Shall We Team Up?
The seductive woman, Lee Minji, spoke up. "If you haven't found a party yet, want to team up with me?"
She'd said it fairly casually, but in truth... Minji was quite nervous. She hadn't secured a party either, and right now the one in a tighter spot was actually Minji rather than Suha.
The First Clear event was a festival for every user attempting the raid, and for streamers it was the perfect chance to make a name for themselves. Ias's main user base consisted mostly of working adults in their thirties and forties, people who realistically couldn't commit to long raid sessions. Because of that, they often found vicarious satisfaction by watching streamers challenge the raid. Interest wasn't limited to in-game users either; with attention pouring in from outside the game as well, it was time to row hard while the tide was high.
In a situation like this, Suha's presence was special. Couldn't find a party? A streamer of Suha's caliber only needed to officially say "Looking for a team" and it would be over. Why? Because Suha was a major corporate streamer. On top of that, while she fell just short of Minji's picky standards, her skill alone made her a solid high-level supporter. From a streamer's party perspective, there wasn't a more tempting catch.
The only reason she hadn't been flooded with offers was that she hadn't yet announced her intention to participate in the First Clear event. If she had declared she was joining, countless love calls would have poured in.
Minji, on the other hand... or rather, Seongna? Her skill was undeniably excellent. Objectively speaking, Seongna was a master player who had proven her worth multiple times, even if she was using that bizarre one-handed sword saint build. The problem was that the core of the one-handed sword saint build was Perfect Guard. And Perfect Guard was extremely difficult to pull off during the trial phase.
No matter how lightning-fast Minji's reaction time was, predicting the timing of patterns she'd never seen before was nearly impossible. Even if she quickly learned the patterns and optimized the build, the time and stamina lost in the process would have to be shouldered by the entire party, making her a difficult talent to recruit—like a chicken rib, tasty but not worth the effort.
Another reason was, well... Minji's public image. It wasn't exactly the best, to put it mildly. Given the nature of her streams, which leaned heavily toward the shady side, she was naturally isolated among other streamers, which meant finding a party would likely be quite difficult.
In short, while it looked like Minji was the one offering Suha a spot, the reality was closer to her nervously pleading, "Hey, wanna party up with me? Hehe."
Of course, Suha, a seasoned major corporate streamer, wasn't oblivious to this fact. If she thought about it coldly and strategically, teaming up with other big-name streamers for the First Clear would probably be more beneficial for her broadcast than sticking with Minji. But Suha chose to go with Minji anyway.
"Sure, I'm good with that."
How could anyone turn down their very first friend asking to team up?
"Awesome! Then... should we ask Eder hyung-nim and... Ryong-gak too? That'd make four people already..."
Of course, immediately moving on to the next person felt a bit off, but Suha had long grown used to Minji's ways. She knew from the start that this was just how Minji was, so there was no point feeling hurt about it. Still, the fact that Minji had thought of her first made Suha oddly happy, even as she found it strangely sulky that her mood could be swayed so easily by a single comment from Minji. Minji didn't seem bothered at all, which made Suha feel like she was the only one making a big deal out of it. Her pride stung a little.
Wait a second. Now that she thought about it, there had been a name she couldn't just gloss over.
"Um, Minji. Besides me and Eder oppa, who else?"
"Huh? Oh, Ryong-gak?"
At the name Baek Ryong-gak, Suha's brows furrowed deeply. Why him again? Minji had plenty of other people she could team up with. Lately, the person Suha was most wary of was none other than Baek Ryong-gak. Because he was the intruder who had wedged himself between her and Minji, the only two friends they had.
When Minji had seen his face, she'd frozen up like an idiot—anyone could tell it was the look of someone who'd fallen for him at first sight. If that guy joined the same party, he'd definitely push hard for Minji's attention.
"Wouldn't it be nice if Ryong-gak joined too? He's skilled, and he's a good guy."
With Minji's surprisingly naive side, she might get completely swept up by that intruder. It was the kind of statement that would have left Baek Ryong-gak himself feeling wronged beyond belief. No, what did I even do? I'm always the one getting teased, so why is this my fault? But people's imaginations are always self-centered. So no matter how much Baek Ryong-gak protested his innocence, nothing would change.
"Why? Do you not get along with Ryong-gak?"
Minji's sudden ambush caught Suha off guard, and sweat beaded on her forehead. Well... how should she put it? It wasn't that she disliked him that much. But saying she hated seeing him stick so close to Minji felt wrong, and admitting it wasn't okay didn't help either. What was she supposed to say?
While Suha was carefully filtering her words, Minji spoke again.
"Mm... I don't expect you two to be super close or anything, but I just hope you don't make each other uncomfortable..."
"..."
"You're both... um, precious to me, you know."
"...Huh?"
Minji wasn't someone generous with praise. She struggled to voice affectionate words, not just compliments tied to rewards and punishments. And yet Minji had said something like that?
"Um... I know I'm being selfish, but if there's some misunderstanding between you two, maybe you could work it out...? Haha."
Minji scratched her head repeatedly, looking like she wasn't even sure what she was saying herself. Watching her, Suha realized just how childish her own imagination had been. Seriously, they weren't kids... and Minji wasn't some object to fight over. It was ridiculous.
"What are you talking about? Baek Ryong-gak and I have nothing going on. We're not close, but we're not on bad terms either."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. I just thought he was going with those other troublemaker types, so I was a bit surprised earlier."
"H-huh? No way. That bastard Ryong-gak, don't tell me he's ditching me...? I'll have to ask him later."
Seeing Minji's face light up so noticeably, Suha praised herself for making the right choice. Sure, having that guy around still bothered her and made her jealous, but... Minji had said all that. She had no right to meddle in Minji's relationships anyway. Looking back now, she'd really been childish.
Just as Minji was beaming and Suha was reflecting on her earlier behavior—
Ding-dong.
"Oh, it's here!"
"Already? That was fast."
The ordered chicken feet had arrived, and the hungry Minji dashed toward the front door without hesitation. Watching her retreating figure, Suha let out a small laugh. It was the step that marked the end of their oddly serious atmosphere.
Ring.
"Haaah..."
Yongho slumped back in his chair after ending the call with what was essentially his only friend. Ever since they'd exchanged numbers after running into each other at the showcase, they'd talked at least once a day. Today the topic had been important, so the call had dragged on quite a bit.
The conversation with Minji hadn't been bad, but every time they talked she somehow managed to drain all his energy and spirit. She really was a fox of a woman.
"What should I do..."
Yongho spun his chair left and right, lost in thought. After several rotations, he finally made up his mind—only to be interrupted.
"Hey, Yongho."
There was no need to wonder who it was. The only person who would speak to him here, in his sister's officetel, was one person.
"Yeah? What is it, noona?"
It was Jiho, Yongho's older sister.
"You, you... you...!"
Jiho's eyes widened as she pointed an accusing finger at him in shock. Yongho shrugged as if to ask what the problem was.
"You got a girlfriend?!"
It was a grand misunderstanding.
"...What are you talking about?"
"It's the first time I've ever seen you talk to someone for that long. Except when you're gaming. And from the bits of voice I caught, it was definitely a girl's voice."
Born with a face prettier than most women, Yongho had never had any romantic experience with girls in his life. His sister knew this better than anyone, so why was she saying something like that? If anyone else had said it, even as a joke, Yongho would've gone dead serious. But he couldn't do that to his own sister. Blood was thicker than water, and more importantly, he was currently living under Jiho's roof.
Plus, Jiho was the kind of older sister who looked after him in many ways despite their age gap. Even if she poked at his weak spot, she was someone he could never talk back to.
"...It's not like that. She's just a friend."
Because of that, Yongho answered honestly, even if a bit curtly.
"Huuuuh? Reaaally...?"
At his answer, Jiho's lips curled into a sly grin. Seeing his sister's mischievous smile, Yongho thought, Wait, why again this time? And why did everyone around him seem so eager to mess with him?
"Just a friend, huh?"
"I told you."
"Just a friend, and you talk for a whole hour every day?"
"That's—"
"Oh, for reference, I do that. But I heard guys don't usually talk that long with each other... Oho, could it be...?"
Seeing Jiho's smile grow even wider, Yongho thought to himself, Ah, here we go again.
"Cut it out."
Realizing that no answer would free him from this endless cycle, Yongho finally threw away his manners. From what he'd learned of his sister's pattern, the conclusion was always either "Talking that long? So my little brother really is a girl!" or "Well, of course you'd talk long with your girlfriend!"
"Okay okay, I'll stop~"
Seeing Yongho's sharp reaction, Jiho backed off. When teasing someone, you shouldn't push too hard all at once. If they exploded, cleaning up the mess would be a huge headache. More than anything, if she paced herself and teased in moderation, she could enjoy it longer and more deliciously!
If Yongho had known, he would've beaten his chest and cried out to the heavens, "Why does everyone treat me like this?!"
Still—
"But your mouth was stretched wide open while you were on the call. You two must be pretty close, huh?"
She didn't forget the finishing blow. As Jiho fled the room after landing her final strike, Yongho shouted in agitation.
Me? I was smiling? No, she must've seen wrong. Why would I smile while talking to that girl?
"...What? Me? It wasn't—"
"Then noona's going to sleep~ Don't stay up too late, and you should sleep early too, dongsaeng~"
"No, it wasn't wrong, and more importantly, who's your dongsaeng?!"
Of course, Jiho was a ruthless judge who had no intention of listening to Yongho's objections.
"Tch, seriously..."
Left alone in the room, Yongho thought to himself. Wait, was I really smiling? Why? Seriously, why? As he wondered, he unconsciously reached up to touch the corner of his mouth.