Chapter 12
“Just saying this in case you’re wondering, but check the date on the video—it’s definitely that day. Just letting you know so you don’t think it’s edited!”
“Got it, now hurry up and play it.”
As Issa clicked on a video, a familiar screen appeared. It was from that day—the day we went to the Pristik Ruins.
<Ah, look at Hoe-hyung backing out early. Chickening out?>
<Bows are supposed to be used from a distance anyway.>
The conversation matched what I remembered from that day.
The video showed us fighting the first boss for a while. Just like always, it was filled with meaningless chatter.
Suddenly, Issa paused the video.
“Pay attention starting here,” he said, giving us a heads-up. Thanks to that, both Hoe and I focused more intently on the video.
<Ah! Right. Sunya-nim, I have something to tell you!>
<Huh? What is it?>
<You see, we have this guild group chat and—AAAAAAHHH!>
“……”
“……”
“……”
Everything played out exactly as I remembered. The usually talkative Issa went completely silent, as if he couldn’t believe it.
The video ended with nothing but Issa’s screaming. Even before the dungeon ended, I had said, “Issa-nim, you seem busy, so you can tell me what you wanted to say after the dungeon’s over.”
Hoe let out a dry laugh.
“I thought he told you after the dungeon.”
“……”
“Jung Yoochan, you didn’t tell her, did you.”
“Hmm… Maybe I did… or didn’t… not sure… haha…”
“You didn’t.”
An awkward silence fell over the voice chat. Even though I couldn’t see him, I could feel Issa stealing glances at me. He had whined and complained so much, only for it to turn out he never told me in the first place.
I wasn’t upset. I figured these things happen, so I opened my mouth first to lighten the mood.
“So what’s this guild group chat? If I can join, I’d like to.”
“Sunya-nim!”
Issa, seemingly touched by my smile and willingness, replied in an emotional voice.
“Ahhh… You’re truly the one ray of sunshine who can deal with that trashy-tempered Hwansung-hyung…”
Not just a little moved—he was very moved. His words were weird, but I was glad the mood had lightened.
“If you want to join, I’ll send the link right now! All our guild members, even the ones who aren’t currently online, are in the chat!”
“Wouldn’t that be a bit awkward though…?”
“Huh? What do you mean? Everyone’s been waiting just for you, Sunya-nim!”
What Issa said next was a bit surprising.
Apparently, some members weren’t logging in because there was nothing to do until the raid update, and others were just busy with work. But those people were curious about me and had been waiting to meet me.
And not just as a newbie—but as Hwansung’s “master”…
I asked what he meant by “master,” and Issa explained that since Hwansung followed me around all day, the group chat had started referring to us as “pet and master.”
I worried that Hwansung might be offended being called a pet, but apparently, he actually liked it…
So the guild members were all very curious about me, but since Issa never passed on the message about the group chat, they assumed I wasn’t comfortable sharing contact outside the game.
Turns out, he never told me at all.
“Ah, then could you send me the link?”
“Yup!”
A moment later, a link appeared in the chat. When I clicked it, it opened automatically in a messenger app.
Just before I tapped “Join,” a question suddenly came to mind.
“By the way, why is our guild called ‘V3’?”
I’d never heard of “V3” before. Was it some kind of game term?
“In V3, the ‘V’ is the letter V, and the ‘3’ is the number 3!”
Oh… So, “V3.”
“Ah, so we’re like an antivirus guild or something?”
“…Huh?”
“…Sorry, what?”
Their reactions showed they had no idea what I was talking about. I was the confused one now.
“Isn’t that the name of that vaccine developed by the AhnXoo Research Institute?”
“…Ah… Sunya-nim, don’t say that in front of the guild master… He might cry…”
The guild master’s nickname was “Jangyung.” He was an intense fan of a professional baseball team based in Busan. That team had won two championships and was aiming for a third, so he named the guild “V3.”
Suddenly, the name of the voice channel—“The Mighty Cry of the Seagulls”—and the guild house’s name—“Welcome to Busan”—made a lot more sense…
‘Wow… he really loves baseball…’
It wasn’t what I thought at all, but from what I knew, that team hadn’t won a championship in decades. I didn’t even follow baseball and still knew that much.
I made a mental note never to mention championship wins around Jangyung…
Then I tapped the “Join” button on the guild chat.
[Sunya: Hello…! I’m Sunya, the new guild member 😊 I’m a bit late, but please take care of me…!]
There were ten people in the chat, including me. Aside from the five regulars, four were completely new to me.
[Jangyung: Huh?]
[Jangyung: Am I seeing things…? Is this the one… ahem… the master of Hwansung?!]
[Issa: Guys, I thought I had already told you about the group chat, but turns out I didn’t =ㅂ=…!! So I had to invite her in a rush today ㅇㅅㅇ7]
[Jangyung: Holy crap ^^]
[Hoe: LOL]
After my greeting, I didn’t really know what to say. Even though it was just text, the awkwardness in the chat was palpable. With the five regulars, we never had time to feel awkward since we talked during dungeons every day.
Aside from Jangyung, no one else replied—maybe because it was morning or they were busy.
Their names were always gray in-game since they rarely logged on: Haeseong, Nyangmeongie, and Soonjong Warrior.
‘Come to think of it, Soonjong Warrior… always gives me old-man vibes like Cheonma-nim.’
Then the awkward chat continued.
[Issa: Guildmaster! We’re about to run a dungeon =ㅅ=! Stop messaging!]
[Jangyung: Huh, now?]
[Issa: Yup ㅇㅅㅇ!]
Thank you, Issa… for rescuing me from this awkward conversation… Jangyung-nim, let’s get to know each other slowly… I was just about to close the messenger app when—
[Jangyung: Wait a sec!!!@@@@!!!!!!@@@ Sunya-nim, hold on!!!]
[Sunya: Yes?]
Suddenly, Jangyung called me like he was being chased by something. I stopped to check the chat again.
[Jangyung: Would you be interested in attending an offline meetup^^?]
[Sunya: A meetup?]
[Jangyung: Yes^^ Could you check the group chat notice at the top?]
I clicked on the pinned message like he said. Most of the notices were about raid schedules or guild meetings, but the most recent one was about the meetup.
**[V3 Small-Scale Meetup Notice!
When? August 20th!
What time? 6 PM!
Where? Jamsil’s Famous Potato-Wrap BBQ Restaurant!
Attendees – Cool Guy Jangyung, Gangster Kimsooki, Cutesy Issa]**
Jamsil… that wasn’t too far from where I lived.
It was kind of surprising that guild members actually met up in real life.
Now that I thought about it, I vaguely remembered my brother saying he was going to meet his guildmates too…
While I was lost in thought and taking too long to reply, Jangyung seemed to misunderstand and quickly added—
[Jangyung: If it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to come! It’s all guys this timeㅠ… I just figured I’d ask, just in case!]
[Hoe: I mean, we only had one girl in the guild before Sunya-nim anyway…]
[Jangyung: Yeah… she’s too busy to come this time. Also, she scares me ㅠㅠ…]
August 20… about three weeks away. Everyone except Jangyung were people I got along with well in-game…
What should I do?
“Sunya-nim, like Jangyung-hyung said, don’t feel pressured, but… I personally hope you’ll come.”
“Why?”
Issa’s voice came through the speakers, barely audible.
“I just think… we might get even closer through a meetup. But seriously, there’s no pressure at all.”
“Hmmm…”
