Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Episode 15. Kim Pokttal's Adventure (2)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I'm not an idiot.
I knew he had seen through my lie.
How could I not notice after wandering around for nine and a half hours?
But there's one thing I don't get.
Why isn't he mad about it?
He could've just given up halfway, so why did he stick with me all the way to the end?
Why let me keep leading the way even after realizing I was lying?
Apart from occasional cheers or tossing emojis when our eyes met in-game, he just followed behind me.
For a full nine and a half hours.
And now he's praising me.
Saying he actually enjoyed that horrendously boring time.
What the hell is wrong with this guy?
[Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter: Pokttal!]
[Me: Yeah?]
[Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter: This thing, hehehe!]
And as if that wasn't enough, he handed me a ring.
A unique-grade item.
🛡️ ITEM DESCRIPTION 🛡️ Designates one player as your Soul Companion. Once designated, the target is permanently fixed. Once per day, you may use one of four exclusive skills on your Soul Companion. Only 2 of this item exist per server. It was a ring he'd gotten as a tutorial reward.
I don't know much about games, but even I could tell it was something special.
Especially since there are only two on the entire server.
So why the hell is he offering it to me?
[Me: ?]
[Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter: Um, can I use this ring on you, Pokttal? It lets us share skills and stuff together.]
[Me: Why me?]
[Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter: 'Cause I wanna get close to you lol. If you don't like it, no biggie, but please play with me again sometime.]
[Me: Do whatever.]
I gave that answer, and he cracks up with "lololol yay!"
I seriously can't figure out a single thing this guy does.
That wrapped up the gaming session.
We'd pulled an all-nighter, so I decided to skip school and crash.
But even lying in bed, I couldn't stop thinking about him for some reason.
Why did he do all that? Aside from the lie, I barely said a word.
It must've been zero fun for him.
I didn't realize it then, but I'd already taken critical damage from Seonghyeon.
Starting from the moment I first started wondering about him.
Being curious about someone means you're interested in them.
And interest... well, you can't have it without affection.
A tiny crack was forming in the heart that had hardened solid at age six.
Excluding Dad and Aunt, this was the first time I'd thought about someone for so long.
Maybe that's why.
The next day, I logged back into Billion Saga.
[Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter: Whoa! Welcome, Pokttal!]
And just like that, a week passed.
I logged in every day to observe him.
And after a week, I reached a conclusion.
Now I get it.
In those nightly adventure stories he shared in chat.
In the hand he offered when I stood there blankly, not knowing what to do.
In the endless "lololol"s he typed even when I gave zero reaction.
There was affection in all of it.
Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter was someone born overflowing with the kind of affection I didn't have even a speck of.
He'd hurt like it was his own pain if he saw someone else's wound, smile to ease someone's anxiety, crack a joke first to spare another's embarrassment.
I know.
I know better than most because I don't know how to love.
How incredibly hard it is.
To constantly observe someone, read their emotions, give them what they want.
You can't do it without a massive well of affection.
And Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter did it effortlessly for countless people.
Even me, fumbling through that maze, was just someone he wanted to be considerate toward.
A total stranger.
Even after I lied to him.
He didn't follow me because it was fun—he stuck it out for nine and a half hours just so I wouldn't feel awkward.
Finally, I figured out what felt so off about his praise back then.
It wasn't because I'd actually done something amazing.
It was more like:
[It's okay. You did great. No need to feel guilty.]
Seonghyeon is way weirder than me.
How much love do you have to be born with to act like that?
When I have none at all.
I was jealous.
I logged in every day to steal even a crumb of his affection.
I was still the same boring, unresponsive, empty shell of a person, but Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter always liked me anyway.
Without knowing who I was or what I was like, he liked me blindly.
When did it start?
The jealousy turned into greed.
I wanted to keep receiving the affection he spilled everywhere.
I might just be one of the countless people he cared for, but I wanted to hold onto whatever he gave me.
Every time he logged on, I felt that familiar warmth in my gut.
The warmth from when Aunt read me fairy tales, her hand on my belly.
This time, I don't want to lose it.
[Me: L O L O L O L hilarious.]
[Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter: Wow.]
[Me: ?]
[Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter: Pokttal lololol first emoticon I ever got from you?]
[Me: You're just that funny, Seonghyeon lololol]
[Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter: Wanna drop the formal speech while we're at it? You're the most comfy person for me anyway, and we'll see each other every day, so let's just be besties.]
That day, something I wanted to do appeared for the first time in my life.
A rock-solid desire that wouldn't waver no matter how rotten my life got.
I want to log into Billion Saga.
As much as possible, even one more minute a day.
After that, I grinded gold hard in the mornings to earn pocket money and bought a laptop and mouse.
Net cafe closes at 6 PM.
At 6, I have to whisper Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter no matter what.
This daily routine became my reason for living.
I know it's a pointless obsession, but I have no plans to stop.
Can't help it.
The moment Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter logs on, my world becomes perfect—what else can I do?
From that moment, I become human like everyone else, capable of loving someone.
[Me: Seonghyeon, you're early today!]
[Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter: On-time quitting is the best! Kim Pokttal bus departing today too!?]
I don't know any other way to live.
After the affection he spilled took root in my heart, I became a totally different person.
I prepped for the GED exam just to log into Billion Saga, rushed through my daily cleaning and dishes.
I even learned how precious money is—gotta have it to play the game.
Time, grades, money, people, work.
Things that meant nothing before now feel desperately important.
This desperation must be affection too.
One speck of Seonghyeon's overflowing love spread through my entire life without me realizing.
Seonghyeon had this catchphrase he always said.
[Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter: Pokttal, reality's fake. Billion Saga's the real deal.]
He wasn't serious, of course, but every time, I'd hit back with:
[Me: L O L O L stop escaping reality and go make money.]
Seonghyeon's a good person, so he has to live in the real world no matter what.
Even though I'm dead serious about living inside Billion Saga.
Probably till I die.
But even if this place is fake, it's somewhere I can live a life with love— that's enough for me.
I'm living the same way now, as an adult out of the orphanage.
It's been three months since I started living alone.
Even selling gold doesn't cover the deficits.
Billion Saga isn't popular enough.
Rent and food alone drain a fortune.
Remaining balance: 3.54 million won.
How long can this last?
Someone offered 2 million for my figure, but I turned them down.
This figure represents everything I ever loved.
Might be a full-belly decision, but after Seonghyeon shared his affection with me, I don't wanna die as a nothing.
If they ever find my cold corpse someday, this figure has to be right there beside me.
But it's too early for gloomy thoughts!
I still want to log into Billion Saga.
As much as possible, even one more minute!
Let's power through.
I sent some drawings I'd worked hard on to a game company called Narrative Games.
Drawing is my only way to make money while gaming.
And luckily, they got back to me.
I scheduled a meeting and headed to the cafe to meet the company rep.
I don't have proper clothes or cafe experience, but I can't be picky right now.
If I don't sell my art, my remaining time shrinks by months.
While awkwardly scanning the unfamiliar place with awkward movements.
Our eyes met.
"Nice to meet you. You're Park Dahye, the artist, right? I'm Kwon Seonghyeon, assistant manager at Narrative Games."
The second-weirdest person I've ever met in my life.
Funny coincidence—we've got the same name.
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