[TS] Obsessed Gamer: The Ultimate Return – Chapter 239

No matter how much the place has changed, the people gathered are still the same, so the atmosphere quickly returned to its usual state.

“Cook it well. What’s that?”

“Hyung doesn’t know how to eat meat. Watch closely. The meat has to be crispy.”

“Who eats beef crispy?”

“Our family eats it like this. Are you insulting my house right now?”

“…You brat.”

Is beef medium-rare or well-done?

An absurd discussion about such trivial matters came and went, and the team dinner officially began.

“Thanks for your hard work today, everyone.”

“You too, unni.”

“Today, eat as much as you want, and from tomorrow, we’ll work hard again. Got it?”

“Sure!”

Kim Jae-min responded while shoving half-cooked beef into his mouth.

He insisted it had to be crispy, but it seemed he chose to eat it more like well-done.

“Answer properly.”

Actually, I expected something special from this gathering, but since the people gathered were the same, nothing particularly special happened.

Kim Jae-min diligently grilled the meat in front of the grill like a part-timer, while Baek Seong-an indulged himself, flicking his chopsticks at the various foods on the table.

Of course, the main target was the tempting sashimi placed in front of him.

‘Hmm.’

I shifted my gaze to Seo Yeon-woo, who was hiding her head under the table.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, I’m curious about today’s match commentary. I wonder what the commentators are saying…”

“Really?”

Seo Yeon-woo seemed to be eager to hear feedback on her good plays, so she immediately pulled up the replay.

“I’m curious too.”

“What’s up? Let’s watch together.”

With no particular topics to discuss, the team members naturally focused their attention on the replay screen of Seo Yeon-woo’s smartphone.

‘Top, you have to watch the top!’

‘Graves is catching up from behind!’

‘Can Ruler survive this?’

‘But she still has Flash! I think we need to see this?!’

Baek Seong-an said.

“Oh, this part? I thought the top lane was safe, but it was pretty dangerous.”

“Yeah. She barely survived.”

The replay continued.

‘Oh, Ruler noticed! But didn’t she notice a bit too late?’

‘Just as I said this! Jax used his Flash!’

‘Jax’s counter skill cannot be nullified! Oh, that’s why Ruler just lost her Flash. Now’s the crucial part!’

‘Can she endure this? Can Honor hold on?!’

As the commentators called out Honor’s name, Seo Yeon-woo involuntarily flinched her shoulder.

This kid is cute.

“Did you see that shoulder flinch just now?”

“Really?”

As Baek Seong-an teased, Seo Yeon-woo desperately shook her head.

“It’s not like that. I didn’t flinch.”

“What do you mean it’s not? I saw it all! Adorable jerk.”

“Actually, I saw it too.”

Feeling a sudden urge to tease, I chimed in, and Seo Yeon-woo’s face quickly turned red.

“That’s… umm…”

At that moment, the commentators’ excited voices momentarily halted the season one of Seo Yeon-woo teasing.

‘Ruler is dodging Graves’s skills like a little mouse!’

‘But her health is…’

‘Ah, ahhh…!’

‘Nooooo! The minion took the hit instead!’

‘Is this really happening? BLH absolutely needed that situation!’

“Ooh~”

“They’re buying that.”

“Oh…”

Kim Jae-min and Baek Seong-an gasped in awe one after the other, and surprisingly, even Kim Ji-hoon let out a small exclamation.

The play Seo Yeon-woo showed was nothing short of a super play.

“Honestly, Seo Yeon-woo must be feeling really upset that she didn’t get the POG. Agreed?”

“…No, I don’t agree.”

Seo Yeon-woo gave a rebuttal that wasn’t quite a rebuttal, but regrettably, there was no one at this table supporting her.

“Even I think the top carry was pretty strong in the first game. I think I influenced the pick.”

“Right? Look. The POG subject says so.”

“Well…”

“Yeah, the top really did well.”

As even Baek Seong-an joined in, Seo Yeon-woo seemed to contemplate saying something but eventually lowered her head.

She still was a sucker for compliments.

“That aside…”

As always happens when gamers gather, the conversation shifted to the match that had taken place earlier.

“So earlier, when I was pushing the line in the bot lane, something felt off. So I looked, and the enemy jungler was right there! I immediately dodged, right? That was legendary, Lin Jung?”

“Ah, so that’s how it went? No wonder. Well done, well done.”

Kim Jae-min and Baek Seong-an naturally led the lively atmosphere, exchanging banter back and forth as usual.

At that moment, Kim Jae-min pointed to a bottle placed on the table.

“What’s this? Is it alcohol?”

“Hey, hey, let it be.”

“Didn’t we all already pay? Isn’t it fine to just drink? Isn’t it weird to order soju and beer here?”

“Is that so?”

Naturally, the two’s gazes turned to me, seeking agreement.

“…Do as you like.”

I didn’t know if it was alcohol or what, but since it was there, it should be fine to drink it.

“Nice.”

“But can we really drink this?”

“Come on, unni said it’s okay. The people who paid say it’s fine, who’s going to say otherwise?”

At that, Kim Jae-min opened the bottle of alcohol.

As the deep aroma wafted up, he briefly frowned but then smiled.

“What kind of alcohol is this?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen it before.”

It was clear it wasn’t a western type of liquor like whiskey or wine.

But the bottle also looked kind of fancy, and since it was written in Chinese characters, I couldn’t figure out what kind of alcohol it could be.

“What does it matter? Just drink it.”

Kim Jae-min had a really straightforward way of thinking.

It was almost enviable.

“All right, everyone, let’s raise a glass~ The adorable maknae of OLZ will propose a toast!”

Kim Jae-min started pouring drinks, passing around the cups from Baek Seong-an to me and then to Kim Ji-hoon.

Should I say he was thick-skinned… Anyway, he had quite the socializing skills.

‘What kind of alcohol is this?’

Sniff, sniff.

Just lightly smelling it almost made me tipsy from the strong scent wafting from the drink.

‘…Can I even drink this?’

Just from the smell, it felt like I’d get drunk, and now I had to actually swallow it? For real?

As I was in an internal stare-off with the drink, my team members had already downed theirs long ago.

“Huh?”

“Aren’t you drinking?”

“Hey, you can’t do that. The first drink is always a shot, right? Agreed?”

Somehow, the tongues of those saying this seem to be already a bit twisted…

“Come on, you’re not going to act clueless here, right?”

“That’s true.”

“I drank mine too.”

There was a strange sense of blame in Kim Ji-hoon’s last words. No way that was just my imagination.

‘…You brat.’

At that, Kim Jae-min started clapping.

“Take a beat, then two beats!”

Kim Jae-min kicked it off, and after him, Baek Seong-an followed along, and then Seo Yeon-woo and Kim Ji-hoon got into it too.

“Then let’s take three beats, one, two, three!”

“Drink up, drink up, drink up, drink up~ Alcohol is going in. Chug, chug, chug, chug! When are you going to stop making me dance~ Look at my shoulders~ I’m dancing!”

…What on earth is this?

It was quite a bizarre scene, but somehow it didn’t feel bad.

“Hey, I’ll drink. I’ll drink.”

When was the last time I drank alcohol in my life?

No… that couldn’t be possible.

There was no way I would have had the chance to drink something as toxic as alcohol having grown up in a sterile environment.

‘By the way… why on earth did mom allow this?’

Is it because it’s a gathering?

Or did she trust my health that much?

I had no clue.

Actually, at this point, I didn’t care.

Gulp—

“Yujin is awesome!”

“Ah, no! I’m dying!”

After just one drink, the mood of the team members became incredibly lively.

“…It’s noisy.”

The first alcohol I ever drank was so hot it felt like my throat was burning.

I suspected it had some kind of taste since it was expensive, but it was too hot for me to notice anything else.

“Ugh… what’s this?”

Why drink something like this?

Am I supposed to brag about how tough my throat is?

“Ahaha!”

“Okay, everyone, fill up your cups again.”

Somehow, in a daze, I accepted the drink Kim Jae-min was pouring again.

…What was I thinking?

“Cheers?”

“Cheers!”

One drink turned into two,

Two drinks quickly became three.

‘Huh?’

What started off tasting bitter and hot gradually began to taste sweet.

‘Something… feels really good.’

I felt like I was beginning to understand at least a little bit of the joy of drinking that I previously couldn’t grasp.

With only a few drinks, Seo Yeon-woo, her face flushed like a radish, opened her mouth in a slurred voice.

“Unni, do you by any chance…?”

“Hmm?”

“Puhuh… it’s nothing.”

“What is it?”

Seo Yeon-woo seemed conflicted between saying something and keeping quiet as she pondered for a while, then finally blurted out.

“Do you… have a boyfriend?”

“Puhuh!”

It wasn’t me who sputtered.

The cola that Kim Jae-min was drinking sprayed everywhere onto Kim Ji-hoon seated next to him.

“Ah, um… sorry.”

“…Be careful.”