Chapter 2

Hongdae Exit 8.

Standing there, I blankly watched the passersby.

It was lunchtime, so I saw several couples and students who seemed to be on dates.

As I watched them, my thoughts were simple.

‘I want to tear them apart.’

With the urge to raise both middle fingers, I averted my eyes from them.

The idea that you can get a girlfriend by going to university was a lie, at least for me.

First, I got tangled up with a crazy rich girl, and my life went downhill.

I was probably staring at the clouds drifting aimlessly, thinking, “Let’s just look at the sky.”

Then, I heard hurried footsteps.

Following the sound, I looked down and saw a girl wearing a hood and a black mask covering more than half her face, despite the increasingly hot weather.

How small must her face be for the mask to cover half of it?

As I curiously watched her, our eyes met.

She was a little under 160 cm tall, but her legs were long, and her face was so small that her proportions looked amazing.

Moreover, her eyes were so big and beautiful that any suspicion of her being a “magic user” vanished.

They had a slight purple hue, making it seem like they were carved from amethyst.

‘I think I know why she’s wearing a mask.’

If she revealed her whole face, wouldn’t she attract a lot of attention?

While I was thinking that, the girl who had been staring at me for a while raised her phone.

Oh no, is she going to report me to the police just for looking at her?

Having been through a lot, I have a severe victim mentality, so I quickly looked away.

‘Ayu, why is this kid so late?’

Sweating nervously, I turned my gaze and turned on my phone.

Just as I was about to text Ayu, my phone buzzed.

Ayu had contacted me first.

[Ayu: Oppa, are you the guy with black glasses and a white shirt?]

It seemed she had spotted me.

As I confirmed, I felt someone approaching.

Sensing it was Ayu, I put my phone away and wondered what my younger brother, whom I’d known for five years, looked like.

Then, my eyes blinked once.

Because I couldn’t comprehend the situation in front of me.

A woman holding her phone tightly with a small, pale hand peeking out from her hoodie sleeve, staring at me intently.

She was none other than the girl I had just made eye contact with.

For a moment, my thoughts froze.

Why was she in front of me?

The reason was simple.

She probably came to ask why I was staring at her and to go to the police.

“Uh, hey.”

“I have a boyfriend.”

It’s not a lie since her boyfriend is coming soon.

But I know exactly how she’ll interpret my words.

I’ll show off my honed crisis escape skills.

Hearing my calm response, the woman looked flustered, her eyes darting around.

Well, of course.

If someone comes to ask why you were staring and you say you have a boyfriend, they’d be flustered.

I quickly turned my head.

I’ve planted enough misunderstanding; I hope she leaves soon.

“……Oppa, do you like men?”

At that moment, my shoulders twitched at the voice that came from the girl.

She silently raised her phone, and I saw my number on it.

Why does she have my number?

She couldn’t have gotten it in that short time.

Without answering, I picked up my phone and called.

Then, the phone labeled “Domi Oppa” on her side started ringing.

Oh no.

The younger brother I’ve known for five years was actually a younger sister.

And a ridiculously pretty one at that.

—

2

Even after entering the tonkatsu restaurant Ayu had suggested, we didn’t talk.

Ayu looked shocked by my earlier question about liking men.

I was shocked that the younger brother I’d known all this time was actually a younger sister.

I’d known her since middle school, and she was a girl?

Honestly, this isn’t my fault, right?

Ayu had always called me “oppa” from the start.

In-game, her character’s voice was set, so I never heard her real voice.

And since there was no reason for guys to call each other, we always texted or used KakaoTalk with messages like “Let’s rank,” so I never heard her real voice.

Both of us used default profile pictures, so we didn’t know each other’s faces.

I mean, why would I want to know what a gaming buddy looks like?

And now, here we are.

You might think it’s a good thing that the younger brother I’ve known for five years is actually a very pretty younger sister.

But I’ve had countless guy-to-guy conversations with her.

Yeah, I’ve even talked about 19+ topics with her, who’s six years younger than me.

And from that thought, I reached one truth.

“Ayu.”

“Y-yes?”

At my call, Ayu flinched and looked up, her purple eyes visible above the mask.

“Please don’t sue me.”

We’ve got five years of friendship, right?

“……Why would I sue you?”

Seeing her confused expression, it seemed she had no intention of suing me.

If Ayu had been a minor, I would’ve been straight off to the police station.

Thankfully, Ayu is now an adult.

“Then it’s fine. Why did you hide your gender?”

Feeling a bit relieved, I decided to ask her the question that needed answering.

I had always thought she was a younger brother.

Naturally, my misunderstanding was quite reasonable, and all our guild members also treated her as a guy.

Hearing my question, Ayu scratched her cheek awkwardly above the mask.

“It was more convenient.”

“I get what you mean.”

“Right? I thought you’d understand, Oppa. We’ve talked openly before. Female gamers get swarmed by creeps.”

She shook her head, looking tired just thinking about it.

And I could easily understand why she said that.

With a face like hers, she must’ve gotten a lot of attention, but men tend to like pretty women, so she must’ve faced a lot of trouble because of it.

Ayu probably didn’t want to deal with that in-game too.

“Then, liking Blackstar’s Yoo Ah…”

“That’s genuine. Are you trying to deny my feelings?”

“No, I’m not denying it.”

It’s rare for a guy to stan a female idol, but it’s pretty common for girls to stan female idols.

At that moment, I remembered a few things I’d said while talking about creeps.

“……But last time, I…”

“That it’d be better to be a queen bee and beat up all the creeps to steal their items?”

“Oh no.”

Ayu, who repeated my words without missing a beat, started giggling behind her mask.

“Oppa, how about it? Could I be a queen bee?”

“Stop it. Forget it. No, I’ll make you forget.”

If I punch your memory out, you’ll forget.

Thinking that, Ayu laughed like she was having the time of her life.

“Oppa, you’re just like in the game.”

“Because the game was my life.”

For the past five years, I’d devoted everything to the game to forget reality.

So, the game was me, and I was the game.

There’s no difference between the game and reality.

“But now that we’ve met like this, will you treat me differently?”

At that moment, Ayu looked at me with somewhat regretful eyes.

Her eyes, resting her chin on the table and staring at me, weren’t something you could easily forget.

“No.”

But I remember Ayu from the game.

The fun times we had playing and chatting every day, talking like guys, even saying harsh things.

I like those times.

When I had problems, she’d listen, and I’d listen to her stories too.

The kind of relationship where I could casually offer to buy her a meal—that kind of sibling bond wouldn’t change, no matter what reality looked like.

“I’ll treat you the same.”

I didn’t ask for Ayu’s real name.

Because before she’s a girl in front of me, she’s the Ayu I remember.

And that will remain the same.

Noticing that, Ayu, who had widened her eyes, soon smiled brightly.

“Just don’t sue me.”

“I won’t. What do you take me for?”

“A potential queen bee who might shoot me anytime.”

“You wanna fight?”

Ayu raised her hand and swung her fist at me.

Her movements were surprisingly precise and fast, so I tilted my head.

“Ayu, are you…”

“Here’s your food.”

Just as I was about to ask, the waiter placed the tonkatsu in front of us.

The spicy tonkatsu, fried to perfection, looked delicious at first glance.

“Huh? Oppa, what did you say?”

As she lowered her mask to eat the tonkatsu, her face was as pretty as I expected, enough to make the waiter next to us flinch for a moment.

Looking at her face, I just shook my head and picked up my knife.

“No, nothing. Let’s just eat.”

The tonkatsu was incredibly delicious.

—

3

After finishing the tonkatsu and lightly patting my full stomach.

Ayu was munching on the remaining tonkatsu with her small mouth and drinking water.

Her eating was so satisfying that I thought she’d be a hit if she did mukbang on YouTube.

Then, as our eyes met, Ayu put down her cup and wiped her mouth with a tissue.

“Oh right. Oppa, there’s something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Oppa, do you really like men?”

She asked so seriously that I wondered what she was getting at.

I made a face and told her.

“Yeah. I like men.”

“Wha, wha, wha, that’s not good.”

“Just kidding.”

I got hit.

It really hurt.

And I had no choice but to explain why I lied.

“It was a quick response. I thought I’d get sued for staring.”

“Can you even get sued for that?”

“In a world where they make up crimes, staring is a fact.”

Having gone through college life where victim mentality is inevitable, this kind of thinking is unavoidable.

What can I do but be careful until the law changes?

“Then do you like women?”

“Don’t you remember the conversations we’ve had?”

Hearing that, Ayu coughed awkwardly.

“……That’s a relief.”

I’m not sure what’s a relief, though.

“Then why were you staring at me earlier?”

“I thought you were a lost child.”

“Oppa, you want another hit?”

“Okay, I saw a pretty girl standing there and looked.”

Being honest, Ayu twitched and then smiled brightly.

Did she want to hear that she’s pretty?

How cheeky.

“We’ve finished eating, so what now? Want to go to a VR room?”

“Oh, that sounds good. Let’s do a dungeon run together.”

Ayu smiled brightly and put on her mask.

It seemed she always wore a mask when going outside.

Understanding that, I got up from my seat, and Ayu quickly went to pay with her card.

I was supposed to be the one treating her, but seeing my younger sister pay like that made me feel a bit sorry.

The cashier who swiped the card looked back and forth between me and Ayu with a ‘Is this pretty girl really paying?’ expression.

It was a look I could understand, so I couldn’t say, ‘Hey, that’s prejudice.’

Since the restaurant was on the second floor, walking outside, I saw the street, which had quieted down after lunchtime.

In the distance, I spotted a VR game room.

Great.

We can head there.

Then, it happened.

As Ayu followed me out, she suddenly turned her head somewhere and pulled me.

With the sudden force, I tumbled to the ground with Ayu, letting out a groan.

Ayu’s strength was much stronger than mine, an adult man, so I couldn’t even react.

“Ayu?”

As I was about to ask what she was doing, Ayu covered my head with her hand and shushed me.

It felt a bit soft against my chin, which was distracting, but Ayu’s eyes were so serious that I couldn’t complain.

Not understanding the situation, I stayed quiet, and then I realized the surroundings had darkened.

Glancing around, I saw the restaurant staff staring out the window with dazed expressions.

Why are they like that?

We’re on the second floor.

Curious, I cautiously turned my gaze behind me and froze.

There, something enormous was passing by.

Black scales, blue feathers swaying beneath them.

A monster that shouldn’t exist on Earth, as tall as a two-story building, was passing by.