Siblings Working in Business (211)
The laughter grew louder, fueled by Ji Ye-chan’s incredulous “They look alike.”
“Sometimes, when Eun-ho talks, he’s surprisingly blunt, like Ji-chan hyung.”
“Maybe he’s a secret half-brother. Haha.”
“Haha.”
Seo Seung-yeon, laughing along with Ji Ye-chan, then cautiously asked,
“…Seriously?”
“Idiot, of course not.”
“Eun-ho, did you buy everything?”
While laughing along with the Toxin members, Eun-ho was diligently purchasing the items Joo Song-min told him to buy.
With in-game currency, of course.
“Yes. I bought everything you told me to.”
Just as Eun-ho pressed the purchase confirmation button…
A notification popped up on his screen, inviting him to a party. The username was so long and complicated he couldn’t even read it.
「[lIIllIIIll] has invited [whsajt0830] to the party [ㅎㅎㅎㅎ].」
“Wow, Song-min Sunbae’s username is interesting.”
“What’s yours, Eun-ho?”
The Toxin members, finally noticing Eun-ho’s username, burst into laughter.
It was ‘JohnMut’ (a Koreanized pronunciation of “John Smith,” meaning “average Joe”), combined with his birthday, August 30th.
“Ah, wait a minute. OMG. That was for the username, not my ID?”
Eun-ho, realizing his mistake, looked at Tae-hyun in a panic.
Tae-hyun was trying to suppress his laughter, his face contorted.
“Ah, Hyung! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”
“I thought you liked that kind of username.”
“Stop laughing and tell me!”
“Hahaha!”
Tae-hyun finally burst into laughter at Eun-ho’s mock anger.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Tae-hyun hyung laugh like that.”
“Seriously, Eun-ho’s making me laugh so hard today.”
“Hahaha. Oh! ‘JohnMut’ joined!”
“Ah, don’t call me that!!!”
“Then what should I call you? Hahaha.”
In the Formica waiting room, they could see each other’s characters and try out most of the weapons in the game.
[whsajt0830] (Eun-ho) picked up a knife and playfully stabbed [lIIllIIIll] (Joo Song-min) as petty revenge for his teasing.
“Everyone’s here. Should we start matchmaking?”
“Oh, wait.”
Just as they were about to start the game, after the brief username incident…
“What about Oh Hyun Sunbae?”
Eun-ho asked, noticing one missing member.
“Eun-ho.”
“Yes?”
“He’s a god, so he can’t play with mere mortals like us.”
“…?”
Joo Song-min replied with mock reverence to Eun-ho’s question.
He didn’t understand at first.
Then Seo Seung-yeon explained that there were ranks in Formica, separate from the military ranks.
And ranks were the most important factor in matchmaking.
The military ranks were the same as the Korean military, perhaps because they started as Korean soldiers.
[lIIllIIIll], Joo Song-min’s barcode-like username, was a Silver rank Master Sergeant, with three stripes and a star.
[NoIdeaForNickname], Seo Seung-yeon’s username, was a Silver rank Sergeant with two stripes.
[MNMNN], Choi Tae-hyun’s meaningless jumble of N’s and M’s, was a Silver rank Sergeant First Class with four stripes.
[SEDATIVE], Ji Ye-chan’s username, Toxin’s former team name, was the only Gold rank Sergeant with two stripes among them.
[whsajt0830], Eun-ho’s newly created username, had a blank, colorless mark next to it.
“What level are Gold and Silver?”
When Eun-ho asked, everyone hesitated, then Ye-chan, the only Gold rank, answered with a chuckle,
“It just means you’re not bad. And those other three are below me.”
“Aha. Then what about Oh Hyun Sunbae?”
“…Master.”
“Master?”
“‘Master Formica,’ a rank given to those in the top 10 in the national rankings.”
Joo Song-min answered Eun-ho’s question.
Seo Seung-yeon gave a more detailed explanation.
‘Master Formica’ rank.
Oh Hyun was literally in a league of his own, too high to play with them.
Oh Hyun had a gentle image, so he hadn’t expected him to be good at games…
Even after learning the truth, Eun-ho’s first reaction was, “Seriously?”
So, excluding Oh Hyun, who was in the realm of gods, the Formica matchmaking began.
About three minutes later…
A character selection screen appeared, displaying images of soldiers they had purchased from the shop.
“Eun-ho, pick ‘Doctor’.”
“What’s a Doctor?”
“Wow, Joo Song-min, you piece of trash. You wanted to play Formica to use Eun-ho as a healer?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
Joo Song-min replied with a shameless grin when Seo Seung-yeon scolded him.
“You’re trash.”
“But you’re not recommending anything else to Eun-ho either.”
“That’s because, obviously, beginners should be healers.”
“Haha, Seo Seung-yeon, you’re just as trashy.”
While the two bickered, Eun-ho quietly listened and moved his mouse from ‘Doctor’ to ‘Hammer,’ a character wielding a giant hammer.
“I want to play this one.”
The moment Eun-ho chose Hammer…
“OMG, Eun-ho, stop!”
“Eun-ho, that’s trash.”
“Yeah, that’s not a good choice.”
“Eun-ho, think again.”
“Yeah, think again.”
Joo Song-min and Seo Seung-yeon, forgetting their earlier argument, spoke in unison.
Ji Ye-chan and Choi Tae-hyun, amused by their perfect synchronization, chuckled and waited for Eun-ho’s decision.
Meanwhile, Ji Ye-chan chose a question mark, which would randomly select a character, and Choi Tae-hyun chose Warlord, a character with a sturdy shield.
“Then… Sniper?”
“Eun-ho, I was wrong. Play Hammer instead.”
“I’ll play Sniper.”
“Ah, Lee Eun-ho, you’re trolling!”
“Haha.”
Eun-ho chose Sniper, despite their vehement protests.
Ji Ye-chan, who had chosen random, automatically got the Doctor character.
“Hyung, you know I love you, right?”
“Of course, I do. I can’t put our beloved Song-min in danger.”
“Right? Okay, save one booster for me!”
“Hey, Song-min, that’s not fair.”
“Huh?”
“If you use the booster, you’ll be even more reckless, so I shouldn’t give you any.”
“Ah, Hyung!!! That’s not fair!”
Eun-ho, tilting his head at Joo Song-min’s genuinely frustrated reaction, looked at Tae-hyun.
Tae-hyun, noticing his gaze, turned to Eun-ho and calmly explained the ‘Doctor’ class in Formica.
“The Doctor can give teammates a ‘booster’ that increases their HP at the start.”
“Aha. Only one person?”
“No, you can give it to three people, but there’s a rule, um, a rule among the players, that you have to give one to the Warlord.”
“So there are two left.”
“That’s right.”
So, with only two boosters left, Joo Song-min was trying to butter up to Ye-chan.
But after the game started…
‘Boosters, my ass…’
10 minutes into the game…
“You were calling me a troll earlier.”
“…”
“I have nothing to say.”
The tables had turned.
“Eun-ho’s just talented…”
“Yeah…”
While Joo Song-min and Seo Seung-yeon were trying to console themselves, Ji Ye-chan, one of the survivors, chuckled, openly mocking them.
“Haha, you Silver scrubs. How can you die before Eun-ho, a newbie?”
“Beginner’s luck.”
“And Hyung, Gold isn’t that different from Silver.”
“It is. Can’t you see? The survivability is on a different level.”
“…If it were Seo Seung-yeon, I would have told him off, but since it’s you, Hyung, I can’t even curse…”
“Oh, are you subtly cursing at me?”
While Ji Ye-chan was teasing the two casualties, Eun-ho, positioned behind Tae-hyun, the sturdy Warlord, focused on the screen, zoomed in on the enemy team’s base.
Judging by their movements, they seemed like they were about to come out…
Just then…
An enemy briefly poked their head out and fired towards Eun-ho.
Bang—!
Click.
[whsajr0830] fired almost simultaneously with the enemy and immediately reloaded.
[HEAD SHOT!]
A skull icon and a notification appeared in the center of the screen.
“Wow, wow!”
“He’s insane! Our maknae!!!”
Seo Seung-yeon and Joo Song-min, spectating, cheered loudly.
But just then…
Thud.
They heard someone collapse.
Choi Tae-hyun, who had been in front with the shield, survived, but…
「Team Casualty: [SEDATIVE]」
「Cause of Death: A lucky shot? [SEDATIVE]’s “it” broke!」
Ji Ye-chan’s character, who had been mocking the two, crumpled to the ground, clutching his crotch.
“Survivability? Pfft! Hyung, I have to admit, your ability to get killed in the nuts is impressive!”
“Hyung, you’re really lucky. Hahaha!”
The two burst into laughter, mocking Ji Ye-chan’s character’s cause of death.
“…Hey, that’s an order from your leader. Shut up, both of you.”
Ji Ye-chan, seeking revenge, threatened them with a smile.
But his threats fell on deaf ears as they continued laughing hysterically.
The game continued with only Eun-ho and Tae-hyun left on their team, against three remaining enemies.
Eun-ho took out another enemy.
But just then…
Crash!
A loud noise, and the ceiling collapsed.
“Huh? The ceiling can collapse?”
“Ah, yeah. You can also break walls with the right equipment.”
“Wow, I thought Eun-ho would be surprised, but he’s not.”
“Ah, I don’t get surprised easily…”
Just then, as Eun-ho was replying to Joo Song-min…
“Ah, damn it.”
Tae-hyun let out a quiet curse.
Blinded by the dust from the debris, Tae-hyun was caught off guard and killed by an Assassin.
「Team Casualty: [MNMNN]」
「Cause of Death: An unguarded back! [MNMNN], did you truly have no one to watch your back?」
With Tae-hyun gone, Eun-ho, now alone, was exposed to the two remaining enemies.
A moment later, a message filled the screen:
[Mission Failed]
It was a message signaling Eun-ho and the Toxin members’ defeat.
“Ah, that was so close.”
“I didn’t know they had a stun gun.”
“It happens. That class has it. But that was close.”
Eun-ho’s reflexes were good.
Really good.
The problem was that the enemy team knew the game’s mechanics well, and it was Eun-ho’s first time playing.
“But Eun-ho, you’re good.”
“You’re just saying that.”
“No, I’m serious.”
“…Thank you.”
Although embarrassed, he was pleased by the compliment.
Two hours seemed to have passed, and as they were waiting for the next match… the food they ordered arrived.
Unfortunately, since some of the members had schedules the next day, they had to end their Formica session there.
Tae-hyun and Eun-ho received the food from the delivery driver and unpacked it on the kitchen island.
“That game was fun.”
“I’m glad. What kind of wine…”
Tae-hyun, walking towards the wine rack, stopped and looked at Eun-ho intently.
“Wine?”
When Eun-ho asked, Tae-hyun smiled and shook his head.
“No. Kids should drink grape juice.”
“Hyung-nim, I was born in ’93. I’m an adult.”
“Yeah, and I was born in ’77.”
“…”
Eun-ho shut his mouth at Tae-hyun’s calm retort.