NOVEL NEXT chapter 63
Only then did I finally understand the source of the off-note I’d felt since earlier.
A voice that felt familiar, the way he treated me, the name Chae Yu-jeong.
I’d already gone through something like this before—back when, in Xenorise, Yu Chae approached me as “Cotton Candy Fox.”
Fuck, no way…
But this isn’t remotely on the same scale as just rolling an alt.
Some rando I met in an online game turns out to be the reason I quit that game—and on top of that, he’s a popular pro? You’d get roasted for writing a novel like this.
My head knotted up in an instant. It felt so unreal I couldn’t tell if my suspicion was right or if I was just spinning delusions.
“Everyone’s pestering to go eat. Come with us. You got a meal ticket, right?”
“W-wait.”
I couldn’t reach a conclusion, so I cut into the conversation between Chae Yu-jeong and the coach. In a pinch, I grabbed Chae Yu-jeong by the wrist and stepped in close; he looked at me, startled.
“H-he and I… are supposed to eat together.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
The coach looked me over, clearly surprised.
“You look familiar. Have we met before?”
“I’m a close junior of Seo Tae-young. I’m Yu Ji-han.”
“Could you tell me your Hiore nickname, by any chance…?”
“Jeo Jolryeoyo.”
Why are in-game nicknames coming up all day today. Hearing my answer, the coach brightened and offered a handshake.
“Ah, Jeo Jolryeoyo! Sorry. I remember Hiore handles better than people’s real names. Nice to meet you. You’re a jungler, right?”
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“Hearing the handle jogs it. Tae-young bragged more than once he had a friend who jungled well. My handle’s ‘EuropeVenice.’ We’ve chatted before—do you remember?”
“Of course.”
After shaking my hand, the coach pulled a business card from his suit pocket and handed it over. On the clean white card: Yoo Kyung-seok, Head Coach, LVS.
“So you even know Yu-jeong. That’s a surprise. Hey, Yu-jeong. Then you’re eating with him, right?”
Still standing there dazed with me holding his wrist, Chae Yu-jeong bobbed his head quickly.
“Mm. I want to eat with him.”
“Good, good. Be polite. I’ll get going then.”
Having deposited Chae Yu-jeong with me, Yoo Kyung-seok strode off fast—like he’d just passed a headache onto someone else and felt no lingering attachment.
“…Phew. Let’s go first.”
It was way too noisy here to talk.
Worried he might bolt, I kept a firm grip on his wrist and led the way; he followed meekly.
At the buffet deeper inside the venue, I piled whatever onto two plates and took the most tucked-away table. We sat facing each other.
Across from me, Chae Yu-jeong’s bright eyes sparkled as he looked at me.
“Ahem. Uh, Mr. Chae Yu-jeong.”
“Yeees.”
“So…”
I was about to ask if he played Xenorise—and hesitated. Hold up. Can I just say that out loud?
All I had was a gut feeling that the Chae Yu-jeong in front of me was Yu Chae from Xenorise. In other words… I didn’t have any solid proof that he was Yu Chae.
If I just charged in, there was a good chance I’d come off like a weirdo.
Worse, if I said, “Are you Yu Chae?” and he shot back, “No. Who’s that?”—I’d have nothing to stand on.
As I failed to finish my sentence, Chae Yu-jeong watched me, puzzled.
“It’s nothing.”
“You can speak comfortably.”
At this point, all I could do was collect evidence slowly.
I picked up my chopsticks and asked like it was nothing. He flashed a sunny smile.
“I’m twenty-three!”
“…Twenty-three?”
“Yeah. How old are you, Mr. Yu Ji-han?”
Is this guy insane? Forcing my stiff mouth into a smile, I answered.
“Twenty-four.”
“Can I call you hyung?”
“Do whatever you want.”
You’re already doing whatever you want anyway.
At this rate I’m not sure he’s even trying to hide it. At minimum, shouldn’t your in-game age and your real age be different?
After we finished eating and stepped outside the hall, he trailed after me and called out, flushed with excitement.
“Uh, Ji-han hyung.”
“What.”
“You can drop honorifics with me.”
“No.”
At my flat tone, he glanced at my face and hesitated, then carefully held out his phone.
“Give me your number.”
“……”
My brow knotted on its own. I swallowed the curse rising to my throat, snatched the phone out of his hand, and punched in my number.
My mood was sinking fast. I shouldn’t be showing it if I wasn’t yet sure he was Yu Chae, but it wasn’t easy.
“Can I text you?”
“Do what you want.”
All I had was his age; I needed to keep the line open.
Clutching the phone with both hands, he spoke in a bright voice.
“Okay, okay. I’ll definitely reach out.”
He didn’t look the least bit like he was lying, which made me feel a little bad about snapping. Feeling grimy, I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed.
“I don’t have your number, so leave me a text or a missed call.”
“I will.”
“Take care.”
Leaving him behind, I walked ahead and, once he was out of sight, grabbed a cab.
“To Korea University Station, please.”
I wanted to get home before Chae Yu-jeong and log into Xenorise. Since I’d grabbed a cab, I could be home in about forty minutes.
Last week I told Yu Chae it took me about an hour to get to the wedding venue, so if I got in earlier than that, I might catch his tail.
Luckily, even on a weekend the roads weren’t too jammed, and I got home early as planned. I put off washing up and went straight for the PC.
While I watched the Xenorise login screen, I checked the time. Forty-five minutes since I’d left the venue. Would’ve been nice to be faster, but it is what it is.
[Guild] Drink Some Water: hi, Sleepy~
[Guild] Park Seungjin99: hi hi
[Guild] Mocha Bread: hii, Sleepy
[Guild] TheHunter: hi2
[Guild] Hwa So-un: we’ve got a spot in the event party—wanna join?
[Guild] Haereun: hello~
[Guild] Yu Chae: hyung!!
[Guild] Yu Chae: you’re here?
[Guild] Yu Chae: I waited T_T
[Guild] ManaOing-nam: oh no here we go again
[Guild] Drink Some Water: you two got married so can you please use partner chat
[Guild] Hunting Madman: agreed
“What.”
Contrary to my expectations, Yu Chae had logged in before me. Flustered, I rushed to spin up another hypothesis.
Maybe Chae Yu-jeong lives closer to the venue than I do? Or he went to a PC bang nearby. Honestly, there are plenty of ways to get in-game.
Rubbing my lip while I thought, I put my hands on the keyboard.
[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: hi hi
[Guild] Yu Chae: you’re super early, huh?
[Guild] Jeo Jolryeoyo: yeah, came straight here when it ended
Playing it cool in guild chat, I popped open the member list and DM’d Haereun.
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: Haereun]
[Haereun: yessir? o_o]
Drink Some Water seemed personally close with Yu Chae, so I passed and went with the safest choice. On weekends, Haereun’s the type to grind Xenorise from early morning to late night.
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: quick q]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: can you tell me when yu chae logged on today?]
[Haereun: huh, the guildmaster?]
A bit thrown, he answered soon after.
[Haereun: like 11? 12? around then]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: has he been doing stuff or just idling?]
[Haereun: hmm]
[Haereun: I saw him do a field raid earlier]
[Haereun: think he ran some event stuff too]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: about what time?]
[Haereun: 2 maybe..]
[Haereun: Red Dragon spawned at 2:10 so it’d be around then yeah]
He raided at 2:10?
I got to the wedding around 12:30, first ran into Chae Yu-jeong around 12:50. The ceremony started at 1.
Two o’clock is when the ceremony ends and you head to the buffet. So how did he run a dragon raid?
Could someone else have been playing Yu Chae’s character?
He could’ve asked someone to play his account so I wouldn’t get suspicious. I kept asking Haereun.
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: when he did the dragon]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: did any guildies go with him?]
[Haereun: dunno about that T_T]
[Haereun: Hunter or Madman do field raids a lot, ask them maybe]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: ok]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: thx thx]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: please keep this between us]
[Haereun: lmao got it]
It felt like I was about to catch a thread, then it slipped. Rubbing my forehead, debating whether to DM TheHunter or Hunting Madman, Yu Chae messaged first.
[Yu Chae: hyung hyung]
[Yu Chae: we’re going scroll hunting, right?]
[Yu Chae: ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) I’ve got all the spots mapped! ^_^]