The Debut of the Nameless Gamer
The warm cooking fills my stomach completely for the first time in a long while.
Of course, instant ramen and various instant foods were physically warm, but the warmth I meant was the kind that comes from human hands.
...I don't even remember when I last tasted real home-cooked food.
The stomach that had been forced to swallow only flour every day is now spilling out as much food as it can, letting out the accumulated pain of the past.
"I thought you were still asleep since you weren't picking up the phone, but I didn't expect to run into you in the elevator."
She brushed her hair behind her ear and blew on the soup she had made, then sipped it.
"...Phone call?"
I glanced at my phone.
[1 missed call from Seol-un-nim]
"...Seol... Eun?"
"Ah, that's my real name. Family name Seol, first name Eun. It's not a pseudonym."
"Ah..."
She had been a streamer for almost two years now, but this was the first time I learned her real name.
"...I assume you know this, but please don't tell anyone else about it, anywhere else or online."
Seolgam—well, Seol-un—looked at me and said.
"...Understood."
I recalled the moment I saw her in front of the elevator.
The eyes that had immediately softened when they met mine were nowhere to be found—the coldness that had been there the first time we faced each other.
"Ah, and is it okay if I speak more casually from now on? I'm three years older than you."
"...Yes, you can speak casually."
"...Hmm... Alright."
A slight awkwardness lingered between us.
"You can call me unnie even if you speak informally."
"Ah, no... I feel more comfortable using polite speech..."
"Then... at least call me unnie. Can't you manage that?"
"...Yes."
We continued eating while exchanging such conversation. As I finished an entire bowl, she looked at me with a pleased smile.
"Want another bowl?"
Her dignified voice remained, but the sharp, hostile atmosphere from before had completely vanished.
"...Yes."
A smile appeared on Seol-un's face.
Seol-un stirring rice with a spatula while holding my bowl, her figure—its presence not lost even in the thick sweater—captivating my eyes with its beauty.
Her body and face, seen without any tension, were several times more beautiful than when we had first met.
"Here, eat slowly."
"Alright, I'll eat well."
A bowl piled high with rice was placed in front of me.
This atmosphere, this situation, her...
...Memories of a similar nature buried deep in my mind resurfaced, and tears suddenly welled up in my eyes.
I desperately held them back as I finished my second bowl entirely.
*
A few minutes later, after finishing the meal and doing the dishes, Seol-un sat on the sofa.
I too sat beside her, watching her every move.
Maintaining a still awkward distance, I could only glance at her with a stiff posture.
I still didn't know how I should treat her.
Even though we had already shared a relationship, I could say something about her being cautious, but... the time we had spent together was still less than a full day.
We had simply subtracted a bit... no, a lot from the progress of our first meeting.
Moreover, I still hadn't established what kind of relationship we were in. It was unclear whether she had truly forgiven me.
Amid the awkward atmosphere, I looked at her and spoke up.
"...Um, unnie... are you still angry with me?"
"...??"
Seol-un listened to my words for a moment, puzzled, then let out a light laugh.
"Puhuhu, so that's why you were watching me so carefully?"
"...Yes."
My face burned with embarrassment at her reaction.
"Um... I'm not that greedy of a person. Since you ate it once, it's fine."
"...!"
Her sudden words made my face flush hot.
She gave me an even brighter expression in response to my reaction.
"Don't watch me—do what you want. This is your house."
"Ah, understood... though I have nothing but games to do..."
Before long, the time had passed seven o'clock... It was almost time for the daytime ranking raid.
"Ah, perfect timing. I wanted to see you play once. You can watch from the side, right?"
"...Yes."
I couldn't even bring myself to look at her as I gazed at the VR device I had tossed aside far away.
...Memories from that time kept resurfacing, making me want VR even less. Moreover, with Seol-un beside me, I decided to play with just the keyboard and mouse instead.
"...?? With keyboard?"
When I sat in the chair without bringing the VR device, Seol-un looked at me with a puzzled face.
"Yes..."
Volcan Online was a VR game, but it could also be played with keyboard and mouse.
Of course, since it was rooted in VR, other VR games like it required VR for more precise control.
She sat on the bed with only the sheet left in my room and began watching my screen from behind.
...As soon as I logged in, the guild's mailbox appeared in my view.
Items from the internet—sent by a few people who didn't care about gender—that had been received while I was offline were visible.
Alongside the item labeled [I Love You] in letters, expensive items arranged in heart shapes appeared.
...I scrolled down.
[1/29]
...There were still twenty-eight of these letters.
One by one, I clicked to receive them all.
There were also a few somewhat lewd messages. Whenever such messages appeared, Seol-un sighed as if she were used to it.
Seol-un was also a female virtual streamer, so she must have been sick of such indiscriminate sexual harassment.
...Items worth about ten million won were instantly added to my inventory.
I opened the spatial storage and placed the items there.
However, the dramatic difference wasn't visible in the spatial storage, which was already overflowing with countless items, as if only a few drops of water had been squeezed out with a dropper.
"Whoa, you... I knew you were a named-rank player, but..."
Seol-un looked at my storage with wide eyes and couldn't continue speaking.
She approached my side at some point and carefully examined the items in the spatial storage.
Upon seeing the lines of termination-option items grouped by category, she inhaled sharply in surprise.
...I briefly glanced at her expression. Seeing her like a child excited by something, I wanted to give her at least one thing.
I selected a few sets of the termination items and sent them to her mailbox.
"...I sent a few suitable for your level. Use them however you like."
It was nothing special to me.
"I... really? You're really giving them to me?"
For the first time, I heard her flustered voice.
Feeling a warm surge, I sent a few more items to her mailbox.
"...Thank you."
Her single word of "thank you" felt like it tickled my heart.
I organized the items I had received earlier into storage.
While doing so, a server notice popped up: the raid was open.
I checked the time. As I was organizing the items, the raid time had already arrived.
As always, I entered the raid.
In VR, I could have confidently claimed first place, but with keyboard and mouse, I didn't know what would happen.
There was only one entry opportunity. Even a single small mistake wouldn't be tolerated.
Grur- kwoong—
The raid boss scene appeared: a massive dragon so large that my character looked like a speck of dust.
Seol-un watched my screen intently, her expression tense.
The raid began, and I too focused on the screen.
...Seol-un's chest kept brushing against my arm due to the closeness, disrupting my concentration, but I somehow managed to steady myself and focus on the game.
With dazzling control, I evaded all of the boss's attacks and landed a perfect combo without any deal loss at the perfect short deal timing.
...As my arms moved to control, my arm pressed even closer against her chest.
However, she didn't seem to care—in fact, she leaned her body and face toward me even more, as if intentionally.
As our bodies drew nearer, she let out a small laugh, enjoying my embarrassed reaction.
...Today's boss patterns were harder to read than usual.
"Waaah..."
Soon the boss fell, and her exclamation from beside me burst out.
I recorded while secretly feeling a bit tense.
Clear time was... [1:10.32 seconds]
Then the rankings of other users were displayed.
[1:42.44 seconds] ... [1:42.69 seconds] ...
While everyone was fighting over ranks by mere 0.N seconds, my worry from earlier was completely forgotten as I took first place with an overwhelming thirty-second lead.
"Whoa... amazing. You."
Seol-un's repeated exclamations came from beside me as she watched.
"I-It's just that...?"
Embarrassed, I lowered my head.
"Yeah, it could be broadcasted separately, right?"
"B-Broadcast..."
"Since I have extra broadcast equipment, how about trying it once? You have some visibility too."
"...Ah, no... I don't talk much... more than anything..."
I'm scared of attracting people's attention...
I couldn't finish the sentence.
I didn't know why she wanted me to broadcast so badly, but when Seol-un hugged my arm tightly and pleaded with a cute tone,
"If you do it, how about it? Hmm?"
I finally understood what it meant to be captivated by someone.
"Then, since I have to broadcast tomorrow too, I'll go home first and bring the equipment early in the morning. Rest well."
"Ah, understood..."
*
The next day, VR Community Bulletin Board
[Title: Dude, did you really start broadcasting? ]
[Content: (link) Ever since the real-life Dark Warrior was revealed, it was so hot, but this time it looks like he's debuting as a streamer lololol]
[Is this for real?]
[When I clicked the link, my Volcan ID got deleted]
[lol]
[When I checked the game ID at the broadcast, it's not impersonation, right? Maybe hacking?]
[The streamer got exposed after sniping the real-life one, and he doesn't even have a real kill record]
[Why is this lolol]
[Obviously hacked, why would you believe that?]
[Wow, I wonder what the voice will be like, just give it a blind for a week]
[Crazy bastard lololol]
[If it's hacked, why are the kids so naive]
[Is it hacked or not, how do they keep saying hacked?]
[Just leave it alone]
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