Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Because It's Raining Too Much
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Shwaaaaa...
Even though it was still early afternoon, the sky had darkened under the blanket of clouds.
Heavy raindrops turned into fierce downpours, pounding relentlessly.
A villa nestled deep in the mountains, far from the city—hard to reach even if you were determined.
In the profound silence born from the absence of the familiar clamor of countless people living their lives.
The only sounds were the patter of rain tapping against the windows,
the faint hiss of gas escaping from the burner like a sigh,
and the tiny bubbles rioting in the boiling pot.
The dining room carried a slight chill, as they hadn't cranked up the heat on purpose.
The burner sat like a campfire in the center of the table.
Sake's gentle warmth radiated from within, subtly raising their body temperatures.
Like a perfect picture of camping in nature, but the most beautiful element was the human one.
A girl whose skin was so transparently thin it seemed it might tear, flushed vividly red with intoxication.
Her dreamy, hazy smile was so reverent and beautiful that it naturally evoked memories of religious paintings.
You know, works like the Creation of the World or The Last Supper.
And with that came a mischievous thought: the urge to scribble graffiti over those great masterpieces.
Overwhelmed by their sanctity, it sparked a destructive impulse instead.
The base, ugly human desire to ruin something too perfect.
"Those ugly traitors who abandoned Magical Fight! I'll never forget this grudge!"
...Yeah.
If only she'd keep that mouth shut, she'd be absolutely perfect.
No, if you ignored the words and just listened to the sound, it was almost like a fairy's whisper...
Yeah right.
Her drunken ramblings barely dragged the mythical scene back to reality.
"You were the first one to disappear."
"I didn't betray MF—I just couldn't play anymore!"
"What was wrong? You were gaming with us even the night before the college entrance exam—what situation stops you from playing?"
"..."
Silence hung for a moment.
Anyone with half a brain could tell that meant circumstances she couldn't talk about.
Instead, Lee Jun voiced some needless concern.
"You sure it's okay to drink?"
Seol-a wrinkled her face in disgust at his suddenly gentle tone.
"Eugh! Don't go sweet on me all of a sudden. Makes me wanna puke! Uweck!"
"Guys worry about each other like this even without girls around. You wouldn't know 'cause you got no friends?"
It was a casual slip, meant offhandedly, but his audience was Seol-a.
A glancing blow that landed a critical hit!
The effect was tremendous!
"You meeean jerk! Don't hit me with facts like a coward! You rotten jeeeerk!"
Seol-a's screaming face didn't look all that angry.
No, look closer—her lips were subtly quirking up.
Look even closer, and you'd see she was secretly smirking.
Yeah, this was a rare "in-crowd" event after so long.
Hanging out and drinking with friends.
She was an introvert who could never get used to party vibes with crowds, but boozing with friends at max intimacy? That was fine.
Her shoulders and collarbones peeked above her thin tank top, tinged red.
Her whole body must've been heated by alcohol's magic.
Huh?
Shoulders and collarbones aren't spots you should be looking at, right?
Well, not exactly—they weren't off-limits per se.
But from this angle, looking down would be criminal.
For tall Lee Jun, peering down there...
Lee Jun hastily lifted his gaze to the ceiling.
The dining room ceiling had adjustable mood lighting in three levels.
Right now, it was set to a perfect moonlit glow for drinking.
"What, got a bug up there or something?"
"Yeah. Looks like a hornet."
"What!?"
Seol-a whipped her head around frantically, eyes wide with fear.
Like a high-end omakase offering various fish cuts, every expression was deliciously varied—and utterly cute.
Only after savoring her terrified face did Lee Jun correct himself.
"Nah, nothing there. Just messing with you."
"You psycho! You scared the crap outta me!"
Did this girl fear bugs?
Like your typical girl?
It suited her... but also felt off somehow.
Still so confusing.
This tiny girl in front of him was the gaming world's demon lord, making people feel walled off and despairing.
Her appearance didn't match at all—way too much.
He imagined taking her to a PC bang.
She'd probably say, "This is fun? Isn't playing with me way more fun?" while sitting next to him.
Reality would be more like,
"Ugh, so frustrating! Move! Lemme show you how it's done!"
Lost in his daydream, Lee Jun chuckled, then awkwardly wiped his mouth and looked away.
'Why's Woo-seung been so quiet?'
Lee Jun glanced at Woo-seung.
His face was dead serious.
Like he was taking the exam of his life.
'Why is the universe so vast, and humans so small?'
His pondering had started with why he found Seol-a beautiful but escalated to cosmic insights—no way to tell just from facial expressions.
He wasn't a mind reader.
Why such thoughts? If he didn't, he'd just stare blankly at her face.
He needed deeper self-reflection.
Right now, he was a monk seated there.
A seeker pursuing truth.
Mostly everyone was drunk, so only one person remained sober.
Chills.
Seol-yun sometimes felt less like a person and more like some alien presence—like a CCTV—giving him the creeps.
She was stunningly pretty, and he was confident he'd have her in three seconds if he tried, but still... an eerie foreboding.
Lee Jun flashed an awkward smile after accidentally meeting her eyes.
I'm innocent. I was properly staring at the ceiling.
Seol-yun curved her eyes into crescents in response, but somehow, her mouth hadn't smiled at all?
"Everyone has their flaws and pains, right...? But the people I've met, they go, 'You're better off than me, so don't whine.' They battle over who's more miserable. And the loser who can't prove they're unhappier? They say you can't even act tough."
Thankfully, Seol-a spoke up again, letting Lee Jun escape the weird tension.
"Mm."
It was just more extreme online.
People like that lurked everywhere in society.
Dismissing others' unseen pains as easy, believing their own was the world's worst tragedy.
"Where'd you meet weirdos like that?"
"Just living life. Pretty much everyone."
"You got rotten luck with people."
"They probably hated me as much as I disliked them. In the end."
Seol-a exuded a vibe like a rain-soaked puppy you couldn't leave alone.
Right now, her empty gaze was like a pup witnessing its mother's death.
If he hadn't repeated to himself a dozen times not to act on instinct,
he would've gotten up, walked over, and hugged her—her expression was that pitiful.
If guy-guy or girl-girl, he'd have embraced her for sure.
But man-woman.
Easy to misinterpret.
What a shame.
"You're just a jagged stone that doesn't fit in."
No, you were just unlucky.
But saying that casually?
What do you know about my life?
A prickly comeback loomed, so
Lee Jun couldn't speak.
Needed to choose words carefully.
"Better if you shatter on impact."
Woo-seung chimed in, finally back from cosmic thoughts.
"That's the minimum for rival status."
Lucky him, able to say "rival."
"Don't go to your own little world. I'm here too. I'll be the one laughing last."
No real confidence, but Lee Jun bluffed hard.
Come to think of it, this gathering.
Hadn't it happened because he cried? Beyond just hanging out.
Then there was something he had to say.
"This year, I'm winning. Get ready."
Rank 1? Nice, sure.
But as pros, tournaments came first.
"Won't hand it over easy. But Seol-a, you going pro?"
Woo-seung asked while on the topic.
"Nah. If I did, everyone watching tournaments would fall for me."
Hm. Convincing.
Men were fatally weak to women who got their hobbies,
let alone one who played alongside and rivaled rank 1.
Imagine her carrying pro matches stylishly.
Too much of a cheat code.
That'd be disastrous.
"You declared double stream time till you hit 1st."
Woo-seung grinned.
"You good? Feels like that'll last forever."
No tournament teaser, but trash talk ignited!
"Truth is, Victory's shaking in his boots 'cause Jeon Jeonseol's right on his tail. Big like."
"You ignore caught fish? Our score gap's huge. Stay tense."
"Kuhuhu. Cheers then!"
Sudden toast.
And instant shots.
Drinking mostly solo, booze with friends hit way better.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Sorry. Rain's too heavy—looks like you'll have to stay at the villa tonight."
Driver Kim delivered the news to Lee Jun and Woo-seung in overly polite honorifics.
Mountain roads were treacherous in this downpour; had to bunk here.
"No need to apologize. Rain like this is dangerous, obviously."
Not like some island cut off by a broken bridge.
This sudden turn?
Under the same roof as those ultra-top-tier beauty sisters!?
Not that anything would happen.
This wasn't some degenerate light novel.