After that, the village bus passed through various winding villages and arrived downtown. Even when getting off, I carried some grandmother’s luggage all the way to the market entrance where the stalls were opening, then headed to my meeting place with Dongwoo.
My plans with friends weren’t much. Our routine was eating lunch at a fast food place or instant tteokbokki shop, stopping by a PC room, then going to a manga cafe or a nearby friend’s house to chat before coming home.
“Hey! Dongwoo-ya!”
Dongwoo’s village bus timing must not have matched either, because like me, he’d arrived early and was sitting on a park bench playing a mobile game.
“It’s always just the two of us who come early.”
“Your neighborhood and our neighborhood village bus times are similar.”
“Ah, right.”
Dongwoo and I sat around blankly, and since the timing was awkward, we went into a nearby PC room. Without needing separate heating, the PC room was filled with warm air.
“What did you do yesterday?”
“The hyungs bought meat so we all grilled and ate it together.”
Dongwoo had already heard at school about me getting backstabbed, so he earnestly pleaded that if my identity was exposed, or even if it was exposed, to absolutely not drag him into it.
“Seon—I mean, how are Enter or those Keyboard hyungs?”
Dongwoo looked around while avoiding saying ‘Seongheon hyung’. Because the neighborhood was small, it could be dangerous for us if it reached someone’s ears.
“Mm…… They seem happy, really happy.”
I logged into the game and answered dryly while ordering 2 hot bars and potato snacks for a simple snack.
“Daeyoung-ah, we chopped trees and rowed hard trying to get revenge…… But in the end, we accomplished nothing.”
“It’s hollow. ……No wait, we still have the Vulcanus Egg.”
“You really don’t care about that?”
“Yeah. Since it’s Daesu hyung’s, let’s think of it as consolation money and swallow it ourselves.”
“That was like 200,000 gold, right? So in cash value……”
“About 2 million won.”
“You’re not going to take the money and run, right?”
“You know I have no friends.”
“Right, we’re best friends.”
While waiting for our other friends, Dongwoo and I logged into an FPS game. I didn’t know so many characters had been added since we’d played.
Whenever Dongwoo and I played the same game, we put the word ‘Bongmani’ in our nicknames as a set, and this time too I was ‘BaeBongmani’ and Dongwoo was ‘GyeBongmani’.
Dongwoo said he felt like the game would go well today and tore open a hot bar bag.
“I have a good feeling today.”
“Give me one hot bar too.”
As soon as we entered competitive mode, we both picked dealer characters. Then harsh criticism about the two of us poured into the chat.
[ストフ│Оに: Dealer duo with no conscience]
[CEO An: Reporting for throwing]
[GOGUMA: You guys need better comp]
[Thomas: Fun pick go]
When we chose dealers, everyone picked only dealers at the speed of light, and looking at our team character composition, I thought this round was doomed.
So I voluntarily picked a healer and started appeasing them.
[BaeBongmani: Guys I’ll healer. Someone plz tank]
[CEO An: Tell your friend to do it]
[GyeBongmani: Main account tier is diamond]
[Heal plz: Show match history]
At the words to show match history, Dongwoo’s eyes wavered.
When Dongwoo didn’t reveal his match history, the team members all started picking trash dealers, and I had a strong premonition we’d lose before even starting.
Still, thinking everyone must have their own beliefs, I continued as healer and Dongwoo picked a tank. Despite that, the team members seemed intent on throwing the game—even though it was a capture point mode, they didn’t set foot on the objective.
“Ah, shit. Where did our whole team go?”
“Are we the only ones fighting?”
Dongwoo and I tried hard to hold the point, but eventually lost the first round 1:0. The team members had no intention of trying from the start.
“Ah, please. Guys, let’s try properly at least now.”
[Heal plz: Who plays games in a cave? Your voice echoes]
I complained through the mic, but even that seemed turned off as only Dongwoo and I were in team voice chat. Having no choice, before the 2nd round started, we typed hard in chat.
[BaeBongmani: Guys let’s not give up! Fighting!]
[GyeBongmani: Dealers get off]
[BaeBongmani: Healers get on]
[HammerKimDdaengddaeng: Don’t get off dealer and don’t get on healer]
[ストフ│Оに: Reporting all of you for throwing]
[GOGUMA: What did you even do to be a report parrot?]
[ストフ│Оに: Hey don’t you see the kill log? Are you playing with your eyes closed?]
[GyeBongmani: Dealers with no damage achievements get off]
[Thomas: Right, those lacking in damage get off, especially honey]
[ストフ│Оに: Don’t call me honey, you’re not qualified]
[Thomas: Then what should I call you?]
[ストフ│Оに: Don’t call me]
[BaeBongmani: Guys don’t fight and get on healer, solo heal is hard]
[Heal plz: Surrender gg we’re losing anyway]
Among our dealers, Thomas was the best. So Dongwoo and I started praising Thomas.
[BaeBongmani: We can clutch this. Thomas hyung help us. You’re good hyung]
[Thomas: How old are you that I’m hyung?]
[BaeBongmani: Me? 19]
[Thomas: I’m 12]
[GyeBongmani: If you’re good you’re hyung, if you have money you’re hyung too]
[BaeBongmani: Truth truth]
[BaeBongmani: Guys let’s trust Thomas hyung and go]
They say praise makes even throwers play seriously, and Thomas really ran around everywhere cleverly cutting down the enemy team’s healers.
Then the team members who came to their senses dealt damage from the side while Dongwoo and I took hits, so we could block the enemy team and secured victory in the 2nd round.
With the score tied 1:1, we entered the 3rd round. If we just win this round, we win.
[Thomas: My carry. Going to assassinate]
[BaeBongmani: Thomas hyung don’t go too far]
[GyeBongmani: Right hyung you seem too enthusiastic, take it easy]
I could see Thomas hiding in front of the enemy team’s respawn point. If he got caught like that, he’d die instantly, but despite team members telling him to come back, Thomas didn’t listen like the elementary schooler he was.
[GyeBongmani: I’m nervous hyung]
[BaeBongmani: Hyung don’t overdo it. Please come back alive]
Despite telling him to rejoin the team, Thomas tried to assassinate the healer but instead got ganged up on by the enemy team and died.
Seeing that, our team members each had something to say.
[ストフ│Оに: Knew you’d die showing off]
[GOGUMA: What’s an elementary schooler trying to do]
[BaeBongmani: Guys stop fighting;;;;]
[Thomas: I’m not playing]
[Whateverbear: It was a losing game anyway]
Internal strife broke out again and everyone started playing like trash. We should be fighting the enemy team, but our own team was fighting in chat so nothing was working.
In the end, the point was captured before we even knew the game started, and as expected, we lost the 3rd round. Our team members all left the game quickly after cursing one last time.
[GOGUMA: Trolls gtfo]
[Thomas: U too]
[ストフ│Оに: Trash game]
They should just block in-game chat completely, ah seriously can’t play this. I even called a 12-year-old hyung and we still lost.
“Ah, it’s been a while so my blood pressure is rising.”
“But wasn’t it fun?”
Dongwoo patted my exhausted shoulder while reporting each of the kids who cursed earlier.
While we were having a gloomy conversation about whether to play another game or not, our classmates came into the PC room. So we played a racing game with them and then went to eat instant tteokbokki for lunch.
Hanging out with friends my age is much more comfortable than being with the hyungs, but that was it. How should I say it, it’s fun and exciting but feels empty?
I want to share a strong friendship with friends like the hyungs do, but it always stops here. It’s fun when we meet, but I’m not particularly sad when we part…… So even when I heard everyone was going somewhere after graduation, I just nodded without any regret.
‘When I heard Seongheon hyung was going to study abroad, one side of my heart stung.’
If I’d been born as Daesu hyung’s twin, wouldn’t I have become closer with the hyungs? Still, I took comfort in the fact that I could keep hanging out with Dongwoo.
After wandering around downtown together, we decided to go to the shopping center game mall as our last stop.
When we heard a new game title came out today, everyone got excited and took the escalator up, and near a jewelry shop on the 1st floor, I saw a familiar figure from behind.
“Huh?”
Dongwoo also looked where I was looking, then acknowledged them first.
“Isn’t that Seongheon hyung?”
Just then the person turned following a shop employee’s guidance, and it really was Seongheon hyung. Unlike someone who’d been asleep in our living room just this morning, he looked neat and tidy. Well, he always did.
He seemed to be choosing something while looking carefully inside a glass display case, but he looked unfamiliar unlike usual. Because there was a woman next to hyung.
“Maybe that noona is Seongheon hyung’s girlfriend?”
“Could be?”
Since I didn’t stay until the end of yesterday’s drinking session, I didn’t hear such talk, but it seemed quite possible. The woman who put her hand on Seongheon hyung’s shoulder smiled and looked inside the display case together with hyung.
“Hyung has a lot of money, right?”
“A ton.”
“Lucky. I want to buy stuff like that for my future girlfriend too.”
“Make a girlfriend first, then talk.”
While we were talking, the escalator went up to the next floor, and naturally hyung’s figure also disappeared from view.
I looked down at my thumb that had been wearing hyung’s ring until this morning. I thought I’d done well to tactfully return it as the hyungs said. That ring wasn’t mine.
As soon as we arrived at the game mall on the 7th floor, everyone eagerly searched through the newly released game titles, and I just stood there half-heartedly skimming boxes beside them.
Because I don’t have the game console my friends have. I only played when occasionally visiting friends’ houses, and I didn’t really feel like playing. I just followed here because my friends were going.
“You should buy a portable one too.”
“I can play games on my phone, why buy a game console?”
“Phones and game consoles are on different levels, you know? You’re the only one without one.”
“Forget it. What game console at our age?”
“Honestly, you’re short on money, right?”
“No, I have it.”
I recalled the balance in my savings account where I’d saved up allowance. I could definitely afford it…… but since I’d soon be unemployed, I had to save every penny.
