Netkama Punch!!!

“Are you insane?!”
The moment I yelled without thinking, someone happened to come out of a bathroom stall, glanced at me standing at the sink, and then left.

I shut my mouth tight and hurried out of the bathroom. Unfortunately, in that short time, Urara and Shin Heejae were already bickering like idiots.
Heejae
You met Seyoung?
Urara
Nods ㅇㅅㅇ
Hyung’s so cute in real life…… ^ㅅ^
And I didn’t know, but Seyoung-hyung and I had a lot of……

Heejae
?
Urara
A lot of……
Precious memories, turns out ㅎㅅㅎ…
Heejae
Save that kind of crap for Yuna, lolol

Urara
Yuna? Who’s that, haha?
What the hell were two twenty-one-year-old grown men doing, acting like this over a perfectly normal guy like me?
Urara was the worst. Shin Heejae, fine, he was a once-in-a-lifetime gay bastard, but Urara? He was clearly just teasing for fun, using me as an excuse because Shin Heejae’s reaction amused him.

‘And who’s supposed to deal with the aftermath of this mess…?!’
Did Urara really not realize that I’d have to go back up to the second floor to face Shin Heejae after this? Even if he didn’t, his stupidity was infuriating.
We just…
He said he was my fan back in the day.
From the Yeongil guild.

I said it preemptively, trying to keep Shin Heejae from snapping later. The last thing I wanted was to go upstairs and immediately hear some crap like, “Didn’t I tell you not to flirt with anyone?”
Urara
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
But after Sim Woohyun’s strange, annoying laugh, Shin Heejae didn’t reply.

It wasn’t just silence—it felt ominous, like a bad sign. But since he didn’t say anything else, I couldn’t add anything either.
“Ha…”
For some reason, tension weighed down my steps as I climbed back to the second floor.

But as soon as I got there, my hesitation felt ridiculous. From a distance, Shin Heejae looked completely normal, chatting and laughing with people at another table. He was tapping something on his phone, his expression perfectly fine.
‘Was I just overreacting…?’
Maybe I’d just been conditioned by all the crazy shit he’d done in the past to be on edge around him.
Relieved, I slowly approached and sat in my seat next to him. Shin Heejae didn’t even glance my way, as if he hadn’t noticed me sitting down.

Clench.
“……!”
But that was just a trick. The moment I sat, his hand clamped tightly around mine under the table. His grip was so strong it felt like my blood circulation stopped.

Terrified someone might see and because it actually hurt, I lowered my voice and snapped at him.
“Crazy bastard, let go…! Aren’t you moving your hand?”
“Take your eyes off me for one second and you’re handing out your number to any guy, huh?”

His gaze stayed fixed forward, but his sharp voice cut into me. His face didn’t look angry, though, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
What was worse—unlike before, when I would’ve yanked my hand away immediately—I actually felt guilty now. Because…
‘Shin Heejae… likes me.’

Honestly, even when I was talking to Sim Woohyun earlier, I’d felt cornered, as if Shin Heejae were watching from nearby.
Even if I didn’t like him back, I knew he liked me. Of course he’d blow up if he caught me. And hating myself for understanding that logic made me feel even worse.
I glared at him with complicated emotions, meeting those sharp delinquent-like eyes. God, he pissed me off. Why the hell did I have to tiptoe around the mood of some guy ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) three years younger than me?

“…I already refused when he asked me to drink…”
“……”
“And I didn’t say anything weird. We just talked a bit when the Yeongil clan came up…”

But all that came out of my mouth were excuses.
I was trying to keep calm enough to shake off his hand, but even as I spoke, I felt irritated and pathetic—like I’d already lost. Why the hell did I have to go this far?
Thankfully, whether because I backed down or not, his grip loosened slightly. I quickly twisted my hand free and scooted my chair away to put distance between us.

“……”
But just when I thought he’d let it go, Shin Heejae leaned his cheek on one hand and started staring at me. His half-lidded eyes were annoyingly scrutinizing, as if he were gauging whether I was lying. At the same time, it almost looked like he was holding back a laugh.
‘What the fuck is that look…’

My brows furrowed instinctively.
The moment I scowled, Shin Heejae covered his mouth, turned his head away, and clearly smirked. I wanted to kick his chair, but considering where we were, I forced myself to look elsewhere.
On the first floor, two MCs were holding big plastic boxes and talking. Looked like a raffle.

At first, I was just avoiding Shin Heejae’s gaze, but soon I got caught up watching the event instead.
“Number 44! Is 44 here?”
“Huh? …Wow!! That’s me!”

No wonder—the prizes were insane. There were real-life prizes, game money, and in-game items, but what grabbed my attention was, of course, the game item.
I widened my eyes when I saw the first prize: [Afrexia Weapon +9 (365 days)]. That weapon was famous for its insane specs, adding critical damage to all attacks. It wasn’t something you could get normally, only in big events like this, and never for an entire year.
“Wow, Afrexia’s the top prize?”

“They’re giving away a pet too?”
“Holy shit. The pet’s permanent.”
Other players around me were also stunned. I could hear people downstairs buzzing in excitement.

The MC plunged an arm into the transparent box full of ping-pong-ball-like capsules, stirring them before pulling one out. The number and prize were displayed on the big screen.
[R-Rank Pet 5-Piece Set: Ice Dragon, Hororing, Tara, Sezar, Flameflower]
“Damn, these prizes…”

Some of those pets were rare, sold only during a limited-time event a year ago and now worth 300 to 400 thousand won each. Just winning was basically a 1-million-won jackpot.
Shocked, I glanced at my name tag just in case.
[Sesam]

Turning it over, I finally noticed my number.
[227]
I hadn’t even looked at it before.

‘The name tag color and number color are the same…’
Meanwhile, the MC shook the box again, announcing another tempting prize.
[+7 Armor 100% Enhancement Ticket (5 pieces)]

“Number 220!”
“Ah…”
A sigh slipped out before I could stop it.

Shin Heejae, seeing me looking at my number, leaned closer and teased.
“If you get called, you’re going up?”
“…What?”

When I replied bluntly, he looked me over and smirked.
“You said you hated coming to events because of your netkama rep… Sesam, you’re easy.”
“Well…”

I knew it was embarrassing, so even though his jab annoyed me, I had no comeback.
Seeing my trembling hand holding the name tag, Shin Heejae opened his mouth to say more—
But then the MC announced the final first prize.

“The first prize goes to… number 97!”
“Ahhh! Oh my god!”
“……”

“……”
And Shin Heejae and I both fell silent when we saw who ran up, cheering loudly.
It was Yuna.

She looked stunning, wearing an outfit I hadn’t noticed before, practically hopping with joy as she dashed to the stage. The MC handed her the gold-trimmed first prize card, congratulating her.
“Congratulations! Can we hear a few words about how you feel?”
They hadn’t asked anyone else, probably because she was first place. Yuna, never shy, accepted the mic without hesitation.

Eyes glistening with emotion, she smiled and said,
“Ah, really… I never thought I’d win… I actually had just the right use for this, so I’m really happy to get it. I’ll use it well… Arcadia is the best! I’ll play until the day I’m in my coffin…”
People around us just laughed or admired her beauty on the big screen, assuming she was just overwhelmed with excitement.

But my back went cold. Because her words—“just the right use”—felt uncomfortably personal.
I glanced at Shin Heejae without thinking, and sure enough, he was already staring at me. When our eyes met, he made a face I couldn’t read, then suddenly pouted and muttered,
“You really are a sinful man, Kim Seyoung.”

“What?”
“Just from the look of her, that was clearly a ‘Kim Seyoung’s not getting away with this’ declaration. You’re screwed.”
“……”

“Without me, what would you even do? You’d better treat me well from now on, right?”
I stared at Shin Heejae, feeling beyond angry—more like bewildered. Seriously… was Yuna being pissed off somehow my fault? He was the damn cause of all this!
I ground my teeth and shot back,

“She’ll probably hit you before me, you idiot.”
“Wow, that just screams ‘virgin,’ you know?”
“What?”

And just then, maybe it was my imagination, but it felt like Yuna was looking up toward us. Her sharp gaze met mine, making me flinch back into my chair.
Shin Heejae snickered, clearly amused by my reaction.
“She’s probably more annoyed at you than me.”

“What?”
“Want to bet on it?”