Love Games
Translator: She.Wee
T/N: What is this? A double release when it’s not even the update day? That’s right! Since it’s the end of the month you’re getting double release today and I will also update on Sunday as usual. There’s a 3 chapter update on patreon~
Chapter 8
“I eat everything without being picky!”
…despite his bold declaration, Cheon Noeul was fanning his tongue after downing an entire bottle of water. He didn’t seem it, but maybe he had a cat’s tongue. Chewing on a mouthful of spicy tteokbokki, Kyungsoo observed him closely.
“…I can usually eat this.”
“……”
“It’s true….”
Even though Kyungsoo hadn’t said anything, Noeul mumbled as if he felt guilty.
“I think this is just right.”
Kyungsoo realized that what might be just right for him could be too spicy for others. He couldn’t handle anything spicy.
“I can handle it too.”
“If you can’t eat spicy food, you should have said so. We could have ordered it less spicy.”
“It’s okay, I can do it!”
Acting like it was some great challenge, Noeul clenched his fist and pursed his swollen red lips. The fork dipped in red tteokbokki trembled. Kyungsoo skewered the remaining tteokbokki and stuffed it all into his mouth at once, chewing steadily. Noeul watched him with admiration.
The old shop was crowded as usual, and today it seemed even more packed. Kyungsoo stood up abruptly from his chair. Cheon Noeul, who got up belatedly to follow him, felt like an unwelcome intruder to an otherwise pleasant meal.
“Oh, I wanted to treat you.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Noeul hadn’t eaten much due to the spiciness, but the portion was much larger than usual, so he was full. The shop’s owner often gave extra servings when there were female students or handsome boys in the group. When Kyungsoo had brought his friend Kwon Tae-yeol before, there was enough food for six people. Complaining about it only earned them a scolding, so they had given up long ago.
“I’m leaving now.”
Kyungsoo had no intention of visiting Noeul’s school again, so he had no regrets about parting. As he turned to leave, Noeul grabbed his wrist. Kyungsoo looked down at the hand on his wrist, then shook it off. Noeul, eyes wide, mumbled an apology.
“Please wait a moment!”
Noeul quickly grabbed two ice creams, paid for them inside, and handed one to Kyungsoo. Suddenly, Kyungsoo found himself holding a cold ice cream. It felt odd. Somehow, he always ended up getting caught up with Noeul.
‘Was I always this easily swayed?’
Kyungsoo’s gaze shifted to Noeul’s swollen red lips as he smiled and said, “Here’s dessert.” He realized Noeul had bought the ice cream to soothe his spicy mouth.
“Was it very spicy?”
“No.”
“Be honest.”
After hesitating, Noeul awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and whispered, “A little….”
“I thought so.”
Kyungsoo chuckled. If he couldn’t handle it, he should have said so from the start. Not that it would have changed the order… Kyungsoo checked the time on his phone. Not much time had passed. He really should head home. He internally decided to avoid this area for a while.
“Wait a moment, hyung.”
“What now?”
“Can you… teach me one-on-one? Isn’t that why you came today?”
Kyungsoo frowned.
“Teach you what? How to eat spicy food?”
“No. The 4v4 PVP match the day after tomorrow. I think it’s better to learn in person than over the phone.”
He wasn’t wrong. No matter how much he explained over the phone, Noeul never understood. Teaching him in person would be faster.
But it was Cheon Noeul. Cheon Noeul was notoriously bad at games, and experiencing it firsthand was even worse. Somehow, he had even managed to die suddenly in areas without monsters.
“I’m not asking for free. I’ll pay you for your time.”
“No need, I have enough money.”
“But it’s before the character deletion…. If it were my character, it wouldn’t matter, but it’s your character that’s getting deleted.”
“Are you blackmailing me?”
“Blackmail is something villains do. Don’t you think I’d do better if you taught me? I learn quickly.”
“……”
Learn quickly? He had no shame. Kyungsoo’s past struggles resurfaced. Noeul hadn’t improved at all since he started following Kyungsoo around. The only thing that had changed was his level…. Despite having the best equipment, he died at least ten times a day.
“…Just avoid them. Your HP is high, so you can hold out. It shouldn’t be too hard with three of you.”
“I can’t avoid them if you don’t teach me…. Just think of it as a part-time job. Teach me how to dodge!”
“It’s not my problem.”
“……”
“I’m busy. Really busy.”
“Are you that busy?”
“Very. Aside from the game, I have lots to do, and I plan to start studying today. Ah, I shouldn’t even be doing this now!”
Hearing this, Noeul fell silent, rolling his eyes before letting out a big sigh.
“Alright. I’ll just find someone else then.”
“Fine.”
“The guaranteed legendary item transfer ticket is transferrable…. I don’t really need it, so maybe I’ll use it to find someone. Should work, right?”
Kyungsoo’s shoulder twitched at those words.
“…What?”
A guaranteed legendary item transfer ticket?
“Sorry for bothering you, hyung.”
Noeul’s shoulders drooped. Kyungsoo swallowed hard.
“Wait, wait. You have a legendary item? Since when?”
“Yesterday. I got it by hitting a snail with the Galaxy Sword.”
“……”
From the Galaxy Sword? Really? …That should have been mine. Kyungsoo clenched his fists. He had to keep his voice calm. Stay composed, Kim Kyungsoo. He took a deep breath and asked.
“Do you need it?”
“No. I just need an auto-loot item. The item isn’t very useful to me…. I was going to sell it, but money doesn’t mean much. …I wanted to give it to you, hyung.”
Yes, yes! You should give it to me! Who else would take it! Kyungsoo steadied his pounding heart and looked directly at Noeul’s face. Noeul sighed with a shadowed expression.
“But since you’re busy, I can’t keep asking. Even Earth Star said….”
“Wait. I will be busy starting today, but not so busy that I can’t make time.”
“You don’t have to overextend yourself….”
“Who else can handle you but me? I know you best. Who leveled you up?”
“You did, hyung….”
“Who cleared all the class change quests for you and got you to Blaze?”
“You did, Kyungsoo hyung….”
“See? Why do you think I did all that?”
“……”
“It was all for you.”
Noeul’s eyes sparkled at Kyungsoo’s soft words.
“Really…? For me?”
“Of course. You don’t feel like a stranger to me. I’d do it for free if it wasn’t such a big deal. But for things like this, it’s better to keep it professional to avoid awkwardness later.”
“Yeah, yeah. I don’t want that either!”
“So, I’ll take the transfer ticket. What do you need help with first?”
“Thank you! You’re the best, hyung!”
“Of course.”
“There’s no one like you, really.”
“Naturally.”
Just then, a PC room appeared ahead. Blinded by the thought of the item transfer ticket, Kyungsoo saw nothing else. Fearing Noeul might change his mind, he hurried into the basement PC room.
—
“Why do you have so many?”
“Isn’t this normal? When you get bored, you switch characters.”
Noeul paused while entering his password and stared at Kyungsoo’s screen. Slowly, he scanned the six character slots, including alternate characters. Kyungsoo felt a bit embarrassed. All the names were meaningless…. About to log in with his main character, a Berserker, Kyungsoo changed his mind.
He selected a gunner character he had gotten bored with and stopped playing. The opposing guild master and highest-level player, King1, was a gunner. Gunners, who use two main weapons, are long-range specialists. They aren’t highly powerful, but their skills have short cooldowns and fast rates of fire. With a good tank, they can cover their weaknesses. Well-used, they can easily irritate opponents.
‘BazookaPong has sent you a friend request. Accept?’
Oh? Noeul’s eyes widened at the notification. It was Kyungsoo’s friend request. Kyungsoo poked his head over the partition and said,
“That’s me.”
“BazookaPong?”
“…What are you doing? Accept it.”
In a rush, Noeul clicked the accept button. A yellow message appeared below.
‘You have become friends with ThousandSunsets!’
…Come to think of it, there was no need to send a friend request. I could have just invited him to the party. It’s a habit I have whenever I play games with my friends, always registering them as friends first. But now it felt awkward to delete him right away. Kyungsoo invited Noeul to the party from the friends tab. Noeul was in front of Rainbow Hall.
Kyungsoo used a movement skill to roll over to Cheon Noeul. The only female character he played, ‘BazookaPong,’ shot her guns at Noeul with a sinister expression, even though the map prevented any damage. In response, Noeul waved his sword like he was greeting.
“Why did you log in with a different character?”
He asked, using the ‘Act Cute’ emote on Kyungsoo’s character. ‘ThousandSunsetsl’ rubbed his cheek against ‘Bazooka Pong’s’ shoulder with a cute face. It sent shivers down Kyungsoo’s spine thinking how Noeul had been doing such horrifying acts with such a nonchalant face.
“…Because I felt like it. Just wait a moment.”
When he initiated a one-on-one PVP, the map changed. It was a three-level arena with a bumpy floor. Kyungsoo leaned back in his chair, staring at Noeul’s screen. Noeul had filled his hotkeys with motion emotes rather than skills. The usual skill hotkeys A, S, D, and F were registered with ‘Laugh,’ ‘Dance,’ ‘Cry,’ and ‘Turn and Wink,’ respectively.
[T/N: I am speechless]
“……”
“Hyung?”
“Hit me.”
“What?!”
Noeul was startled. Just like last weekend, he used the Tap key to put his weapon into his inventory and started running to the opposite side of the map. Instead of moving his character to follow, Kyungsoo chose to painfully pinch Noeul’s arm right next to him.
“Ouch, that hurts.”
“What’s wrong with you? Get back to your position. I’m a long-range dealer, and you and Ji9star are close-range dealers. You need to know how to deal with a gunner, right?”
“…Me?”
“Yes, you. Isn’t that why you brought me here? Because you want to win.”
Meanwhile, time was ticking away. One minute had already passed out of the eight. Noeul, with his lips tightly closed, muttered.
“…Then show me from behind.”
“I’ll teach you, so equip your weapon again.”
Kyungsoo placed his hands back on his keyboard and nodded. But Noeul shook his head as if to say that wasn’t it.
“No, not like that. I want to learn how to move the mouse and how you use your skills.”
“…?”
So, he wanted him to teach him now? Kyungsoo tilted his head in confusion. Noeul lowered his horizontally long eyes and smiled shyly.
“What I mean is, Kyungsoo, if you could just stand behind me and….”
“Gasp!”
While seated, Noeul wrapped his arms around Kyungsoo’s shoulders. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in surprise. Noeul placed his stiff hands over Kyungsoo’s on the keyboard. As Noeul’s fingers pressed down, ‘Bazooka Pong’ executed skills, performing a flashy move that involved spinning and shooting in all directions. But Kyungsoo didn’t even notice the spectacle.
“If you teach me like this, I think it will really stick!”
“What do you expect me to do?”
“I mean, if you stand behind me… Ugh!”
Kyungsoo headbutted Noeul. With a thud, Noeul grabbed his forehead with both hands, his face contorted in pain, and asked blankly.
“Why….”
“Are you crazy? Do I look like Grandpa Bear? Look at what kind of chair you’re sitting in first.”
“……Ah.”
Noeul looked up at the large backrest of the PC room chair and became even more dejected.
“Then, how about sitting next to me….”
“No. My back will hurt.”
“……If I could learn just by listening, would I be human?”
Come to think of it, Noeul always managed to say everything he wanted, no matter how subtly.
“Everyone learns that way? Man, you really talk a lot and expect a lot.”
“Exactly, I expect a lot. That’s why I offered the Legendary item Confirmation Ticket. I’m not a fool to just give this to anyone. There’s noone selling it on the server, so it’s worth whatever I ask for….”
Kyungsoo felt guilty for thinking of him as a fool, and pursed his lips.
“…Then should I just ask someone else?”
No! Feeling desperate, Kyungsoo quickly grabbed the armrest of Noeul’s chair.
“Wait a minute!”
“Why?”
“Are you really going to abandon me after dragging me all the way here?”
At that, Noeul shook his head and smiled. Then he spoke decisively.
“Drag you? That’s not true. You came in first. I followed.”
“…….”
On the phone, he always giggled and said “yes, yes!” in a playful manner, so Kyungsoo never expected him to argue back so firmly. Is this kid really capable of being so resolute? My legendary item…. Faced with this unfamiliar side of Noeul, Kyungsoo bit his lip in frustration.
Just then, the 8 minutes were up. With neither of them dead, the game ended in a draw. Noeul glared at the screen as it loaded back to the original map. He seemed unwavering, with no intention of backing down. After a moment of hesitation, Kyungsoo sighed deeply as if resigned.
“I guess there’s no choice.”
“What?”
“I’ll teach you the way you want. Move your chair back a bit. Sit a little forward.”
Noeul’s face brightened instantly, as if he had never worn a stern expression.
“I’ll tell you which skills to use and how to move. You have to understand it in one go.”
“Yes.”
“To do that, we need an opponent….”
“A Gunner?”
As if it was no big deal, Noeul caught a passing Gunner and challenged him to a one-on-one PVP.
[General] God-tierCheolSu: ?
“……?”
What’s this? Grabbing a passerby for a fight? Strangely, the opponent accepted the PVP challenge.
[General] God-tierCheolSu: Why me…?
[General] ThousandSunsets: Who are you?
[General] God-tierCheolSu: ????
[General] ThousandSunsets: ?
“…Don’t you know him?”
“Him? He’s a Gunner.”
“No, I mean, why challenge a stranger….”
“Let’s start, hyung.”
READY… FIGHT!
At Noeul’s quiet word, Kyungsoo placed his hands on the movement keys. Noeul’s hands were colder than expected. He’d come all the way to the PC room and was now holding hands, well, not exactly holding, but…
As soon as the game started, the opponent used a skill. Noeul’s character, equipped with gear Kyungsoo had set up, barely managed to avoid being struck down. Kyungsoo used a movement skill, performing a blade dance to move behind the Gunner.
[General] God-tierCheolSu: What’s this???
‘Slash Blast!’
Like all long-range jobs, the Gunner had low evasion. The skill, which had a narrow range but dealt 300% damage, continuously hit God-tierCheolSu, who couldn’t escape.
‘30 COMBO!’
‘1 DEATH!’
[General] God-tierCheolSu: …?????
The guy collapsed. His eyes turned into X’s as he died, only to revive due to PVP rules. During the 5-second invincibility period, he used a job skill to create a barrier around himself, reducing incoming damage.
“When you fight a Gunner one-on-one, you’re always at an advantage. You know that Warrior is a close-range job, right?”
“Yes.”
‘Spin Tornado!’
God-tierCheolSu used Spin Tornado, spinning in place and shooting bullets left and right. This large-area skill could hit up to ten enemies and halve their HP. But that only applied to monsters. Since the charge-up time was long, players could just jump to dodge it. He seemed to be someone who only hunted monsters and wasn’t experienced in player battles.
[General] God-tierCheolSu: Wow, so you managed to dodge that, tch.
God-tierCheolSu jumped up to a platform above. He got hit a couple of times while escaping, making his HP gauge blink red, indicating near death. Kyungsoo didn’t bother to follow and instead jumped once and slashed upward with his sword.
“If someone flees upward, the nearest person should pull them down.”
“I don’t really get it.”
“…After they go up, they heal and then come back down. You have to kill them when they’re nearly dead.”
‘2 DEATH!’
[General] God-tierCheolSu: Damn it
“Do you want to try now? Just follow and hit them.”
“Hyung, if I could do that, why would I bring you here? Teach me more.”
“…….”
It seemed like he was focused, as his eyes were shining. It couldn’t be helped. The reward was incredibly high for the effort, so he could explain it dozens of times more.
Kyungsoo relentlessly slashed God-tierCheolSu, not giving him a chance to turn around. His character, wielding two swords, danced gracefully and struck God-tierCheolSu with a flaming effect.
‘8 DEATH!’
[General] God-tierCheolSu: I thought you were a noob
[General] God-tierCheolSu: Damn it
Eventually, God-tierCheolSu died nine times, granting Noeul victory. He cursed and moved to another channel.
“I think I get the movement now.”
“…The movement? Which part?”
“Getting close and hitting them!”
“You just figured that out?”
“Yes!”
Noeul smiled brightly. He then caught another passing Gunner and challenged them to PVP, and strangely, they accepted again. Kyungsoo wiped the sweat from his pants as he defeated a total of twelve players with Noeul.
[Guild] Ji9Star: Sunset, are you not logging in today?
At that moment, a message looking for Cheon Noeul popped up in the previously quiet guild chat.
[Guild] Ji9Star: Roach it seems like he can’t log in today LoL. Is Meowie also not coming?? Can you reach them?
“Hyung, they’re asking if you can log in today?”
Noeul looked back at Kyungsoo and asked. Since BazookaPong wasn’t in the guild, they didn’t know he was online.
[Guild] Ji9Star: Tell them to come in tomorrow for strategy planningㅇㅅㅇ I sent a guild message but they must have turned off data.
“…….”
Why was Noeul responsible for delivering this message when he wasn’t even in personal contact with the guy? Kyungsoo stared seriously at the screen, and Noeul’s smile deepened. Noeul prevented Kyungsoo from placing his hands on the keyboard.
[Guild] Ji9Star: Sunset
[Guild] Ji9Star: Are you AFK?????
[Guild] HalloweenEggplant: Quietㅡㅡ
[Guild] Ji9Star: Okay
[Guild] Ji9Star: Are you AFK??? (whisper)
‘Ji9Star-nim has been demoted to regular guild member.’
[Guild] Ji9Star: Oh
[Guild] neutaaaa: Hahaha
[Guild] ParkRoach: Hahaha, pfft
[Guild] Ji9Star: Sorry, sorry
“Anyway, do you get it now?”
“A little.”
Well, if you’ve taught him this much, he should be able to use the skills decently. Noeul imitated Kyungsoo by moving left and right and using movement skills by jumping.
“Now, give me the transfer ticket.”
“Oh.”
Kyungsoo pressed the I key on the keyboard to open the item window. When he clicked on the event item with the mouse, the transfer ticket with a shimmering rainbow border appeared in the first slot. Kyungsoo’s lips curled into a faint smile. However, as he hovered the mouse over it, a strange effect spun around the item.
“Lock?”
(Protection)(SSS/★Legendary★) Legendary item Confirmation Ticket
– Allows you to obtain a summon born from the Milky Way.
The Legendary item Confirmation Ticket was protected. It was a system to prevent hacking. To avoid losing valuable items in an instant, it was essential to put protection on rare items. Once an item was protected, it took a whole 2 weeks to remove the protection.
“…What is this?”
“Oh, I didn’t think about transferring it, so I put protection on it for now.”
“……”
Kyungsoo blinked in confusion, having been excited earlier. Noeul, seemingly unaware of Kyungsoo’s reaction, continued in his cheerful voice.
“So you’ll have to help me until the protection is lifted.”
“…But the guild war is the day after tomorrow.”
“I’m not quitting the game just because the PVP is over the day after tomorrow, right?”
“…Damn it.”
Is that why the saying “You can’t spit on a smiling face” exists? He could definitely spit on this one.
“So give me your number.”
“Hey, you scammer.”
“Since you came to meet me today, I’ll pick you up in front of the school tomorrow!”
Noeul said with a blink, his voice tinged with laughter. Kyungsoo sighed deeply.
Hey Guys it’s SheWee!!
So I think I’ve already said this but please please please leave a review and rate the novel on Novelupdates!
