From what I remember, Hwanhee had definitely completed her full military service in the Army. It had been a while, so I wasn’t completely sure, but as far as I recalled, that was the case. I quickly replied in the comments.

UncoverTheSecretsOfLondon:
Wait, didn’t you say you completed full Army service?
What’s the truth here?

As I waited, feeling somewhat tense—

Ding!

A new comment popped up.

Hwanhee:
Oh, the full Army service thing?
That was a lie, haha.
UncoverTheSecretsOfLondon:
...? Really?

I distinctly remembered Hwanhee live-posting about her enlistment in Ifrit Gallery. She’d even mentioned being assigned to the Army. So, what had happened in the meantime?

‘Did she suddenly develop some serious health issue?’

As I considered the possibility—

Hwanhee:
To be precise, I did join the Army, but my health got worse, so I ended up as a public service worker.
UncoverTheSecretsOfLondon:
Is that even possible?

Switching from active duty to public service was unheard of. If that were possible, everyone would switch to public service duty. There had to be a special reason.

UncoverTheSecretsOfLondon:
What exactly made you switch to public service?

This was the big question. I waited to hear her story.

Hwanhee:
Ah, that’s a secret.
But why does it even matter?
I’ve already completed my service.

She had a point. What was done was done.

UncoverTheSecretsOfLondon:
Fair enough.

And with that, the conversation ended.

“Whew.”

I managed to dodge the “Where are you assigned?” question pretty smoothly. I could have come up with something, but I didn’t want to risk mentioning a place that might not exist in this world. Satisfied with how naturally I’d sidestepped the issue, I closed the gallery and opened my game.

Today, I was in the mood for a soccer game. I’d been planning to play it since before logging into the gallery. Since I didn’t consider my reflexes very sharp, I preferred strategy-based soccer games where I could set tactics rather than control the players directly. Just as I was adjusting the settings—

“Hey, do you have time?”

“Yeah, why?”

I had plenty of time, though I’d eventually need to go back to university. Because of an incident from my past there, I’d been putting off my return.

‘If only I hadn’t messed up back then.’

Thinking about that frustrating event, I looked over at Yeram.

“My friends and I are putting together a five-man party. Want to join us?”

“I don’t even have an account for that.”

From the way she was talking, she probably wanted me to play League of Legends with her, but I didn’t have an account, so I didn’t see how I could join. Besides, why would I jump into a game with her friends? It’d be like a senior crashing a freshman gathering at orientation.

‘Then again, there’s always that one senior who does.’

I was pondering whether those types of people were common everywhere or just around me when—

“I thought you’d say that, so I borrowed an account for you. Let’s play together!”

This time, she was unusually prepared. She’d even secured an account for me.

“Still, you guys are playing together. Wouldn’t it be weird if I joined?”

It was true. Having an older brother join in on a group game with her friends was bound to make things awkward.

“Oh, come on! Stop being so uptight! I know you’re bad at the game, but just join us.”

“Hey, calling me bad at games is totally out of line.”

It was a baseless claim. Sure, I hadn’t played League before, so I wouldn’t be good at it right away, but that didn’t make me bad at gaming in general.

As I replied—

“Triggered?”

She hit me with the “triggered” comeback. Honestly, it was infuriating. I had an overwhelming urge to find whoever came up with that word and give them a piece of my mind.

“I’m not ‘triggered,’ it’s just irritating to hear you twist the facts.”

“Triggered?”

“Oh, come on.”

I rarely used profanity, but the word “triggered” had a way of getting under my skin. Whether or not I was actually “triggered” didn’t matter; once someone started repeating it, you automatically ended up feeling that way.

“Come on, just two games! My friends want to meet you!”

“…Really?”

I wasn’t some kind of creepy guy who was thrilled to show his face to high school girls, but being the center of attention wasn’t so bad.

“Well, I guess I have no choice. It’s hard being this handsome and charming, but fine, I’ll play two games with you.”

“…Never mind, let’s forget it.”

“Oh, don’t dismiss your dear older brother’s words like that.”

“The ‘dear older brother’ thing is so overdone; it’s not a TV drama.”

We bantered back and forth before finally agreeing. I’d give League of Legends a shot.

“Just let your friends know I’ve never played League before, okay? I don’t want to get yelled at for being bad.”

“Of course! No one’s going to yell at you, don’t worry.”

She had a point. Who would berate a newbie just starting out? I’d heard stories, but her friends wouldn’t yell at me, right? Reassuring myself, I logged in and waited.

‘This is kind of nerve-wracking.’

Though I’d gamed with others through the gallery, I’d never played in a group setting like this—except for building games where you could stack blocks and fight. I waited, feeling a bit anxious, when—

Ding!

A cheerful sound signaled the appearance of an invite icon in the top-right corner, with options to accept or decline.

“Hey, is the party name seriously ‘IWantToMateWithFuzz’? Is that right?”

Just reading it out loud felt shameful, like my mouth was being violated.

“Yeah, that’s it. Just accept it.”

“…Alright.”

I guess this was how kids expressed themselves these days. I clicked the accept button, and soon after—

“-Mic check, mic check.”

“Hey, idiot, we’re supposed to be on Discord, not here.”

“Why am I an idiot, you rank four scrub?”

“Could you guys shut up? Jihoo’s joining us, so keep it down for a bit.”

As soon as I entered the party, the chat was a cacophony of voices. I figured I’d better let them know I was here since Yeram had just gone to the restroom.

“Um, hello?”

The chat went silent.

It made sense; they’d been joking around inappropriately, only to realize that a friend’s older brother had overheard everything.

‘They must be embarrassed.’

I imagined it was pretty awkward for them.

“Uh… is anyone there?”

Just as I acted as if I was about to leave—

“Oh, hi! You’re here!”

“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Got a bit flustered.”

“Seriously, you need to replace that junk mic. How long are you going to keep using that?”

“Hey, it’s not junk. It’s ‘classic.’”

“Classic, my foot.”

Fortunately, the initial tension had lifted, and they resumed chatting freely. Just then, Yeram came back from the restroom and sat down.

“Why are you guys still talking here? Aren’t we going to Discord?”

From what I’d overheard, everyone seemed to be using an app called Discord. Since most gamers use it, I didn’t mind joining them there either.

‘Plus, the audio quality is better on Discord.’

I chimed in.

“Could someone send me the Discord link in chat?”

“Oh, sure!”

And just like that, everything moved along smoothly. We all joined the Discord call, and now the only thing left was—

“So, let’s sort out the positions.”

Apparently, in League, you need to assign positions. From what I gathered, the options were top, jungle, mid, bot (AD carry), and support. It all sounded complex, so I focused on what Yeram was explaining.

“So, you guys take the upper lanes. I’ll go bot with my brother to teach him.”

“Sounds good.”

“If we send a newbie to the jungle, he’ll just get flamed.”

“It’s just us playing. No one’s going to flame him.”

“I might flame him.”

“C’mon…”

“Just kidding. I’d never yell at my friend’s brother.”

Despite her reassurance, I had my doubts. Cautiously, I followed her instructions.

“Alright, I’ll go AD carry, and… you’ll go support.”

“Got it.”

I’d never thought I’d end up playing League of Legends in my life, but here I was. Feeling a bit nervous, I started the game.

A few moments in—

“Hey, Jihoo.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to die?”

“Why?”

“You’re not supposed to last-hit the minions! Stop taking my CS!”

“But killing them gives money. Why should you get all the benefits? This is upsetting.”

It seemed that I had, indeed, managed to irritate Yeram.