By Zephyria 
he next morning. Im Hyo-mun received a text message while eating breakfast.
Kim Jae-gyeom
You.Today.When.Work?.
Im Hyo-mun’s eyes widened as he checked the message. The sender was none other than Jae-gyeom. Jae-gyeom was the type to call if he had something to say, so it was rare for him to send a message first.
Besides, why was he asking when he was going to work? Did something happen?
I’m working this morning! Why?
The ‘1’ disappeared immediately after he sent the reply. Im Hyo-mun chewed on the end of his chopsticks, waiting for Jae-gyeom’s response. Before long, a speech bubble popped up.
Kim Jae-gyeom
After.Work.Game?.
Im Hyo-mun burst into a laugh despite himself. Ah, what the. I thought it was something else. He must have found it really fun. Imagining the guy clutching his phone since morning, clumsily typing a message because he was thinking about the game, made Hyo-mun feel he was cute, and secretly, it made him feel proud. Getting excited, Im Hyo-mun replied immediately.
Go go
Kim Jae-gyeom
What.Is.That?.
GO GO lol it means let’s go lol
Kim Jae-gyeom
Oh
Then see you in front of the PC cafe later lol
He thought the conversation would end there, but a reply arrived a beat later.
Kim Jae-gyeom
😄
He’s using emoticons now. It’s a basic one, so he looks a bit like a Grandfather, but…
Im Hyo-mun looked down at his phone with a pleased expression.
“Cute little brat.”
At this point, Im Hyo-mun did not yet realize the karma he was creating.
August 11th
Kim Jae-gyeom
When.Work?
Morning lol
Kim Jae-gyeom
After.Work.Game?.
Go go lol
August 12th
Kim Jae-gyeom
Work?.Game?
I’m on the night shift today T_T
Let’s do it next time T_T
Kim Jae-gyeom
Got.it.
August 13th
Kim Jae-gyeom
Work?,
Afternoon lol
Kim Jae-gyeom
Game?
Go go lol
August 14th
Kim Jae-gyeom
W
HM
Kim Jae-gyeom
What.Is.That
Day off lol
Kim Jae-gyeom
Ah..Then.Just.Come.Right?.
This is killing me lol
Kim Jae-gyeom
Come.To.PC.Cafe.
Okie okie lol
August 15th
Kim Jae-gyeom
W
YJ
Kim Jae-gyeom
GG
GG
August 16th
Kim Jae-gyeom
W
YG
Kim Jae-gyeom
T_T,
T_T
August 17th
Kim Jae-gyeom
W
YJ
Kim Jae-gyeom
GG
Wait, you have your part-time job today;; And why are you the one saying GG;;
Kim Jae-gyeom
You.Go.To.PC.Cafe.First.
Kim Jae-gyeom
I.Was.Going.To.Go.Right.After.Work.
I don’t think I can today because I have plans, sorry T_T lol
Kim Jae-gyeom
😭
Scrolling through the chat history with a face exhausted from fatigue, Im Hyo-mun eventually gripped his chin with a serious expression.
“…”
By this point, he started wondering, ‘Is this okay?’ He was going to the PC cafe almost every single day. Since the streak of gaming—even on his days off—had lasted over five days, he was starting to feel the physical toll. The day before yesterday, he had even started nodding off while playing. Chil-chil seemed to be full of energy, perhaps because he was young, but more than anything, he seemed completely obsessed, having encountered online PC games for the first time in his life.
What have I done…?
And so, it was the 8th day of frequenting the PC cafe.
Jae-gyeom was preoccupied with roaming the hunting grounds again today.
Since Im Hyo-mun had gone to work in the afternoon and finished late in the evening, they didn’t meet until 10 PM.
Because they were so focused on the game, it was already well past midnight. When he checked his phone after playing for a while, there were several missed calls. He had been so absorbed in the game that he hadn’t even noticed the phone ringing. The caller was Yoon Tae-hee. Taking a brief moment to breathe, Jae-gyeom called Yoon Tae-hee back.
The voice answered after one or two rings.
“Hello.”
— Where are you?
“PC cafe.”
— …Did you… …the phone?
Because the game sounds leaking from the surrounding seats were loud and noisy, Yoon Tae-hee’s voice was drowned out and hard to hear. Because of this, Jae-gyeom failed to notice that Yoon Tae-hee’s voice was lower and slightly more subdued than usual. “What? I couldn’t hear you,” Jae-gyeom asked, pressing the phone tightly against his ear.
— Why didn’t you answer the phone? I called several times…
“I had something on my ears so I didn’t hear it. Sorry. Are you home?”
— Yes. I get worried when I can’t reach you, so please be mindful of answering when you’re out.
“Ah, yeah…”
— Right. You went to the PC cafe again. Who are you with?
“Hyo-mun.”
Yoon Tae-hee let out a small sigh on the other end, but again, Jae-gyeom didn’t notice.
— …Is that so? When are you coming home?
“I don’t know.”
— What do you mean you don’t know?
“Hmm… I’ll go when I feel like I’ve had enough, but I don’t know when I’ll want to stop.”
— …….
The other end of the phone went silent for a moment at the absurd logic. In contrast, the completely carefree Jae-gyeom thought he had missed Yoon Tae-hee’s words again and raised his voice, “What? I couldn’t hear you.”
— Then do you want to come back in an hour?
“Why?”
— What do you mean why? It’s 1 AM.
“I’m not sleepy right now, so I’m fine.”
— No, that’s not what I meant…
“Go to sleep first. I have to clear a quest within the time limit. It’s urgent, so I’ll hang up for now.”
Jae-gyeom hurriedly ended the call and put his headset back on. He started to put the phone in his pocket, but then switched it to vibrate and placed it where he could see it. He remembered Yoon Tae-hee saying he got worried when he couldn’t reach him. Of course, since he told him to sleep first, there probably wouldn’t be any contact for a while… but from Jae-gyeom’s perspective, he wanted to avoid a situation where he missed an urgent call.
However, ten minutes later.
Contrary to Jae-gyeom’s expectation, the phone rang again shortly after.
“Hello.”
— Isn’t it time you felt like you’ve had enough?
“What. Stop joking around.”
— I’m not joking, I’m asking exactly as it is.
“Ah, I get it, so hang up.”
Another ten minutes later.
“Hello? What now!”
— Still not yet?
“…”
The moment he heard those words, a surge of irritation rose. By this point, even a fool could tell. Yoon Tae-hee was just being cranky for no reason. However, Jae-gyeom managed his emotions to avoid snapping.
“…Yeah. Not yet.”
— Then do you want to come back in an hour?
“…I told you I’ll go when I’m ready. Just go to sleep. Stop calling.”
When Jae-gyeom hung up and set the phone down with an irritated motion, Im Hyo-mun, who had been staring at the monitor beside him, took off his headset and cautiously checked his expression.
“Why? What’s up?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing.”
“Isn’t someone at home worried?”
“No. I told you it’s fine.”
Jae-gyeom changed the phone from vibrate to silent. He decided that if the phone rang again, he would just ignore it. He had answered promptly because he didn’t want to cause worry, but now the person was just being annoying.
Sure enough, before a few minutes had passed, the phone rang again. Jae-gyeom left it alone without answering. Then it rang a second time, and a third. Each time, Jae-gyeom pointedly ignored the call.
After ignoring the calls several times, the phone finally went quiet. It seemed Yoon Tae-hee was the one to give up first. Having successfully escaped the sabotage operation, Jae-gyeom let out a deep sigh.
Phew. Now I can finally play the game in peace.
Entering the hunting grounds with Im Hyo-mun, Jae-gyeom began to focus on the game again. Im Hyo-mun, whose level was much higher than Jae-gyeom’s, was protecting Jae-gyeom’s character while diligently taking down the boss mob. But at some point, Im Hyo-mun began to fumble and grope around his pants pocket.
This time, it was Im Hyo-mun’s phone buzzing. Unfortunately, Im Hyo-mun was in a situation where he couldn’t use his hands freely, as he was operating the keyboard with one hand and holding the mouse with the other. Consequently, his control faltered, creating an opening; unable to defend against the boss mob’s attack, Im Hyo-mun was hit several times in an instant, dropped all his items, and became a ghost.
“Kyaaaak! No!”
Im Hyo-mun screamed, covering his face with his hands. Once Im Hyo-mun’s character died, Jae-gyeom, who was essentially just a tag-along, couldn’t avoid becoming a ghost either. After all the hard work they put in to come and kill the boss! Just as Jae-gyeom gripped his forehead with a devastated expression, Im Hyo-mun scratched his head and finally looked at his phone.
“Huh? It’s an unknown number…”
Who on earth is it! At this hour!
“Hello!”
The voice sounded familiar, but because the surroundings were noisy, he wasn’t sure.
— This is Im Hyo-mun’s phone, right? If Kim Jae-gyeom is next to you, could you put him on?
Im Hyo-mun looked down at the screen with a bewildered face, then handed the phone to Jae-gyeom.
“Hey, Chil-chil… some man is asking to speak with you…?”
“…What?”
With a feeling of disbelief, Jae-gyeom let out a hollow laugh. Im Hyo-mun, unaware of the situation, looked completely clueless. Smirking, Jae-gyeom reached out his hand as if to take the phone.
“Hello?”
— Are you going to keep being stubborn?
The smile on Jae-gyeom’s lips slowly twisted.
“…”
Jae-gyeom stood up with the phone to his ear. He gestured to Im Hyo-mun that he was going outside to take the call, and Im Hyo-mun nodded. As he opened the PC cafe door and stepped into the building’s hallway, the surroundings became instantly quiet. Jae-gyeom took a deep breath and spoke in a cold voice.
“Hey.”
— Yes.
“You’re trying to pick a fight right now, aren’t you?”
— …….
After a brief silence, a nonchalant voice flowed back.
— Did it sound that way? I didn’t think so.