I got up around noon, showered, made a late breakfast, then turned on my PC.On the way home after meeting Chae Yu-jeong yesterday, I’d picked up a bottle of fruit juice and set it on my desk. As soon as I launched Xenorise, Drink Some Water pinged.[Guild] Drink Some Water: Jeo[Guild] Drink Some Water: what are you doing in December???[Guild] Haereun: hi, Jeo[Guild] Hwa So-un: hi hi[Guild] Yu Chae: hyuung >ㅡ<[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: hey[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: December?[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: I’ll be busy with exams and projects before break[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: why?[Guild] Drink Some Water: we’re picking a date for our meetup lol[Guild] Drink Some Water: we do one every year end lolol[Guild] Drink Some Water: thinking the 3rd Saturday of December[Guild] Drink Some Water: break’s started by then, right?[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: it ends earlier lol[Guild] TheHunter: oh break nice[Guild] TheHunter: Jeo should come to the meetup gogo[Guild] Mocha Bread: if you come we’ll take good care of you ^.^b[Guild] Let’s Play Pattycake: it’s nothing fancy[Guild] Let’s Play Pattycake: we just eat meat lol[Guild] Haereun: yeah[Guild] Haereun: some are underage so no booze in round 1[Guild] Haereun: drinks from round 2[Guild] DoraHeeImnida: who’s underage?[Guild] Hunting Madman: me lol[Guild] Hunting Madman: but in two months I’m an adult k[Guild] DoraHeeImnida: oh you’re 19 hehe[Guild] Hunting Madman: yup[Guild] ManaOing-nam: senior-year kid not studying but gaming, huh? k[Guild] Hunting Madman: lol I devote my life to games[Guild] Haereun: the game doesn’t want your life T_T[Guild] Hunting Madman: -_-While I was thinking about what to pry out of Yu Chae today, I rubbed the corner of my mouth at Drink Some Water’s message.A meetup. Right—RPG guilds do that. I’d forgotten.The timing wasn’t bad. Right after break starts, I’d have time. It’s not like we’d be booking rooms for days either.What to do.With everything that’s happened in Xenorise, the guild didn’t feel awkward or distant.It’d been a while since I did an online-to-IRL meetup, but going sounded fine. I was leaning yes when a private message from Yu Chae popped up.[Yu Chae: hyung hyung][Yu Chae: I want to Discord ;ㅡ;][Jeo Jolryeoyo: kk][Jeo Jolryeoyo: gogo]We’d been Discording more lately.Before, even in group voice he barely used his mic and hoarded his words, but with just the two of us he suggested it first without hesitation.I put on my headset and answered in guild chat.[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: if that date’s confirmed I can make it[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: it’s in Seoul, right?[Guild] Drink Some Water: ok ok[Guild] Drink Some Water: of course Seoul[Guild] Drink Some Water: people coming up from the provinces will book rooms themselves?[Guild] Marinated Crab, Slurp: I am… provincial[Guild] Marinated Crab, Slurp: planning on a motel T_T[Guild] Haereun: at least none of the underage folks are out of town[Guild] Haereun: so should be fine[Guild] Drink Some Water: yup[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: ping us again once the date is final[Guild] Drink Some Water: ok“Hyung, are you going to the meetup?”Yu Chae waited quietly till I finished with Drink Some Water, then asked.“If the timing works, sure. You—”Ah. I shut my mouth fast.A guy who won’t even give me his number easily isn’t coming to a meetup. If Yu Chae is Chae Yu-jeong, he couldn’t show anyway.If the forum’s regular problem child shows up and rumors start that he’s actually pro Sensory, it’ll blow up.“I’m not going.”He answered right after me.“I don’t really like meeting online people offline.”“Yeah?”Maybe it was just my bias, but it sounded like an excuse.Chin in hand, staring at the screen sideways, I deliberately spoke in a faintly hurt tone.“So you won’t see me either?”“Huh?”“You said you hate seeing people you met online.”“Ah…”“I figured we were close enough that we could meet at least once someday. I actually meet online folks IRL just fine.”I added a sigh, barely audible. He panicked.“N-no. Hyung, it’s— it’s because I’m ugly. That’s why.”“Didn’t you say you were pretty last time?”“That was a joke. I’m actually super ugly and fat and I stay home every day… and if we meet I’m shy so I’m no fun…”“You’re shy?”“Yeah. Like, really.”I pictured Chae Yu-jeong hugging my waist in the café yesterday.Whatever else, if Yu Chae and Chae Yu-jeong are the same person, he’s a truly spectacular freak.“Hyung, I’m not saying I won’t meet because I don’t like you.”“Got it. I was kidding. A guy who only barely gave me his phone number isn’t going to meet me. I’m not expecting it.”“…That hurts in its own way. Can’t you expect it a little?”“What do you want me to do?”“I dunno.”“Cut the crap and let’s play. Where are you?”“I just finished a # Nоvеlight # raid right before you logged in, so I’m still at the dungeon door. Anything you want to do? Want to go kill dragons?”We’d burned through the collection quest, so there wasn’t much just the two of us could do.The event had ended recently, so all that was left was farming—dragons, like he said?Dragons are fine, but actually killing them is boring. Better to grab guildies and do a raid dungeon? I was weighing it with my arms crossed when the phone I’d tossed at the edge of the desk buzzed.“Sorry, let me grab this.”“Okayyy.”It was Eun Haeseong. I slid one ear of my headset down and pinned my phone between shoulder and ear. It was just me and Yu Chae in voice anyway, so I didn’t bother muting.“Hello.”—Yu Ji, what are you doing?“Gaming.”He clicked his tongue at my flat answer.—Don’t you get sick of gaming in your room on weekends?“Nope. Never. It’s fun as hell.”—Get out! Let’s set this Sunday on fire.“Fuck off. I’m hanging up.”I cut him down cold and went to end the call, and he yelped.—Psycho. Why hang up before you hear me out?“Talk.”—Remember I set you up with someone before the semester?“A setup?”“Koff!”I echoed him without thinking—and through my headset I heard Yu Chae cough.“I remember. She was three years older, right?”—Right.I vaguely recalled the photo he’d shown me. My type, I think.—She says she’s coming too. Good chance to drop by and at least say hi.“That’s too sudden.”—Of course. It is sudden.“I don’t like meeting that way.”I’d taken her number and never contacted her—probably flagged me as an asshole. No point meeting now. More than anything, I wasn’t in the mood to date.My head was already a mess thanks to the Yu Chae / Chae Yu-jeong problem. How was I supposed to date on top of that? I can date whenever. First I needed to resolve the two of them.—Tch. You really don’t want to? She’d be happy if you came.“Why would she be happy to see me? I’ve already got plans, so I can’t. Next time.”—Man, shame. Next time for sure, okay?He knew me—once I say no, I rarely change my answer—so he didn’t push and bowed out clean.The moment I put my headset back on right, Yu Chae pounced.“Hyung, was that a setup? With a woman?”“I got set up before, but I was busy so I never called.”“O-oh…”His voice shook all over the place. Now what.“Hyung, after you married me you’re going to brazenly cheat… I’m a little shocked.”“I’m shocked too. You’re calling that cheating?”“Of course it is! You were going to meet a woman without me!”Too much. His voice dripped with hurt. Unreal.“You only log into Xenorise on Sundays…”“That’s because of school and assignments.”And because I’d been meeting Chae Yu-jeong.Wait. If Yu Chae and Chae Yu-jeong aren’t the same person…I meet Chae Yu-jeong on Saturday and game with Yu Chae on Sunday? Two people with similar personalities?…Once I realized that, the word “cheating” started to itch.“Hyung hyung, don’t meet a woman. Okay?”“Uh-huh…”“We hardly have enough time to game together—how are you going to date?”“True…”He kept hammering on “don’t meet a woman,” dead serious. I answered on autopilot and thought quietly.I’m sorry, Kim Yu Chae. By your logic, I’m already cheating…

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