Chapter 11: A New Dream, A New Resolve

After returning to his seat, the part-time worker was still staring blankly, lost in thought.

The battle he had seen earlier, over her shoulder, kept replaying in his mind.

How can the gameplay be like that?

The more he thought about it coldly, the more he couldn’t help but be impressed.

No matter how much he thought about it, she was far better than most top-tier players he had seen on YouTube.

Not just her, but both of them.

In terms of tiers, they were at least Grand Master level. Personally, he suspected they might even be ranked players.

Of course, ranked players are only the top 100 in a server.

Given that there are at least 500,000 users in Korea alone, that’s roughly 0.0002%.

To be honest, he had also thought earlier that a ranked player’s name would inevitably become well-known.

Especially a female ranked player if she weren’t famous, that would be strange.

So, there was really no way to learn her true identity.

The part-time worker let out a deep sigh to himself.

He wasn’t hoping to get close. He just wanted to see her face, at least.

But since today was her first visit and she seemed like someone who hadn’t really been to the PC room much,

maybe this visit was just a whim, and she probably wouldn’t come back. The thought made him feel deflated.

“Excuse me.”

Hmm? There was a strange sense of déjà vu…

He turned his head, and once again, she was standing in front of the counter.

He flinched, startled.

Calm down. Don’t panic.

Seeing her in her coat, it seemed like she was about to leave.

“What can I do for you, miss?”

Good. This time, he spoke properly without hesitation.

“What’s that?”

She pointed to something with her hand. He turned his head to where she was pointing.

A poster was stuck to one of the walls of the PC room.

The part-time worker stared at it for a moment before his face brightened and he quickly spoke up.

“Oh! That’s the announcement for tomorrow’s Iba tournament at our PC room!”

“A tournament?”

“Yes! The first place prize is a whopping 1 million won! It’s happening tomorrow, and if you’d like, you can participate. ”

“Would you like me to give you a registration form?”

If she really participated in the tournament, winning would be a given.

But none of that mattered.

The most important thing was that if she participated, he would be able to see her face again tomorrow.

She quietly stared at the poster.

It was a tense moment. The part-time worker swallowed nervously, waiting for her response.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Ah…”

Her answer was firm, without the slightest hesitation.

It seemed she had no interest at all. After her indifferent response, she turned and left the PC room right away.

“Take care.”

“…Yes. See you again.”

This time, he said it with sincerity, not as a mere courtesy.

However, she didn’t react at all, just turning her back.

Was this the final goodbye to the woman whose name he didn’t even know?

A feeling of emptiness filled his chest, and a certain scene flashed in his mind.

As that scene came to mind, without realizing it, the part-time worker called out to her as she was about to leave.

“Excuse me, just a moment!”

“…Yes?”

The woman turned around with a puzzled expression.

The part-time worker hesitated for a moment, but eventually gathered his courage and asked the question.

“Who won the match just now…?”

She tilted her head in confusion at his odd question, looking bewildered.

Even that expression of hers was beautiful, but right now, he couldn’t shake the image of the earlier battle from his mind.

He was so curious. He honestly felt like he wouldn’t be able to sleep that night without knowing who won the duel.

She shrugged and answered.

“It was a draw.”

In the game, users can generally tell, but health points are represented with precise numbers.

Health fluctuates depending on level, health stats, armor, set effects, and other factors.

While this isn’t a big deal in a battle royale where only one player survives, in a duel with a time limit,

it’s theoretically possible for health to be exactly the same and end in a draw.

That’s just theory, though, and the chances of it happening in practice are slim.

But against all odds, the match ended in a draw.

He had suspected their health was roughly the same when he glanced at it,

but he never imagined it would actually end like that.

If he’d won, he would have celebrated, just like uSuahl. If he’d lost, he would have been angry and frustrated, feeling awful.

But this… after such an intense match, the outcome of no win or loss, he felt something entirely new.

It wasn’t simply enjoyment it was too dark for that, yet not quite anger.

It was a complex emotion he couldn’t put into words.

The thought that crossed his mind at the end of it all was simple:

He wanted to fight again.

He had never expected to meet such an opponent in a game, not in his wildest dreams.

After the game ended, Yukino logged out immediately,

so he hadn’t been able to send a friend request, but he’d memorized her nickname firmly, making sure not to forget it.

He considered it an honor.

From now on, she was his rival.

On the way home, he replayed the match with his rival in his mind.

How could he have fought better? Should he have reacted differently to her attacks?

Lost in thought, he suddenly realized he had arrived at a store.

Wait, what time is it?

It was 8 p.m.

Suah had specifically told him not to come back before 10.

But this was unavoidable.

After such an exhilarating battle,

to immediately go back and beat some low-level players would be torture he couldn’t just shake off the excitement that easily.

“Ah, whatever.”

He decided to go inside.

He’d get a little scolding, but it wasn’t like he could turn back now.

When he got closer, he saw that the lights in the shop were off. Suah wasn’t back yet.

He quickly began thinking of an excuse.

Should he say he arrived exactly one minute before Suah did?

Of course, it didn’t seem like that would work, but it was definitely better than just admitting he’d gone to the PC room for dinner.

Thinking of a good excuse, he opened the shop door and walked in.

And then, he was shocked and let out an involuntary scream.

“Ah! Geez. You scared me…”

There was Suah sitting at a corner table.

Wait, she was in here? Why was she sitting in the dark like a ghost, without even turning on the lights?

Honestly, he got scared for a moment.

Even after fighting countless battles, she was the first person to throw him off guard like that.

Was Suah not an ordinary girl after all?

He turned on the lights and spoke as caSuahlly as he could.

“Are you a child of darkness? Turn on the lights and live a little.”

It was actually something I should have said.

USuahlly, Suah was such a bright and lively girl—what happened today?

The fluorescent lights flickered on, and the whole shop brightened up.

Then, Suah’s expression, which had been hidden in the dark, finally became visible.

“…What? Did you cry?”

“Gaeul… unnie…”

“What happened? What’s going on?”

Suah sniffled, her voice muffled and stuffy. This wasn’t just a small issue.

This was a girl who always laughed foolishly no matter what, and now she was sniffling like that.

I immediately sat next to her, trying to comfort her, and cautiously asked.

It took a while, but then she finally spoke up.

“Grandpa’s cancer suddenly worsened…”

That was definitely not good news.

Grandpa had already been hospitalized due to a recurrence of cancer.

For it to worsen instead of improve meant things were really critical.

“They need to do surgery as soon as possible, before it’s too late.”

“Then they should do it right away.”

“But… the surgery costs…”

I understood now.

That was the problem.

For a moment, I had forgotten just how important money was in today’s world.

Ironically, in the battlefield, money was just useless scraps of paper, but in reality, there was nothing more important than it.

“How much do you need?”

“Five million by next week…”

“Is there no insurance?”

Suah shook her head, her expression darkened.

“Grandpa already had cancer surgery once, and there are so many exceptions that they won’t cover much…”

So the insurance company would only pay…?

“…about one hundred thousand.”

So the actual amount needed was 4 million.

It had only been three months, but I had a rough idea of our financial situation, living with Suah.

Right now, getting 4 million by next week was impossible.

Why did tragedies always happen to the good people?

Or is it that when something bad happens to a good person, we call it a tragedy?

Suah forced a weak smile, her eyes red from crying.

“It’s okay. I’ll find a way to get the money.”

“…How are you, a kid, going to do that?”

“If worse comes to worst, I’ll sell the store.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was so shocked that I jumped up from my seat.

I knew how much Suah loved the store. To hear her say that was unimaginable.

“…Hey. What are you talking about? If you sell the store… what about your dreams?”

“If Grandpa goes, what’s the use of the store?” Suah answered bravely, trying to put on a strong front.

“And I’ve changed my dream! Right now, my dream is to live peacefully with Grandpa and unnie, the three of us together.”

“…No. This isn’t happening.”

I couldn’t just let things go like this.

My life had two rules:

If I’m going to lose, it’s better to die.

And I must repay any debt, no matter what.

Suah was my dear little sister. She was my precious benefactor.

She was family now.

“If you sell the store, you’re dead to me.”

“…Unnie?”

“You said 400, right? I’ll get it somehow by next week.”

I slapped her on the forehead for being so arrogant.

“You just make the jjambbong and wait.”