Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Social Skills Level 0
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Honestly speaking, I'd never had a single friend in my entire life.
I didn't even know how to make one.
Even the few people I got vaguely close to drifted away after conversations pretty much like this.
"How do you mess around all day and still pull those scores? Must be nice being smart."
"...If studying doesn't suit you, wouldn't it be better to look for a different career path?"
It was sincere advice on my part.
A guy who went straight to cram school after classes every day, even giving up his weekends to study, and still couldn't crack the top 50 in school—shouldn't he just quit?
His talent for it was disastrously bad, so why cling to studying?
Obsessing over something you're hopeless at is just foolish.
But he got mad at me, stopped talking to me altogether.
I even wandered into online communities once.
I talked about how my little sister was sick, my parents were always at the hospital, and it was all so exhausting and painful.
Then suddenly: "You can afford that fancy hospital bill?"
Followed by: "What, so this was just rich kid whining?"
My sister was sick, and my parents were practically living at the hospital?
"So what? You're loaded, so you don't get to complain about being unhappy?"
...What did one have to do with the other?
Suddenly, complaints exploding from everywhere.
I lost in the World's Most Miserable Person Contest and got chased out of the community too.
After that, I drifted into games.
Into some hidden trash game barely anyone played.
I had some fun times there, in my own way.
But then I suddenly turned into a girl.
And somehow ended up going to America.
Couldn't adapt to school again.
Aggro from my looks pulled like crazy.
Ran into the absolute worst ending.
Turned into a total shut-in rotting in my room.
No, wait—hadn't I always been a shut-in?
'Scary.'
Wild was crying.
After losing to me.
Was I about to lose another acquaintance?
I couldn't even dream of offering comfort.
I'd learned the hard way how dangerous it is for the haves to console the have-nots.
There was nothing I could really do.
Even if I had all that and still wasn't particularly happy.
I couldn't say stuff like that.
Why are you faking it? Thinking you're unhappy even with what I don't have?
You shouldn't do that.
Too many people had thrown that at me.
I couldn't open my mouth.
It was a total summary of all that frustration.
Three sentences boiling it down.
"I never really staked my life on games or anything."
"Every time others feel jealous or envious, like I'm some untouchable wall, my head starts spinning."
"Am I the one messing up how I act?"
The saying that birds of a feather flock together isn't just because well-off people kick out the bad ones.
I don't want to divide people by class either.
But what am I supposed to do when so many get mad at me for crossing lines or blurring those classes?
Life sure isn't easy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Jealousy and envy.
Victory, who was as famous as he was hated by countless others, could read between the lines even when Jeon Jeonseol mangled her words.
All those people desperate to drag him down from his shining spot, flailing to manipulate emotions any way they could.
But Wild wasn't like that.
"Jun-hyung isn't the type to get jealous of someone better at games than him. He just gets his fighting spirit fired up instead. So don't worry."
—"But he cried."
"Probably just got emotional for a moment."
—"You've been with him for three years, and I've only been at this for three months."
Maybe it's a little different for me.
To catch that voice, like ants crawling in, he had to perk up his ears.
What a beautifully smooth voice she had.
"Coming to me for advice means you think I'm at least trustworthy, right? I'll vouch for him. Believe me—Jun-hyung isn't that fragile."
—"......If that's true, then great. I'm so sick of getting hated for stuff like this."
"Has this happened before?"
—"......This isn't something I should talk about anywhere."
"Of course I won't tell a soul."
—"Truth is, I'm rich, I'm smart, I'm pretty. And it's not just games I'm good at."
It was a pretty absurd story.
Was this really coming from someone drowning in depression?
"You've got some confidence."
—"If I try to be even a little humble, it's 'Oh, humblebrag?' What am I supposed to be if I'm worse off than you? Total chaos! So what am I supposed to do? Zip my mouth shut for life? Huh!?"
Victory could feel the sincerity in her rising tone.
"Sounds like you've been through a lot."
—"Yeah! How are you so chill? The whole world must be watching with fire in their eyes, nitpicking everything. What's your secret?"
"Without people, I wouldn't exist. I got this far because they cheer me on and watch over me. Gotta repay that by working even harder."
—"That's straight out of a textbook. Where'd you get schooled on that?"
"I remind myself every morning when I open my eyes: I exist because people watch."
—"This isn't a hidden camera! We're not live!"
"I'm serious."
—"Damn it, Victory! Is your mental game top-tier too!?"
"They say living gratefully is healthier than complaining. So I try harder to think that way. And honestly, there's a lot to be grateful for."
—"I'm not some constant complainer! It's just... getting hit with it so much feels unfair! I know my situation's great. But still! It's not like my dad earned it doing evil stuff! Why do I have to tiptoe around so much!?"
'She's the type who makes enemies easily.'
Life throws so many situations where you gotta smooth things over with some tact.
But people who flinch every time or explode often? They end up with tons of enemies inevitably.
Jeon Jeonseol seemed seriously lacking in social skills.
Like a ton of stuff bottled up inside.
"How about venting through hobbies like walks or fandom stuff?"
Victory actually meditated a lot himself.
That was why he recommended it.
—"No, listen! I said on stream I'd never go to a fan meet and snuck off to one anyway! And there were these guys who came all the way there, eyes blazing, hunting for me! They even dug up my sister's photo and plastered it online! I'm not a hundred percent sure, but still—because of me!"
"That wasn't your fault."
—"No! I should've been careful! Shouldn't have taken her somewhere like that!"
"You've only been streaming a short time, so you're not used to this stuff yet. Might not have thought it through. Don't blame yourself too hard."
—"What if a stalker shows up at my sister's door? What if something huge happens because of me?"
A normal person might think it was excessive worry or paranoia.
'But if she's this worried, there's probably a reason.'
Victory thought.
'But should I ask?'
It could be a sensitive topic, so he hesitated.
But replaying her words and actions from today, he concluded he should.
She seemed to need interest and understanding.
"Has something like this happened before?"
—"......"
"You don't have to say if it's hard. Sorry for asking out of the blue."
—"I've almost been shot before."
Another heavy topic that was tough to just blurt out.
This girl had lived a way more dramatic life than he'd imagined.
—"Didn't seem like he was targeting me specifically, but he was a mass shooter, right? What if he suddenly changed his mind? Any second, I could get shot. Nothing else crossed my mind. It was horrifying. The world's scarier than you think."
"Hard for me to even imagine."
—"All because I'm too pretty!"
How did she pivot from that to this?
Victory was curious but couldn't ask.
Had cowboys dueled over her or something?
—"If anything happened to my sister, I'd lose it for real."
"How about practical measures? Like buying some self-defense gear."
—"Would that even work? Can an untrained person handle something like that in an emergency?"
"Better than nothing, right?"
—"Yeah. Better to have something to protect yourself with."
"I'll look into some stuff too."
—"Huh? Why you?"
Well, because you're consulting me...
What a conversation-stopper she was.
Jeon Jeonseol.
'What a tumultuous life.'
Witness to a mass shooting.
A position he'd never even dreamed of.
Everyone's got their stories, sure.
You shouldn't judge someone without knowing theirs first.
"Because we're friends?"
—"I-Is that it?"
"Yeah. Jun-hyung thinks of you as a friend too, so don't worry."
—"Could he not hate me......?"
The solitude of a genius who, without even trying, stood far ahead of others—and thus drew endless hate.
Victory actually had a hard time relating.
Their lives had been too different.
But the luck for Jeon Jeonseol was...
That Victory was someone with an open mind who tried to understand others.
"If you're that anxious, how about we three meet up?"
—"Because I'm pretty and they're curious what I look like! You're a bystander too!?"
"No."
She seemed so lonely.
She wanted to check Wild's feelings too.
But too scared for a direct talk.
So he'd tried to set something up.
'Just how pretty is she to act like this?'
Even Victory, trying to be understanding, couldn't help wondering if it was delusion at that level.
She was genuinely good at the game, sure.
But the rest? Who knew anymore.