Chapter 23: Rekindling Connections

I met ‘Defeated Protagonist Defeat Comfort’ about nine years ago, when we were still in the first year of middle school.

We met in a game, in League of Legends.

At that time, League was in its twilight years.

The long-standing game was approaching its 20th anniversary, but it had ultimately hit its limits.

The number of users was gradually decreasing, the loneliness was growing more acute, and the strange champions were increasing.

Back in elementary school, being a Challenger in League was respected among boys, but just before its downfall, even the top Challenger was not garnering much interest.

Well, there was some interest, I suppose.

I know this because I reached Challenger myself.

Even in a dying game, people recognized you in school.

Anyway.

Same Challenger rank.

Same age.

Same interests.

With these three factors aligning, I became friends with ‘Defeated Protagonist Defeat Comfort.’

By the way, there was one more person: a kid named ‘Bbang Bbang is Good,’ but I have no idea what happened to him.

When playing League of Legends, ‘Defeated Protagonist Defeat Comfort’ claimed to be a one-champion player of ‘Kayle,’ a ranged dealer.

He loved angels but would never say Kayle was weak.

Because of this, when I saw the angel character Metatron, I immediately thought of ‘Defeated Protagonist Defeat Comfort.’

He had sent hundreds of angel memes back then, so it was an incredibly easy associative quiz.

We were quite close, but it was also a dry relationship.

We didn’t have each other’s personal contact information.

We didn’t exchange the usual voice chat IDs, and we never used in-game voice chat either.

We only communicated through the group chat provided by League of Legends, so I only knew ‘Defeated Protagonist Defeat Comfort’s’ age.

I knew nothing about his name, real name, or voice.

That’s why our connection completely severed as soon as I quit League of Legends.

In this situation, the only way to confirm that the streamer PatPat and ‘Defeated Protagonist Defeat Comfort’ were the same person was to observe his gameplay.

I knew his playstyle well, if nothing else.

So, I turned on PatPat’s stream and queued up at the right timing, and fortunately, I succeeded.

PatPat: No. You did target me, right?

Han Yurim: I didn’t play to lose.

Don’t interrupt during the explanation.

Having played a game with PatPat, I was convinced.

PatPat was indeed ‘Defeated Protagonist Defeat Comfort.’

I typed in the friend chat.

Han Yurim: I thought you’d leave your wife and start a new life.

This must be due to your lack of charm, right?

PatPat: Please don’t say weird things.

Clearly specify Kayle instead of your wife.

What’s wrong with him?

I checked PatPat’s chat.

My childhood friend, hee hee.

After ten years, my childhood friend turned out to be a beautiful girl.

Please recommend me some light novels like this.

There were no major issues.

I also looked at my chat, and it was fine.

No need to make a fuss.

Han Yurim: Just give me your voice chat ID.

If we don’t exchange it, our connection will be cut off.

Who doesn’t exchange voice chat IDs these days?

PatPat: Isn’t it because you said you absolutely wouldn’t use voice chat?

I sent a friend request to his ID as he suggested, and soon the voice chat call came in.

As I clicked the accept button, a deep male voice came through.

[Hello?]

“It’s been a while.”

At my words, PatPat paused for a moment before slowly asking,

[…………You’re a girl?]

“Didn’t you just realize that?”

Still, I thought we should have known each other’s genders, but then I remembered he hardly shared anything about himself even when he was male.

He only told me his age for genealogical reasons; he didn’t reveal anything else.

It wasn’t particularly strange that PatPat just learned my gender now.

“Does it matter?”

[Well, your tone did sound feminine.]

“It’s just a conclusion.”

My tone hadn’t changed from before.

I spoke the same way even when I was male.

In other words, PatPat’s comment was nonsense.

“It was easy to recognize you because your name is PatPat.

Did you like your old nickname? So you shortened it.

If it were me, I’d say ‘Defeated—.”

[Hey, wait a minute. Don’t say that.]

“Why not?”

[I’ve never mentioned it on stream.]

“Didn’t you just mention my nickname on your stream?”

Why can I not reveal my nickname? That’s hypocritical.

[You were a clean user, right? What’s the problem?]

“If we’re talking about clean users, PatPat, you didn’t exactly go around cursing either.

So why can’t I reveal my nickname?”

In the twilight years of League, chat moderation was strict, so while trolls existed, cursing was simply not allowed.

[Well, that’s.]

“What’s that?”

[It’s embarrassing.]

“Ah.”

I understood.

It must have been a nickname like that.

As I figured it out, the viewers were excitedly chatting away.

What kind of embarrassing nickname did the Virgin Unicorn Lover acknowledge? Haha.

It’s a nickname I came up with in middle school.

I was a hundred percent out of my mind back then.

The viewers suggested several speculative nicknames starting with “Pat.”

I quickly covered my mouth upon seeing a few of the names.

It wasn’t that outrageous.

Well, the elephant in the box is usually the most powerful.

By the way, PatPat, I was going to say something?

You can’t say anything later?

[Hey. But what’s up with you?]

“What do you mean?”

[Your reaction time wasn’t like this before.]

That was an interesting comment.

I wasn’t the type to rely on reaction speed when I was male, but isn’t this a world where I’m a girl?

Since my reaction speed is good now, I naturally thought it would be the same as before, but apparently, my physical abilities weren’t that great.

Then it must have improved after becoming an adult.

This was intriguing.

“I guess it’s because the game is well-made.”

[Game?]

“It’s called gaming doping.”

[Is gaming doping actually a thing?]

It is.

I asked out of curiosity about something I was wondering.

“What happened to BangBang?”

[BangBang?]

“‘I love BangBang.’ You know, the guy who liked busty women.”

I refrained from mentioning more specific preferences as it was inappropriate for the stream.

[Ah….]

PatPat let out a low sigh.

Why is he reacting like that?

Public disclosure of Lumen’s preferences, haha.

Lumen? Isn’t he a pro gamer?

I often saw that name while browsing the community.

“Did BangBang become a pro gamer? I mean, he did go to train, so it makes sense.”

[Call him Lumen. You’d feel embarrassed if someone called you by your old nickname….]

“Not really?”

I don’t even have an embarrassing nickname. I’m confident about it.

“I guess you kept up with news about BangBang?”

[Well, we had voice chat long before.]

“Except for me?”

I almost cried out of disappointment.

The group chat was a crime.

It was a malicious crime that breaks a person’s heart.

[No matter how much you say, you didn’t give me your voice chat ID.]

“There were circumstances.”

[What circumstances?]

“I couldn’t use voice chat because of home issues.”

[…Was your home strict?]

“No, that’s not it.”

My home is very free.

It’s so free that a middle school student could play games until 7 AM on a weekday without anyone saying anything.

Not in the morning, but at 7 AM.

People who stay up all night use this kind of notation.

“You see, our computer was in the living room?”

[So?]

“My mom was watching TV right next to me, and if I used the mic, she’d hear everything.

It was embarrassing.”

[You could at least listen.]

“If I did that, your voices would come out of the speakers.”

[You could use headphones….]

“But they hurt my ears.”

I could hear a sigh through the mic.

He must have been in awe of my logic, letting out an excited breath.

After achieving a perfect victory, I suddenly became curious.

“PatPat, aren’t you going pro?”

[If I wanted to, who would let me?]

“You’ve received a lot of offers, though. Your physical abilities are still great.”

PatPat was someone who had extreme physical skills even in the past.

He also possessed the intellect to match, making him a coveted asset in the pro scene.

“I miss the old PatPat. You used to blow up the bottom lane at 2 minutes, the mid lane at 3 minutes, and destroy the Nexus at 4 minutes.”

[Even with hacks, I couldn’t do that.]

“Even if you’ve aged, your playstyle hasn’t changed.

When you’re behind, you immediately respond mechanically, but as I said before, that makes it easier to read you.”

[Usually, that’s praised as a cold and emotionless playstyle. You’re the only one who calls it an easy-to-read playstyle.]

“BangBang agreed, too.”

[He probably agreed because you kept pushing the issue. I’m sure of it.]

That guy, BangBang.

Did he just agree because I was being annoying?

I can’t let that slide.

This time, I’m going to get a sincere agreement.

[You still have the same playstyle, too.]

“I don’t really have a distinct playstyle, though?”

[With your creepy, suffocating, and unpleasant play, I recognized you right away.]

Was my old play like that?

I think it might have been.

But that was unavoidable.

To hit Challenger with physical abilities between Master and Grandmaster, I had to resort to tricks.

But I don’t do that anymore.

I’ve turned over a new leaf.

I was just a hopeless case from the beginning.

It’s science, I tell you.

If it’s like this now, I can only imagine how it was back then, haha.

It’s strange.

Why are the viewers resonating with this?

I’m a very clean user now.

Aren’t I?

If not, then forget it.

“Also, please give me BangBang’s contact info.”

[I’ll tell him to add you as a friend.]

“This covers everything. You’re busy with your stream, right?

I’ll be going now.”

How about doing a duo after a long time?

[Sure.]

“Duo?”

I recalled PatPat’s position.

His role was the main carry.

So, if we were to duo, I’d have to play support.

“I don’t want to.”

[Are you busy?]

“I’m not busy, though.”

No.

[Then why not?]

Why not?

Isn’t it obvious for a streamer?

“It wouldn’t be fun to stream from a support screen.

I feel bad for the viewers.”

[You’re still the same.]

Really.

“Thank you.”

[Do you really need to play support just because it’s a duo?

You can play core in the city.]

At those words, I paused for a moment and then replied.

“Alright. I’ll do it as you say, PatPat.

But I’ll turn off the stream.”

[Why not?]

Why not?

What did he just think my explanation meant?

“I told you, it wouldn’t be fun to stream from a support screen.”

[You really are still the same.]

PatPat wasn’t the number one streamer on live broadcasts.

While his average viewer count exceeded ten thousand, that wasn’t enough to secure the top spot.

Thirty thousand viewers.

You needed at least this many to claim the number one position in live broadcasts.

[38,647 viewers]

And now, PatPat was ranked first in total viewership on V-TV.

This was due to the amusing situations that kept arising.

It was already entertaining enough that PatPat kept dying after being targeted (even if the stream sniping was a misunderstanding),

but it got even better when the sniper turned out to be a presumed beautiful girl from his childhood (who he hadn’t seen in ten years)?

I couldn’t hold back.

And now they were dueling together, drawing in people who usually didn’t watch streams.

Having 38,000 viewers wasn’t a record in streaming history.

Just two weeks ago, Gajunsik hit 100,000 viewers.

However, it was extremely rare for a duo broadcast with little content to reach 40,000 viewers.

Thanks to that, the VR broadcast gallery turned festive.

<PatPat, I know your old nickname, haha>

(Approximately an obscene nickname)

This is definitely it.

• This guy pretends not to be a nerd; I knew it, haha.

<Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen PatPat hit 40,000 viewers>

Isn’t this the first time since he participated in that streamer competition?

• He hit it once when he did a first-place run.

The discussions in the VR broadcast gallery mostly revolved around PatPat.

But that didn’t mean there was no talk about Han Yurim at all.

Shall we check what people are saying?

<So, Han Yurim was obsessed with games since childhood?>

And a former Challenger?

Usually, kids who spend that much time on games have a BMI that’s…

• But her voice didn’t sound like she had gained weight?

It’s hard to recognize someone solely by their voice.

<She must be obsessed with guys, haha>

Look at her enjoying it.

• In front of alpha males, everyone’s the same.
• Sigh. I loved her.

Let’s stop looking.

This gives a sense of the level of the VR broadcast gallery.

Now, shall we take a look at the VTuber broadcast gallery that is co-broadcasting with PatPat?

<If you’re a virgin unicorn lover, does that mean you’re also a virgin?>

I’m right, aren’t I?

• (Link to survey results on the average age of first experiences in Korea)

What you believe is the truth.

<Why am I the only one who liked first?>

I knew about Han Yurim first; why is it just PatPat?

• But PatPat met her first, didn’t he?

Let’s stop looking and focus on the game.

The duo of Han Yurim and PatPat was extraordinarily destructive.

For some reason, the synergy between Han Yurim, who knew the positions of all the enemy’s main carries,

and PatPat, who slaughtered the enemies with overwhelming physical skills, was catastrophic.

Thanks to Han Yurim and PatPat’s rapid winning streak, Diamond became a battlefield of slaughter.

Everyone they encountered prayed to get out quickly and hit Challenger.

After three consecutive wins, four consecutive wins, and five consecutive wins,

Han Yurim became a Master.

It was around the end of April.