MAX 22

“So you’re saying that the alt account you played the tutorial with turned out to be your fan?”

“Yeah.”

“And you happened to run into a fan at a shop, gave them an autograph, and took a picture—and that fan and the alt account were the same person.”

“Yeah.”

“On top of that, they’re a neighbor living in the same neighborhood?”

Han Jiho, who had been silently nodding, frowned slightly at the word ‘neighbor.’

“It’s a bit much to call them a neighbor. This neighborhood is huge.”

“Anyway, it’s true you live in the same area.”

Having summarized the story clearly, Seo Jaeyoon rubbed his chin with an intrigued expression. His eyes were sparkling like someone watching a fire across a river, a fight in the street, or listening to someone else’s love life.

“Hey.”

“What.”

“It’s fate.”

“What?”

“No, look. Why do you think people say even a brush of sleeves is karma? Haven’t you heard that if coincidences keep happening, it’s fate?”

Han Jiho let out a hollow laugh at the ridiculousness.

Hearing nonsense about fate while he was so distressed felt absurd. It made him feel like a fool for taking it so seriously.

Seo Jaeyoon pushed the dishes aside, rested his chin on his hand, and asked.

“So, what do you want to do?”

What did he want to do?

Han Jiho toyed with his water glass for a moment before answering.

“I don’t know.”

That was the biggest problem.

He didn’t know what he should do, or even what he wanted to do. He just felt embarrassed, ashamed, and humiliated. It was his first time facing such raw, unrefined emotions.

“Why?”

This time, a question about the reason followed. Han Jiho looked up at his one and only friend. For some reason, Jaeyoon looked like he couldn’t understand the issue.

“Do you dislike the person?”

“No.”

He shook his head. He had never once thought he disliked Chaehyun. He just felt a bit burdened and a bit sorry. It was as if he had unintentionally hidden his identity.

“Then, do you like them?”

But on the flip side, if asked if he liked them…

Han Jiho looked down for a moment, reflecting on his feelings, then shrugged and replied.

“Well, it’s not like I hate them. They’re just someone I met in a game, so there’s no reason to say I like or dislike them.”

It was ambiguous.

To call them a simple gaming friend, the fact that they liked him enough to be called a “hardcore otaku” weighed on his mind; yet, to think of them strictly as a fan and keep his distance felt like he was overreacting, which was ridiculous. After all, Chaehyun didn’t even know he was ‘Han Jiho.’

“Then just leave the clan.”

“Huh?”

“If you don’t hate them and you don’t like them, just leave. You said they’re just someone you met in a game. That person doesn’t even know you’re Han Jiho, so it won’t matter if you leave. There’s no need to agonize over it like this.”

Seo Jaeyoon spoke as if there was no problem at all. He was right. Even if he left without a word, nothing would go wrong.

But…

Han Jiho frowned with a dissatisfied face. He didn’t want to do that. He didn’t know why himself.

“But if you don’t know what to do and you’re worrying about it, it means you care about that person that much.”

“…”

“Am I wrong?”

“…I think you might be right.”

As he gave a vague answer, Seo Jaeyoon clicked his tongue and spoke while munching on the pickled radish that came as a side dish.

“Geez, man. Why do you live your life so complicatedly? If you hate it, you hate it; if you like it, you like it. Just live a bit more simply.”

“Still…”

“So what if that person is your fan? It’s not like you hid your identity and approached them on purpose, and they didn’t approach you knowing who you were either.”

“…That’s true.”

“Then just do whatever you want. You’re retired anyway, so what’s the problem, seriously?”

While pouring out the nagging, the sound of him crunching on the radish was loud.

“Well, if I were in that person’s shoes, I’d be dying of embarrassment, but that’s none of your business. They’ll probably actually love it, though?”

“You think so?”

“Of course. You said their house is practically a museum of your life? Do you think fans like that are common? From what you’ve said, their fangirling is on another level.”

“It is a bit funny. The problem is that it’s about me.”

“Hey. People like that have a completely different mindset than us. If someone still likes a person who’s been retired for over six months, they’re really something else. Who likes a retired person who doesn’t even have any activities or throw out any crumbs?”

“…I guess so.”

Han Jiho nodded quietly. Listening to Seo Jaeyoon’s nagging, his heart and mind began to settle down bit by bit. As Jaeyoon said, it seemed he had been thinking too much and making things too complex.

Seo Jaeyoon, glancing at Han Jiho’s reaction, leaned forward and continued.

“Speaking of which. Do you really have no intention of returning?”

“What? Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”

It was a random question. As Han Jiho looked at him with a scowl, Seo Jaeyoon checked his mood and replied in a cautious voice.

“No, I was just curious. You know many of my acquaintances are your fans. They keep asking me if you’re really not coming back. Looking at it, the atmosphere of the league this year seems… not great.”

“What does the league atmosphere being bad have to do with me?”

Han Jiho replied as if he were indifferent and poured some Coke into an empty glass to drink. He strangely felt like his throat was parched.

After finishing all the Coke in the glass, he avoided Seo Jaeyoon’s gaze and replied.

“I just want to rest for now. You know well enough what happened back then.”

It wasn’t that he had absolutely no desire to return. But for now, he needed more time to think.

“I know.”

Seo Jaeyoon nodded as if he understood. His somewhat gloomy face looked like it had much to say, but Han Jiho pretended not to see it. No matter what he asked, there was nothing Jiho could tell him.

But Seo Jaeyoon wasn’t finished.

“Then what about SNS?”

“SNS?”

“Yeah. Even if you’re resting, you can at least do that.”

“Do I have to…?”

Han Jiho didn’t see the necessity of why he should do such a thing. He didn’t have anything particular to post, and he was worried he might accidentally say something wrong.

Then, Seo Jaeyoon suddenly started to get angry. He looked like someone who had caught the excuse he had been waiting for.

“Hey. Don’t you even feel sorry for your fans?”

“What?”

“I mean, you said the clan members are all your fans. Isn’t it only right to do something like SNS out of gratitude? Maybe you didn’t notice because you’ve been cooped up at home, but there are still tons of fans who like you. You know that?”

What does having many fans have to do with SNS?

Because he had spent his whole life only playing games, Han Jiho did not realize that those two things were very deeply intertwined.

“What are you suddenly…”

“It’s because you seem too indifferent, you punk!”

Why did the conversation suddenly jump in this direction?

“No, I mean, that’s true, but… isn’t it a bit ridiculous to start now?”

Han Jiho looked at the passionately speaking Seo Jaeyoon with a bewildered face. It was like he was firing a machine gun with his mouth.

“No. It’s not ridiculous at all. If there’s a bastard who laughs, bring them to me. I’ll crush them all.”

“I think people will curse at me, though…”

“I told you, if anyone curses, just bring them to me! Hey. Where’s your phone. Since we’re talking about it, I’ll just make one for you.”

Getting up from his seat with momentum, Seo Jaeyoon began searching for Han Jiho’s phone. His phone was sitting on the coffee table in the living room.

Since there was no password, Seo Jaeyoon easily unlocked it, immediately downloaded an SNS app, and proceeded to sign up as smoothly as flowing water.

“What do you want your ID to be? Never mind. I’ll just make it.”

“Hey. Wait a second.”

Han Jiho stood up belatedly, but it was already too late. Seo Jaeyoon had started running away.

“No, hey. Wait. Hey!”

For someone so tall, he was surprisingly good at running away; Han Jiho was only able to snatch the phone back after running five laps around the living room. However, the account had already been created.

“How is it? Didn’t I make a great ID?”

Han Jiho stared at the screen with a hollow face. There was a profile screen with an unfamiliar ID.

theziho

Posts 0 Followers 0 Following 0

“Since no one will know if you just leave it there, this hyung will specially promote it for you. You’re grateful, right?”

“Sigh…”

Grateful, my ass. He let out a sigh as he looked at Seo Jaeyoon, who was laughing with an excited face beside him. It was pointless to try and stop him now.

“How should I take the photo…”

Seo Jaeyoon paced around with the camera on, seemingly planning to take a photo while he was at it. His posture as he framed the shot was so natural, he looked like a professional photographer.

So, Han Jiho was just about to strike a pose with the mindset of “just take it however you want.”

“Ah, wait. I bought a doll for you in Hawaii!”

Saying that, Seo Jaeyoon dashed to the entrance and began rummaging through his suitcase.

And before long, what he brought back was a cat doll dancing while wearing a shell and leaf swimsuit.