Sorim Grapes is Wronged

26.

I had accepted a five-star infiltration quest, but it took time just to prepare for the infiltration, not even starting it yet.

Around 1 PM, MinoIsMine and Gakjong had somehow joined us as well.

[General/MinoIsMine: hihihi]

[General/Gakjong: Good morning]

[General/MinoIsMine: It’s not morning lolololol]

[General/Gchang: ヽ༼ ☯‿☯༼ ಠ益ಠ༽◕ل͜◕༽つ The trio assembles]

[General/Gakjong: Whoa; What’s that]

[General/MinoIsMine: Is that supposed to be us three? lolololol]

[General/Gchang: In order, it’s MinoIsMine, Gakjong, and Gchang ㅇㅅㅇ]

[General/Gakjong: ? Why does my face look like that?]

[General/Gchang: It got messed up when I copy-pasted, originally it’s cuter]

[General/Gakjong: ..]

[General/MinoIsMine: He’s skeptical lolololol]

[General/Gchang: By the way, Angryy is this one ‘͡◕⌒’͡◕? ]

[General/Gchang: Ah it got messed up again ㅠ It’s cuter though]

[General/Gakjong: Are you messing it up on purpose?]

[General/Gchang: Angryy, I guess I’ll need your private chat ID…. special characters get messed up in the game chat ㅠ]

[General/MinoIsMine: Ugh, what kind of move is that]

[General/MinoIsMine: Oh right, I ordered injeolmi gopchang tteokbokki and mint chicken feet for brunch lolol]

[General/Gakjong: Injeolmi gopchang tteokbokki…lol]

[General/Gchang: Mint chicken feet… ㅇㅅㅇ..]

[General/MinoIsMine: It’ll be delicious, right? lolol]

[General/Gchang: ㅇㅅㅇ… Sounds tasty, enjoy your meal]

[General/Gakjong: Enjoy]

[General/MinoIsMine: Okay, hehe]

I sympathize with Gakjong and Gchang’s lukewarm reactions. Usually, when someone says they’re eating something, you’re supposed to be envious, but I’ve never once been envious of the food MinoIsMine eats. Mint tteokbokki, mint chicken feet, injeolmi gopchang, black sesame pizza…. I wonder what kind of neighborhood they live in to have restaurants selling such things.

While progressing through the quest, the three of them pestered me to play mini-games, so we went through all the city’s mini-games and I got first place in all three. Maybe because I did it casually, I didn’t reach my previous records.

– Hyung. What are you doing?

As always, my brother called during lunchtime.

“I’m playing a game. Have you eaten?”

– Yeah, I’m about to go eat now. Make sure you eat too, hyung.

“Okay. What about Da-bin?”

– Da-bin is here with me.

– Oppa, hello!

“Hi.”

– Hyung, you went to smoke with Kwon Je-beom last time, right?

“Yeah.”

– Did you… talk about anything? Besides the game assignment, I mean, did you have any conversation in the smoking area that made you say “Really?”, or, just, what kind of conversation did you have?

My brother was rambling.

“We didn’t talk much. He just said he was a POI ranker? And that he has a lot of money.”

– Oh, really? …No, that’s not it. A ranker? I guess he was more serious about POI than I thought. What did he say his character name was? I might know it.

“I didn’t ask for his name, so I don’t know. Is being a ranker that impressive?”

– They’re the server’s representative users, so it’s impressive. Think of them as national representatives. It’s really cool.

Game national representatives? I’m not sure if that’s cool.

– Plus, Kwon Je-beom is an LT Mos pro gamer and he’s also ranked in POI. As rumored, he’s really into games.

“He did seem severely addicted to games. He asked about my perfume name, wondering if it was legendary grade and what its item name was.”

– …Perfume? Ah…. You mean perfume.

“Why?”

– It’s nothing. Anyway, I guess you need to be that into games to become a pro gamer. They say you can even skip major requirements if you submit an activity certificate, I should’ve become a pro gamer early on.

“You mean you don’t have to attend lectures at all?”

– Well, like how celebrities can skip classes due to work or how seniors can skip liberal arts classes for job hunting, pro gamers can skip too if they submit an activity certificate or something.

“There must be a lot of jealous people.”

– There might be some, but he’s been a famous pro gamer since he was young, so he’s probably used to it. He debuted in his first year of high school…. Other kids probably just accept it.

I’m not so sure. I wonder how many people would really understand that. I’m certain there are more people who feel inferior to Kwon Je-beom. If it’s been like that since he was young, he must have experienced a lot of conflicts because of it….

‘Of course, as you mingle with people, you’ll experience some unpleasant things too, but as they say, wounds from human interactions should be healed by humans-.’

Was that his personal experience? It did seem sincere.

My brother ended the call, reminding me to make sure I eat. I was going to skip, but the trio kept saying how difficult the infiltration quest was, so I decided to have lunch with a renewed determination. After all, your brain works better and your body responds better when you’re full.

When I was working, I always made sure to eat three meals a day without fail. No matter how tired or lazy I felt, even if the only side dishes were gochujang and soy sauce, I’d always stuff myself with a heaping bowl of rice.

That’s because there was a time when I almost fell while working as a carpenter’s assistant on the 4th floor on an empty stomach, feeling dizzy.

In a game, if you get dizzy, only your character dies, but on a construction site, you just die. At the site, there are terrifying banners everywhere saying “Carelessness Leads to Death,” and baskets of glucose tablets are placed in every corner to keep workers alert.

If I died, I might be at peace, but my brother’s life would be ruined….

After that, I developed the habit of always eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but that habit disappeared as soon as I quit working, as if it had never existed. I always make sure to eat breakfast with Jin, but lunch and dinner….

Why is it so comfortable to skip meals while just lying down? I think I just liked that there wasn’t much loss of energy even if I didn’t eat because I wasn’t moving my body.

Now… I did feel a bit conflicted about the reality of forcing myself to eat a bothersome meal just to clear a game quest, but….

I made a simple sandwich by putting lettuce, bacon, tomato, and egg between slices of bread and sat in front of my laptop.

After taking a bite, I thought I should have added some ketchup or mayonnaise, but I had already walked too far to go back to the kitchen.

[Beombiga has logged in.]

While I was filling my stomach, Beombiga logged in. Beombiga logs in during the afternoon regardless of whether it’s a weekday or weekend.

They must be unemployed too.

Did they oversleep… and log in right after waking up?

[Whisper/Beombiga: Hello, Angryy]

Beombiga, who probably thinks I’m unemployed too, greeted me.

[Whisper/To Beombiga: Hello, Beombiga]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Please call me Beom lol]

They seem to be in a good mood today, laughing a lot.

[Whisper/Beombiga: Did you enjoy the chicken and beer yesterday?]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: Yes]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Angryy, you can really call me Beom comfortably]

[Whisper/Beombiga: You can speak casually too]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Ah, I’m 20 years old]

I was surprised when Beombiga suddenly revealed their age. I felt uncomfortable and glared at the monitor, stopping mid-bite of my sandwich.

I don’t want to tell my age….

In the real world, if someone tells you their age, you have no choice but to tell yours too. But this isn’t reality, it’s a game, so I think I can just ignore it. Honestly, I think it’s more rude to just blurt out your age when you don’t even know if the other person wants to know.

As I remained silent, Beombiga said:

[Whisper/Beombiga: Ah, Angryy, you don’t have to tell me your age]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Just speak casually if you’re older than me]

[Whisper/Beombiga: If we’re the same age]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Well, even if we’re the same age, speak casually]

[Whisper/Beombiga: I’ll just use polite speech]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Don’t misunderstand, it’s really just more comfortable for me..]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: You’re more comfortable with formal speech?]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Yes, really]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: Swear on the World Tree?]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Of course… I swear on the World Tree…]

Usually, people feel unfair if they’re the same age but only one person uses formal speech, right? They seem too naive to survive in this harsh world.

I was about to warn them that agreeing to use formal speech without knowing the other person’s age could make them look like a pushover, but then I remembered that I wouldn’t be seeing them after reaching level 50 anyway, so I wrote something else.

[Whisper/To Beombiga: Well, if that’s what you want]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: I’ll speak casually then]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Okay lol]

My emotions were too dried up to care about or advise someone I don’t even know on the internet….

[Whisper/Beombiga: It’s time for the infiltration quest, right?]

[Whisper/To Beombiga: Yeah, I’m about to start]

[Whisper/Beombiga: The infiltration quest isn’t about combat]

[Whisper/Beombiga: You just need to avoid getting caught by wandering NPCs and get out with the map]

[Whisper/Beombiga: You’ll probably need to do it at least twice, the first time to get a feel for it, and the second time to do it properly]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Actually, I’d recommend watching at least one walkthrough video, but since you’re so good, you probably don’t need to…]

[Whisper/Beombiga: Ah, there is a boss fight in the last room, but with your skills, it shouldn’t be a problem]

While I was listening to Beombiga’s tips, Gchang and the other two were flooding the chat window.

[General/Gchang: No matter how good your control is, you’ll probably get caught at least twice in the infiltration quest]

[General/Gchang: This is a solo quest so we can’t help even if we want to ㅇㅅㅠ]

[General/Angryy: Not needed]

[General/MinoIsMine: ??!!]

[General/Gakjong: ???lololol]

[General/MinoIsMine: He spoke casually lolololololol]

[General/MinoIsMine: Suddenly getting close? lolololol]

[General/Gakjong: Angryy newbie finally speaks casually to guild master Gchang]

[General/Gchang: ….ㅅㅠ]

Ah, I was so focused on speaking casually to Beombiga that I ended up doing it to this person too.