NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16
Chapter 16: KimPokDaughter’s Adventure (2)
—–CROW—–
I’m not stupid.
I knew he’d noticed my lie.
How could he not, after wandering for nine and a half hours?
But I didn’t understand something else.
Why didn’t he get angry?
He could have just given up, so why did he follow me until the end?
Why did he entrust me with navigation even after realizing I was lying?
Aside from occasional words of encouragement and sending emoticons when our eyes met, he simply followed behind me.
For a grueling nine and a half hours.
And now, he’s praising me.
He’s saying that time, which must have been terribly boring, was fun.
What kind of person is he?
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: PokDaughter!]
[Me: Yes?]
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: This, heeheehee.]
As if that wasn’t enough, he offered me a ring.
Unique grade.
– Designates one player as a Soulmate.
– Once designated, the target is permanently fixed.
– Once per day, one of four exclusive skills can be used on the Soulmate.
– Only two of these items exist on the server.
It was a ring received as a tutorial reward.
I didn’t know much about the game, but I knew it was a valuable item.
Because there were only two on the server.
But why was he offering it to me?
[Me: ?]
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: Um, can I use this ring on you, PokDaughter? It seems like we can use skills together if I do.]
[Me: Why would you use it on me?]
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: Because I want to be friends with you, haha. If you don’t want to, it can’t be helped, but please play with me again next time.]
[Me: Do as you please.]
When I replied like that, he laughed and said, “Woohoo! Yes!”
I didn’t understand his actions at all.
That was the end of the game that day.
I’d stayed up all night, so I decided to skip school and sleep.
But even lying in bed, I kept thinking about him.
Why did he do that? I didn’t say anything except for the lie.
It must have been so boring.
I didn’t know it then, but I’d already been smitten by Sung-Hyeon.
From the moment I first felt curious about him.
Being curious about someone means you’re interested in them.
And interest is something you can’t have without affection.
Cracks were forming in my heart, which had hardened at the age of six.
It was the first time I’d thought about someone this much, besides my dad and aunt.
Perhaps that’s why…
The next day, I logged into Billion Saga again.
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: Whoa! PokDaughter, welcome!]
A week passed like that.
I always logged in and observed him.
And after a week, I came to a conclusion.
Now I knew.
His daily evening chats about his adventures…
His hand reaching out to me, inviting me to join him when I was standing around idly, unsure of what to do…
His “lol” whenever I didn’t react…
They were all filled with affection.
KwonSungHyeonFighter was someone born with bags full of affection, something I didn’t have even a sliver of.
He felt others’ pain as his own, he knew how to smile for those who were anxious, and he knew how to make a joke to ease someone’s embarrassment.
I knew.
Because I didn’t know how to love, I knew.
How difficult those things were.
Constantly observing someone, reading their emotions, and giving them what they wanted…
It’s impossible without an immense amount of affection.
KwonSungHyeonFighter was effortlessly showing such kindness to countless people.
Even I, lost in the maze, was someone he cared for.
Even though we were strangers.
Even though I lied.
He didn’t follow me for nine and a half hours because it was fun; he endured it because he didn’t want me to feel embarrassed.
I finally understood the discomfort I’d felt at his praise.
He hadn’t praised me because I was truly amazing.
It was more like, *It’s okay. You did a great job. So, you don’t have to feel guilty.*
Sung-Hyeon was an even stranger person than me.
How much love must he have been born with to be like that?
I didn’t have any.
I was jealous.
I logged in every day, hoping to steal even a crumb of his affection.
I was always boring, unresponsive, and empty, but KwonSungHyeonFighter always liked me.
Like a blind person, he liked me without seeing who I was or what kind of person I was.
When did it happen?
Jealousy turned into greed.
I wanted to keep receiving his overflowing affection.
I might be just one of the many people he cared for, but I wanted to keep the affection he gave me.
Every time he logged in, I felt a familiar warmth in my stomach.
The same warmth I felt when my aunt placed her hand on my stomach while reading fairy tales.
This time, I didn’t want to lose it.
[Me: lolololol That’s hilarious.]
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: Wow.]
[Me: ?]
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: PokDaughter, lol, did you know that’s the first time you laughed?]
[Me: I’m laughing because you’re funny, lol.]
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: How about we drop the formalities? I feel most comfortable with you, PokDaughter. We’re going to see each other every day anyway, so let’s just be best friends.]
That day, for the first time in my life, I had something I wanted.
A solid desire that wouldn’t waver, no matter how rotten and messed up my life became.
I wanted to log into Billion Saga.
As many days as possible. For every minute I could.
After that, I diligently farmed gold in the mornings to earn money, and I bought a laptop and a mouse with that money.
Grinding was only until 6 PM.
At 6 PM, I had to send a whisper to KwonSungHyeonFighter, no matter what.
This daily routine became my reason for living.
I knew it was a pointless obsession, but I had no intention of stopping.
I couldn’t help it.
The moment KwonSungHyeonFighter logged in, my world became perfect. What else could I do?
From the moment he logged in, even I, like ordinary people, became someone capable of loving another person.
[Me: Sung-Hyeon, you’re early today!]
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: Leaving work on time is the best! Is the KimPokDaughter bus departing today?!]
I didn’t know any other way to live.
After his affection took root in my heart, I became a completely different person.
I studied for the GED so I could play Billion Saga, and I rushed through my daily chores of cleaning and washing dishes.
I also learned the value of money. I needed money to play games.
Time, grades, money, people, work.
Things I hadn’t valued before now felt crucial.
This feeling of urgency must also be a form of affection.
A single crumb of Sung-Hyeon’s overflowing affection had unknowingly spread throughout my entire life.
Sung-Hyeon used to say this all the time:
[KwonSungHyeonFighter: PokDaughter, reality is fake. Billion Saga is real.]
He probably didn’t mean it, but whenever he said that, I’d retort,
[Me: lol Stop escaping reality and go make some money.]
Sung-Hyeon is a good person; he has to live in reality, no matter how hard it is.
Even though I was truly living inside Billion Saga.
I’d probably live there until I die.
But even if this place was fake, at least I had a life I could love.
I was more than satisfied.
Even now, after leaving the orphanage as an adult, I’m living the same life.
It’s been three months since I started living alone.
Even selling gold, I couldn’t avoid being in the red.
Billion Saga wasn’t a popular game.
Rent and food expenses were enormous.
My remaining balance: 3.54 million won.
How long could I last with this?
Someone offered to buy my figure for 2 million won, but I refused.
This figure represented everything I loved.
It might have been a selfish decision, but I didn’t want to die as someone with nothing, after Sung-Hyeon had shared his affection with me.
If I were ever found dead, this figure would have to be by my side.
But it was too early for such depressing thoughts!
I still wanted to log into Billion Saga.
For as many days as possible. For every minute I could!
I had to keep going.
I sent the illustrations I’d been working on to a game company called Narrative Games.
Drawing was the only way I could earn money while playing games.
And luckily, I got a call.
I made an appointment for a meeting and went to a cafe to meet someone from the company.
I didn’t have any decent clothes, and I’d never been to a cafe before, but I couldn’t be picky now.
If I couldn’t sell my illustrations, I’d lose months of my remaining time.
As I awkwardly searched for the company representative in that unfamiliar place…
Our eyes met.
“Nice to meet you. Are you artist Park Da-Hye? I’m Kwon Sung-Hyeon, assistant manager at Narrative Games.”
He was the second strangest person I’d ever met.
Coincidentally, he had the same name.
* * *
—–CROW—–
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