FIRST REUNION

CHAPTER 17

A week had passed since our argument. Eric never once mentioned his mother to me again. I felt that my remarks had angered him since every time we met, he just talked about work or other stuff. Is our relationship deteriorating? I'm puzzled; forget it. As I stretch my arms, I'm feeling exhausted. What can I do when I feel this bored? I don't have much money.

I wanted to play more games, but I couldn't play PC games on the laptop I owned since it would break. That's why I went to PC BANG, an internet café not far from my place, and as soon as I got there, I was astounded to discover how cozy and modern the room was. There was a broad variety of small snacks and heavy meals to accompany my games.

"Wow, the PCs they use are brand new," I thought as I approached the PC room. "How much does one PC cost? It can't be cheap; they have many." The best part about today is that there aren't many people around. I wondered.

"This is nothing like the PC BANG I saw in my hometown seven years ago." I grumbled. As technology advanced, I realized that I couldn't buy such an expensive PC. I leaned back in my comfortable gaming chair, there were so many options that I couldn't choose.

"Geez, they're all good games; I want to play them all."

"M*ple Story."

"It's a good game, but this game takes time to level up; if you play for too long, no, how will the rental price be?" I continued to stare at the game selection.

"P*BG?"

"Ah! Right! Good choice." I clapped my hands.

"We can play this together."

"Yup, two of us." I suddenly paused. Whom was I talking to? I checked behind the panel board to my left side, but there was no one, and I looked back and forth as well.

"Why are you silent?"

The voice was to my right side.

Sigh. "Ah..." I was speechless.

"You don't want to play with me?" He lightly tapped on the panel that separates us.

It could be more enjoyable to play together. "S-Sure, let's play." We had a great time playing. We play as a team in this game, and while we can add additional players, we feel more comfortable with just the two of us.

A few hours later…

"WE WIN!!! AAAA! FIRST PLACE!! I stood up and jumped for delight.

"YESSS BABY, FINALLY!!!" He screamed then stood up as well. We were high-fiving until he grabbed my hand and hugged me.

I couldn't say anything. The side panel board did not prevent him from hugging me. Is it because of his height of 180 cm?

"H-hey I understand you're excited, but could you just let go of this hug?"

"Oh, my bad. When I'm around my brothers, this has been my habit." He responded as he let go of his hug.

Hmm… why his voice sounds familiar. "Have we ever met?"

"Uh? Do we meet a lot of people every day? Right?" He tried to speak casually while holding his face mask.

I couldn't figure out his face. He wore all black and was completely covered.

"I still think we've met." I tried to look closer at his face.

"Then you may guess who I am. Except for my eyes, a mask and hat fully covered my face." He drew his gaze closer to mine. Perhaps the gap between us was about 20 centimeters or less.

"Too close. Can you move away a little bit? Anyhow, I can't know you if appearance is like this." I push his face.

"But you said we've met before, right?"

"I simply feel like I know you, particularly with your attitude and voice!" I shouted.

"Really?"

"Yes." Let me think. I knew I met him before. I kept thinking while staring at him. "You're that weird person! When you returned my book, we met at Goshiwon!"

"Are you saying I'm weird?" He lowered his head.

Oh my, I seem to have talked too rudely. "Sir, I didn't mean to suggest you were weird, sir."

"First of all, don't call me "Sir"; I'm still young." He facepalms.

"I'm not sure, old people typically have deep voices."

"Wow, noona. I don't know about that. "I realize now that old people usually have heavy voices."

"N-noona? Why do you refer to me as Noona?"

*Noona is the older sister. Males use it to refer to older females*

"I am younger than you. Remember your ID card?"

"Do you recall when we first met? Why did you act as if you didn't know earlier?"

"I simply wanted to be sure in case you saw me somewhere else from afar or in another dimension."

"From a distance or another dimension?" I didn't understand what he was saying.

"So, Noona, should we continue playing other games?" He sat back in his chair right away.

"No, I have to go home."

"Why? We only played for two hours; that's very short." He's whining.

How could I tell someone younger than me that I had no money to play anymore? What excuse should I use?

"Ah, actually, I only brought a little money here because I didn't plan to play for long."

"Then I'll pay." He said it spontaneously.

"You can't." I said firmly.

"Why? Is it because I'm younger than you that I'm not allowed to pay you and hurt your pride?" Straight forward.

Sigh. This boy was correct; it would lower my self-esteem and make me feel ashamed if he treated me. I hate being in debt.

"How about this solution, noona? Let's play the game once more. "If you get more shots or rank higher than me, I'll pay."

"If I lose? Because you look like a professional player."

"If you lose, I will pay you first for the time being, but you may return it afterward at any time."

How can that be? I don't want to owe anything, and I don't have any money. How should I say that to him? I hate my pride so much. "I can't. Sorry, but I'll leave first. Bye." I waved my hand at him.

"N-Noona, don't go." His hand grabbed mine. "Are you not confident and afraid of losing?" he whispered in my ear.

I looked at him after he said that. Is this boy challenging me? I knew he was going to win, yet he tried to provoke me. What can I do because I hate losing? Whatever happens, just let it happen.

"All right, anything you want. You pay if you lose, okay?"

"OK!" he shouted excitedly.

The greatest thing to do is to play games. I'm delighted I got here; at the very least, I'm not alone. I'm not very good at it, but it's been a long-time interest of mine. This one young friend of mine was very excited, and he didn't even relent. I'm feeling thankful to him for accompanying me.

My eyes were wide open. "Oh?" "How come I'm now ranked first?" I was startled; how could this be? Since when am I in the safe zone?

"Well, you're also skilled at playing," he said while lightly clapping. Then he moved his chair closer to me by opening his side panel board.

"You purposely gave in to me; your number of shots exceeds mine." I said it firmly.

"I didn't; I got more scores, but my character was far from the safe zone, so I failed." He said it casually.

I'm too stunned to speak up since I was at a loss for words. Since our first meeting, this young man has always left me speechless.

"Please wait here." He abruptly exited the room.

"Are you going to the bathroom?" I shouted.

I looked at the time; it had been more than 20 minutes; gosh, it had been a while. What is he up to? Is he struggling with a stomachache? She returned a few minutes later with a large amount of food and drinks.

"This is my extra service." He serves me ramyon, hotdogs, and rice.

Sigh. "I owe you so much."

"It's not a debt; you won. Consider it a reunion of sorts for our meeting after several months of not seeing each other." He pats my shoulder.

"Gomawo." I gave him a kind smile. I wanted to cry, even though it was such a minor thing, but I knew he was a decent person.

"Can I contact you again, noona?" A frail voice of him while he looks away.

"Don't you have my phone number? You were the one who called first." I said while eating ramyon.

"It's... your phone number was deleted because I used someone else's phone."

"I'll give you my phone numb—"

"There's no need, noona. I mean, we can connect through each other on this game; I generally played it while I'm not busy."

"I can't play this game on my laptop; it's kinda complicated on my phone, and I can't come here often."

"In that case, simply talk or chat with me directly in this game if you're online at any moment. I won't delete my account ID!" He spoke as he begging to me.

I nodded. "Yeah…okay, I'll do." He might have reached me via social media or other channels, but he didn't say anything. I, too, did not want to inquire.

"At the very least, tell me your name."

You can call me "Zhao." I knew he was smiling when I saw his eyes narrow sweetly while he held my hands with his warm hands.