MAX 27

“…Sigh.”

Why did he think he would only change his main character?

Han Jiho clutched his forehead, blaming his own lack of foresight. Chaehyun seemed to have a personality that was thorough in the most unexpected ways.

[cocogus2] has invited you to a party.

[Accept | Decline]

Out of habit, he let out a sigh and clicked accept. But the problem didn’t end there.

[Party] cocogus2: hihi

[Party] HanJiHo98: hihi

[Party] cocogus2: 98-nim, by the way

[Party] cocogus2: don’t you think something about me has changed?

[Party] cocogus2: ?

“…”

Chaehyun-nim. Can’t we really just play the game?

In less than five minutes, Han Jiho regretted his words. He didn’t want to act like he noticed even if it killed him.

[Party] HanJiHo98: Ah hahaha

[Party] HanJiHo98: You changed your nickname.

But what could he do? This was all his own karma.

[Party] cocogus2: Yep lol ChaeChaehyunlol

[Party] cocogus2: Jiho-hyung made it for me lol

[Party] cocogus2: Jealous, right?

[Party] cocogus2: lololol

[Party] HanJiHo98: Oh, really?

[Party] HanJiHo98: Wow, I’m so jealous.

I didn’t make it for you, I made a mistake.

Now he really felt like crying.

If he could go back to the past, he wanted to smack himself on the back of the head to knock himself out and then lock himself in his room. If he couldn’t go work out, he wouldn’t have gone to the salad shop, and he wouldn’t have met Chaehyun.

Ah, is that going too far?

For a moment, he felt sorry toward Chaehyun, but regardless, Han Jiho found this situation unbearable.

[Party] cocogus2: hehehe

[Party] cocogus2: Thank you

[Party] cocogus2: ][

[Party] HanJiHo98: Hahaha, we have to go meet Stolek now to get the quest, right?

Han Jiho quickly changed the subject, forcing a smile once again.

Chaehyun might feel offended, but there was no helping it. He was currently too cornered to consider or be mindful of someone else’s feelings.

[Party] cocogus2: Yep lol

[Party] cocogus2: Let’s go go go

[Party] cocogus2: I dropped a pin so go right now go go

[Party] HanJiHo98: Yes hahaha

[Party] HanJiHo98: Thank you.

Truly…

Han Jiho began to move along the path, feeling a deep, deep sense of apology and gratitude toward Chaehyun, who followed his lead without saying much.

He had just broken through Level 55. While he was taking a short break to distribute his stat points, he saw 1Jiho, EchoThief, JunkCollectionMaster, and WrigglingDdorak log in one after another.

As if they had made a promise, they poured in all at once; when he checked the clock, it was already past 8 o’clock. It meant that over four hours had already passed since he started the campaign with Chaehyun.

He hadn’t even realized he’d skipped dinner because he was so focused on the game. Han Jiho rubbed his stomach as he suddenly felt a wave of hunger.

[Party] HanJiHo98: Ah, look at the time already

[Party] HanJiHo98: lol

[Party] cocogus2: I know, right? lol

[Party] HanJiHo98: Chaehyun-nim

[Party] HanJiHo98: What are you going to do for dinner?

[Party] cocogus2: For dinner, just

[Party] cocogus2: A sandwich lol

[Party] cocogus2: What about you, 98-nim?

A sandwich sounds good.

Licking his lips, Han Jiho thought about what was in his fridge and tapped on the keyboard. All he had was milk and cereal.

[Party] HanJiHo98: I’m also just

[Party] HanJiHo98: going to have cereal lolol

It was already too late to order food, and more than anything, he was too lazy to clean up the leftovers.

[Party] cocogus2: Oh, then do you want to go eat and come back?

[Party] cocogus2: I’ll be waiting lol

[Party] HanJiHo98: No no no it’s fine it’s fine

[Party] HanJiHo98: I’ll just eat while playing lolol

[Party] HanJiHo98: I’ll go grab it real quick, hold on a sec

[Party] cocogus2: Okay lol I’ll go get mine too

Having said that, Han Jiho quickly got up and headed to the kitchen. By the time he returned to his seat clutching a soup bowl, a spoon, milk, and cereal in his arms, the party that had only consisted of the two of them was now full.

[Party] HanJiHo98: Hello lolol

[Party] EchoThief: Hi hi

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: Helloooo~~~~

[Party] 1Jiho: It’s 98-nim!!!!!!!

[Party] 1Jiho: 98-nimㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ You suddenly stopped coming online

[Party] 1Jiho: so I was worriedㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: Hello lol

[Party] EchoThief: 98-nim, I seriously thought you quit because of Chaehyun lololol

[Party] cocogus2: lol

[Party] HanJiHo98: lolololol

[Party] HanJiHo98: I was a bit busy hehehe

He wondered what on earth had happened during those two days that everyone was talking about Chaehyun. However, he didn’t dare to ask, so he decided to just play dumb.

[Party] 1Jiho: Are you okay now??ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] HanJiHo98: Yes, to some extent lolol

[Party] 1Jiho: Thank goodnessㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: See, I told you it seemed like 98-nim was just busy

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: ?

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: Who was the one worrying that something bad happened?

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: lol;;

[Party] HanJiHo98: Hahaha, thank you for worrying about me

Han Jiho watched the chat while pouring milk and cereal into his bowl. It looked like they had a whole debate regarding the reason he hadn’t logged in. It seemed they were worried that the long-awaited newbie might quit.

[Party] HanJiHo98: I’m fine now, so let’s go go go!!!

[Party] cocogus2: No no

[Party] cocogus2: Eat your cereal first lol

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: Eh? 98-nim, you didn’t eat dinner??

[Party] HanJiHo98: Ah, yes, I’m going to eat cereal hehehe

[Party] 1Jiho: Oh, then let’s go after you finish eating lolol

[Party] HanJiHo98: Ah, it’s okay thoughㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] 1Jiho: No no no, you shouldn’t skip meals!!!!

[Party] EchoThief: It’s fine, so take your time and eat lol

[Party] HanJiHo98: Then I’ll eat quickly and come back

[Party] HanJiHo98: Chaehyun-nim, you eat quickly too hehehe

[Party] cocogus2: Okay hehe

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: Cereal sounds good

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: Mister, you said you ate Korean beef at a company dinner today

[Party] EchoThief: Crazy, where is your conscience?

He was about to take a bite of cereal while smiling at the consideration of the clan members. Then, 1Jiho suddenly dropped a bomb.

[Party] 1Jiho: Oh, 98-nim!!

[Party] 1Jiho: Did you see that Jiho-hyung made an Insta??

Cough!

As soon as Han Jiho saw the chat, he burst into a loud coughing fit. His throat stung as if something had gone down the wrong pipe, but 1Jiho, who couldn’t have known that, was excitedly firing off chats.

[Party] 1Jiho: Our Jiho-hyung finallyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] 1Jiho: On Instaㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] 1Jiho: I thought I was dreamingㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] HanJiHo98: Ah.. hehehe

[Party] JunkCollectionMaster: For real, it was total chaos lol

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: I smashed that follow button as soon as I saw it

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: A pro gamer with that face, f*ck;;;

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: The talent drain from the entertainment industry is seriously severe right now;;;

[Party] cocogus2: Agreed

[Party] EchoThief: Is Han Jiho really that handsome?

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: Yeah, it’s insane

[Party] WrigglingDdorak: Hurry up and look at Chaehyun’s E-code profile pic

[Party] EchoThief: Huh?

[Party] EchoThief: Wasn’t that made with AI????

AI? What is this about now?

Han Jiho stared at the monitor, blinking. It was because he couldn’t understand what they were talking about. It was the same for the other party members.