KYB Ch 23

A snitch, he said? And what’s with that line? Why did he talk as if he were interrogating some villain?

“No… no, I’m not?”

Startled, Ye Woo-won stammered a denial. But that only made him look more suspicious.

–“Why the hesitation?”

“Seriously, I’m not. Don’t you remember the MysticComeServeMe nickname?”

–“Huh… I knew it. That’s your main account’s name? Damn, this guy really is a Mystic snitch.”

Still failing to grasp what Kisekki meant, Ye Woo-won felt unfairly accused.

“I’m telling you, I’m not. I think Dragon Knight is the most fun class in the world.” Driven to the edge, Ye Woo-won blurted it out.

Even as he said it, he realized it wasn’t much of an argument and hurriedly tried to add some kind of explanation—

–“…Yeah, fuck. I thought so.”

But Kisekki agreed so easily that it made his effort pointless. What was that? He should’ve been relieved that he didn’t need to make any more excuses, but for some reason, Ye Woo-won felt a little offended instead.

Letting out a small sigh, he steadied his voice and asked, “Kisekki-nim. You remember the day you fought that Mystic in party chat, right?”

–“What about it… oh.”

At last, Kisekki seemed to recall that the Mystic he’d argued with had been “MysticComeServeMe.”

Leaning back against his chair, Ye Woo-won spoke calmly, “Everyone imagines fighting back in that kind of situation. But actually doing it is different.”

He stared straight at Kisekki’s avatar. Just like he was watching Kisekki’s avatar, Kisekki seemed to be observing him too.

“It’s not easy, you know—doing something like that.”

Kisekki said nothing, but Ye Woo-won spoke softly, simply voicing his own thoughts, “Doesn’t that make you worth being a fan of?”

At that, a sharp intake of breath came from the other side. But before Ye Woo-won could say another word, a chime sounded.

When he turned toward the voice room, Kisekki was already gone.

“What’s this…”

He could’ve at least said goodbye before leaving.

Staring at the screen in disbelief, Ye Woo-won tilted his head, yawned lightly, and logged off the game himself. Oddly, though he’d felt fine earlier, drowsiness suddenly swept over him.

---

All day long, Ye Woo-won kept thinking.

Had he done something terribly wrong in that voice room? Otherwise, why would Kisekki—who usually logged in only at night—show up in broad daylight…

‘…Why does he keep interrupting me when I’m mining limestone?’

Sure, anyone can mine limestone. It’s used for repairing gear and crafting furniture.

But still—

Why would he bother gathering beginner materials like cactus?

‘Is he trying to make a cactus mirror too?’

That item wasn’t even popular. So why?

And somehow, no matter where Ye Woo-won went, their paths overlapped perfectly. Hence, he could only gather five cacti out of the ten he planned.

He said it casually, thinking he’d just go elsewhere.

What?

Ye Woo-won stared at Kisekki’s party invitation in confusion. He was so flustered that it didn’t even occur to him that this was the first invitation Kisekki had ever sent of his own accord. Because—

‘Items aren’t shared in parties.’

In gathering, only experience points were shared, not the materials themselves. Meaning there was absolutely no reason to form a party unless they were doing an EXP grind. If anything, staying together would just slow things down.

But since Kisekki was still standing there, as if doing him a favor, Ye Woo-won could only think…

‘I must’ve done something wrong again.’

Apparently, Kisekki had found a new way to mess with him. It was clear.

‘But what did I even do?’

He recalled his own actions from the past month of following Kisekki around. Honestly, there were plenty of things that might’ve annoyed him. Still, this sudden change… it must’ve been because of that late-night call.

He tried to remember exactly what he’d said that night, but—

Kisekki didn’t even give him time to think properly and kept rushing him. When Ye Woo-won didn’t accept the party invite and it got canceled, Kisekki sent another one, again and again—so persistently that it almost felt obsessive.

Unable to bear the persistence, Ye Woo-won finally accepted.

During raids, their six-man party window was always full—but now, it was just the two of them. He’d never imagined a day would come when it would only be the two of them in a party. Gazing at the screen with a strange look, Ye Woo-won glanced at Kisekki.

The moment Ye Woo-won accepted the invite, Kisekki began viciously ripping the heads off the nearby cacti.

Headless cacti were eerily stuck in the ground everywhere he passed. The problem was the speed—so fast it made you wonder if he was basically an excavator.

‘What the… there’s nothing left for me to gather.’

Staring at the empty cactus field, Ye Woo-won was speechless. Judging by that speed, Kisekki had even used a speed potion just to gather faster.

‘Seriously, why did he go this far…?’

Was he really that resentful toward me?

Avoiding him, Ye Woo-won quietly moved to the far-left corner, where some cacti were still standing.

“…?”

But Ye Woo-won found himself flustered yet again. The moment he reached out to pull one out, a black shadow swept across his view, and the cactus head he was about to harvest vanished.

Startled, he jerked his head to the side and saw Kisekki, who had been all the way at the far end just moments ago, was now pressed right up beside him.

‘He’s like a goddamn locust.’

What’s the difference between Kisekki and a locust that leaves nothing behind? For someone who valued efficiency, Ye Woo-won thought he’d rather be insulted outright than tortured like this. Watching the “locust,” he made up his mind.

‘No, this won’t do. I’ll be stuck gathering cacti all day at this rate.’

He decided to leave the party and switch channels. Just as he was about to click “Leave Party,” Kisekki suddenly typed in chat—

Ye Woo-won blinked, unsure what that meant.

They say when someone’s too shocked, they can’t even respond—that was exactly Ye Woo-won now. His Dragon Knight, holding a shovel, simply stared blankly at the giggling Necromancer.

Tilting his head, Ye Woo-won’s gaze drifted to Kisekki’s gathering level.

‘Level 3?’

While Ye Woo-won’s gathering skill was nearly maxed at 49, Kisekki’s was practically beginner level. Then it clicked. Kisekki must’ve thought the cactus count was shared between party members.

‘Wait… was he actually trying to help me, not harass me?’

If that was true, then this strange behavior of his finally made sense. But even then, why would Kisekki help him?

‘Was he… secretly grateful that night?’

Still, if you’re grateful, you should say thank you—not express it by… gathering cacti together.

To Ye Woo-won, who believed sincerity meant honesty, this was a very confusing way to show appreciation.

More than anything, this wasn’t helping. It was torture. First, to make sure, Ye Woo-won cautiously typed—

The replies came flooding in within three seconds.

TL’s Note:

[1] Just picture Kisekki holding out his hand with the invitation. That’s why he says his arm is falling off. It’s a common phrase Koreans use when they’ve been offering something for a while and the other person still hasn’t taken it.