Chapter 25

Episode 25. I Can’t Keep Taking This

Ting ting ting—

“Wash up and come right back. I’ll leave the game on for you.”

“Okay!”

As soon as we got home,

Hyun Woo and Chae Ah rushed to the bathroom.

This was all part of the preparation to stay up all night gaming.

When you’re planning a long gaming session, there should be no interruptions.

What if someone suddenly feels like washing up mid-session, leaves their seat, and then falls asleep?

You wouldn’t get to play the game as intended, and the worst outcome would be just going to bed late.

-Chae Ah, are you going to sleep?

-Cool…

-Sigh, after she’s the one who suggested we play together.

This data was solidified through Hyun Woo’s experience of wrapping up solo gaming sessions.

Shhwa-

Pushing aside those lonely memories,

I stood under the lukewarm shower and thought.

‘I wonder if Chae Ah will fall asleep.’

Would we be able to pull an all-nighter playing games together like we used to?

Has she lost her interest and perseverance since losing her memory?

These light thoughts kept snowballing.

‘Back in the day during summer break, we’d always go until morning and then secretly send her home…’

While thinking about the days before Chae Ah had claimed the bed, a sudden feeling came over me.

‘…? Didn’t something important happen today?’

A strange uneasiness passed by.

It felt like something important had been overshadowed by trivial thoughts.

“Hmm…”

“What’s wrong, Hyun Woo?”

Upon arriving at the room with a groan,

I met Chae Ah wrapped in a bathrobe.

It was the new robe I bought so she could cover herself properly after washing up,

‘Why does this trial keep coming every day?’

As usual, it didn’t fit her chest size well,

And instead of hiding, it emphasized the already large area even more.

“No, I feel like I forgot something. But since I can’t remember, it’s probably not a big deal.”

“Is that so? Then why are you sneaking backward?”

“I’ll wait outside. Let me know when your hair is dry and you’ve changed clothes.”

“…I preferred it when you dried my hair for me.”

Dak.

Pretending not to hear Chae Ah’s last comment,

I left the room and gently closed the door.

The fleeting thought I had earlier had long since vanished.

The visual of Chae Ah after washing up erased it completely.

Whiiing-

The sound of the hairdryer from inside the room rang out,

―I’m dressed, Hyun Woo.

Only after hearing her voice did I step back inside.

“What is that you found to wear?”

“I found it in the bag of clothes I brought last time.”

The outfit Chae Ah had changed into was a black tracksuit,

A set often referred to as “homey chic,” but…

“Isn’t this what we always wore when gaming together?”

“Ah, is that so?”

“That’s why we called it our ‘gaming suit’.”

It was the combination we always wore for comfort while deeply engrossed in gaming.

‘How does she manage to look this way no matter what she wears?’

Perhaps because she’s worn it since forever,

Now it clings tightly to her body, revealing her figure clearly…

‘Let’s hurry up and start the game.’

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Hyun Woo turned on both computers.

“Shouldn’t we eat dinner first?”

“We’ll grab some snacks later. Let’s start for now.”

“Alright. But if I can’t do it, don’t scold me, okay?”

In truth, that was what he was worried about.

Our monster hunting spree was down to just the Black Dragon.

From the last time she gave advice, it seemed her muscle memory was still intact,

But considering we had to defeat the toughest monster, he was apprehensive.

Still, what could he do?

The Black Dragon was nothing compared to Chae Ah’s memory being more important.

“You were never bad at it anyway.”

“…I don’t think that’s true.”

“But you don’t even remember.”

After inadvertently scratching at the gamer pride embedded in her DNA,

He immediately dived into the Black Dragon quest and waited.

“Eh… Are we starting with this?”

“If we don’t start now, I don’t think we’ll finish by tomorrow.”

“Shouldn’t we warm up first? I can’t even remember the controls.”

“You’ll remember as you play. Just hurry up and join.”

“Umm…”

Chae Ah fiddled with the controller without joining,

Clearly hesitating, likely afraid of causing trouble.

“Scaredy-cat? Will you help me with lower-level quests first?”

“…Alright, I’ll join.”

Using the 100% provocation word, he got her to participate in the quest.

“Ah, so my weapon is a Slash Axe, which people call Slakk?”

“Yeah. Slaggie.”

“What?”

“I said Slakk. Don’t overthink it.”

Pretending not to notice the glare from beside him,

“…Outdated weapon.”

“Huh?”

“I remembered. Despite having amazing skills like Piercing Slash, you always died more than me.”

As if saying that if the weapon wasn’t good enough, it would criticize its user,

The suddenly remembering Chae Ah dissed Hyun Woo.

“That never happened. You always hopped on the bandwagon!”

“That’s only because you went down twice first. I should have dodged as a step-back fighter.”

Hyun Woo felt a sense of déjà vu.

-Are you hopping on the bandwagon again, Chae Ah?

-You died twice already!

-The person who dies last is always the one at fault.

-Where is that logic?! With both dodge rolls and Piercing Slash, you always…!

This was due to the repeated bickering during their monster-hunting days.

“Until where have you remembered?”

“Not sure. But one thing is certain.”

“What?”

“I think I was better than you.”

“…Huh?”

Hyun Woo, a man with gamer DNA ingrained since childhood,

Felt scratched himself, thus…

“Then let’s make a bet until we defeat the Black Dragon. The one who dies more has to play horror games.”

“T-that’s too unfair for me! You have more survival skills anyway!”

“Why, did you say you were better than me? Doesn’t that mean you’ll die less?”

“Ugh… Fine, let’s do it!”

Caught off guard, they ended up making a horror game bet.

Initially, with exams over,

They planned to slowly try things out while regaining her memory.

“You should think about what to order ahead of time.”

“Since you’ll end up doing it anyway, it’s better to think of something less scary.”

“Are you scared now?”

“No, I’m not!”

With competitive spirit ignited, they entered hardcore gaming mode.

* * *

Gaming with the memory-lost Chae Ah was a continuous surprise.

“Hey, you really don’t remember anything, right?”

“M-maybe not. My hands are moving on their own.”

Chae Ah handled her weapon skillfully as if she had played games until yesterday.

It was good that she quickly became familiar with controlling difficult monsters,

“This was my chance to suggest changing weapons…”

“Absolutely not. Why do you keep ruining my romantic style?”

Her attachment to the weapon, including her minor spirit, resurfaced, and she obstinately refused.

“Because it’s trash except for dealing damage. The motion is slow, stepping is poor, and in sword mode, it’s sluggish like a greatsword…”

“Yikes… Shut up, Do Hyun Woo!”

Hyun Woo, unable to dodge the breath attack,

“…Oops.”

“What are you going to do when you have poor performance and lack control?”

Where did the round and cute Chae Ah who asked for hand-holding when sleeping go?

A sharp insult flew right away.

Though Hyun Woo felt choked,

Bringing up stories outside the game also seemed odd,

And it wasn’t the right timing to die either.

“Sorry. I’ll be right back.”

Apologizing sincerely and finishing his buffs, he returned to the Black Dragon.

[Quest Failed]

Chae Ah exploded from greedily going for damage, blowing up the quest.

This pattern had already repeated countless times.

Gazing blankly at the screen, Chae Ah nodded.

“I completely remembered everything, Hyun Woo.”

“Again, what?”

“The greedy Slakk and the inability to dodge. We were the worst party ever…!”

Finally, Chae Ah regained full awareness.

That’s right.

Hyun Woo and Chae Ah merely liked gaming;

They weren’t particularly skilled.

They cleared games through sheer time and perseverance alone.

“Can we clear this?”

“Anyway, we’ll be working on it until tomorrow, right?”

“Including tomorrow.”

…

After failing the quest several times, a bleak future loomed ahead,

“There must have been a time we did well and cleared it. We kept trying until we succeeded. Survivors are always strong, after all.”

“Okay… Let’s give it another shot!”

Burning with renewed determination, they moved the sticks once more.

* * *

To summarize,

Clearing the game didn’t take as long as expected.

Three hours since starting the trial.

The clock hadn’t even hit 11 PM yet,

Meaning they hadn’t even crossed over to the next day.

“Cleared…!”

“Phew, I’m exhausted.”

Draining all the concentration unused during midterms,

They barely managed to capture the dragon with 30 seconds left.

It was only possible because of the repetitive easy patterns.

If asked to do it again, they probably couldn’t.

Thinking it was due to pure luck, he massaged his fingers,

“We did it, Hyun Woo!”

Putting down the gamepad, Chae Ah hugged Hyun Woo.

“True, but why do you sound like a receptionist?”

Having encountered these surprise hugs multiple times, his response method had become proficient.

Trying to gently drop her from his embrace,

“Haha. We did it, Ivy!”

Overjoyed at clearing the game,

She climbed onto Hyun Woo’s lap and stuck closely to him.

“Didn’t I do amazing? If there was a damage graph, I’d have been at 70%!”

“Yeah, yeah. I wonder if using Mami Slakk would have made it faster though.”

“That would ruin the romance. You’re supposed to dodge everything with steps anyway.”

Gugu, gugu.

Excitedly shaking her body from above triggered immediate stimulation.

“Just hold on a second…”

“But you died more, right? Shouldn’t we proceed with the horror game? Shall we continue right away?”

Given the compromising position, continuing like this would undoubtedly lead to an embarrassing situation.

Unaware of the potential outcome, Chae Ah bounced around happily.

‘Why am I always the one taking it?’

It wasn’t fair that he had to be the only one mindful.

It wasn’t something he could resolve by simply telling her to get off.

Hyun Woo resolved firmly.

Swoosh.

Lifting Chae Ah up, he tossed her onto the bed.

“Hyungwoo…?”

Chae Ah’s face, confused as if questioning why she was jumping around happily moments ago,

Seemed like she might understand.

Placing his hands on either side of her head, he stared intently.

“Isn’t this too close?”

“This is exactly how I’ve always felt.”

Seeing Chae Ah shyly averting her gaze brought a wave of satisfaction.

Finally understanding Hyun Woo’s feelings!

‘Right. I should have done mirror therapy sooner. I can’t keep taking it anymore.’

Feeling like he’d discovered the ultimate solution,

Keeek.

The sound of the door opening from behind broke the moment.

“…!”

Humans naturally experience a massive surge in abilities during critical moments.

Hyun Woo’s brain accelerated as if time had stopped.

There’s no one else in this house besides Hyun Woo and Chae Ah,

Meaning there shouldn’t be anyone to open the door.

However,

-Alright, Hyun Woo. I’ll probably return on the day my exams end, so see you then.

Just then, a forgotten memory surfaced.

Today was the day his mother, who had gone on a business trip abroad, was returning.

Considering the distance between the entrance and Hyun Woo’s room, the door lock sound might not have been heard.

Then the person opening the door right now must be…

“Why isn’t there a response when I knock… Oh.”

It had to be Hyun Woo’s mother.

To an outsider, it looked like Chae Ah was being pinned down.

It was a situation ripe for misunderstanding.

Drip drip drip.

Cold sweat trickled down Hyun Woo’s back like rain.