Is It That Weird for a College Student to Attend a Department Event?

"Is it really that strange for a college student to attend their own department's events?"

"Professor. The trend these days is for everyone to mind their own business. Bonding over department events and all that is a totally outdated trend. It's old-fashioned."

I don't want to go! It's such a pain! I'm already busy enough to die!

"That's just what you think. A department with small numbers like ours can afford to be a little tight-knit." Professor Kim shook his head. "And besides, there are so many freshmen this year who are interested in you that I've been pestered to death. Why do I have to talk about you every single time I go out for drinks? Huh?"

And there it was—his true feelings!

Ever since Tae-hyun had officially revealed his identity and started making waves, his fame had skyrocketed. Of course, his classmates who knew his antics well didn't bother bringing him up during drinking parties, but the newly admitted freshmen were different.

"This crazy bastard!"

Professor Kim had gone to the drinking parties out of duty as their academic advisor, but instead of discussing their majors, all they did was talk about Pandemonium Online. He was slowly growing sick of it.

Why do I have to know Team KL's predicted tournament results and the resulting competitive landscape...?

"I've been bombarded with so many useless questions at those drinking parties. Ugh..." Professor Kim shuddered at the memory. He had heard it so many times that Team KL, their tournament plans, and their future prospects were practically engraved in his brain against his will.

"Who are the members of Team KL, are there any plans to expand, is it true that a university junior recently joined... Ugh... those crazy bastards... Why did they even come to the Korean Language and Literature department? They should have gone to Virtual Reality Engineering."

"It's not like only Virtual Reality Engineering students play Pan-On."

"Do you think I asked because I didn't know that? Anyway, you show up and answer their questions."

"Professor."

"What?"

"Either way, I refuse!"

"...Sometimes I really dislike how shameless you are."

Knowing Tae-hyun's personality—how he absolutely refused to do anything he didn't want to do—Professor Kim knew that forcing him to answer questions was a lost cause. He quickly changed his strategy to coaxing.

"Don't be like that, think about it carefully. What's the point of having a good senior?"

"Isn't the best senior an invisible senior?"

"Hey!"

Only after employing every method in his arsenal—threats, begging, coercion, and pleading—did Professor Kim finally manage to extract a reluctant "I'll think about it" from Tae-hyun's mouth.

Getting those words out of Tae-hyun was practically a complete victory! Professor Kim let out a sigh of relief. Genuine tears of desperation always worked.

Phew. Thanks to this, we won't be short on people starting from the next general assembly.

He still vividly remembered the department representative getting drunk and sobbing, "Ugh, Professor... Is there really no way to get students to attend department events? They just don't care at all."

If Tae-hyun showed up, even the students who usually skipped would swarm in!

I'd better not invite Dong-hwan, though.

"Ah! What's that in your hand?!"

Cain gasped in surprise. What Tae-hyun was holding was none other than a high-end fashion magazine, the kind only read by a select few self-proclaimed fashionistas! To think Tae-hyun would look at something like that!

"You read stuff like that too?!"

Hearing Cain's outburst, Choi Sang-yun muttered from behind, "Shouldn't you be the one reading it?"

"W-what is that supposed to mean?"

Cain flinched, his fashion sense thoroughly insulted. Ignoring them, Tae-hyun tossed the magazine onto the side table and sat down.

"I'm not reading it, I was given it. It's the one from the ad shoot I did recently."

"Ah! I want to see too!"

"Here."

Tae-hyun tossed the magazine to Cain, then asked as a sudden thought struck him, "By the way, that came out a few days ago. How did none of you know about it?"

"Well..."

"We..."

"Only know about games?"

Cain, Choi Sang-yun, and Jeong Su-hyeok answered in perfect, sequential harmony. Their teamwork was impeccable at times like this. Tae-hyun stared at them with a look of utter pity.

The three of them suddenly felt a wave of injustice. You play games with us too!

As Tae-hyun shook his head and walked past, the three of them huddled around the magazine while pulling out their phones.

"Heh. This photoshoot was in the entertainment news section? Why didn't I know?"

The search rankings in the entertainment section were currently dominated by articles about the "Lee Se-yeon and Kim Tae-hyun Photoshoot."

"Because you only look at the weather forecast."

"True."

"Whoa. Are they really dating? You lucky bastard!" Cain grumbled.

Choi Sang-yun stared at him as if looking at the stupidest creature on Earth. "You live here with him and you actually think they're dating? Seriously?"

"Huh? Isn't it possible?"

"...How? A virtual relationship? Without meeting?"

"They meet in Pan-On!"

"You're the one who hangs out with him the most in Pan-On."

"Ah, right."

Cain nodded dumbly. Come to think of it, if Tae-hyun had been meeting Lee Se-yeon, there was no way Cain wouldn't have noticed.

"But the articles say they're dating."

"Who... on earth... believes... everything... in internet articles..."

"It's possible. It's okay." ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jeong Su-hyeok patted Cain's shoulder. Cain looked at him suspiciously, put off by his strangely kind attitude. If there was one thing he had learned from living with Tae-hyun, it was that kindness always came with a catch.

What's up with him?

There was only one reason Jeong Su-hyeok was cheering Cain on.

Now, the only one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left without a girlfriend is Cain!

Tae-hyun was a given, and even Choi Sang-yun seemed to have someone he was close to. The only one who could truly understand Su-hyeok's pain was Cain. Unaware of his inner thoughts, Cain simply nodded.

"Y-yeah. Thanks?"

"PD-nim, did you see the articles?"

"Ah, Kim Tae-hyun? You could practically call him a celebrity now!"

"Right?"

"Yeah. I thought he hated appearing on broadcasts, but seeing him like this, I think he was just too shy and rejected us."

The PD spoke with absolute confidence, uttering words that would have horrified Tae-hyun had he been there to hear them.

"Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, let's make a serious plan."

"Yes!"

The PD hummed a tune as he drafted the proposal. The concept would focus on the daily life of Team KL, with Tae-hyun as the main protagonist. A player directly creating a professional gaming team was a groundbreaking announcement!

The problem was that after making such a shocking announcement, Team KL hadn't engaged in any official public activities. They hadn't created a team website or any social media accounts to advertise what they were doing, how they were training, or what their gaming house looked like. They hadn't done anything to satisfy the fans' curiosity.

Instead, articles like these were popping up:

...Of course, it wasn't anything as grand as mystique marketing; they just hadn't given it any thought. But the public had no way of knowing that. While they wondered if there was some internal issue, the players seemed perfectly happy and harmonious whenever they were spotted in Pan-On.

Ultimately, the fans' curiosity had reached its boiling point.

If they could air a broadcast that thoroughly satisfied the public's curiosity about Team KL, focusing heavily on Tae-hyun...

Ah, I can smell the massive hit from here. This is perfect. I can use this as a springboard to launch several other programs...

"Why did I suddenly get goosebumps?"

"Isn't it because Ed-an is crying behind us?"

"No. I'm not the type of person to get goosebumps over something like that."

Hearing their conversation, Cain asked as a sudden thought struck him, "Hey. But if we go there, can my curse be lifted too?"

"Do you want to lift it?"

"N-no. It's not like I absolutely want to lift it..."

He wanted to lift it, but at the same time, he felt a bit reluctant to lose his self-destruct setup. It was a complicated feeling.

"First, I need to go to the Atali Capital and do some media play... Ah, wait, no, I need to meet and persuade the other noble NPCs first."

Regardless of the Exile, other religious factions were currently eyeing the Archisus Church like hawks. He had to put out the immediate fire first. While other churches had temples and influence spread across the Central Continent, Tae-hyun had his silver tongue!

"Wait, wait! Human!"

"Hmm?"

The one calling out to Tae-hyun was Stau.

"No one is eating my Bizarre Food!"

"...So what?"

It was an incredibly obvious outcome, but to Stau, it was a tragedy.

"Didn't you promise, human?!"

"I promised to learn, but I don't recall promising to feed your cooking to other people."

Besides, feeding it to others would likely lead to disastrous consequences.

"How could this be..." Stau's shoulders slumped. Seeing a goblin, who was already small, look so dejected made him appear even more pitiful.

"And I gathered so many ingredients..."

The beach was littered with nothing but the corpses of cursed pirate warriors. If he had gathered ingredients from there... Tae-hyun decided it was best not to ask.

Wait.

A sudden idea flashed through Tae-hyun's mind. He placed a hand on Stau's shoulder.

"Don't worry."

"...?"

"You want to feed your cooking to other people, right?"

"Yes, human! I want to show them the benefits of Bizarre Food!"

"Fufu. Don't worry. I have the perfect place for you."

The other players listening to their conversation felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of dread wash over them.

"..."

"..."

"Ah! Tae-hyun-nim!"

"Hello, Tae-hyun-nim! Thanks to you, we are cooking hard every day! Every day is so much fun!"

The chef players bowed ninety degrees the moment they saw Tae-hyun. It was a level of pure, unadulterated support that couldn't be found in any other territory. However, to Tae-hyun's ears, it sounded like: "Thanks to you (and your ingredients), we are cooking hard (luxurious) food!"

Tae-hyun maintained his composure and smiled at the chef players. Your free ride ends today!

"Haha. It's nothing."

"By the way, who is that goblin?"

"Don't be shocked. He is... the greatest chef of the goblin tribe."

"...!"

"...!!!"

"...!!!!!"

The chef players gasped in shock. The greatest chef of a tribe? Meeting an NPC of that caliber was incredibly difficult. Usually, you had to clear several chain quests just to find them and beg, "O great chef! Please teach me the secrets of your culinary skills!"

Yet, such a legendary chef NPC had appeared before them so easily.

"No way! To think such an NPC is right here...!"

"Thank you, Tae-hyun-nim! Sob! As expected, you're the only one who thinks of beginners ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like us!"

"Huh? But do goblins even have chefs?" One of the chefs tilted his head, realizing something was slightly off. The other chefs immediately began to scold him.

"What's wrong with you! Goblins can have chefs too!"

"Exactly! How would he feel hearing you say that right in front of him? Apologize!"

"You meanie! Are you acting like this just because you chose an Elf?"

"A-ah, no... Sorry... It just popped into my head without thinking..."

Terrified of losing this golden opportunity, the chefs were desperate to stay on Stau's good side. Tae-hyun patted Stau on the back and spoke.

"These chefs provide food to players every day. I think it would be great if you joined them and worked together."

"Human...!"

Completely oblivious to Tae-hyun's dark, manipulative intentions, Stau was deeply touched. Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke.

"I promise, human! I will show them the greatest cooking I can make!"

"Yes! Stau! Do your best!"