[What's life anyway, you just live as you live]
[What's life anyway, you just live as you live]
Kang Hyung-sik, Hyungsik, I've met him many times, so I'll skip that. The other two are Han Sang-chul and Shin Jong-soo.
Han Sang-chul went to university for Mechanical Engineering, and Shin Jong-soo went for Computer Engineering. I'm a liberal arts major from the start, so I can't go to their science universities.
Sang-chul is a bit thin, but Jong-soo is fat and wears glasses. To put it bluntly, Jong-soo looks like a typical otaku. But he actually is an otaku.
.......Jong-soo, this bastard. I remember him downloading Boku no Pico on his PSP back in our second year of high school. It was famous at the time, so he downloaded it, but honestly, it didn't do any damage to me. I'm bisexual anyway, so what does it matter?
Unless a Reincarnator is born as the same gender from beginning to end, they are basically bisexual. I've been born as a woman and given birth to children before, so I don't discriminate based on gender.
Anyway, Sang-chul, Jong-soo, Hyungsik, and I were friends who hung out a lot back in high school.
"Whoa. Who's paying for the beef? Did Hyungsik, this bastard, get a good paycheck in the military?"
The first to arrive was Sang-chul. He went into the BBQ place first and started grilling the Flower Sirloin, and not long after, the others came in. I laid out a cushion to make space and poured soju into his glass.
"Sang-chul, you bastard, it's been a while. How's campus life? Been on any blind dates?"
"Not a single one, you prick. Maybe it's because all the guys are engineering nerds, but their faces are basically condoms."
"You idiot. You can't even meet a girl in college?"
"Same goes for you, moron!"
"I went to the military!"
I, who skipped blind dates and went straight to marriage, grilled meat with a relaxed face. Mmm, the beef is delicious.
Beef is good with oil sauce or ssamjang, but personally, nothing beats dipping it in just salt. I prefer enjoying the natural taste of the meat rather than seasoning it.
"Why is Choi Ak, this bastard, so quiet? Are you seeing any girls lately?"
"Heh heh heh, what of it, what of it. You virgins are cute."
"Use spaces when you type. Ah, pass me the chopsticks too. Let's grease our stomachs for the first time in a while."
"Eat your fill."
The 2 servings of Flower Sirloin we ordered first were decimated by healthy adult men in 10 minutes, so we ordered 4 more. By the time the extra order came out, Jong-soo had arrived too.
"Jong-soo! Over here!"
"Ah, am I the last one?"
"You're still as fat and gluttonous as ever. I told you to lose some weight."
"I've been exercising lately, you know?"
"A guy who exercises gets assigned to public service?"
"Why are you picking a fight as soon as you see me?"
"Leave him be. It's just the lament of a guy who tried so hard to lose his virginity but couldn't."
"What? You said you were going on blind dates a few times, did they all fail? You poor bastard."
"Hey!"
"The meat is all grilled, so just eat. Eating is what matters."
Since we're all here, we should have a toast. We each poured a shot of soju into our glasses and raised them.
"A toast to Hyungsik being discharged in one piece!"
"A toast to Sang-chul losing his virginity!"
"A toast to Jong-soo going to public service!"
"You idiots are just patting each other on the back. I'm one of you, but let's eat our food properly."
"But who's paying for the meat today? We've already eaten nearly 10 servings."
"I'm the sponsor, so eat as much as you want."
"You? What money do you have? Aren't you overdoing it?"
"One guy is a soldier, and two are college students, what do you expect? I'm not going to suck off a freeloader, so I, who has a job, should pay."
"You got a job? Where?"
"I opened a small chicken shop."
"This bastard, I thought you'd go into the food business, and you actually did it. Is business good?"
"It's decent."
"Oh, seeing you say that, customers must be coming. Where is it? I'll come by next time."
"I'm not giving you a friend discount, so if you're coming expecting it for free, I'll kick you out."
"Ah, this guy is so stingy."
I get this feeling that if my friends come to my chicken shop, I'm going to get pissed off. It's 100% certain they'll nitpick and whine even though it's delicious.
"Hey, Choi Ak has a lot of money now, so eat up. Also, this guy got married."
"What? Really?"
"The wedding? I haven't heard anything, when did you do it?"
"A few months ago. I didn't have a ceremony, just filed the papers, so it's natural you didn't know. I don't use Facebook or anything to tell people around me."
"Could've at least sent a KakaoTalk message."
"I was enjoying newlywed life with my wife, so it slipped my mind."
Honestly, that's true. Being with Sion, my friends became a low priority... No matter how close a friend is, the importance of friends I've known for only 10 years in this life is definitely different from a wife I've spent thousands of years with.
"What's your wife like? Is she pretty?"
"I've never seen her either. What does she really look like? Is she pretty?"
"I was wondering who you'd marry, but you actually did get married. So, is your wife pretty?"
"No, you guys, just like men, all you ask is if she's pretty."
"Honestly, that's the most important thing."
"What's important is love."
"Look at this model citizen."
Kkol-kkol-kkol-kkol, the sound of soju being poured into the glass rings out. The snacks are good, and the conversation partners are friends, so the alcohol goes down smoothly.
"How did you meet? Is she someone you knew?"
"She's someone I've known for a long time. I knew her before I met you guys. If you ask if she's pretty... well, she is pretty."
Sion is definitely pretty. However, because of her appearance, it's a hit-or-miss depending on your taste, and there's the personality issue too.
To me, she's cute beyond words, but to others, she feels like a pitiful beautiful girl.
But it's hard to explain the details, so let's just say the usual repertoire Sion used to say.
"My wife had a hard time struggling with an illness in the past. The medicine was strong, so her hair bleached and her growth stopped. I didn't care about that, so we met after a long time and got married."
"What kind of dramatic story is that. Is there a picky mother-in-law?"
"This bastard knows I don't have parents, is he making a joke about my family right now?"
I slapped Sang-chul on the back. Jja-ak! The sound rang out in the BBQ place.
It might be a nuisance to the people around us, but we were the only ones in the shop, and the owner didn't say anything to us even though we were eating nearly 10 servings of Flower Sirloin.
"Here's a photo."
When I showed them the picture I took with Sion on my phone, the three of them gathered around to look.
"This pedo bast..."
"If one more word comes out of there, you're going to vomit up all the meat you ate today, Sang-chul. You finally greased your stomach, do you want to grease the floor?"
"No matter how I look at it, she's an elementary schooler, you bastard!"
"She's older than me, even though she looks like that!"
"Wow, holy shit, a legal loli actually exists. You lucky bastard."
"The guy who brought Boku no Pico to school on his PSP, shut your mouth."
"Ah! That's not my taste!!!"
"Hey, then what about your virginity?"
"I lost it."
"Strike him down!!!"
"Ugh! You guys, I'm the one paying for the meat today! Ugh, ugh, ugh!"
Fists mixed with half-playful, half-serious intent struck my back. I can understand hitting me out of jealousy, but these guys put some strength into it...?
"Hey, what is this. Does that mean everyone here except me is a virgin? You guys have perfectly fine limbs, why are you acting like such idiots?"
"Our limbs are fine, but our faces aren't..."
"Shit, which one of us is handsome anyway?"
"That's true."
"But why did this guy marry such a pretty and young woman? I really don't understand. Did he seduce her with cooking? Is he Baek Jong-won?"
"Well. Cooking is one thing, but the important thing is this."
I slyly put my finger into the hole made by my thumb and index finger and moved it in and out, making a lewd gesture.
The three most important things to my wife are me, her hobbies, and food. But among those, when it comes to me, it's divided into love, sex, and cooking.
Of course, even if you combine sex and cooking, it can't surpass love. Love has no form, so it cannot be defeated by things that have form. Even if I were reincarnated as a woman and got married (setting aside whether the world allows homosexuality or not), that's not the problem.
However, that doesn't mean the importance is low. A significant number of cases where married life falls apart is due to a decrease in libido due to menopause.
"Was he big down there? I've never seen it so I don't know. Hyungsik, you've been to the bathhouse with him, you'd know, right?"
"It was just average. A bit smaller than mine."
"Where are you lying, Hyungsik. No matter how I look at it, mine is bigger, you idiot."
It's been said since long ago that if you want to provoke a man, bring up game stories or penis size. I don't childishly take pride in that, but I still think I should tell the truth.
At least mine is bigger than Hyungsik's.
"You bastards, bigger isn't always better. The size is moderate, but technique is what's important."
"What is this guy, starting a lecture? Professor, is this a major or an elective?"
"It's a class taught by someone who lost his virginity to virgins! Listen up!"
In the first place, Sion's Default Form is small, so even if the penis is a moderate size, it doesn't all go in. Even in her Growth Form, it only reaches the vaginal opening. So what's important isn't size or length, but technique.
And the best aphrodisiac is love. Rather than doing this or that, just whispering "I love you" in her ear during a normal relationship gets a different reaction. It's also good to just stay still without moving while connected.
"There's no need to complain about your thing being small. If you're good with your waist movements, you won't be teased as a virgin anywhere."
"Yes, yes, we heard you, you lolicon bastard."
"Shit, my wife is legal!!!"
This is why civilized society is no good! I'm always treated like a criminal or a lolicon! If at least the world had been destroyed and it was a post-apocalyptic world with few survivors, I'd at least understand!
"Does your wife have no family? If she has a cousin sister or something, introduce me."
"She has no one but her cousin brother."
And that cousin brother has a very nasty personality.
Like me, he smashes and kills things when things go wrong, but at least I draw a line and set boundaries below my standards. If I get slapped on the street, I don't kill the guy, I go to the police and file a complaint.
But Sion's cousin brother doesn't have that. He does whatever he wants, is an egoist, and has a twisted sensibility, so even if one person makes a mistake, it's a mild level for him to destroy the country that person lived in.
The fact that such a guy is a coworker is a really shitty part. At least other guys can be reasoned with.
"Hey, if you're a married man with a job, you must know at least one woman. Introduce me to someone."
"As far as I know, there are about two women I could introduce."
My human relationships are smaller than I thought. Shop, home, that's all I repeat, and I don't really go out to play separately. In the first place, being with Sion is playing, and my fatigue is relieved, so is there a need to do that separately?
So, thinking about the human relationships I have, the number of women is countable on my fingers, and among them, there are even fewer people worth introducing to others.
"Two?"
"One is a widow."
"Ah, that's a bit..."
"And one is a high school senior."
"No, a minor there?!"
"My wife is legal, but should I introduce you to an illegal minor? I know someone at the police station, so it'll be a moment before you get caught."
If there's a woman worth introducing to others, it's only Ruri. But given Ruri's personality, she was about 30,000 light-years away from dating a man.
Unless it's some alien, I'm confident there's no man on Earth who would date Ruri. I don't know about the past, but because the god who is the original of Ruri has weakened influence, her somewhat pretty appearance is all ruined by the rampage power that has become stronger in reverse.
".......Then introduce me in a year."
"Ah, why is Sang-chul, this bastard, so starved for women? Just go home, jerk off, and go to sleep."
"I'm trying to write some love history, but this is too much, really!"
"Shut up and look at Jong-soo over there. Eating meat quietly, how good is that."
"No, why are you hitting me when I was eating quietly?"
"Honestly, except for being fat, Jong-soo is the best among these."
"Except for downloading an anime where three boys are playing train on a PSP, that is."
"I told you that's not my taste!"
Alcohol is in, the meat is delicious, so we chatted and talked, and before I knew it, it was past 1 PM. We must have entered the shop a little past 10 AM.
Since I'm full, I'll go out, digest, and then have another drink in the evening and eat something.
"Hey, where do you want to go after eating? PC bang?"
"Call."
"Okay."
"Ah, shit, you bastards. You know I don't play games much."
"You play Maple, right? Just do that and stay quiet."
I don't know about other things, but I'm picky about games.
I especially filter out AOS games that require cooperation from many people because games are meant to be fun, not stressful.
Next are games that require a lot of spending. I also filter out games like Lineage where you can't keep up if you don't spend money. At least Maple has the affection from playing it in the past, so the character remains, but after a big patch in the past increased the payment elements and damage inflation exploded, I almost don't play it.
Kuek, I miss those days when I would shine my eyes saying, "It's awesome when four-digit damage pops up!" These days, I see counter-stops like 999999999 too.
"You guys who play LoL, you're all Silver and Bronze, so play in the deep sea."
"Ah shit! Still, Silver is better!"
"You're both in the deep sea, measuring acorns."
We finished paying at the BBQ place (the meal cost 500,000 won) and went to a PC bang with decent facilities nearby. As we went up to the 2nd floor where the shop was and opened the door, the air, which was slightly damp and smelled faintly of cigarettes due to poor ventilation, rushed up.
There is an air purifier, but it seems there's no helping the smell that has permeated for a long time. We chose four seats together at the counter.
"Choi Ak, is Maple worth playing these days?"
"I don't know either. It's been a while since I logged in. It's just something I do when I'm out on leave and have nothing to do at the PC bang? These days, it's hard to keep up with content if you don't spend money."
"True, where is there a game that isn't like that these days? Even mobile games are almost all like that."
Yeah, as Hyungsik said, it's rare to find a game with proper gameplay among games these days.
They were so distracted by wanting to make money that they forgot the most important thing in a game.
I won't say money isn't important in life. I live this abundantly all because of that money.
But if that money becomes the most important thing, it's the same as trading humanity for money. The reason humans have value is that they value things that are not material, but things that have no form.
"Ah, right. I run a game development company, do you guys want to try being game beta testers later?"
"Wow, shit, what is it? You said you run a chicken shop?"
"The game development company is a hobby. Anyway."
"Do you pay a salary?"
"I'll think about hiring full-time employees. For now, I'll pay a high hourly wage."
"Call, call me when you have time."
Except for me, the other three played a few rounds of LoL, and I watched from the side and played Maple for the first time in a while. Even though the payment elements increased, new quests or new areas still had that cute feeling just like the old days, so making a new character and raising it was more fun than I thought.
.......Seeing that I reached a level in just a few hours at the PC bang that I couldn't reach even after a month in the old days, it was inevitable to feel complicated.
"Ah, it's been quite a while. The sun is already setting. Let's head out soon."
"What do you want for dinner?"
"There's a Budae-jjigae place in front, how about that?"
"Gueeeek!"
"Hyungsik, who was discharged today, is having a rejection reaction! How long has it been since this guy left the unit!"
"We ate meat for lunch, so it's a bit much to eat meat again. It's also ambiguous to eat Samgyeopsal. I want to eat something hot."
"Come to think of it, Budae-jjigae would be fine."
With hot and spicy broth, adding ramen noodles, and there, Spam, sausage, kimchi, minced meat, and depending on the shop, Budae-jjigae with rice cakes, I can finish two or three bowls of rice in a flash.
Personally, if it's stew, I like it enough to be in the top three. Of course, 1st and 2nd place are the immovable Kimchi-jjigae and Doenjang-jjigae.
We went to the Budae-jjigae place we saw on the way, had another shot of soju, and ate the hot broth and ingredients.
"Hey! Are you taking all the ramen noodles!"
"We can just order more, why are you like that?"
"The broth gets cloudy! It's best to put only one or two ramen noodles!"
"Why are you so serious about eating? Are you a 'pour-in' person?"
"I'm a 'dip-in' person, you bastard!"
We chatted noisily while eating, and only after each of us emptied at least two bowls of rice did we finish the meal. Seeing that we ate so much even though we ate so much meat at lunch, I think it's right that we're still in our prime.
"But what do we do now? It's a bit awkward to go to the PC bang."
"Nightclub?"
"Damn, it would be great to go to a nightclub with three virgin bastards and one married man. Right?"
"We all have faces like condoms, so would we even get booked with women?"
"I think the story would change if they saw Choi Ak's Lamborghini or the unlimited-limit Black Card."
"Ah, that's true."
"These bastards, you know it's fucked if you get caught on the card statement for opening liquor at a nightclub, right?"
"Then it's karaoke!"
We went into any karaoke room nearby. It'll probably be almost midnight when we come out after a few hours, so then we should finish and go home.
Anyway, I had a fruitful day today. It's good to play like this for the first time in a while. As for people, if you eat well and play well, mental stress or fatigue disappears completely.
Since it was a karaoke room in a busy street, it was quite large and had good facilities. Even the room was bigger than the one I went to before.
"First, two hours... no, I'll book three hours. I'll also order drinks and popcorn."
If we do about three hours, they'll at least give us 1 or 20 minutes as a service. If we sing and play to our heart's content and then leave, we'll be sober enough to go home.
We went into the room mentioned at the counter and each chose a song. I held the microphone and asked the kids.
"Who wants to sing first? The first batter is important."
"Me, I have a song picked out, so this one."
"Oh, Jong-soo. You're not going to sing an anime opening, are you?"
"It's something else, something else."
Jong-soo received the microphone and pressed the number buttons on the controller to bring up the song.
The title is [Real Men].
.......Yeah, it's that song that often comes out as a military song.
"Gwaaaaaak!!!"
"Hyungsik is having a rejection reaction again!"
"Are you going to do the military service or not!"
"I won't do it again!"
Actually, deep in my heart, I have PTSD too! Ughhhhh!!!