Chapter 34: The Game of Names and Surprises

“Ah, the meat’s here!”

As expected, the hanwoo on the table looked incredible, as if it was worth the expensive price.

Picking up the scissors and tongs, Pingkkok confidently said,

“I’ll grill the meat!”

“Oh, really?”

“Of course! You two don’t have to worry about a thing. Just sit back and enjoy the meat!”

From the way she said it, she seemed pretty confident about grilling the meat.

I thought it’d be fine to leave it to her.

That decision, however, turned out to be a big mistake.

“Ah… heh heh.”

“You’re laughing?”

“I’m sorryyy!”

I sighed deeply as I watched her bow her head, as if she was about to hit herself with a headbutt.

Well, it happens. Sometimes meat gets a little burnt when grilling.

I’m not the kind of person to get upset over something so trivial.

But then, why did she confidently offer to do it?

Looking at the blackened meat, I felt my own heart burning with frustration.

I wanted to give this woman a little smack on the forehead.

It felt like her actions were even younger than Suah’s.

Hmm. Maybe Suah’s the odd one here.

I sighed a few more times and noticed that Haneulkong, who had been sitting across from me alone, was smiling awkwardly and spoke,

“The burnt parts can just be cut off and eaten. Besides, we’ll pay for everything, so don’t worry about it too much.”

“It’s not about the meat being wasted. Alright, I understand.”

I reminded myself not to get too worked up.

This was a celebration gathering after winning the tournament, wasn’t it?

Getting angry now would only ruin the mood.

But still, I took the tongs and scissors from her hands.

“Ot…!”

“I’ll grill it. Just eat.”

“But…”

“Eat already. Here.”

I took a somewhat decent piece of meat and brought it to her mouth.

Surprisingly, she ate it obediently.

As she savored the flavor of the meat with a bright smile, Pingkkok said,

“It’s so delicious!”

“Haneulkong, you should pick a decent piece too.”

“I’ve already eaten. You should try it, Aehoga. It’s really good.”

Maybe I should try one piece too?

I picked up a piece of meat with my chopsticks, dipped it lightly in the oil sauce, and brought it to my mouth.

The scent and warmth of the meat hit my face. I blew on it gently to cool it down before taking a bite.

As I chewed slowly, savoring the texture of the hanwoo, I thought,

“Delicious.”

The tender texture of the beef filled my mouth. Come to think of it, I haven’t had such expensive meat in a long time.

Since returning to reality, I hadn’t spent much money on food. If I did, I prioritized quantity over quality.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have a big appetite, but rather that I didn’t have much money.

After all, how much would a delivery guy working at a poorly managed Chinese restaurant make?

I used to think I didn’t care much about money.

Having crossed life-and-death battles, I believed that money was just a worthless piece of paper.

But as I ate the meat now, I realized:

Money is important. The more you have, the richer and more varied your daily life becomes.

I still didn’t plan to obsess over it, but if I had the opportunity, I’d try to earn more.

I wanted to buy Suah some delicious hanwoo too.

I wanted to give her more diverse experiences, take her beyond the cramped counter of a Chinese restaurant,

and show her a bigger world where she could be happier than she is now.

“Aehoga?”

“…”

“Aehoga?”

“…Ah, yes.”

When I finally snapped out of my thoughts and answered, the person across from me looked at me with concern.

“Is something wrong? You were staring off into space all of a sudden…”

“No, it’s nothing. Just thinking for a moment. Whoa, that was close.”

I hurriedly flipped the meat over.

Thankfully, unlike Pingkkok, I didn’t burn the meat.

After that, I focused on the post-party and spent time enjoying the meal.

The hanwoo gradually made its way into my stomach, and the plates piled up.

The conversations at the table also continued to grow, and over time, our relationship began to get closer.

“But doesn’t it feel weird that only our table is being called by our nicknames?”

“That’s true. Should we just call each other by our real names?”

Both of their gazes turned toward me.

It seemed like the fact that I was being cautious about my identity was bothering him.

Honestly, it didn’t matter much.

As long as it wasn’t spread around, there wouldn’t be a problem.

I nodded casually and accepted it.

“Right. My name is Bae Gaeul.”

After I introduced myself, the man took the next turn.

“I’m Yoon Ji-seop.”

Lastly, Pingkkok (or rather, Hyejin) raised her hand and shouted,

“I’m Yang Hyejin!”

I nodded and made a note of their names.

Nothing particularly special about them just ordinary names.

“But you have such a pretty name, Aehoga.”

“What? Are you flirting with me?”

Pingkkok no, Hyejin teased with a mischievous grin.

Ji-seop looked startled and waved his hands in denial.

“What are you talking about? If you say that nowadays, you could really get in trouble!”

“Hmm? If we don’t report it, it’s fine, right?”

“Of course, but…”

“I’m fine with it.”

It really didn’t bother me.

It seemed like he wasn’t trying to hit on me but genuinely complimented my name.

Well, maybe not, but I didn’t feel bad about it. It just felt refreshing.

It’s the first time someone’s praised my name.

Of course, I’m not unhappy with my name, but Gaeul sounds a bit more feminine, doesn’t it?

Even though it’s unisex, when I was still a man, I sometimes thought it was more on the feminine side.

“But why do you keep calling me Aehoga when we agreed to use names?”

“Oh… I didn’t know what to call you.”

“You can just call me by my name. How old are you, by the way?”

He answered carefully.

“I’m twenty-five.”

“Oh. We’re the same age. I’m twenty-five too.”

This might be a surprise.

I thought he might be a bit older since he gave off a more mature vibe.

But then Hyejin, who was sitting next to me, exclaimed in surprise.

“Huh? You’re both twenty-five? I’m twenty-six!”

It meant she was twenty-six, I guess.

Honestly, if we were to judge by mental age, six years old wouldn’t be too weird either.

At first, I was surprised, but now I was genuinely shocked.

I couldn’t imagine that this woman might be older than me.

Forget everything else she looked so young that it was hard to believe.

She quickly placed her hands on her hips and laughed in a somewhat annoyed way.

“Hehe. Then both of you should call me ‘Noona’ or ‘Unni’!”

“Uh, that’s…”

“I’ll just call you Hyejin-ssi.”

“Hii! You’re being mean!”

Ignoring the whining Hyejin next to me, I focused on eating the meat.

After exchanging our names, it was clear there was less of a barrier between us.

By the time we finished the meal and left the restaurant, we were already speaking casually, as if we were good friends.

It wasn’t something anyone suggested, but naturally, the formality had dropped.

“But how are you so good at gaming?”

“How am I good? I just play a lot and try to improve.”

“If just playing a lot made you good, everyone would be a top player. You’re amazing.”

Even after we became more familiar, Ji-seop didn’t stop showering me with compliments.

“Guys! Let’s go for round two!”

“…From the way he’s acting, I think he’s really going to get drunk.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“Oh! I’m really good at drinking, you know!”

I didn’t believe it at all. By now, I had already marked Yang Hyejin as a clumsy, careless person in my mind.

Anyway, we paid the bill and headed to a nearby pub.

We sat anywhere, ordered three beers and some fried chicken, and the chatter continued.

This time, the topic of conversation was me.

To be more specific, the hot topic in the community Jjamppong Aehoga.

I didn’t stop him from talking; after all, the topic would come out eventually,

and I was also curious since I didn’t know the full situation myself.

“So you managed to successfully parry seven times!”

“Wow, really!? …But what’s parrying?”

Hyejin, with her pure brain, didn’t seem to fully understand, but her reactions were on point.

It meant that Aehoga’s name had spread far beyond the community and all across the entire I-Bae user base!

Even thinking about it now, it was pretty overwhelming.

“…Stop now.”

I couldn’t take it anymore.

It wasn’t a joke. The way she was going on, it seemed like she might start a cult.

Her faith was so strong that even though I tried to stop her, she kept preaching.

Wasn’t this blasphemy?

The God was commanding, and the believer was ignoring it.

Just as the conversation was about to end, a very drunk Hyejin looked at me with half-lidded eyes and asked,

“Then… why do you want to win the tournament so badly?”

I paused for a moment before answering truthfully.

“Because I need money.”

“How much…?”