63.
It was only then that I realized the identity of the sense of incongruity I had been feeling from earlier.
A familiar voice, the way he treats me, and the name Chae Yoo-jung.
I’ve already been through a similar situation. That was when Yoo Chae approached me as ‘Cotton Candy Fox’ in Zenoris.
‘Fuck, don’t tell me...……..?’
However, isn’t the scale too different from just bringing in that sub-account compared to this situation?
The guy I met by chance in an online game turned out to be the culprit that made me quit the game that I last played, and that he was a popular professional player? If anyone writes a novel like this, they’ll be criticized.
In an instant, things got complicated in my head. My sense of reality was so off that I couldn’t figure out whether my suspicions were correct, or I was just delusional.
“The kids are begging us to go out to eat, so let’s go together. Did you get your meal ticket?”
“Wa-wait a minute.”
I couldn’t come to a conclusion, so I had no choice but to interrupt the conversation between Chae Yoo-jung and the coach. As I hurriedly grabbed Chae Yoo-jung’s wrist and stood there, he looked at me with a surprised face.
“That, Chae Yoo-jung... decided to eat with me.”
“Yes? Is that so?”
After hearing my words, the coach looked at me with a look of surprise.
“You look familiar. Have we ever met before?”
“I’m a close younger brother to Seo Tae-young. My name is Yoo Ji-han.”
“Could you tell me your username in Hero?
“I’m Sleepy.”
There are a lot of game nicknames coming out these days. After hearing my answer, the coach was delighted and offered to shake my hand.
“Ah, I’m Sleepy! Aigo, sorry. It’s because I memorize Hero’s nickname better than people’s names. Nice to meet you. Are you a jungler?”
“I am also pleased to meet you.”
“I remember hearing that username.”
Tae-young boasted several times that he is a good jungler.
“My username is ‘European Venice’. We chatted the other day, do you remember?”
“Of course I remember.”
The coach who shook my hand took out a business card from his suit pocket and held it out. On the white business card, written neatly on it was the name of the LVS team head coach Yoo Gyeong-seok.
“It’s surprising that you and Yoo-jung know each other. Hey Yoo-jung, are you going to have dinner with him?”
Chae Yoo-jung, who was blank while I still held his arm, nodded quickly.
“Un. I want to eat with this person.”
“Yes, yes. Be polite. I’ll be going then.”
Yoo Gyeong-seok, who entrusted Chae Yoo-jung to me, quickly left. He walked away merrily without any regrets, as if he were passing on a troublesome problem to another.
“...After that, let’s go.”
It was too hectic to have a conversation here.
Concerned that Chae Yoo-jung might run away, I took the lead while holding his wrist tightly, and he quietly followed.
Arriving at the buffet inside the wedding hall, I roughly placed random food on two plates and sat down with Chae Yoo-jung in the farthest corner.
Chae Yoo-jung sat across from me and looked at me.
The bright eyes of Chae Yoo-jung, who was sitting across from me and looking at me, shone.
“Cough-, Chae Yoo-jung.”
“Yes.”
“That’s……..”
I was about to ask if he was who I thought he was in Zenoris, but I hesitated for a moment. Wait a minute, can I even say this out loud?
The fact that Chae Yoo-jung, who was sitting in front of me, was Yoo Chae from Zenoris was only in my thoughts. I mean… I know that there is no exact evidence to prove that the guy in front of me is Yoo Chae.
In such a situation, there was a high possibility that I would be accused of being a strange person if I just recklessly asked him that.
Above all, if I thought of asking, ‘Are you Yoo Chae?’ and if Chae Yoo-jung would answer, ‘No. Who is Yoo Chae?’, what then?
Chae Yoo-jung looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face since I couldn’t finish my sentence.
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s okay if you speak comfortably.”
“Actually, I was going to ask your age.” [1]
Now that this has happened, there is no choice but to slowly gather evidence.
Chae Yoo-jung smiled brightly when I asked, while casually holding his chopsticks.
“I’m 23!”
“...23 years old?”
“Yes. How about Yoo Ji-han?”
Is this really just a coincidence or have I gone crazy? I answered with a forced smile.
“I am 24 years old.”
“Can I call you Hyung?”
“Do as you please.”
Anyway, even now, you are doing as much as you want.
At this point, I don’t know if this bastard is trying to be seen through. Shouldn’t you at least have said your age in the game and your real age differently?
After the meal, when I left the wedding hall, Chae Yoo-jung followed me and called me with a flushed face.
“Yoo Ji-han-hyung.”
“What?”
“You can let go about that.”
“No, I don’t want to.”
Chae Yoo-jung, who was hesitant while noticing my casual attitude, carefully held out his cell phone.
“Give me your number.”
“......”
The brow furrowed involuntarily. Swallowing down the swear words that rose to the top of my throat, I grabbed the cell phone in his hand and dialed my number.
My mood was rapidly declining. It’s not yet certain that Yoo-jung Chae is indeed Yoo Chae, so I shouldn’t show off like this, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought.
“Can I contact you?”
“I don’t mind.”
Since I didn’t know anything other than his age, I needed to keep in touch at least.
Chae Yoo-jung, holding the cell phone with my number stored on it with both hands, opened his mouth in a happy voice.
“Yes, yes. I’ll be sure to contact you.”
I felt a little sorry for my annoyed behavior that I didn’t hide at all. Embarrassed, I rubbed the nape of my neck and sighed.
“I don’t know your number, so leave a message or call.”
“Okay, I will make sure of that.”
Leaving Chae Yoo-jung behind, I walked ahead and caught a taxi when he was out of sight.
“Please go to Korea National University Station.”
I have to arrive home first before Chae Yoo-jung and connect to Zenoris. I took a taxi, so I should be able to get home in at least 40 minutes.
I told Yoo Chae last week that it would take about an hour to get to the wedding, so if I get in earlier than that, I might be able to catch him by the tail.
Fortunately, even though it was a weekend, the roads were not too clogged, so I was able to return home early as expected. I left the washing behind and turned on the computer first.
When I checked the time while waiting for my account to login into Zenoris, 45 minutes had passed since I left the wedding hall. I wish I had come sooner, but I can’t help it.
<System> Welcome to Zenoris.
<System> The Hangeul Day event is in progress.
[Guild] Drink some water: Sleepy hi~
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: hi hi hi
[Guild] Mocha Bread: Sleepy-nim Hi
[Guild] TheHunter: hi2
[Guild] Bright Clouds: Oh sleepy-nim
[Guild] Bright Clouds: Are you there for the event?
[Guild] Harn: Hi~
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyungr!!
[Guild] Yoo Chae: You’re here
[Guild] Yoo Chae: I’ve been waiting for u ㅠㅅㅠ
[Guild] Manaolingnam: Ah, is it starting again?
[Guild] Drink some water: Since u two married, just use the friend chat
[Guild] Crazy Hunting Friend: I agree
“What.”
Contrary to my expectations, Yoo Chae entered the game before me. Embarrassed, I hurriedly came up with another hypothesis.
Could it be that the distance between Chae Yoo-jung’s house and the wedding hall is closer than mine? Or went to a nearby internet cafe. To be honest, there were many ways to access the game itself.
I touched my mouth for a while and rolled my head, then hit the keyboard.
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: hi hi
[Guild] Yoo Chae: You came very early?
[Guild] I’m Sleepy: yeah Came as soon as it’s over
First of all, I pretended nothing was wrong, sent a chat, opened the guild list window, and sent a private message to Harn.
[I’m Sleepy: Harn-ssi]
[Harn: What?ㅇㅅㅇ]
Water seemed to have a personal relationship with Yoo Chae, so I passed her and picked the most accepting, who’s none other than Harn. He was a user who always played Zenoris for a long time from early morning until late at night on weekends.
[I’m Sleepy: perhaps]
[I’m Sleepy: can you tell me when did Yoo Chae start playing this game today?]
[Harn: En, About Gilma-nim?]
Harn, who was confused by the somewhat sudden question, answered immediately.
[Harn: 11 o’clock? 12 o’clock? You came in around that time.]
[I’m Sleepy: did he do anything else after turning it on?]
[Harn: Um]
[Harn: I heard he did a field raid earlier]
[Harn: I think we had an event like that]
[I’m Sleepy: what time was that?]
[Harn: 2 o’clock..]
[Harn: The appearance of the red dragon is at 2:10, so it must be right around that time.]
‘You did a raid at 2:10?’
It was around 12:30 when I arrived at the wedding, and it was around 12:50 when I met Chae Yoo-jung for the first time. And the wedding started at 1:00.
2 o’clock is the time when the wedding is over, and we move to the buffet. But how can he participate in a Dragon raid at that time?
‘Is it possible that someone else played Yoo Chae’s account?’
In order for Chae Yoo-jung to avoid suspicion from me, he may have asked someone else to play his account. I asked Harn.
[I’m Sleepy: when catching a dragon]
[I’m Sleepy: Did he have someone with him?]
[Harn: I don’t know that much.]
[Harn: Since Hunter or Crazy Hunting Friend went to the raid often, it would be better to ask them there.]
[I’m Sleepy: oh]
[I’m Sleepy: tk tk]
[I’m Sleepy: please keep it a secret that I asked u this]
[Harn: ㅋㅋㅋㅋyep]
I couldn’t find any clues. With my fingers pressed on my forehead, I was thinking about whether I should send a message to TheHunter or Crazy Hunting Friend, but Yoo Chae started talking to me.
[Yoo Chae: Hyung Hyung]
[Yoo Chae: Are you going to look for the scroll?]
[Yoo Chae: I know the location!]
—---
[1] “I was actually going to ask how old you are.” This is a more appropriate sentence if translated, but the Koreans technically ask for the age to speak comfortably or politely. If so, the sentence would be impolite in terms of saying that.
Support on KoFi:\
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor: Meimei
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