He Is That Guy

[Party] This bastard’s seriously dea—
‘No, fuck. Calm down…’
I held down backspace, deleting the string of curses I’d just typed, then let out a sharp breath.

It was way too soon to be 100% sure that CottonCandyFox was Yoo Chae just based on whether he was online or not.
Besides, even if I charged in cursing him out and accusing him, if CottonCandyFox denied it, there wasn’t much I could do. No evidence, just pure suspicion. The frustration was eating me alive.
“Haa…”

Now everything clicked perfectly into place. Of course. There’s no way a party this skilled would drag a low-level like me along for no reason. It was all part of CottonCandyFox’s plan.
And I just waltzed right in, making myself the biggest dumbass on the server. God, that’s humiliating. I’d rather have crashed an official party and gotten kicked out on day one.
‘Should’ve known this was way too lucky.’

I should’ve been suspicious. But who the hell would imagine someone bringing in an alt account just to stalk me? Of all the stupid parties to join, what I got out of this was…
“…Insane amounts of EXP?”
The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them, my face twisting in ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ frustration. Getting jerked around by Yoo Chae and all I care about is EXP? …Well, to be fair, the EXP was kind of a big deal, so I didn’t have a counterargument.

‘Goddamn, the EXP was sweet though.’
So sweet it practically melted my tongue. Especially after grinding my ass off for a week. What’s more important than EXP in an RPG for a gamer like me?
“Fucking bastard, seriously…”

If he’s gonna stalk me with an alt, at least do it properly so I can enjoy my damn gamer life without this lingering gross feeling. Yoo Chae never does anything properly—except ruin games.
Covering my face with both hands, I muttered curses for a while before I started thinking seriously.
Should I just ditch the party? Or should I suck it up and ride the free carries? That bastard’s the psycho here, I’m just the innocent victim, right? Even if I reject him now, there’s no guarantee Yoo Chae would give up.

“……”
I leaned back in my chair, staring up at the ceiling. But honestly, there was something else bothering me more.
What the hell does Yoo Chae want from me? What’s the point of bringing in an alt just to help me with raids? He made it crystal clear last time—we agreed that if his username popped up in front of me one more time, I was logging off for good.
Thinking that far, I tilted my lips into a crooked smirk.

‘Technically, his username hasn’t popped up.’
It’s not “Yoo Chae,” it’s CottonCandyFox. And that damned “oppa” title…
“Wait.”

A brilliant idea flashed through my mind like lightning. I brushed my lips with my hand, tilting my head.
This… might actually be the perfect way to milk some free carries and stick it to Yoo Chae at the same time.
Running through the options calmly, I cracked a dark smile. Straightening my slouched body, I placed my hand back on the mouse.

[Party] CottonCandyFox: What is it? ㅜ.ㅜ
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Why no answer??
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ?

[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: But for real, it’s nothing big ㄷㄷ
[Party] WitchLetsGo: ??
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Sleepy-oppa??

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Knock knock
[Party] HoneybeeBzzz: Huh, maybe he crashed
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Seems like it??

[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Not moving
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ㅜㅅㅜ...
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ㅜㅜ.....

[Party] CottonCandyFox: ㅜㅡㅜ
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: Sooo, how long we staying here? ;
[Party] WitchLetsGo: Let’s just run one without him

[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Yeah no clue when he’s coming back
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ㄴ I’m waiting
A cold shiver ran down my spine at that last message. What used to seem like a cute little fox-eared character now looked more like a sinister fox spirit trying to rip out my guts.

[Party] ImSoSleepy: sry sry
[Party] ImSoSleepy: urgent call came in
[Party] CottonCandyFox: It’s okaaay~!!

The moment I typed, CottonCandyFox, who’d been standing still, instantly replied. The trade window from earlier was still open, so I placed the soy milk WatDoUCongDoU gave me inside.
[Party] ImSoSleepy: I was thanking him for this
[Party] ImSoSleepy: soy milk

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Ah~ gotcha
[Party] WitchLetsGo: …what?
[Party] WitchLetsGo: You tossed trash at your savior;;

[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Trash?—_—
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: I made that myself ^^ hehe
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Right, Sleepy-nim hehe

[Party] CottonCandyFox: ?ㅋㅋ
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Sleepy-oppa~
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Can I have the soy milk? ㅜㅡㅜ

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Fox wants it sooo bad ><
[Party] ImSoSleepy: sure
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: ugh tragic

I passed over the soy milk, equipped the movement speed boots and magic resistance bracelet right away.
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Sleepy-nim, you just took a huge L ㅡㅡ
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Do you know how good soy milk is for your health

[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: But Fox got it
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: So I bet she’ll drink it wellㅋㅋ
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ?

[Party] CottonCandyFox: I just blended thatㅋㅋ
[Party] HoneybeeBzzz: ffsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Party] WitchLetsGo: holy shitㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: unreal this bitchㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
I watched the friendly banter in the party chat with disinterest. Judging by how smoothly they got along, they were probably all EveningGlow members.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Sooo

[Party] CottonCandyFox: Oppa, you’re partying with us long-term right?? ㅇㅡㅇ
[Party] CottonCandyFox: You took the gear!! ^.^
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Can I add you as a friend~?

She sent the friend request before I even answered. There was a weird urgency in her actions.

I clicked yes and typed back.

[Party] ImSoSleepy: Of course, I’d love that hehe
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Let’s have a good run
The moment I accepted, CottonCandyFox flooded the screen with happy emotes. Watching that, I grinned like a villain.

‘Yeah, keep being happy.’
You’re gonna regret ever pulling this netkama stunt.
 

****
After three days of scouting the user forums for decent newbies, DrinkWaterPlz logged into Zenoris, humming.
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Yoo Chae

Technically, Yoo Chae was still the Guild Master, even if he told everyone to do whatever they wanted. So she tried to report in casually, but even after waiting, no reply came.
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: ??
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: What the hell, he’s online

[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: AFK?
[Guild] MochaBbang: nah nah
[Guild] MochaBbang: Guild Master’s at the Arena rn

[Guild] MochaBbang: He’s wrecking people, no time to check chat lol
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Arena??
The Arena was a giant battlefield you needed to buy special coins to enter. A full-on warzone where players fought freely.

From the second you entered, anyone could attack anyone, making it the only place for pure, brain-off PVP.
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Why’s he suddenly at the Arena
[Guild] MochaBbang: Said he’s in a shit mood

[Guild] ProductOfCapitalism: Yeah, he went to relieve stress
[Guild] SpicyCrabPlz: Bet people there are getting slaughtered rn
[Guild] SpicyCrabPlz: Poor guysㅠ

[Guild] Haerun: Lord above
[Guild] Haerun: Another 100 victims added to the list..
[Guild] LetsTripleJump: lmao holy shit his kill count’s insane;;

[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: What happened?
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Hmm
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Long story, but

[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: ??
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Spill it
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: So basically…

ParkSeungjin99 started explaining everything he’d seen while playing on the SuwonSpecialCity account.
 
****

It was two days ago—one day after ImSoSleepy accepted CottonCandyFox’s offer to form a long-term raid party.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Kyaa, Sleepy-oppa >ㅅ<~~!!
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Welcome~!! ♥

[Party] ImSoSleepy: hey
[Party] SuwonSpecialCity: hey hey~
[Party] HoneybeeBzzz: hiii

[Party] WitchLetsGo: Welcome
[Party] WatDoUCongDoU: Quick start gogogogo
The raid kicked off as usual, no different from the first day.

Yoo Chae, under the CottonCandyFox disguise, spammed cringe-worthy fake-cute lines, and ImSoSleepy just accepted it with his usual calm demeanor.
The first run went by smoothly.
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Fox

[Party] ImSoSleepy: Should I start talking casually too?
[Party] ImSoSleepy: That cool?
The unexpected chat made CottonCandyFox practically explode with joy. Understandable, considering how hard she’d been pushing. It was the first time ImSoSleepy initiated any friendliness.

Yoo Chae even dragged guildmates along as carry slaves to power-level ImSoSleepy. He was the biggest simp alive. So when the guy you’re obsessed with wants to get closer? Of course she lost it.
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Of course!! Of course!!
[Party] CottonCandyFox: Totally fine ㅇㅅㅇ!!!

[Party] ImSoSleepy: okok
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ㅠㅡㅠ ♥♥♥♥
But that’s when things went sideways. For whatever reason, ImSoSleepy suddenly started throwing “oppa” into every message.

[Party] ImSoSleepy: Oppa will handle it for you ^^
[Party] ImSoSleepy: How’d Oppa do just now? Good, right?
[Party] ImSoSleepy: Oppa likes girls who talk sweetly hehe

[Party] ImSoSleepy: Oppa knows the positions now hehe Fox, stay in the back~
[Party] CottonCandyFox: ..…