“Hyung, you know.”
─Why are you suddenly talking like ASMR? It’s annoying.
“I’m trying to ask quietly. By any chance, does Seongheon hyung have someone he likes at the same school?”
─What kind of bullshit is this out of nowhere?
“No, he came over and complained like someone with an unrequited crush. I guess since I have a girlfriend, he wanted to confide his worries.”
─Are you drunk too?
“I’m still a minor, you know.”
─You’re talking nonsense right now. What would he need to have an unrequited crush for? There are girls who like him everywhere.
“I-Is that so?”
─Hey! If you don’t wake him up, let him sleep in your room.
“Why my room? He’s your friend!”
─I have to go sleep there later. And you said you got spending money from Seongheon. You take care of him. Think of it as collecting rent.
Rent—it was a reasonable point, so I couldn’t argue back and had no choice but to agree.
“……”
Belatedly, I tried to say something more while saying “Hyung!” but he hung up abruptly. Throughout the call, Seongheon hyung’s face kept sliding off my shoulder, so I figured this wouldn’t work.
“If you sleep here, your mouth will go crooked. Hyung, hyung?”
When Seongheon hyung briefly regained consciousness, I put my arm around his shoulders and supported him as we walked.
I practically dragged him up to my room, barely managed to detach him as he clung to my neck, and laid him down on my bed. Then I carefully removed his coat and helped him lie down comfortably.
Hyung must have found my bed comfortable because he immediately buried his face in the pillow and fell into a deep sleep.
‘If it’s not an unrequited crush, could he be upset about the Goldmess Egg?’
I’m going to return it tomorrow anyway.
I sneakily took out the enormous spending money hyung had given me from my pocket, but thinking he might have given it while drunk, I stuffed it back into his wallet.
After turning off the room light and leaving, I brought a blanket from the master bedroom and settled down on the living room sofa. I often watched TV and fell asleep there, so it wasn’t uncomfortable.
Just then, Mom came over from next door and placed something in a basket on the dining table, asking.
“Why are you sleeping there?”
“Seongheon hyung suddenly came over, so I gave him my bed.”
“Really? Then I should marinate some meat to make spicy stir-fried pork in the morning.”
Mom went to the kitchen and busily clattered around.
I was also exhausted from pruning branches during the day, so even with sounds around me, my consciousness gradually faded and I drifted off to sleep.
How long had I been asleep like that?
It felt like I’d only closed my eyes for a moment, but morning sunlight was already streaming through the living room window, stabbing at my eyes.
“……Ah, it’s bright.”
I should have closed the curtains before sleeping.
I woke up about an hour earlier than usual, stretched, and went into the bathroom. Dragging the bathroom slippers, I stood in front of the sink to brush my teeth and looked in the mirror… Huh?
“What? What’s this?”
There was a faint red lip mark on one side of my cheek.
Mom would never kiss me in her life, so I wondered about it the whole time I was washing my face, but I was also sleepy, and as the lip mark on my cheek washed away, I put the thought aside.
“Is Seongheon hyung still sleeping?”
I glanced at Mom’s back as she stir-fried meat, then headed to my room. My tightly closed door looked unfamiliar today, so I grabbed the doorknob and hesitated for a long time.
“Hyung, Seongheon hyung?”
I cautiously called out to hyung while opening the door just slightly, but the bed was completely empty and the spending money I’d put back yesterday was sitting intact on my desk.
* * *
While I was at school, I got a message from Mom saying the internet had been fixed. Today is the decisive day. I steeled my resolve again.
First, I obtained information that Daesu hyung would be coming home late, but I put a box of luggage in front of the door to prevent him from barging in suddenly.
“Good.”
After finishing all my preparations, I sent a message to Ssapseonbi-nim.
[Keyboard Cleaning: I’m logging in now.]
[Ssapseonbi: Yes, then let’s meet at the west gate entrance of Wake City. That way you won’t get PKed.]
[Keyboard Cleaning: Okay.]
Click.
I logged into the game and clicked on the ‘Keyboard Cleaning’ character next to ‘BaeBongmani’. Keyboard Cleaning’s class was fairy, deliberately made as a female character. That way they wouldn’t know I’m a guy.
As soon as I logged into the game, the screen switched to in front of the auction house building where I’d listed the Goldmess Egg. Many people were standing in front of the auction house looking at items, and as soon as I appeared, the chat window went crazy.
[General] Nahantemangeulae: Whoa?!!!! What what KeyClean??
[Shout] Bigsis60years: Keyboard Cleaning appeared at west gate auction house
[Whisper] Gangseogudaejang: Where did you steal it from? When you raid hideouts, take me too. I’m a ranker so I’ll be helpful
[General] JuSeonghwanExecutiveDirector: Can I see your Goldmess Egg? Trade possible?
[General] HUNSUNG2: You just took the egg down from the auction house, right?
[Whisper] Aunt: KeyClean-nim. Sell that to me. Can you trade it for rice by any chance?
.
.
.
So many people were sending whispers that I restricted whisper settings to users registered as friends. Only then did the chat window quiet down, and after some time passed, Ssapseonbi-nim conveyed the situation to me via whisper.
[Whisper] Ssapseonbi: I just talked with the Black guild master. He says he’ll come here. For now, we’re moving to the hideout with the prison together with the sub-guild masters.
[Whisper] Keyboard Cleaning: Then I’ll wait here and hand it over depending on the situation
[Whisper] Ssapseonbi: Yes. Please stand by for a moment then
Since it was dangerous for me to go out to the field directly, I just stood in the city, in front of the auction house.
During that time, other users danced around me or gave me thumbs up and various other motions, perhaps taking screenshots with me. I ignored the bustling surroundings and just stood there blankly like a life-size cutout at a tourist spot.
<<User ‘Enter’ has sent you a friend request. (Accept/Decline)>>
Just as things were getting a bit boring, Seongheon hyung sent me a friend request. He probably realized I had whispers set to friends-only since I kept ignoring his messages.
As soon as I clicked accept, Enter immediately sent me a whisper.
[Whisper] Enter: Hey
[Whisper] Enter: Answer me
[Whisper] Enter: Hey
[Whisper] Enter: Hey
By now, Ssapseonbi-nim would be negotiating with Enter, and if I interfered, it could cause confusion, so I stayed still without reacting.
Then someone else requested to add me as a friend.
<<User ‘Alt’ has sent you a friend request. (Accept/Decline)>>
“Oh? It’s Gangjin hyung.”
I also clicked accept on the request sent by the Alt character. Then, as if he’d been waiting, Daesu hyung also sent a friend request.
<<User ‘Control’ has sent you a friend request. (Accept/Decline)>>
I gently clicked ‘Decline’ on that one. A kind of revenge.
<<User ‘Control’ has sent you a friend request. (Accept/Decline)>>
<Decline>
<<User ‘Control’ has sent you a friend request. (Accept/Decline)>>
<Decline>
<<User ‘Control’ has sent you a friend request. (Accept/Decline)>>
<Decline>
“Kekekekek.”
After declining four times in a row, Daesu hyung finally stopped sending friend requests. I could picture Daesu hyung cursing and getting angry. It felt refreshing, like long-held indigestion had cleared up.
As I was grinning to myself, Enter started talking to me in earnest.
[Whisper] Enter: Sell me the Goldmess Egg
[Whisper] Keyboard Cleaning: No
[Whisper] Enter: After you hand over that egg, you’ll have nothing left. Sell it to me instead and I’ll give you 3 million gold.
‘3 million gold?’
3 million gold was such a large amount that it would be 30 million won in cash.
I was momentarily surprised and my eyes widened. I knew Seongheon hyung and Gangjin hyung’s family were rich, but would they really readily give that much money?
Just looking at how Seongheon hyung gave me spending money yesterday, it seemed like he really would give it. If it were a few hundred thousand won, my heart might have wavered, but being offered such a large sum made me scared first.
Maybe that’s why, even though Enter was tempting me with money like that, I didn’t fall for it. I started bluffing for no reason. What does it matter, it’s a game.
[Whisper] Keyboard Cleaning: I have lots of money
[Whisper] Enter: Then name your price and I’ll match it
[Whisper] Keyboard Cleaning: Not money. Just release the guild members
[Whisper] Enter: You’re a kid, aren’t you? Can’t judge the situation? You’re refusing money to keep some loyalty?
[Whisper] Keyboard Cleaning: There are things in the world more precious than money
[Whisper] Enter: Hey. That’s 30 million won in cash. There’s an idiot who’d give that up
[Whisper] Keyboard Cleaning: Watch your mouth. Do you even know me?
[Whisper] Enter: I don’t, so call me. Don’t block me
[Whisper] Enter: You ignore me and you’ll get hit hard in the back of the head, got it?
[Whisper] Keyboard Cleaning: Don’t want to talk to you
[Whisper] Enter: If you don’t want to talk, meet me in person then
Meet in person? That’s dangerous talk. Even if Seongheon hyung and I didn’t know each other, if we met, I could end up buried in the back mountain without anyone knowing. Direct trading with someone like this would be disastrous.
I should immediately type that I don’t want to, but I was unknowingly trembling in fear and barely managed to lift my index finger to type one character.
[Whisper] Keyboard Cleaning: No
[Whisper] Enter: You scared?
[Whisper] Keyboard Cleaning: Im nto
How did he know?
Honestly, I was really scared. Even now, maybe because I knew Enter’s real identity was Seongheon hyung, even while chatting resolutely, my hands were trembling so I kept making typos.
[Whisper] Enter: You’re scared, punk
[Whisper] Enter: Call me right now 010-2542-××××
[Whisper] Keyboard Cleaning: If you keep this up, I’ll block whispers too. I’m trading with Alt
[Whisper] Enter: Fuck, don’t keep saying you’ll block me. Every time you threaten to block, you shitty bastard
……Shudder.
I can’t back down here. ……Ah, but I shouldn’t do this to hyung who gave me spending money yesterday. While feeling guilty, I got over-immersed in the game and unknowingly kept talking back to hyung.
