Chapter 12

“It feels like it’s been a very long time since I’ve had the pleasure of driving you, miss.”

“Yes…”

On the way home.

In my conversation with the middle-aged driver, whom I was meeting for the first time today, “yes” was the only answer I could give.

What else could I possibly say?

It was my first time meeting him.

The fortunate thing was that after that, the driver just drove quietly.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I pressed Seo Dami.

Just which corporation’s child was she?

When I told her I didn’t know what I’d do when we got home if she didn’t tell me, Seo Dami seemed to give up and finally spoke.

<You probably won’t know it even if I tell you.>

DS System.

She said it was a company that focused on manufacturing electronic equipment and modules.

‘Should I search for it…?’

It was definitely a name I’d never heard before.

It’s not like there are only one or two corporations in South Korea.

But a moment later.

After searching the company’s name on my phone, I couldn’t help but be shocked.

‘Last year’s revenue was 1.5 trillion Won!’

<Th-that’s not all profit!>

Seo Dami waved her hands in surprise.

I was just as flustered.

‘Why on earth did you go through all that trouble to play a game?’

<My dream has nothing to do with my parents’ work.>

As her grumbling voice came out, I took a step back, thinking, ‘Well, that’s true.’

‘I was just surprised. That’s all.’

A company of this size would be at least a well-established enterprise, if not a major corporation.

Knowing Director Hong’s personality, if she had just said, “My parents run a company,” Kim Yujeong’s clique would have been dealt with long ago.

When I said as much, Seo Dami replied that she had started this work against her parents’ wishes, so she kept it a secret, thinking they would tell her to quit immediately if her situation reached their ears.

‘Did your parents ever say anything about wanting you to inherit the family business?’

<Not really.>

‘Or that you didn’t have much interest in studying…’

<What are you talking about? I was a good student, you know?>

According to her, her grandfather had founded DS System, and her father had inherited it, but they planned to hire a professional manager to run it from now on instead of passing it down through the family.

<I’ve told you everything, so you can’t say anything weird when we get home.>

It’s a cliché, but it was truly a palace-like house.

Neatly arranged gravel and stepping stones.

From the moment I saw the well-maintained trees and shrubs, I knew it was no ordinary place, but the inside of the house was even more so.

‘The air… it’s different!’

<Don’t make a fuss.>

No, it was really different.

How should I put it? The air felt clearer?

Just as I was thinking the air purifier’s performance was killer, I made eye contact with a beautiful woman who came out of the kitchen.

I knew at a glance that she was Dami’s mother.

Even if they weren’t spitting images of each other, it was easy to find their resemblances.

<I’m home.>

“…I’m home.”

I repeated Dami’s words one Tempo slower.

Before we entered the house, she had asked me to relay her words for her so that her parents wouldn’t notice anything strange, and I had agreed.

Although I followed a little late, her mother didn’t seem to notice anything odd and welcomed me, saying it was good to have me home.

“Let’s go. Your father is waiting.”

“…Didn’t he go to work?”

“He heard you were coming, so he took some time off to come home.”

His love for his daughter is special.

Thinking that, I headed to the living room.

Just as I was thinking that a drama set would be smaller than this, I saw her father, who had a gentle impression.

Her father, who was reading a paper newspaper, a rare sight these days.

Wearing glasses and a shirt, her father looked more like a university professor than a businessman.

But the words he spoke next carried a rather stern aura, so I sat down, feeling a little tense.

“Sit.”

“Yes.”

Her father had an expression that said he had a lot to say.

I wondered why, and I soon found out the reason.

“Is life at the Team House treating you well?”

“Yes. I’m doing well.”

Dami simply said, “Yes,” but I appropriately embellished it.

“If you’re doing so well, why is it so hard to see your face? We didn’t send you to study abroad or anything, but what kind of parents see their child’s face only once every six months?”

“Father…”

“……?”

You were against it, Father.

I almost repeated Seo Dami’s words verbatim but quickly recovered.

“If you had cheered me on, I would have come home more often!”

<Oppa…?>

“Ahem. What’s the point of cheering when you’re not even popular?”

<…….>

Her father said that and, as if his throat was dry, picked up his teacup.

“Still, I heard you’re getting quite popular among the fans these days.”

“He’s just saying that. He looked up articles about you.”

“Nonsense.”

At her mother’s explanation, her father furrowed his brows.

It seemed he was very interested in his daughter’s performance, even if he didn’t show it.

Thinking that I could easily lead the flow of the conversation, the corners of my mouth naturally went up.

“If you’ve seen the articles, you must know. I’m doing really well right now.”

“Hmph. Even so, you’re just a Third Division League Player.”

“Only until this year.”

“Oh my. Does that mean you’re getting a Promotion?”

Her mother showed curiosity, and I shook my head.

“Not a Promotion. I’m going to wait for an Offer from a higher League team.”

“Can you even get one? An Offer, I mean.”

“Of course. There’s no way they’d leave a player like me alone. Pretty face. Good personality. Great skills. My value is at its lowest point right now.”

Did I say that with too much excitement?

Everyone, including Dami, was silent.

“Dami, you… your personality has changed a bit.”

<Please, just say what I tell you to say…>

Seo Dami, embarrassed, looked at her father, who was blinking his eyes repeatedly.

I told her it was fine and continued the conversation.

“The fans say it’s nice to see that I seem to have brightened up.”

At those words, her mother also nodded her head.

Saying it was nice to see her looking brighter.

She also mentioned that, in fact, at the beginning of the year, her face was so dark that she had to hold herself back several times from telling her to quit and come home.

If they had looked into the situation at the Team House back then…

I had a feeling that by now, Universe Cat would have been publicly dismantled amidst a barrage of all sorts of articles.

“It would be so nice if you were like that at home, too. Must I see your cute side, which even I don’t know about, on TV?”

<That’s a bit…>

“Yes, Mom.”

“M…om?”

“‘Mother’ is too stiff. I’m still eighteen. If you don’t like it, I’ll go back to how it was.”

Even I, at twenty-five, call my parents Mom and Dad.

‘Father’ and ‘Mother’ felt a bit too stiff.

So when I said I would change the titles, my parents surprisingly gave their permission readily.

“Mom~.”

“Oh, dear. It’s a little strange hearing that all of a sudden.”

Although she said that, her mother smiled, not seeming to dislike it.

Dami, however, let out a bizarre scream.

And I sneakily glanced at her father’s expression…

How should I describe this?

If I was right, he definitely looked like he was envious of her mother.

It seemed like I would have quite a lot to do at home during the vacation.

And so, I spent a fulfilling vacation at Seo Dami’s house.

Doing things I would have done if I had been at my own home.

Like rolling around on the sofa and ordering delivery food, or if I said, “Mom, I’m hungry~ I want to eat something delicious!” the housekeepers would show off their skills and prepare a delicious meal.

I did feel a little guilty when her father sometimes saw me and asked if it was okay to eat so much delivery food.

It was quite common for First Division Players to manage their diets by restricting soda, snacks, and fried foods.

I was on the side of moderately restricting them, not cutting them out completely.

Anyway, as I spent my days like that, eating fruit with her parents and giving them shoulder massages, it was time to return.

Perhaps my efforts had paid off, as her parents said they would support my career as a player.

It was only natural that Dami was very happy.

<Oppa. Thank you.>

‘I told you it would work out.’

<Next time, let’s go see your parents too, Oppa.>

‘In this body…?’

<Yes. You’re curious about what happened to you too, right, Oppa?>

Of course, I was curious.

My family would still be steeped in sorrow right now.

Dami said it would be fine if we visited them in the hospital, pretending she was a Hubae who had received my guidance in the past.

Well, there were a few Hubae who followed me around because they liked me, so it wouldn’t be too strange.

<Oppa. Were you popular?>

‘Of course. I was the team’s Ace, and my face is decent.’

<I see.>

My joke had failed.

I thought she would say something like, ‘I’m not so sure about your face being decent…’

<Then should we take some time to look into the hospital? Now that some time has passed, maybe we can find out through the Magnus team’s Front Office.>

Seo Dami suggested that if that didn’t work, she could ask her parents, and they would probably be able to find out.

But I told her to wait a little longer.

My situation was different from hers.

Unlike Dami, for whom any incident would end as a mere happening of getting her body back, I might disappear from this world forever.

In that case, wouldn’t it be better for my parents if I just stayed like this?

I still needed more time to think.

July 13th.

The Asian Games, held in Abu Dhabi, officially began.

The Universe Cat players were all gathered together on this day, watching the match.

Even excluding me, there was a lot for players to learn just by watching a National Representative-level match like this.

Perhaps thanks to our recent performance, the Front Office even sent us tickets so the team could witness the players’ performance firsthand.

Asian Games match viewing tickets.

The price started at a minimum of ten thousand Won and could jump several times higher for expensive ones.

Of course, a viewing ticket didn’t mean we’d fly over and watch in person; it meant we’d Log In to the game and watch.

But that didn’t mean it should be taken lightly.

This was due to the nature of Virtual Reality games, where Spectators from anywhere in the world could watch a realistic global tournament match through a ticket.

Moreover, there was a strict maximum limit on the number of participating seats, so there was always a fierce competition to reserve them.

The fortunate thing was that since South Korea’s competitiveness wasn’t particularly outstanding, it was relatively easy to get tickets.

Currently, in Asia, South Korea was objectively evaluated as a top-10 team.

Japan, which had built a solid Main Force based on its historically high interest in FPS games, was the overwhelming number one in Asia, with China, India, and Indonesia competing below them.

In other words, Korea was considered a top-10 team because its Match Record was inferior even against Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern regions.

‘It would be a miracle to even win a bronze medal.’

To make matters worse, the tournament draw was the worst possible.

The group stage preliminaries had to be played before heading to the Main Round Tournament.

In the group stage, where 32 countries competed, Korea was assigned to Group B, which included Japan, Pakistan, and Lebanon.

Two of these teams would be filtered out in the group stage, so excluding Japan, which was expected to have an overwhelming record, Korea had to perform well against at least two countries to advance to the Tournament.

The problem was that the other two countries were by no means easy opponents for Korea either.

“Dami. I think the match is about to start.”

Kim Harim said, looking at the players entering the Waiting Room.

The match we were watching live today was Korea versus Japan.

It was the women’s national team match.

‘This is going to be a one-sided match.’

Watching the Korean team nervously shaking their legs in the Waiting Room, I shook my head.

Anyone could see how tense they were.

A moderate amount of tension is helpful, but being that tense, there was no way they could perform at their best.

On the other hand, in the Japanese Waiting Room, the players were chatting with each other, looking quite relaxed.

It was understandable.

The members of the Japanese national team were all from the same team to begin with.

What that meant was that the players from the League’s winning team had become the National Representatives as they were.

This was not a common occurrence.

In fact, for a national team, it was normal to select Ace players from various teams in the League to create the best Entry.

But as if by some stroke of luck, the players on Japan’s number one team possessed the best skills in their respective fields.

From Defender, to Attacker, to Supporter.

The best players for each position were all gathered on one team.

<I think there’s going to be a big difference, right?>

‘It’s more than that. They’re going to get completely steamrolled.’

I foresaw the Korean team’s impending fate.

Their opponents were players who had been in sync for a long time, playing through the League.

On the other hand, the Korean team was hastily put together for this tournament, so they were bound to be outmatched in terms of teamwork.

When teamwork is inferior, the only way to gain an advantage over the opponent is to rely on individual skill and tactics.

But even in that regard, Japan was superior, so this game’s outcome was decided from the very beginning.

‘Let’s not worry about the result and just focus on the game. With the mindset of learning at least one thing.’

<Okay.>

I said that to Seo Dami and quietly immersed myself in the match.

<You said not to worry about the result! Ugh! He’s getting up again! Are you determined to get flamed today!>

Five minutes later.

While the match was in full swing.

Seo Dami screamed as she tried to hold Han Youngin back.

Not only her, but Kim Harim, who was sitting next to her, was also horrified and tried to make her sit down several times.

The cause was Han Youngin, who couldn’t contain his anger and kept jumping to his feet.

“And you call yourselves the national team? Is the national team a joke to you! Focus!!!”

Han Youngin, with veins popping on his neck, was completely engrossed.

At that moment, Seo Dami thought.

If only she could hit this man’s head with a hammer and make him sleep for just one day.

<Please, let no one recognize me…>

A mere Third Division League Player.

If such a player was caught getting angry several times while watching a national team match live, no one knew what would happen afterward.

But contrary to her wish.

The image of herself erupting in anger spread like wildfire throughout the Community even before the match was over.

It was accompanied by a reaction so heated that it briefly made people forget their anger toward the national team, which had been utterly defeated without putting up a fight.