A Very Precious Person
One of you. When you watch me play, do you ever get that feeling?
I considered myself pretty thoughtful while gaming.
Turns out the viewers saw it differently.
It stung a little.
Since reaching Grandmaster, I've sharpened my instincts a bit and leaned more on feel. But that only applies when fighting in front of opponents. My movements were always calculated down to the last second. Where am I going, why here, when do I need to be here? Why did they call it chaotic?
Half of it was right—half wrong. If you react after processing a sight, you're already too late. I kept my instincts sharp and entered that no-mind state, responding to my opponent's skills at the spinal level. I wasn't ignoring their attacks. I was reading them.
"Well, I thought it was pretty calculated. Of course, when it's actually fighting, you don't have time to think—it's all reaction. Still, I considered it intelligent play... but maybe it didn't come across that way to you."
But to the viewers, my play still looked nowhere near intelligent.
People remember impactful moments above all.
For viewers who don't remember my 3-line teamfights designed to secure kills or how I decide when to push side lanes and when to follow the team in vision control during the laning phase, the only thing that sticks is me taking kills or fighting alone against multiple enemies.
Explaining all of it would take too much time. So I just gave a vague smile.
"Yeah, well. Without physical play, it would all be tricks. Nothing else to say."
No one here could possibly be a League of Champions user.
The viewers hated losing more than anything.
Still, I didn't mind that fire.
If they fought tooth and nail for nothing, it made me feel like joining in too.
But I knew the better one usually loses out.
So when that happened, I figured I should just let them win.
Instead of bringing up logic and arguing, I just dodged.
"Anyway, why did you bring it up? I had a plan, so I wanted to pause the game for a bit."
I had planned to explain the plan when they asked, but it was already out.
A little flustered.
Had I underestimated the viewers too much?
Well, at least I was gaining new viewers, which was fine.
"Yes, that's right. For the Grandmaster milestone, I thought we could have a drink and maybe grab some chicken and tteokbokki. I don't know if I'll keep the stream on or not, but as long as my friend is okay, it should be fine... Since Jammin, that is, Celestial is a streamer too, and I took time out of streaming to make this for them, I think we'd both benefit from doing it together."
"Oh, right. What about calling the sister too...?"
I almost forgot her.
A person who had saved my life once, but she was still a precious person to me.
When something good happened, shouldn't we share the food I love?
The only shame was I didn't have her contact info.
I had no choice but to go see her in person.
At first, the noise from downstairs had kept us apart, but now we were friendly and visited often.
But stepping next door felt awkward.
She said she sometimes came over when bored, but surely there were other people living there too.
Well, she could live alone, but a young sister who cursed out her boss? Not the kind of money to afford an apartment alone.
Unless her parents were chaebols and they had given her the place, but then she wouldn't be commuting to work every day.
So my conclusion was that the next-door sister lived with family.
It wasn't a sudden thought. It just made sense while I was thinking.
...If anyone asked why I was thinking like this about a woman, I had an answer.
I could think about the person I liked, couldn't I?
That a woman liked a woman was weird?
Yeah, and I hadn't told anyone—especially not the person herself.
But the next-door sister already knew I used to be a man.
Maybe...
"Um, sorry. I spaced out. I was thinking what to say to the next-door sister."
That kind of thinking was something I could do alone.
Right now the stream was on, and I needed to go see her immediately.
Of course, it would have been better if I had told her yesterday.
Still, it was only eleven o'clock.
One full hour until usual lunch time.
That's why I had said I was being logical.
Before Jammin and Gabi arrived, I could order delivery so that when they got here the chicken and tteokbokki would be fresh.
The viewers didn't come up with a perfect line about the next-door sister, but they gave a normal explanation.
"Okay, I'll do that. Wait a second, I'll be back from the next door."
So I stood up from my seat.
Leaving for a bit was fine; the viewers could kill time among themselves.
When I couldn't focus on chat because I was gaming, they still talked and had fun without me.
I was basically providing them with a playground.
Anyway, what if the next-door sister had already left for work?
Even on weekends she sometimes worked.
Carrying those small worries, I gripped my cane and headed next door.
"Next door" was a bit misleading. When the door opened, it was the apartment across the hall, but calling it "front door" felt weird.
I pressed the intercom and waited.
A moment later, the intercom clicked off instead of a voice asking who it was.
Was she ignoring me?
Just as that worry formed, light footsteps approached the door.
Ah, it was the next-door neighbor, so I didn't need to ask who it was.
Was it the next-door sister?
"Good morning. Is there something I can do for you?"
That hope vanished the moment the door opened. It wasn't the next-door sister.
A woman slightly older, but still young enough to be called an ajumma, had come to greet me.
Behind her, small children appeared. It was probably an ajumma after all.
She looked about the same age as the next-door sister, but since it wasn't her, I felt a mix of relief and uncertainty that she was family.
Her face wasn't the same anyway.
An older man stood behind her too, so it might be a large family living together.
The unmarried next-door sister was probably also staying here.
That's why I almost called for her.
"Oh, hello. I was wondering if... the sister is home right now. You were the one who took me to the hospital when I fell and reported me. Thank you."
I brought up the old incident.
The ajumma's face lit up with a warm smile.
"Oh, you remember? Oh my, coming all this way because of that. Sigh, your eyes were so dead back then, like you might die any second. I'm glad your face looks so much brighter now. Are you feeling better these days?"
But something about her words felt off.
She had saved me?
That couldn't be right...
"Ah, not when I fell in the bathroom. My mother stabbed my father and turned herself in. That time..."
"That's right. The students were so worried. You didn't answer calls. While bringing you home, I was terrified you'd be alone and not okay. Seeing your face bright like this now eases my heart."
Listening to the ajumma, bits of that time came back.
Students, hang in there. Eat something.
First, you have to stay alive.
Can you live alone? If it's too hard, come to our house.
We'll make sure you eat.
...The voices belonged to these people.
"T-thank you... for everything."
"Oh, it was nothing. Seeing you healthier than before feels good. That's enough."
"But are there no other women living here besides you?"
"Other women? Hmm, are you asking about my mother-in-law...? We don't have any siblings."
"Ah, sorry."
"No, no. The family has grown a bit, but with such slender limbs, you really need to eat well. Don't skip meals. If you're hungry, come anytime."
"Just hearing that makes me grateful."
Yes, the next-door sister wasn't actually living here.
...So who was she really?
When had she started knowing me and kept coming over...?