[Global] Yu Chae: I'm just curious.
[Global] Yu Chae: Judging by the silence, I'm guessing I'm right.
[Global] Yu Chae: Am I? Right?
[Global] SleepyGuy: lol;
No matter how I look at it, this guild's a lost cause. Can't believe that guy is the guild leader.
At this point, I was actually grateful he made a fuss about my username. If he hadn't, I would've kept playing in this guild, totally unaware of what a nutjob he was.
[Whisper] Soeso: I just got chills… this reaction is not normal, right?
[Whisper] SleepyGuy: nope
Even the guild members watching the exchange were clearly unsettled by Yu Chae's sudden mood swing—like he'd been possessed.
[Global] Sesesehajago: Am I dreaming?
[Global] Sesesehajago: The guild leader is using polite speech…?
[Global] Haerun: Turns out our guild master actually knows what manners are
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: How's slapping "yo" at the end of a sentence suddenly make him a polite gentleman lmaoo
[Global] Haerun: For him, that is effort, lol
I stared at my monitor, sighing as I scratched the space between my brows.
I didn't care why this guy suddenly did a 180. I just wanted to get out of this situation and go grind mobs in peace.
"All I wanted was to join a decent guild—how'd this turn into a full-blown disaster?"
After taking a moment to collect myself, I typed in chat again.
[Global] SleepyGuy: I'm leaving the guild
[Global] SleepyGuy: Don't talk to me if you see me around
[Global] DrinkWater: Wait;;
[Global] Yu Chae: No.
[Global] Yu Chae: Don't leave.
[Global] DrinkWater: ?
[Global] SleepyGuy: ?
I had just managed to calm down and opened the guild window to quit when new messages popped up, making my face twist in frustration again.
[Global] Haerun: Wow...
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: Guildmaster, no offense but I think you've really lost it
[Global] Haerun: Yeah, this is getting weird
[Global] Yu Chae: I won't force you to change your name
[Global] Yu Chae: Please stay in the guild
[Global] SleepyGuy: ?
[Global] DrinkWater: I think I'm losing my mind
"Ha… what the hell…"
A wave of emotions I couldn't even begin to name hit me all at once. I pressed a hand to my throbbing forehead and lowered my head.
What is this guy's problem? I was so past frustrated, I was starting to lose any affection for the game Zenoris itself.
"No. No, that's not it."
I can't let that happen. Hell no. I've put myself through ten days of hell to get this far. I'm not about to let one psycho ruin it for me.
Get a grip. The second I lose control, I'll get sucked into this again. I held back the fury bubbling in my gut, erased the message I'd typed—"where do you live IRL?"—and rewrote something else instead.
[Global] SleepyGuy: nvm I'm leaving
[Global] SleepyGuy: just kick me
[Global] Yu Chae: No, I won't
[Global] Yu Chae: DrinkWater, you don't either
[Global] DrinkWater: Don't drag me into this… you two figure it out yourselves…
I swear, I'm gonna lose it.
[Global] SleepyGuy: What the hell do you even want;;
[Global] SleepyGuy: You told me to leave if I wasn't gonna change my name, so I'm doing you a favor
[Global] Yu Chae: You don't have to change your name
[Global] Yu Chae: And I never told you to, like, go away or anything…
Thud!
I couldn't hold it in anymore—I slammed my keyboard.
The fancy gaming keyboard lit up in all kinds of RGB colors… Wait. Hold on. Why does this whole situation feel weirdly familiar?
[Global] SleepyGuy: Whatever
[Global] SleepyGuy: I'll just leave on my own
I reopened the guild window I'd minimized earlier. The leave button had to be here somewhere...
[Whisper] Soeso: Umm… Yujihan
After clicking around for a while, I finally found the tiny "Leave Guild" button in the lower right corner. But… why is it grayed out?
[Whisper] Soeso: Yeah, so... you probably can't leave right now..?
[Global] Haerun: Oh no... SleepyGuy's doomed
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: I'm crying actual tears lmaoo
[Global] DrinkWater: Yeah, pretty sure you can't leave yet
[Global] DrinkWater: You can't leave a guild until a week after joining unless you're kicked
[Global] SleepyGuy: ?
No way. That can't be true. I frantically clicked the gray button, but nothing happened. I'd hoped a popup would appear saying something like "You have successfully left the guild!" but nope—my hopes were completely crushed.
[Global] Sesesehajago: lmaoooooo QQQQQ 😭😭😭
[Global] Haerun: Wait… don't tell me you joined without knowing lolol
[Global] DrinkWater: It's because of the guild hoppers
[Global] DrinkWater: You can't leave for a week unless you're kicked
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: Hey, don't laugh you guys!
[Global] ParkSeungjin99: SleepyGuy must be so pissed right now! —__—
[Whisper] Soeso: Yo, I'm sorry
[Whisper] Soeso: I totally forgot to explain;;
I stared blankly at the flood of chat messages.
So… I can't leave the guild? And I'm stuck in this dumpster fire of a guild for a week?
[Global] Yu Chae: lol
[Global] Yu Chae: Looking forward to playing with you, Sleepy-nim :)
"..."
This is seriously messed up.
＊＊＊
No matter how wrecked your life is, tomorrow's still a new day.
It might sound dramatic to talk about life being ruined over a game guild, but whatever. For gamers, the game is life.
I hesitated for a while before logging into Zenoris, then decided to switch gears and started installing HOL instead.
I'd uninstalled it before the semester started, so it had been a while. Once the install finished and I launched the game, the main menu popped up showing a new hero highlight video. My friend list window opened alongside it.
Back in the day, I'd queue ranked the moment I logged in. But after months away, I didn't feel up to it.
And yet, all I could think about was Zenoris. The thought of enduring another week in that guild was unbearable, so I figured maybe I'd play HOL instead, but…
"Nothing's going right."
I moved my mouse to close the game when a message popped up—from someone I was actually happy to hear from.
[ArrowToTheKnee] Yo Ji-han, hey!
[ArrowToTheKnee] Long time no see
[SleepyGuy] Yo, hyung! lol
It was Seo Taeyoung, former mid-laner for team LVS, up through last year's spring season. Four years older than me, he'd retired a year ago and become a streamer—one of the few I actually liked.
[ArrowToTheKnee] You must've been busy, huh?
[ArrowToTheKnee] On break now?
[SleepyGuy] Yeah, break started a while ago
[SleepyGuy] Just been playing other games lol
[ArrowToTheKnee] What've you been playing?
[SleepyGuy]Zenoris
[ArrowToTheKnee] That RPG?
[ArrowToTheKnee] That's kinda surprising
[ArrowToTheKnee] Is it fun?
[SleepyGuy] Not bad
[SleepyGuy] What about you, hyung? What've you been up to?
We chatted a bit more—just some casual catch-up. Taeyoung mentioned he was busy as hell planning a wedding with his girlfriend of nearly three years, laughing as he said it.
[SleepyGuy] Congrats, man lol
[SleepyGuy] You set a date yet?
[ArrowToTheKnee] Yeah, October 9th lol. Just over two months to go
[ArrowToTheKnee] You think you'll be able to make it? Isn't that during the semester?
[SleepyGuy] Even if I'm busy, I'll definitely be there for your wedding
[SleepyGuy] I'll bring a fat envelope too 😎
[ArrowToTheKnee] Oh come on, don't be like that
[ArrowToTheKnee] I'm not some jerk who expects students to give cash gifts lol
[ArrowToTheKnee] I'll send you the invite once it's ready. Just come, eat, and have fun
[ArrowToTheKnee] Ji-yoon and I spent forever picking a venue with amazing food lol
Seeing Taeyoung so genuinely happy as a groom-to-be made me smile without realizing it.
[ArrowToTheKnee] Even if you're not gaming, at least text back sometimes
[ArrowToTheKnee] A lot of people still wonder how you're doing
[SleepyGuy] lol okay okay
After saying goodbye to Taeyoung and closing HOL, I launched Zenoris. Since I rage-quit right after failing to leave the guild yesterday, my character was still on Feroko Lighthouse Island.
[Guild] Sesesehajago: Whoa
[Guild] Sesesehajago: SleepyGuy hiiiiii lololol
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Welcome back SleepyGuy heyy lol
[Guild] RereLagging: Hello newbie~ 👋
[Guild] SpicyCrabCrunch: Heya
[Guild] SleepyGuy: Hey, everyone
The guild members who knew about the withdrawal incident greeted me with laughter. I gave half-hearted replies while quickly opening the guild list to check the most important thing—whether that person was online.
Yu Chae [Offline]
"Haah…"
Thank god. I need to switch my status to Away or Offline while I've got the chance…
Yu Chae has logged in.
[Guild] RereLagging: Guildmaster hiii 👋
[Guild] SpicyCrabCrunch: Hey hey
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Whoa, what is this?
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: SleepyGuy logs in and the guildmaster shows up right after~?
[Guild] Haeren: Whaaat~?
[Guild] SeseseHajago: lolololololol
Oh, fuck.
Even her timing is as twisted as her personality, huh?
I seriously debated whether I should pretend I didn't notice and just change my status… but then, Yu Chae—ignoring all the greetings from the guild—called out to me.
[Guild] Yu Chae: Hey
[Guild] Yu Chae: Sleepy-hyung
With a title no one could have ever expected.
"…?"
I rubbed my eyes for a second, wondering if I was dreaming.
[Guild] SpicyCrabCrunch: ?
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: ?
[Guild] Haeren: ?
[Guild] SeseseHajago: ?
[Guild] RereLagging: ?
[Guild] Hwasoun: ?
[Guild] TheHunter: ?
[Guild] MadForHunting: Looking for 7-man brawl team, Channel 3
[Guild] ManaDrainedGuy: ?
[Guild] CapitalistMonster: ?
[Guild] FreeStuffJustTakeIt: Stop it already, fuck
I stared at the guild chat, now a chaotic mess that perfectly mirrored my brain, and cautiously replied.
[Guild] SleepyGuy: Wait, are you
[Guild] SleepyGuy: Talking to me right now?
[Guild] Yu Chae: Yeahㅜ
"..."
Three minutes since I'd resolved to pull myself together and play Zenoris.
I slowly moved my mouse cursor toward the Log Out button.