TGMND 93

It was a bright afternoon. The days when it was pleasant to leave the door open due to the cool weather were increasing. The sky was blue and the sunlight was comfortably warm.

Even on days when he didn’t need to come out to work, Yoon Ji-gu found himself spending more time at the café, glancing out the window. Every time the faint jingle of the door chime sounded, he would lift his head and look toward the entrance. But when it wasn’t the person he was hoping to see, he would quickly turn his head away, his expression turning sullen.

“…Sigh.”

Ji-gu had been letting out deep sighs for a while now as if something was bothering him. The part-time worker who worked with him glanced at Ji-gu. Although she didn’t want to pay attention, it was natural to be bothered when such a tall and noticeable guy was openly showing that he had something on his mind.

‘…Well, he does help out with work well. Maybe I should ask him what’s wrong.’

The afternoon shift part-timer hid her reluctance and approached Ji-gu, poking his shoulder. The man, who rarely initiated conversation unless necessary, turned his head to look at her.

“Oppa, is something wrong?”

“…Yeah.”

“What is it?”

“Can’t say…”

“Oh… I see.”

Yoon Ji-gu leaned back in his chair and started sighing heavily again. Whatever it was, judging by his seriously furrowed face, something must have happened. However, the part-timer wasn’t particularly worried. It was probably just another unnecessary concern of his. At first, she had thought he was just good-looking, but when he would stare down at her with a stern face without saying anything, she had called her friends complaining about how scary he was. But after getting to know him for a while, she realized his personality was completely different from his appearance. He worried too much about trivial things and was extremely shy. When a new male part-timer joined for the weekend afternoon shift a month ago, Ji-gu couldn’t even speak to him and they worked separately for a month without interacting.

After the fear of Ji-gu subsided a bit, she even thought he was kind of cute. But seeing that he showed no interest in her whatsoever as if he had absolutely no romantic inclinations, her interest faded. She didn’t want to pursue a difficult path unnecessarily. The part-timer, who had been watching at Ji-gu, shook her head in sympathy as he began fidgeting nervously in his seat and returned to the counter.

Only then did Ji-gu pick up his phone and look down at the Holblue messenger where no reply had arrived.

1「Where r u?」

“……”

Next to the message he had sent during lunch time asking where the other person was, there was still an unread mark. For the past few weeks, almost all of his conversations with Yeo-woon had been like this.

(October 4)

「Where r u?」

「neutaaaa: Just finished eating, heading back」

「Ok! ><」

(October 5)

「Where r u?」

「neutaaaa: Guild room」

「Oh, I just woke up lol Going in now!!ㅇㅅㅇ」

「neutaaaa: Lololol why did you wake up so late? Go to bed earlier at night」

「ㅡㅡ;;」

(October 7)

「Where r u?」

「neutaaaa: Working overtime ㅠ」

「ㅠㅅㅠ」

「neutaaaa: ㅠㅅㅠ」

(October 8)

「Hyung!」

「neutaaaa: Yeah」

(October 9)

「Where r u?」

「neutaaaa: On my way to swim」

「Oh, come quickly」

「neutaaaa: I’ll come after swimming! Lol」

「Ah, okay.」

「neutaaaa: At night.」

「Yeah」

…

(October 29)

1「Where r u?」

Ji-gu, who had been waiting endlessly for a reply all day, scrolled through their conversation history and realized that he had been the one initiating most of the conversations. While Yeo-woon was a very indifferent man to Yoon Ji-gu, he was particularly cold toward ‘Earth Star’. Of course, they were closer than with other guild members, but there seemed to be a wall preventing them from getting any closer than this.

Until now, Ji-gu had deliberately taken care of Yeo-woon in the game, and when he got items he didn’t need, he would ask if Yeo-woon wanted them. The guild members even found it strange, asking “What’s Earth Star doing?” but Yeo-woon drew a line with ‘Earth Star’ without any hesitation. Even when Yeo-woon finally reached the max level last week, he was the first one to congratulate him.

It’s natural to feel disappointed when you don’t receive as much kindness as you give.

He disliked Yeo-woon. He despised his kindness.

He was sick of how Yeo-woon clung to him like a cicada on an old tree, constantly making his presence known. He was really irritated by the way Yeo-woon’s eyes glanced at his body, wondering if he would shower alone again today. The way Yeo-woon stared blankly into space and then brightened up when Yoon Ji-gu. The way he mumbled to himself, making everything obvious, and the way his pink lips would slightly part when he got focused. Lee Yeo-woon, who would smile as brightly as sunshine whenever their eyes met… he disliked it all.

“…”

Everything said before was a lie.

In fact, he didn’t dislike Yeo-woon at all. Rather, his thoughts had been filled with Yeo-woon for a long time, from the moment he opened his eyes until he closed them. Although he didn’t want to admit it, looking back on his daily routine, his entire day was all about Lee Yeo-woon.

Ji-gu couldn’t understand why, despite not liking Yeo-woon all that much, he was so tormented by these feelings. Meanwhile, Yeo-woon, who was very openly showing that he liked Yoon Ji-gu, remained calm. Every week, Yeo-woon would go out of his way to sneak a snack into Yoon Ji-gu’s pocket, trying hard to woo him.

It would be better if Yeo-woon had just confessed his feelings. That way, Yoon Ji-gu could just tell him off and end this. But every time Yoon Ji-gu found himself staring at Yeo-woon in frustration, Yeo-woon would flash a mischievous smile and start teasing him. And every time, Yoon Ji-gu would tense up and feel uneasy, hating how he couldn’t get used to it.

How can a man like another man?

How can Lee Yeo-woon… like him…

“…like…”

He had no intention of pursuing a relationship with him. He really didn’t. If he allowed the man who had already invaded so much of his daily life to get any closer, Yoon Ji-gu’s life would be completely shattered. Thinking of Yeo-woon filled his heart with confusion and made his head spin. He thought he might finally be beginning to understand why.

 

About two weeks after the Bountiful Autumn event ended, everyone started complaining about the lack of content.

[Guild] ParkRoach: They should at least add some new costumes, lol. How does it make sense that the last theme outfit was a vacation look? It’s cold now, and we’re all wearing long sleeves—are they trying to freeze us to death?

[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: You won’t die anyway since we’re all just 0s and 1s

[Guild] ParkRoach: Cat, shut up

[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: ㅠㅠ

[Guild] al0ha: Lol this dead game has no content, they’ll probably shut down the servers soon?

“This game has plenty to do…”

It takes a full hour just to complete the daily routine tasks that need to be done once a day.But Yeo-woon didn’t spend as much time online as others, so maybe that’s why it felt different for him. Yeo-woon looked up the last event end date on the in-game calendar and tilted his head. The gap was only 2 weeks. Even now, there was no main event, but there were plenty of other things to do. For example, the check-in event, or the quiz event that appears regularly at certain times every day…

[Guild] neutaaaa: I don’t think it’s a dying game. There’s actually a lot of content, isn’t there?

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: What?

[Guild] al0ha: ?

[Guild] ParkRoach: ?

[Guild] Ji9star: Stop bullying Neu!!

[Guild] Ji9star: Just let it go this time. The guy doesn’t know anything, so what can we do?;;

[Guild] neutaaaa: 12?

[Guild] ParkRoach: Lololololol

[Guild] Ji9star: I’m not picking a fight, but it’s chaos even when I defend him—seriously.ㅡㅡ

[Guild] al0ha: Lolol you say don’t bully him, but you’re the one hitting the hardest

[Guild] ParkRoach: We’re letting it slide because of Ji9star lolol

[Guild] Wandu Wandya: As expected, people from dead games are different

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: Everyone, I’ve updated the guild rules. Please read them when you have time.

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: <Summary of New Rules> No indiscriminate defending of Illusion. / No saying, “It’s not a dying game, is it?” / Even if you like an update, hold your praise for 3 seconds and move on. (Reason: The developers might get arrogant and actually kill the game.)

[Guild] al0ha: Okay, understood^^

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: Adding guild rules on your own again lol

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: If you have any complaints, please whisper to the guild master. I won’t respond to all of them.

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: So you’re going to ignore them…

[Guild] Ji9star: Dictator

[Guild]Captain Poseidon: Ji9star, if you have something to say, please whisper me^^

[Guild] Ji9star: I don’t wanna-ㅅ-

[Guild] neutaaaa: At this rate, the guild rules will soon catch up with the Tripitaka Koreana, when will we have time to read it all

[Guild] ParkRoach: Why would you read that lol It’s just for show

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: ParkRoach, this is your first warning

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: Lololololololol

[Guild] ParkRoach: Sorry, but I think I’ve received over 100 warnings, when will I get kicked out?

[Guild] ParkRoach: If I get kicked out I’ll go to Seojeri and loot stuff from there, bye!

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: But Seojeri probably hates cockroaches too

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: Who would like cockroaches lol

[Guild] ParkRoach: Doesn’t Illusion give out nickname change items? Damn, I really regret choosing this nickname;; it’s driving me crazy

[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Lmaooooo

[Guild] neutaaaa: Lololololololol

After about two and a half weeks of inactivity, a new event preview was updated in Illusion, coinciding with the start of winter.

Title: Advance Notice for Second Week of November Update
Author: GM Strawberry

Hello, this is GM Strawberry.

We’re providing advance notice of the new event and planned updates for the second week of November.

[Season Event: Goodbye Winter! Snow Flake]

* A new monster raid map will be added where you can free the winter spirits trapped inside snow globes.

* During the event period, players will receive a 200% attack power buff for two hours upon logging in. (This does not apply to the Arena.)

* You can move to the event map through the NPC Yeti created in front of Isis Palace.

* Every two hours, Snowball monsters will spawn, and you’ll have a chance to obtain [Snowflakes] by hunting them. [Snowflakes] can be exchanged for event items with the NPC Snowman.

[Fashion Shop Additions]

* [Ice Crystal Gacha] will be added to the fashion shop.

* [Ice Crystal Gacha] provides 10% HP recovery effect and random buffs, and can be used in conjunction with potions.

* New cash coordi item, [Snow Sailor] costume will be updated in the fashion shop.

* 8 new hairstyles and 4 new expressions will be available in the makeup shop.

* [Snow Country Animal Costume] themed costume SET will appear at a certain probability in the [Ice Crystal Gacha].

* New pet [Petit Ice Fox] and [Muscular Snow Rabbit] permanent adoption rights will appear at a certain probability in the [Ice Crystal Gacha].

[Improvements]

* You can now skip the animation when consecutively enhancing Legend Skills.

(This post cannot be commented on.)

[Trending Posts Now!]

1- Winter season update summary and leaked images of resource package

2- Proposing a gacha salary system for Illusion employees. (Feat. Results of 5 million won draw)

3- Ahhh I’ll d1e if I can’t get the Ice Fox♥

4- (+Added) Evidence of Macro Hunting and Unrestrained Killing in Guild Zones (One-Hit Kill Hack Summary)

5- *11/07 Edit* Added Theme Outfits and New Pets to the Illusion Coordinator Simulator!!

As always, Yeo-woon was skimming through the event update content via the trending posts when he sat up straight with wide eyes upon seeing the new pet design.