NOVEL WEB Chapter 13
Soon after, I secured a three-game winning streak.
True to its celestial game status, none of the matches were easy, yet I still emerged victorious.
[Friend Requests (50)]
I’m not sure if it’s because I hard-carried every game, but my friend requests have skyrocketed.
[Friend Request from qq7785dd55]
[Accept/Reject]
[Friend Request from 빵야빵야빵야]
[Accept/Reject]
[Friend Request from 정글러의노예]
[Accept/Reject]
…
[Friend Request from GRS JjangGa]
[Accept/Reject]
Among them were not only current pros but also former pros who are now coaching.
“Hmm.”
Back then, I would have gladly accepted, but now, well…
I felt a bit detached from it all, like a terminal patient facing death.
“No need to accept them.”
That said, fully rejecting would feel dismissive, so I’d just pretend I didn’t see them.
After all, the Prisoner will soon vanish.
+
[Prisoner]
Ranked 2nd
Solo Rank
– Challenger
– 1,684 LP / 245 wins 172 losses
– Win rate 59%
+
Taking a short break, I lay on the bed and habitually checked my stats. I noticed my ranking had risen.
The gap between me and the first place was now just about 20 points.
If I win a couple more games, I’d be right there.
“Should I play just two more?”
To be honest, I’d already exceeded my daily quota.
In the past, I would have taken a break without a second thought, but ever since my body changed, I could easily handle several hours of gaming, so I was mulling it over.
“Hmm, what to do?”
If my tier had been mediocre, I wouldn’t have hesitated to queue up right away.
However, climbing the Challenger ranks was no joke, and the fatigue from each game was something else. Even if it didn’t show immediately, it had a way of creeping into my decision-making.
Just as I was tossing around whether to get up from the bed, there was a knock.
Knock, knock—
“Come in.”
“Are you busy?”
It was Mother.
“No, not really.”
“Good. Let’s go somewhere.”
“Where to?”
Is this about my status?
If so, now was definitely not the time to be playing games.
As important as ranking first is, it’s not more important than my life ahead.
“Shopping.”
But that word from her mouth was quite unexpected.
“…Huh?”
“I’m saying let’s go shopping. We need to buy you some clothes.”
“All of a sudden?”
It’s not like I didn’t have clothes.
In fact, I had plenty.
“I could just order online.”
Ever since becoming a woman, I’ve been buying various clothes online.
It wasn’t that I suddenly developed an interest in grooming; it was more that my sister and mother kept prodding me to pick out a few.
Plus, I never really threw out the clothes I wore as a guy.
My build was quite similar, and I still found the old clothes more comfortable.
“You need to try on clothes in person. How can you know just by looking online?”
“These days, shopping sites come with sizes tailored to body measurements, so it’s actually scientific and systematic…”
“Shut up.”
“Seriously, anything you wear looks good on you.”
I’d thrown that out casually, but Mother seemed at a loss for words, just staring at me with her mouth agape.
It worked!
“…….”
Before long, she shook her head in disbelief and declared,
“Get dressed.”
“…I haven’t even showered yet.”
“Then just wash your hair and come out.”
This strong-willed side of my mother was a first for me, and I had no choice but to surrender.
“Uh, um… got it.”
The reason I was so reluctant to go out was simple.
It used to be a dream to venture outside, but after spending over twenty years cooped up in my room, going out felt like stepping into an entirely alien territory.
“Ha…”
With a deep sigh, I gathered myself to prepare for the outing.
Somehow, the silver hair that hung down to my shoulders felt uncomfortable today.
‘Should I just chop it off?’
But I shook my head in the end.
The thought of cutting it off felt more like a waste—actually, a lot more than just a waste.
‘Let’s just get ready.’
I made my way to the bathroom with a staggering gait.
*
How long had it been since I raised the blinds? The white-draped world outside came into view.
At some point, I stopped paying attention to the changing seasons.
I had no need to go outside and no desire to do so either.
I had let my mother’s insistence to bundle up just go right over my head for that very reason.
“Why, why is it so cold?”
As soon as I stepped out the front door, I was hit with a sharp cold that felt like it could slice through skin.
“Geez. Go back in and put on a good coat.”
“Got it.”
I hurriedly dashed back inside.
I hadn’t realized it was this cold outside…
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t felt the changing seasons inside at all.’
Whether it was a warning for heat waves or cold snaps, or pouring rain and blizzards, I never felt the slightest inconvenience being indoors.
‘It was probably because of me.’
It was a strange realization, but now I truly understood how attentive my parents had been to regulating the house temperature all this time.
“Ugh.”
Throwing on a long padded jacket synonymous with winter, I wrapped a scarf around my face and pulled on a furry hat before stepping out.
“…Are we going to the Arctic or something?”
“This is the Arctic for me. Let’s hurry, it’s cold.”
“I’ll be driving the car, so just wait here.”
“Ah, okay.”
Thankfully, we’d be traveling by vehicle.
As I stood there dazed, waiting, I grew a bit bored and cautiously stepped onto the snow, which I hadn’t seen in years.
Crisp, crunch.
What can I say about the sensation of stepping on snow for the first time…? It wasn’t quite as fluffy as I expected.
Watching actors in dramas stomp around in piles of snow always made me want to roll around in it, but it seemed that was just a fantasy.
As I wandered through the snow, a familiar car approached, and the window rolled down.
It seemed they had been watching me for a while.
“If you’re here, say something.”
“Because it looked nice.”
“What?”
“Anyway, get in.”
“Okay.”
If I had been a bit younger, my reaction would have been different.
This was my first time stepping onto the soft, white snow.
I would have moved eagerly to try to engrave this intense experience into my memory.
But now, what can I say…? Should I say my heart has aged? Whatever the case, it’s true.
I found myself worrying more about the cold than indulging in that romantic moment.
“It’s c-c-cold.”
“The heater is on, so it’ll warm up soon. Just hang in there.”
If it were the old days, my mother would have fretted over my every complaint about the cold, but now she seemed quite indifferent.
That said, this wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar sight either.
‘Hmm.’
As I thought about where I’d seen that look from my mother, it dawned on me—of course, she often exhibited this demeanor when dealing with my younger sibling.
Just as I had slowly adapted to how she was, she, too, was adjusting to my changed self.
‘Nothing wrong with that.’
Change can be frightening, but that doesn’t mean I should avoid it altogether.
I have changed, and I will change more.
So all I can do is accept this change as calmly as possible.
Little by little, I am becoming another version of myself.
*
Through the misty window marred by humidity, the cityscape rushed by.
It was already January.
Despite the much-hyped white Christmas that the news blared about, the world still maintained its snowy veneer.
As I stared blankly outside, we eventually arrived in front of the department store.
“Watch the car next to you when opening the door. If you ding it, you’ll pay for it.”
“Ah, okay.”
Having never opened a car door myself, I almost gifted a glorious scratch to the neighboring car’s door.
“Yikes.”
As I struggled to open the door and get out, the bustling scene of the department store parking lot came into view.
People everywhere—there, here.
People, people, people, people.
‘…I might throw up.’
Looks like shopping is going to be a tough one.