Netkama Punch!!!

“Why do I like you?”
I clenched my jaw tightly so I wouldn’t scoff at the question. Kim Seyoung, despite being three years older than me, was looking at me with a ridiculously innocent face.

Just from his slightly flushed cheeks and the way his gaze darted around while still following me the whole time, I could tell exactly how much he liked me.
But Kim Seyoung still had his hands behind his back. Even now, he was fidgeting, keeping one foot behind him like he wanted an escape route. Just the way he was standing screamed how timid and sensitive he was.
Kim Seyoung, Kim Seyoung... you still think you can run?

I was already fuming, but I could instinctively feel that this was a crucial moment.
If I handled this right, I could reel him in. So just this once—just one more time—I’d hold it in…
You’re fucking dead.

Grinding my teeth inwardly, I said something that wasn’t even close to what I actually felt.
“Is that really that important?”
Then with a smile, I took a bold step forward.

Kim Seyoung looked conflicted, but surprisingly, he didn’t step back. I nearly let out a sigh of relief. The fruits of patience were finally within reach.
“Then when did you start liking me?”
As I said that, I grabbed Kim Seyoung’s arm.

“W-Who said I like someone like y—you...!”
His face turned pale, and he bit his lip, trying to twist out of my grip.
Of course, I had no intention of listening to anything he had to say. The moment I grabbed him, the game was already mine.

* * *
“This guy’s a newbie?”
Yeou dragged in another weirdo and shoved them into the clan. And the person had the balls to pick a fight with the clan master right after joining—an absolute maniac.

Even Yeou seemed a little taken aback by the guts of the newbie she personally recommended.
Party Clan Chat — Whisper
WHeejae: lmaoooooooooo?
WYeou: no like;;;; what’s going on ㅠㅠ

WYeou: they were super cute and harmless before ㅠㅠㅠ
WYeou: lemme talk to them real quick;;;
WHeejae: o_o initiating discipline mode

WYeou: ;;
Then I fought the so-called “newbie” in a duel, and obviously, I won. But while we were fighting, I noticed a lot of familiar things about [Sesam]. The way she used her skills, the attack patterns—it was all way too familiar. I muttered to myself, about 90% sure:
“That combo style is straight from like, a year or two ago... They must’ve quit and come back.”

There was no way they were a real newbie. Even the kind of outdated outfit—they were the exact trend from about a year and a half ago. So [N O V E L I G H T] that narrowed it down a lot... Someone who quit 1–2 years ago, was ranked back then, and probably didn’t get along with me?
I thought hard, but the list was way too long. So I asked Sim Woohyun, who played with me back then—but of course, that bastard was no help at all.
Party Clan Chat — Whisper

FHeejae: You don’t know either?
FUrara: ㅇㅅㅇ nod
FHeejae: What do you know then? whack whack

FUrara: tilt head?
FUrara: But like... back then you were such a cringe edge-lord, you pissed off every Arcadia player ㅇㅅㅇ
And the way she acted like she was any better made me want to throttle her.

Party Clan Chat — Whisper
FUrara: Honestly, I’m shocked Heejae-kun even survived this long ㅇㅁㅇ;;!?
FHeejae: shut _up

I considered bringing up the long list of times Sim Woohyun got humiliated chasing girls, but wrestling with him felt like a chore, so I shut up.
That just made him bolder, and he came back chirping away.
Party Clan Chat — Whisper

FUrara: lmaoooooooooooo
FUrara: But like, why are you so curious?
FUrara: You feeling unsettled or something?

FHeejae: Not really
It wasn’t suspicion or nerves. It just felt like I’d seen them somewhere before. The memory was right there, just out of reach. If I focused a little more, I was sure I could figure it out.
Party Clan Chat — Whisper

FUrara: They’re probably never coming back lolol
But I didn’t agree with Sim Woohyun. I had a strong feeling Sesam would come back.
If someone ditched their old account and started from scratch, pretending to be a newbie, that meant something shitty had happened back then. And it must’ve been bad enough to make a ranked player quit the game out of pure shame and humiliation.

And yet they came back anyway. That meant they were the type who couldn’t live without [Arcadia]. I’d seen people like that more than once. I knew Sesam would come back.
So from that day on, I started tossing out Server Megaphones every day like I was casting a fishing line.
Party Clan Chat — Whisper

EHeejae: Looking for my girlfriend Sesam ㅇ.ㅇ
EHeejae: 1 billion reward offered ㅇ.ㅇ
But contrary to expectations, I didn’t get a single useful response from the sea of whispers.

Party Clan Chat — Whisper
WRooibosTea: OMG it’s Heejae ㅇㅁㅇ!!
WSeowon: Heejae, what time’s your stream today?

WGuwak: Bro I love your stream lolololol
I clearly asked if anyone knew Sesam, but people just started saying random unrelated shit.
Party Clan Chat — Whisper

WTtyei: Did something happen to her? Whoa...
WHeejae: Do you know her? ㅇ.ㅇ
WTtyei: Nah, haha... Just curious!

WHeejae: He
Classic toxic MMO—people ignored the actual question and just said whatever they felt like.
I stopped using Server Megaphones a few days later. It really felt like nobody on this server knew who Sesam was.

And of course, instead of being helpful, Yeou just had to snark.
Party Clan Chat — Whisper
CYeou: If you were gonna chase her like this, why’d you bully her into quitting in the first place...

CHeejae: When did I ㅇ_ㅇ
CHeejae: I didn’t make her quit ㅇ_ㅇ
CYeou: You wrecked her

CYeou: Ugh... she was so rare... an actual cinnamon roll...
CHeejae: If she was a newbie, then I started yesterday too ㅇ_ㅇ
CYeou: Wait what, she's a veteran? You knew her??

CHeejae: Nah
CHeejae: But I’m 100% sure lol
That’s what I said, but honestly, I was getting curious too. At first, I just figured she was some disgraced ex-ranker starting over... but the more I thought about it, the more I got obsessed.

She probably changed her nickname… Just tell me what it used to be and log out for good, will you?
Still, at the time, that was the extent of my curiosity.
* * *

[HeejaeTV] Got Schooled by a Newbie...
The day after I uploaded the edited PvP video of me and Sesam to YouTube, she finally reappeared.
Party Clan Chat — Whisper

CHeejae: Where’s Sesam?
She was just standing in the [Bloody Rain] map, pretending not to notice me—and I couldn’t stop smiling. That alone confirmed what I suspected.
If she really wanted out, she would’ve left the clan already.

No doubt about it—this person couldn’t live without [Arcadia]. She was the same type as me. If I could rope her in properly, I could liven up my YouTube channel again…
This is gonna be fun.
It’d been a while since I’d felt this refreshed playing the game. Maybe it wouldn’t be so boring for once.

Party Clan Chat — Whisper
NHeejae: Sesam-noona
NHeejae: ㅇ_ㅇ

NHeejae: Just because you got absolutely destroyed, doesn’t mean you can ghost me like this
NHeejae: I thought you ragequit or something ㅇ.ㅇ I was worried
NSesam: No

“She’s mad. Pffft.”
Answering coldly with nothing but [yes], [no]—making it super obvious she didn’t want to talk—but still being such a stickler for rules, Sesam seemed like she was trying to accept the PvP result like a responsible adult.
So I kept poking at her. Her reactions were just too funny.

Party Clan Chat — Whisper
PSesam: Shut up!
PSesam: I held back from killing you and you’re still yapping like a little bitch

PHeejae: lol
PHeejae: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
PHeejae: It’s a level-based game, sweetie ㅇ.ㅇ...

PHeejae: If you don’t like it, go grind. Right? ㅇ_ㅇ lol?
Even her sudden bursts of profanity were hilarious. When you get to my level, you’re usually surrounded by bootlickers or people who just say [whoa] all day—it’s been a while since I had this much fun talking to someone.
“I’m dying to know her main… She’s gotta be from another server, right?”

I propped my chin on one hand and tapped her character with my mouse. There weren’t many female rankers I used to know… I tried to remember the ones who were famous and then disappeared, but I still couldn’t place who she was.
Well, if we keep playing together, we’ll get close eventually. Maybe I’ll casually ask her then.