He Is That Guy

Following Yu Chae’s lead, the scrolls really did pop. Thanks to that, we grabbed the remaining five fast, and I could finish the adventure quest.
“……”

Even after finally wrapping a quest I’d been squeezing in time for since last time, my mood stayed sour.
Right up until I got home and logged into Xenorise, I kept suspecting that Chae Yu-jeong and Yu Chae might be the same person.
But now… I don’t know.

While I was at the wedding with Chae Yu-jeong, Yu Chae was running raids and events in Xenorise. And just like he’d told me beforehand, he already knew all the spawn spots for the scrolls.
Knowing that made it hard to just decide I was right.
Of course… he could’ve left the game to someone else and gone to the wedding. Someone could’ve used the Yu Chae character to chat with guildmates, raid, and scout the scroll spots I needed in my stead…

Wait, do I really have to factor in something like that?
Who am I that he’d go to that much trouble just to trick me. Is that even realistic?
[Party] Yu Chae: since we got all the scrolls
[Party] Yu Chae: let’s do the quest for the Elf’s Ring next, hyung

[Party] Yu Chae: you only need to gather 5 for that so it’s quick ^_^
[Party] Yu Chae: the rewards are suuuper good!!
[Party] Yu Chae: hyung?

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: ah sry
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: was looking at something else for a sec
A headache pressed in and I missed the chat. I answered as casually as I could.

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: yeah
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: I was gonna do that anyway
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: are those locations random too?

[Party] Yu Chae: nope!
[Party] Yu Chae: it’s kinda far
[Party] Yu Chae: but the spots are fixed

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: then I should pick up the quest from the NPC first
[Party] Yu Chae: hyung are you busy?
[Party] Yu Chae: hop on my pet

[Party] Yu Chae: I’ll take you to the NPC ^_^♥
His tone was the same as always, which made me frown and give a crooked smile.
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: thx if you do that

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: I gotta check a bit of coursework rn
[Party] Yu Chae: ^_^
[Party] Yu Chae: mount up!
I couldn’t focus on the game, so I lied and asked a favor; he agreed without hesitation.

I mounted the pet Yu Chae summoned; he must’ve used a continent transfer item, because the scenery changed. I left that running and DM’d Hunting Madman like I had Haereun.
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: Madman]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: got a sec?]

[Hunting Madman: yeah?]
[Hunting Madman: whoa Sleepy DMing me for once?]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: lmao]

[Jeo Jolryeoyo: got something to ask off to the side]
[Hunting Madman: what is it]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: did you do Red Dragon earlier?]

[Hunting Madman: damn]
[Hunting Madman: how’d you know]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: Yu Chae was there too?]

[Hunting Madman: damn…]
[Hunting Madman: you’re scary, Sleepy o_o]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: how was he? Yu Chae]

[Hunting Madman: how as in?]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: felt different or anything]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: said stuff he normally doesn’t?]

[Hunting Madman: ??]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: like he seemed like a different person]
[Hunting Madman: ???]

[Hunting Madman: nah not really?]
[Hunting Madman: guildmaster didn’t chat much]
[Hunting Madman: but that’s normal lol]

[Hunting Madman: didn’t feel like someone else]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: yeah?]
[Hunting Madman: yeah]
[Hunting Madman: why?]

[Hunting Madman: something up?]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: nah nothing]
[Jeo Jolryeoyo: anyway thx]

[Hunting Madman: okok]
Hunting Madman’s answer wasn’t much different from Haereun’s.
Chat’s easy to fake if you want to, so I wasn’t going to just swallow it whole… but it was also awkward to keep cornering guildmates with questions.

“This is driving me nuts.”
From the guild’s accounts, the Chae Yu-jeong I met at the wedding wasn’t Yu Chae—but the overlapping name and the similar voice were suspicious… I couldn’t tell what was what.
After thinking myself in circles, I sighed. I wasn’t going to get any real gaming done today. Maybe because I’d been on edge, I felt a little tired.

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: Kim Yu Chae
[Party] Yu Chae: yes?
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: sorry but I’m calling it here

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: too tired to focus
Riding side by side through a forest path, he popped a teary emote at that.
[Party] Yu Chae: hyung are you sick? ;_;

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: no not sick
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: just need some rest
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: let’s do it tomorrow

[Party] Yu Chae: ;_;
[Party] Yu Chae: I’m okay..
[Party] Yu Chae: don’t get sick, hyung ;_;

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: lol I said I’m not sick
I undid the top couple buttons of my shirt. I’d jumped into the game the second I got home; I hadn’t even washed up. What am I doing.
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: I’m off

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: have fun
[Party] Yu Chae: hyung
[Party] Yu Chae: wait a sec

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: ?
He stopped me in a hurry, hesitated, then carefully asked:
[Party] Yu Chae: um

[Party] Yu Chae: about last time
[Party] Yu Chae: when you asked for my number
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: ?

[Party] Yu Chae: can I give it to you now?
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: what?
Genuinely startled, I couldn’t hide it and hammered out a reply.

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: you’re gonna give it to me?
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: now?
[Party] Yu Chae: yesss

[Party] Yu Chae: is that bad?
[Party] Yu Chae: is it too late? ;_;
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: you’re really giving it?

[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: your phone number?

[Party] Yu Chae: do you not want it? ;_;
[Party] Jeo Jolryeoyo: that’s not it
My hands froze over the keyboard.

He’s going to give me his phone number? Then what number did I get from Chae Yu-jeong? Confusion flooded my head.
Chae Yu-jeong and Yu Chae. Are they actually…
not the same person?

 
****
“How’s that sound to you?”

“Hmm…”
Before my afternoon class started, I hit the campus café with Kim Daeseok and told him what happened on Saturday.
I wasn’t sure I should talk about something with no conclusion, but I couldn’t judge the situation objectively on my own.

Sucking on an iced chocolate, Kim Daeseok listened, blank-faced, then spoke.
“Sounds like different people.”
“What? Why?”

“Why do you think. When you were at the venue, the Twilight guildmaster was gaming.”
“Someone could’ve been playing for him.”
“Someone played a raid, joined an event, and scouted scroll spots as a favor? That’s not a favor, that’s a paid hire.”

“Well…”
“And the phone numbers are different.”
“He could have two numbers.”

He looked unimpressed.
“If he went that far to trick you, let’s just let ourselves be tricked.”
“What bullshit is that?”

“You gotta respect the hustle.”
This bastard talks big when it’s not his problem.
“You’re saying the real name and the handle being similar and the voice being similar makes it suspicious—but honestly, the handle ‘Yu Chae’ shows up in any game. It’s a popular handle. And guys’ voices are all in the same range anyway.”

“They’re the same age, too.”
“There are a million twenty-three-year-old guys who game.”
“It’s not that simple to conclude.”

Feeling stifled, I lifted my iced Americano and drank without a straw.
Across from me, scratching his forehead, Kim Daeseok leaned back.
“I mean, if I’d been through it exactly like you, I’d be confused and suspicious too… but since you brought up a Hiore pro, it just doesn’t feel real. If he’s a pro, doesn’t he not have time for other games?”

“……”
“There’s that—Hiore has its own record site, right? At least check that.”
“I already did.”

Chae Yu-jeong kept playing Hiore even after I quit. He’s been on a break since last year’s world championship, but he’s still a pro, so of course.
And pros mostly practice through what they call scrims—practice games against other teams—so the record site isn’t the full picture.
I opened my messenger. In my newly added friends list, Chae Yu-jeong and Yu Chae sat side by side.

[Yu Chae: hyung hyung]
[Yu Chae: eat this]
[Yu Chae: don’t get sick.. (sticker)]

[Yu Chae sent you a gifticon.]
[Yu Ji-han: ?]
[Yu Ji-han: don’t need it]

[Yu Ji-han: you eat it]
[You declined the gifticon.]
[Yu Chae: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

It came in right after I logged off yesterday. A congee gifticon, paired with a crying brown puppy sticker—made me roll my eyes.
Even with the phone number saved, the messenger still showed his handle, not his real name. Guess he didn’t want to give me anything beyond the number.
“If you’re that hung up, why not meet Chae Yu-jeong again? He seems easier to approach than Yu Chae.”

Seeing my complicated face over my phone, Kim Daeseok added a little worried advice. I nodded, bitterly, and pocketed my phone.
“I was going to.”
Notes

Scrim: Short for scrimmage, meaning a practice match. Two teams schedule and play practice games.
Custom game: User-created match. Anyone can make a room and play; results don’t appear on record sites.