Chapter 97: Wow Watermelon (2)

“The ocean!”

“Waaaaaah!”

Dreams do come true.

Finally, at the ocean, shouting “Umi da!” just like I’d always wanted.

Success.

“Sis! The ocean is so pretty here!”

“Waaaaaah!”

“…Yurim, the water’s so cool.”

“Waaaaaah!”

“Han Yurim, why didn’t you come ask me when you said, ‘Arina is so amazing at handling Black Mana. I should ask her about it sometime,’ around 11 hours and 27 minutes into the broadcast on August 24th?”

“Waaaaaah!”

I was happily splashing water at everyone…

Two minutes later, I was lying under a parasol on the beach.

Do you know?

The truth is, there were few things in the world more fun than playing .

Becoming like me is a perfectly natural progression.

As proof, look.

“Turtle, get over here.”

“…Waaaah.”

“Stalker, you too.”

“But I got here first, didn’t I?”

Chae Narin, BunnyRun, and Arina were having a blast in the ocean.

…Huh.

Wait, am I the weird one, and are they normal?

Was playing games at home not the most fun thing in the world?

And BunnyRun, you were the one saying I didn’t have any friends, but you were actually an outdoorsy person?

That’s too much.

“Aren’t you going to play?”

“I already enjoyed the ocean when I took that ‘The ocean!’ shot a minute ago.”

“Isn’t it a bit of a waste to come all the way here just for that?”

“Looking for value for money. You really do have the sensibilities of a do…supporter.”

I stopped mid-sentence and turned my head.

I saw a strange face.

What is it?

I blankly said,

“Why is Bbangbbang here?”

“I’m also a member of ‘Asegu’ team, how could you not call me? I came in advance.”

“Aren’t the playoffs soon?”

“They usually give us a short break before the playoffs. So I’ll only be here for about two nights before going back.”

“If that’s the case, then it’s fine.”

As long as Bbangbbang was okay, I didn’t mind.

I was actually feeling a little bad about leaving Bbangbbang out of this trip.

“Why? Did you miss me?”

“Bbangbbang spent a lot of money to get a character that looks like me. So I thought he’d be upset if I left him out of the payback trip, but I’m glad he’s okay.”

“…That’s a misunderstanding.”

“What’s a misunderstanding?”

“I pulled it because I liked its performance.”

It was true that the character had good stats.

Of course, any character would be good if you maxed out their Affinity.

“You even got the right weapon for it?”

“Do you watch all my streams or something?”

“These days, information just pours out from Shorts.”

Everything from Bbangbbang being flustered because the AI kept recommending slender, pretty girls, to Bbangbbang compulsively doing gacha pulls whenever a character had a mix of blonde hair and blue eyes. I saw it all on Shorts.

Indeed, Shorts. It was the latest trend enjoyed by the MZ generation.

“That’s a Shorts addiction.”

“Anyway. Go play, Bbangbbang. I’m fine.”

“As long as you’re not sick.”

At my words, Bbangbbang got up and walked towards Paepae and Moss.

Finally alone, I lay down and took out my smartphone.

Looking at my smartphone while on vacation.

Surprisingly fun. You should definitely try it if you haven’t.

“…Sis. Aren’t you thirsty?”

“Now that you mention it. It’s so hot, I am thirsty.”

“Here’s Pocari.”

“Thanks.”

I took the Pocari and gulped it down.

Then my eyes widened. It was so refreshing.

I asked,

“Did you put it in an icebox?”

“There’s a lot of other stuff too. Do you want shaved ice?”

“There’s nothing better than shaved ice at the beach…”

I stopped talking and turned my head.

Then I muttered quietly.

“Inho?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you here?”

“…I’ve been here since the beginning.”

Since the beginning?

I briefly reminisced about the past.

Roughly when we first started the trip.

“Hello, everyone.”

“…Sis, too.”

“Wow. Is this Yurim’s house?”

“…It’s so big.”

Come to think of it, he was there, wasn’t he?

“Are you dreaming of becoming a ninja? Why are you using stealth?”

“I wasn’t using stealth, I was just quietly standing by because I felt awkward.”

“Did BunnyRun invite you?”

“Min Chaewon invited me, but she said you told her to invite me too?”

I did?

Oh… I think I did.

My words, ‘When will we meet Kim Inho again? Won’t he be forgotten if we keep this up?’ could also be interpreted as telling her to invite Kim Inho on the trip.

Still, I was happy to see him, so I asked Kim Inho what he’d been up to.

“What have you been doing lately?”

“The same as always.”

Here, “the same as always” meant that nothing special had happened.

Working part-time as usual, developing games as usual, and getting roasted as usual.

Kim Inho calmly continued.

“It’s been hard to see you because you haven’t been showing up to your part-time job lately.”

“I’m only working once a week now. More importantly, how much longer until the game you showed me last time is released?”

“…About that. It’s already been released.”

“It’s been released?”

“Yes.”

I had no idea.

It’s all because I’ve only been getting information from Shorts lately.

It was easy to miss this kind of live, raw information on Shorts.

I can’t do this. I need to quit Shorts.

It’s time to go back to exploring things myself.

“When was it released?”

“A few weeks ago.”

“How is it?”

“…It’s not too bad.”

That meant he was suffering because there were no reviews.

I knew it well because I had been there before.

“Should I promote it for you?”

“No. It’s okay for now.”

“You don’t have to be so reserved. Promoting it well is important after all.”

I think sometimes.

If I had promoted it more diligently back then, would have sold better?

Honestly, it was fun.

How fun would it have been if I had become a Super Developer?

“…Then, could I ask you for just one favor?”

“Of course.”

I’d already played the game once, so playing it again would be a bit much, but mentioning it on my stream was fine.

Anyway.

“You should have told me as soon as it was released.”

“I missed the timing to tell you because you seemed so busy lately.”

“Is that not it? You thought we were colleagues, but one of us got too far ahead, so it became awkward?”

“The difference between us was too big from the start for me to feel that way about you.”

“Is that so?”

It seemed he genuinely couldn’t bring himself to talk to me because I looked too busy.

“I have plenty of time, so feel free to talk to me whenever you want.”

“Okay.”

With that conversation, I closed my mouth.

Kim Inho also closed his mouth and looked at his smartphone.

I frowned.

Kim Inho, you rascal. You came all the way to the beach and you’re looking at your smartphone?

I can’t let this happen. I’ll help you.

Don’t worry too much, it’s just the bond between developer colleagues.

I got up and approached Paepae.

“Paepae. Is there anything fun to do? Inho is just looking at his smartphone because he has nothing to do.”

“Have you forgotten what you were doing five minutes ago?”

“Five minutes ago? Five minutes ago, I was watching the Shorts, , where Cosmic Origin keeps recommending a psychopathic pretty girl.”

“I’m saying, why are you bullying poor Kim Inho when you were just looking at your smartphone too?”

“I never bullied him?”

I was wronged. I’m a Super Developer who loves everything. There’s no way I would bully Kim Inho.

At my words, Paepae let out a hollow laugh.

“That’s exactly what you just did. ‘Wait! Inho has something he wants to say!'”

“You have to go through those kinds of things to mature as a developer.”

Pain makes people stronger.

The brain is such a troublesome thing, it only grows when it’s stressed.

But if it gets too much stress, it breaks down, so it’s almost like a Menhera pretty girl.

“In other words. I helped Inho grow, I didn’t bully him.”

“Are you bored?”

“I’m bored.”

“Lumen, play with her a little. She’s going to turn someone into a toy.”

“Han Yurim? Shall we start with beach volleyball?”

“How about watermelon smashing? I’ve always wanted to try it.”

At my words, Bbangbbang headed to the store near the beach to buy a watermelon.

As soon as Bbangbbang left, Paepae grabbed Kim Inho and gave him a safety briefing.

“Inho? You’ll get attacked by beasts if you stray from the group. You have to be careful.”

“I’m sorry. And I think you’re the same age as Yurim, so you can speak casually.”

“Is that okay? Anyway, be careful. The beasts are violent now because they’re bored.”

“I understand.”

Kim Inho obediently nodded. I nodded next to him.

“Humans are social animals after all. The brain evolved that way, so it’s hard to live if you don’t live in a group.”

“Inho, what are you doing? Are you streaming too?”

“I develop indie games. It’s embarrassing compared to Yurim, but I recently released one.”

“You released one? What’s the title? I’ll stream it for you.”

“I’ll try it too!”

Paepae, Kim Inho, ChocoFullBbang, and Moss talked to each other and gradually moved away from me.

I nodded at the sight.

This is enough.

I’m the Dark Knight who protects Okinawa from the darkness.

I’m definitely not sad because the people I could play with disappeared.

Really.

Just as I was left alone again and picked up my smartphone.

“Sorry. I have company.”

“Don’t be like that, let’s play together. There are five of us too? It’s the perfect number.”

“I don’t play with strangers.”

Two women and two men were talking in Japanese as they passed in front of me.

Japanese people! A pickup!

I’ve seen this in anime.

“Come on. Don’t be like that.”

Perhaps thinking she was just being coy, the man blocked the woman’s path.

Then the woman frowned and opened her mouth.

“Move.”

“If two girls come to the beach, isn’t this what they’re expecting?”

“That’s true. Statistically, there’s a high chance that two girls who come to play are expecting to meet guys. Have you built up a lot of big data?”

The woman scoffed at the pickup artist’s words.

“Even if I was expecting it, I might not meet you guys. You don’t make a good impression.”

“What? Did you just say something?”

“That’s true. Statistically, there’s a high chance that you two won’t make a good first impression. Wouldn’t it be better if you took out your piercings? A fun fact, girls are attracted to bad boys, not delinquents.”

“Just take out the piercings? Should I undo my dye too…? Who are you?”

“I’m the Dark Knight.”

“You’re the Joker.”

I turned my head at the voice from behind.

Bbangbbang was looking at me with a dumbfounded expression.

Bbangbbang said.

“You couldn’t resist?”

“I always live with great patience.”

“Easy for you to say. I’m sorry, but do you have business with our group?”

As expected of Bbangbbang, who had enjoyed otaku culture since he was young, his Japanese was fluent.

At Bbangbbang’s appearance, the pickup artist clicked his tongue and went elsewhere.

His exit was also perfectly like a pickup artist from an anime.

That was a good experience.

I should use it in a game next time.

Now that the incident was over, I asked Bbangbbang.

“Where’s my watermelon?”

“Here.”

“Wow. A watermelon.”

Bbangbbang showed off the watermelon.

It was sturdy, perfect for smashing.

“Is the clean mat ready? We have to put the watermelon on it and smash it.”

“I bought it.”

“Hurry up and gather everyone. To be able to smash a watermelon on a beach in Japan. I must have lived for this moment.”

“…Yurim-san?”

A familiar voice called my name, and I blinked.

When I turned my head, the woman who had just been picked up was looking at me with wide eyes.

I racked my brain and called out the name of the voice’s owner.

“Akane-san?”

“Is that really Yurim-san?”

I guess I was right.

Seriously. Why is her voice for broadcasting so different from her normal voice?

It’s serious if I can’t even recognize her at once?

“I was a little angry, so it’s not usually that bad.”

“Is that so?”

“Anyway! Thanks for helping me, Yurim-san!”

Akane ran up to me and linked arms with me.

I muttered quietly to myself.

Wow, a watermelon.

“Akane? Who is that person?”

Then Akane’s group, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.

Akane replied.