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As far as Cha Eui-jae can remember, he always had a what his middle school classmate called "horrendous and utterly deplorable" texting habit. He often used shorthand that was most of the time near unreadable, to the point that the teacher once brought his fellow teacher colleagues to decipher what "wl ps hw tmrw" meant when he had to be absent due to a flu that monday. They managed to get that tmrw meant tomorrow, but they had no clue what the rest was.
Will he be going to school tomorrow? Still be absent? What exactly was going to happen tomorrow?
The teacher asked to clarify, but since Eui-jae had long since passed out after sending that text, the teacher and his colleagues never really got the answer until tomorrow came and Eui-jae handed in his late homework. The teacher had looked at him so drily that he could turn a rainforest into sahara and told him to please at least inform him in complete text? Not gibberish, please.
Well, Eui-jae never did.
By the time he graduated middle school, his legend of being a terrible texter had spread across the school. They didn't remember his name, just his face and the fact that his texting habits had made his 2nd year class president have a mental crashout in the middle of the hall, pleading to him almost on his knees to just please call, not text. Eui-jae, who was a poor student, told him "calling was expensive" with a straight face. Since then, nobody had bothered with Eui-jae except that certain class president who offered to renew his mobile plan for him out of desperation.
Later on, he awakened and became the 1st S-class in South Korea, and his texting habits initially became Park Hye-kyung's problem. She had to adjust real quick because Eui-jae was deployed so often that he needed help in looking after everything else that wasn't hunter work.
The first time she realized that "d u 1/2 fud?" was him literally asking if she had any food at home at 2 am because he'd been stuck in the dungeon for 6 days without enough supplies to last him, since he and the hunters he was with had thought that they could wrap it up in half a day.
She watched as he devoured a large pot of pasta she had hurriedly cooked for him. He had minor injuries, but his sunken eyes had told her that the other hunters had not been as lucky as him.
Since then, she made sure she was well-stocked in food, potions and even clothes he could change into once his wardrobe gets cleaned out by frequent outbreaks that he had inevitably had to respond to in clothes unfit for combat.
And then Park Hye-kyung died. For months, Eui-jae hardly looked after himself and just moved according to what was asked of him. Ham Seok-jeong couldn't just stand still and took him under her wing, doing some of what Park Hye-kyung had done for him despite being busy herself.
She then learned about the texting habit and it became her problem too until she employed Jung Bin's help to look after Eui-jae in the field, although outside the dungeon since Jung Bin rarely went in due to his abilities being incompatible with dungeons and monsters in general.
Needless to say, Jung Bin quickly learned temperance under the indomitable texting habit, although one could frequently see his jaw tighten and left eye twitch in exasperation when he had to pull out his phone and see the gibberish that he had to decode like how Egyptian scholars decoded hieroglyphics.
Eui-jae still kept distance with them, unlike with his late adoptive aunt. They didn't know what his face looked like, but despite that, they still looked after him in ways he appreciated. They never made him feel like he was alone.
Cha Eui-jae then saved a boy who was badly injured, alive only because his parents had shielded him from the worst of the poison. Fortunately for the boy however, he had never learned about the habit and put up with it until much later on.
The West Sea Rift then happened and 8 years had passed. Cha Eui-jae was spat out on a dumpster like garbage would, exactly how he felt about himself after failing to protect anyone. He dragged his weary body to a Hangover Soup Restaurant and the rest was history.
Well, it was history until he found nexby, his savior. He also found that things now were more convenient, as long as you had the internet, you could video call and chat all you want without the phone bill rising! He always made sure to call grandma if he had to, since she can't see small texts well.
The first victim of his texting habit after 8 years was Lee Sa-young. When Sa-young had inputted his own number on Eui-jae's phone without Eui-jae's permission, he'd been surprised because it was the first time someone had wanted him to contact the other party so much. Usually, people feared to be listed in his phone book
So when he saw the threatening commercial, Eui-jae's hand moved before his brain did.
Eui-jae: tg
Sa-young: ?
Sa-young: What does that mean? By the way, hyung, I heard you like people who make commercials.
Sa-young: ^^
Eui-jae turned the screen off, unwilling to engage with the crazy bastard. He truly has a terrible game and Eui-jae was not willing to play along.
Then the Ranking Update day came. Somehow, he'd been throwing the trash when the system told him he's back in the rankings, unseating Sa-young and rolling him to second place.
He quickly scrolled through his phone, thinking that he'll probably get an earful from both Seok-jeong and Jung Bin. It's not like he didn't want to contact them! Just that he'd caught up with how they were via news and saw that they were doing well, so he didn't bother to inform them, knowing it'd be awkward.
He also had to find the kid. No one, aside from the hospital personnel, knew that he was funding the kid's treatment.
Eui-jae smiled wryly at himself for making excuses. Perhaps if he asked Seok-jeong and Jung Bin for help, he would find out the truth faster, but he was scared. Scared to face them and tell them he couldn't save anyone in the West Sea Rift, scared that the kid he told he'd come back to couldn't hold on and had long been dead.
The system's interface flickered and a new text appeared on the screen:
[1st place perk reward]
[Collect]
He gritted his teeth, searching for the reject button only to find none.
[■■■ Some of the deleted privileges will be restored].
[Restore permissions...]
[■■■■ Permissions to access Korea Channel 1 will be restored]
[Would you like to access Korea Channel 1?]
[▶Yes]
[▶Yes]
"Oh fuck no. Close the window!"
[!!Error!!!]
[Time to choose is up]
[Automatically connects to channel 1]
"Are you serious??" Eui-jae exclaimed in disbelief. Seok-jeong, Jung Bin, the rest of the high ranked hunters that had been frequenting his store, and even that lunatic Lee Sa-young was there!
+82 [CH.1] 「J has entered
Eui-jae saw the chat box rapidly climbing up in a flurry of messages, being refreshed every passing second.
[50] Romantic Opener: Wow
[11] Shield Guy: Wow
[6] Honeybee: ?
[6] Honeybee: Really?
[34] Very Small Miracle: Isn't this a system error?
[50] Romantic opener: Of course not?
[8] I am a master craftsman: eiᄏ
[8] I am a master craftsman: a surprise cameraᄏ
[8] I am a master craftsman: They must have planned it with the system ᄏᄏ to see our reactions ᄏ
[8] I am a master craftsman: like the ones on TVᄏ
[8] I am a master craftsman: Observation Entertainer turned on! Come watch me!
[6] Honeybee: It's crazy to escape reality
[4] Jung-bin: Hong Ye-sung ^^
[4] Jung-bin: I'm going to turn off the Wi-Fi for a moment.
[4] Jung-bin: Please be careful not to let others talk.
[8] I am a master craftsman: (crying emoji)
Eui-jae winced when he saw that craftsman guy get berated. Jung Bin seemed to have a knack to be a professional S-class babysitter. Was he a masochist?
[29] Manseokpal Boy: Isn't that someone else's nickname?
[43] Toon: It's not really J, is it?
[4] Jung-bin: As you all know, ^^; Hunter names cannot be duplicated.
[4] Jung-bin: I think everyone is very confused.
[4] Jung-bin: I'm checking, so please wait a moment. ^^
[29] Manseokpal Boy: Long-term non-contact nickname in online games
[29] Manseokpal Boy: Won't the system eventually release the nickname?...
[15] I don't have a nickname: it's not a game.
[3] Matthew: Jung-bin.
[3] Matthew: The possibility that the rift may have reopened...
Eui-jae's throat pinched when he saw that careful comment, and it seemed to have struck the other hunters in the channel as well because all of the messages froze. His hands started shaking because what if it did? Then he has to go back, because it was his duty, because he owed them for his failure.
[2] Lee Sa-young : X
Lee Sa-young's message appeared. Eui-jae blinked slowly, releasing the breath that he had been holding.
[11] Shield guy: Excuse me, Mr. J?
[11] Shield guy: Please... Can you please chat?
Eui-jae opened his mouth and then promptly closed it. What would he even say? He wants to avoid it but he really can't move past anything if he did. His hands were now drenched in cold sweat as he typed out a reply.
[1] J: cn S1 ck "on wc rft
There was a pause, and then:
[11] Shield Guy: ??
[50] Romantic Opener: ??
[6] Honeybee: ??
[8] I am a master craftsman: ??
[34] Very Small Miracle: ??
[29] Manseokpal Boy: ??
[43] Toon: ??
[3] Matthew: ??
[15] I don't have a nickname: ??
[2] Lee Sa-young : ....
[4] Jung-bin: ^^
[4] Jung-bin: I'm in Incheon now and it's not open. Lee Sa-young can attest to this.
Eui-jae exhaled a sigh of relief and at the same time, guilt. He should be hoping for it to open so he can retrieve the corpses of his comrades, but his entire being did not want to face his failure.
[9] Ham Seok-jeong: Where are you?
Eui-jae stared at the question, knowing that Seok-jeong must have been really worried. It was a single sentence but it was packed with so much emotions.
[1] J: SK
There was a brief pause, before Ham Seok-jeong replied,
[9] Ham Seok-jeong: Are you okay?
Eui-jae bit his lower lip, glad that Seok-jeong didn't ask where in South Korea he was specifically.
[1] J: Y
After the exchange, the other hunters seemed to have gained back their wits because they started throwing in their piece.
[11] Shield Guy: What in the world?
[11] Shield Guy: Was that a code??
[50] Romantic Opener: Am I dumb
[6] Honeybee: I don't understand??
[3] Matthew: I hate to say this but I'm with you
[29] Manseokpal Boy: My braincells has been fried
[8] I am a master craftsman: ???
[8] I am a master craftsman: But it's very easy to understand??
The chat started to clamor, first surprised by the code-like text, then by the craftsman's declaration. Eui-jae, too, was very surprised. It usually took at least a few more tries before people could understand his texts.
He did try fixing it, but it had been a habit ingrained since childhood, no thanks to his mother who texted the same way and his father just shrugging his metaphorical shoulders and going along with it. His hand would move and click send even before he'd think it through.
[6] Honeybee: Oh? Then what did he say?
[8] I am a master craftsman: He asked if someone could check the Incheon West Sea Rift, and then he said that he was in South Korea, and then that he was safe?
[4] Jung-bin: Oh? ^^
[4] Jung-bin: Everything's right. I believe that's a first.
Eui-jae's eyebrows shot up at the perfect translation. This craftsman truly was a genius like no other! He felt respect for the man, although it didn't go up as much since he remembered his ugly crying face in InHeart.
[9] Ham Seok-jeong: I'm glad to hear that you're well enough to still be stuck with your... texting habits.
If Eui-jae was drinking water at the moment, he would have spat it out. Seok-jeong still heavily disapproves of his texting method, even though she spent some considerable effort to understand him like Park Hye-kyung once did. Eui-jae deigned to reply to her normally.
[1] J: tnx ig
[9] Ham Seok-jeong: ....
He waved away the system chat before anyone could reply some more, feeling a bit refreshed to have told the people he cares about that he was alive. They'll most definitely search for him, and he hopes that they could give him time to have the courage to face them.
He returned to the shop and started sweeping, only to be surprised by a dark silhouette across the window. It was a man with a gas mask, purple eyes blazing beyond the protective lense.
Lee Sa-young came in like he owned the place, eyes still not leaving Eui-jae. Eui-jae stepped back, a bit cowed by the aura because why does it feel like he's more aggrieved than threatening or mad?
Sa-young took off his mask, then cocked his head and provocatively asked, "Say, hyung, why don't you text me something?"
Eui-jae's muscles minutely jumped because what the fuck? And then he remembered what happened in Channel 1 and finally got a gist on what Lee Sa-young was truly asking him.
'Are you J?'
Eui-jae knows he's been found. At this point, denying it will only make it more obvious. He slowly fished up his phone from his pocket right in front of Sa-young, then his fingers did a rapid tap-tap-tap, before Sa-young's phone lit up.
Sa-young raised an eyebrow, unlocking his phone.
Hyung: smth
Sa-young's mouth did a small twitch before he smiled angelically, "You truly are such a smartass, hyung."
Eui-jae felt acute danger, but all he did was roll his eyes, "Why are you here anyway?"
"Why? Of course it's because we still have a contract. Don't tell me you forgot?" Sa-young brought out a recording stone, eyes twinkling in mirth, "Now, hyung, let's have a nice contract-- one where we can't be apart from each other for a long long time."