LS 46

Is what I’m understanding right now really correct?

Dohee carefully reread the quest window again.

!Note

▷ The bracelet included in the Sweet Achele Set will be engraved with your partner’s nickname. Once claimed, it cannot be undone. Please be cautious.

No way this is real? Seriously? Who thought it was a good idea to engrave someone else’s nickname on the bracelet!? Who even comes up with stuff like this?

A wave of despair suddenly hit. Dohee had spent over eight hours just to complete this quest. The plan had been to receive the outfit, wear it around a bit, and then transfer it to GoingSupporter character later. That character even had an expanded avatar wardrobe package purchased just for collecting more outfits. Every avatar so far had been neatly stored in that wardrobe like a collection.

But now, while the set could be shoved in the wardrobe, there was no way it could be worn by the GoingSupporter character.

Think about it, how could GoingSupporter walk around wearing an avatar with a bracelet engraved with the nickname ‘GOingSupporter187’? That doesn’t even make sense.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Did you get it!? I got mine…!

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Did you know the bracelet comes with the other person’s name on it…? 8ㅅ8

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I’m sorry you did this with me…ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: But they say it’s not super noticeable…!!!

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Noodle and Tando fought over this like crazy,

[Party] GOingSupporter187: and in the end they just collected it

[Party] GOingSupporter187: and decided not to wear it at all… 8ㅅ8

[Party] GOingSupporter187: If it bothers you too, AssaGo-nim… you don’t have to wear it…!

[Party] GOingSupporter187: And even if you wear everything except the bracelet,

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I mean, wouldn’t that still be okay…8ㅅ8???

Dohee squeezed his eyes shut and hit the accept button. With a cheerful visual effect, a new box appeared in his inventory.

[System] You have acquired the  avatar.

[System] You have earned the ‘Guardian of Love’ title.

There was no backing out now. Dohee pulled himself together and quickly shot back a message to Knockoff, who was spouting ridiculous nonsense.

[Party] AssaGo: What are you even saying

[Party] AssaGo: Knockoff. Do you know why we wear avatars?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Uh… yes? 8ㅅ8

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Because… they’re pretty?

Exactly what I thought. Dohee snorted. Seriously, what were Noodle and Tando even doing if they didn’t explain this to him?

[Party] AssaGo: People like Noodle and Tando honestly don’t need to wear the full set

[Party] AssaGo: Because they’re both max level and have characters they’ve built up for a long time.

[Party] AssaGo: They probably already have better-performing avatars than this one

[Party] AssaGo: But that’s not the case for you, right?

[Party] AssaGo: Our Knockoff is still a newbie. That means every bit of attack power matters, right?

[Party] AssaGo: That’s why I always go out of my way

[Party] AssaGo: to craft gear with killer set bonuses to make your hunting easier

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah…! Yes yes…!!! 8ㅅ8

[Party] AssaGo: This avatar has that kind of function too, Knockoff

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Gasp, really…?

[Party] AssaGo: Were you just living under a rock or what

[Party] AssaGo: None of the guild members told you this?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Uh… no…ㅠㅡㅠ

Dohee let out a deep sigh. He thought he’d taught the kid plenty, but clearly, there was still a long way to go. Seriously, without him, Knockoff really couldn’t do anything.

[Party] AssaGo: How many avatar slots are there? Seven, right? They show up beside your equipment slots

[Party] AssaGo: If you don’t wear the bracelet, the avatar slot next to gloves will be left empty

[Party] AssaGo: And set bonuses

[Party] AssaGo: only activate when all seven pieces are from the same set

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Got it… 8ㅅ8

[Party] AssaGo: The set bonus on this avatar is a 3% weapon attack boost

[Party] AssaGo: Sure, it’s cute, but people use it because of the effect

[Party] AssaGo: Plus, avatars also have a basic HP increase option

[Party] AssaGo: There’s a reason everyone goes nuts trying to get this avatar

[Party] AssaGo: You get it now?

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah… yes!!! ㅠㅡㅠ

A 3% boost to attack power was a pretty solid number. While GoingSupporter was Dohee’s main character and had avatars with even better stats equipped, AssaGo was more of a side character, not raised with much affection. He’d only equipped the Celestial Lamuriel Set on it to speed up farming with its attack speed boost.

But for a newbie like Knockoff or a character like AssaGo that was about to take on a new raid, the situation was different from someone like Tando or Noodle.

[Party] AssaGo: So yeah, who cares if there’s a name engraved on the bracelet or whatever

[Party] AssaGo: It’s not even that noticeable to other players anyway

[Party] AssaGo: Just wear everything without skipping anything

[Party] AssaGo: Even the ‘Guardian of Love’ title, equipping it gives you 5% boss damage reduction

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Okay…!!! ㅠㅡㅠ I didn’t know…

[Party] AssaGo: Don’t even apologize

Knockoff hovered around the AssaGo character using the new ‘sad’ emote he’d recently learned.

Dohee sighed again, though only briefly. Yeah, really. Like he said, who was even going to look at this stuff up close anyway? Sure, the nickname engraved on the bracelet, ‘GOingSupporter187,’ was kind of cringe and from another dimension entirely, but if it meant a 3% attack boost, he could live with that.

Wait, scratch that. He could live with anything, but not putting it on the GoingSupporter main.

Resolving himself again, Dohee equipped the avatar set. With an alert notifying him of stat boosts, the avatar was now worn. Knockoff followed suit. Maybe it was the uniform-style design, but it actually looked pretty good on Knockoff’s sturdy character model.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: Ah… I think I have to go AFK again now… ㅠㅡㅠ

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I just got a food order…! 8ㅅ8

Dohee was just about to suggest going to dye their outfits when he quietly stopped his fingers. Knockoff’s next message soon followed.

[Party] GOingSupporter187: I’m sorry ㅠㅡㅠ If I can come back later, I’ll be back…!

Dohee quickly typed back.

[Party] AssaGo: I have to head out soon anyway

[Party] AssaGo: Just AFK at the hunting field

[Party] AssaGo: I’ll stick Tando on you again

Once his uncle returned home, he’d have to head straight to the twins’ place, so he figured it’d be best to assign Tando again.

After sending Knockoff to Tando, who gave an “OK,” Dohee leaned back into the internet cafe chair. He took off his headset and set it down.

He was starting to crave a cigarette. The smoking booth wasn’t far from the front desk. The handsome male part-timer seemed to have stepped away, probably off doing something else.

Grabbing his phone and a pack of cigarettes, Dohee opened up GameTalk as he headed to the smoking area.

He thought he should leave a message saying, “Hit me up on GameTalk if you’re bored.” He didn’t have much else to do, and he was usually quick to respond anyway.

He had just passed the front desk with that thought when an employee at the desk raised her voice.

“Oppa! Can you help me get this down?”

Dohee instinctively turned his head toward the desk.

The employee was struggling to get a bag of coffee beans from a shelf taller than her.

But the handsome part-timer she’d called “oppa” didn’t seem to hear her.

Dohee was just about to grab the smoking booth’s door handle when–

“Moonhyuk-oppa! Can you get the coffee beans for me~?”

His body froze.

It felt like even his heart had stopped. Dohee stood still, blinking.

Then, he heard the male part-timer’s voice.

“Just a sec~ Let me heat up this fried rice first.”

Strange.

That’s strange.

This is definitely strange…

Why does that name and voice… sound so familiar? The heart that felt like it had stopped started racing.

A surge of blood rushed through his body, and Dohee pressed a palm to his suddenly burning cheek to calm himself.

He no longer felt like smoking.

He slowly turned and walked over to the drink fridge beside the front desk.

Pretending to browse for a drink, Dohee kept all his senses focused on the desk.

“Ah… Oh, I got it! Oppa, I pulled it down!”

“Oh? You got it?”

The man stepped out from what looked like the kitchen. Dohee glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

The guy scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he reached for a tray.

“Sorry. I guess I put it too high up.”

“You always view the world from your tall-person perspective, that’s the problem.”

“I’ll leave it on the second shelf from now on.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“I’ll go serve this fried rice.”

“Ah, no, oppa! I’ll take that out. Can you finish setting up the coffee beans first?”

“Sure?”

“Yes, yes.”

A moment later, the female employee passed behind Dohee, carrying a tray with fried rice, pickled radish, and utensils.

Now that he’d heard the guy’s voice a few more times, his certainty grew stronger.

Dohee stole another glance toward the desk.

The part-timer moving the coffee bean bags had a solid build.

Someone who lived one in the same neighborhood, worked part-time at an internet cafe, was really tall, and had a familiar voice, and his name was Moonhyuk?

Reaching out, Dohee slowly grabbed a can of ion drink and turned around.

He patted his back pocket, thankfully, he had brought his card wallet.

His heart was pounding faster than it ever had before.