306. Plea / Bloody Night / Rin
306. Plea / Bloody Night / Rin
***
An unexpected meeting.
No—meeting now was more like getting acquainted with each other before moving on to the raid that lay ahead.
Sua.
[Serin! I got word that the user Bloody Night has officially finished signing the contract. So before the raid, we're going to do a light round of introductions, and I was wondering—how's your schedule today?]
And it had come together thanks to Sua's message.
Serin had agreed as well, thinking it was fine.
......
Friday, September 3rd.
1:00 p.m. sharp.
The meeting place the three of them had agreed on was Sua's personal house.
Unlike other users' houses, which were usually built like mansions, Sua's house was set against a vast stretch of grass and trees and simply proclaimed freedom.
In the space, which was like an endless meadow, there were only a few small facilities. Users who actually came inside felt a sense of openness in her house and found it refreshing.
Sua, who had logged in first and was waiting, soon looked toward the person who appeared in response to the invitation.
Whoosh!
The woman who appeared amid a cluster of light had an appearance that was striking from the very first glance.
A skintight black suit revealed the curves of her body, and although there was nothing that could really be called exposure, it gave off a sensual feeling all on its own.
The woman's face matched it as well.
Jet-black hair cut to her shoulders, and beneath it, the calm features of a beauty. On top of that, the beauty mark beneath her right eye was memorable.
—Bloody Night.
Maybe because they hadn't run into each other in ranked games lately, Sua felt a surge of gladness the moment she saw her.
"Really, that signature outfit of yours is still the same, isn't it?"
"Plea, that radiant golden knight's uniform of yours is still the same too."
Facing each other, the two of them exchanged greetings with faint smiles, like people who were close.
Afterward, Bloody Night—Han Yujeong—glanced around the space once, and seeing that Rin didn't seem to be there, she let her curiosity show.
"I take it Rin isn't here yet?"
At Yujeong's question, asked almost as soon as she appeared, Sua nodded and let out a small laugh.
'I guess that's Serin for you.'
Seeing that even Yujeong was this curious about Serin, Sua thought Serin really was popular.
"Yes. Serin usually arrives five minutes before the scheduled time, so probably in about five minutes? She'll log in around then. Bloody Night, are you curious about Serin too?"
When Sua explained with a bright expression why Serin wasn't there yet, Yujeong nodded with an odd look.
'So she treats her like an older sister...'
The fact that Sua addressed her like an older sister rather than calling her Rin was enough to suggest how close they normally were.
"Ah, yes. Thinking that I'm actually going to see Rin in person, I guess I got a little excited without realizing it."
But contrary to such thoughts, Yujeong outwardly spoke calmly about why she had been looking for Rin.
"Ah, I understand that feeling. Lately, Serin's popularity is no joke. And when you actually see her in person, you'll definitely be even more surprised."
"Is that so? Now I'm looking forward to it even more."
After that, they exchanged small talk about how each of them had been, and a few minutes passed.
Sua checked a notification and her face brightened.
"Serin's logged in."
She sent an invitation right away, and soon a person appeared on one side of the space amid a cluster of light.
Sua turned her gaze to that person with a bright expression, and Yujeong turned her gaze to the newly appeared person with deep curiosity.
Beneath pure white silver hair, a woman appeared who possessed a beauty that was hard to believe belonged to this world, and then her blue eyes, like jade, turned toward them.
"Serin~"
Sua greeted Serin with a radiant look, and
"Ah."
the moment Yujeong saw Serin, she let out a small exclamation as if her soul had left her body.
'Completely... different.'
Seeing her on a screen.
Seeing her on a stream.
And seeing her like this now were completely different.
Even though it was only a brief moment, just meeting her eyes like this, she couldn't help but feel that way.
"..."
The moment those blue eyes, shining like starlight, took in her own figure, an indescribable thrill coiled through Yujeong's entire body.
While Yujeong was having that reaction, Serin, who had been nodding in response to Sua's words, also couldn't help but be surprised as she looked at Yujeong.
'She's really provocative, isn't she?'
She'd already thought the nickname Bloody Night was unusual, but seeing her in person, the appearance was even more so.
The black suit that revealed the curves of her body was, how should she put it... it even made her wonder where she was supposed to look.
'It might be even worse than that item I wore in Black Ark.'
The woman's outfit was so provocative that it instantly brought to mind the clothes she'd once had no choice but to wear because the stats were good, and her face was lovely as well.
Beneath the black bob, the appearance with the beauty mark had its own distinctive charm.
'Why is she looking at me like that?'
Wondering why she was looking at her with such an odd gaze, Serin decided to greet her first.
"Hello?"
As Serin's soft voice rang through the space, Yujeong straightened from her entranced stare and parted her lips.
"Ah, hello. Rin! Um... really, I don't know what to say... you're so, really so... beautiful."
When she suddenly complimented her, Serin nodded awkwardly and responded.
"...Yes, Bloody Night, you're very beautiful as well."
If someone compliments you, then you respond by complimenting them in return.
It was the most useful attitude Serin had adopted recently, but at that, Yujeong unconsciously clenched her hands and looked at Serin with endlessly adoring eyes.
"Ah, um... instead of that nickname, you can call me Yujeong."
"...Pardon?"
"...?"
At Yujeong's sudden answer, not only Serin but even Sua momentarily turned to look at her.
"Ah."
Yujeong hesitated for a moment under their gazes. But soon she smiled naturally and continued.
"It's nothing much, but shouldn't we get to know each other first? Since it's a 3-person raid, the project's difficulty is bound to be very high."
At her words, as if she had revealed her real name as a way of getting closer, Serin nodded, thinking, Is that so? But Sua looked at Yujeong with a puzzled gaze.
'Was this person always like this?'
Something seemed a little different from what she knew.
Her expression was oddly brighter, she was stumbling over her words, and now she'd suddenly revealed her real name.
One after another, sides of her that Sua had almost never seen kept appearing, and it was strange.
"..."
And then. In the brief moment Yujeong's calm gaze turned toward Sua, Sua quickly erased that question.
Serin was right beside her now, but even so, she didn't show all of her feelings to someone she was seeing for the first time in a while.
"My name is... already public, so I'm sure you know it too, Yujeong. You can just call me Sua as well."
When Sua answered calmly, calling her Yujeong under that gaze, Yujeong nodded and then turned her expectant gaze toward Serin.
It had happened through a series of coincidences, but the situation had turned into an opportunity to learn Rin's real name.
"Then, I think you can just call me Rin, whichever is more comfortable."
But Serin thought there was no need to reveal her name at a first meeting.
She didn't think revealing or hiding her name itself meant much.
'But do I really need to reveal it?'
There was no need to leave any opening regarding her private life.
At Serin's response, Yujeong showed a slightly regretful look, then soon erased the regret and smiled faintly.
"Yes. I understand. It might feel sudden, but they say changing how you address someone has a big effect in closing the distance between people. So I'd like it if the two of you would call me by my name as much as possible."
At Yujeong's strong appeal that she wanted to get closer, Serin nodded and answered.
"Yes, Yujeong."
She wasn't sure if this was right, but the other person actively wanted it. Serin had just answered naturally, without any particular thought, but in that moment Sua found herself carefully watching Yujeong's expression.
'She's definitely strange.'
The moment Serin said Yujeong's name, the corners of Yujeong's lips softened a little, and she looked as if she had eyes only for Serin. Even the slight twitch of her hand for a moment.
As all of it came into view clearly, Sua felt a peculiar emotion.
Because she didn't look ordinary at all.
But then a thought occurred to her.
'Is she a huge Serin fan too?'
Serin's stock was rising rapidly these days, so that was the first thought that came to mind.
From Jeanne d'Arc, who was called a superstar, to Seo Eunwoo, the famous celebrity nicknamed a face genius just yesterday—everyone was openly declaring themselves Serin fans now.
Maybe it made sense that Bloody Night, right in front of her, was showing this kind of attitude toward Serin.
'...But.'
What was this strange feeling, the way Yujeong's gaze at Serin was oddly bothersome?
Feeling that it was too strange, Sua spoke up first.
"Today is just a gathering to say hello before we enter the Five Million Project. As Yujeong said, trying to close the distance between us wouldn't be a bad idea."
Since today was just a gathering to say hello, there was no particular topic.
The purpose itself was to get acquainted and exchange greetings.
Snap!
When Sua flicked her fingers like that, a table and seats appeared nearby.
As Sua naturally guided Serin and Yujeong to the table, the three of them took seats around the round table, each forming a point of a triangle.
Slip.
Yujeong rested an arm on the table and propped her chin on her hand with a coy expression, and although she consciously directed her gaze toward Sua as well, her eyes still hardly left Serin.
When Serin, aware of that gaze, looked at her, Yujeong smiled brightly, as if the world had brightened, and began to speak.
"Honestly, whether it's Plea or Rin, I never imagined I'd be doing a raid together with such amazing people. Even now, it really does feel like a dream, you know?"
Not hiding her excitement, she felt her heart pounding hard.
'Really, how did an opportunity like this come about?'
She had originally been planning how to create a chance to approach Rin by converting to Outlaw.
She had been thinking and making plans, and then she'd ended up joining a sudden project like this. It was as if a golden opportunity had suddenly rolled in.
And now that they were face-to-face like this.
How would she make a strong impression on her from now on? She was already thrilled just thinking about it.
"I didn't know you'd be that happy about it."
Sua, who had furrowed her brows so faintly that no one could notice, answered calmly, and Serin replied without much thought.
"Yujeong, you're an amazing person too. I looked into you a bit, and compared to other rankers, your popularity seems incredible."
Before meeting, Serin had searched for information about the user Bloody Night, so she had some idea of how much fame and recognition she had.
Actually, since Another World itself was hugely popular, the in-game rankers were all popular as well.
But among them, the ranker called "Bloody Night" was even more special.
With a figure revealed by a suit that clung to her entire body and a face with an oddly alluring quality, her appearance alone was extraordinary.
And since her ranking stayed within the top 20, the highest tier, her name was quite hot in the community.
She was active in both PVP and PVE, and she showed up fairly often in raids too, so she had naturally become famous.
The general assessment of her was good.
She was known as someone with a lively personality, considerate, and overall decent in almost every way.
There were even rumors that, despite her fame, she still had no guild, and top-tier guilds were desperate to recruit her somehow.
With those thoughts, Serin was looking at Yujeong, and Yujeong, who had been gazing endlessly at her, blinked with feigned coyness and answered.
"Well, even if I have some fame of my own, compared to Plea or Rin, it's really nothing at all."
And at Yujeong's behavior, Sua couldn't help but feel something she couldn't explain.