Chapter 25: I Won’t Just Sit Back Anymore

Beep—

“Shower and come right away. I’ll have the game set up.”

“Okay!”

The moment they arrived home, Hyunwoo and Chaea each rushed to the bathroom.

It was all part of the preparation for an all-nighter of gaming.

When committing to a long gaming session, nothing should get in the way.

If someone suddenly wanted to shower in the middle of a session and left their seat, only to end up falling asleep…

They wouldn’t be able to play as planned, and it would lead to the worst outcome—staying up late for nothing.

• Yoo Chaea, are you asleep?
• Zzz…
• Geez… She’s the one who wanted to play together.

This was data Hyunwoo had gathered from personal experience playing alone.

Swoosh—

Setting aside those lonely memories, he stood under the warm shower, deep in thought.

‘Will Yoo Chaea be able to keep up?’

Could they still pull all-nighters playing games like before? Even after losing her memories, did she retain her passion and persistence?

One fleeting thought led to another.

‘During vacation, we’d play until morning, and I’d secretly send her home…’

Just as he was about to step out, recalling the times before Chaea had taken over his bed—

‘…Wait. I feel like I forgot something important today.’

An uneasy feeling suddenly washed over him.

It felt as if something important was buried under all these random thoughts.

“Hmm…”

“What’s wrong, Hyunwoo?”

As he let out a sigh and stepped into his room, he came face-to-face with Chaea, wrapped in a bathrobe.

He had bought that robe specifically to get her to cover up after showering.

‘Why do I have to endure this ordeal every day?’

As always, it didn’t fit her chest properly. If anything, it made things worse, pushing everything together and emphasizing the valley between.

“It’s nothing. I just feel like I forgot something. But since I can’t remember, it’s probably nothing important.”

“Really? Then why are you backing away?”

“I’ll wait outside. Let me know when you’ve dried your hair and changed.”

“…I liked it better when you dried my hair for me.”

Click.

Pretending not to hear her last words, he stepped out and gently closed the door.

Any lingering thoughts that were about to surface had completely vanished.

They had been erased by the sight of freshly showered Chaea.

Whirr—

The sound of a hairdryer filled the room.

• I’m dressed, Hyunwoo.

Only after hearing her voice did he step back inside.

“…Where’d you even find that?”

“There were some clothes in the bag I brought before.”

Chaea had changed into a black tracksuit.

A typical ‘homebody look.’

“That’s what you always wore when we gamed together.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, we called it the ‘gaming suit.’”

It was their go-to outfit for marathon gaming sessions.

‘How does she make anything look like that…?’

Maybe it was because she had worn it for so long, but now it clung to her body, highlighting every curve—

‘Focus on the game.’

Shaking off unnecessary thoughts, Hyunwoo powered on both computers.

“Aren’t we eating first?”

“We’ll have a late-night snack later. Just log in for now.”

“Okay. But don’t get mad if I suck, alright?”

That was actually what worried him the most.

Their monster hunt was down to just one last boss—the black dragon.

Judging by how she had given decent advice last time, her muscle memory seemed intact.

But the final monster was the hardest of them all.

Still, there was no helping it.

Chaea’s memories were more important than any black dragon.

“You were always bad at it anyway, so no worries.”

“…That’s not true, though?”

“And yet you don’t even remember?”

Poking at the remnants of her gamer pride, Hyunwoo queued up the black dragon quest.

“…? We’re starting with this right away?”

“If we don’t start now, we won’t clear it by tomorrow.”

“Shouldn’t we warm up first? I don’t even remember the controls.”

“You’ll remember once you get hit a few times. Just log in already.”

“Ugh…”

Chaea fidgeted with her controller but hesitated to join.

It was obvious—she was afraid of dragging the team down.

“Scared? Want to do some low-tier quests first?”

“…I’m in.”

Using the 100% effective taunt word, Hyunwoo baited her into the quest.

“Oh… My weapon is called a Slash Axe? So that’s why it’s shortened to ‘Slaxe’?”

“Yeah. It’s trash.”

“…What?”

“I said ‘Slaxe.’”

Ignoring her sharp glare—

“…That’s a meta-abusing weapon.”

“What?”

“I remember now. It has broken skills like Counter Slash… but you still died more than me.”

Since there was nothing to criticize about her weapon, she turned to criticizing him instead.

“That never happened. You were always the one taking the last death.”

“That’s because you died twice before me! I had to dodge everything manually.”

A sense of déjà vu washed over Hyunwoo.

• Seriously? Another cart, Yoo Chaea?
• You died twice before me!
• The last one to die is always at fault.
• That’s not fair! You have dodge rolls and Counter Slash, and yet you always…!

Their old bickering, from when they used to hunt monsters together, was playing out exactly the same way.

“How much do you remember?”

“I don’t know. But one thing’s for sure.”

“What’s that?”

“I think I was better than you.”

“…What?”

Hyunwoo, a man whose gamer DNA had been engraved in him since childhood—

That statement cut deep.

“Then let’s bet on it. Whoever dies more while fighting the black dragon has to play a horror game.”

“T-That’s not fair! You have way more survival skills than me.”

“Oh? But didn’t you say you were better than me? That means you should die less.”

“Ugh… Fine! Let’s do it!”

Before she knew it, she had agreed to a horror game punishment.

At first, he had just planned to take it slow, since exams were over and she needed time to regain her memories.

But now—

“I should start thinking about which horror game to make you play.”

“You might want to pick something less scary, since you’ll be the one playing it.”

“You’re scared, aren’t you?”

“N-No way!”

Fired up by their rivalry, they went full tryhard mode.

Attempting the Black Dragon raid with the amnesiac Yoo Chaea was a series of surprises.

“Hey, are you sure you lost your memory?”

“I-I don’t know. My hands are moving on their own.”

Chaea wielded her weapon as skillfully as someone who had been playing the game just yesterday.

Given the difficulty of the monsters they were facing, it was good that she was getting used to the controls so quickly.

“I was planning to get you to switch weapons this time…”

“No way! Why do you keep trying to ruin my romance?”

Her obsession with her weapon resurfaced along with her stubborn streak.

“I’m saying this because it’s trash except for its damage. The motion is slow, the step speed is awful, and in sword mode, it’s as sluggish as a greatsword—”

“Ugh… Just die already, Dohyunwoo!”

Hyunwoo, who was listing off the flaws of Chaea’s weapon, failed to dodge the dragon’s breath attack.

“…That was a mistake.”

“How can you be a meta s*ave and still have such bad control?”

Where had the sweet, affectionate Chaea—who used to ask him to hold her hand when she slept—gone?

She immediately shot back with a sharp, cutting remark.

Hyunwoo felt a sting of frustration.

But wasn’t it odd to bring up things from outside the game right now?

Besides, she was right—this wasn’t a moment he should have died.

“…Sorry. I’ll be right back.”

He apologized without resistance, finished doping up, and descended back into the battle against the Black Dragon.

[Quest Failed]

Chaea got greedy for damage and got herself blown up, causing the entire quest to fail.

It had already happened multiple times.

Staring blankly at the screen, Chaea gave a small nod.

“I remember everything now, Hyunwoo.”

“What now?”

“The damage-greedy Switch Axe user and the Longsword user who always fails to dodge. We were the worst party ever!”

At last, Chaea had fully awakened.

That’s right.

Hyunwoo and Chaea loved playing the game.

But they were never particularly good at it.

They only cleared things through sheer persistence and brute force.

“Do you think we can actually beat this?”

“We’re going to be playing until tomorrow anyway.”

“I was including ‘until tomorrow’ in my question.”

After failing the quest multiple times, an ominous future seemed inevitable.

But—

“It’s not like we were ever good at this. We just kept going until we cleared it. Survival is strength.”

“Okay… Then let’s go again!”

With renewed determination, they moved their sticks.

In the end, looking at the results—

It didn’t take as long as they had expected.

Three hours into the attempt.

The clock hadn’t even struck midnight yet.

They hadn’t even gone past the next day.

“We… We did it!”

“Whew, that was brutal.”

They had poured every ounce of concentration they had into the fight.

They barely managed to take it down with just thirty seconds left.

It was only because the fight had gone through relatively simple patterns.

If they had to do it again? They probably wouldn’t be able to.

Thinking that they had been blessed by sheer luck, Hyunwoo massaged his fingers.

“We did it, Hyunwoo!”

Chaea dropped her gamepad and threw herself at him.

“You’re right, but why do you sound like a receptionist?”

After experiencing her sudden pounces multiple times, Hyunwoo had learned how to handle them.

He patted her back and tried to subtly create some distance.

“Hehe. We did it, Ai-bo!”

She was so happy about their victory that—

She climbed onto his lap and clung to him like a leech.

“I did so well, didn’t I? If we had a damage graph, I’d have been at 70 percent.”

“Sure, sure. But don’t you think we could’ve cleared it faster if you had played like a proper leeching Switch Axe user?”

“That would’ve been boring. You’re supposed to dodge everything with footwork!”

Squeeze, squeeze.

The way she was enthusiastically bouncing on top of him sent an immediate signal through his body.

“Wait—hold on—get o—”

“But weren’t you the one who died? And we still have a horror game to play, right? Should we jump right into that?”

Considering their current posture, if this continued, things would get really awkward.

Chaea was obliviously wriggling on top of him, unaware of what was happening.

Frustration surged in Hyunwoo’s chest.

‘Why am I always the one who has to be mindful of this?’

It wasn’t like he could just shove her off.

Hyunwoo steeled himself.

With a quick movement—

He lifted Chaea and practically tossed her onto the bed.

“Hy-Hyunwoo…?”

Her face, which had been all smiles a moment ago, was now painted with shock.

If she didn’t get it after this—

He planted his hands on the bed, bracketing her head, and stared down at her.

“Th-This is way too close, don’t you think?”

“This is how I always feel.”

Seeing Chaea’s eyes dart away, a wave of satisfaction washed over Hyunwoo.

Finally, she understood his struggles!

‘Yeah. I should’ve given her a taste of her own medicine sooner. I can’t always be the one suffering.’

Just as he felt he had found the ultimate countermeasure—

Creak.

The sound of a door opening came from behind him.

“…?!”

It’s a well-known fact that humans experience a surge of ability in moments of crisis.

Hyunwoo’s brain accelerated as if time had frozen.

There were only two people in the house right now—him and Chaea.

Which meant no one should have been opening the door.

However.

—Got it, Hyunwoo. I think I’ll be back in Korea after my exams, so let’s meet then.

A buried memory surfaced at the worst possible moment.

Today was the day his mother was returning from her overseas business trip.

The reason he hadn’t heard the front door unlocking was because his room was too far from the entrance.

Which meant the person who had just walked in was…

“Why didn’t you answer when I knocked… Oh my.”

None other than Do hyunwoo’s mother.

“Am I interrupting something?”

From an outsider’s perspective, it looked exactly like he was pinning Chaea down on the bed.

A situation ripe for misunderstanding.

Drip.

Cold sweat poured down Hyunwoo’s back like a waterfall.

Oh. Crap.