The Vicious Sniper (4)
“This guy’s actually insane.”
“Swearing in front of other people? Really?”
“How the hell am I supposed to not swear right now?”
To me, who had lost my own parents, Woojin’s mom and dad were people I could never thank enough. Even if this idiot hadn’t stepped up first, I had been planning to tell them eventually. It just wasn’t supposed to be right now.
“Why would you just decide that on your own…!”
“You were literally saying five minutes ago that you could just live in a jjimjilbang looking like that. How could I possibly let you do that? And I knew you’d clench your teeth and refuse if I brought it up, so I went straight to my parents.”
“Don’t tell me that new place you supposedly found for me to live alone is also…”
When he saw my face twist, the guy silently slid his gaze off to the side. He clearly didn’t regret what he’d done, but his pathetic conscience must have kept him from looking me in the eye.
I yanked the straw out of the cup and chugged the coffee like it was water. The cold liquid sliding down my throat helped cool the heat that had been rising in my head. The thought that he might have chosen a café on purpose, knowing this would happen, flickered briefly through my mind.
“…Um, excuse me. Here’s the matcha frappuccino you ordered.”
“Ah.”
Had the tense silence between us lasted longer than I realized? The part-timer who had been stationed at the counter the whole time cautiously approached our table and began carefully setting down what looked like Woojin’s order along with a few snacks.
“Triple matcha shots, chocolate drizzle, and maximum java chips, right?”
“Sorry, I must not have heard you call.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. It’s a slow time anyway. But, um…”
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on my boiling emotions. Seeing the part-timer glance nervously back and forth between me and Woojin with those strangely tense eyes, I belatedly realized that no matter what, this was someone else’s place of business. Filling it with a hostile atmosphere was probably bad for them. Maybe the fact that the employee had personally brought the drinks and snacks was a silent warning…
“…You’re the Playmaker, right…?”
…Or maybe not.
The words that came out of the part-timer’s mouth right as I resolved to stay composed were enough to leave me completely speechless for an entirely different reason.
My eyes met Woojin’s for a brief second. What I’d thought was a decent enough disguise to avoid casual recognition apparently wasn’t enough if someone looked closely. Denying it with a “That’s not me” was obviously out of the question now. The sight of Woojin sitting in a café chatting with a woman while the domestic season was in full swing was already an irreversible fact.
“Uh…”
The guy who had terrifyingly quick reflexes during exams or matches always turned into a complete idiot in situations like this. In that short moment, the pathetic look on his face as he stared at me with desperate, pleading eyes finally made me let out a low sigh I couldn’t hold back.
“Yeah, it’s him.”
“Whoa, I knew it…!”
My dry confirmation made Woojin’s face fill with horror while the part-timer’s lit up with excitement at the same time. As the few other customers in the café started turning their heads toward the sudden commotion, I pulled my hood back up and subtly raised a single finger to the part-timer, signaling for them to keep their voice down.
Luckily, it seemed working in customer service hadn’t been a waste of time—the part-timer was pretty quick on the uptake.
“There were some urgent family matters we needed to discuss, so I called him here. It’s a sensitive topic, so… could you maybe pretend you didn’t see anything?”
It wasn’t some calculated scheme. It was just that the things the nurses had said while I was in the hospital, and the looks I’d gotten while walking around outside afterward, had given me the confidence that this approach would probably work.
My current appearance, as much as I hated to admit it, made it easy to earn people’s goodwill. Judging by the way the part-timer had been sneaking glances at me when I first came in to order, this person already felt some vague sense of favor toward me. As long as it wasn’t an unreasonable request, they probably wouldn’t refuse.
“S-sorry. I’m just… a huge fan of Playmaker.”
“No, no, it’s totally fine. This guy might be rude as hell, but he really is good at games. So, um—”
“Ah, yes…! Please enjoy the rest of your time!”
When I offered a small smile, I couldn’t help but notice the way the part-timer’s ears turned bright red. The strange feeling that gave me was unavoidable. And of course, Woojin was giving me a look like he’d just seen something he shouldn’t have.
“What are you staring at?”
“…I was just thinking you’ve adapted pretty well. Maybe I was worrying too much.”
“If you don’t explain exactly what you mean by that, I’m seriously going to rip your dick off. Choose your words carefully.”
Thanks to that short little incident, the mood was no longer suitable for staying angry. Well, since his parents had already heard everything, there was no point in trying to pretend it never happened. There were still a lot of things we needed to talk about—like the fact that we were apparently living together now—but those weren’t things I needed to discuss with this halfwit.
…Maybe this idiot had only come to get me because his parents had nagged him into it and he couldn’t say no.
I was going to visit Woojin’s parents this weekend. In exchange, Woojin promised never again to do anything that invaded my personal life without my explicit consent. After reaching that rather unsatisfying compromise, he left the café to return to his regular work.
When the part-timer asked if they could get Woojin’s autograph next time he came in, I simply waved lightly instead of answering and headed straight for my “new home.” Noticing how suspiciously close the address was to both Woojin’s own house and his parents’ place, I got on the bus and rode for several stops.
After a leisurely three-minute walk from the bus stop, I stood in front of my new “studio apartment” and, after about ten minutes of staring, finally pulled out my smartphone again.
-Hey you fucking lunatic this isn’t a studio apartment at all
It took me less than five seconds to send the text to the familiar recipient. A well-maintained, imposing single-story standalone house stood proudly before me. To someone who had thought a single room would be plenty, the elegant building made me think things like “Cleaning this would be a pain,” which was completely unexpected.
With a slightly sour expression, I entered the passcode I’d been given on the front door. With a cheerful “ding-dong” sound effect, the door slid open smoothly. The realization that a family could casually gift someone a house like this just because they were worried was starting to genuinely scare me.
“Wow.”
There was no unpleasant new-house smell, so it probably wasn’t newly built, but the flooring and wallpaper finishes were immaculate. Since I didn’t have any particular knowledge about real estate, I could only assume Woojin’s parents had gone to a lot of trouble.
Right past the entrance was one completely empty room. I walked through the living room, then checked out the kitchen and the generously sized master bedroom. The fact that there was a separate bathroom for the homeowner accessible through the master bedroom and another guest bathroom attached to the kitchen felt refreshingly luxurious.
“…And most of all.”
My eyes were inevitably drawn to the bed occupying one side of the master bedroom and the goggle-shaped game connection device sitting on top of it. The item I had been deliberately avoiding looking at. Even without checking the warranty, I could tell this was the latest model—two generations ahead of the one I used to have—by its sleek, beautiful appearance.
It probably wouldn’t make a noticeable difference in actual gameplay, but since full-dive environments weren’t used only for gaming… Professionals often used them like simulators, and they were widely utilized across the cultural content industry as well. So the fact that it was the latest model…
“Doesn’t really seem related to me, though.”
When I carefully picked up the goggles, they felt subtly lighter than the ones I remembered. If I thought of it as “another debt,” they suddenly felt heavy.
“…Sigh.”
I felt my earlier excitement sink coldly. During our entire conversation, Woojin hadn’t once brought up anything about games. And yet he had decided that what I needed most right now was this “connection device.”
“It would’ve been easier on my stomach if he’d just pitied me or laughed at me.”
I knew why he was acting this way. Or rather, I knew the reason he could act this way.
Because even though I was floundering in inferiority and jealousy, wasting my time sniping at famous people and pros, he firmly believed that I would one day step back into that world of stars where he belonged.
Because he still thought of me—the training partner who had once stood beside him—as a “genius” just like himself.
Because he still believed that even now.
“…Fuck.”
Was it because I was stuck in a girl’s body? Or had I always been this kind of person? My mood plummeted in an instant. I tossed the connection device roughly into a corner of the room and threw myself onto the bed. The fragrant scent of fabric softener finally made me think, I really should’ve taken a shower first.