The Aftermath of Chaos

I chuckled to myself, feeling like I was watching a comedy routine, then realized I needed to calm the heated atmosphere.

Do you know the best way to calm people down?
It’s by throwing out bone-crushing facts.

[You guys, is it okay to be doing this while you’re at work?]

[Shouldn’t you think about this after work?]

[Im Hyerin: ㅠㅠ…]

[Lee Seyoung: Th-that was… too much… such harsh words….]

[Im Hyerin: Let me… go home….]

[Welcome, working adults.]

[Im Hyerin: I really envy university students. That time was so comfortable.]

[Said the old fart.]

‘That university was comfortable.’
‘Isn’t that a truly old-fashioned thing to say?’

Beta noona, who had been expressing her anger, saying she would kill everyone in PK, then said that the free board was in chaos because of this incident, and I should go take a look if I had time.

‘However chaotic it might be, it’s all the same in the end.’

“Wow…”

No.
It wasn’t just chaos; it was absolute bedlam.

From complaints about how people who gathered points fairly would feel if guild points could be obtained in such a way, to articles cursing the [ArrogantFire] guild members who exploited a ridiculous bug they found, the reactions were varied.

“Several pages are all about this incident.”

Honestly, it was the biggest disaster in Frisia’s history.

Until now, at most, there had only been incidents of conflict in dungeons, but suddenly a major accident like a guild war bug erupted.
It was unavoidable that people were furious.

The Hanbit Guild and the [ArrogantFire] Guild did post some kind of explanation or apology.
They seemed to want to assert that it was mutual fault since it wasn’t just them, but us too, but the users’ reactions were cold.

– So you were trying to freeload off the guild war?? Are you saying you’re not at fault???

└ LOLOLOLOL. Seriously, if you got ambushed like that and weren’t pissed, are you even human? You should show them the taste of their own medicine, out of spite.

– If you found a bug, you should request the GM to fix it, not just exploit it LOLOLOLOL. Cowardly LOLOLOLOL.

└ Honestly, isn’t this also the GM’s problem for making the guild war like this? They should have made it properly in the first place; exploiting system flaws is also a skill.

└ Are you their friend? LOLOL. You guys hang out together, huh??

└ If you’re going to defend, defend where it makes sense; why defend something like this;;;

└ Probably doesn’t have friends.

– It’s also damn funny that the [ArrogantFire] guys immediately followed suit after seeing them use the bug LOLOLOL. Their reaction was super fast.

└ Turns out, they were waiting for them to use the bug, weren’t they? Since using the bug first would cause problems, they held back, forcing their brains to endure.

└ Your delusional imagination is off the charts;;

– Isn’t it also a problem that those guys followed suit?? Do they have nothing else to do that they follow stuff like that;

└ Then if your main guild members were all absent and you got ambushed, would you just stand there and watch? And not even get hit by skill, but by a bug?

└ Are you a RunawayTrain guild member?

└ It’s always those brainless bastards who have nothing to say that are so quick to pick sides, huh?

└ It’s always those brainless bastards who have nothing to say that are so quick to swear and then ignore it, huh?

I vaguely scanned through the comments and let out a soft sigh.

‘Why are these people so interested in other people’s business?’
‘I’ll probably get whisper-bombed like crazy for a while.’

‘I should just block everyone.’
I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes.

Due to this incident, the game company posted a notice announcing a reorganization of guild wars.

‘They should have made it that way from the start; I don’t know why they updated field wars before siege wars.’
‘Just looking at the notice, that one sounds more fun.’

‘Is it noise marketing?’

‘Is it because if they show something shitty first, what comes out later will relatively seem less shitty?’
Until the game company issues an official explanation, this personal theory will probably feel like the official truth.

‘What do I do until the patch ends?’

I had nothing to do.
Being someone who had only played Frisia all vacation, I found it troublesome when an update was in progress because I had nothing to do.

I wasn’t even particularly tired enough to sleep.
I felt like I wouldn’t be able to sleep even if I lay down.
Eventually, I slowly blinked and pulled out my phone.

[Im Hyerin: I think I’m leaving work early today, anyone want to hang out?]

[Kim Hyunho: What is leaving work early?]

[Im Hyerin: It means leaving work early, hehe…]

[Im Hyerin: OneHitForTheLord… don’t act like an old man.]

[Im Hyerin: If you act like an old man, I’ll act like an old lady.]

[Kim Hyunho: Does it really not matter?]

[Kim Hyunho: If young people see us, everyone here will look like middle-aged men and women.]

[Im Hyerin: Bastard…]

‘They’re having fun, huh.’

These two, at first, seemed to treat each other respectfully, but after the meetup, they became a complete comedy duo.
So, being bored at the moment, I decided to join their banter.

[How many days have you two been dating?]

It was just a joke.

‘Honestly, at this point, wouldn’t anyone see it as a joke?’
‘Don’t friends usually play around like, ‘Hey, are you two dating?’ and stuff?’
‘So, what I’m trying to say is…’

[Im Hyerin: Hey, how did you know?]

[Im Hyerin: Did Kim Hyunho tell you?]

[Kim Hyunho: SoonToDie-nim, did Hyerin tell you, by any chance?]

[Kim Hyunho: When did you hear that?]

I swear, I never expected to receive such serious private messages from the two of them.
‘What is this?’

My brain refused to comprehend the content they sent.

‘No, alright. Frankly, I did understand it.’
‘If I couldn’t understand it when they said it like that, I’d be an idiot.’

[Really dating?]

[Not a lie?]

I sent the same chat message to both of them individually.
I felt drained from the sheer absurdity.

‘No, I really didn’t know they were dating.’
‘There were no signs at all.’

[Im Hyerin: Hehe…]

[Im Hyerin: Did you… catch us…?]

[Yes…]

[Since when have you been dating?]

[Im Hyerin: Kids don’t need to know.]

“‘What a drama queen…’”

‘Even if noona doesn’t tell me, there’s one more person I can ask, you know?’

I exited Beta noona’s chat window and immediately sent a message to OneHitForTheLord-nim.

‘So, what then? What then?’
‘They say hearing about other people’s love lives is always the most fun.’

[OneHitForTheLord-nim, since when have you been dating Beta noona?]

[Kim Hyunho: Ah….]

[Kim Hyunho: After the meetup, the topic of us having a meal alone came up,]

[Kim Hyunho: So we went to eat together,]

[Kim Hyunho: And somehow, the atmosphere became like that,]

[Kim Hyunho: And Hyerin confessed first,]

[Kim Hyunho: That,]

[Kim Hyunho: I also wasn’t without feelings,]

[Kim Hyunho: I don’t know how to put this….]

‘So that happened.’
‘It was truly a relentless, full-steam-ahead kind of thing, wasn’t it?’

It was surprising enough that such a vibe had passed between the two of them, but I was doubly surprised by Beta noona’s boldness in confessing right there.

“‘An identity I never imagined…’”

[May you two have a beautiful love.]

[Kim Hyunho: Um… thank you.]

I exited the chat room and smiled faintly at the snow visible outside the window.

‘We’re all gamers, but some fell in love, and some, not being without feelings, started dating, while I’m just playing games at home.’
‘Good for them, good for them.’

‘Ugh, my side feels cold.’

“What’s the big deal about romance? Life is lived alone anyway. No one lives my life for me…”

‘I’m not saying this because I’m jealous. Really.’

(2)

I truly never dreamed that Beta noona and OneHitForTheLord-nim would date.

From what they said, it seemed they had feelings for a long time but decided to confess after the meetup.
It was certainly a good thing since things worked out between them, but…

“They should have told me sooner…”

As someone who considered myself quite close to both of them, I felt a little hurt.

Apparently, that was their biggest worry when they started dating.
They had hidden it because they were concerned that revealing it would create distance between themselves and others.

After hearing that they would tell others directly when the time was right, I nodded.

Anyway, since it was their relationship, me getting involved in the middle would also be a bit much.
So I decided to just stay quiet until they handled it themselves.

And so… contrary to my worries, no one asked about the two of them, and things remained truly quiet.
‘Perhaps the quick-witted ones already noticed, even without being told?’

A few days passed since I learned about the unexpected birth of this couple.

It was around the time I was enjoying a peaceful Frisia life today.
Suddenly, a whisper arrived from PatchNote.

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: I have a question, would it be okay to ask you something?]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: What is it?]

It wasn’t the first or second time PatchNote had contacted me first, so I didn’t think much of it.
Not until I heard his next words, that is.

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: By any chance… are Beta-nim and OneHitForTheLord-nim dating?]

“Woah…”

‘Did I say earlier that the quick-witted ones had already noticed?’
One of them must have been PatchNote.

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: Why are you asking me that?]

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: I guess it would be a bit difficult to ask them directly…]

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: And I somehow felt like you would know, hyung.]

‘Well, you certainly found the right person to ask.’
‘What would he have done if I hadn’t known, and he asked me?’

I rubbed my nose, wondering how to reply.

‘Should I say yes, or should I say I don’t know?’