The Nosy Guild and a New Friend

‘Did he read my mind too?’

MiraculousEnergy didn’t press me at all, so I completely forgot about his whisper while playing PvP.

I chatted with guild members during breaks while waiting for matches, and even briefly met PatchNote to hand him some gold.

I was having a rather productive time, when a lengthy whisper arrived, and I let out a hollow laugh.

[Whisper/MiraculousEnergy>DontOrderMe: I’m Choi Ji-soo, sorry for the harsh words, I didn’t mean it, but Young-yoon and I are pretty close, so I think I was a bit nosy. There was also talk about you hitting Young-yoon, and I thought it was true. I should have checked with the person involved first. I was thoughtless.]

[Whisper/MiraculousEnergy>DontOrderMe: More than anything else, Moon Young-yoon has been having a hard time recently because of SoonToDie, and I think I just blurted out rude things without knowing it was you. Jungwoo, you are SoonToDie, and Young-yoon knows that, right? I’m sorry again. This won’t happen again.]

“‘Who is Choi Ji-soo?’”

‘Is she also a university classmate?’

I tilted my head at the unfamiliar name.

Still, compared to ‘IsHeATruePlayer,’ the lengthy whisper, perfectly apologizing for her mistake, made me feel a little better about my somewhat distorted impression of her.

At first, I planned to ignore any messages, but if I ignored this, I felt like I would be the bad guy.

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>MiraculousEnergy: I don’t know who Choi Ji-soo is, but I received your apology well, and I also have my fault for treating Moon Young-yoon harshly without knowing he was Transparency, so I understand that you did that out of concern for Moon Young-yoon.]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>MiraculousEnergy: Moon Young-yoon and I have already discussed this issue, so you don’t need to worry about it anymore.]

[Whisper/MiraculousEnergy>DontOrderMe: Uh… you don’t know me? We’re in the same department… Digital Content…]

Digital Content department was indeed our department, but the name Choi Ji-soo didn’t appear no matter how much I searched my mind.
At least, she wasn’t among the classmates close to Moon Young-yoon.
Since she got the department right, it probably wasn’t a lie, but who on earth was she?

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>MiraculousEnergy: ? First time hearing it.]

[Whisper/MiraculousEnergy>DontOrderMe: I’m… Jisoo sunbae… one year above you…]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>MiraculousEnergy: Yes?]

“‘Shiba…’”

‘She was a sunbae?’
‘No, how am I supposed to know the name of a sunbae I’ve barely run into a few times?’
‘And why are all my classmates and sunbaes playing Frisia?’
‘Do only kids from our department play this game?’

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>MiraculousEnergy: I’m sorry… I didn’t know you were a sunbae…]

[Whisper/MiraculousEnergy>DontOrderMe: No… I made the mistake first, and it’s possible you wouldn’t know.]

[Whisper/MiraculousEnergy>DontOrderMe: Let’s greet each other when we see each other at school next time…]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>MiraculousEnergy: Yes…]

I took my hands off the keyboard and immediately buried my face in both hands.

‘Damn, I’m so embarrassed I can’t lift my head.’

I lay blankly on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Before I knew it, tomorrow would be the New Year.

Thinking about what I had done in the past year, I only remembered going to school and playing games.

‘Shouldn’t I be doing something more productive, like a part-time job or something?’
‘I’m practically a total slacker.’

‘Now that it’s my final year, should I prepare a portfolio or something…?’

But the bed was too good.

‘It’s dangerous outside the covers.’

I had no motivation to do anything.

The approach of the New Year felt a little scary.

I suspected that adults my age probably all shared similar thoughts.

The confusion of not knowing what to do after graduating, the fear that I might truly become unemployed after graduation, the pressure of getting older day by day with nothing to show for it.

Even after finishing military service, the vague uncertainty persisted, and despite taking a year off, I still wasn’t sure.

I reached out for my phone at a faint vibration and saw a private message had arrived.

[Han Do-yoon: What are you doing, hyung?]

[Han Do-yoon: Are you busy, by any chance?]

Han Do-yoon, PatchNote.

I hesitated at the unexpected message, tapping my phone with my fingertips.

‘What should I reply?’

I wasn’t particularly doing anything, so should I just say nothing much?

[Nothing much.]

[Han Do-yoon: But you didn’t really play games today, did you?]

[Han Do-yoon: If something difficult is happening, please tell me.]

[Han Do-yoon: I’ll help with whatever I can.]

I hadn’t done anything all day.

Not only hadn’t I played the game I loved so much, but I also had no appetite, so I hadn’t eaten properly.

At least I was thirsty, so all I had consumed today was a few sips of water.

I felt so useless and let out a small, hollow laugh.

[Han Do-yoon: Are you okay?]

‘Can a person really be this pure?’
I didn’t know how he could show such kindness, having only known me for a short time.
‘I could be a bad person, you know.’
‘I don’t think I’ve shown him much of a good side.’

A surge of melancholia made me suddenly not want to be alone, so I sent him a reply.

[Are you free today?]

[Han Do-yoon: Where should I go?]

Han Do-yoon didn’t even ask why.
He merely sent a reply asking where he should go.

I felt a sudden lump in my throat.

‘He’s such a genuinely kind person.’

‘What if he gets stabbed in the back like that? What if I’m a con artist, and he’s so quick to say he’ll come?’
It brought back old memories.

When I first entered university at twenty, there was a classmate who was kind to me when I struggled to adapt to university life.

Everyone who knew that classmate was influenced by his bright and gentle demeanor and liked him.
That included me.

His image of smiling kindly, telling me to talk to him whenever things were hard, that he would listen, still lingered in my mind.

And I thought it was amazing how he spoke so casually about his difficult past.

My classmate, smiling and saying those things were in the past, that he was no longer struggling, looked cool.

Occasionally, when something unbearably difficult happened, I would seek out that classmate and unburden myself, and he would comfort me, saying I had gone through a lot.

I received a lot of comfort from him, who would pat my shoulder, telling me not to worry.

At that time, Moon Young-yoon and I weren’t particularly close, but Moon Young-yoon quietly approached me after seeing me get along with that classmate and said this:

‘He’s not as good a person as you think. Don’t get hurt.’

At first, I didn’t understand.

He was such a good person that I didn’t know why Moon Young-yoon would say that.

If I hadn’t followed Moon Young-yoon’s lead and overheard that classmate gossiping about what I had told him behind my back, I would probably still be suffering now.

‘He’s so annoying. I was just a little kind to him, and he keeps whining.’

‘I’m not his babysitter, so how long do I have to keep listening…?’

If he had just said it to my face, I wouldn’t have felt so utterly devastated.

The thought that a friend I trusted was talking behind my back consumed my mind, and I couldn’t go to school with a normal face.

If the enlistment notice hadn’t arrived just then, I would have taken a leave of absence for another reason.

If it hadn’t been for Moon Young-yoon, it would have been difficult to go back to school even after discharge.

Well, I was young then too.

What’s the point of worrying about things that have already passed?

I shook my head to clear my memories, then immediately sent a reply to Han Do-yoon.

It was a question that had consistently arisen.

‘Why is this person good to me?’
‘Why does he show unprompted kindness?’
‘Just like that classmate.’

[Why don’t you ask anything?]

[Aren’t you curious?]

[Han Do-yoon: I can wait until you tell me.]

[Do you know me?]

After sending it, I realized I had made a mistake.

My mind was preoccupied with other things, leading me to make a mistake I wouldn’t normally make.

‘He must have seen it in a bad light.’

I bit my lower lip hard and was about to open the keyboard again to apologize, but Han Do-yoon’s reply was faster.

[Han Do-yoon: I don’t.]

[Han Do-yoon: I don’t know, so I’m trying to get to know you.]

[Han Do-yoon: Where should I go?]

‘Wasn’t he just a twenty-year-old who had just become an adult?’

At times like this, it felt like he was older than me.

I laughed hollowly and sent him the name of the subway station closest to my house, and Han Do-yoon replied that he would be there soon and disappeared.

‘Why does this happen only around this time of year?’
‘Is it because I heard my classmate gossiping around this time?’
‘Would Han Do-yoon really come?’
‘I just made the appointment so suddenly.’
‘Will he really come?’

I nervously fiddled with my phone and changed my clothes.
Seeing myself in the same outfit I wore to the last meetup, I had the silly thought that I really didn’t have any clothes.

‘I’ll have to ask Moon Young-yoon to go clothes shopping with me again later.’

That guy, even if he grumbled about it being annoying, would sincerely help me.

And after picking out clothes that perfectly fit me, he’d playfully tell me to treat him to a meal.

‘I really do have a good friend.’

After about 30 minutes, a message arrived from Han Do-yoon.
It was a message saying he would arrive in 5 minutes, so I could come out now.

‘What if I go out and he’s not there?’
Biting my nails in anxiety and nervousness, I opened the front door and stepped outside.

The cold winter wind brushed against my cheek.

I exhaled softly at the chill and headed to the subway station.
Slowly, but not too leisurely, I walked on and on.

A belated regret came to mind.

‘I should have just contacted Moon Young-yoon.’

‘It would have been more comfortable meeting him than Han Do-yoon, who’s practically a stranger.’
‘Why did I do that?’