TGMND 127

“…Yoon Ji-gu. Where did he go?”

Yeo-woon belatedly realized he had disappeared. He clearly saw him sitting in the corner of the restaurant receiving attention just a moment ago. When he asked around if anyone had seen him, a Slayer character knowingly snickered, “That kid ran away @ㅅ@”

He hadn’t expected to suddenly become the sous chef. Although it was temporary, he couldn’t slack off given they’d even given him a title out of goodwill. Because of that, he was too busy to properly look after Yoon Ji-gu. He felt guilty, realizing he hadn’t paid enough attention to him even though he was the one who brought him here.

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Gubyeol, where are you?

Yoon Ji-gu didn’t respond to his message. Wondering if he’d just gone to the bathroom, he tried whispering again, but still got no reply.

A few minutes later.

‘You have received new mail.’

Instead of a whisper, mail from Yoon Ji-gu arrived.

[Received Mail]

Sender: Ji9star

Subject: Leveling up >_<

I’ll come back when I’m stronger.

P.S. Don’t look for me.

“…”

When Yeo-woon checked the mailbox outside the village, he found a letter that might as well have been a runaway note. Even though Yoon Ji-gu hadn’t literally run away, Yeo-woon’s heart sank for a moment.

Yeo-woon immediately picked up his phone and sent a message to Yoon Ji-gu.

Yeo-woon: Ji-gu, what are you doing now?

The number next to the speech bubble disappeared as soon as he sent it, but there was no reply from Yoon Ji-gu even after 5 minutes of reading it. He couldn’t tell if Ji-gu was reading and ignoring it, or if he had the messenger open while doing something else.

Yeo-woon: Can you send even just a dot if you’ve read it??

Yoon Ji-gu: .

“…”

Seeing the single period he sent, Yeo-woon muttered with a troubled expression.

“…Is he upset?”

He had no excuse, as it was a situation where Yoon Ji-gu could reasonably feel neglected. He probably believed without a doubt that Yeo-woon would take care of him, but in reality, Yeo-woon was so preoccupied with other things that he didn’t even notice Ji-gu had disappeared.

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Want to turn on voice chat? I want to hear your voice

/Whisper/<Ji9star>: Sry I’m busy^^

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: ㅠㅠ

“As if you’re busy…”

Yeo-woon quietly got up from his chair and slipped on his slippers.

It was eight steps from opening the front door to the neighbor’s house. This was one of the advantages of having your lover’s house close by. Especially for Yoon Ji-gu, who tended to overthink and worry unnecessarily if left alone for too long, he needed to be kept close and reassured of affection regularly.

“It’s fortunate we’re neighbors.”

Yeo-woon muttered as he entered the door lock password. As he effortlessly entered the familiar password, the sound of the door lock turning was heard and the door opened.

The cat in the living room stared at the entrance with round eyes, then, seemingly relieved to see someone it knew, stretched and sat down on the floor. At the same time, Yoon Ji-gu came running out of the computer room with a surprised face, making a clattering noise. He was still in his pajamas, probably having turned on the computer before even changing.

“Hyung? Why…”

“I came to visit.”

“…What?”

“You don’t seem too happy about it. Should I leave if you don’t like it?”

“Ah, no…”

That’s not it… Yoon Ji-gu trailed off, glancing at him with a slightly more sullen face than usual. It looked like he wanted Yeo-woon to understand his feelings, which just made him smile.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For not taking care of you after bringing you along?”

“…Well.”

Judging by his reaction, that seemed to be the right answer.

“Are you upset?”

Don’t be upset— Yeo-woon naturally walked into the house and lightly tapped Yoon Ji-gu’s bottom as he stood there with a dumb expression. When he looked up at him with a grin, Yoon Ji-gu instantly snapped out of his rigid state and jumped. Then he made a fuss, asking why he was doing strange things so early in the morning.

“No, I’m not upset, okay? I’m really busy. I don’t even have time to be upset. Really.”

“…”

“I’m not upset, just a bit… I really don’t get upset over something like that.”

“Okay.”

“What do you take me for! I’m really busy in my own way…”

What could Yoon Ji-gu possibly be busy with in Little Forest? It seemed like such an obvious lie that Yeo-woon just kept his mouth shut and stared at him.

“It’s true.”

“…”

“I’m telling you it’s true.”

“Who’s saying otherwise?”

“…Then stop looking at me like that.”

“How am I looking at you?”

“Ah, if you don’t know, go look in a mirror!”

Yoon Ji-gu pushed Yeo-woon away slightly, telling him to back off a bit as he turned his body. Yeo-woon didn’t miss the opportunity and raised his hand, forcibly turning Yoon Ji-gu’s face towards him.

“…Hyung?”

Ji-gu’s cheeks, now forced to face him, were flushed pink. Woon couldn’t help but think that he was holding a perfectly ripened peach in his hand. With a mischievous look, he leaned forward and left a light kiss on Ji-gu’s cheek. Instantly, all traces of sulkiness disappeared as Ji-gu’s cheeks turned a vivid red.

“W-what are you doing so early in the morning!”

Although his words treated Yeo-woon like some kind of pervert, Ji-gu didn’t seem to particularly dislike it. Rather, his heart was pounding so loudly it could be heard from up close as if he was thrilled. Yeo-woon was secretly relieved. Now he finally looked like the usual Yoon Ji-gu. It was such a relief to see his mood had improved.

“It’s nice living next door, isn’t it?”

A mere eight steps away. Yeo-woon liked the closeness that allowed him to visit whenever he wanted.

“Hyung, you’re really like a pervert!”

“How come?”

“You like living close to me? You only think about doing this kind of thing when you see me, right?”

“This kind of thing? I’ve only kissed you so far, Ji-gu…”

“So far? That means you’re planning to do more…”

It was always amazing. How was it possible to never get tired of seeing someone every day, but instead find new ways to like them each time they met?

“Someone might think I used you and threw you away.”

“Ah, that’s what I mean! I wasn’t really into it just now, but you forced that on me.”

“The kiss?”

“Yeah, that.”

“So did you dislike it?”

“…”

“Ji-gu.”

“I-I don’t know. Maybe I’d know if we tried once more…”

Yeo-woon couldn’t help but chuckle at those words.

Yeo-woon granted his lover’s request as he lifted his head, pretending to be brazen while secretly looking expectant. Their lips brushed briefly before separating again. Ji-gu’s eyes darted sideways, sneaking a glance at Woon.

“Hyung, actually…”

“Yes. You like me?”

“…No? I was going to say I like living close too.”

“What about me?”

“…”

“Ji-gu, what about me?”

“No, wh-what.”

“Why are you stuttering? You don’t like me?”

“D-don’t ask about obvious things. It’s really annoying!”

“Don’t get annoyed.”

The neighboring houses with their backs pleasantly pressed against each other, separated by just a hand-span wide wall, felt just like Yoon Ji-gu and his relationship.

***

Yoon Ji-gu’s daily routine was always similar. When the sun was high in the sky, he would send Yeo-woon a good morning message saying he just woke up, and in the afternoon he would go to work at the cafe or to school. They would exchange messages occasionally throughout the day, and in the evening, they would meet at the swimming pool. He usually had dinner with Yeo-woon, and they enjoyed simple at-home dates, alternating between each other’s houses.

But lately, there had been a small change in Yoon Ji-gu’s daily life.

“What’s that?”

Yeo-woon rubbed his eyes and opened them again, doubting if he had seen something wrong.

‘Ji9star, Lv.62’

He had heard that Yoon Ji-gu had been playing Little Forest in his spare time lately, but by the time Yeo-woon checked, he had already surpassed level 60. This meant that he had been leveling up at least 10 levels a day. Unlike Illusion, Little Forest was known for its difficult early character development. In Little Forest, leveling a character early on was notoriously tedious, even with recent updates that made it easier.

And he had reached level 60 all by himself without anyone’s help?

“Did he play games all day…?”

Yoon Ji-gu had changed his job to ‘Dual Shooter’, a class that uses dual pistols. He showed faster growth than any user Yeo-woon had ever seen, and somehow his movement speed had become fast enough to keep up with his character riding a black horse.

Moreover, as if he had two bodies, he meticulously completed his tasks in Illusion while playing Little Forest. Playing two games simultaneously. Maybe Little Forest turned out to be his true passion

The job classes in Little Forest are broadly divided into two categories. There’s the production class, like Yeo-woon, who creates items in town and manages the town, and there’s the route of hunting and raising characters like in typical RPG games.

Yeo-woon, as a cook who creates food items, had invested all his stats in ‘Luck’ and ‘Increased Crafting Speed’ to ensure good options on the items he crafted, leaving no investment in defense or health, making his character essentially fragile.

Occasionally, when he had to enter dungeons to obtain materials or for events, he always had to join strong parties of other players to progress in the game.

In contrast, Yoon Ji-gu…

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: He’s already entered Sky Land?

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Yep! That person seems serious about LiFo

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: First time I’ve seen someone enter Sky Land in less than a week lol

As far as Yeo-woon knew, Sky Land was a continent where users between levels 80 and 100 usually completed their quests. Yoon Ji-gu was now level 62… wasn’t the level difference too big?

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Isn’t he underleveled?

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: It doesn’t matter, you can accept quests even at level 50, but the mobs are too strong so people usually don’t lol

“…”

He must be crazy. If Yoon Ji-gu had studied with this determination, he would have already earned a doctoral degree.

Even Yeo-woon, who had taken the production route, had sub-characters that had dabbled in hunting grounds, so he could feel how monstrous Yoon Ji-gu’s growth rate was.

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: But isn’t he your friend? Why don’t you come and see for yourself instead of asking me lol

Yeo-woon had asked YourDreamIsGradStudent, whom he knew somewhat, to follow Yoon Ji-gu and tell him what he was doing. Fortunately, there were many people following him, so it wasn’t noticeable that Yeo-woon had made such a request.

Earth Star was a rare newbie, and thanks to the title of being brought in by Yeo-woon, a somewhat famous player on the server, many people already knew his nickname. Moreover, Earth Star had exchanged cash for probability-based random costume items and was walking around in a dazzling state from head to toe. While the stagnant users remaining in Little Forest were all wearing heavy and dark clothes, Earth Star stood out alone in his colorful attire. Just as Little Forest refugees reminisced about LiFo in Illusion, Earth Star seemed to have transferred his Illusion outfit directly to Little Forest.

Ji-gu’s dazzling presence, combined with his rapid growth, had veteran players of Little Forest—many of whom lingered in the game only for nostalgia, shedding emotional tears from afar.

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: lol Just… I thought it might look a bit strange if I followed him around

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Keep it a secretㅠ

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Well, that’s not difficult

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: But what’s up with his agility?

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Earlier when I was riding the horse, I almost fainted seeing him run almost side by side-ㅅ-

“…”

It was true. Yoon Ji-gu had allocated all his free skill points to agility and attack speed while leveling up. Even so, Yeo-woon doubted he could match the speed of mount-based items. But after recently witnessing Ji-gu’s much faster-than-usual movement speed compared to other beginners, Yeo-woon had to question his own eyesight.

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Ah, that…

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: He took ten stacks of slime ball pudding from me

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: What’s that??

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: An item that doubles agility for 1 minute when eaten

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Is there such a thing? First time I’ve heard of it

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: But in exchange, defense is reduced by half…

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Ah, so it was trash haha

The slime ball pudding was an item that temporarily increased movement speed at the cost of defense. A few days ago, Earth Star suddenly initiated a trade with him, giving him an armful of unfamiliar items, and then asked him to combine food using a recipe he had never tried before. It was an item that no one sought or demanded, and he didn’t even know it existed. Yeo-woon couldn’t figure out where he had gotten such information.

Anyway, the slime ball with the “Made by asdfasdf” tag attached, which made it even more effective, served to fill in the agility stats that Earth Star’s character lacked. Although the cost of recovery items due to this must be no joke, for some reason, Yoon Ji-gu had never once complained about lacking money. He often grumbled that unknown people kept sending him pocket money via mail, and it seemed that was probably the reason.

“That’s borderline obsessive.”

Movement speed options weren’t even particularly important in LiFo, so why did he make his character like that… The saying “old habits die hard” really fits. Yeo-woon shook his head at Yoon Ji-gu’s strange obsession.

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Oh? Earth Star is looking for a party

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: What kind of party?

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Sky Tower lol He can’t clear that alone even if he dies and comes back to life

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: What’s that?

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: It’s the boss raid for Sky Land. You don’t know?

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Huh??

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Sorry… I can’t remember

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: It’s that thing where you play a board game in the clouds…

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Board game??

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Wow, you really don’t remember

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: You know, the monkeys throwing bananas

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Playing dice on a board like Monopoly, that was pretty fun lol

Hearing that, Yeo-woon seemed to vaguely remember. It was so long ago that even that memory was blurry.

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: But why can’t he clear it alone? Is the entry condition for multi-player?

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: No, the dungeon opens for solo play too

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: But it’s designed so that it’s absolutely impossible to clear solo lol

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: The boss’s ultimate is bad enough, and the minions’ attacks come all at once, so you die in the blink of an eye

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: There was only one person who cleared it solo on MeTube

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: But now all Paladin classes have been nerfed, so even that’s not possible anymore lol

“Huh?”

Yeo-woon asked, recalling the large shield that YourDreamIsGradStudent carried on his back.

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Aren’t you a Paladin? Were you nerfed?

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Yes;; Are you teasing me now?;;

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Sorry….

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: I’ll let it slide this timeㅡㅡ

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Anyway

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Even a level 70 4-player party barely clears it, yet he’s trying to clear it alone

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: The newbie’s courage is admirableㅋ_ㅋ

So it was that hard? Yeo-woon had been in production mode for so long that he had forgotten all about hunting or dungeons. At least he vaguely remembered level ranges for each continent.

Production classes had separate transportation to other regions, so it was possible to progress through the scenario without necessarily passing through hunting maps. Therefore, it was natural that he didn’t remember dungeons where crafting items didn’t appear, as he didn’t even pay attention to them.

Even if he had raised multiple sub-characters like others, Yeo-woon had no talent for hunting regardless of the job. So he thought he might know even less about that side than Yoon Ji-gu.

“But I think I at least went to Tenon Temple…?”

The map after Sky Land was Tenon Temple. Yeo-woon memory was hazy, but he was certain he had one character that had progressed that far. If he had managed it, wouldn’t it be a piece of cake for Yoon Ji-gu? He could probably clear it easily with just a little help.

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Then why don’t you join his party and help him out! I’ll pay you for your time

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: I’d like to, but players over level 100 can’t enterㅠㅠ

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: There’s a level restriction…

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Even my storage characters are just barely over the level limit lol

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Unless I start from scratch

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: Who would leave their sub-character levels awkwardly below 100?

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Huh?

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: A storage character might work

“…”

Yeo-woon quietly muttered, recalling his sub-characters in the character selection slot.

“I have a few…”

He had four more sub-characters that he had abandoned midway through raising them. They weren’t characters made for storage, just… unfortunate sub-characters he had given up on when he felt they weren’t right. Excluding his main character ‘asdfasdf,’ he had one production class character on the blacksmith route, and three hunting characters, three of which were left abandoned below level 100.

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Thanks for letting me know

/Whisper/<YourDreamIsGradStudent>: No problem

/Whisper/<asdfasdf>: Just a moment, I’m going to log out

Yeo-woon excused himself to YourDreamIsGradStudent and went to the character selection screen, carefully examining his sub-characters. First, he passed on the level 103 character. This was probably the character he had used to progress to Tenon Temple.