Chapter 8.15

Sangwoo, who had put all of his belongings in his backpack, suddenly stood up and walked away. He acted as if there weren’t anyone else in the room. Sangwoo stopped in front of the door.

“I’m leaving. See you at the next meeting,” he said while looking at the door.

‘That guy’s next meeting. Just say that it’s tomorrow.’

“Yeah… Bye,” Jaeyoung murmured behind Sangwoo’s head.

After a while, there was the sound of banging on the iron door. Jaeyoung swept his face with his palm and glanced at the ceiling. Should he have done that again? Did he really have to do that to a person who wasn’t good with physical affection? Despite that, Chu Sangwoo’s response was a bit too weird to explain it as discomfort.

“I need a cigarette.”

An inexplicable sense of incompatibility controlled Jaeyoung’s mind. He felt the need to observe Sangwoo more thoroughly.

⌘W

Case Diary <Chu Sangwoo Observation Diary>

(1)

Tuesday, April 8, the fifth day of coming to the study room

Study Room Entrance Time 6:31p.m. / Study Room Exit Time 10:00 p.m.

*Excerpts of main scenes: Choi Yuna vs Chu Sangwoo

“Hey, Chu Sangchu.”

“Don’t change someone else’s name just as you wish.”

“Why do you tell me off when I play music but not when Jaeyoung does it?”

Yuna made a fierce first strike.

“Jaeyoung sunbae plays for an average of nine minutes during breaks, so I’m enduring it to ensure he gets a break. It’s different from operating the music player for 24 hours. Mute it on your way home as well. I feel bad for the headphones.”

“…”

Chu Sangwoo, shield against opponent by lynching. Choi Yuna. KO defeat.

*Notable point: Volunteer Attorney, nickname (referring to real name)

*Findings: No huge abnormality

(2)

Wednesday, April 9, sixth day of coming to the study room

Study Room Entrance Time 6:31p.m. / Study Room Exit Time 10:00 p.m.

*Excerpts of main scenes: Chu Sangwoo’s angriest moment

“I can just neglect it like this and then throw it out of the monitor window.”

“I think you need to get treated for anger management, sunbae.”

Sangwoo couldn’t take a joke.

“When was the time when you got the angriest in your life? Just tell me three things.”

Jaeyoung noticed that the break was over, so he deliberately came up with a topic, since he knew that Sangwoo always answered when asked something. Sure enough, he was lost in thought while looking at the ceiling.

“Uhm… When you asked me to watch a movie, sunbae.”

“You’re telling me that that was the most upsetting time in your life?”

Has he never had a crisis in his life? Or was it that shocking to be asked to go watch a movie?

“Yes. The second time was… the moment I washed my face in the bathroom during the first class of Embedded Systems this semester.

What the. That would be ranked second place after the first one. Jaeyoung was silent at the thought of having dug his own grave.

“The third time was in 6th grade in elementary school, during the Pi memorization competition.”

“Why? Because you couldn’t get first place?”

“I won first place, though.”

“Then why?”

“I hated myself for only memorizing 622 digits. After that, I made an effort to memorize up to 1024 digits, but I stopped trying to memorize more since it felt like a waste of time.”

“You’re beyond reason, seriously.”

*Notable point: Reconfirming that he had been imprinted as a negative memory on his target

*Findings: No huge abnormality

(3)

Thursday, April 10, seventh day of coming to the study room

Study Room Entrance Time 6:31p.m. / Study Room Exit Time 8:25 p.m.

*Excerpts of main scenes: Platinum and Diamond

It was the time when the characters, items, map, and even the world UI were finished. There were still many UI pages left to complete, but it was natural to want to rest after finishing the main parts feeling fatigue and a sense of accomplishment. Jaeyoung threw a tantrum over whether it was fine or not.

“Let’s go look into the data.”

“Try telling me in detail.”

“Let’s experience the impact and action of successful games from other game companies, analyze their strengths and weaknesses, and discuss them. While being artistically inspiring and considered a public success, it’s a plus if it can build a strong bond between workers while relieving stress.”

Sangwoo sat there for a long time as if he didn’t understand what he was saying.

“You’re saying we should play games?”

‘Bastard. You’ve become quick on picking things up.’

“Let’s just do it for two hours. I’ll catch up on everything tomorrow. Promise.”

“Can I trust that?”

“Of course. Can’t you trust me?”

His persistent persuasion had led Sangwoo to believe that data research was needed, but… in reality, Jaeyoung had an ulterior motive. He was familiar with the role as a carrier since he was better at most games than the average person. People always wanted to be on Jaeyoung’s team, and he went around with somewhat of a burden on his shoulders. In other words, showing his gaming skills was a trick to win the respect of Chu Sangwoo, which he couldn’t gain through his skateboard.