Shooting Myself in the Foot
My toes were killing me.
Deadzone Customer Inquiry Center.
A place where “Hello, Deadzone customer support—” rang out from every desk as a matter of course.
Thanks to the steadily improving one-on-one online inquiry system, ticket resolution was getting faster. But efficiency gains meant fewer staff, so the remaining agents were just as swamped as ever.
One agent, slowly turning into a machine from processing endless tickets, started her shift.
Click.
“Hello, thank you for calling Deadzone phone support.”
[Um…! So, uh…]
A clear, childish voice.
“Yes, ma’am.”
After some hesitant mumbling, the caller carefully asked her question.
[I got banned today… If I file an appeal, does my character come back?]
“An appeal…? Well, yes. If you follow the instructions and complete the required steps, we’ll review it and get back to you.”
[So then… I can keep using it, right? It won’t get banned again or anything…]
“Pardon? Uh… I’m sorry, ma’am. For verification purposes, could you please provide the account holder’s name and date of birth?”
[Uh… Ah, I-I’ll call back later!]
Click.
Huh? What was that?
Cases where Deadzone actually offered an appeal weren’t that common. If the evidence was solid, they just slapped on the ban. If it was murky, they usually let it slide.
Weird, the agent thought, and took the next call.
And the next day.
“Hello, thank you for calling Deadzone phone support.”
[Ah, hello! I have a question about an appeal!]
“Yes?”
[About appealing a banned ID!]
“A ban appeal…? For verification, could you give me the account holder’s name and date of birth?”
[Lee Jeonghwan, born March 12th, 197—.]
“Sorry? The seventies? Um… is the person on the line the account holder? Only the owner can verify.”
[I-I am! I’m Lee Jeonghwan!]
The voice tried to deepen awkwardly, but there was no hiding that clear, bright tone.
“Alright… Understood.”
She was a support agent, not a detective, so she let it pass.
When she pulled up the account, it was a temporary ban appeal case. Beyond the age-mismatched voice, the fact that the owner was male surprised her all over again.
“Alright, confirmed. What would you like to know?”
[If I submit all the materials listed here… what happens if they’re not true…?]
What does that mean…?
Four years on the job. She thought she could handle any question smoothly—until she found herself gulping.
“You mean submitting false documents?”
Panic was obvious on the other end of the line.
[Uh… yeah, just, hypothetically. Hypothetically.]
“I’ll explain.”
The agent’s tone never wavered.
“If the materials you submit are found to be false, the appeal will first be rejected and the penalty will stand as final. In that case, reapplication becomes difficult.”
[……Okay.]
“And there’s one more thing I should mention.”
“An appeal statement is a document written and signed by the account holder. By confirming false information, the account holder may, depending on the case, bear responsibility.”
It sounded official, but it was mostly an empty warning. Unless something was seriously huge, a game company almost never pursued legal action against a regular individual.
But.
[Hup. Responsibility…?]
“Yes. Beyond our own penalties, it could become an issue, so we always give this notice in advance.”
To someone with a guilty conscience, even the smallest thing felt enormous.
“Is there a particular part you’re worried about? If you tell me the situation, I can give more precise guidance.”
[…….]
“Ma’am, if I may ask—are you the account holder?”
[I-I’ll call back later.]
Having successfully driven off the pure-looking little lamb, the agent was certain the calls would stop.
One more day later.
[I asked on Knowledge On, and they said when you grow up your dad’s account can be transferred to you… is that true?]
“Unfortunately, ma’am, our company doesn’t offer that kind of system.”
[Ah… really?]
“Yes…”
Three days in a row with the same person—by now the agent had a pretty clear picture of the situation.
“If you file the appeal as instructed, you should be able to play again.”
[W-would there be a problem if a dad makes an ID for a kid under twelve?]
“Well…”
The dad probably wouldn’t get in trouble…
Still, as an official agent, she couldn’t give blunt advice to someone who was clearly trying to file a false appeal. Especially after hearing around the office that this person was a streamer.
“As I mentioned yesterday, depending on the ‘case,’ responsibility can arise.”
A minor playing on a parent’s account rarely caused a major incident. At worst you got banned, and usually you never even got caught. This case was just unusual.
The agent tried to phrase it as gently and indirectly as possible.
[Dad taking responsibility… That… can’t happen…]
It didn’t land.
Still, she didn’t dwell on it. Personally, she figured that once you were streaming, continuing on someone else’s account was a non-starter. Better to start fresh with a new ID while you had the chance.
[So me giving up is… ugh… the right call…?]
A strangely damp voice.
How much love had she poured into the game to sound this heartbroken?
It tugged at the heart, but there was nothing she could say. Unless the company made some major policy change, what could a single support agent do?
“Uh…. Shall I close the ticket that way?”
[……Yeah.]
And so the three-day phone saga with the young customer came to an end.
Sounds like she doesn’t have one under her own name?
Where’d all the people who were yapping about alts go?
From the conversation flow she’s 99% a minor.
All my little cousins use their parents’ accounts?
Doesn’t even have to be Deadzone.
Definitely not because she seems like a minor haha
“Hehehe. This is funny. Is this kid an idiot? So dumb.”
She was reading a comic book Siyeon had recommended.
The story followed a total loser protagonist with incredible speed who, throughout his school years, only used that power to be a bread shuttle or run from delinquents—until the football club captain spotted him and somehow he became the strongest, blah blah blah.
Peak comedy.
She never knew comics could be this fun. Maybe she’d check out Dual King later too.
After school she flopped onto her bed and sank into comic-book bliss.
Didn’t she always sit at the computer?
Huh? Computer?
What use was that useless idiot metal box full of scrap?
From now on she was going to live a wholesome life.
Trying to cheese through life was how she ended up in this mess.
Streaming had been pretty fun, though.
For a while she just… didn’t want to get anywhere near a computer.
Maybe I should practice drawing and make comics myself? This is so fun.
While she was daydreaming about becoming a proper young lady—
Bzzzzz— bzzzzz—
“……”
Her phone vibrated on the bed beside her.
She’d been deliberately ignoring it. This was the fifth time.
Caller: [Momoji]
I thought if I ignored her once or twice she’d give up……
Last night, the second the call with Momoji ended, she had crashed hard.
When she woke up her eyes were puffy balloons.
She barely managed to hide the swollen eyes from her mom and fled to school.
Only after arriving did she realize she’d left her phone at home—and somehow that made her feel lighter.
Her face must have looked rough, because Siyeon brought her chocolate bread and this comic book, and her mood bounced right back.
Then she came home… and the phone kept ringing.
“.....”
She would bet money that yesterday’s her was not her.
After three days of mental exhaustion, the downgraded version of Lee Chaewon had been officially scrapped as of yesterday.
…But it had been justified.
Two years of memories with Woniwoni had flashed through her head like a panorama.
She’d tried sending telepathic messages to her past self from a year ago, telling her to make her own account already.
She’d cursed the damn game company to go bankrupt.
And she’d felt hollow and empty with nothing left.
Even a tough guy—no, a tough girl—like her had been thrashing around for three days in a whirlpool of emotion strong enough to make her leak tears and snot.
In the end, after all that agonizing, she had let her friend go with her own hands.
Three days of thinking it over, and it seemed like this kind of thing would just keep happening.
Plus they said her dad might get punished because of her.
She’d had no choice.
She’d even asked on Knowledge On.
There were comments like “lol your dad’s going to jail now” and the support agent had sounded scary somehow.
Considering everything, she couldn’t see a clean way out.
So after the permanent ban was confirmed, she had just sat there blankly blinking—
when she saw the worried texts from Momoji and her mouth started wobbling again and she got choked up.
She gave me so many cash cosmetics and… coins too…
It wasn’t just her stuff that vanished. The gifts from her friend were gone too.
So she’d called to apologize and tell her not to worry too much.
And then she just…
“Uuuugh…”
Why did she do that, stupid past her.
Die die die.
Thump thump thump—
She couldn’t punch herself, so she took out her rage with fist strikes on her pillow clone.
She’d thought she had her emotions under control when she called, but after fighting with a cold computer and then hearing a warm human voice, water just started pouring from her eyes and nose.
Ugh, her eyes still hurt.
Momoji, that tear-gas woman.
In short:
She was too embarrassed to pick up the phone.
Bzzzzzzz—!
“Uuuugh…”
She really didn’t want to answer…
But if someone kept calling without giving up, she probably had to, right?
At this point maybe something had happened to Momoji, not her.
Yeah, Momoji got banned too, not her.
No—every single Deadzone player should get banned.
Kekeke.
Reading a comic about a loser protagonist must have scrambled her brain a little.
“Hello…”
She finally answered.
[Oh! ChaeChae! Thank goodness. Can you talk right now? Are you okay?]
“I’m fine. I was reading a comic.”
[Really? Uh…. Um. So, uh. D-did you hear the news?]
“What. That I got banned?”
Was she calling just to tease…
[No no no no no, um… so you don’t know. You don’t check communities, huh.]
Momoji was even more flustered than yesterday, muttering and dragging things out again.
[Uh, um. So. ChaeChae, I have something to apologize for.]
“Apologize? For what.”
What could Momoji possibly need to apologize for.
Probably just asking for the cash items back or something.
[Ah well, that hehe.]
Why was she laughing.
[So, um? Yesterday Unnie made a mistake. I panicked.]
“Yeah.”
[Actually when I was on the phone with you, Unnie was streaming.]
What what what what?
“Huh?!?! Why didn’t you tell me!”
What was she saying.
Surely she didn’t mean that her pathetic, no, her girl-pathetic appearance had been exposed on live stream?
[W-wait, calm down. I mean, at the time Unnie had muted the mic so I didn’t bother saying anything.]
“Ah, really? Phew.”
See? That was Momoji for you.
She had streaming experience.
[But, you seeee…]
She thought the mic issue was resolved, but Momoji was still dragging it out.
[At first Unnie muted the mic once to hide the vibration sound, right?]
[And then a bunch of people came into the room and everything was chaotic. After I decided to take your call….]
“Yeah?”
[I… pressed the mute button one more time…?]
“……”
What on earth did that mean.
“If you press the mute button twice… does it become super mute or something?”
[……]
Silence from Momoji.
“Say yes.”
Momoji’s continued silence was answer enough, and a crooked smile slipped out before she could stop it.
Okay, time to quit streaming too!
This was truly goodbye to computers.
Adios! Idiot box.
The age of comics had arrived.
She was going to become a mangaka!
[S-so ChaeChae, where do you live? Unnie will buy you something delicious! If you’re in Seoul do you want to come over to Unnie’s place? Aughhh… I’m sorry….]
That was the question she wanted to ask.
“Address.”
Where do you live?
Momoji had stepped on her toes for the third time.