CHAPTER 58…………
The next day, I went to school and found myself frozen in shock at a completely unexpected situation.
Someone tugged gently at my sleeve from behind, and when I turned around in confusion, there stood someone I never imagined seeing.
“Uh, Ha……”
“It’s Ha-won, unnie.”
It was Haryeong. Her expression mirrored my disbelief, though hers was tinged with a faint flush of excitement.
Meeting her here, at school of all places, shocked me even more than when I’d run into her at the PC café.
“Wait—why are you here……?”
My voice carried both surprise and confusion. Haryeong still looked startled but spoke more calmly than I expected.
“Well, because I’m a student here. Aren’t you here because you’re a student too, unnie?”
“Well, that’s true……”
Her distinctive way of speaking hit me like proof that it really was her. The shock quickly gave way to warmth and happiness as I realized she and I attended the same school.
I broke into a big smile and clasped her hand.
“Guess we really are fated to be friends!”
* * *
Since it looked like we’d have a lot to talk about, we moved from the school grounds to a nearby café.
We chatted about school, comparing majors and schedules, and realized that if we hadn’t met in Thereso, we probably would’ve graduated without even knowing the other existed. Still, we did share a few overlapping times, so we agreed to grab lunch or coffee together whenever our schedules lined up.
I felt glad all over again that I went to the PC café that day. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be sitting here having such a fun conversation with her now.
At first, we stuck to school-related topics, but since we’d met through the game, the conversation gradually shifted to in-game stuff.
“Your guild got the first clear, right?”
“News travels fast. Yeah, we cleared it last night.”
“Then that bastard will be following you around again, huh.”
“Yeah. He already started as soon as we got out.”
At my words, Haryeong’s face, which had been happily savoring her cheesecake, soured like she’d just bitten into an unripe persimmon.
“That psycho.”
“Ha ha, I wouldn’t go that far……”
“Don’t defend him in front of me.”
“Oh, uh… okay……”
Whenever Hwansung’s name came up, she turned sharp. Just how much did she hate him to wrinkle her face like that?
It suddenly struck me: why did she hate Hwansung so much? Could it really be just because he was a notorious figure with a bad reputation? Her reaction felt far too personal. Especially the way she spat out “that baby”—that wasn’t ordinary dislike.
I opened my mouth to ask, but in the end, I didn’t.
‘I should probably hear Hwansung’s side first……’
If she hated him this much, something must’ve happened between them. And if I wanted to bring Haryeong into the guild, I needed to know what that was.
If Hwansung told me it was no big deal, I’d ask her directly about joining.
But before any of that, I had another task.
[Play Time: 09:05:10]
Completing the quest only visible to me.
I’d been working hard on it with Haryeong, but I still hadn’t hit the ten-hour mark. Just a little more, and I’d be done……
But wait a second.
Haryeong hates Hwansung. Hwansung sticks to me like glue. Could I even finish this quest?
I’d thought it was an easy one, but with Hwansung in the mix, the difficulty shot way up. There was no guarantee nothing would blow up if I brought those two together.
That meant I’d either have to meet her while he was raiding, or sneak in time with her when he wasn’t around. But with the new raid just out, option one was impossible. Which left option two……
‘Doesn’t this make me sound like some cheater sneaking around with a dangerous secret affair?’
Yeah, like I was cheating or something.
I carefully asked her, “Ha— I mean, Ha-won. When can you log in next?”
Her real name still felt unfamiliar, and I almost slipped up by using her game nickname. Around school, I had to be careful in case someone overheard.
“Hmm. I’ve got some personal stuff, so I probably can’t log in for two days.”
“……”
“I think I can get on during the weekend. Maybe just a little in the morning, though.”
So she couldn’t play for two days. I’d been hoping to squeeze in time with her while Hwansung was away and gradually stack up hours, but……
I was disappointed. I wanted to finish this quest quickly so I could check Hwansung’s affection level. And “just a little in the morning” on the weekend……
‘Wait.’
Morning?
That’s right—Hwansung always works out in the mornings…… He’d definitely be offline then……
I’d never thought of it since I usually sleep late and don’t game in the mornings. But I did remember that one time I got forced awake by his spam messages and logged in—he wasn’t there. (Though I got dragged off by Yuchan and Hoe the moment I logged in, so I didn’t really get to play.)
Still, it wasn’t impossible!
“Haryeong, then how about we meet at the PC café that morning?”
“Huh? The PC café, at that hour?”
She sounded a little taken aback.
Honestly, it was a weird suggestion even to me. We could just log in from home. But in my impatience, the words tumbled out.
“Yeah, maybe that’s a bit much, we could jus—”
“Sure, let’s do it.”
“……”
“Let’s meet at that same PC café. That okay?”
“Uh…… yeah.”
Even though my suggestion was silly, she didn’t brush it off—she actually agreed.
* * *
[Jangyeong has invited Issa, Hoe, Kim Sookyi, Cheonma Daeje, and Nyangmong to a group chat.]
[Issa]: ㅇ ㅂㅇ? (What’s up?)
[Kim Sookyi]: What’s this ♡♡
The guild members who got dragged into this sudden group chat were bewildered. Especially since the room name was: “Penalty: 10 million Zen if leaked to Hwansung.”
[Jangyeong]: Guys, we’ve got a situation^^
[Kim Sookyi]: We cleared the raid, nothing can faze us now. No way we’re in trouble, lol
[Jangyeong]: You know Haryeong, right?
[Issa]: That girl who trashes on Hwansung like crazy =ㅂ=?
[Kim Sookyi]: Who doesn’t know her?
[Jangyeong]: Well…… she and Sunya seem to be getting close^^
[Hoe]: No way
[Kim Sookyi]: We’re screwed
The chat exploded the moment he said that. Most were just swearing to the heavens, while Yuchan despaired that the guild atmosphere was about to collapse again. Junwoo, of course, was the only one without a clue.
[Cheonma Daeje]: Let’s discuss this at the PC café. Brother Sookyi, buy me those dumplings again—the ones we had before still haunt me.
[Kim Sookyi]: Shut it before I shove those dumplings down your throat.
[Cheonma Daeje]: S-so scary……! Can’t you be a bit kinder?
This room was supposed to be a secret war council to handle the crisis. But within a minute, the conversation had derailed. For a moment, Jangyeong wanted to just disappear. But as guild master, he steeled himself and dragged them back on track.
[Jangyeong]: (Photo)
[Jangyeong]: I rushed over after getting tipped off about our clear, and the place was already on fire^^ I managed to negotiate with the OP to delete the post, but just in case, I screencapped it. Look^^ I nearly fainted, seriously^^!!
No—he wanted to faint. Just faint and escape this whole mess. But he couldn’t, and having to deal with it felt like torture.
[Jangyeong]: And as you can see in the screenshots, Sunya cleared two dungeons without Hwansung……? I asked her to pretend she hadn’t, lol. (Pretty sure she met Haryeong then, too, tlqkf……) She has to act like it’s her first time going, so what’s our job^^? Cover for her so she doesn’t get caught, got it^^?
[Hoe]: Please don’t let me be one of the two DPS she takes……
[Kim Sookyi]: ♡♡ I’m the usual sucker in that party……
[Issa]: Hey, let’s be fair. Split us evenly and give at least one person a pass ㅠ0ㅠ?!
[Jangyeong]: Then one of us has to step up—and obviously, that’s me^^
[Issa]: Yeah right, lol
[Kim Sookyi]: I’ve been dragged along enough, ♡♡. Give me the pass.
The DPS were all screaming in chat about not wanting to go.
And then, quietly, one person typed:
[Nyangmong]: Thank god I’m a tank…… (›’ ᵥ ‘‹)
