Vol 1 Ch 10

Ding ding ding— Ding ding—

 

‘Ah, it’s already morning…’

 

I finally managed to get up to turn off the alarm, but it was 4 AM.

 

‘Ah. Damn it.’

 

I irritably threw my phone at the headboard. After what happened with ShutUp yesterday, I showered and slept soundly for the first time in a long while.

 

Then, I suddenly wondered about the outcome of Moment and ShutUp’s PK battle yesterday. Checking my phone, I saw a message. I thought it was from ShutUp, but it was from Hanwoo. I had fallen asleep right after showering yesterday and hadn’t checked, but he had sent quite a few messages in the meantime.

 

[Hey! Were you online yesterday? ShutUp is really fighting — 20:30]

 

I had only briefly logged in and out yesterday, so Hanwoo must have thought I wasn’t playing. Then, I read the next message.

 

[OMG. Even the spectators died because of their area-of-effect skills. Wow, everyone’s scrambling to pick up items here — 20:50]

 

[Huh? Hey, hey! ShutUp died, and Moment died too. Wow, that’s absurd. Another ranker came and backstabbed them — 21:10]

 

There were no more messages after that.

 

Both of them died, meaning it was a draw, so I don’t go to anyone? Did ShutUp also drop his items? What happened? Question marks popped up above my head, but I couldn’t contact ShutUp at 4 AM.

 

Trying to check something else, I couldn’t keep my eyes open and fell asleep again. Then I woke up to the alarm again and headed to the bathroom to go to the real estate office. I run the office alone, so I can open it anytime, but I disliked that careless attitude and got on the bus to work just like everyone else.

 

–

 

As I dozed off standing in my usual spot, I eventually arrived and got off, swaying.

 

‘A mix coffee won’t fix this state of mind.’

 

With that thought, I walked in the opposite direction of the office. If I walked that way, there was a fast-food restaurant where coffee was cheap and they sold breakfast toast, which I frequented.

 

‘Your hot Americano and egg toast are ready.’

 

Holding the rich Americano and warm toast, I sat at a window seat. Outside, people were still bustling on their way to work.

 

Taking a bite of the toast, I chewed it thoughtlessly like I was eating feed for livestock. The coffee was hotter than I expected, and it wasn’t until I almost burned my palate that I snapped back to reality. Most people probably don’t wake up from the caffeine in Americano, but rather from the ‘Ouch, it’s hot!’ sensation.

 

As my mind cleared, like the morning fog dissipating, I heard the person sitting two seats away talking on the phone.

 

‘Oh, man, don’t even talk about it. I dropped items there too.’

 

He was talking excitedly with a raised voice, then glanced at me and lowered his tone. But he didn’t hang up or reduce his speech.

 

‘Seriously! Thank goodness I dropped something cheap. Yeah. Oh, you didn’t know? Man, they were fighting over who would get the guide… Yeah, that’s right!’

 

My hand, which had been rubbing my temples with my eyes closed for a moment, stopped abruptly. My eyes flew open. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but hearing a few words now, it didn’t sound like someone else’s business.

 

As if not listening, I took out something I had printed yesterday from my briefcase, which I always carried. My hand fluttered the pages, but I wasn’t reading them at all.

 

‘No, one of our guild members tried it out of curiosity, and they say it’s amazing. Uh-huh. Should I switch to a male guide this time? Ah, but the one who linked with ShutUp, they say he’s really gay, right? If word gets out around here, he won’t be able to show his face. Right?’

 

I flipped back and forth through the pages, and my body stiffened.

 

‘Gay… Me?’

 

To regain my composure, I took out a fountain pen I rarely used and scribbled on the paper.

 

As I was doing this, the man on the phone, perhaps noticing me, kept glancing my way, then said, “Huh?” and suddenly approached.

 

‘Good morning.’

 

‘Ah, hello.’

 

It turned out he was one of the people I had seen at the real estate gathering. He wasn’t the owner, but a certified real estate agent from a rather large firm. I had seen so many new faces then that I hadn’t memorized them all, but he came and recognized me first.

 

‘You’re busy this morning.’

 

‘No, not really.’

 

I hastily put away the papers I had taken out. He said, “Well, I’ll be going then,” and resumed his interrupted call before leaving the room.

 

‘Wow, the world is small.’

 

I had thought many people played games, but I never imagined people in the same profession, in the same region, would be playing on the same server.

 

Moreover, if he knew that the person he was just talking about was me… Even if it wasn’t a real estate business number, if even one person who knew me found out, it would only be a matter of time before my real name was exposed. There are many people with the same name, so I could deny it, but I didn’t have the nerve, and it would be obvious on my face.

 

‘Haa…’

 

Cold sweat broke out. This industry is small, and rumors spread like wildfire. I might have to endure the scrutiny of the formidable real estate owners.

 

‘I might even have to close my business in this area…’

 

But I had only recently opened, and I needed to recoup my initial investment. The only fortunate thing was that the number I used for real estate business was different from the number ShutUp knew, so even if rumors spread, I had a way out.

 

Sighing, I picked up my coffee and took a sip.

 

‘Ouch, hot!’

 

It was still hot, and I had properly burned my palate.

 

Thinking about all this, it seemed best to quit the game as soon as possible or switch servers. I wasn’t gay, and I was afraid of being labeled gay in real life too. One wrong match, and I’d be immortalized in the town…

 

I shouldn’t have picked up a ring in the first place. No. I should have never started this game.

 

‘Right. Let’s meet.’

 

ShutUp is 23, so if he meets my 28-year-old brother, he might be a little intimidated, I hoped. I decided to meet him and get some kind of written agreement. I’d scold him, saying something about the ‘Personal Information Protection Act’ and ‘Is this how you behave as a student?’ Maybe he’d understand. But, on the other hand, I worried it would be awkward if we met in person, given we had sex in the game.

 

‘That’s not what’s important right now. This is about my real life.’

 

If Hanwoo, who often teased me about trivial things, found out, he’d surely bring it up every time we met with our friends.

 

Holding the half-finished coffee, I slowly walked towards the office, organizing my thoughts. But for some reason, his black car wasn’t parked there.

 

I entered the office, turned on the PC, and logged into my internet account. Before that, I found a file where I had noted ShutUp’s address and phone number from the game. I intended to look up his approximate address.

 

‘This area is also Jamun-ro, but…’

 

New addresses like ‘○○-ro’ often have duplicates. ‘Gangnam-ro’ alone exists in Yongin and Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do, so I thought it wouldn’t be around here.

 

However, surprisingly, there was only one ‘Jamun-ro’ in the entire Republic of Korea, and it was around here. I calmly entered the detailed address.

 

‘Jamun-ro 54-gil…, 24, Unit 701. I think I’ve seen this… This is…’

 

At first, I thought I had searched incorrectly. The destination pointed to the building directly across from my office. I looked at the screen again and typed, character by character, on the notepad on my desk. Then I looked at the internet map.

 

‘Haa… What the…’

 

Something was going wrong. This was truly a trick of fate. Seeing it was Unit 701… I remembered that there was only one entrance door on the 7th floor back then.

 

Like when I wrote the wrong answer on an exam, cold sweat ran down my back. My fingertips trembled, but I tried to stay calm and spoke to myself.

 

‘Ah, no. It’s too early to conclude. The phone numbers, yes, the numbers are different. They are different numbers. That’s right.’

 

ShutUp’s and Jun’s phone numbers were indeed different. So, was it a roommate? No way? It was possible. Just because the address was the same didn’t mean it was the same person.

 

With trembling hands, I took a sip of the Americano I had bought that morning. Rolling it on my tongue, I calmly wrote ShutUp’s and Jun’s phone numbers side-by-side on the notepad. Jun used a dual-number for business calls, and ShutUp used his personal number.

 

Just then, his black car smoothly pulled up and parked in front of the office. Seeing that, I picked up my phone, deciding to find out the truth with one call.

 

‘Right… Let’s call ShutUp with my real number.’

 

Hiding as much as possible behind the monitor, I pressed the call button. As the driver’s seat opened, I saw his long legs touch the floor. But there was no movement in his actions to answer the phone. The call was going through, but he was still empty-handed.

 

‘Saved…’

 

Yeah. Heaven didn’t abandon me. No matter how unlucky I was, there was no way I’d be entangled with that kind of guy even in a game. Trying to calm my pounding heart, I put down my phone and leaned my head back against the chair.

 

“Hoo…”

 

I’d been too stressed since morning, and a headache set in. Wondering where I’d put my headache medicine, I got up and rummaged through the drawers nearby, when I heard the office door open behind me.

 

“Welcome…”

 

“I have something to discuss.”

 

It was Jun. I wondered what could have brought him here, the guy who wouldn’t even come into the office no matter how much I pleaded.

 

“…Please, have a seat for now.”

 

After telling him to sit down, I took out a coffee stick and put it in a paper cup.

 

Meanwhile, Jun was looking at his phone, which he had taken out of his inner pocket, and then made a call somewhere. As I placed the coffee on the sofa table and straightened my back, my phone on the desk behind me vibrated.

 

Jun glanced once towards my seat, then took a sip of the coffee I had handed him. I approached my desk, still hunched over, unable to fully straighten my back.

 

“Ah, um, the, the phone’s ringing.”

 

No way, it couldn’t be. The guy drinking coffee in front of me couldn’t be the one calling…

 

[Mouth]

 

“…”

 

[Mouth] was displayed on the phone screen. No, is Jun really ShutUp? To escape this crisis, I put it on silent. Then, I pretended to be on the phone.

 

“Ah! Yes, are you the customer who looked at the one- and two-room apartments yesterday? Yes, yes. You’re signing the contract for that one? Really? When would you like to come by?”

 

Was that natural enough? I was so flustered that my words came out strangely. Even as I walked out of the office pretending to be on the phone, my heart pounded and my voice trembled a little.

 

Unable to go back into the office, I went to a corner without window film to observe Jun’s actions. I saw his stoic back, and the hand he held to his ear dropped forward. Then, my phone screen turned black again.

 

The guy I had clung to so desperately yesterday was the owner of the building across the street. And he was a young punk.

 

The only glimmer of hope was that he didn’t know my true identity. I hadn’t set my profile picture, nor had I mentioned real estate. I hadn’t even used my real name for my profile. That was to avoid teasing from some people.

 

It was a stroke of genius that I alternated between two phone numbers when contacting him. God still hadn’t abandoned me. Heaven was on my side.

 

“Calm down, calm down…”

 

First, I had to ask about his visit today, so I composed myself and went back inside. He was still looking at his phone while drinking the coffee I made.

 

As I sat down opposite him, he finally looked up. Then, without preamble, he asked,

 

“Errands. How far are you willing to go?”

 

“Do I need to go somewhere far?”

 

He was speaking to me informally now, but I couldn’t point it out. Jun and ShutUp from the game seemed to have become one. In the game, he was tall with large hands, and it was the same in reality, making him seem even more so. I felt like he might emit electricity if he got angry.

 

“No, it’s not about going somewhere… Can you, perhaps, find someone for me?”

 

“…I said I run errands. I didn’t say I work for an errand service.”

 

“Right. I thought since you’re in real estate, you could find out where someone lives just by having their contact info. All the real estate agents around here know my number.”

 

“That’s because you’re the building owner.”

 

I wondered who he wanted to find, what a funny guy.

 

Thinking he was amusing for asking real estate agents, I froze. Jun was staring at my slightly mocking expression with cold eyes. I regained my poker face and extended my hand to him.

 

“If you could leave your contact information, I’ll let you know if I can find them.”

 

Jun nodded slightly and took out his phone from his inner pocket. It was a model with a rather large screen, but it looked like a small toy in his hand.

 

Jun tapped, turned on the screen, and handed me his phone. I carefully received the displayed number and wrote it down on the notepad I kept on the sofa table. It was mostly used for notes from client consultations, so the top of the page had a taxi driver’s number.

 

Underneath an advertisement that read the same number front and back, I was writing down the number Jun had given me. But… it was the exact same number as my own phone number, front and back.

 

‘010, 2928, 5…, five. Crazy.’

 

The tip of my pen trembled. Was he asking me to find myself, using my own phone number? As I wrote the final ‘0’, my hand trembled so much that it drew something like a flower.

 

Clearing my throat, I handed him back his phone.

 

“Well, if I find out, I’ll contact you.”

 

“Yes, yes…”

 

He put down the coffee he was drinking and left the office.

 

He was a truly terrifying man. What did he intend to do by finding me? I had helped him with the link yesterday, and although I died during PK with Moment, it wasn’t my fault. Of course, I was the cause of the fight with Moment, but… there was no reason for him to come looking for revenge.

 

“…Could he be threatening me for the Relax fee?”

 

That couldn’t be it. The ring I returned was worth 5 million, and even with the boost he gave me, it was still a profitable deal for ShutUp.

 

As Jun walked towards the building across the street, my personal phone rang incessantly, as if he had called Gentle again. Of course, I put it on silent and ignored it.

 

Around 2 PM, after showing an office-seeking client around the neighborhood, I was hungry since it was before lunch.

 

A tteokbokki franchise in the building across the street had opened today, with congratulatory wreaths placed outside. I went over to greet them and decided to have my late lunch there.

 

“Because the location is good, people were coming and going even before opening.”

 

“Really? There are many offices around here, so they’ll probably order a lot of late-night snacks too. You’ll make a lot of money, owner.”

 

As we exchanged pleasantries appropriate for a newly opened restaurant and I put a piece of red tteokbokki in my mouth.

 

Through the open shop door, I saw Jun leaving the building. He was the strange guy who asked me to find him this morning, and as I slurped the fish cake broth, he passed by indifferently, but then looked back, perhaps because of the wreaths.

 

The shop owner, who was making food, saw Jun and wiped his wet hands on his apron.

 

“Hello! We opened today, please try some!”

 

“Later.”

 

‘Tsk. Rude.I drank the broth and ate the fried food that was given as a service, dipping it in the tteokbokki sauce. Since it was a franchise, the taste was impeccable.

 

Looking at the menu where five pieces of fried food cost 3,000 won, I thought of the yakimandu I used to eat as a child. Back then, they were 200 won each. Lost in thought, I aimlessly stared at the menus around me.

 

“Are you eating now?”

 

“Huh? Yes?”

 

I thought he had just passed by, but before I knew it, Jun had approached and sat down opposite me. From our conversation, he didn’t seem eager to eat, so I wondered why he was sitting here.

 

Jun said nothing, took out a credit card from his wallet, and placed it in front of me. What was this? Did he mean he was buying this tteokbokki? When I looked at him, he suddenly said,

 

“There’s a place that sells oils on the first floor of David Department Store. Buy me the Eucalyptus Lavender scent from there.””

 

“…”

 

Just as I was choking on a sweet potato fry, his words made my chest feel tight. Was it normal to ask someone to run an errand while they were eating? Especially me, eating a late lunch due to work!

 

‘They say even dogs don’t bother you when you’re eating… This dog.’

 

“Make sure you buy it from that specific store.”

 

“Not the department store nearby, but David? I have to take a bus to get there.”

 

“You can take the bus and come back.”

 

“You have a car, though…”

 

“I’m lazy. Oh, and while you’re there, buy a diffuser for the office there too. When I came in this morning, it smelled… off.”

 

Drinking water, I vaguely agreed. As he stood up, he held up two long fingers in front of my eyes.

 

“Buy two.”

 

“I said I understood.”

 

Having finished his business, Jun left immediately. Watching his retreating back, the shop owner also clicked his tongue and muttered to himself about how cold he was.

 

“Owner, I’ll pay.”

 

When I finished eating and went to pay, I saw Jun’s card in my hand and paid with it. And as I headed to the bus stop, he didn’t contact me once about using his card to buy food.

 

‘Ah. He’s the building owner, so maybe he doesn’t get payment notifications?’

 

I figured he just ignored small expenses. If he said anything later, I’d just say I didn’t know. I dreamed of a small revenge.

 

‘I’ll show him what happens when you entrust your credit card to someone else!’

 

Then, I took a taxi to David Department Store using his card and bought a large family-sized package for the diffuser.

 

After finishing my errands and leaving the department store, my phone rang. [Jun] was displayed on the screen. I usually saved building owners by their name and address, but since he spoke informally, I didn’t want to use polite language.

 

I answered the call and was about to say I had just finished buying everything when I heard his mocking laughter first.

 

[You’re having a blast, aren’t you.]

 

“What’s so fun? I’m running errands.”

 

[Tteokbokki, taxi. You must have bought a water bottle-sized diffuser?]

 

“…”

 

It seemed like everything I typed was sent.

 

If so, he should have called when I was buying tteokbokki. He seemed to have been watching to see how far I would go, waiting for an opportunity. The only thing that came to mind was the phrase “I have committed a grave sin,” but I didn’t want to say it.

 

[I was going to keep quiet… But let’s keep it reasonable. Understood?]

 

“I’ll give it to you if you give it to me! It’s just that I don’t have my wallet right now.”

 

[Yeah, right. Come back by taxi like you did earlier. And while you’re there, go to the food court and buy some bread.]

 

Though it’s said that a thief betrays themselves, I wondered if I could speak so boldly. My conscience pricked me. But he really ordered me to be his bread shuttle. My pride was hurt, but I had to ask what I needed to ask.

 

“What kind of bread?”

 

[Anything. Yoodo….ssi,buy some too. Well, I assume you bought it without being told.]

 

“Yes… But why did you stop mid-name?”

 

A small chuckle came from the other end of the line at my comment about my name. I thought it was due to the slightly poor call quality, but he had called my name intentionally.

 

However, I felt bad complaining to him any further. He had overlooked what might be a crime, and he had even granted me permission to buy more. Errands weren’t always bad.

 

[Leave what you bought at the door.]

 

“Yes.”

 

However, wanting to get a little revenge on him for ordering me to shuttle bread, I bought a delicious cream-filled one for myself, and only raisin bread for him.

 

I bought low-fat milk with calcium for myself, and regular milk for him. I got whipped cream, and he got buttercream. Carrying two shopping bags, my steps felt light.

 

Entering Jun’s building, I took the elevator. The 7th-floor entrance was no longer unfamiliar. I pressed the bell for no particular reason.

 

‘He probably told me to leave it there since he wouldn’t be home.’

 

I turned around after leaving what I bought in front of the door. As I waited for the elevator again, I heard the sound of the front door opening behind me. I thought it would be better to give him the credit card directly, so I turned around at the sound of the door opening and took out my wallet.

 

“If you were home, you should have said so. This is your ca— Who are you?”

 

Then, a young man suddenly appeared and started carrying the luggage piled up neatly by the entrance.

 

“Me? I’m sleeping with the owner of this house.”

 

“What? Ah… I see. You’re sleeping here.”

 

I had seen him from afar before. The panty guy who I ran an errand for condoms and then took his wallet. It was him.

 

‘I guessed Jun was gay. Is that why he was so good yesterday?’

 

For a moment, the thought of being taken by a genuine gay man made my brain freeze. Could it be that the reason he was looking for me… was really to… No way.

 

Suddenly, I remembered the guy who had delivered semen-stained panties to my hometown. In the game, it was a virtual world with guaranteed anonymity, so it wasn’t a threat, but it was different if he was chasing me in reality. I wasn’t a homophobe, but it was unavoidable to feel anxious when I became the target.

 

My gaze unfocused as I tried to collect my thoughts, and suddenly feeling uncomfortable facing Jun, I quickly took out his credit card from my wallet. Since he had also taken Jun’s wallet during the condom errand, I thought it would be okay to ask him to deliver this.

 

“This is Seomun Jun’s credit card. Could you please deliver it for me?”

 

However, the man receiving the card suddenly brightened. For a moment, I thought, ‘Huh? Why is he so happy when it’s not his card?’ and tightened my grip on the card.

 

I tried not to let him snatch it, but the other person’s grip was stronger. He quickly took the credit card and closed the front door, going inside.

 

‘Well… I should have given it to him directly…?’

 

Well, he was the one who took the wallet last time.

 

I just accepted it and took the elevator down. Then, I thought this wasn’t right and decided to go back up, but I saw a customer lingering in front of the real estate office and rushed out, forgetting about it.