SANN | Chapter 3.1

Gureum wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. He felt like banging his head against the wall, but worried the noise might echo through the room. Instead, he clenched his fists and lightly knocked his forehead in frustration.

“Idiot, you’re such an idiot…”

He had just made one of the most embarrassing mistakes of his life. If he ever recalled this moment in the future, he’d probably wake up in the middle of the night kicking his blanket in shame.

The team had achieved a historic milestone during their second live stream by being the first to reach phase 4. Gureum and King-ga had analyzed the recorded video of the phase 4 boss patterns afterward to prepare for the third broadcast and help their party adapt quickly.

Their hard work paid off when they managed to cut the phase 4 boss’s HP in half during subsequent practice sessions. The promise Chaesyongsyong made when recruiting Gureum—saying their team had more than enough damage—had been true. Victory felt so close.

Naturally, the final practice session before the third broadcast should have been an opportunity to surpass previous achievements. But the results were disastrous. They didn’t even reach phase 4, falling short in phase 3.

“Sigh…”

Here’s what happened.

Gureum had a habit of talking to himself while gaming. Saying things out loud helped him focus, so it became second nature to mutter quietly during games. Fortunately, his voice was soft enough that it didn’t carry beyond his room. This harmless habit, however, was the root cause of everything.

Before their practice mode session, the party gathered in the That’s Code channel. Once they entered phase 1 and chained the Maze Queen to start dealing damage, an unfamiliar voice quietly echoed in the channel’s eerie silence.

Someone was counting down. The unexpected voice caught the party’s attention, and everyone held their breath to listen.

“Three, two, one, now…”

The chains binding the Maze Queen broke right as the countdown ended, transitioning seamlessly into a 2-second stun. Only one person could be counting down like that—someone coordinating the timing. The party’s eyes widened, staring at the top of their monitors. Every time the microphone activated, the That’s Code nickname blinked. To their astonishment, the voice’s owner was Heize.

[Whisper] Miss Cutie Hee: Omg, is that voice Heize?!

[Whisper] Hong Jalla: Quiet, I want to keep listening.

[Whisper] Hong Jalla: Heize probably doesn’t realize the mic is on LOL.

[Whisper] Miss Cutie Hee: The voice sounds so youthful…

[Whisper] Miss Cutie Hee: Like rolling pearls ♥~ ♥a

[Whisper] Hong Jalla: Yeah, look at the creepy old men keeping their mouths shut.

[Whisper] Hong Jalla: This channel is full of weird grandpas LOL.

[Whisper] Miss Cutie Hee: Heize is such a baby… 8ㅅ8//

Meanwhile, they moved into phase 2, and the Maze Queen’s Rose Storm pattern began. Gureum, blissfully unaware of the situation, muttered softly.

“This one’s blue…!”

[Party] hazeee: |||

Gureum’s quiet commentary continued, filling the That’s Code channel. Unlike usual, the party members remained completely silent, hanging onto every word. No one told Heize the mic was on. It was as if they had all silently agreed not to.

In the playful silence of mischievous adults, Gureum kept obliviously narrating. His clear, soft, and gentle voice echoed faintly in the channel.

“Ah, clockwise…”

[Party] hazeee: Dodge the spears!

[Whisper] Hong Jalla: So cute LOL, look at them working hard.

[Whisper] Miss Cutie Hee: Can a baby handle Maze Queen? Feels like they’ve been thrown into such a harsh world!

[Whisper] Miss Cutie Hee: I’ll blow that throne to bits with a cannon if I have to! ㅇベㅇ!!

[Whisper] Hong Jalla: LOL, stop it, I’m dying of laughter.

[Whisper] Hong Jalla: Chaesyongsyong hasn’t made a sound either LOL.

[Whisper] Miss Cutie Hee: I bet they’re already planning their honeymoon destination.

[Whisper] Hong Jalla: Probably even picked names for their second child.

As the party quietly admired Heize’s voice, the Rose Storm pattern returned. Suddenly, Chaesyongsyong acted out of the blue, running in the opposite direction from what Gureum had indicated.

“Uh, Chaesyong…?”

[Party] hazeee: Chaesyong, not there, this way!

But Chaesyongsyong froze, rooted to the spot. Gureum asked hesitantly.

“…Why aren’t you moving?”

The next moment, Chaesyongsyong’s character was struck by the Rose Storm, and a tombstone marked their death. Yet, they didn’t click the revive button. As everyone waited for him to resurrect, the mic icon next to Heize’s name suddenly showed an “X”—the mic had been turned off.

The party members, who had been quietly eavesdropping, flinched. Had Gureum finally realized the mic was on? But then they remembered: Chaesyongsyong was the channel admin.

[Party] Hong Jalla: What the hell.

[Party] Hong Jalla: Chaesyong, did you mute Heize’s mic as the channel admin?

[Party] King-ga: ????

[Party] King-ga: What? LOL, I was enjoying that.

[Party] 1st Base 2nd Frame: Wow, Heize’s voice is so niceㅎㅎ.

[Party] 1st Base 2nd Frame: It’s like a sweet contrast to Chaesyong’s voiceㅎㅎㅎb

[Party] Chaesyongsyong: ──

Confused, Gureum scanned the chat.

“My mic…?”

His mind went blank.

[Party] hazeee: Uh…

[Party] hazeee: Was my mic on… this whole time…?

[Party] Miss Cutie Hee: Yupㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It was so cute we kept quiet, but Chaesyong shut it off ᐪwᐪ.

“Oh no…”

Embarrassment hit him like a tidal wave. Overcome by shame and guilt, Gureum completely forgot about the Maze Queen fight, leaving his keyboard untouched. Before he knew it, the boss was defeated.

Realizing he’d made the same mistake as last time, Gureum apologized profusely.

[Party] hazeee: I’m so sorryㅠㅠㅠㅠ I can’t think straight from how embarrassed I amㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] 1st Base 2nd Frame: Haha, if you’re sorry, turn your mic back on.

[Party] Miss Cutie Hee: I want to hear more of cute Heize’s voice =´▽｀=.

[Party] Hong Jalla: We’re the ones who should apologize for creepily eavesdroppingㅎㅎㅎㅎ.

[Party] King-ga: Hehehehehehe.

[Party] Chaesyongsyong: I’m kicking you all out of That’s Code.

[Party] Hong Jalla: Ney ney de dethcoe gangtaehalgae~

[Party] Miss Cutie Hee: You listened just as much, old man, don’t be unfair LOL.

[Party] King-ga: True, true LOL.

“Sigh… seriously…”

As the flustered Gureum sat dazed, the party bid their usual farewells, promising to see each other at the live broadcast, and disappeared like lightning. Just like that, the baffling practice session came to an end.

How many hours had passed by now? Left alone after everyone else had logged off, Gureum curled up with his knees drawn close and buried his face in them. Just thinking about how everyone—no, how Chaesyongsyong—had heard his voice made tears threaten to spill over. The embarrassment was overwhelming.

For Gureum, it was a massive ordeal, but the party members had treated it as if nothing had happened. Maybe, to them, it really was just a small incident. After all, it was just a mic accidentally left on. If there was a problem, it was that Gureum couldn’t treat such a small matter as small at all. Above all, what worried him the most was…

“What if I sounded like an idiot…?”

He wasn’t aware of how needless the worry was. His self-esteem was so deeply buried that it felt like it had pierced through the earth’s crust. Still, there was something else that Gureum should have been worrying about right now.

Both the messenger app on his PC and his phone started pinging simultaneously. Startled, Gureum quickly checked the sender.

Chaesyong: [Let’s do a voice call]

“…Huh?”

Gureum was more than a little flustered. It was hard to imagine any reason why Chaesyongsyong would want to call him.

“Did they… call the wrong person…?”

After waiting a while, the call disconnected, and Gureum finally clicked into their chat window.

Chaesyong: [x Missed call]
Chaesyong: Wow.
Chaesyong: I got rejected.

Rejected? Gureum, hands trembling slightly, typed out a reply.

Me: Did you call me by mistake…?
Me: This is Heize ㅠ.ㅠ….

Chaesyong: Nope, I called the right person ^.ㅜ

“Why, why…”

Gureum’s brain scrambled for an explanation. No matter how much he thought about it, there seemed to be no legitimate reason for the call.

Me: Uh…?
Me: Did you have something to talk about ㅠㅠ?

Chaesyong: Nah, hehe.
Chaesyong: Just wanted to hear your voice again ^^

“Ah…”

The unexpected answer made his palms break out in a cold sweat. Was he being serious? Or was this some sort of tease? Gureum hesitated, unsure how to respond, but Chaesyongsyong sent another message.

Chaesyong: What time will you be logging into Cloud Online tomorrow?

Despite his mind being completely blank from confusion, Gureum dutifully answered.

Me: I-I’m usually on almost all day except for early morning and when I’m sleeping!

Chaesyong: Oh, I see, hehe.
Chaesyong: Thanks for letting me know.
Chaesyong: See you tomorrow ^^

Me: Uh…? Tomorrow?

See you tomorrow? The practice mode, which could only be attempted three times every two weeks, was done. Tomorrow wasn’t even a live broadcast day. Gureum, puzzled, tried to clarify, but the “1” next to the message indicating it hadn’t been read didn’t disappear no matter how long he waited.

[Friend] Chaesyongsyong (Chaesyongsyong) has logged in.

It was a peaceful midday. Gureum glanced at the system window before returning his gaze to his screen. Since this was someone whose sub-account manager was practically logged in 24/7, there wasn’t much need to greet them. Besides, Chaesyongsyong usually logged in late at night. The only reason Gureum paid attention this time was because of the message he’d received from him yesterday.

Gureum refocused on his hunting. His luck with item drops was good today. On days like this, it was best to keep grinding without taking breaks. That’s when it happened—a character other than his own appeared on the minimap at the top of the screen.

Unfamiliar players were marked with a red dot, friends with orange, guild or alliance members with green, party members with purple, and couples with pink. The small dot color in question? Orange.

“Who could it be…?”

Gureum wasn’t particularly sociable in the game. He spent far more time soloing than building relationships, and since he ran a one-man guild, he hadn’t participated in guild or alliance activities.

The character on the minimap was running toward him, moving extremely fast. Soon, Gureum could see who it was.

“…Chaesyong?”

It was none other than Chaesyongsyong. The fact that he was logging in at this hour was already strange enough, but what was even more bizarre was that he was famously known for not hunting himself. Yet here he was, in the hunting field. Seeing him hanging idly from a ledge to avoid monsters, Gureum froze along with him.

[General] Chaesyongsyong: Heize-nim, your combo’s about to break, haha.

“Ah…!”

Gureum quickly used his main skill. Thankfully, his combo wasn’t interrupted.

[General] hazeee: Hi, Chaesyong-nim!

[General] hazeee: Is your sub-manager not around today?

[General] Chaesyongsyong: Why? Are you close with my sub-manager? Haha.

[General] hazeee: Huh? No ㅠㅠ I’ve never even talked to them ㅠㅠ

[General] Chaesyongsyong: Good. Almost fired my diligent sub-manager there. ^^

“So… no socializing with the sub-manager, huh.”

Although it was true that he hadn’t spoken with the sub-manager, Gureum was relieved his answer had been tactful.

[General] hazeee: Are you here to hunt?

[General] Chaesyongsyong: No.

[General] Chaesyongsyong: I just wanted to watch you hunt, ^^.

[General] hazeee: What????

Chaesyongsyong’s unusual behavior left Gureum flustered. He racked his brain, trying to recall if he had done something wrong, but nothing came to mind.

[General] Chaesyongsyong: Just kidding, haha.

[General] Chaesyongsyong: Wanna do some party hunting together?

“Party hunting…?”