[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 36

From the past, for me, a PC bang was always a realm of mystery.

"Rainbow: Ah, I'm at a PC bang lol. I'll go now."

"3-minute Tower Destruction Glory Believer: Ah, I don't have much time left at the PC bang. Wait, I need to charge up a bit."

I was always curious about that place.

From my perspective, which could only watch from afar, it wasn't just a space like a game room with computers.

"Rainbow: Ah, sry sry. My friend's messing around."

"Rainbow: ojbdsafjklejfksadljfkawejflkdsjfklsajfkldsajflkasdf"

"Rainbow: Just a sec, I'll go beat him up."

For me, who had always been alone and was bound to be alone in the future, the fact of sitting next to someone and playing a game was quite shocking.

"Rainbow: I'm going now."

Was it because of that?

From some point on, the PC bang had become another place of longing for me.

Of course, this is just a story from the past.

Now, through media like YouTube, I've learned a lot more about PC bangs than before, but even so, going there in person was a different story.

Following my companion, I went along, and some PC bang signs came into view.

These are the signs I saw as I passed by earlier.

However, for some reason, my younger sibling, along with their friend, didn't stop.

"...Isn't it okay to just go anywhere?"

"That place's smoking room ventilation isn't good, so it smells like cigarettes. The restrooms aren't good either."

I also hate the smell of cigarettes.

Although I've had few chances to smell cigarette smoke thanks to my mother's thorough management, even if I happened to smell it by chance, my head would ache all day long.

"Are the other places like that too?"

"Generally. Some have bad computers too."

"I see...."

I thought I knew a lot about the world.

I thought it was just that I wasn't used to it, and that I would be fine once I got used to it.

I admit it, I was arrogant.

Coming out into the world myself, I realized I didn't know much.

The building we soon arrived at was an ordinary commercial building that could be seen anywhere.

The inside of the building was also ordinary.

To be honest, I thought it would be a bit more gloomy and drab.

...This must also be a prejudice.

The PC bang's location was on the 5th floor.

Of course, we couldn't walk up, so we got on the elevator.

It wasn't clean, but it wasn't dirty enough to make you reluctant to get on.

As soon as we got on the elevator, the first thing we saw were the mirrors on both sides.

Silver hair sticking out from under a hat.

A slight blush from the cold.

A small smile drawn beneath it.

So this is what my face looked like.

Even though it must be my face, I find the smiling expression unfamiliar.

"You're really pretty...."

"Yes, yes?"

Did they see me like that?

I couldn't hide my embarrassment at the voice of my younger sibling's friend that suddenly came.

"Oh, sorry. I couldn't help myself."

"Oh, no."

At this, my younger sibling chimed in.

"My older sister is pretty, isn't she?"

It was a mischievous voice that anyone would think was teasing, but my sibling's friend enthusiastically agreed.

"I wish I had an older sister like this. I wouldn't get tired of seeing her every day."

"Right?"

And then, they're chattering away with each other, and I think they're having fun putting me in front of them.

'I feel like I've become a decorative doll.'

I'm not sure, but it's probably not entirely wrong.

"……."

It seemed that male classmate 1 was also having a hard time, as I could see him desperately shifting his gaze to his smartphone.

I felt a strange sense of empathy.

"Ah, we're here."

In the meantime, the elevator arrived.

"Welcome~"

As the elevator doors opened and we entered the PC bang, the first person to greet us was the part-time worker.

'Hmm.'

It was a space not much different from the numerous franchise PC bangs I had seen through YouTube.

Even so, I couldn't take my eyes off the appearance of the PC bang, which I was entering for the first time, and I stood there for a long time, dazed.

"Unni?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Let's go in."

Even though it was that time of day, there were quite a few people in the PC bang.

No, since it's near a university, isn't it normal for there to be many people?

'I don't know.'

As the worry was unnecessary, my worry didn't last long.

My younger sibling's friend and male classmate 1 naturally dispersed to the kiosks and seats, respectively.

At the scene that was so natural, I hesitated for a moment, wondering which one to follow, and then stopped.

"Unni, you don't have an ID, right? First, go to a seat and create an ID, and you can charge it here."

"...Sign up?"

I paused for a moment at the familiar word.

Signing up usually requires the member's personal information, and there were many things I was not entirely sure about in that regard.

"Don't worry."

Should I say it was fortunate?

Following my sibling to the seat and pressing the sign-up button, all it required was my name, date of birth, and phone number.

It didn't seem to require my resident registration number separately.

[Male ○ Female ○]

'Hmm.'

I hesitated for a moment at the gender item and then clicked the mouse.

[Male ○ Female ●]

It's a strange feeling.

Me, marking myself as female…….

"Can I use your phone number?"

It was because I felt somewhat uncomfortable entering Prisoner's number in this form.

"Do whatever you want."

After getting my sibling's consent, I naturally took out my smartphone and checked my phone book.

My sibling's eyes narrowed as they saw that.

"...Unni, you don't even know my number?"

"Huh?"

"……No. Never mind."

After the sign-up was finally completed, I got up from my seat, but my sibling didn't seem to have any intention of moving at all.

"Yuri?"

"Yeah, go and come back."

…As expected, they couldn't just pass it over.

Of course, since this was also a mountain I had to climb someday, I took my steps with firm resolve.

And so, finally, I stood in front of the kiosk.

'So, I press this, and the payment is……. No, is this not it? So, the payment method is….'

At that moment, the voice of the part-time worker came from behind.

"Do you have a problem?"

"Oh, no. It's okay."

Then, after hurriedly succeeding in charging, I ran back to my seat as if running away.

"...I'm back."

It was only the beginning, but I already felt as if all my energy had been drained.

"Yeah. You're late."

Perhaps because they had a good time watching me in distress, my sibling's face seemed a bit relaxed.

Ugh, this is my fate.

Anyway, the first thing that came to me after successfully logging in was a flashy, messy wallpaper.

'The wallpaper is like….'

Since PC bang vlogs and the like hadn't shown PC bang wallpapers before, it was something completely unfamiliar to me.

'Order?'

Come to think of it, these days, you can also order food at PC bangs, right?

Moreover, since the quality is also quite good, I thought it might be worth ordering it once.

As I fiddled with the mouse while thinking about this and that, my fingers eventually started the Legend of League client on their own.

[Login]

The fear of habit.

"Ah."

I came to my senses soon after.

I don't have a sub-account.

And even if I did, in my current situation, I didn't want to carelessly log in to my account under my name in a place other than home.

The fact that I am Prisoner must never be revealed.

But creating a new account like a sign-up, it felt somewhat uneasy to use Lee Yujin's resident registration number.

I knew how much my parents were working hard for me, and I didn't want to ruin that effort with a small mistake of mine.

'Let's not do it.'

Of course, I have no intention of creating an ID with my sibling's resident registration number either.

That's strictly proxy gaming, and it's a very serious problem that is a disqualification for a pro.

Although it's for a different reason than the previous one, I just don't want to take on unnecessary risks.

"Unni?"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Aren't you going to do anything? Want to play Survival Ground together?"

Survival Ground.

A survival FPS game that was once all the rage.

I also played it quite often, as it was a game that had once surpassed Legend of League in domestic PC bang share.

Anyway, I didn't know my sibling played that game…….

Since it's a game that's also popular with women, it makes sense.

"No. You play alone."

"Oh, why. Let's play together."

"...I'm a little hesitant."

At those words, my sibling closed their mouth as if they understood.

"Oh, yeah. Okay. Let's do it next time."

The reason I refused was simple.

For some reason, I didn't want to log in with the account created with Lee Yujin's resident registration number right now.

Just in case, if there was a what-if.

Of course, if it were a different game than Legend of League, it might be okay to use my sibling's account... but for some reason, this also felt a bit uneasy.

-Current Legend of League pro gamer E, proxy gaming suspicion!

……I have a feeling that a news headline like that will appear on the main screen someday.

'You can enjoy games at home to your heart's content. Or you can do it after my identity is sorted out. For now, let's hold back.'

In the end, I had no choice but to fiddle with the internet.

'I should order food.'

I ordered various items with the determination to relieve my sadness with food.

They were mostly greasy foods that I was not allowed to touch in everyday life by my mother.

"Your ordered items have arrived."

"Thank you."

"Oh, Unni, give me some too."

"Here."

My sibling's friend, who was engrossed in their assignment, also helped themselves.

"Huh? Unni, one for me too!"

"Here you go."

"Thank you!"

It was awkward to eat alone, so I was going to ask male classmate 1, who was my sibling's friend, but… sadly, my sociability didn't reach that far.

Male classmate 1 couldn't ask me, who was practically a stranger, for a bite first, so an invisible wall naturally formed between male classmate 1 and the other three.

'Why did they arrange the seats like this?'

Let me briefly explain the current seat arrangement.

[Sibling's friend, Sibling, Me, Male classmate 1]

The intention itself seemed to be the sibling's friend's thoughtful consideration of withdrawing to the corner because they couldn't play together due to the assignment... but as a result, a very strange arrangement came out.

'Well, let's not worry about it.'

Male classmate 1 didn't seem to care much either.

As things were, I naturally started a mukbang, and my gaze, with nowhere else to go, turned to the screen of male classmate 1, who was sitting to my right.

The reason I didn't turn to my sibling's screen was simple.

My sibling was playing Survival Ground, and the game that male classmate 1 had turned on was none other than Legend of League.

It's not a strange thing.

Legend of League is a game with over 50% of the domestic PC bang share. It's more like there are fewer people who don't play it than those who do.

Yum yum.

'Delicious.'

While I was taking a bite of a hot dog, male classmate 1's game started.

When the loading screen appeared, male classmate 1 naturally went to the match history search site and searched the entire match history.

It was a very excellent attitude as a solo queue warrior.

'The tier is... Diamond 4.'

Diamond 4.

Though it is a tier that is scorned as "Dadak" as a joke, it could be seen as a considerably good tier by general standards.

I ate the food and secretly watched male classmate 1's play as if watching an internet broadcast.

'You shouldn't go for blue there…….'

Of course, since the tier was what it was, there were many things that looked disappointing to me.

Of course, I didn't intend to say it out loud, so I just watched the gameplay with my eyes while eating.

'Ah, close. They didn't dodge that.'

'Hmm? There should be a flash in mid right now, isn't he going too far? …Ah, as expected.'

'You shouldn't do the dragon now. Everyone will die. Ugh. Don't do it.'

Was it because I was too immersed in the game?

"You shouldn't go to the bottom lane now."

Without realizing it, my thought came out of my mouth.

"Hmm?"

"Ah."

At the same time, male classmate 1 and I made eye contact.

The expression was full of signs of embarrassment.

'Damn it.'

I screwed up.