Chapter 11: The day before planting (5)

Part 9

Once I made up my mind, things moved fast.
As soon as I decided to go for it, all my prior worries seemed pointless.
In no time, I typed out a message and sent it to the group chat with my friends.

“…Now that I think about it, maybe it wasn’t a big deal. Was I just freaking out for no reason?”

The fleeting thought crossed my mind that maybe this wasn’t worth making a fuss over with the family.
But I brushed it off, convincing myself it was fine.
I understood what my family was worried about, and I was confident they’d be my support if anything shocking happened.
Though seeing Junseok’s pitiful side did sting a bit…

– Major announcement. Meet at my place by noon tomorrow.

Shaking off my thoughts, I glanced at my phone screen.
The constant notification pings had annoyed me, so I’d left it unlocked.
My message sat at the top, the unread count long gone.
I scrolled through the replies piling up below.

– You’re discharged? You okay?

First was Joo-young, the “normal” one in our group of weirdos, always worrying about others.
He’s got a quirky obsession with FPS games and military stuff, but his kind, caring nature shone through even in his texts.

– Nice, we can do a 5-man queue now. Meet up and hit the PC bang.

Seok-yoon, the hardcore gamer, already assumed I was discharged and was planning gaming sessions.
Not a bad guy or anything, just excessively into games.
He’s probably why most of our group, except me, is hooked on gaming.

– Need anything? I’ve got time before my shift, so I can bring stuff.

Young-jin, the diligent one who lives for part-time jobs yet juggles three RPGs on mobile and PC.
His parents run a successful restaurant, and his constant side gigs keep his wallet fat, making him our go-to bank.
His overly generous nature makes him a bit of an easy mark, though.

– I’ll be ~2 hours late. Got a hospital appointment for Richard. Cool?

Lastly, Sung-yoon, with his oddly dumb-sounding tone.
Not quite a golden spoon, but a silver one, smart enough to pick a national university for “easy scholarship money.”
He’s not flashy, and he and Young-jin often cover expenses, which we’re grateful for.
Why he hangs with us is a mystery.

Side note: Richard is the giant snake Sung-yoon’s family keeps. …What was its species again?

– Discharged. I’m healthy, but something unusual happened, so I need to tell you guys. Don’t need anything, just come empty-handed.

– Aftereffects or something?

Joo-young, predictably, replied first.
Since I’d been “hospitalized” for nearly two weeks, he probably imagined I’d lost a limb or something, so I quickly typed a response.

– Nah, no health issues. It’s just hard to explain, kinda unique.

– As long as you’ve got fingers and eyes, we’re good, lol.

– May I ask what those fingers and eyes are for, Elder Seok-yoon?

– Duh, exploring the Rift. What, you can’t play League?

Seok-yoon’s predictable reply sparked a flurry of “lol” from the others joining the chat.
They hadn’t changed.
I’d worried things might get awkward after only sending “I’m fine” texts for two weeks, but it seemed like I’d been overthinking.

“Pfft… same old guys.”

Still, I was nervous about how they’d react to my completely changed, gender-flipped appearance.
Things wouldn’t be the same right away.
It might be awkward for a while.
But seeing their consistent attitude after nearly a decade gave me baseless confidence that “these guys will be fine.”

– Anyway, my place, noon tomorrow. Sung-yoon, it’s fine if you’re late, but show up.

– Why your place instead of Ten Years?

Young-jin questioned, naming the café we usually met at.
No new messages followed, suggesting the others were wondering the same.

– Can’t go out due to circumstances. Just come to my place.

– I don’t take orders from the weak.

– Fine, Sung-yoon. Come, and I’ll hang with you at the PC bang for two hours later.

– Deal.

As part of our gaming crew, Sung-yoon loves games but avoids mainstream modes, sticking to niche ones.
We don’t cater to his tastes, so offering to join him for a few hours of his preferred mode was a tempting deal.

– Alright, you know the plan. I’m out.

– Cya.

– Take care!

– Let’s get jjambbong and tangsuyuk for lunch. Order ahead.

– I’m not into greasy stuff, dude.

I chuckled, watching them banter, and turned off chat notifications.
Heartwarming is heartwarming, but noisy is noisy.

“…Feels like it’s been forever since I saw them.”

At this age, meeting daily is tough.
Between life’s busyness and weeks of just texting, it’d been about three weeks since I’d seen them.
Including the two weeks I was “out,” it’d been a month for them.

“What’ll… they think?”

Sanghyeon’s streaming voice faintly reached me.
Time to shower, watch a bit, then sleep.
He said he’s playing something other than League today—an open-world adventure game, right?

“Some… god? Ugh…”

Whatever. Time to shower.
I aimed the showerhead at the floor, turning it on.
I stared blankly as the clear water swirled down the drain, waiting for the right temperature.

Part 10

“League’s been a weeb game for ages, and you’re calling this a weeb game?!
Plenty of people stream it for assignments, it makes bank, gets ads—it’s practically mainstream!”

– Nope.

– If high revenue makes it mainstream, then every gacha game’s mainstream, lol.

– Cheungjeokun… today you’re not just ugly… you’re filthy…

“You don’t get the charm of this dreamy cartoon-rendered world?
Stop fixating on characters and appreciate the whole game with a broader perspective!”

– Fine, shut up, weeb.

“…Weebjeokun nim… 5,000 won… donation… thanks…”

– Lol, ease up on the teeth, man!

– Yo, is he crying? He’s crying, lol!

Genshin Impact.
An ambitious open-world RPG from a Chinese company, boasting stunning cartoon-rendered graphics, great controls, solid gameplay, and a decent story.
A cross-platform gem that shook the mobile gaming world.
Despite Cheungjeokun’s passionate defense, the viewers’ response boiled down to “Next weeb.”

Some viewers, having heard of or played the game, sided with him, praising its quality, but the overall vibe wasn’t exactly kind to the game.
It was the usual fun atmosphere, but the humor came from roasting Cheungjeokun, not from liking the game.

What do I do?
A knock on the door interrupted Cheungjeokun’s silent dilemma.

– Sanghyeon, can I come in?

– SIS IS HERE?!!

– Sis! Sis! Sis! Sis!

– 3D over 2D any day… ugh…

“Hey! Sis, come in! Hurry!”

Yoonseo’s voice from beyond the door rang like a holy blessing.
Today, Cheungjeokun thought, he’d worship his brother like a god.