Episode 47

“What’s this?”

After conversing with the seniors and feeling the chill outside, I entered first, and the ambiance at the table felt frosty.

Choi Yiseo had her chin resting on her hands, glaring at Yu Arin, who was beaming at me.

Seo Yerin felt torn between the two, unable to choose a side.

“What now?”

I sensed several issues with this drinking session, yet no one offered any explanations.

Just.

“Woojin, come and sit here.”

“Kim Woojin, this way.”

Both gestured towards me, indicating a seat beside them.

Earlier, I had chosen to sit next to Yu Arin because she motioned me over with her chest.

However, it wouldn’t be a problem to sit elsewhere.

The real issue was that I found myself caught in the middle of their conflict. Well, there were a few complications.

‘What’s this, I feel like Jeong Chan-woo.’

Feeling like a heartthrob wasn’t unpleasant. When else would I encounter a scenario where two beauties vied for him to sit beside them?

“Woojin?”

“……”

They both turned to me simultaneously. Yu Arin wore a bright smile, but there was an underlying tension.

Choi Yiseo was openly glaring at me.

“Why are you doing this?”

Even though I was clueless about the situation, did I need to contemplate anything? I made a decision and moved to sit next to Choi Yiseo.

Regardless of what occurred with Yu Arin, she couldn’t compare to Choi Yiseo.

“Hmm.”

Choi Yiseo, tilting her head slightly, covered her mouth with her hand. On closer inspection, she seemed to be concealing a faint smile.

On the other side, Yu Arin raised her middle finger.

“So what is it?”

Failing to grasp the reason for their standoff, I inquired again. Choi Yiseo, who had already grabbed some fries, fed one to me.

“You don’t need to know.”

“I’m pleased to see you in good spirits.”

As I tentatively accepted the fries, Choi Yiseo smiled quietly.

“Have more.”

And yet, she kept feeding me fries one by one, looking so pleased.

Normally, I would have asked why she was doing this, but she seemed happily tipsy that I didn’t want to spoil her mood.

“Omnomnom.”

I kept accepting the food without much comment, even making sounds.

“You eat well.”

“Did you only order fries?”

My tongue felt dry from the saltiness, so I asked, and Choi Yiseo shook her head.

“They sell sous-vide pork belly here. I ordered that. You can order it with rice.”

“Oh? That’s thoughtful?”

“It’s already cooked so there’s no need to grill it, but if you don’t like it after trying, you can ask them to grill it a bit more.”

“Interesting.”

Choi Yiseo definitely knows the kind of food I like. Though to be honest, rather than saying I have a specific taste, I tend to like anything that goes well with rice.

“You like Korean food or just rice?”

“I never thought about it.”

“Still.”

Choi Yiseo seems particularly interested in me today, so I give it some thought before answering.

“I think I like rice. Because I like anything which comes with it.”

When I go to a meat restaurant, I always end up ordering the soybean paste stew with rice. It made me think that maybe I do like rice.

“What about risotto or pilaf?”

“I don’t like risotto cause it feels a bit like porridge, but pilaf isn’t bad since it’s like fried rice.”

“Hmm, let’s go to a pilaf place next time.”

“You are on a diet for the photos.”

I wondered why she suddenly said it, but Choi Yiseo suddenly nudged my shoulder with hers and said,

“Someone fed me pork bulgogi and pork cutlet for lunch, so that’s the plan which has been abandoned. I’ll shoot during the winter break.”

“Should I join?”

“To watch the shoot?”

“Yes.”

“Pervert.”

When I said that with all my heart, Choi Yiseo elbowed me, but it didn’t hurt.

“Well, after taking photos, we’ll eat a lot, so someone has to go with me.”

“…Are you really drunk?”

With her talking this much, she must be quite drunk. Maybe the quarrel with Yu Arin just now was because of her being drunk.

“Hey, hasn’t the food arrived yet?”

“Ahem.”

Min Ju-hee and senior Han-kang seem to have finished their cigarettes and came back to sit at their table.

Senior Ju-hee sat next to Yu Arin, and next to her, senior Han-kang sat, forming this 3:3 setup.

Yu Arin, who was cursing at me a moment ago, started talking with senior Min Ju-hee and Seo Yerin, and the atmosphere turned relaxed.

“Yawn!”

The next morning.

I didn’t drink much at the bar, so I didn’t have a hangover.

Still, under the pretext of having a hangover, I was eating beef soup when I got a message on the phone.

-Seo Yerin: What time will you be here?

It seemed like she was asking since we promised to go to the PC café together yesterday.

-Kim Woojin: I’m eating now, so I’ll head out right after.

-Seo Yerin: I’ll leave now too. I watched the tutorial for the new champ on YouTube.

-Kim Woojin: You want to play the new champ?

-Kim Woojin: Why aren’t you responding?

-Kim Woojin: Hey!

“This woman.”

Seeing her lips tightly sealed, she must be thinking I would say no to it. After finishing the beef soup, we headed to the PC café we visited last time.

On the way, I received a text from Yu Arin about managing the Bamboo Forest. As a punishment for annoying me yesterday, she had to manage it alone today.

-Yu Arin: It’s easy. Lol.

Yes. Yes.

It must be easy now.

-Kim Woojin: You said yesterday you would do all the work for a week.

-Yu Arin: Fine. Kim Woojin, stop making a fuss.

There was a need to get accustomed to the duties of the Admin, and as a punishment for showing up suddenly at my house, Yu Arin was to manage the Bamboo Forest alone for a week.

It’s still early, so there shouldn’t be any problems, but today is the weekend. And it’s not just any day, but Sunday.

‘Do well on your own.’

It is absurd to say such things when she has just begun to manage.

If one isn’t savvy, they will struggle, and it will take time to get the hang of it.

-Yu Arin: You’re just going to pass the work onto me to meet some girl.

“……”

Since she wasn’t wrong, I hesitated and decided not to reply as I headed to the PC café.

Jeong Chan-woo, who said he would be working part-time all weekend, greeted me and subtly pointed to the corner seat.

“Yerin is waiting over there.”

“You’re working hard.”

“It’s work, what more can we do.”

Seeing Jeong Chan-woo smile kindly and tell me to enjoy the game, I couldn’t understand why Yu Arin disliked him.

‘Well, that must be personal.’

I was curious, but prying further might be crossing a line.

For now, I head to where Seo Yerin was.

Wearing the headset, she was practicing a newly released character, moving her hands here and there as if she saw something.

“Ugh.”

I grabbed both sides of the headset, stretched it, and let it go.

“Uh!?”

Making an odd sound, Seo Yerin looked up and smiled brightly.

“Woojin, you’re here! I saved the seat next to me!”

“Why are you practicing with that weird one again?”

“No, listen Woojin. This character is really good. I practiced a lot.”

“Please, stop practicing that. Just do what you’re good at.”

Seeing Seo Yerin shout at me to trust her just once, I sighed and sat down.

“Have you eaten?”

“No, I was going to order ramen….”

“Then order it. Let’s eat first.”

“……”

Seo Yerin fidgeted with her hands and looked at me. It seemed like she had something to say.

“Can you order it for me?”

“You want me to buy it?”

“No! I’ll pay… It’s awkward to see Chan-woo.”

Both Yu Arin and Seo Yerin were the same.

I was annoyed with how they were avoiding Jeong Chan-woo since the last time.

I had just resolved not to care, but that didn’t last long.

“You don’t like Chan-woo?”

“It’s not that. It’s just a bit uncomfortable.”

“A bit uncomfortable?”

“Yes….”

Seo Yerin’s response indicated she couldn’t discuss it, as before.

Seeing her conceal it to this extent, it had to be about someone else’s flaws that she couldn’t address.

“Well, if you’re treating, then fine. What would you like to eat?”

“Tempura udon.”

“You have good taste. Is that all?”

“Yes. I don’t eat much.”

As I was about to click the mouse to confirm the order on the computer, a brilliant idea struck me, so I glanced at Seo Yerin.

“In exchange for ordering.”

“Exchange?”

“Don’t play the new champ.”

“Chan-woo! Bring us tempura udon!”

“……”

Observing Seo Yerin raise her hand and call for Jeong Chan-woo, I nearly cursed her.

Due to Seo Yerin’s strong will, we ended up dutifully using a new character in ranked games, only to face three defeats.

“Can I ask you something?”

Staring blankly at the word ‘Defeat’, I inquire.

“Why do you keep diving in when I ask you not to?”

“…For a solo kill.”

“The enemy top keeps coming to the bottom, why do you stubbornly push the top?”

“…I told you, for a solo kill.”

“Then why lag behind in CS?”

“Solo kill!”

“I want to tear your head off! If you’re going to do this, just play Tekken! What’s the point of winning in 1:1 when the team is losing! You want to go solo!”

Just as I was about to say more, a message popped up.

“What now?”

It was a series of photos sent by Yu Arin.

-Yu Arin: Hey, what is this.

-Yu Arin: Insane people, why are they posting pics of their poop and buttholes, freaking shit.

-Yu Arin: I am feeling dizzy, I cannot do this.

-Yu Arin: And, is it true that the religious club has taken over the bulletin board?

-Yu Arin: I keep deleting them, but 3 new pop-ups open every 10 seconds!

-Yu Arin: Save me pleaseeeeeee.

Uh.

So, the newbie is finally experiencing the hard work of managing the app.

Though posting sexy pics like Anonymous69 does is a win-win for both you and me.

Sometimes, there are those who post ridiculous memes, wondering why they even bother, and it was the Admin’s job to see and delete them all.

Moreover, every Sunday, the religious clubs go wild.

It’s something that should be left alone, to pass quietly in its natural course.

If left alone, they would eventually stop, but the moment you start deleting them, they start to make a mess, claiming to be martyrs being oppressed.

“You learn by taking hits.”

Starting from now, for a week, you, Yu Arin, will taste what hell is.

You will have to diligently delete and respond to all sorts of nonsense.

It will be a time to see just how vile and ugly humans can be under the tag of anonymity.

I hope you have a strong stomach.

Feeling a presence, I looked at the computer screen to find that a game had started loading.

It seemed odd that while I was chatting with Yu Arin, Seo Yerin started the game.

“Hey.”

“Woojin, the game started.”

“You picked Ignite again? I told you to take Teleport.”

“A true woman’s choice is Ignite.”

“A true man’s choice is to beat everyone up regardless of gender, so follow me. Let’s have a real fight.”

“A true woman’s choice, no backing down.”

“Is that a sexual joke?”

“……”

At my words, Seo Yerin’s face turned red as she forced herself to look at the screen.

“Th-that’s not what I meant.”

Seeing her flustered like that, I wondered how she operated as Anonymous69.