Over the noisy hum of the PC bang, I stared at the flashy game screen loading up with effects and thought:
“It’s been a while.”
God of Water Veil.
An MMORPG so popular that one in five Koreans has played it.
“It’s been... more than half a year, huh.”
Under my character, the last login date was displayed. Six months isn’t that long, but in the world of online games, it feels like an eternity.
Back then, I had to quit the game suddenly because of unexpected circumstances.
“It was fun though.”
I did feel a bit regretful when I left.
I had a guild I was active in and was enjoying it in my own way.
One guild member in particular came to mind, and I chuckled at the memory.
“His nickname was... Gi Sehwa, right?”
He and I weren’t exactly friendly from the start.
Maybe he just didn’t like my first impression.
From the moment I applied to the guild, he was up in arms trying to stop me from joining.
Of course, since I was a Tank and the guild needed one, I ended up getting in anyway.
(Necromancer) Gi Sehwa: lol, are your fingers broken or something?
Even after that, he always seemed annoyed by me.
Every time I made a mistake, he’d be “worried” about my fingers.
(Necromancer) Gi Sehwa: What, do Dragon Knights have muscles in their eyeballs too? No wonder you couldn’t block the obvious thing on the left. Tsk tsk.
Every raid, without fail, came with... detailed feedback.
(Necromancer) Gi Sehwa: I died ‘cause you suck.
If he ever died because of me, he’d make sure I knew it.
But at the same time, he’d give instructions fast so I could back him up right away.
(Dragon Knight) Ye Uwon: I’m sorry. I’ll try harder next time.
From Gi Sehwa’s perspective—he was great at the game—I must have looked like total dead weight.
And yeah... there were definitely moments where, if I’d been better, he probably wouldn’t have died.
Still, I knew his snark came from annoyance, not malice.
And I was aware of my shortcomings, so I always apologized.
(Necromancer) Gi Sehwa: lololololol
After that, he usually didn’t say much more.
Sometimes he’d just burst out laughing like a maniac, but that was it.
“Now that I think about it…”
Little memories of his behavior started coming back to me—things I’d forgotten amidst real life chaos.
At some point, Gi Sehwa stopped nagging me altogether.
Even when I made mistakes.
(Necromancer) Gi Sehwa: ㅡㅡ
That’s all he’d say.
It was a big shift from the days he’d constantly question my intelligence.
I wondered if he’d lost interest... or just given up.
But it didn’t feel like that—he kept doing raids and other content with me.
Come to think of it, we were always logged in at the same time.
And whenever I left briefly and came back—
(Guild) Gi Sehwa: Where’d you go?
He’d whisper to me the moment I moved.
(Guild) Gi Sehwa: When are we doing that thing?
(Guild) Ye Uwon: That thing?
(Guild) Gi Sehwa: ;; You know, that thing.
(Guild) Ye Uwon: Huh??
(Guild) Gi Sehwa: Forget it. Fuck.
(Guild) Ye Uwon: ...You mean Maestro?
(Guild) Ye Uwon: You said you didn’t want to go with me because I wasn’t skilled enough... so I went with someone else.
(Guild) Gi Sehwa: That bitch—me—I mean...
(Guild) Gi Sehwa: When the fuck did that happen?
(Guild) Ye Uwon: Umm… didn’t you say, “Why the hell did you take the boss’s curse instead of the tank”?
(Guild) Gi Sehwa: That was…
(Guild) BBangdaeng-i: Haha wait… Gi-nim, were you waiting for Ye Uwon? lol
(Guild) Gi Sehwa: Shut up, dumbass.
(Guild) BBangdaeng-i: But it’s me, BBangdaeng lol
(Guild) Gi Sehwa: I wasn’t waiting for anyone, okay? He’s just a trash-tier Dragon Knight who can’t even get a job IRL. I was helping him out as a guild benefit.
(Guild) Gi Sehwa: It’s called social welfare. Something your stupid ass wouldn’t understand.
(Guild) BBangdaeng-i: LMAOO we call that “waiting” where I’m from~ and I’m still BBangdaeng lol
(Guild) BBangdaeng-i: You waited for him and now you’re sulking~ haha
(Guild) BBangdaeng-i: lol it’s so funny hahaha—
(Guild) BBangdaeng-i: srry
(Guild) BBangdaeng-i: stop DMing me pls—
BBangdaeng-i has logged out.
Now that I think about it...
Maybe he was waiting for me so we could raid together.
After that, every Monday when bosses reset, the moment I logged in, he’d send me an invite.
(Necromancer) Gi Sehwa: You making out with the boss?
(Dragon Knight) Ye Uwon: That’s my dragon summon skill... 😭
(Assassin) NyamNyami: LOL DEAD
(Heavy Gunner) Heundeu: LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Even when we did go together, it wasn’t like he ever praised me.
When he was in a bad mood, he’d still find a reason to yell at me.
“But we did kinda get closer over time…”
Little by little, we warmed up.
Though eventually we grew awkward and drifted apart…
“Well, I’m probably kicked from the guild by now anyway.”
I tried to shake off the creeping thoughts.
It had already been six months.
In real time, maybe not so long,
but in-game... it might as well be years.
While I zoned out, the loading finished.
I clicked on my character, Ye Uwon, who stood there with a bulky, armored build, waiting to be selected.
“Wait... I’m still in the guild?”
I figured I’d have been kicked for inactivity,
but my guild tag was still there.
I stared at the name floating above my head, confused—
then suddenly, the guild chat exploded.
(Guild) Heundeu: ??????
(Guild) HealPleaseIDK: omg Ye Uwon omg omg omg
(Guild) SIS: ??????????????????????
(Guild) EvilPiggy: ???????????????
(Guild) DPSIsShit: ??????????????????
A wall of question marks scrolled up in real time.
And the usernames weren’t unfamiliar—
they were the same people from back then.
Feeling a little touched, I smiled and typed:
(Guild) Ye Uwon: Hello. Long time no see.
(Guild) Mallow: Oh hi! But um... who are you again?
(Guild) NyamNyami: HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT
There were a few new names,
but most were people I’d raided with before.
Even if it was all just pixels,
being welcomed back after so long made my chest tighten.
(Whisper) HealingZzimo: Oh my god!!!!!! Ye Uwon!!!!!!!!!!
Someone whispered me directly—
even dropped a coordinate ping and ran straight to me.
(Whisper) HealingZzimo: It’s really been so long ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Look how much I’ve grown!!!!!!!!!!! ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
It was HealingZzimo, who used to be a total newbie in the guild.
Apparently, six months was enough time for them to hit max level.
(Whisper) Ye Uwon: You’ve grown up beautifully. I’m proud of you.
(Whisper) HealingZzimo: Hehe~
Guess they dropped some serious cash on the game.
Embarrassed, Zzimo had their avatar do a little dance—
a shiny, full-body sparkle animation that marked them as a max-level character.
A cute little merman jumping around in front of me.
I smiled at the sight.
The same newbie who didn’t even know how to emote properly
had surpassed me.
I was getting all sentimental,
but something else caught my attention.
“Huh. The guild chat went quiet.”
Since that earlier explosion, it’d gone completely still.
While I was glancing around in thought, HealingZzimo suddenly paused.
(Whisper) HealingZzimo: Oh, by the way…
About those items you gave me before... I couldn’t use them 😢
(Whisper) Ye Uwon: Huh? Why not?
Before I quit the game, I had one last drinking session with some friends.
It was a last-minute get-together since I was heading overseas and no one knew when—or if—I’d be back.
And, well, thanks to my very drunk friends pressuring me, we ended up going to a PC bang.
Everyone else played different games, but for whatever reason, in my half-drunk state, I launched God of Water Veil.
Of course, it was around 5 a.m. at the time, so barely anyone was online—
except one person: HealingZzimo.
After some hesitation, I gave them a bunch of items I didn’t need—
stuff that would’ve been pretty useful to a newbie—
and told them to take care before logging off.
I was really drunk back then… so I don’t remember all the details.
Pretty sure I just collapsed on the desk after handing over the loot. I felt like I was gonna puke.
(Whisper) Ye Uwon: Did you throw those items away? They were actually pretty useful…
(Whisper) HealingZzimo: Gasp—no way!!!!
(Whisper) HealingZzimo: I wanted to use them, I swear, it’s just…
Zzimo was quick to deny it.
So I was about to ask what happened when—
[Guild Executive Gi Sehwa has logged in.]
A system alert popped up.
(Guild) DPSIsShit: ;
(Guild) HealPleaseIDK: uh oh
(Guild) EvilPiggy: Oh my god
(Guild) NyamNyami: He’s already here?
(Guild) Heundeu: ? holy shit
(Guild) SIS: ?
The guild chat, which had been dead silent just moments ago, suddenly blew up with horrified reactions.
(Whisper) HealingZzimo: Ye Uwon-nim, run. NOW.
Then Zzimo suddenly disappeared—
as if they were yanked into another dimension.
I was still reeling when—
(Whisper) Gi Sehwa: You.
A character appeared in front of me out of nowhere.
Same build, same gear as always.
Gi Sehwa.
Should I say long time no see?
Seeing his avatar weirdly made me kind of happy.
I was about to type something—
(Whisper) Gi Sehwa: If you run, I’ll fucking end you.
…What?
For the first time ever, Gi Sehwa was speaking formally.
And somehow, that made it even more terrifying.
(Whisper) Gi Sehwa: Stay right there.
What the hell is this chill down my spine?
I froze.
Gi Sehwa’s character walked up, then stopped—
just standing there, completely motionless.
(Whisper) Ye Uwon: Hey?
He didn’t answer.
I tilted my head, confused.
And just then, the chime of the PC bang’s door rang.
“Welcome~”
I was sitting in the second row from the entrance, so I instinctively glanced toward the door.
A tall guy walked in, looking around the room.
Cap pulled low, face masked up.
Totally average outfit.
But nothing about him felt average.
He was tall—towering tall.
His broad shoulders were straining the seams of his black hoodie, and his small, sharp head made the rest of him look even more intimidating.
Even with everything covered, he stood out like a sore thumb.
Weird…
He was acting strange too.
He stormed up and down the rows like a man possessed,
checking people’s screens at an insane pace.
(Whisper) NyamNyami: Hey, Ye Uwon…
This might sound crazy but…
A notification pinged in the corner.
It was from NyamNyami, one of my old raid buddies.
While I read the message, the guy from the entrance had already made it to the row right in front of me.
He was leaning over monitors, peeking at other people’s screens like a total creep.
Some players started getting visibly annoyed—
until they saw how fucking big he was.
No one wanted to pick a fight with that.
People would start to mutter insults, then shut right up as he passed by.
Then—our eyes met.
He was staring at me.
No, glowering at me—
his pale, cold eyes peeking out beneath the cap’s shadow.
Eyes that could slice you in half.
Then, suddenly, the man began walking straight toward me.
At the same time, another ping came in.
I dragged my eyes away from him to read the chat.
(Whisper) NyamNyami: Did you really borrow money from Gi Sehwa and ghost him?
What the actual fuck?
Of course not.
We weren’t even close enough to exchange that kind of info, let alone money.
The hell was that rumor?
I reached for my keyboard to deny it—
and then someone grabbed me.
“Found you.”
A rough hand yanked my shoulder back.
Standing in front of me—
was that same giant guy,
the one acting all suspicious.
But something was… familiar.
Not his face—his voice.
No way.
“Ye Uwon.”
No… fucking… way.
“…Gi Sehwa?”
The man’s eyes curved into a sharp smile,
like he’d heard the correct answer.
“Well, fuck. Babe.”
He tugged his mask down.
“I missed you.”
And just like that, my hands went slack.
I stared at Gi Sehwa’s face in complete shock.
The reason I was so speechless didn’t even need to be explained.
Why?
How?!
What kind of situation even is this?
Is it really him?
How did he find me?
My brain lagged out.
None of this felt real.
For starters, Gi Sehwa and I weren’t exactly the type of people to casually throw around “babe” or “missed you.”
We’d bickered like enemies, gotten kinda close, then drifted apart.
And yet, here he was—saying all that in person.
No…
What really had me reeling was who he actually was.
That face.
I knew it.
Scratch that—everyone in Korea knew it.
This guy, who hadn’t appeared in public since filming a single movie years ago...
“…Gi Sehwa?”
Gi Sehwa.
The national actor.
The so-called Angel of Korea.
But was that really the right nickname?
With his lips curled into a wicked grin and his aura sharp as knives—
he looked more like a damn demon.
My eyes flicked to my game screen again.
The in-game character Gi Sehwa stood silently in front of me.
I looked between him and the man standing there in real life.
I slowly opened my mouth, only one thought in my mind:
How the hell did it come to this?
All I did was log back into a fucking game.