Netkama Punch!!!

PThat kind of shit’s unnecessary—
I reflexively started to reject it, then paused.

It occurred to me that his private, personal account might hold way more information than I could see now. Especially… his face. The one he always kept thoroughly hidden.
“He’s probably ugly as hell anyway…”
Just imagining the absolutely hideous Shin Heejae striking a pose and snapping selfies made me laugh without meaning to. The mere idea of seeing proof that he was downright ugly would be satisfying as hell.

“Bet his face is chubby, and he wears thick-rimmed glasses… definitely has a turtle neck posture too.”
Even without seeing it, I could estimate. But the destruction that comes from actually seeing it couldn’t compare to imagination.
[Whisper to Party/Guild Friend – General Chat]

P_Sesam: OK
So I accepted it, and Shin Heejae dropped a link in the chat window. I rushed to sign up for the SNS platform, sent a follow request, and within seconds, I got the alert that it was accepted.
Grinning like an idiot, I started scrolling through the daily life photos he’d posted.

And then...
“Why didn’t you tell me your account?”
“……”

“You’re really thorough, huh. Wait… are you a pig, maybe?”
“……”
“Just kidding. I actually like the chubby type.”

“……”
“I mean, skinny’s fine too… but are you even looking at my profile? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Fucking hell…

[Whisper to Party/Guild Friend – General Chat]
P_Sesam: You’re using stolen pics, right??
“Huh? Pfft! Why, do you think I look good?”
That smug laugh… it carried the faintest trace of confidence in his looks.

And as much as I hated to admit it, that confidence wasn’t unwarranted.
It was enough to piss me off.
[Whisper to Party/Guild Friend – General Chat]

P_Sesam: Nah? You’re ugly as hell lol
Of course, I had no intention of saying what I really thought. I denied it flatly.
But Shin Heejae seemed to catch on instantly to my hesitation. With that tone that showed he’d taken zero damage, he mocked me:

“You seriously need glasses or something?”
[Whisper to Party/Guild Friend – General Chat]
P_Sesam: lol

P_Sesam: Not even kidding, faces like yours are everywhere on the street lol
That’s what I typed in the chat, but inside I was swearing as I looked at a picture of him in swimwear, standing next to a beach umbrella.
Fucking hell… judging by the umbrella height, he’s gotta be over 185cm. And what’s with those shoulders? I mean, kids these days are developing fast, but we’re only three years apart… Shin Heejae being tall and good-looking crossed ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the fucking line.

What pissed me off even more was his attitude. No matter how much I trashed him, he never flinched. He obviously knew exactly how attractive he was.
“My face is common? Where the hell do you work that that’s common?”
[Whisper to Party/Guild Friend – General Chat]

P_Sesam: No. Not common. Just ugly lol
“Sigh… alright then. I’ll be your ugly little mutt or whatever.”
Then he gave a command to his renamed pet [Ugly♥], making it run around obnoxiously near my character.

That breezy attitude? That was the kind of composure only a genuinely good-looking bastard could afford. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and spammed water bombs at Heejae’s character’s head. Obviously, I couldn’t kill him since PVP was off.
And that damn Heejae just ran around chasing the water bombs, giggling like he was at a fucking water park.
Goddamn it. I’m so pissed…

* * *
Yo, Hyejin.
That day, the moment I logged off, I messaged Hyejin.

After seeing Shin Heejae’s face, the only conclusion I could reach was: This makes no fucking sense. So I started to wonder—maybe he’d stolen someone’s photos?
Problem was, I was the kind of guy who just went back and forth between home and work, didn’t even use SNS. I barely recognized celebrities unless they were national-level idols or MCs.
But Hyejin was different. She used SNS a lot, listened to K-POP constantly during our game sessions, and knew her male idols and models inside out.

If anyone could tell whether Heejae was using stolen pics, it was her. So I downloaded one of his photos and sent it to Hyejin.
Hyejin:
Oh my god

Who is this??
You don’t know either?
Hyejin:

Huh? Where’d you get this?
I don’t know him... But damn, he’s hot
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

Biting my lip, I messaged her again.
Yo, isn’t this like photoshopped or some shit?
You know those freakishly pretty pics that happen outta nowhere?

Hyejin:
Like a filter app? Nope. The tone…
Looks like it’s just the default iPhone camera

Hyejin:
Seriously, who is this?? Is he a model??
I asked because I think he’s using someone else’s photo

Hyejin:
Using someone else's? I have no clue ㅠㅠ I don’t recognize him…
What’s his name?

“...Goddamn it.”
I slumped in despair, then sent her a few more pics when she asked if I had any others. Just in case.
But instead of considering the stolen-photo angle, she just kept gasping and admiring him.

Hyejin:
Wow
Where’d you find this account?? I wanna follow too

Yo
Hyejin:
Yup?

It’s… Shin Heejae
Hyejin:
Huh?

I’m telling you, it’s Shin Heejae, fuck’s sake
That’s who he says he is
Hyejin:

Whaaat??
Even she went silent for a while, clearly thrown off.
But then…

Hyejin:
Ha… just forgive him already…
Are you fucking kidding me?

Hyejin:
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL sorry
She didn’t even sound mad—just totally fascinated. She said she reverse-searched the images and nothing came up, so she was convinced there was a 0% chance he stole them. No filters, no photoshop, not even good camera angles, apparently.

Hyejin:
Can’t be camera angles, it’s dead-on front view…
Maybe a family photo? What if he stole a relative’s?

Hyejin:
LOLOLOLOL
Hyejin:

But seriously, what’s the big deal if he’s hot lol he’s just a hot asshole
Ugh… so that’s why his personality’s such garbage…
Hyejin:

Dude’s earning his looks, tsk tsk
She called it an insult, but it was basically high praise. She kept talking, but I lost all motivation and ended the conversation without gaining anything. I felt like crap.
Why? Why the hell?

Why is Shin Heejae tall, good-looking, good at games—and on top of that, has 300k subscribers on YouTube? That kind of following earns like 10 million won a month, easy.
I already hated the guy, but now I loathed every part of him. It was fucking annoying. Why did I even feel inferior over this crap?
[Heejae: Noona, are you asleepㅇ_ㅇ?]

And of course, right then, a message came from Shin Heejae.
Ever since he got out of the hospital and got his act together, he’d been sending me messages like this every night. Normally, I’d just ignore him and go to sleep, but tonight felt different. I tapped the message alert, and it instantly showed I’d read it.
He definitely saw that I’d read it too.

And as if he were waiting, he jumped right into chat.
[Heejae]
Not ignoring me for once lol

Bored?
Wanna call if you’re bored?
I stared at the message and thought—tonight, maybe I could pull off some real netkama shit.

So I replied.
Let’s call. But I’m not gonna talk.
You can talk to yourself if you want.

Not even a second later, my phone rang. I declined the first call and sneered in chat.
So easy, lol
[Heejae]

Ugh, come on ――
Call again let’s go
But this time… it was a video call request.

Of course. This asshole always takes things one level further than expected. I instantly hit reject.
[Heejae]
Didn’t fall for it, huh

Blocking you now
[Heejae]
Wait wait LOOOOOOOL you weren’t gonna answer anyway

Just once, please??
He started spamming cutesy emotes. I was exhausted. I flipped my phone face-down and collapsed onto my bed.
Sure enough, the ringtone started up again. This time, it was just a regular voice call.

“Hello?”
“……”
I answered on impulse—and immediately hit mute. I couldn’t let even the slightest sound slip through. Then I lay on my stomach, phone against my cheek.

“Hey, you said we could call. Why aren’t you saying anything?”
His voice sounded different than over Discord—deeper, thicker somehow. It buzzed in my ear and made me squirm, so I rubbed my ear and pressed my cheek harder to the phone.
He started grumbling when I stayed silent.

“This is no fun…”
“……”
“You really not gonna say anything?”

“……”
About ten seconds passed.
Then came a soft, rhythmic sound.

I focused on it, and before I knew it, my mouth opened.
“Yawn…”
“...Seyoung-ah.”

Then, all of a sudden, he said my name.
I felt my sleepiness vanish instantly, and my eyes shot open.