Party of Legends
I chatted a bit more with Giseong, who was about to become my party member. “…S-so, Giseong, what position do you play…?”
[I’m an archer. The fact that you said “position” instead of “class” tells me you’re from EoW, right?]
“Ah… yes.” When I nodded, Giseong said he played Classic. I nodded along, thinking it sounded fun, but inside I thought, FPS… no way. My reaction time is decent and I can do well if someone tells me what to do, but fundamentally it just isn’t fun for me. It’d be nice if I could learn to enjoy it.
[Want to play together sometime? My mentor is an incredible player.]
“Y-your mentor?”
[You might not know her… but she was a pro until three years ago.]
“Really…? Whoa……”
- Oh
- If we’re talking Classic pros, only one person comes to mind
- I don’t really follow Classic
- You’d know if you heard Giseong’s mentor
- I wanna see SnakeSnake playing FPS!
- Snake-noona giving cool, calm orders while playing FPS… wow
- I do want to see the cool Snake Queen lol. All I ever see is her grumbling
People in chat were already expecting me to play FPS. I figured it might be fun if I played with friends, so I nodded and decided to give it a try if the chance came up. “Um… w-who else is joining the party…? There are two spots left.”
[Even though they’re my friends… one is my mentor, and the other is the server admin here.]
“…Huh?”
[The server admin. Junsu hyung and I are close.]
- So Kari was pretending to end stream but was actually watching lol
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Kari’s gonna love this
- So our Rainwater’s joining the party too? Right?
A famous pro gamer and the server admin. Plus a big YouTuber who knew both of them. Holy… did I just get pulled into an insanely high-profile group? Feeling my stomach twist with nerves, I looked at Giseong. “Eek… ugh… I-I see.”
[Don’t be too nervous. Junsu hyung is really nice, and my mentor is a mom with a three-year-old daughter, so she’s very gentle.]
“I-is that so.” I already knew Kei was a good person. He’d looked after me, apologized, and done everything he could. But hearing that Junsu was kind wasn’t what stuck with me the most.
Mother…! Maternal love! The word “mom” hit me harder. I’d always craved that kind of affection, so just hearing it made me feel strangely reassured. “B-by the way, when can I meet everyone?”
[My mentor hasn’t joined yet, so I’ll have to invite her now.]
“Ah, I understand……”
[If you’re curious, just search “Fox” on YouTube later.]
“Okay… got it.” After saying that, Giseong sent me a party invite. I hesitated, swallowing hard. Could I really do this? Could I fit in with these amazing people without getting hated by their fans? Honestly, I wasn’t sure… but still—
We decided to be friends…! Gathering my courage, I pressed accept.
Giseong’s Party Invitation
Would you like to accept?
[Y/N]
Accepted!
Giseong’s Party — Current Members (2/6)
“Oh……”
[This is our party now. Let’s aim for a guild with this group. Looking forward to playing with you.]
“Ah…! Yes……”
[You can speak casually with me.]
“Eh… h-how old are you?” When I asked, Giseong proudly answered that he was twenty-four. I also learned that Kei and Yeowu were twenty-five and twenty-eight respectively. Even though Haram was the youngest, she was treated like a mom, so in reality…
I guess I really am the baby of the group……
“I-I’m twenty-three.”
[Ah, got it. I’ll keep using polite speech then.]
“Ehh……”
[If you drop the formalities first, it’ll look less like I’m being an old man about it.]
“Ah……”
The way he said he never wanted to stop using honorifics was oddly creative. Since I didn’t mind, I just nodded. Giseong said “Good work today” and left. Watching him go, I smiled softly. “…He seems like a really nice person, doesn’t he?”
- Already asking for numbers and ages? Good grief
- ……
- A good person… yeah, sure
- Ptui
- How dare that parasite eye our daughter… I can’t allow it
- A leech like him trying to take our daughter!!!
“Ehh……” The thick paternal affection radiating from the chat left me frozen in embarrassment for a while.
* * *
Late at night. “Finally done……” After ending the stream, I dragged my exhausted body to bed and checked my phone. It was already 3 a.m. I used to be wide awake at this hour, but lately my sleep schedule had been normalizing, so I started feeling sleepy around three. It was a positive change, so I didn’t mind. I was even happy about it.
“Huu… haa……” My voice was hoarse from crying so much today, and my eyes felt a little swollen. I needed to sleep soon. But before that— “…There’s one thing I need to check……” I wanted to look up the party members I’d be playing with tomorrow, especially Yeowu, who seemed to radiate maternal energy. I needed to make a good impression on her.
“…Because she might be able to help me feel more stable.” Almost in a trance, I went to the platform where I streamed and searched for “Fox.” A live stream popped up right away. “Oh……”
The title already screamed “married woman.” I clicked the stream as if possessed and soon saw a woman playing the game with a bright, cheerful voice. [Is this auto-aim for the bow? What, this is way too easy.]
- ?
- Yuho-noona… th-that’s not how you do it……
- Fox, Fox
- The tail gang hates Fox
“…Is that… a cam?” She had her camera on, complete with surprisingly realistic fox ears and tail CG. While I was amazed by that, I couldn’t take my eyes off her gameplay. She kept firing short bursts with the bow while shouting “heave-ho,” dealing insane low damage… and at the same time using auto-aim to unleash ridiculous rapid fire. “…Oh my god.” For a split second, I almost regretted choosing the swordsman class.
[Got it… Man, this reminds me of the old server I played on before Star was born. Feels good.]
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- How old could you possibly be
- ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Fox-mom ㅠ
- You’re old
- Rotten
- Even if she’s rotten, she’s still insanely pretty
- What’s her husband even doing, not dying yet
The chat was pretty rough, but Yeowu’s expression stayed gentle and warm. “…This is nice. A stream like this.” I immediately felt that Yeowu wasn’t a bad person. Just as I was thinking I’d fall asleep listening to her voice tonight—
[Uwaaaah!] [Honey… Byeol is looking for Mommy……] [Hek…! Honey, Byeol’s tail!] [Ah… it’s just CG, honey… you didn’t wake up?] Yeowu’s tail had been stepped on. I let out a gasp of admiration at how realistic the CG looked. At the same time, it was funny watching her husband ask if she was awake while she was clearly rubbing her eyes.
“…They’re a good family.” For some reason, a lonely feeling washed over me. I’d never had a family like that. “……” A baby crying in her mother’s arms. And the mother and father holding that baby, looking at her with pure love. “I hope… they stay happy.” A heavy wave of melancholy hit me. I turned off the stream, pulled the blanket over my head, and even though it was 3 a.m., I sent a message to my mom.
“…What if she says I’m annoying and throws me away again.” A troublesome child sending messages at 3 a.m. Would my mom even like a kid like that……? Just as I was sinking deeper into that gloomy thought—
The warmest message in the world arrived. “Ah… Mom really does love me… mm……” The emotional switch flipped. I felt like crying, but instead I replied, thanking her and telling her I loved her. Her answer came right back.
“…Mom… I miss you so much……” Even after sending the message, I sniffled for a long time before burying myself under the blanket and quietly letting the tears fall. Mom really is so kind. She hadn’t changed at all. No—actually, she had. Before, she used to say “I love you” while crying in pain. Now she didn’t cry. She just looked at me with a gentle smile, embracing me like she truly loved me. I liked that feeling so much. Or maybe I was just exhausted—either way, I lost all strength and passed out.
And the next day—
I received Discord messages from both of them at the same time, still as bright and cheerful as ever.