"Alright, that's it for today's lecture."
The moment the lecture ended, a yawn escaped me like it had been waiting. My whole body ached from leaning over and staring at the blueprints for so long.
"Hey, Yoo Ji-han."
Kim Daeseok came up to me as I stretched my arms high into the air, then plopped down next to me and made a gesture like he was drinking soju.
"There's no more class, right? Want to grab dinner and drinks?"
"Again? You've got stamina, I'll give you that."
"I'm not the one who suggested it this time. Haeseong said we should go."
"Does that make it any different?"
Right on cue, Eun Haeseong came over to my seat with his bag and a bright smile, shouting energetically.
"Let's go drink ourselves stupid!"
Drunks, the lot of them. I sighed and packed up my things.
"No."
"Why not? It's Friday!"
"Exactly. Don't you know it's illegal not to drink on a Friday?"
"I need to walk my dog. Haven't played with him in five days."
"Dog? You have a dog?"
"No way, show me a pic!"
"Since when?"
"Just recently. I don't have a picture."
"What? Who gets a dog and doesn't take pictures?"
Like hell I have a dog—or even a phone number to begin with. Just thinking about it pissed me off again.
Ignoring Kim Daeseok, I slung my bag over one shoulder and stood up.
"Anyway, I'm busy. You guys go ahead."
"What the hell, you're really not coming? Yoo Ji-han!"
Leaving Daeseok's flustered voice behind, I walked out of the lecture room. My phone had been buzzing nonstop for a while now, and it didn't feel like a coincidence.
'Knew it.'
Unread messages were stacked in the guild group chat.
Even with notifications muted, the vibration meant Yuchae must've gone off tagging me again.
[ㅇㅇ: @ImSoSleepy]
[ㅇㅇ: Hyung, class over yet?]
[ㅇㅇ: You're coming tonight, right?]
[ㅇㅇ: @ImSoSleepy]
[DrinkWater: Geez, tone it down a bit]
[Haereun: I told you to DM him]
[LaggingKid: Obsessed dude's gone nuts lolololol]
[StaticIm: This is actually getting creepy now]
[TheHunter: Isn't he at work or something?]
[TheHunter: How's he even using KakaoTalk?]
[StaticIm: Office workers check Kakao at work. It's a rule.]
[StaticIm: They vanish after work.]
[TheHunter: lolol ok;]
[ㅇㅇ: @ImSoSleepy]
[ㅇㅇ: @ImSoSleepy]
[MochaBreadBreadBread: He's especially unhinged today]
[DrinkWater: He was going on all day yesterday in guild chat]
[DrinkWater: Today he's bragging about hanging with Sleepy… tsk tsk]
[Haereun: Sleepy, can you please give the guild leader your phone number now?]
[Haereun: I get why you wouldn't, but for the sake of public good…]
[ParkSeungCon: Imagine if he had your number]
[ParkSeungCon: He'd send a hundred messages]
[ParkSeungCon: Sleepy would have a mental breakdown]
[Haereun: I think I'm the one about to have one right now ]
I'm not the one refusing to share my number, though. I swallowed the pride-wounding truth and instead gave a status update.
[ImSoSleepy: Class just ended]
[ImSoSleepy: Cut it out]
[ㅇㅇ: When are you arriving?]
[MochaBreadBreadBread: Thank god]
[DrinkWater: Whew…]
[Haereun: Can't even kick the guild master out, geezㅡㅡ]
[ImSoSleepy: I live close by]
[ImSoSleepy: But I still need to shower and eat first]
[ㅇㅇ: Okay..]
[TheHunter: Sleepy, do you live alone?]
[ImSoSleepy: Near campus, yeah]
[DrinkWater: Was it architecture you said?]
[DrinkWater: Is it too much to ask which school?]
[ImSoSleepy: lol Korea National University]
[DrinkWater: Oh damn]
[Haereun: Whoa, Korea National?]
[ParkSeungCon: Wtf… suddenly I feel so distant…]
[MochaBreadBreadBread: Me too lololol]
[TheHunter: Korea Nat. Architecture? Whoa]
[TheHunter: So you were elite all along…]
[Hwasoun: (emoji)]
[Hwasoun: Sleepy just dropped the bomb]
[DrinkWater: Seriously, the way he laughed and just answered right away— total confidence]
[SelfBornMonster: Absolute swagger ]
[ImSoSleepy: Stop teasing meㅡㅡ]
[Haereun: Oops, you caught us lolol]
[TheHunter: I live around there too]
[TheHunter: Let's grab a meal sometime!]
[ImSoSleepy: Okay okay]
[ㅇㅇ: ?]
[ㅇㅇ: Why are you eating with Sleepy-hyung?]
[TheHunter: 'Cause I live nearby?]
Yuchae must've been at a loss for words at that shameless reply, because he immediately clung to me instead.
[ㅇㅇ: Hyuuung]
[ㅇㅇ: You can't just meet random people like that, it's dangerous!!]
[ImSoSleepy: Yeah yeah, okay]
[DrinkWater: lolololololol]
[Haereun: Why do you two sound like a married couple even now?]
[ImSoSleepy: Please say 'game marriage' if you're gonna say that, ffs…]
[Hwasoun: hahahahahaha]
[TheHunter: lolololololol]
＊＊＊
With lectures, assignments, and gaming all piling up, a whole month flew by in a blur.
One week before Seo Taeyoung's wedding, I let my "dog" know the sad news in advance.
[Party] ImSoSleepy: I'll be home late next Saturday
[Party] Yuchae: Huh?
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Gotta go to an acquaintance's wedding
[Party] Yuchae: Ah…
Yuchae, who had been riding ahead on horseback, stopped as soon as he saw my message.
We were currently combing through the map in search of the Hero's Scroll, one of the quest items from the Xenoris adventure quest.
The scrolls were scattered all over the map, hidden cleverly and with their locations randomized weekly, making them one of the hardest collectibles to find.
[Party] Yuchae: When will you be back?
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Don't know
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Wedding starts at 1 PM
[Party] ImSoSleepy: I should be back by 5 at the latest
[Party] Yuchae: Is it far?
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Not really
[Party] ImSoSleepy: About an hour by subway?
[Party] ImSoSleepy: I won't stay till the end, I'll leave at a good time
[Party] Yuchae: Hmm
[Party] Yuchae: I don't have any plans, so
[Party] Yuchae: I'll just wait like usual
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Go out and do something
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Don't you have any friends?
Yuchae had been gaming with me every weekend.
Even if he was unemployed, it was still the weekend—shouldn't he be going out at least once in a while? How could someone just sit and play games all the time? He must really love gaming.
'Then again, I'm not one to talk…'
Just last break, I stayed up all night grinding Xenoris to hit level 200.
Then I joined the Early Evening guild… and thinking back, it was kind of crazy how close I'd gotten to Yuchae since then.
[Party] Yuchae: Whoa, hyung…
[Party] Yuchae: What if I really didn't have any friends? That's a cruel thing to say
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Then I'd just be garbage for making fun of a friendless loser
[Party] Yuchae: lolol
[Party] Yuchae: It's okay
[Party] Yuchae: I like even the garbage version of you
[Party] Yuchae: You're sexy, after all lol
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Try being sexy yourself for once
[Party] Yuchae: Huh?
[Party] Yuchae: You're gonna regret saying that
[Party] ImSoSleepy: There he goes again with his nonsense
[Party] Yuchae: lololol
Even as I roasted him, Yuchae just laughed—and then, right on cue, found the fifth scroll tucked into a corner of the map.
[Party] Yuchae: That makes five. Halfway there.
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Damn, this is tough.
There were a total of 10 scrolls to collect.
We'd been at it since last week, and only now hit the halfway mark.
The quest gave rare materials and bonus stat points, so it was way too good to skip.
[Party] Yuchae: Yeah, this one takes time
[Party] Yuchae: Since the locations change every week, you can't really speed-run it
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Yeah
[Party] ImSoSleepy: And I've got that wedding next week too
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Guess we won't finish until the week after
Ideally, I wanted to wrap this up before midterms started.
If I was stuck at 9 scrolls and had to start studying, the lingering anxiety would eat me alive.
[Party] Yuchae: Then while you're at the wedding
[Party] Yuchae: Want me to scout out the locations in advance?
Hmm. That would definitely save a lot of time.
Knowing where the scrolls are ahead of time would be a huge help.
[Party] ImSoSleepy: You don't have to go that far
[Party] Yuchae: It'd make things easier though
[Party] Yuchae: And I don't really have anything else to do when you're not on…
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Well, if that's the case then sure
Now that I thought about it, I was technically still a newbie—had only been playing Xenoris for two months.
Getting a little help wasn't that big a deal.
As I shamelessly accepted his offer, Yuchae wasted no time revealing his ulterior motive.
[Party] Yuchae: I gotta at least do this much if I want hyung to adore me
[Party] ImSoSleepy: That… sounded kinda gross
[Party] Yuchae: Sigh… marriage is tough
[Party] ImSoSleepy: lol
[Party] ImSoSleepy: If you don't like it, divorce me then
[Party] Yuchae: lol
[Party] Yuchae: You better give me a kiss or something when I do a good job
[Party] ImSoSleepy: If the game ever adds that feature, I'll consider it lol
He really expected everything from this game.
Well, even if this were real life, there's no way I'd kiss him.
'Guess I should leave the wedding early.'
I'd originally planned to stay till the end and have a meal, but maybe slipping out midway would be better.
Didn't feel right to leave Yuchae doing all the work while I was out enjoying a nice banquet.
Leaning back in my chair, I mentally organized next week's schedule and straightened up to type a message.
[Party] ImSoSleepy: I'll be back soon
[Party] ImSoSleepy: So don't get into trouble while I'm gone
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