated in the qualifiers, the skill Su-hyeok had displayed (which was actually a series of glorious misunderstandings) and his flashy magic were more than enough to catch the eyes of scouts. That was why the offer had come.

Upon receiving the offer, Su-hyeok had shared the news with his teammates, who practically jumped for joy. Naturally, the rumor quickly spread.

Did you hear Jeong Su-hyeok got scouted by a pro team? → What? How? → Apparently, he's been getting special training from Kim Tae-hyun! → Hey, let's go tag along! If a bear-like guy like Jeong Su-hyeok can do it, I bet we can too!

The rumors had snowballed rapidly!

If Cain had heard this, he would have clutched his neck and collapsed on the spot!

In any case, they had swarmed Su-hyeok.

"So that's how it is. Introduce us to him!"

"..."

If they were just his friends, he could have easily refused, but these were his seniors, shamelessly pulling rank on him. Ultimately, Su-hyeok had no choice but to lead the group toward the soup restaurant.

"Hyeon-yeong, dear. Go serve that bowl of soup."

"Huh? Where did the servers go?"

Since this was a highly popular sundae soup restaurant in the neighborhood, they had dedicated servers on staff. However, Gang Hyun-suk was resolute.

"They must have had sudden stomachaches and gone to the restroom."

"...Both of them?"

"Yes! Now go serve it! The customer is waiting! Hurry!"

Gang Hyun-suk pushed Ju Hyeon-yeong by the back and smiled warmly. This was the thoughtful heart of a mother looking out for her child! The more she looked at Tae-hyun, the more she liked him. Not only was he the landlord's son with a pleasant personality, but he was also appearing on tournaments and broadcasts these days. A young man like him was truly a rare find!

Oh my! Hyeon-yeong sat down!

Ju Hyeon-yeong, who had gone out carrying the bowl of soup, spotted Tae-hyun, greeted him, and sat down across from him. She then began to speak with a very serious and solemn expression.

"Oh my, oh my, oh my..."

"Is that him?"

"I told you so!"

The two servers who had supposedly gone to the restroom suddenly materialized out of nowhere, joining Gang Hyun-suk in her excited whispering.

"For Hyeon-yeong to slack off like that during work hours..."

"This is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a monumental event! Isn't it?"

"What are they talking about so intensely?"

Contrary to the romantic expectations of the whispering onlookers, Tae-hyun and Ju Hyeon-yeong were engaged in an incredibly pragmatic discussion.

"Right now, all the chefs in the Erangs Kingdom are in a state of emergency. The King's birthday is coming up, so we have to prepare a special banquet, but all the basic ingredients have completely run out..."

"I see. Do all the chefs affiliated with the Erangs Kingdom have to participate?"

"For chefs like me who are officially employed by the kingdom, it's mandatory. For independent chefs, it's optional, but it's still a massive opportunity. Quests like this don't come around often."

A quest involving royalty was a golden ticket for any chef. It was an opportunity that far surpassed the previous cooking contest!

Tae-hyun listened to Ju Hyeon-yeong with a grave expression. After all, cooking was technically one of his primary skills as well. Had he not resolved countless crises in the past using his culinary talents?