Chapter 5: After School

After school, what awaited me upon returning home was Kim Harin.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

“Oraeboni (Dohyun), could you please open the door?”

My plan to lock my door and rest as soon as I got home was…

Pretending not to hear anything, I pulled the blanket over my face and turned toward the wall.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll… I’ll really cry.”

Harin’s desperate (?) voice continued from outside the door.

‘What is this, a little kid whining for attention?’

Before long, I heard her stomping her feet.

Then, she started shaking the doorknob.

Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.

“Pl-please open up! I-I really mean it…”

As I kept ignoring her, I even started to hear muffled sobs.

‘Forget bad endings, am I going to die of a mental breakdown first?’

“Hic… You’re so mean…”

A teary, muffled voice seeped through the door.

‘Damn it, she just keeps going.’

I sighed, pulling at my hair.

“Why are you crying? You startled me out of my nap.”

I forced myself up from the bed and opened the door, only to find Harin standing there with tears welling up in her eyes, looking up at me.

“Why did you lock the door? So suspicious.”

“What’s suspicious about it?”

“You locked your door last night too…”

‘How did she know that?’

‘So she tried to open it back then too?’

Goosebumps crawled over my skin.

“I just wanted to rest quietly.”

“Are you saying I’m a bother…?”

Harin sniffled and clung to my side.

“It’s not that. I’ve just been really tired lately.”

“Liar.”

The thought of dealing with this nonsense every day made me want to escape from this house as soon as possible.

“You’ve been avoiding me since yesterday.”

“When have I done that?”

“Then let’s play games and watch a movie together today!”

Harin clung to me with a sulky face.

“Maybe next time. I have plans today.”

I made up an excuse.

My plan was to just leave the house and kill time at a nearby café or comic book store.

“Oraeboni has plans?”

Harin’s eyes widened.

“Yeah.”

“With who?”

“A friend.”

“Oraeboni, you don’t have any friends.”

She crossed her arms and stared at me.

Even though it was just one sentence, saying I had plans with a friend got that reaction.

I couldn’t help but feel a weird sense of camaraderie with the protagonist of this drama.

“I made a new friend recently.”

“Who?”

Harin persistently interrogated me about who my plans were with.

I suddenly remembered the guy from lunch who wouldn’t leave me alone until I carried him in the game and asked for my number.

‘He snatched my phone and saved his number, didn’t he?’

I clicked on the saved contact.

[Lee Jinyoung]

Beep… Beep…

After a few rings, he finally picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Kim Dohyun.”

“Oh, wow, I didn’t think you’d actually call.”

“You asked me to carry you, didn’t you? Are you at a PC café?”

“Huh…? I’m at home.”

“Shut up and tell me where to go.”

Jinyoung stammered, seemingly caught off guard by my sudden call.

“Uh, uh… Do you know Thunder PC Café downtown?”

“I’ll look it up and head there.”

“Wait, are you really coming? I’ll get ready then.”

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

As I ended the call, Harin puffed out her cheeks like a squirrel.

‘She looks so cute when she’s like this…’

Harin, who had an unusually high initial affection level compared to other heroines, required careful handling.

‘I don’t want a confinement ending.’

***

After getting off the bus, I looked at the small signboard wedged between the alleyways.

[Thunder PC Café]

The place looked old.

The sign was faded, and the posters near the entrance were yellowed with age.

‘Places like this still exist?’

Stepping inside, I was surprised by the clean interior.

Clatter—

The door opened, and game sounds from the speakers filled the air.

‘Oh, this isn’t bad.’

Despite the early hour, there were barely any empty seats.

The partitions made it hard to tell who was who.

‘How am I supposed to find him?’

At the counter, a young woman wearing a tight white T-shirt and jeans stood.

She looked like a college student.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

She turned her head, smiling brightly.

Up until now, she’d looked like she was chewing on something unpleasant, but her professionalism was impressive.

“Do you know where Lee Jinyoung is sitting?”

“Oh, Jinyoung? He’s at seat 32.”

“Thanks.”

I nodded and headed toward the seat.

As I walked away, her expression returned to being blank.

‘She must be having a rough day too.’

At seat 32, Jinyoung, wearing a headset, waved at me.

“Over here!”

I sat next to him and turned on the game.

That’s when I realized something.

I realized that I couldn’t log in with my original account.

“Ah, seriously! My master friend promised to carry me, so just send me your ID!”

Hearing that I didn’t have an account, Jinyoung contacted someone and borrowed their ID.

“Hey, you’re a master, right? Even though you don’t have an account.”

“I deleted it because I was going to quit. I had to borrow one anyway because of the tier difference.”

After making up a believable excuse, I logged in with the borrowed ID.

Well, I wasn’t a pro anyway.

Friends borrow each other’s accounts and such.

[League of Legends]

The undisputed number one AOS game.

Five players form a team to destroy the opposing team’s Nexus to win.

It may seem simple, but strategy and skill determined everything in this game.

After logging in, I started a duo with Jinyoung.

“Hey, push the tower.”

“Huh? Oh, wait! I’m gonna die again!”

The first kill.

Jinyoung’s character fell hopelessly.

I sighed and moved my mouse quickly.

“I’m dying here. Back to the tower.”

“Top lane loses if you’re scared. Oh wait! Jungle gank incoming!”

“I told you to back off.”

The second kill also went to the enemy team.

“Wow, our jungle’s useless. Never even comes to help.”

“It’s because you’re bad.”

I responded dryly while checking the enemy jungler’s movements and leveling up.

“Double kill.”

I took down two people in a team fight and pushed the tower, causing Jinyoung to exclaim in shock.

“Hey, you really are a master?”

“I told you.”

After a few more games, the situation remained similar.

Jinyoung kept dying, and I was busy cleaning up after him.

“But why are you so good at this? Do you have some secret formula?”

Jinyoung asked, amazed.

“The basics are memorizing the enemy skill cooldowns.”

“How do you memorize that?”

“I don’t memorize everything, just the key skills like ultimates or CC abilities.”

Jinyoung’s mouth dropped open, and he stared at the keyboard in disbelief.

“What about laning phase?”

“I try to stack waves favorably. Then, I roam or call the jungler for a dive at the right timing.”

“Are you speaking another language? I have no idea what you’re saying.”

Jinyoung raised his hands in surrender.

“Playing with you makes me feel like an idiot.”

I chuckled and took off my headset.

Jinyoung slowly started packing up his things.

“But I should be going soon.”

“Where to?”

“To exercise.”

I was surprised.

Jinyoung’s skinny body definitely didn’t look like it belonged to someone who exercised.

“What kind of exercise?”

“Boxing. It’s been a month.”

Jinyoung said it proudly, then struck a pose, but it looked pretty pathetic.

‘Boxing, huh…’

I suddenly felt a rush of excitement.

I had even won a few amateur tournaments in the past.

I was getting bored of playing alone, and I was sure Harin would be waiting for me back home.

‘Should I go check it out?’

A small smile crept onto my face.

“Can I come with you?”

Jinyoung looked at me in surprise.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I suddenly feel like doing some exercise.”

“Sounds good. But our coach is pretty tough. You sure you’re okay with that?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’m fine.”

I followed Jinyoung to the gym.

***

At the end of the alley, on the second floor of an old building, was the boxing gym.

As soon as the door opened, the smell of sweat and the sound of light punches on the sandbag filled the air.

Jinyoung proudly led the way and shouted.

“Coach! I brought a friend!”

A large man was hitting the sandbag.

He had small eyes and a sharp jawline.

The moment I saw him, I thought, ‘He must be good at fighting.’

The man put down the mitts and turned to look at us.

“You brought a friend? You troublemaker.”

The coach’s voice was loud and booming.

I casually nodded and stood behind Jinyoung.

The coach raised an eyebrow and scanned me.

“Have you done any exercise before?”

“Just a little.”

“Start with jump rope.”

The coach gestured to a corner of the gym.

‘Jump rope is the standard, huh?’

I chuckled, already anticipating this, and grabbed the jump rope.

Jinyoung, behind me, giggled and patted my back.

“Hey, have you really exercised before? Jump rope isn’t easy. I’ve been doing it for a month now…”

I didn’t respond, just started turning the rope in rhythm.

The rope spun quickly, and I kept a steady pace, lightly tapping my toes on the ground.

After a while, Jinyoung stopped talking.

Jumping rope for 30 minutes.

Not even my breathing faltered.

‘It’s not as hard as I thought.’

At that moment, the coach approached.

“What’s your name?”

“Kim Dohyun.”

“I’m Kangcheol, the coach of Cheongryong Gym.”

Then, he tossed me some bandages and gloves.

“Try hitting the sandbag. You’ve got good stamina.”