Translator: She.Wee
Chapter 19
The autumn event in the game had begun. Along with a daily login check, players had to form five-person teams and go hunting in the event map. The shorter the time taken to complete the objective, the higher the score awarded to the team, with points evenly distributed among members. Since the scores were accumulated individually, players could switch parties and participate in the event hunting repeatedly.
「Noeul: Have you already formed a team for the Maple Party?」
However, Kyungsoo had already teamed up with guild members. After hesitating briefly, he replied that he had, and no response came for a long time. But whether Noeul was sulking or not didn’t bother Kyungsoo. Lately, Noeul had been using the excuse of being busy and hadn’t shown up often. He said he had enrolled in a new academy. As a result, Kyungsoo’s name had climbed to the upper ranks in the time attack event.
[Global] Ignite: Is there an empty spot in any partyㅠㅠ?
[Global] Midnight: Oppa, come to our partyㅎㅁㅎ We have one more open spot, so whisper me>.<
[Global] qwerzy: Looking for a buffer who can amplify critical damage@@@
[Global] WinterTurkey: Come to the roof now for free buffs
Since the event map opened every hour, the users were waiting in the guild zone.
[Party] ParkRoach: I’ll be going to the countryside to visit my grandmother after this round, So I can’t come this weekend.
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: Okay
[Party] MeowieMeowMeow: ㅇㅇ
[Party] Ji9star: Who asked?ㅇㅅㅇLOL
[Party] ParkRoach: Damn, why are you reacting like this? No buff for you.
[Party] Ji9star: Sunbal¹ usually gives it LOL
[Party] ParkRoach: Damn it.
Sunset appeared in front of the waiting users. The word “Melody” was clearly displayed above his head. Following him were other Melody guild members and SpadeQueen, who were often seen near the dungeon.
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: Melody’s here again today LOLOLOL
[Party] PoseidonCaptain: Ugh… Should we switch channels?
[Party] MeowieMeowMeow: This is our third channel, so why would we LOLOL
[Party] ParkRoach: True, they should be the ones to switch since they usually hang out in the first channel LOLOLOLOL
[Party] Ji9star: Let’s just stay LOLOL He’s somewhat reformed, you know.
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: Still, everyone’s running away.
Sunset wandered around the guild zone, bestowing wide-area blessings on random players. When he began playing his harp where the event map portal would appear, the players who had avoided him hesitated but eventually approached the edge of his skill’s range to receive the buff.
[Party] ParkRoach: He’s giving buffs again today LOLOL
[Party] Ji9star: Beep beep, today ParkRoach has become useless…
[Party] ParkRoach: I’ll give buffs to everyone except Ji9star… Gather around me.
[Party] Ji9star: Yay, speed buff♥
[Party] MeowieMeowMeow: Gross….
Kyungsoo ran over and sat next to ParkRoach, who had started giving buffs. Sunset continued to flutter his large wings, scattering musical notes around. Although Sunset had once made Kyungsoo temporarily wealthy, something about him felt unsettling. Occasionally, when Jung Min-jae asked for help late at night, the three of them would play the game together. But Kyungsoo had never done anything or had a conversation with Sunset alone.
As Sunset passed over Poseidon’s party, he landed softly next to Kyungsoo.
‘Archangel’s Kiss!’
He cast a 10-minute buff on Kyungsoo before soaring back into the sky and blending into the Melody group.
[Party] ParkRoach: It’s a shame ThousandSunsets is offline TT
[Party] Ji9star: I was whispering him too LOL
[Party] MeowieMeowMeow: Excuse me? Why the hell would you do that???? Are you out of your mind?
[Party] Ji9star: Because ThousandSunsets is a pest magnetㅇㅅㅇ I’m going to send him mail later.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: You’re dead.
[Party] Ji9star: LOLOL I’m scared ㅠㅠ
Kyungsoo was really glad Noeul wasn’t there to see this. If he had seen it, he would have slumped his shoulders sadly and made Kyungsoo miserable all day.
[Party] PoseidonCaptain: Hmm… But why is he doing that? I don’t get it.
[Party] Ji9star: Rumor has it he was locked up at the Illusion HQ for six months, getting mental training for 16 hours a day.
[Party] ParkRoach: Mental training LOLOL Is that why he’s gone crazy?
[Party] Ji9star: He’s even giving free rides to newbies who don’t know his history LOL Must be a lunatic.
[Party] MeowieMeowMeow: Can a person’s nature change so easily? He’s just hiding it LOLOL
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: ㅋㅋㅋㅇㅇ He’s probably hiding his claws, waiting to massacre people again.
Few people viewed Sunset’s mysterious acts of kindness positively. Most, like Kyungsoo and the Poseidon guild members, were endlessly suspicious. As soon as the event map opened, Kyungsoo entered and managed to return to the guild zone in less than five minutes. When he checked the leaderboard, his name was in the top 50 for the event, while Sunset was ranked 18th.
[Guild] ParkRoach: I’m leaving nowㅠ
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: Bye.
[Guild] Ji9star: Bye.
‘ParkRoach has left the party.’
‘ParkRoach has logged out.’
‘Sunset has sent you a friend request. Do you accept?’
‘You are now friends with Sunset!’
Kyungsoo blinked in confusion after accidentally pressing the enter key, unable to understand why Sunset suddenly sent a friend request.
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: Sunset just sent me a friend request… What’s this about?
[Guild] al0ha: That Sunset?
[Guild] neutaaaa: What???? Did you accept?
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: I accidentally pressed itㅠㅠ
[Guild] PeaPea: What else could it be? It’s a green light….
[Guild] PeaPea: Wait, no? Hold on.
[Guild] Ji9star: Don’t get your hopes up; MeowieKK is offlineㅠ
[Guild] neutaaaa: Ah….
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: LOLOLOLOL DEAD LOLOL
[Guild] neutaaaa: So is that Sunny bastard Meowie’s concubine?
[Guild] Ji9star: Meowie’s concubine, LOL
[Guild] al0ha: Meowie’s concubine, LOL
[Guild] ParkRoach: LOL, Meowie’s concubine, LOL
[Guild] neutaaaa: I still haven’t forgiven that Sunny bastard yet, haha. Meowie, that concubine is a really bad guy, please ignore him.
[Friend] Sunset: Thank you for accepting my friend request, Meowie~><
[Guild] PoseidonLeader: But Meowie, you’ve always attracted weird people, LOL.
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: The guild leader doesn’t realize that he might be one of them.
[Guild] PoseidonLeader: Anyone want to take the deputy leader position?
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: No, thanks.
Soon, the guild chat was flooded with messages teasing Kyungsoo about being caught between MeowieKK and Meowie’s concubine. Having grown accustomed to teasing thanks to Cheon Noeul over the past few months, Kyungsoo simply ignored the guild members’ comments. He absolutely did not want to get involved with Sunset. To get a better understanding of the situation, it was quickest to ask someone close to him. Kyungsoo clicked on Min-jae’s ID and sent him a private message.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Has Sunset ever mentioned me? I got a friend request, so I’m curious…
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: LOL
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: You accepted it about a minute ago, right?
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: How did you know?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: The guild announcement mentioned three free woodcutting sessions today…^^^^^ Thanks a lot, haha.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: After we played together, he said you were good and wanted to befriend you?? I just told him to go ahead and send a friend request, sorry, sorry, LOL.
That punk was the culprit. Kyungsoo gritted his teeth and opened the friends list. Beneath Sunset’s name, which was marked as online, was Cheon Noeul’s name, showing as offline.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: The guild leader has killed a few people back in the day, but he’s not a bad guy, LOL.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: He kills people, but he’s not a bad guy…?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: I have to go cut wood now, LOL. BRB.
[Friend] Sunset: See you in an hour, Meowie~
When passing through the village of Isis, people who had seen Kyungsoo’s interview would occasionally call out to him with reverence. The guild members referred to them as fans.
“…Are they really my fans?”
Even Sunset? Kyungsoo scratched the back of his neck. He moved to the NPC in front of the Isis clock tower and exchanged event items for the season-limited fashion item, songpyeon. An hour later, when the guild members regrouped in the guild zone, Sunset folded his archangel wings and touched down. The members of the Sonata guild who had been with him disappeared from the guild zone, having moved elsewhere. As Sunset approached Kyungsoo, the Poseidon guild members stepped back.
[Party] Ji9star: LOL, what’s the relationship between these two?
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: LOL, this is fun.
[Party] PoseidonLeader: Oh right, Roach left, didn’t he? No wonder there were only four of us in the party.
[World] Sunset: Hello^^
[World] Sunset: I don’t see the healer… if the buffer spot is open, can I join?
[World] MeowieMeowMeow: ??? Are you talking to me?
[World] Sunset: Yes^^
Sunset plucked the strings of his harp. The rainbow-colored skill effect wrapped around everyone nearby.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Min-jae, what are you doing? Take Sunset away.
There was no response from Min-jae. Five minutes before the event map opened, the Sonata guild members had not returned.
[Guild] Ji9star: Breaking news.
[Guild] neutaaaa: What?
[Guild] Ji9star: [Breaking News] Sunset asks to join a party, causing a stir…
[Guild] neutaaaa: That crazy guy left his guild behind, LOL. Don’t let him in.
‘Sunset has joined the party.’
[World] Sunset: Thank you~
[Guild] PoseidonLeader: Wow, he actually joined the party.
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: Where did Sonata go? Is it too much to put a bounty on them?
[Guild] ParkRoach: That’s too much, LOL. If you put a bounty on Sonata, it’ll turn into a guild war, LOL.
[Guild] Ji9star: I didn’t invite him.
Sunset spread a wide-area buff around him. The dazzling effect gave Kyungsoo a headache.
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: Hi hi.
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: Oh, I was the one who invited him.
[Guild] neutaaaa: ㅡㅡ?
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: LOL, I thought it would be fun, LOL.
Kyungsoo should have known from when HalloweenEggplant had arbitrarily invited Cheon Noeul into the guild. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the rabbit ‘Noeul♡’ blinking its clear eyes beside his character. A strange sense of déjà vu made Kyungsoo frown.
* * *
Given the nature of the event map, where healing wasn’t necessary, Sunset, who could attack as well as buff, was actually more useful than ParkRoach, who usually only provided buffs. Despite having a slower attack speed, as expected from his neglected class, Sunset had a natural sense for the game.
[Party] MeowieMeowMeow: We’ve killed them all, why isn’t the portal opening?
[Party] Sunset: I’ll go check, ㅇㅅㅇ.
[Party] PoseidonLeader: Maybe there are still mobs left?
With that, the two remaining members quickly scattered across the map.
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: Huh? There’s a wolf left on the far left, I killed it.
[Party] Sunset: Has it opened?
[Party] MeowieMeowMeow: Not yetㅜ
[Party] MeowieMeowMeow: Ah, it’s open! Come on over.
It took less than a minute to take down the final boss monster. Contrary to Kyungsoo’s worries, Sunset pulled his weight in the party and didn’t pick fights with anyone. It was hard to believe he was the same Sunset that everyone talked about. He was so mild-mannered. After opening the reward box and receiving their points, Kyungsoo finally got a response from Min-jae.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Ah, sorry, my grandfather called me suddenlyㅠㅠ
Well, in that case, it couldn’t be helped. When an elder calls, you can’t just ignore them… Kyungsoo nodded as if he understood.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Oh, really?ㅜ Then, could you take him away now…?
But there was no reply.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: ???
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Hello??
[Party] Sunset: Thank you all for your hard work^^
[Party] Ji9star: Thanks.
[Party] MeowieMeowMeow: Thanks.
[Party] PoseidonLeader: Good job, everyone.
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: Great job, haha.
Contrary to Kyungsoo’s expectation that Sunset would log out immediately, he remained seated by the portal without leaving the party. The other Poseidon guild members finished their runs through the event map and returned to the guild zone. They were still uncomfortable with Sunset, who remained among them, shining with his pure white aura.
[Guild] Ji9star: Why hasn’t he left the party?
[Guild] neutaaaa: Every single letter in Sunset’s name is irritating;
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: Let’s just disband the party and remake it.
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: No, there must be a reason why he’s not leaving^^ Haha.
[Guild] neutaaaa: Curiosity without intelligence… yet a burning interest….
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: Me?
[Guild] neutaaaa: We only have one bald person in our guild, haha.
‘MeowieMeowMeow has been demoted to Regular Guild Member.’
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: Why me?
‘MeowieMeowMeow has been promoted to Elite Guild Member.’
‘neutaaaa has been demoted to Honorary Guild Member.’
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: Because your name was attached to it, haha. My bad, my bad, lol.
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: Be careful;
[Guild] Neutaaaa: Dude, you must’ve forgotten, but the guild master is back, right? Haha, if you thought the dictatorship would last forever, you’re seriously mistaken~
[Guild] Neutaaaa: Guild master, the vice-guild master is abusing power, ㅠ_ㅠ
‘Neutaaaa has been demoted to regular guild member.’
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: Guild master said they’d be back after shopping, lol. What do you think comes next?
[Guild] Neutaaaa: I’m sorry ㅠ I’ll write an apology letter….
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: First offense, so I’ll let it slide.
‘Neutaaaa has been promoted to elite guild member.’
[Guild] Neutaaaa: Thank you! Hehe .o0(F*cking b*stard)
The Poseidon guild members slowly followed a few people heading to the guild room. Then, Sunset began to fly behind them, following from above.
[Guild] Neutaaaa: Damn, they’re really following us. Feels like a stalker.
[Guild] Ji9Star: My friend says Melody is back in channel 1? Why is Sunset still here?
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: If they switched channels, they left him on purpose…?
[Guild] Ji9Star: Abandoned, lololololol
[Guild] Neutaaaa: Why do they dump their trash on us;
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: Dumping trash, lololololololol
[Guild] Neutaaaa: Maybe he’s trying to join the Meowiegi Guild?
Kyungsoo lost his composure and began firing a bazooka wildly at the guild members floating in the air.
[Party] Sunset: Oh no
[Guild] Ji9Star: They said “oh no,” lololololol
Sunset quickly dodged the attack and landed on the ground. Neutaaaa, whose eyes had turned into Xs, collapsed on the ground but was revived in a flash of light. He quickly fled to the side of the Sunset he disliked so much to avoid Kyungsoo.
[Guild] MeowieMeowMeow: Come out.
[Guild] Neutaaaa: No way ㅠ
Neutaaaa, completely overlapping with Sunset, didn’t move at all. Kyungsoo hesitated, realizing that if he made a mistake, he might end up attacking Sunset and cause another massacre. He backed off.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Sorry, sorry, my great-grandfather was calling.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Huh? You all live together?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Yes, haha.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Big family, lol. Must be fun with so many people.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Yeah, lol.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Then take Sunset with you already.
It wasn’t long before the message was sent, but Min-jae didn’t reply. Kyungsoo wasn’t dumb enough not to understand what this silence meant. Min-jae was deliberately ignoring him. Kyungsoo grabbed his phone from the coat he had thrown on the bed and called Cheon Noeul.
-Hello?
“Min-jae’s number.”
-You’re asking for Min-jae all of a sudden? You must be close now….
Kyungsoo curtly drew the line at the gloomy voice burrowing into the ground. Annoying guy as usual.
“Don’t go off on a tangent. We just played a few games together sometimes.”
-What about Min-jae? Did something happen?
“It’s nothing. Just text me the number.”
-Are you at the academy?
-…It’s still break time.
“Then call him right now and tell him. Oh, but if he’s with his grandfather, he might not pick up.”
-His grandfather passed away before Min-jae was even born, though?
“…Great-grandfather?”
-Never heard of him.
“Thanks. Just send the number.”
-Hyung?
As soon as the call ended, Kyungsoo sent a whisper to Min-jae.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Are you communing with your grandfather?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Huh?
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Heard everything from Cheon Noeul.
Again, no response. Sunset was like a ticking time bomb. Maybe that’s why just being in the same channel made Kyungsoo uneasy. On a hunch, he moved to channel 1 and saw ‘SpadeQueen’ rushing past him. Using a movement skill, Kyungsoo caught up and knocked him down in an instant.
[Global] SpadeQueen: Omg I’m dead.
The Melody guild members running ahead changed direction at the sound of chains crashing into the guild zone. They drew their weapons, wary of the assailant who had knocked down their vice-guild master. But whatever Min-jae said, they sheathed their weapons and stood down in less than five seconds.
[Global] SeolYoung: Ah, it’s the mushroom hunter. Thought you were picking a fight with oppa, lol.
[Global] SpadeQueen: I made the same mistake, lol. Go on ahead.
[Global] GoldKiwi: Finish your conversation and come.
[Global] SpadeQueen: Lolololol ok ok.
As the Melody group disappeared through the guild room portal, SpadeQueen revived using the resurrection marker. Kyungsoo pointed his weapon at him.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: You’re really dead, lololololol
[Global] SpadeQueen: Let’s talk it out, talk it out, lol.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: It was on global chat?; Wait, hyung, listen to me.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: You disbanded the party on purpose, didn’t you? Are you nuts? Why’d you dump Sunset on us?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: It wasn’t on purpose; I just wanted you two to get closer.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: You’re so harsh… ㅠㅠ
In Kyungsoo’s mind, Min-jae was already labeled a liar. No matter how much he thought about it, there was no connection between Min-jae and Sunset. They hadn’t even spoken or played games together except a few rounds late at night. Would someone who was that sociable suddenly ask to join their party?
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Screw you.
The answer was clearly ‘no.’ Min-jae had probably just dumped Sunset on them because he couldn’t handle him. With distrustful eyes, Kyungsoo glared at the monitor.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: I was told not to say anything, but…
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Our guild master actually met you before they got banned.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Screw you.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: It’s true, lol. I figured you wouldn’t believe anything I say unless I told you, so I’m telling you. But don’t ask Sunset about it, or I’m dead. He was so dumbfounded back then that I still remember, lololol.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Dumbfounded?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Yeah.
As they say, speak of the devil, and he shall appear—Sunset, having followed them to the new channel, appeared on the screen.
[Global] Sunset: ㅇㅅㅇ….
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Nope, never met. I’d remember if I did.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Lol, last year during the gathering event, late at night.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Oh?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Wow, look at how forgettable you are. You don’t even remember, lol.
If he had seen Sunset massacring people in the guild zone, he would definitely remember. But he didn’t recall anything like that.
[Global] Sunset: What are you doing?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Don’t answer, pretend you’re AFK.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Anyway, back then, our guild master’s hobby was massacring users and cleaning up the guild zone.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Cleaning up?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Human cleanup, lol. Wiping out spirits and monopolizing the map.
“…Hobby.”
Could that even be called a hobby? It was so absurd that Kyungsoo lost the will to respond.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Back then, there was a mushroom hat you could get through gathering.
By using the gathering skill with a magnifying glass in town or in hunting grounds, you could get event items by chance. And the mushroom hat was an item that increased the probability of getting those items.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Was it around 3 AM? The guild master suddenly asked in the guild chat who “MeowieMeowMeow” was.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: After clearing the guild zone in channel 1 and collecting event items, the boss pulled me aside and said you killed the guild master, right? He said he couldn’t react because of the knockback and got instantly killed.
[Whisper] MeowieMeowMeow: Me?? What are you talking about, do you think I’m Sunset? LOL
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Haha, no one believed it either. The guild master has slaughtered hundreds of people, so it’s ridiculous that he got killed without being able to even lay a finger on you… But the next day, you did it again. That time, I also got killed with him.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: It was in channel 12, and we were the only ones using the guild zone. But it turned out we weren’t the only ones you killed in the guild LOL. The guild master tried to take back his character, waited with the intention to kill you, but he couldn’t even touch you….
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: You always appeared at dawn, saying you were collecting mushrooms LOL. There are still a lot of people who call you the Mushroom Hunter because they say anyone who wears a mushroom hat dies LOL.
“……”
A faint memory flickered in Kyungsoo’s mind. Back then, he was so engrossed in the game that he only slept after watching the sunrise. He remembered wandering around, half-asleep, collecting event items as his hands remembered. He also recalled excitedly telling his guildmates, “There’s a bug where you can pull items towards you using the Berserker job skill in the town,” but they all grumbled, saying no such thing existed, which he found odd. It made sense now—he thought a particular item was being pulled toward his job skill in the guild zone, but it turned out to be possible because it was a PvP-allowed map….
“It wasn’t an item… it was a person?”
The realization made his head spin.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: It’s a secret LOL. Anyway, after that, the guild master tried to find you on the community board, saying there must be something in common between slaughterers like you two, and wanted to be friends… at that time LOL.
The image of a bully putting an arm around someone’s shoulder while saying, “Hey, let’s be friends!” overlapped with Sunset’s character in Kyungsoo’s mind.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Are you there???
“……”
If this was for revenge, the whole Melody guild would be hostile toward him, but that didn’t seem to be the case. If the real purpose was to ‘befriend someone with a similar personality’—
“That’s… not me.”
Kyungsoo denied his past. He quickly switched characters. When he logged in as the character who was paired with the guild master, a ‘500-day celebration buff’ was applied.
[Guild] Poseidon Leader: Meowie? Surprise LOL. You suddenly logged out, so I thought there was a power outage.
[Guild] Ji9star: Oh, it’s Meowie.
[Guild] MacaronWarrior: Has it already been 500 days?
[Guild] Poseidon Leader: Indeed, I also received an item in my mailbox.
[Guild] MacaronWarrior: Me too LOL LOL LOL LOL. I guess you need to log in as a couple to get it.
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: Meowie-nim.
[Guild] MacaronWarrior: Yes?
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: Sunset is desperately looking for you.
[Guild] Neutaaaa: Meowiecheop (Meowie-Scum).
[Guild] MacaronWarrior: Damn it….
But I don’t want to be friends with him! Kyungsoo silently struggled and grimaced. Objectively speaking, Sunset was maliciously killing people, but in his case, it wasn’t intentional. It was incredibly frustrating to be lumped together as the same kind of person. Moreover, he absolutely didn’t want to hear Sunset call him a ‘fellow slaughterer.’
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: What’s your relationship with Sunset? LOL, not trying to pick a fight, just genuinely curious. Sometimes you, Sunset, and a Dark Knight go around together at dawn.
[Guild] MacaronWarrior: I recently found out that the assistant guild master of Melody is someone I just met… I just want to cut ties now—ugh.
[Guild] Ji9star: LOL no wonder LOL. ThousandSunsets-nim has been absent recently, so I thought you switched over LOL.
[Guild] Neutaaaa: If ThousandSunsets-nim logs in, will there be a Meowie vs. Meowiecheop battle? This is already super exciting, going to get popcorn LOL….
[Guild] Ji9star: But why did you log in with your sub-character?
[Guild] MacaronWarrior: Just because LOL. The couple buff is nice….
[Guild] Ji9star: Why do you need a couple buff when you’re not even farming the guild? You can just get the buff Sunset gives.
[Guild] MacaronWarrior: It’s better than nothing.
[Guild] Ji9star: Event items can’t be transferred via mailbox. Are you planning to farm the maples with that?
[Guild] MacaronWarrior: You can transfer everything through the warehouse LOL. I should reallocate my skills.
[Guild] Ji9star: No, I mean if you don’t have the Berserker job skill, it’ll be annoying (for me) LOL. Please log in with your main character ^^ or else I won’t add you to the party.
[Guild] MacaronWarrior: OK, fine.
[Guild] Poseidon Leader: Then I’ll join Meowie-nim’s party.
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: Me too, sorry, Earth Star-nim.
[Guild] Ji9star: Huh? T_T
[Guild] Neutaaaa: Sorry babe LOL.
[Guild] MacaronWarrior: Want me to add you?
[Guild] Ji9star: Yes… T_T this wasn’t the plan.
Kyungsoo quickly familiarized himself with the skills of his character, which had logged into the hunting ground. The monsters melted away with a squeaking sound as they fell victim to his trial skills.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Hyung?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Oh, you replied LOL!!!
“Ugh!”
Startled, Kyungsoo pushed his chair back and hurriedly retreated. He couldn’t respond recklessly. His heart felt like it shrank to the size of a bean. His chest pounded heavily. How did they know, and so quickly? Was there a guild member with a connection to Melody? Kyungsoo opened the guild window and traced the network of guild members who were online. But all he could recall was everyone bashing Sunset together.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Noeul told me this was a sub-character, so this is the fifth time, right? It’s really you, isn’t it?
“……”
Kyungsoo had three game characters in the guild. The other three characters were unknown even to the guild members. He suddenly remembered that when he met Cheon Noeul to teach him how to play the game, he had unintentionally shown his character slots. He recalled Noeul closely observing the screen, but it had only been for a moment. Did he memorize all six character names in that brief time? And he hadn’t forgotten them until now?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Oh… Meowie-nim… was I wrong?
[Whisper] MacaronWarrior: Shut up. Don’t cling to me.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Haha, I knew it LOL.
‘SpadeQueen has sent you a friend request. Do you accept?’
‘You are now friends with SpadeQueen!’
A strange feeling washed over him. Was this what it felt like to have your personal information exposed?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Why did you suddenly leave LOL. No one in our guild is going to say anything.
[Whisper] MacaronWarrior: What are you talking about? That’s not why I left.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Our guild master is Sunset, so revenge kills are a regular thing. After he got banned, we bought up all the Resurrection Marks on the market because the kills became too frequent LOL.
[Whisper] MacaronWarrior: Stop explaining; it’s not because of you guys.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: We’re not in a position to criticize someone for being a Mushroom Hunter~ The only person who was mad back then was the guild master, and that was only at first LOL.
[Whisper] MacaronWarrior: Mad? He really has no shame.
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: I know, right? LOL. It’s just something we joke about among ourselves, so don’t take it too seriously.
[Whisper] MacaronWarrior: I told you, it’s not because of you.
[Whisper] MacaronWarrior: And who told you to stand around like a mushroom at dawnㅠ I really thought you were one of our people;;;
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: But our members really like the Mushroom Hunter. They say it’s like having two guild leaders LoL
[Whisper] MacaronWarrior: But comparing me to Sunset is a bit much;
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: Just joking~ LoL
Thankfully, the guild members disguised as mushrooms that I killed didn’t seem too upset about it.
“[Ji9star] has invited you to a party. Would you like to accept?”
[Party] Sunset: Hello~ You’re back again.
“What the… Who is this?”
As soon as Kyungsoo joined the party, Sunset greeted him like they knew each other, leaving him a bit flustered.
[Whisper] MacaronWarrior: Did you tell Sunset my nickname?
[Whisper] SpadeQueen: LOLOL No?
[Whisper] MacaronWarrior: Okay.
Kyungsoo decided to play dumb.
[Party] MacaronWarrior: Who are you?
[Party] Sunset: ㅇㅅㅇ?
[Party] PoseidonCaptain: Ah….
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: LOLOLOLOL
[Party] Ji9star: LOLOLOLOL
[Party] Ji9star: We already know, Meowie-nimT_T The guild master said you’d be coming soon T_T
[Party] PoseidonCaptain: Oh no, sorry; I wasn’t supposed to tell you that?
It was hard to get mad at the guild master since they always spoke so politely. The most difficult type of person to deal with was someone like the guild master—upright and kind. Kyungsoo erased all the curse words he had typed and leaned back in his chair, sighing. Nothing was going his way.
[Party] Sunset: Oh, was that it? Let’s try againㅇㅅㅇ!
[Party] Sunset: Nice to meet youㅎㅎ
[Party] MacaronWarrior: Damn it T_T
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: LOL damn LOL
[Party] Ji9star: Meowie-nim, why are you on channel 1? Come to the guild zone on channel 3.
[Party] HalloweenEggplant: Whisper/Earth star, you promised to keep their identity secretㅠ
[Party] Ji9star: Whisper/Oh… Okay, okay, I was being careless T_T
[Party] Ji9star: MeowieMeowMeow-nim. Please come to channel 3 immediately.
[Party] MacaronWarrior: LOLOL Sure, damn it.
[Party] PoseidonCaptain: Sorry LOLOL T_T
Somehow, this situation felt very familiar. At first, I was a Berserker respected by the guild members for my good damage output, but before I knew it, I was constantly being teased. And it all started with Cheon Noeul. Thanks to Noeul ruining my cool image, I got tangled up with Sunset. Kyungsoo counted the sins of Noeul on his fingers and vowed to exact thorough revenge on him.
1. Sunbal is short for Sunset and Ssi-bal (a strong Korean curse word equivalent of Fuck)
