Only then did I finally realize the source of the sense of discomfort I'd been feeling all along.
A voice that felt familiar, the way she treated me, the name Chae Yujeong.
I'd been in a similar situation before. It was back in Xenoris, when Yuchae approached me as "Cotton Candy Fox."
"Shit, no way…"
But this felt way too different in scale from just bringing back an alternate character.
You're telling me some random person I happened to meet in an online game turns out to be the very one who made me quit the game—and on top of that, she's a popular pro gamer? Even if this were written in a novel, people would complain it was unrealistic.
My head instantly became a mess. It all felt so surreal that I couldn't tell if my suspicion was valid or if it was just a delusional guess.
"The others are pestering me to go eat, so come on. You got your meal ticket, right?"
"W-Wait a minute."
Unable to reach a conclusion, I had no choice but to abruptly insert myself into the conversation between Chae Yujeong and the coach. In my urgency, I grabbed her wrist and stood next to her. She looked at me in surprise.
"Um, Chae Yujeong… said she'd eat with me."
"Huh? Is that so?"
The coach looked me over with a very curious expression.
"You seem familiar… Have we met before?"
"I'm a close friend of Seo Taeyoung's. My name's Yoo Ji-han."
"Would you mind sharing your Hiore nickname by any chance…?"
"It's I'mSoSleepy."
Man, today's just full of in-game nicknames. Upon hearing mine, the coach's face lit up as he reached out for a handshake.
"Oh, I'mSoSleepy! Ah, I apologize. I'm better at remembering Hiore nicknames than real names. It's a pleasure to meet you. You're a jungler, right?"
"Nice to meet you too."
"Hearing your nickname brings it all back. Taeyoung kept bragging about how good a jungler you are. My nickname is EuropeVenice. We even chatted once, do you remember?"
"Of course I do."
After shaking my hand, the coach pulled out a business card from his suit pocket and handed it to me. On the pure-white card, the name Yoo Kyung-seok, Head Coach of Team LVS, was printed neatly.
"I'm surprised you know Yujeong too. Hey, Yujeong, so you're going to eat with this gentleman?"
Still a little dazed with her wrist in my hand, Chae Yujeong quickly nodded.
"Mm-hmm. I'll eat with him."
"Alright, then. Be polite, okay? I'll be going now."
After entrusting Chae Yujeong to me, Yoo Kyung-seok left in a hurry—like he'd just passed off a troublesome burden and was all too glad to be rid of it.
"…Whew, let's go for now."
It was way too chaotic here to have a proper conversation.
Afraid she might try to bolt, I held her wrist tightly and led the way. She followed quietly.
Once we reached the buffet deeper inside the wedding hall, I grabbed two plates and filled them with whatever was closest. Then I sat down with Chae Yujeong at the most secluded corner.
Facing me, Chae Yujeong looked at me with bright, sparkling eyes.
"Ahem… Excuse me, Chae Yujeong."
"Yes?"
"I, uh…"
I was just about to ask if she played Xenoris, but I hesitated. Wait, can I really just come out and say that?
All I had right now were suspicions that Chae Yujeong might be Yuchae from Xenoris. In other words… I had no solid proof.
If I just accused her out of nowhere, I'd probably come off looking like a weirdo.
More importantly, if I said, "Are you Yuchae?" and she replied, "Who's Yuchae?"—I'd have no way to respond without sounding ridiculous.
As I faltered, unable to finish my sentence, Chae Yujeong looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"It's nothing."
"You can speak freely, it's okay."
"Actually… I wanted to ask how old you are."
At this point, all I could do was collect evidence slowly.
I picked up my chopsticks and asked naturally. Chae Yujeong smiled brightly.
"I'm 23!"
"…You're 23?"
"Yes. What about you, Yoo Ji-han?"
Is this person actually insane?
I forced a smile, tugging at the corners of my stiffened lips.
"I'm 24."
"Can I call you hyung?"
"Do as you please."
You're already doing whatever you want anyway.
At this point, I couldn't even tell if this bastard was trying to hide anything. At the very least, shouldn't the in-game age and real age have been different?
After the meal, we stepped outside the wedding hall. Chae Yujeong, who had been closely tailing behind me, called out excitedly.
"Uh, Ji-han hyung."
"What."
"You don't have to speak formally with me."
"No thanks."
At my disinterested tone, Chae Yujeong hesitated and looked a bit wary. Then, carefully, she held out her phone.
"Could I get your number?"
"…."
My brow furrowed instinctively. I had to bite back the curse that was rising to my throat, then snatched the phone from her hand and punched in my number.
My mood was quickly deteriorating. I shouldn't be acting so obvious, since I still had no solid proof that Chae Yujeong was Yuchae. But this wasn't as easy to manage as I thought.
"Is it okay if I contact you?"
"Do whatever you want."
Aside from her age, I hadn't learned anything yet, so I needed to keep the line open.
Clutching the phone with both hands, Chae Yujeong smiled brightly.
"Okay, I'll definitely call you."
Her expression didn't have even a hint of deceit, and I started to feel a little guilty for being so harsh. Feeling uneasy, I scratched the back of my neck and sighed.
"I don't have your number, so send me a text or call me once."
"Will do."
"Take care."
Leaving Chae Yujeong behind, I walked off ahead. Once she was out of sight, I hailed a taxi.
"To Hankook University Station, please."
I wanted to get home before Chae Yujeong so I could log in to Xenoris. Since I was in a taxi, I figured I'd be home in about 40 minutes.
Last week, I had told Yuchae that it took about an hour to get to the wedding hall. If I logged in earlier than that, maybe I could catch her red-handed.
Thankfully, the roads weren't too congested despite it being the weekend, and I made it back home earlier than expected. I skipped washing up and went straight to booting up my computer.
As I waited for Xenoris to load, I checked the time. It had been 45 minutes since I left the wedding hall. I wished I could've made it back faster, but this would have to do.
Welcome to Xenoris.
Hangul Day event now in progress.
[Guild] DrinkSomeWater: Sleepy, hi~
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: hey hey
[Guild] MochaBread: Hi there, Sleepy~
[Guild] TheHunter: yo
[Guild] HwaSoUn: Oh! Sleepy's here
[Guild] HwaSoUn: We've got one event party slot left—want in?
[Guild] Haeren: hey~
[Guild] Yuchae: Hyung!!
[Guild] Yuchae: You're here?
[Guild] Yuchae: I was waiting
[Guild] ManaRingingMan: Ugh, it's starting again
[Guild] DrinkSomeWater: You guys are basically married—just use partner chat already
[Guild] HuntingMadman: truth
"…What the hell."
Contrary to my expectations, Yuchae had logged in before me. Startled, I scrambled to come up with another theory.
Could Chae Yujeong live closer to the wedding hall than I do? Or maybe she hit up a PC café nearby? Honestly, there were plenty of ways she could've logged in quickly.
I absentmindedly rubbed the corner of my mouth as I mulled things over, then typed on the keyboard.
[Guild] I'mSoSleepy: hey hey
[Guild] Yuchae: You're super early!
[Guild] I'mSoSleepy: Yeah, came straight after it ended
Pretending like everything was normal, I casually responded in the guild chat, then opened the guild member list and sent a private message to Haeren.
[I'mSoSleepy → Haeren]: Hey, Haeren
[Haeren]: Yep?
I skipped DrinkSomeWater since he seemed to be personally close to Yuchae and chose Haeren—the safest pick. He was the kind of player who always stayed logged into Xenoris for long hours from early morning to late at night on weekends.
[I'mSoSleepy]: Could you maybe
[I'mSoSleepy]: Tell me when Yuchae started playing today?
[Haeren]: Huh? You mean the guild master?
He seemed a bit taken aback by the sudden question, but quickly responded.
[Haeren]: Around 11 or 12? Somewhere in that range, I think
[I'mSoSleepy]: Were they active or just logged in?
[Haeren]: Hmm
[Haeren]: They ran a field raid earlier
[Haeren]: Think they also did the event
[I'mSoSleepy]: Around what time?
[Haeren]: Around 2, I think…
[Haeren]: The Red Dragon spawned at 2:10, so I'm guessing it was around then, yeah
"They ran a raid at 2:10…?"
I arrived at the wedding around 12:30, and I met Chae Yujeong at about 12:50. The ceremony started at 1.
2 o'clock would've been when the ceremony ended and we moved to the buffet.
So how the hell could she have joined a dragon raid at that time?
"Is it possible someone else was playing the Yuchae character?"
Maybe Chae Yujeong had someone else log into her character to throw me off.
I pressed Haeren a little further.
[I'mSoSleepy]: Was anyone from the guild with her during the dragon raid?
[Haeren]: I'm not sure
[Haeren]: But Hunter or ThatCrazyGuyFromHunting usually join field raids. You should ask them
[I'mSoSleepy]: Got it
[I'mSoSleepy]: Thanks a lot
[I'mSoSleepy]: Please keep this between us
[Haeren]: lolol okay
It felt like I was close to grabbing a clue, but it kept slipping away.
While pressing my fingers against my forehead, debating whether to message TheHunter or ThatCrazyGuyFromHunting, Yuchae messaged me first.
[Yuchae]: Hyung hyung!
[Yuchae]: You're coming to find the scroll, right?
[Yuchae]: I already scouted all the locations!
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