Episode 5: After School
After school, when I got home, Kim Harin was waiting for me.
Thud- Thud- Thud-
“Brother, could you please open the door?”
The moment I arrived home, I locked my door, planning to rest immediately, but…
Pretending not to hear anything, I pulled the blanket over my face and turned towards the wall.
“If you don’t answer, I’ll… I’ll really start crying.”
Harin’s desperate (?) voice continued outside the door.
‘Is she a grade-schooler whining to be entertained or something?’
Not long after, I could hear her stomping her feet. Then, she started shaking the doorknob.
Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.
“Pl-please open the door! I… I’m serious…”
When I kept ignoring her, I even heard muffled sobs.
It made me wonder if I’d die from insanity before reaching any kind of bad ending.
“Sniff sniff, you’re so mean…”
A tearful voice seeped through the door.
‘Damn it, she just doesn’t quit, does she?’
Grabbing my head in frustration, I sighed deeply.
“Why are you crying? You startled me.”
Forcing myself out of bed, I opened the door. Standing there, Harin looked up at me with tears brimming in her eyes.
“Why did you lock your door? It’s suspicious.”
“What’s suspicious about it, again?”
“You locked it yesterday evening too…”
How did she even know that?
Which means… she tried to open my door?
Shiver—
A chill ran down my spine.
“I just wanted some quiet time to rest.”
“Don’t tell me… am I a bother to you?”
Harin sniffled and clung to my side.
“It’s not that. I’ve just been really tired lately.”
“That’s a lie.”
The thought of dealing with this nonsense every day made me want to escape from this house as soon as possible.
“You’ve been avoiding me since yesterday.”
“When did I do that?”
“Then, let’s play games and watch a movie together today.”
Harin, with a sulky expression, moved closer to me.
“Let’s do that next time. I already have plans.”
I quickly made up an excuse. All I had to do was head out to a nearby café or comic book store and kill some time.
“Plans? You have plans, brother?”
Harin’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Yeah.”
“With who?”
“A friend.”
“Brother, you don’t have any friends.”
Harin crossed her arms and stared at me intently.
For her to react like that to me saying I had plans with a friend… I felt an odd sense of kinship with the protagonist of some cliché story.
“I made a new friend recently.”
“Who?”
Kim Harin persistently dug for the identity of my supposed friend.
I suddenly remembered a guy who had bugged me during lunch, asking me to carry him in a game.
‘He even snatched my phone and saved his number in it.’
I pressed the saved contact.
[Lee Jinyoung]
Ring… Ring…
After a few rings, someone finally picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Kim Dohyun.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t expect you to actually call me.”
“You asked me to carry you, right? Are you at a PC café?”
“Uh…? I’m at home, actually.”
“Shut up and tell me where to meet you.”
Startled by my sudden call, Jinyoung stuttered.
“Uh, uh… Do you know the Thunder PC café downtown?”
“I’ll search for it and head there.”
“Wait, are you really coming? I’ll get ready then, okay?”
“Yeah. I said I’d come.”
Watching me on the phone, Harin puffed up her cheeks like a squirrel.
‘If you only looked at her like this, she’d seem like a cute girl…’
Harin, who had a high affection level for the protagonist from the start compared to the other heroines, was a person to be cautious about and required careful management.
‘I really don’t want a captivity ending.’
*
After getting off the bus, I looked at a small signboard between the alleys.
[Thunder PC Café]
It was obviously an old shop. The signboard was faded, and the posters stuck next to the entrance were yellowed with age.
‘I can’t believe places like this still exist these days.’
When I stepped inside, the interior was unexpectedly clean.
Clatter—
The sound of the door opening was accompanied by the noise of games blasting from the speakers.
‘Oh, this is better than I thought.’
Even though it was early, almost all the seats were taken. Thanks to the partitions, I couldn’t distinguish who was who.
‘How am I supposed to find him in this mess?’
At the counter stood a woman wearing a white fitted t-shirt and jeans.
She definitely gave off a college student vibe.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
The part-timer turned her head and gave a bright smile.
Until a moment ago, her face had a sour expression while serving, but her professionalism was impressive.
“Could you tell me where Lee Jinyoung is sitting?”
“Oh, Jinyoung? He’s at seat 32.”
“Thank you.”
After nodding and heading toward the seat, the part-timer’s face returned to her expressionless state.
‘She must have a tough time too.’
At seat 32, Jinyoung, wearing a headset, waved his hand.
“Here!”
I sat in the seat next to him and turned on the game.
And then I realized—
I couldn’t log in with my original account.
*
“Ugh, seriously! A Master-tier friend said he’d carry me, so just send me the account info!”
After hearing I didn’t have an account, Jinyoung contacted someone and borrowed one.
“Hey, are you even really a Master? You don’t even have an account.”
“I deleted it because I was planning to quit. I’d have to borrow one anyway because of the tier difference.”
I came up with a plausible excuse and logged into the game with the borrowed account.
Well, it’s not like I’m a pro.
Borrowing accounts between friends is fine.
[Legend of League]
The undisputed number-one MOBA game.
Teams of five players compete to destroy the opposing team’s Nexus to win.
It looked simple in structure, but strategy and skill determined everything in the game.
Once logged in, I started a duo match with Jinyoung.
“Hey, push the enemy tower.”
“Huh? Wait, no! I’m gonna die again!”
First blood.
Jinyoung’s character was pitifully killed.
I sighed and moved my mouse quickly.
“You’re going to die. Pull back to the tower.”
“Top lane is all about confidence! Wait, no! The jungler is ganking!”
“I told you to fall back.”
The second kill also went to the enemy team.
“Wow, our jungler sucks. He hasn’t come to help even once.”
“It’s your fault for playing badly.”
I replied flatly, tracking the enemy jungler’s movements while continuing to grow stronger.
Double kill.
After taking down two enemies in a team fight and pushing a tower, Jinyoung looked shocked.
“Wow, you’re actually a Master?”
“Told you I was.”
Several matches later, the situation remained the same.
Jinyoung kept dying, and I was busy cleaning up after him.
“But how are you so good? Do you have some kind of secret formula?”
Jinyoung asked, looking at me in amazement.
“Basic is memorizing the enemy’s skill cooldowns.”
“How are you supposed to memorize that?”
“I don’t memorize everything, just the key skills like ultimates or CC abilities.”
Jinyoung’s mouth fell open as he stared blankly at the keyboard.
“So, what about laning?”
“Build the wave advantage as much as possible. Time your roams or call the jungler for a dive.”
“What? I don’t understand anything you’re saying.”
Jinyoung raised his hand in surrender.
“Playing with you makes me feel like such an idiot.”
I chuckled and took off my headset.
Jinyoung slowly started packing up his things.
“But I need to get going soon.”
“Where are you going?”
“To work out.”
I was surprised. Jinyoung’s scrawny body didn’t exactly scream someone who worked out.
“Working out? What kind of workout?”
“Boxing. It’s been a month.”
Jinyoung said proudly, then tried to strike a pose, but it looked pretty sloppy.
‘Boxing, huh…’
It had been a while since I felt that itch in my body.
I had even won some awards in amateur competitions before.
Playing games alone wasn’t fun, and I was sure Harin would be waiting for me at home.
‘Maybe I should go check it out.’
A small smile crept across my face.
“Can I come with you?”
Jinyoung tilted his head in surprise.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I suddenly feel like working out.”
“Sure. But our coach is really tough. Are you sure you’re up for it?”
I shrugged.
“I don’t mind.”
*
I followed Jinyoung to the gym.
It was a boxing gym located on the second floor of an old building at the end of an alley.
As soon as I opened the door, the smell of sweat mixed with the sound of light punching bags hit my senses.
Jinyoung confidently walked in first and shouted.
“Coach! I brought a friend!”
A big man was hitting a punching bag.
With small eyes and a square jaw, his appearance immediately gave off the vibe of someone who could fight.
The man put down the mitts and turned toward us.
“You brought a friend, huh? You little rascal.”
The coach’s voice was loud and booming.
I nodded casually and stood behind Jinyoung.
The coach raised an eyebrow slightly, then scanned me up and down.
“Have you worked out before?”
“A little.”
“Start with jump rope.”
The coach gestured toward a corner of the gym.
‘Yeah, jump rope is the basic rule after all.’
I smiled a little, having expected this, and picked up a jump rope.
Jinyoung giggled behind me, tapping my back.
“Hey, have you really worked out before? Jump rope isn’t easy. I’ve been at it for a month…”
I didn’t respond, just focused on turning the rope.
The rope spun quickly, and I lightly bounced on my toes, keeping a steady rhythm.
From behind, Jinyoung gradually stopped laughing.
30 minutes of jump rope.
I didn’t even break a sweat.
‘It’s not as hard as I thought.’
At that moment, the coach walked over.
“What’s your name?”
“Kim Dohyun.”
“I’m Kang Chul, the head coach of Blue Dragon (Cheongryong) Gym.”
He tossed hand wraps and gloves at me.
“Try hitting the bag. You’ve got good stamina.”
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