My Master and I 17

[Guild][Banyecredit] I don’t have a bicycle

[Guild][Banyecredit] The only mount I have is a rainbow pony……

[Guild][Nanneomukeoeyeowo] I can help you pick out a bicycle too!

‘He’s serious…….’

Bicycles were a field I had absolutely no interest in, but since Nanneomukeoeyeowo seemed to like them so much, I did feel somewhat intrigued.

“Hmm……”

But I got the feeling that if I continued talking about bicycles here, I might end up actually meeting Nanneomukeoeyeowo in person.

‘Meeting is a bit…… I wasn’t even going to use Discord originally. If I were going to do that, then Banye is…… huh?’

Out of nowhere, Banye came to mind again, but then I felt a surge of resentment at the offense of having no contact for three whole days.

No matter how busy you are, couldn’t you at least say one thing to me, someone you share an account with, like [Aang-nim, I’m busy these days. I’ll be back in 3 days so wait for me]? Would that kill you?

[Guild][Banyecredit] It seems like it’ll be difficult ㄷㄷ

[Guild][Nanneomukeoeyeowo] Then if not riding, at least take a look around the neighborhood

In the end, I ignored Banye’s shadow and tap-tap-tapped out my refusal to Nanneomukeoeyeowo.

However, Nanneomukeoeyeowo wasn’t so easily deterred either. I could intensely feel his pure desire to absolutely spread his hobby.

‘Bicycles…….’

It certainly seemed like a better hobby to tell others about than gaming. It’s good for your health, and even a person like me on the verge of being a hikikomori might benefit a little from getting some sunlight while going around outside……

[Guild][Banyecredit][Then, could you help me pick out a bicycle…]

Just as I was typing the chat, suddenly a Discord notification rang.

[Hwang Hyunjung] What are you doing

I forgot about the game chat and rushed over to the Discord chat.

[Aang] Banye-ssi ㅠㅜㅠ

[Aang] No contact for three whole days, what’s going on

[Aang] ㅜㅜㅜㅜ

Despite my fuss, Banye answered simply.

[Hwang Hyunjung] I was meeting friends

[Aang] !!! No, who?

[Hwang Hyunjung] Would you know them if I told you?

[Aang] ㅡㅡ

[Hwang Hyunjung] ㅋㅋ

“Being mean again.”

I realized that Banye’s nasty-talk mode had activated and tried not to say anything. Because I knew that whatever I said, he’d just be sarcastic.

But it was hard to suppress my joy at Banye appearing after three days. Moreover, Banye was talking to me quite a lot today too.

[Hwang Hyunjung] What have you been doing for 3 days?

[Aang] Getting left on read by you every day

[Aang] ㅡㅡ

I tried to speak curtly too, but unlike Banye, I couldn’t produce sharp retorts. Rather, my curiosity came first.

In the end, I asked Banye what he was doing now.

[Aang] What are you doing right now?

[Aang] Are you going to log into the game?

[Hwang Hyunjung] ㄴㄴ

[Aang] ㅠ Why not?

[Aang] Don’t tell me you’re going to quit?

I was the one who asked first if he was going to quit, but as soon as I asked, I suddenly felt my heart drop. Because if Banye said he was quitting the game out of boredom, there would be no way to hold him back.

“Is he really sick of it……”

After his account got permanently banned, he was about to quit right away, but I desperately held him back and he started playing the game again with the Aang character, but maybe the game had become boring because it still couldn’t compare to Banye’s character.

Thinking that made me anxious, so I spoke to Banye almost pleadingly.

[Aang] Don’t quit ㅜㅜ Where are you going leaving just me behind ㅠㅠ

[Hwang Hyunjung] I didn’t say I was quitting

But my guess was wrong, as Banye calmly denied it. Then, unusually, he took the initiative to tell me why he hadn’t logged into the game for three days.

[Hwang Hyunjung] I didn’t have time to play games because I was looking for a part-time job

[Aang] Part-time job?

[Hwang Hyunjung] Yeah

[Aang] Why are you suddenly getting a part-time job?

[Hwang Hyunjung] I need a lump sum of money

[Aang] What happened?

When I pressed him, Banye paused for a long while.

I knew that Banye didn’t like talking about himself.

Especially, he never brought up personal stories, so apart from knowing that Banye was an only child and his age, I didn’t even know what his family situation was like or where he lived.

So I thought he wouldn’t tell me the details this time either. But for some reason, today he opened up a little about himself.

[Hwang Hyunjung] I’m leaving home

[Hwang Hyunjung] So I need a security deposit

“……Huh?”

I was flustered by the unexpected story.

So I missed the timing to respond, and after bringing it up like that, Banye added one more thing almost like a warning.

[Hwang Hyunjung] But I’m not asking you for money

[Hwang Hyunjung] Don’t say you’ll give me money ㄴㄴ

[Aang] ;; I wasn’t even thinking that

[Hwang Hyunjung] ㅇㅋ

Of course I said I wasn’t thinking that, but the truth was I had been calculating how much I could give Banye. So when Banye said he wouldn’t accept money, my conscience pricked a little.

So I asked Banye how much he needed.

[Aang] But how much do you need that you’re looking for a part-time job?

[Hwang Hyunjung] It’s a security deposit so… about 10 million won

[Aang] ;;

[Aang] Can you save that up working for a month?

[Hwang Hyunjung] I’d have to work for a year

[Aang] Then…… where will you stay if you leave home right away?

To my question, Banye didn’t answer for a long while. It seemed like even he knew that leaving home right away and saving up as much as 10 million won didn’t make sense.

I didn’t know what had happened to Banye, but I tried suggesting that for now, wouldn’t it be better to go back home?

[Aang] Look, but you have nowhere to go right after leaving home

[Aang] How can you save money

[Aang] Saving 10 million won isn’t easy…

Banye didn’t answer, but he seemed to agree with what I said.

Soon, Banye revealed why he couldn’t go back home.

[Hwang Hyunjung] Right now I’m living with my mom and the ahjussi my mom’s dating at the ahjussi’s house

[Hwang Hyunjung] I left home because I beat up that ahjussi

[Aang] What? Why?

[Hwang Hyunjung] I hit him because he did something that deserved hitting

“Wow……”

It was a statement that far exceeded any image of Banye I’d had until now.

I was shocked, but at the same time, I could clearly feel some kind of gloomy backstory from Banye’s words.

Since he called him “ahjussi,” he didn’t seem to be Banye’s biological father…… Then, had Banye been living with his mom and a strange ahjussi, just the three of them, all this time?

[Aang] Then you can’t go back home?

[Hwang Hyunjung] They won’t let me back in

[Hwang Hyunjung] Even if they told me to come, I have no intention of going

Banye’s attitude was sharp as a knife.

I could somewhat understand that attitude of absolutely not intending to go back home. Because I also didn’t want to go back home now……

Was it because Banye and I had something in common? I impulsively asked Banye.

[Aang] Then do you want to come to my house?

“No, am I crazy……!”

A groan came out as soon as the words were done.

No matter that it was Banye, why did I suddenly make such a proposal to a stranger I’d never even seen once? It felt like my head and fingers were operating separately.

[Hwang Hyunjung] ㄴㄴ

[Hwang Hyunjung] Why would I go to your house

Then, as if wrapping up my lament, Banye also refused as if it were obvious.

I was relieved, but at the same time something welled up inside me. Still, I thought we’d become quite close…… Banye’s tone sounded like ‘We’re not close enough for that, are we?’

So this time too, my fingers betrayed my head and struck first.

[Aang] Why not? You could come

[Aang] We’re married after all

[Hwang Hyunjung] Stop saying gross things

[Aang] ㅠㅠ But we’re close

[Hwang Hyunjung] ?

[Aang] I mean… close people can help each other out at times like this

[Hwang Hyunjung] I don’t need it

Banye’s attitude of refusing to the end even while in a difficult situation right away stirred up my competitiveness.

I started mindlessly typing anything.

[Aang] No, it’s hard to find a room right away even if you have money, so is it so impossible to say you should stay for a few days? We’re people who share an account, so we could share a house a little too…… Anyway, my house has extra rooms and extra beds. I’m just going to game in my room anyway so there won’t be much to make us uncomfortable ㅡㅡ This is totally sweet you know

After typing it out, I wondered if I’d said too much in detail, but the more I looked at it, the more it made sense.

Banye was silent for a moment, then said out of nowhere.

[Hwang Hyunjung] I smoke

[Aang] I know

[Aang] Smoking in the house is a bit much but you can smoke outside

When I finished typing up to here, my sense that had left home belatedly returned.

While I acted calm online, in reality I was pounding the desk with my clenched fist.

“Please, fingers, try staying still for once!”

But my actions, whether they were bravado or deception, didn’t know how to stop.

[Hwang Hyunjung] Won’t it be uncomfortable

At the chat that soon arrived, I flinched for a moment, then ended up rapidly typing my home address to Banye and pressing enter.

[Aang] Seoul, Mapo-gu, ×××-ro ××-gil ××××××× Building 1136, Unit 2203