64.
When I followed Yoo Chae, a scroll actually came out. Thanks to that, I was able to quickly collect the remaining 5 and complete the adventure quest.
“……”
Even though I barely finished the quest I had taken the time to do from the other day, I still didn’t feel good.
Upon returning home, I suspected that Chae Yoo-jung and Yoo Chae might be the same person until right before connecting to Zenoris.
But now... I don’t know.
At the time I was meeting Chae Yoo-jung at the wedding, Yoo- Chae was participating in an event raid in Zenoris. Since he told me beforehand, I also know where the scroll would appear.
Knowing that, it wasn’t easy to be sure.
Of course… He could have left the game to someone else to attend the wedding. On behalf of Chae Yoo-jung, someone chatted with the guild members as Yoo Chae, ran a raid, and looked over at the scrolls I still needed...
“No, are you saying that he had to keep all that in mind?”
Why the hell would he try to deceive me with so much effort? Is this really a realistic possibility?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Because we got all the scrolls
[Party] Yoo Chae: Next, let’s do a quest to get an NPC’s ring Hyung
[Party] Yoo Chae: You only need to collect 5 of them, so it will be over soon ㅎㅅㅎ
[Party] Yoo Chae: The rewards are great!!
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I’m sorry
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I was looking at something else for a while
I groaned and clutched at my forehead, where the headache was coming up, and I missed the chat. I answered as nonchalantly as possible.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: yeah
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I was going to do that anyway
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Is this also in a random location?
[Party] Yoo Chae: No!
[Party] Yoo Chae: The distance is a bit far
[Party] Yoo Chae: The location is fixed
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I’ll have to get the quest from NPC.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung, Are you busy?
[Party] Yoo Chae: I’m riding on my pet
[Party] Yoo Chae: I’ll take you to the NPC quest area >_<
I smiled wryly at Yoo Chae’s words– he’s still the same as usual.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: if you do that, tk
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I think I need to look to do my assignments for a while
[Party] Yoo Chae: ㅎㅅㅎ
[Party] Yoo Chae: Get on!
I couldn’t concentrate on the game, so I asked for it while lying, and the guy readily accepted it.
The scenery on the screen has changed, as if the pet summoned by Yoo Chae had used the Continent Shift item. I left it alone and sent a personal message to Crazy Hunting Friend as I did to Harn.
[I’m Sleepy: Friend-nim]
[I’m Sleepy: You got a minute?]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: yeah?]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: Oh, it’s Sleepy-nim?]
[I’m Sleepy: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[I’m Sleepy: there’s something I want to ask]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: What is it?]
[I’m Sleepy: Did you go on a red dragon raid?]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: Gasp]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: How did you know?]
[I’m Sleepy: was Yoo Chae there?]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: Gasp...]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: he’s scary, sleepy]
[I’m Sleepy: How was it? Yoo Chae]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: What is?]
[I’m Sleepy: something felt different]
[I’m Sleepy: Is it something you can’t explain?]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: ??]
[I’m Sleepy: was he like someone else or something like that]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: ???]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: Oh, really?]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: Gilma didn’t like chatting much, but]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: that’s usually the case]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: It doesn’t seem like he was someone else]
[I’m Sleepy: Is it so?]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: Yes]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: Why?]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: Did you ask that?]
[I’m Sleepy: No, it’s nothing special]
[I’m Sleepy: Anyway, tk tk]
[Crazy Hunting Friend: ok ok]
Crazy Hunting Friend’s answer was not very different from Harn’s.
It’s a game chat. You can deceive me as many times as you want to deceive, so I don’t believe it blindly... It was ambiguous to grab another guild member here and ask more.
“I’m going crazy, really.”
Listening to the stories of the guild members, Chae Yoo-jung, whom I met at the wedding, is not Yoo-chae, but the overlapping names or similar voices are suspicious... I don’t know what the heck was going on anymore.
I shook my head for a while before finally sighing. I guess it’s wrong to play games today. Maybe it’s because I put a lot of thought into it, and I’m a bit tired.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Kim Yoo-chae
[Party] Yoo Chae: Yes?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I’m sorry, but I’ll stop here
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I can’t concentrate because I’m tired
Yoo Chae, who was riding a horse and walking along a forest road with my character, showed a tearful emotional expression in the chat.
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung, are you sick? ㅜㅡㅜ
[Party] I’m Sleepy: no, I’m not sick
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I should just rest
[Party] I’m Sleepy: let’s do it tomorrow
[Party] Yoo Chae: ㅠㅡㅠ..
[Party] Yoo Chae: I’m fine...
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung, don’t be sickㅠㅠ!
[Party] I’m Sleepy: ㅋㅋㅋi’m not sick
I undid a couple of buttons on my shirt that I had fastened to the top of my neck. I haven’t even washed yet because I started playing the game as soon as I got home. What am I doing?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: I’m going
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Enjoy the game
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung
[Party] Yoo Chae: Wait a minute
[Party] I’m Sleepy: ?
Yoo Chae, who called me urgently, hesitated, then he asked cautiously.
[Party] Yoo Chae: you see..
[Party] Yoo Chae: Hyung, last time
[Party] Yoo Chae: You asked for my number
[Party] I’m Sleepy: ?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Can I say that now?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: What?
Seriously embarrassed, I couldn’t hide my surprise and hurriedly chatted.
[Party] I’m Sleepy: You’ll give your number?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Now?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Yes
[Party] Yoo Chae: No?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Is it too late?ㅜㅡㅜ
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Are you really going to give it to me?
[Party] I’m Sleepy: Your phone number?
[Party] Yoo Chae: ㅇ.ㅇ?
[Party] Yoo Chae: Is that not good enough?
[Party] Yoo Chae: No?ㅜ.ㅜ
[Party] I’m Sleepy: that’s not it
My hand on the keyboard froze.
Are you going to give me your cell phone number? Then what is Chae Yoo-jung’s number that I got? Confusion filled my mind.
Chae Yoo-jung and Yoo Chae. These two really.
‘Aren’t they the same person?’
***
“How are you?”
“Hm……”
Before the afternoon classes started, I visited the campus cafe with Kim Dae-seok during my spare time and told them about what I had experienced on Saturday.
I wondered if I could explain it because it was an inconclusive problem, but I couldn’t figure it out by myself.
I wondered if I could explain it because it was an inconclusive matter, but I couldn’t confidently judge the situation objectively by myself.
Kim Dae-seok, who listened to me while drinking an iced chocolate drink, opened his mouth with a blank face.
“It looks like he’s someone else?”
“What? why?”
“Why? He said that when he was at the wedding, he played a game with the Early Evening Guild.”
“Maybe he asked for someone else to do it instead.”
“Do you run raids, participate in events, and find scroll positions with just one request? It’s not a favor, it’s the level of being hired for money.”
“That’s······ “
“The phone number is also different.”
“You can make two numbers.”
In response to my rebuttal, Kim Dae-seok showed a calm expression.
“Hey, if he’s gonna deceive you with that much effort, just fall for it.”
“What are you taking about?”
“The effort is unrealistic. You’re suspicious because his real name and username are similar, and even the voice is similar, but honestly, the username Yoo Chae is very common in any game. It’s a popular username. He has a male voice, and so do a lot of people.”
“They are the same age.”
“Man, playing games at the age of 23 is widespread.”
“It’s still not a problem that can be concluded so easily.”
Feeling stuffy, I gulped down an iced Americano without a straw.
Kim Dae-seok, who had been sitting across from him and scratching his forehead, leaned back in his chair.
“Honestly, if I had gone through your situation as it was, I would have been confused and doubtful... But since the opponent is a professional player in Hero, how come he doesn’t have a sense of reality? If you’re a pro player, wouldn’t you have no spare time to play other games?”
“......”
“What, you can see Hero’s record on a separate website. Take a look at that.”
“I already looked at it.”
Chae Yoo-jung has been steadily playing since I quit Hero. Even though he’s taking a break after last year’s World Championship, it’s natural that he’s still a professional player.
Above all, professional players practiced through private games [2] against other teams, usually called scrim [1], so the site records weren’t conclusive.
I turned on the messenger on my cell phone. Chae Yoo-jung and Yoo Chae were listed side by side in the list of newly added friends.
[Yoochae: Hyung-hyung]
[Yoochae: Eat this]
[Yoochae: If you’re sick... (Emoji)]
[Yoochae sent a gifticon.]
[Yoo Ji-han: ?]
[Yoo Ji-han: No need to give]
[Yoo Ji-han: nor will I eat]
[Gifticon declined.]
[Yoochae: ㅠㅠㅠ ㅠㅠㅠ]
It was a message that arrived as soon as I turned off the game yesterday. I was dumbfounded when I saw the porridge gifticon that flew along with this emoticon of a brown puppy crying.
Even if I saved his cell phone number, what eventually appeared on the messenger was not his real name, but the same nickname as the game. He probably doesn’t want to give out more than his cell phone number.
“If you’re that frustrated, why don’t you meet Chae Yoo-jung one more time? It seems easier to attack that side than the other.”
When I looked at the screen of my phone and made a complicated expression, Kim Dae-seok seemed a bit worried and gave me additional advice. Nodding bitterly, I put my phone in my pocket.
“I’ll do that.”
—----
Author’s Note:
[1] Scrim: Scrim, short for scrimmage, which means practice game. It means that both teams make an appointment and play a practice game.
[2] Private Games: Custom Games. Anyone can create a room and enjoy the game, and no record is left on the history site.
---
Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor: Meimei
Support on Kofi:
Chapter 66,67,68
MM: Seriously Yoo Chae, even Kim Dae-sok can’t believe the lengths you’ll go just to deceive your hyung. Grow some spine! (눈‸눈)
HM: wwwwww. Although we are all waiting for Yoo Chae to reveal himself…. He has his guards up strong
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