I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 223 – Revealed Secret

[Notification: Streamer ‘Harmony’ has started streaming.]

[Notification: Current Status // ON AIR]

[Broadcast Title: Drinking at a Wine Bar with Luxurious Guests ON]

-?????????????

-What the heck, she said there would be no broadcast lololol

-Luxurious? Guests?

-What is this? Is she planning to drink with Manager Kim, who got wrecked in the match???

-Totally unexpected lolololololololol

Thursday, 8:40 PM.

After the streamer competition on Monday ended, there was a dark period—a midweek break. Harmony had been running at a pace above others for nearly a month without rest. During this time, she wielded the sword of her honed skills to the limit in the tournament.

Though she received two wounds—two losses—she used the skills she built over the past few months with Yoo Jin to defeat Manager Kim and his team using the Black Dragon Chariot. During her four victories, she gracefully bent the opposing team’s knees backward.

Like her master, she clearly showed that a new dragon could be born from a stream. However, her mental strength was still far from Yoo Jin’s, and unable to overcome her mental fatigue, she declared a break after briefly sharing some afterthoughts and collapsing.

On one such midweek day, when everyone was waiting for Harmony’s return on Saturday, the broadcast suddenly turned on.

What greeted the viewers was an obviously luxurious wine bar.

-Oh my lololololol

-Wow, what is this?

-She rented the whole place lolololol

-Sht, makes me want wealth redistribution lolololol

-The one hundred million per month woman, Queen Emperor Yoo Jin Snake Tail Harmony

Amidst all the strange noises, a small drone hovered in the air. Those who had watched Yoo Jin’s broadcasts in the past would recognize it—along with a faint, subtle noise flickering in the air.

Motion capture equipment and floating drones. Tools to project VR avatars into reality. The next was predictable. The camera caught three figures moving as if they had been brought directly from virtual reality into the real world.

Harmony. But Yoo Jin and Dice were with her.

As familiar voices were heard, viewers began to exclaim.

“Ah, hello, everyone. Can you hear my voice clearly now?”

“Nice to see you. Today, I brought Dice with me.”

“Um… nice to see you. Somehow, I ended up joining today’s broadcast. I’m Dice from SSM Entertainment.”

“You don’t have to say that; everyone who needs to know already knows.”

“Oh, but I have to. Even if everyone knows Harmony and Yoo Jin, I still need to say it. Besides, Yoo Jin is still an external consultant for SSM AP, right? You should mention that too.”

-Drinking?????? Mukbang???????????????????

-lol nice, I’m opening a beer can I’ve kept in the fridge

-I can’t diet because of these people, seriously lolololol

-Wow, the interior design is awesome

-So why did they suddenly start the broadcast?

-What is this? What does it mean? Does it mean a fun drinking mukbang? What’s the reason for suddenly starting the broadcast?

“Oh, thank you for the 10,000 won sponsorship. The reason is, since these two placed first and second in the Asian qualifiers, we decided to have a little party to celebrate. We thought we’d take the time to communicate with you, so we asked for permission to start the broadcast. Hehe.”

And how many seconds passed from then?

The viewers collectively shouted for joy. Although Christmas hadn’t come, nor Halloween, they felt as if they had received a massive gift that sent their minds flying.

Naturally, the interaction of the now-famous Harmony, Yoo Jin, and even the well-known pro-gamer Dice brought a huge reaction, drawing around a hundred thousand people to watch the three drink.

As the chat was filled with chaos, the golden liquid was poured into three glasses placed in front of them. The liquid swirled, creating small bubbles as it settled.

The thought of how viewers might react completely vanished at that moment as the three tasted the transparent liquid gold.

After a welcome sip, they took another taste.

As the viewers started to go wild, each of them began to speak.

“Yoo Jin, describe the taste. How is it?”

“What do you expect? It’s slightly sweet, a bit fizzy… kind of a sophisticated alcohol taste. I’ve always said I don’t drink much.”

“That’s exactly why I invited you.”

Harmony laughed, but then suddenly, the back of the chair twitched, and under the dim lighting, a tail moved seductively and smacked her on the head. A squeak echoed.

Despite what she said, Yoo Jin had long doubted the possibility that Harmony hadn’t watched her interview during the Asian qualifiers. In fact, she didn’t believe in such a possibility at all.

Although she beat around the bush, it was almost certain that this mischievous green cat reserved the wine bar to witness Yoo Jin’s drinking habits firsthand.

Dice’s expression was similar to Harmony’s, reducing the chance of this assumption being wrong to zero.

Of course,

“…But I don’t know the taste well either. Maybe my palate isn’t sophisticated. It’s a bit sweet, slightly bitter. The alcohol rising subtly feels good, though….”

“You still described the taste perfectly.”

-Lol, it’s confusing to hear that from an avatar that looks like it would enjoy bread and aperitifs three times a day lolololol

-Please reveal your real appearance, ahk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-The champagne looks amazing lololol

-So is Yoo Jin a drinker? Right?

-Will this broadcast last long? Say it will be long!!

Unfortunately, their wishes wouldn’t come true.

Harmony, who announced that the broadcast wouldn’t last long, carefully lifted the champagne glass, and the golden liquid once again flowed into their throats with a clinking sound.

They continued their conversation. The main topic was the upcoming final championship. Naturally, Dice, who had already been to the U.S. once, led the discussion.

“When you get off at Kennedy International Airport, find your luggage, and come outside, there’ll be a huge bus waiting for us. We’ll travel about 15km to a hotel in Manhattan, where we’ll unpack. After that, it’s pretty much free time until the schedule starts.”

“Is the schedule quite free?”

“No. We have to practice individually, take photos, and do interviews. Adapting to the time difference is essential. Plus, since it’s winter, we need to manage our personal conditions… but there aren’t many night outings, so that’s not a big deal.”

It seemed like there were a lot of things to consider. This thought crossed Yoo Jin’s mind. Although she might have a different schedule from Harmony and Dice due to the extensive preparations in the U.S., nothing was decided yet.

The topic continued without much change.

“Harmony will have the most free time, practically speaking.”

“Ugh, right. I can’t just stay cooped up in the hotel. Should I take an intensive English course now?”

“There’s always a translator with us, but it’s tough if you can’t communicate at all. I had to study English so much against my will when I went there.”

“Yoo Jin, teach me some English….”

“If you memorize English sentences for 16 hours a day, you’ll be able to communicate in two months.”

“Gah!”

-Lololololololololololol

-How far does Yoo Jin School’s influence reach?

-An unexpectedly dumb method lolololololol

-Fact) If you do that for six months, you can actually converse like a native

-Who would do that while sober lolololol

Leaving the sunken Harmony behind, Yoo Jin accepted the individually delivered cocktail after the champagne. A cherry-colored cocktail called Manhattan. She had requested it because of the name.

It was aromatic, not too sweet, but smooth, with a slightly savory aftertaste. It felt entirely different from the Manhattan she remembered, but that was to be expected. To recreate the spicy memories of that time, she’d need to drink from a bottle of Spirytus.

Anyway, back to the main topic. Yoo Jin had no particular thoughts. English was her second native language, and given the regions she had lived in, she could communicate better than a native speaker.

Therefore, she could only make a simple promise.

“If you stick with me, there won’t be any problems. But don’t drag me around too late at night.”

“Of course, there’s no one to trust but you, teacher….”

“Then I’ll stick with Yoo Jin instead of studying English. Okay? It’ll be warm if the three of us stay together. Especially since I get cold so easily.”

“Oh, really.”

-Lolololololol

-What’s this? Is she planning to show the Michelin-Anaconda?

-Might as well launch a brand lol

-Instant confusion

-She strikes at the first sign of weakness lolololololol

Yeah, having a body that gets cold easily is a problem – muttering roughly like that, the conversation continued intermittently.

But naturally, their conversation started to dive into their own world. Despite the interactive nature of Tricky’s streaming system, the trio of two streamers and one pro-gamer began chatting intensely, ignoring the thirteen thousand viewers.

The peak came within thirty minutes of the broadcast when Yoo Jin’s face turned bright red like a tomato. Harmony

and Dice watched, reminiscing and discussing what they called Yoo Jin’s past attempts at embarrassment.

But, how long had it been?

Just before the atmosphere turned into complete chaos, Harmony placed her hand on the floating camera and added.

───Click!

“Oh, it’s a complete mess. We’ll turn it back on around midnight, so see you then, everyone!”

-???????????????

-Who closes the door so abruptly!!!!!!!

-Thanks for broadcasting during your break, but it was too short

-Really, she knows how to make people anxious lol you ^^^^

-Damn you guys!!!!!

Click.

[Notification: Noise suppression barrier activated.]

[Notification: Body functions controlled. Ethyl alcohol effect stopped.]

“…It’s off.”

“The door’s shut, and no one will come for a while.”

“Good.”

Swoosh.

Two electronic documents were handed over—Non-Disclosure Agreements. Briefly meeting their eyes over their flushed cheeks, they pressed their thumbs to agree.

As two green lights flickered, Yoo Jin took a short breath and began to speak.

“Then, let’s briefly talk about my past.”

An alcohol-tinged story that no one would remember, or should remember.

It began quietly.

“Since the rumors spread, you might have guessed to some extent… but there isn’t much difference. My second homeland is the United States, and I hold citizenship there.”

“Oh….”

“I don’t recommend asking where I was stationed and how long I served. Plus, there’s no guarantee you’ll find anything.”

I said it for Harmony and Dice.

Moreover, the important thing was not whether I could answer yes when asked if I had served in the U.S. military, particularly in a classified unit. In short, I couldn’t answer questions about where and what I was doing.

With a clinking sound, I pulled out my dog tags from my pocket, which I hadn’t touched all day. Name, social security number, blood type, and religion. And since they were recent, there was one special feature.

Simply carrying the dog tags allowed for identity and affiliation verification.

[Notification: Dog tag authentication in progress….]

[Notification: Operator – Yoo Jin ‘Viper’ Lee confirmed.]

[Notification: No current operations in progress.]

.

.

.

“Sergeant First Class? Isn’t that a rank?”

“Viper? Is this a codename? Wow, it’s really a snake.”

“At least I know something from playing Dark Zone.”

And that was it.

I had shown everything I could, and the result was silence. Both seemed unsure of what to say, and there was no reason to speak hastily or explain everything.

Ultimately, it was about acceptance or not, something beyond my control.

But I couldn’t help feeling nervous.

How much time had passed?

“…Thinking about it, isn’t it just an American nationality? There’s no big difference from learning from a retired UDT.”

“Is that so…?”

“It feels a bit strange, but it doesn’t seem like a big deal. Even in the club’s coaching staff, you can find former Special Forces or UDT members. It seems like an overreaction to consider it a problem now.”

“Really?”

Then Harmony smiled broadly.

“Then, I’ll go with that. I didn’t know what to say, but I guess pro-gamers need good speaking skills.”

“Right? Even as a child, I won first place in a speech contest in kindergarten.”

“Wow. I won first place in a singing contest.”

…Why is the conversation suddenly going this way?

Anyway, while watching Harmony and Dice cheerfully banter, I felt a peculiar sensation on my tail with a slapping sound.

A following comment as our gazes met.

“…Anyway, it’s fine. I don’t mind whatever Yoo Jin is. If I thought something was off, I would have stopped contacting her first. I have a bit of an eye for people.”

“Same here. If you had a difficult personality, no one would want to learn from you. Yoo Jin is a good person, so I followed her this far. Don’t worry.”

And then a suggestion.

“Then you must know many good restaurants. We should go together later. No need to worry about getting lost this time.”

“Wow, I’m excited already. I’ve heard Peter Luger Steak House is amazing. How about we go there in New York?”

“….”

Concluding as a human navigation system, the ending was quite something.

Still, the conversation seemed to wrap up properly. The atmosphere, which had briefly calmed, revived with new cocktails and the noise suppression barrier being lifted.

Beyond the glasses filled with various liquids, the clock hands moved towards midnight.

A peaceful day, once thought never to come, was ending.