Chapter 6: “It wasn’t fun”

Those small soldiers.

So, as Yeram and her friends called them—

‘Minions.’

They were consuming the minions.

In most games, there’s usually a way to earn resources, and in this game, called ” League of Legends,” the main goal seemed to be obtaining ‘gold’ by consuming these minions.

Otherwise, why would they keep repeating this action elsewhere?

“Whoop.”

• “No, Oppa, what are you doing? Why are you so good at getting the last hit with Sorika?”

“I just right-click, and it happens.”

• “I told you not to right-click! Ugh.”
• “Aka.”
• “You’re being ridiculous, Aka. Wanna die?”
• “No, I don’t.”

It seemed like Yeram’s friends, being in the prime of their youth, engaged in a lot of community activities.

I didn’t think that was necessarily a bad thing.

Being part of a community is an individual’s freedom, after all.

As long as it’s not excessively one-sided, there’s no reason to criticize.

“Yeram, but is it right to just keep eating the minions like this?”

On YouTube, there’s a feature called ‘shorts,’ where videos are uploaded in under 60 seconds.

Occasionally, League of Legends clips would pop up in there, showing characters dodging and taking down enemies.

I wanted to try that.

• “You can’t do that with Sorika. Just stay in the back and heal me.”

“Isn’t that a bit of a stereotype?”

• “It’s not a stereotype; it’s a fact. If you want, try pulling off a super play.”

“Hmm.”

It seemed like since I was playing League of Legends for the first time, Yeram thought of me like an 80-year-old grandpa groaning in a senior centre and handed me a champion like this.

Anyway.

But still, the champion wasn’t boring.

“Yap.”

• “Yap? Ugh… why are you eating minions?”

“Did you just insult your elder brother?”

• “Whatever. Why are you eating the minions?”

“Because I want to.”

• “Fine, just keep eating them.”

“I was already doing that.”

Time passed.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

The repetitive sound rang out.

When I checked the screen, it showed that our allies were coming toward where we were.

“What are they coming for?”

• “Oh, in League of Legends, the jungle position usually moves around to take down enemies. That’s a key to winning.”

Honestly, I didn’t really understand what she was saying, but I approached the enemy after hearing Yeram’s urgent words.

Then, a stupid-looking champion threw an anchor at me and tied me up on the spot.

“Oh, that looks fun.”

The champion I’m currently using doesn’t seem to have any skills like that.

If I get a chance in the next game, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try something like that.

At that moment—

• “Oppa, nice shot.”

As Yeram’s friend said this, they reduced the enemies’ health with a champion wielding chains.

Then, shortly after.

The opposing team’s champions fell at that spot.

Simultaneously, a message appeared on the screen.

[Double Kill!]

• “Oppa, how about that? Isn’t it awesome?”

“Agreed.”

Although I didn’t know much about League of Legends, if we managed to take down the opponents, that must be a good thing.

• “Why are you seeking approval in normal mode?”
• “You’re stealing CS from Sorika and still talking a lot.”
• “No, crazy girl. You try it and see if it works.”
• “No, I don’t want to.”

It seemed like the friends in the jungle position and Yeram were the ones who talked the most.

The friends in other positions didn’t say much.

• “Got the mid.”

Then, shortly after.

[Our ally has been killed.]

• “You said you got it.”
• “It got taken.”
• “Ah.”

‘What’s this?’

Why is everyone so calm if it got taken?

I thought I’d ask about it later and continued playing the game.

• “Let’s stop here for today. Oppa, how was it today?”

“…It was more fun than I expected.”

It was indeed more enjoyable than I thought.

Even though the rumours about League of Legends were quite terrifying, there wasn’t as much swearing as I expected.

There was some swearing, but it was just among friends.

The rumours I’d heard before seemed to be greatly exaggerated.

‘Such an overreaction.’

While I was thinking this and drinking some water, Yeram came up to me and said—

“Oppa, you said Legends would be boring, but why are you enjoying it so much?”

She hit the nail on the head.

I had indeed said something like that before.

‘What’s so fun about people swearing at each other? Instead, you should just raise earthworms or something.’

Thinking back now, I regretted those words a lot.

Playing League of Legends myself made me realize how much fun it was.

So much so that I regretted my previous statements.

“Oppa, I’m going to bed now. Playing Legends for a long time made me sleepy.”

Yeram said this, turned off the lights, and lay down.

Her usual routine was to sleep after coming back from school, so staying up to play games must have made her tired.

“Hey, wake me up at what time tomorrow?”

“Just the same.”

“Okay.”

Even though I didn’t wake her up today, I usually did try to wake her up if possible.

Yeram was someone who needed a lot of sleep.

So, Yeram put in her earbuds and closed her eyes, leaving only my monitor shining in the small apartment.

“Maybe I’ll play a little more.”

Having had a negative perception of League of Legends, I hadn’t planned on playing it too much.

I thought I’d play a bit and then go to bed.

With that in mind, I clicked on ‘Create Account.’

Tweet-tweet—

“Wow, damn.”

It was definitely night just a while ago.

Now, as I came to my senses, the sun was rising.

The sun was rising.

No matter how focused I was on the game, it was the first time I hadn’t noticed time passing like this.

Work starts at nine.

Even if I tried to sleep now, I would only get about three hours of sleep.

“Ugh…”

Although I like games and communities, I usually make an effort to maintain my daily rhythm.

How did it come to this?

‘But, well…’

It was fun.

I wasn’t particularly angry about it.

Thinking this, I shook Yeram, who was lying down, just like I’d shake a spoon after washing it.

“Ugh… wake up… I’m up…”

“Wake up, open your eyes, and do some stretching, and I’ll give you credit.”

“Damn…”

Faced with the strict condition, Yeram frowned but soon got up and began some simple stretches.

“To go to the military, you have to do this kind of stuff all the time, so I’m teaching you in advance.”

“Really, you’re so annoying in the morning…”

“Hmm.”

When I smacked Yeram’s bottom a few times for speaking casually to me, she quickly became obedient.

As expected, the old remedy of physical discipline still worked on those who didn’t listen.

“Your hand is really stinging.”

“Yeah, yeah, hurry up and shower.”

Although there was still plenty of time before school started, I woke her up early because she needed to go for self-study.

Self-study was tough.

Thinking of self-study reminded me of my own experiences.

Was it during my first year of high school?

I attended an all-boys school known for its strong track record in university admissions.

As a result, after classes, everyone was put into a study room.

I think we started school at 6 a.m. and finished at 11 p.m. back then.

‘Even now, it seems like torture.’

Anyway.

Despite the oppressive atmosphere, there were students who skipped self-study and used various methods to escape.

Some would climb out of windows, and occasionally, some would change into civilian clothes and sneak out of school, pretending to be graduates.

Among them were my friends, who, while skipping self-study, were caught and fled at incredible speed while casually saying:

“I’ll show you the limits of speed.”

I remember clearly because I watched from the same hallway.

Then, as my friend was running and saying this, he tripped, and at that moment, the head teacher opened the door and unintentionally tackled him.

It was the first time I saw someone spinning in the air.

‘I wonder what he’s doing now.’

Thinking back, he had an exceptional talent for injuring people’s ankles, so I wonder if he ever tried playing soccer.

While I was having such random thoughts, at that moment—

“Power off the hair dryer.”

“Okay.”

Since I planned to make her work hard after she graduated, I could tolerate this kind of treatment.

The hair dryer, which I bought second hand, had some wear on it.

But it still worked well, so I was satisfied.

“I’ll dry your hair.”

“Thanks.”

As I was drying Yeram’s hair, she suddenly said—

“Huh? What’s this? When did you play League of Legends?”

Noticing my computer screen, Yeram asked the question.

I answered casually.

“Just… out of boredom.”

I didn’t want to react too much and give the impression that I found ‘League of Legends’ enjoyable.

I didn’t want to seem that way, considering the things I had said before.

But then—

“What’s your record? Did you play all night?”

Yeram, having checked my record, looked at me and chuckled.

I could feel my face heating up, but I calmly gave the excuse I had prepared.

“I might play with you guys later.”

“Well, you could just borrow our account.”

“Just in case, it’s always good to be prepared.”

“Pfft.”

“My dear little sister, could you please keep quiet?”

“Sure!”

It seems like I’ll have to give Yeram another lesson soon.

I’ve never raised her like this.