MAX 16

Han Jiho followed Hansum, who had become the party leader, into the waiting room for ‘Dimension Clash.’ Chaehyun still hadn’t logged in.

‘I guess he’s not coming on today.’

With that thought, he checked the clock.

10:32 PM.

The evening hours, when they had agreed to play together, had already long passed. It seemed Chaehyun wouldn’t be showing up today.

No, he wouldn’t. He didn’t know the reason. He just had a feeling.

‘…Well, that happens.’

While his head told him it was fine, his heart felt somewhat disappointed. It was like the feeling of not receiving a gift he had been looking forward to.

“…”

Han Jiho let out an involuntary scoff. It was because he felt ridiculous for feeling this way toward someone he had only played a few games with.

I should go out and meet people more. This is all because I’ve been stuck at home since I retired. Thinking that, he checked the monitor.

“…”

On the screen, a tutorial window explaining the rules of Dimension Clash for a newbie like him was displayed.

Han Jiho read through it carefully.

‘Dimension Clash,’ a 5v5 team battle, followed a rule where teams had to defeat swarms of monsters and collect 100 ‘Dimensional Shards’ dropped by them to open the Dimensional Gate. The team that summoned and defeated the final boss first would win.

Additionally, by defeating elite monsters that appeared every time the shard count reached 40, 60, and 80, players could obtain a ‘Key of the Rift.’ This allowed them to open a gate called the ‘Rift,’ through which they could invade the enemy base or send powerful monsters to hinder the opponents’ progress.

Unlike Energy Spike, where the team that gained the most points by simply killing enemies won, Dimension Clash was a game with strong strategic elements.

[Party] 1Jiho: Anyone for voice? lololol

[Party] Hansum: Itcord go go

[Party] 1Jiho: Okay okay

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: I’ll just listen because of a broken headset issue

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: Buy a new one quickly

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: Give me money

[Party] Hansum: 98-nim, do you have an Itcord ID?

Itcord? Having checked the chat late while reading the tutorial, Han Jiho tapped the keyboard.

[Party] HanJiHo98: Ah, yes, I have one

[Party] Hansum: If you tell me your ID, I’ll invite you to our clan channel hhh

An invitation to the clan channel?

Han Jiho scratched his head for a moment and typed. Even though they were playing together, he felt it wasn’t quite right to be invited to the Itcord channel without being in the clan.

[Party] HanJiHo98: Uh

[Party] HanJiHo98: I haven’t joined the clan, is that okay?

And Hansum replied to that question with something other than chat.

[Hansum] has invited you to the clan [1225].

Accept | Decline

[Party] Hansum: Come on in lolol

[Party] HanJiHo98: What???

[Party] 1Jiho: What’s this, what’s this

[Party] 1Jiho: 98-nim, are you joining our clan?

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: A precious newbie is finally entering this humble clan

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: 98-nim, hurry up and accept go go!!!

[Party] HanJiHo98: hhh…

[Party] HanJiHo98: Is it okay for me to join hhh…

[Party] HanJiHo98: I’m worried the other members might not like it…

[Party] 1Jiho: ??????

[Party] 1Jiho: Who wouldn’t like it? Tell them to come out

[Party] 1Jiho: I’ll kill them all for you

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: There’s no such person, so don’t worry lololol

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: If 98-nim doesn’t join, who will?

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: Hesitation only delays your joining

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: Hurry up and come lol

[Party] Hansum: I’ll treat you well

Han Jiho wore a troubled expression at the party members’ messages urging him to join the clan. It was because forming a party as mere game friends and officially joining a clan to be active were issues on completely different levels.

Furthermore, as the psychological distance closed, the possibility of his identity being discovered increased. Of course, even if he were found out, it wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, but since it was clear it would cause an unnecessary stir anyway, Han Jiho couldn’t easily make a decision.

Especially in this situation where he knew they were his fans.

[Party] Hansum: Or do you have another clan you’re planning to join?

[Party] 1Jiho: Gasp, where? Our clan is the best ㅠ

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: No way, we can’t give our 98-nim to anyone!!!

As the hesitation stretched on, Hansum asked. Han Jiho typed with hesitant fingers.

[Party] HanJiHo98: Ah… it’s not that… hhh

[Party] Hansum: Then why are you hesitating? ㅠㅠ

[Party] 1Jiho: Ahhh 98-nim ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

‘…It’s because you guys are my fans.’

But how could he say that?

While he was silent and contemplating for a moment, 1Jiho’s message appeared.

[Party] 1Jiho: Could it be..

[Party] 1Jiho: Because of Chaehyun-hyung? ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] HanJiHo98: What???

What kind of nonsense was this?

He tilted his head while looking at the monitor. He didn’t understand what the intended meaning was at all.

[Party] Hansum: ???

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: What are you talking about all of a sudden

[Party] 1Jiho: No…

[Party] 1Jiho: Chaehyun-hyung is a bit of a prick..

[Party] 1Jiho: And he said weird things to 98-nim and all that..

[Party] 1Jiho: I was wondering if that was burdensome ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: Being a prick: agreed

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: Saying weird things: also agreed

[Party] 1Jiho: Then shall we kick Chaehyun-hyung out? So 98-nim can join

[Party] Hansum: You guys are really going wild because Chaehyun isn’t here

[Party] HanJiHo98: lololol

Han Jiho finally burst out laughing at the party members’ chat.

[Party] HanJiHo98: It’s not like that hhh

[Party] 1Jiho: Then why ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] 1Jiho: I want to play games with 98-nim ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: Don’t you mean you want to be carried by 98-nim? lolol

[Party] 1Jiho: Ah, that too, along with everything else hhhh

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: Isn’t that your true motive? lol

[Party] 1Jiho: Ah, why! Everyone wants to play with 98-nim!

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: You bet your as, fck yeah

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: Let’s play together, 98-nim lol

At their words saying they wanted to play together, Han Jiho realized that further agonizing was meaningless.

Because he, too, enjoyed playing games with them.

He clicked accept.

Ding!

[HanJiHo98] has joined the clan.

[Party] 1Jiho: Whoa

[Clan] 1Jiho: 98-nim ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Clan] JunkCollectionMaster: Finally lol

[Clan] Hansum: Welcome lolol

[Clan] WrigglingDdorak: Welcome 98-nim~

[Clan] MoncherTongtong: Hello

[Clan] GummyBear: Oh, a newbie

[Clan] GummyBear: hi hi~

[Clan] HanJiHo98: Hello, I look forward to playing with you hhh

[Clan] qwertypie: What’s this lol hello

[Clan] qwertypie: Rly a real newbie?

[Clan] 1Jiho: Yup lolol rly a real newbie

[Clan] 1Jiho: Someone Chaehyun-hyung met while leveling an alt

[Clan] qwertypie: Oh lol

[Clan] Jjallangi: Hi newbie-nim~

[Clan] BacteriaMan: hi hi lolol

[Clan] Sunfishchi: hi

This was the first time he had ever joined something like a clan while playing games. So this atmosphere was very unfamiliar and also fascinating. It felt like he had come to a different world.

Furthermore, despite it being quite late, the clan chat was extremely active. Since there were quite a lot of clan members logged in, the chat was pushed up and disappeared in an instant just from the greetings alone.

However, not every clan member welcomed him warmly. One clan member suddenly started pouring out complaints without so much as a greeting.

[Clan] LookingForGirlfriend: ?

[Clan] LookingForGirlfriend: Male?

[Clan] LookingForGirlfriend: Ah, stop bringing in guys;

[Clan] LookingForGirlfriend: Are there no girls around?

Han Jiho frowned at the sudden words looking for a girl. One could tell what kind of person he was just by his nickname. He seemed like a typical “girl-chaser” user commonly found in various games.

Just as the atmosphere was about to turn awkward because of that, Hansum’s chat appeared.

[Clan] Hansum: It’s my choice lol

[Clan] Hansum: If you don’t like it, hyung, go make a clan yourself lol

[Clan] LookingForGirlfriend: Is what I almost said lol

[Clan] LookingForGirlfriend: You know it’s a joke, right? lol

[Clan] 1Jiho: ;;

At Hansum’s firm words, LookingForGirlfriend cowardly tucked his tail as if it were a joke, and the conversation ended. The bustling clan channel was suddenly filled with silence.

“…”

Han Jiho was just watching the mood like a shrimp with a split back due to the unfamiliar atmosphere and the frozen chat window. That was when Hansum sent a whisper.

[Whisper] Hansum: I’m sorry, 98-nim ㅠㅠ

[Whisper] Hansum: That hyung is originally that kind of style ㅠㅠ Just ignore him ㅠㅠ

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Ah, yes..

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Understood hhh

[Whisper] Hansum: Sigh, honestly I really want to kick that human out

[Whisper] Hansum: He’s brothers with a member called Andi-nim, who was an initial member of our clan ㅠㅠ So it’s a bit like that ㅠㅠ

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Ah..

[Whisper] Hansum: Truly sorry, 98-nim ㅠㅠ

[Whisper] Hansum: Aside from him, everyone is a good person ㅠㅠ

To Han Jiho, who knew nothing about these things, it didn’t seem like a big deal that ‘LookingForGirlfriend’ was brothers with an initial member, but he decided to just let it be. After all, he knew well that it wasn’t easy to remove a stone that was already embedded.

Deciding to stay out of it, Han Jiho gave Hansum his Itcord ID, ‘zh001,’ and was immediately invited to the clan’s Itcord channel.

There were a total of 43 players in the channel, and 12 were currently logged in.

[WrigglingDdorak]

Didn’t 98-nim say the mic doesn’t work?

[JunkCollectionMaster]

98-nim’s Itco nick is also Han Jiho lol

Han Jiho just laughed awkwardly. In the rush, he had forgotten to change the nickname he originally used.

So, he was reflexively scanning the nicknames of the channel members on the right. In the list of members who were not logged in, he saw a familiar nickname.

“Uh…?”

And then, he saw the familiar faces in the circular profile pictures.