LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 11
Chapter 11: The Panic Room
—–CROW—–
Park Da-Hye’s wide eyes darted between me and my hand.
Her head bobbed up and down at 30Hz.
[*Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!*]
She’s so enthusiastic about things she enjoys.
Even though I don’t have mind-reading abilities, I could practically hear her thoughts.
Yes, I understand how you feel, so I want to hurry too.
But strangely, my hand wouldn’t move.
The small room where the computers were set up.
I just had to turn the doorknob to show off my computer setup, but my hand hesitated.
Ugh.
A bad memory surfaced. This was it.
[Games? Ha… I told you last time. You’re almost thirty. How long are you going to live such a pathetic life? Stop doing that!]
Soo-Yeon’s words.
Right, it’s pathetic.
All I think about is Billion Saga whenever I have free time, and the only thing I want to buy with the money I work so hard for is gaming equipment.
By normal standards, I’m incredibly pathetic.
Naturally, Soo-Yeon couldn’t accept my hobby either.
She’d been disgusted by games since the beginning of our relationship.
When I bought a new computer recently… I was too scared to even mention it.
Sigh…
It seems Soo-Yeon’s look of disdain was imprinted on my brain without me realizing it.
As deeply as my love for games.
That scar was hurting now.
“Sung-Hyeon, what are you doing? Isn’t the computer in this room?”
“Ah, yeah. It is. But… Da-Hye.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you… never mind.”
I don’t know.
I’ve already experienced having my hobby dismissed.
Even if…
Even if Park Da-Hye thinks I’m pathetic, it won’t hurt as much as it did then.
I opened the door.
“Gasp.”
The sight inside the room was enough to make anyone gasp.
Not only were the hardware specs top-notch, including the graphics card and CPU, but the desk, PC case, and chair were all perfectly coordinated in white.
Two identical setups, both with high-end specs and 21:9 curved gaming monitors.
Next to the computer desks was a metal shelf stocked with snacks.
Instant ramen, chips, various instant foods, and a mini-fridge next to it filled with drinks.
Soft indirect lighting illuminated everything, giving it more of a PC bang vibe than a home.
For the record, I’m a performance guy, not a design guy.
And I never eat snacks while gaming.
So, in other words, this room wasn’t to my taste.
I created it to impress Soo-Yeon, imagining us sitting side by side, happily playing games together.
[Don’t even dream of it.]
Of course, that dream was shattered by her words.
I know it can’t be helped.
To someone who doesn’t play games, this room isn’t a dream but a form of depravity.
I cautiously observed Park Da-Hye’s reaction.
I assumed she’d like it, of course… but this room is a bit much.
What if… just what if…
Park Da-Hye made the same expression Soo-Yeon did?
It would probably hurt a lot.
“Sung-Hyeon, what is all this?”
“Huh? What?”
But… her delayed reaction was electrifying.
Not the painful kind of electrifying.
It was like the Great Heal of a rank 48 Priest directly healing Soo-Yeon’s inflicted wounds.
My head felt clear.
“What do you mean ‘what’? This is heaven! Wow! Wow! This monitor is huge!”
Phew.
That’s more like it.
I felt relieved.
Da-Hye wasn’t just happy; she was practically skipping around the room, marveling at everything.
“Wow, you eat snacks here too?”
“Eat whatever you want.”
“Really? Even the drinks?”
“Of course. Just tell me, and I’ll fill a glass with ice for you.”
“Wow… can this computer run Billion Saga at max settings?”
“Billion Saga at max settings? Are you kidding? It wouldn’t even make the fans spin.”
“Really? Wow… it was my dream to run Billion Saga at max settings. Quickly, Sung-Hyeon, let’s play! What’s the password?”
Your dream?
I was nervous just a moment ago, but hearing her say that made me feel strange.
Like my past was being denied.
*Was it that easy?*
My dream of playing games with someone I like was something so ridiculously unrealistic.
No matter how much I tried to justify it, gauging the other person’s reaction, carefully persuading them, it was always ignored. It was a difficult achievement.
Why is it so easy with Park Da-Hye?
It felt surreal, the way she casually placed her dream on top of the game I had dreamt about.
*Well, Da-Hye isn’t Soo-Yeon.*
The old memories resurfaced, and I unconsciously made a comparison…
But Park Da-Hye is Park Da-Hye.
And she’s a completely different creature from the other human females I know.
I apologize for the comparison.
From now on, I should accept her as she is, without comparing her to anyone.
She evaluated me with her own unwavering standards, so it’s only polite for me to do the same.
“The password is something you already know. It’s the same as our shared storage code.”
“Huh? Really? That’s my computer password too, heehee. We’re on the same wavelength!”
Our dreams and even our passwords match perfectly.
This really is a goddamn bug.
Come to think of it, wait a minute.
Something’s not right.
The dream of [*playing games with someone I like*]?
No, no, cancel that.
Park Da-Hye isn’t that kind of person to me. And I have no intention of getting involved with a woman.
I must be having strange delusions because Park Da-Hye has been on my mind since this morning.
“Sung-Hyeon, I feel like I could play games here all day long. I’ve always wanted to pull an all-nighter at a PC bang. Should we try it today?”
“An all-nighter? It’s noon.”
“So?”
“If we pull an all-nighter now, it’ll be at least 18 hours.”
“Huh? Sung-Hyeon, you can’t even do that?”
“What… what’s with that expression?”
Park Da-Hye raised her chin with a smug look and gave me a sly smile.
I could see right through her.
She’d been showering me with compliments since I started cooking this morning, and it seemed she’d developed a subtle sense of rivalry.
Playing games for long periods is her specialty, so she wants to win at least this, right?
“Heh, the great KwonSungHyeonFighter can’t even stay up for one night? You used to do it effortlessly five years ago. Have you become an old man already? Pfft!”
“Hey, old man? I’m still in my twenties.”
“Then I’ll retract that. I’ll tease you next year. You won’t be able to say that next year.”
“Sigh… fine, let’s do it. The first one to quit loses.”
“Okay. The loser grants three wishes.”
“Three? Isn’t one the usual rule?”
“The old man is already thinking about losing…? There wouldn’t be any problem if you win…”
“Sit down, you’re dead.”
Even though it wasn’t a competition to see who could start the game faster, we both rushed to our computers.
[Welcome back to Billion Saga, ____.]
[Welcome back to Billion Saga, Rank 48, High Priest ____.]
“Huh? Sung-Hyeon’s login sound is different.”
I didn’t know ranked players had that perk.
I’m already losing from the start.
But let me predict this: I’m probably going to lose this bet.
I don’t have the energy to compete with a twenty-year-old, and I know I’m no match for KimPokDaughter.
I can last eight hours at most? If I can keep up with half of KimPokDaughter’s playtime, that’s a win for me.
At first, I made the bet because I wanted her to enjoy this room she seemed to like so much.
But after she wagered three wishes, my thoughts changed a bit.
The three wishes she desires.
I’m curious.
Wishes contain desires, and human nature is intertwined with desires.
What does she want?
If I know that, I can understand KimPokDaughter better. That’s why I accepted the bet.
“Sung-Hyeon, we’re finishing the World Tree Labyrinth, right? We only have two days left to clear it, let’s go!”
Of course, I plan to thoroughly enjoy the process.
“Let’s go!”
“Let’s go!! The KimPokDaughter bus is departing!”
**
*Clickety-clack!*
It’s a strange sight.
KimPokDaughter should be on the other side of the chat window, but now I can see her just by turning my head.
And for the first time in my life, I witnessed…
Her control.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard, her eyes glued to the monitor as if held in place by magnets.
Incredible concentration.
“I’ll block the arrows with Holy Shield. Sung-Hyeon, just run.”
“Huh? How can you block arrows while using Holy Shield?”
“I have a feeling I can do it now, so will you try running?”
“Okay.”
I didn’t understand what she meant.
Trusting her words, I blindly rushed into the battlefield where arrows rained down.
Arrows flew.
Dozens towards KimPokDaughter behind me,
One towards my foot, and another towards my head.
But both arrows exploded mid-air just before hitting their mark.
“What?!”
It was Holy Shock.
A basic attack skill Priests can use when equipped with a scepter.
But the problem was that Park Da-Hye was currently using Holy Shield to block the arrows flying towards her.
The condition for using Holy Shield is to press five keys simultaneously with the left hand.
And those five keys change randomly, requiring constant adaptation.
In other words, invincibility in exchange for sealing the left hand.
So, she was currently using only her right hand to switch between the mouse and keyboard, accurately intercepting the arrows flying towards me.
Crazy.
“Sung-Hyeon, focus! We’re out of Holy Water, this is our last chance!”
* * *
—–CROW—–
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