Chapter 36

### Chapter 36: That's Not How It's Done

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To me, internet cafes have always been a realm of the unknown, even from my childhood.

“Rainbow: Ah, I'm just at the PC room 😂 I'll be going now.”

“3MinTower: Ah, not much time left in the PC room 😡 Charge up a bit.”

I was always curious about that place.

From my distant vantage point, it wasn't just a room with computers for gaming.

“Rainbow: Ah, sorry, my friend is messing around.”

“Rainbow: ㅇ바ㅔ자저ㅐㅔ버새ㅂㅈㅂ제[ㅂ기ㅔ[ㅈ”

“Rainbow: Hold on, I'll be right back.”

For someone who was always alone and would likely remain so, the idea of sitting side by side with someone else to play games was quite shocking.

“Rainbow: I'll be going now.”

Perhaps that's why.

Over time, the PC room became a place of longing for me.

Of course, this is just a story from the past.

Now, through media like Naver TV, I've learned a lot more about PC rooms than I used to, but actually going there is a different story.

Following the group, I saw a few PC room signs.

They were the same signs I had seen earlier.

However, for some reason, my brother and his friend didn't stop.

“...Can't we just go anywhere?”

“The smoking area's ventilation is bad, so it smells like cigarettes. The bathroom isn't great either.”

I don't like cigarette smoke either.

Thanks to my mother's strict management, I rarely got a whiff of it, but when I did, it gave me a headache all day.

“Is it the same at other places?”

“Pretty much. Some have bad computers too.”

“I see...”

I thought I knew enough about the world.

I thought it was just a matter of getting used to it, and once I did, it would be fine.

I admit, I was arrogant.

When I stepped out into the world, I realized how little I knew.

The building we arrived at was a common commercial complex.

The interior was also ordinary.

Frankly, I expected a darker, more gloomy atmosphere.

...That was probably a bias.

The PC room was on the 5th floor.

We took the elevator, as walking up was out of the question.

It wasn't spotless, but it wasn't dirty enough to make me refuse to ride.

As we entered the elevator, the first thing I saw were the mirrors on both sides.

My silver hair sticking out from under my hat.

A slight flush from the cold.

A small smile beneath it.

This was my face.

Even though it was clearly mine, the smiling face felt unfamiliar.

“You're really pretty...”

“Huh?”

Had I been caught?

The sudden voice of my brother's friend made me flustered.

“Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to.”

“No, it's okay.”

My brother, who was standing next to me, chimed in.

“Isn't my sister pretty?”

Though his voice was teasing, my brother's friend enthusiastically agreed.

“I wish I had a sister like you. I wouldn't get tired of seeing her every day.”

“Right?”

They chatted excitedly, and I felt like a display item.

‘I feel like a decorative doll.’

I might be wrong, but it didn't feel entirely off.

“...”

The male classmate also seemed uncomfortable, desperately trying to look at his smartphone.

I felt a strange sense of empathy.

“Ah, we're here.”

The elevator arrived.

“Welcome~”

As the elevator doors opened and we entered the PC room, a part-time worker greeted us.

‘Hmm.’

The interior wasn't much different from the countless franchise PC rooms I had seen on Naver TV.

Still, being in a PC room for the first time, I couldn't take my eyes off it and stood there for a while.

“Sister?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Let's go in.”

Despite the time, the PC room was quite crowded.

Or maybe it was normal for a place near a university?

‘I don't know.’

My unnecessary worry didn't last long.

My brother's friend and the male classmate naturally split up, with one going to the kiosk and the other to a seat.

Seeing this, I hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to follow one of them, but then stopped.

“Sister, you don't have an ID, right? Go to a seat and create an ID first, then come back here to recharge.”

“...Sign up?”

The familiar term made me pause.

Typically, sign-ups require personal information, and I had many unresolved issues in that area.

“Don't worry.”

Fortunately, when I followed my brother to a seat and clicked the sign-up button, it only asked for my name, birth year, and phone number.

It didn't seem to require a resident registration number.

[Male ○ Female ○]

‘Hmm.’

I hesitated at the gender option before clicking.

[Male ○ Female ●]

It felt strange.

Marking myself as female...

“Can I use your phone number?”

I felt uncomfortable using Prisoner's number in this form.

“Sure.”

After getting my brother's approval, I naturally took out my smartphone to check the number.

My brother's eyes narrowed.

“...Sister, you don't know my number?”

“Huh?”

“...Never mind. It's fine.”

After completing the sign-up, I stood up, but my brother didn't move at all.

“Yuri?”

“Yeah, I'll be right back.”

...Of course, he wouldn't let it go.

Still, this was a mountain I had to eventually climb, so I steeled myself and walked to the kiosk.

‘So, I press this, and the payment is... No, is this not it? So, the payment method...’

Just then, a part-time worker's voice came from behind.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no, it's fine.”

I hurriedly managed to recharge and fled back to my seat.

“...I'm back.”

Even though it was just the beginning, I already felt drained.

“Yeah, you're late.”

My brother's face seemed a bit more relaxed, perhaps from watching my flustered state.

Sigh, my fate.

Anyway, after successfully logging in, the first thing I saw was a chaotic desktop background.

‘What kind of desktop...’

I had never seen a PC room desktop in the PC vlogs I watched, so it was completely unfamiliar to me.

‘Order?’

Come to think of it, you can order food in PC rooms these days, right?

And the quality is supposed to be pretty good, so it might be worth trying.

While thinking about this, my fingers inadvertently launched the League of Legends client.

[Login]

It was a habit.

“Ah.”

I quickly snapped out of it.

I don't have a secondary account.

Even if I did, I didn't want to log in with my main account from a place other than home, given my current situation.

I can't let it be known that I'm Prisoner.

Creating a new account with Yoo Jin's resident registration number felt wrong.

I knew how much effort my parents had put into me, and I didn't want to ruin their efforts with a small mistake.

‘I won't do it.’

I also didn't want to use my brother's resident registration number.

That would be considered proxy gaming, a serious issue that could disqualify a pro.

For different reasons, I didn't want to take unnecessary risks.

“Sister?”

“Ah, yeah?”

“Not going to do anything? Want to play Survival Grounds with me?”

Survival Grounds.

A popular survival FPS game that was once so trendy it even surpassed League of Legends in PC room occupancy rates. I used to play it quite often.

I didn't know my brother played it, though.

It was a game popular among women, so it made sense.

“No, you go ahead.”

“Ah, why? Let's play together.”

“...I feel a bit uncomfortable.”

My brother understood and closed his mouth.

“Ah, okay. Got it. Next time.”

The reason for my refusal was simple.

I just didn't want to log in with an account created using Yoo Jin's resident registration number.

Just in case, if something happened...

While I might have been okay using my brother's account for a different game, it still felt wrong.

­Professional League of Legends player E, suspected of proxy gaming in another game!

...It felt like that headline could appear on the news someday.

‘I can play games at home anytime. Or after my identity is sorted out. For now, I'll just wait.’

In the end, I could only browse the internet.

‘I should order some food.’

With the determination to eat my sorrows away, I ordered various items.

Mostly greasy foods I rarely got to eat, thanks to my mother.

“Your order is ready.”

“Thank you.”

“Ah, sister, can I have some too?”

“Here.”

My brother's friend, who was busy with homework, also took a bite.

“Hey, sister, can I have one too?”

“Here.”

“Thanks!”

I considered offering some to the male classmate, but my social skills didn't quite reach that far.

The male classmate, being a stranger, couldn't just ask for a bite either, so an invisible wall formed between him and the rest of us.

‘Why did we sit like this?’

The current seating arrangement was as follows:

[Brother's friend, brother, me, male classmate]

It seemed like the brother's friend was being considerate by moving to the corner to focus on his homework, but it resulted in a strange layout.

‘Whatever, I won't worry about it.’

The male classmate didn't seem to mind either.

Naturally, I started eating, and my wandering gaze eventually landed on the male classmate's screen.

I didn't look at my brother's screen because he was playing Survival Grounds, and the male classmate was playing League of Legends.

It wasn't unusual.

League of Legends has over 50% occupancy in Korean PC rooms. It's more common to find people who don't play it.

Nom nom.

‘Delicious.’

By the time I took a bite of my hot dog, the male classmate's game had started.

As the loading screen appeared, he naturally went to a match history site and checked his overall record.

A very good attitude for a solo queue warrior.

‘His tier is... Diamond 4.’

Diamond 4.

Though often mocked as "just Diamond," it's a pretty good tier by general standards.

I ate my food while secretly watching the male classmate's gameplay, as if watching a live stream.

‘He shouldn't go Blue there...’

Naturally, given his tier, I saw many points of improvement.

Of course, I didn't voice these thoughts and just watched with my eyes.

‘Ah, darn. He didn't dodge that.’

‘Hmm? Mid has Flash, isn't he overextending? ...Ah, sure enough.’

‘He shouldn't take the dragon now. Everyone's about to die. Sigh. I told him not to.’

Perhaps because I was too engrossed in the game,

“Don't go to bottom now.”

The thought slipped out before I could stop it.

“Huh?”

“Ah.”

Our eyes met.

I was clearly flustered.

‘Oh no.’

I messed up.

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