[Guild] CrossroadBlossom: Ah lolololololol
[Guild] NothingToDoMasae: Helljang, are you an author?
[Guild] ThreeGreat999: Probably an author whose books don’t sell
[Guild] HelljangOut: But that catfish… the guild master kept refusing her, so she finally gave up. But then she saw ThreeGreat999’s warm chat like “Are you okay?” and fell in love again.
[Guild] ThreeGreat999: ♡♡
[Guild] GiveMeHouseDeed: Lolololololololololol
[Guild] IHaveAMan: Lololololololololol
[Guild] NewCon: Lololololol
The chat was absolutely flooded with “lol.”
Ji-han rubbed the back of his neck. For some reason, he didn’t feel like laughing. But wanting to blend in with the cheerful guild members, he typed “lol” into the chat.
***
Ji-han quickly grew close to his guild members.
What surprised him was that the guild chat wasn’t always noisy.
And an even more astonishing fact?
Olivia was usually quiet.
‘I can’t believe it…’
But it was true. He was actually one of those who played the game quietly.
Unless he ran into a catfish.
Whenever Olivia encountered a catfish, he would absolutely go wild. The way he sat quietly and then suddenly spammed the chat with hearts could only be described as a fit.
[Guild] Olivia: ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
Olivia threw a fit again today.
Since joining the [Tenacity] guild, Ji-han often recalled the saying that humans are creatures of adaptation.
It seemed to be true. Ji-han no longer felt surprised when Olivia threw a fit. He just took it in stride, like the other guild members.
Ji-han was a bit worried about himself getting used to the hearts. Was this okay?
[Guild] InnocentWizard: Guild master
[Guild] InnocentWizard: I think
[Guild] InnocentWizard: You’re like a catfish magnet
[Guild] InnocentWizard: Hmm… how about performing an exorcism?
[Guild] IHaveAMan: Innocent-nim lololololol
[Guild] GiveMeHouseDeed: That adaptability is insane…
[Guild] GiveMeHouseDeed: Innocent-nim, lol, I bet you could live fine in the wild even without a house.
[Guild] GiveMeHouseDeed: Please give me a house deed.
[Guild] IHaveAMan: Look at you only being serious when asking for a house deed…
[Guild] GiveMeHouseDeed: Well, I’m always sincere.
[Guild] IHaveAMan: >_< House-nim>
[Guild] GiveMeHouseDeed: Why are you filtering out “robber”? That’s not a swear word.
[Guild] GiveMeHouseDeed: “Robber” is fine, but when you say “r-robber” it sounds like a bad word and it pisses me off lol.
[Guild] IHaveAMan: House-nim, you look like a “r-r-robber” to me ㅇ,ㅇ I’m scared.
[Guild] GiveMeHouseDeed: But you know? People who will never own a house in their lifetime don’t need to be scared of me. For example, the homeless, and IHaveAMan.
[Guild] IHaveAMan: Lol
[Guild] InnocentWizard: You two
[Guild] InnocentWizard: I’ve felt it for a while, but you seem really close.
[Guild] GiveMeHouseDeed: Ah
[Guild] GiveMeHouseDeed: Just… call me r-r-r-robber.
[Guild] NewCon: Lolololol
[Guild] NewCon: Where did the 4 go? lol
[Guild] IHaveAMan: I can’t take it anymore. I’m leaving the guild.
[Guild] IHaveAMan: Ah wait
[Guild] IHaveAMan: Hold on
[Guild] IHaveAMan: Guild master, that was a joke
[Guild] IHaveAMan: You know that was a joke, right?
[Guild] IHaveAMan: Heh heh
[Guild] IHaveAMan: This is all a lie.
[Guild] CrossroadBlossom: Lololololololololololololol
[Guild] ISaidItWasCool: Lol, that lie was cool.
[Guild] NothingToDoMasae: Ah, sh-t lololololol
Ji-han had adapted so well to the guild that he occasionally teased the guild members. Perhaps because everyone reacted well, he found it quite fun to throw out a comment now and then to mess with them.
Then one day.
The vice guild master, DontPissMeOff, suddenly asked a question.
[Guild] DontPissMeOff: By the way, Innocent-nim, how old are you?
At that time, Ji-han was hunting monsters in the field to gather materials for dungeon entry.
Using attack skills repeatedly to massacre monsters was almost manual labor. No, it was simply manual labor. As a result, Ji-han was half-zoned out while hunting.
And because of that, he ended up answering DontPissMeOff’s question honestly.
[Guild] InnocentWizard: I’m 22.
The moment he answered, he came to his senses belatedly. Ah, this is crazy. Kang Ji-han, are you insane?
‘I should have said Jaemi’s age, why did I say my real age…’
Should he claim he said it wrong now? But who in the world accidentally says their age three years older?
Correcting it now would look highly suspicious. If he was careless, he might even be suspected of being a catfish. He had to be careful. Others might not, but Olivia… she seemed to have a knack for exposing catfish.
[Guild] DontPissMeOff: Oh, really??? Then you’re in college now, right?
[Guild] InnocentWizard: Haha… yes.
No choice. Ji-han thought he would honestly tell Jaemi about this when he returned the InnocentWizard account to her later.
[Guild] DontPissMeOff: Which college do you go to?
Suddenly, an investigation into his academic background began. Just as Ji-han hesitated and typed “I’d rather not share personal” into the chat,
[Guild] DontPissMeOff: I’m 20 and go to M University!
Ji-han quickly deleted what he had typed. Ha. She revealed first, so he couldn’t avoid telling his.
[Guild] InnocentWizard: I go to K University.
Ji-han debated whether to say the school Jaemi was aiming for or the one he attended, and chose the latter.
In the off chance that he said the school Jaemi wanted to attend and ran into a classmate there, there would be no way to fix it. That would truly be a ♡ situation.
‘I’ll tell Jaemi about this later too.’
Kang Jaemi had unknowingly become a 22-year-old K University student. By next year, when the CSAT is over and she fully returns to Eleven Wizard, she’ll be a 23-year-old K University student.
‘Sorry, Jaemi.’
He hoped she would think of it as the price for becoming a guild member of the top guild on the server… No pain, no gain—without losing something, you gain nothing.
[Guild] DontPissMeOff: Innocent unnie, you must be really smart at studying! That’s awesome…
[Guild] DontPissMeOff: Ah, is it okay if I call you unnie??
[Guild] InnocentWizard: Haha, yes.
Ji-han answered diligently as 22-year-old Kang Jaemi attending K University.
But just being called unnie already filled his chest with guilt and made him break out in cold sweats. How did catfish do this professionally (?)?
It seemed he was too timid to ever become a catfish. Not that he ever intended to.
[Guild] Olivia: If you’re 22,
[Guild] Olivia: Then you’re older than me.
For once, Olivia joined the conversation with a calm tone.
Olivia when not throwing a fit was always unfamiliar. Actually, Olivia was basically quiet except for intermittent heart attacks triggered by catfish, so it should be the fit-throwing that felt unfamiliar, but Ji-han felt the opposite.
It seemed to be because the first impression was too strong. There’s a saying that first impressions last a lifetime, and that was indeed true. As you live, you naturally realize that there are many true sayings in this world.
[Guild] InnocentWizard: Really? Guild master, how old are you?
[Guild] Olivia: I’m 21.
[Guild] InnocentWizard: Whoa… you’re young.
[Guild] Olivia: It’s only a one-year difference, lol.
True. But for some reason, he couldn’t picture Olivia being younger than him. So it was hard to imagine Olivia calling him hyung.
……It was natural that it was hard to imagine. If the day came when Olivia called him hyung, that would be the day he became ♡. Kang Ji-han, what’s wrong with you today?
[Guild] InnocentWizard: By the way, if you’re 21,
[Guild] InnocentWizard: You probably haven’t been to the military yet.
Wait. Do women usually talk about this kind of thing? Ji-han quickly corrected himself.
[Guild] InnocentWizard: It’s nothing, just a junior
[Guild] InnocentWizard: Was fretting because her boyfriend was going to the military soon
[Guild] InnocentWizard: So it suddenly came to mind haha.
Phew… He managed to cover it up. Not bad with the quick thinking, Ji-han.
[Guild] Olivia: I don’t go to the military.
[Guild] Olivia: I’m exempt.
Ji-han stopped mid-self-praise. What? Military exemption?
[Guild] InnocentWizard: Why????
[Guild] InnocentWizard: ???
[Guild] Olivia: Lol
[Guild] Olivia: There are three reasons.