Chapter 58: New account

In front of the convenience store, the person who crossed paths with me was none other than Rainbow—no, Ryujin-hyuk.

‘…Why is he here?’

It was such an unexpected encounter that it left me dumbfounded.

It almost made the recent farewell we had just days ago feel pointless.

More importantly, despite having known each other for a significant amount of time, this was my first time meeting Ryujin-hyuk in person.

‘Does he live around here?’

…But, isn’t this area expensive?

Even though Rainbow is a top-tier professional gamer, it’s not as if he could afford to live here easily.

‘His household situation isn’t that well-off, though.’

Though not in detail, I vaguely recall a conversation we once had about Rainbow’s circumstances.

“I think I’ll have to leave today because of my part-time job.”

As far as I knew, Ryujin-hyuk had been working part-time since his high school days.

So, the theory that he came from a wealthy household was ruled out.

While I was thinking about this, I realized exactly where we were.

[SY Palace]

‘No way…’

If that’s the case, could there be a connection between Rainbow living here and his affiliation with the SY pro gaming team?

‘Come to think of it, I remember hearing that after winning the first Red Cup, he received numerous extravagant offers from abroad.’

There were even rumors about blank checks being offered at the time.

To everyone’s surprise, Rainbow chose to stay with SY instead of heading overseas.

Of course, since SY is the top domestic team, it wasn’t an incomprehensible choice, but a few questions remained.

Why did Rainbow stay with SY, even at the expense of turning down numerous offers hailed as the most lucrative in history?

One of the answers to the long-standing mystery in the League of Legends community seemed to be right in front of my eyes.

“…Excuse me?”

The voice that brought me back to reality was Ryujin-hyuk’s, who looked extremely flustered.

“Uh… Can I pass through?”

“Oh, yes, of course.”

It was only then that I realized I had been standing directly in front of the convenience store entrance, blocking the way.

…Triple embarrassment.

Rainbow—or rather, Ryujin-hyuk—did not seem to be in good shape.

Dark circles hung low under his eyes.

His skin looked rough.

His cheeks were sunken.

He clearly appeared unhealthy, as if he hadn’t been eating properly.

‘If he’s here during what should be his stay at the team’s lodging, could it mean he’s on some sort of break?’

The new season was just around the corner.

This meant that even the team likely regarded Ryujin-hyuk’s condition as serious.

‘…Is it because of me?’

I wondered if I was overthinking things, but considering how our last interaction ended, it wasn’t entirely far-fetched.

‘Should I not have said anything?’

Perhaps simply disappearing quietly might have been better for Rainbow.

Not saying a word, letting him gradually forget about me.

Oh, right, that person.

I used to play games with them.

Huh? Ah, that person? They were pretty good.

Leaving it at that level of memory might not have been a bad idea.

But I hadn’t done that.

I still didn’t know exactly why, but that was how things had turned out.

Maybe that’s why I ended up calling out to Ryujin-hyuk now.

“Excuse me.”

Oh, is he ignoring me?

“Excuse me.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, you.”

What should I say?

Honestly, I hadn’t approached Ryujin-hyuk with a specific plan in mind.

But seeing him in such a state, I felt a strange mix of guilt and a sense of responsibility.

Should I cheer him on, telling him to stay strong as a fan?

Should I point out that he looks unwell and tell him to shake it off and return to his routine?

Or should I say something harsher, like telling him not to linger here and go back to his team’s lodging because I’m a free-spirited person?

None of these seemed like appropriate things for me to say at the moment.

Perhaps that’s why the words and actions that came out of my mouth were quite random.

“Here, drink this.”

“What?”

“You look dehydrated.”

I handed him a bottle of water almost carelessly, then hurriedly walked away.

“Huh? …Wait a minute!”

I could hear Ryujin-hyuk calling out to me from a distance, but I had already turned the corner.

And then I was surprised for a different reason.

‘What the… Why am I so fast?’

Even if Ryujin-hyuk spent a lot of time gaming indoors, physical training is mandatory for athletes in a top-tier team like SY.

Yet, I, who had never done much running, let alone exercise, had easily outrun him.

‘Should I have been an athlete instead?’

That thought crossed my mind, half-jokingly, as I marveled at my speed.

By the time I returned to the parking lot, my mother, who had already fetched the car keys, was waiting for me.

“Hey, don’t run. What’s the rush?”

Even though the distance wasn’t exactly short by my standards, I didn’t feel the slightest bit out of breath.

It was enough to make me think I should start learning a sport with how efficient my body felt.

“Hehe, here’s the water.”

“Oh… thank you. Hm?”

My mother looked at me with a slightly suspicious expression.

“Do you know a bottle of water costs 1,000 won these days?”

“Huh?”

“It showed 1,000 won on the card.”

“Oh…”

The card I used was, so to speak, a “mom card.”

Naturally, the transaction details were sent to my mother in real time.

“I… bought gum too.”

“Did you?”

Goodness… Did I really just say that as an excuse? And where’s the gum in the first place?

Embarrassed by my own pitiful improvisation skills, I cautiously gauged my mother’s reaction.

“All right.”

She probably didn’t believe my flimsy excuse, but she didn’t press further.

However, she did give me a very subtle smile.

Something about it didn’t sit right with me.

Two weeks passed in no time.

During that time, I didn’t do anything special, just spent my days idly.

Of course, the peacefulness applied only to me. Around me, things were bustling with preparations for moving and other errands.

Most of all, the online community was in an uproar.

“Where’s Prisoner? Where’s Prisoner? Where’s Prisoner? Where’s Prisoner?”

“[News] Rainbow resumes his schedule.”

“Isn’t it time for our galjoo to pop out with a surprise like ‘Just kidding, it was a hidden camera all along’?”

“Breaking: Prisoner hits Platinum, lol.”

“Prisoner, you idiot, lol.”

“By now, don’t you think Prisoner has become likable? Right?”

Contrary to expectations that interest in Prisoner would die down quickly, the obsession only grew stronger by the day.

‘Well…’

A player who achieved the first-ever 2,000 points in solo rank suddenly disappeared.

Given the community’s nature of obsessing over any and every rumor, it wasn’t surprising they wouldn’t let go of such juicy gossip.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter to me anymore.’

At least, that’s what I had decided to believe.

Prisoner no longer exists.

Soon, I won’t be Prisoner anymore either.

Even if it was just a shallow pretense, that’s what I had resolved to think.

‘By the way, when is Mom getting here?’

She texted me earlier saying she’d left, but…

Beep beep beep

The sound of someone entering the passcode.

At this hour, it could only be my mother.

“Yujin.”

“You’re here?”

“Here.”

With a pounding heart, I ripped open the paper envelope my mother handed me.

Inside the envelope was none other than an ID card.

[Name: Yuri Lee]

An ID card starting with “2” in the second part of the resident registration number.

Something about it felt… very strange.

Of course, my thoughts only lingered on the sentiment briefly before I focused on the functional purpose of the ID.

‘I can finally sign up now!’

My heart raced with excitement.

How long I had waited for this day.

Thinking back on the past three weeks, it felt like I had been trapped in prison again—this time not physically, but mentally.

Unbeknownst to me, League of Legends had become something that meant that much to me.

But that ends today.

“Are you that happy?”

“Yep.”

“Oh my.”

My mother laughed as if there was no helping it.

‘Whew, calm down.’

I reminded myself not to act rashly.

If I signed up or logged in here, it might leave a trace in the connection logs. I had to suppress the urge and hold out a little longer.

“Mom, can I head to the other house first today?”

I was referring to the penthouse at SY Palace, which would soon be our new home.

Since I heard it was mostly ready now, it seemed like the perfect place to handle the sign-up process.

“Sure. Hold on, let me call Mr. Kim for you.”

“Okay.”

Arriving at the new house with the driver, I opened the door using the card key I had been given earlier.

The sight of the penthouse, now completely organized compared to before, greeted me, but it didn’t matter at the moment.

“Whoa…”

Entering my room, I was met with the setup I had envisioned: four 480Hz ultra-high-refresh-rate monitors and high-end speakers.

It was truly a gamer’s paradise.

That wasn’t all.

Glancing at the balcony, I saw several different types of chairs, just as I had requested.

I had preordered multiple types of chairs, intending to switch them based on my mood and condition.

‘Let’s start with the PC café chair today.’

The comfort it provided, reminiscent of that unforgettable visit, was something I couldn’t resist.

“Up I go.”

Sinking into the soft cushion, I settled in front of the computer.

The near-silent hum of the PC accompanied the slow illumination of the monitor.

I eagerly accessed the League of Legends website, quickly created an account, and logged into the client.

[Welcome!]

“Hm…”

[Please choose a summoner name.]

The first hurdle had appeared.