Yoo Sang-hoon was dissatisfied the whole way.

Instead of the irregular luncheon, he tried to change the subject by saying, “Let’s just go somewhere else.”

However, Jang Nam-wook didn’t like that, and instead said, “Then Sang-hoon, go somewhere else by yourself. We’ll talk to Jecheon Daeseong.” It seemed like a compromise, but he was stubborn.

Yoo Sang-hoon became calm with a sullen expression, probably because he didn’t want to go out alone.

Even though he was the winner of the PlayerZ World Championship individual event, he looked like an immature high school student.

“Oh, I got a message from Si-hoo.”

“Now that I think about it, I can’t see him. Where did he go?”

“Sang-hoon, didn’t you hear what I said earlier? Si-hoo went to see Jecheon Daeseong because he called him. He’ll probably be meeting his younger brother first. He might get excited if he suddenly sees Si-hoo.”

Considering Doshihu’s usual behavior of bothering Jang Nam-wook, it’s strange that he’s not here now, but Yoo Sang-hoon must have noticed this now.

Doshihu and Jecheon Daeseong have been in constant contact since the TC Research Institute incident.

Jecheon Daeseong liked Doshihu, but the biggest reason was Mujigi.

Doshihu, who was originally weak against water, became unable to overcome water after Mujigi was tied up with Gwangrim, which was forcibly activated during the kidnapping incident.

Doshihu was resented by Mujigi to that extent, but Jecheon Daeseong intervened to mediate between the two.

‘When Mujigi was able to communicate, he told him about Doshihu and tried to contact him in various ways.’

At first, they expanded the scope of their contact through writing on paper, then through voice calls on devices, and when they felt okay, through video calls.

It is said that the process did not go smoothly because Mujigi lost his reason and went on a rampage when he felt Doshihu’s energy.

The reason Mujigi had such a long period of recovery was not simply to recover his strength, but also because of this mental issue.

After much effort, Mujigi calmed down enough to face Doshihu.

Yoo Sang-hoon, who knew a little about this process even though he didn’t know the whole story, asked.

“Can he go meet him alone?”

“He won’t be alone. He went with people he can trust.”

Jecheon Daeseong had indirectly promised Doshihu that he wouldn’t touch him, but that didn’t stop Mujigi.

Doshihu could have been hurt by Mujigi while Jecheon Daeseong watched.

Even if they knew about the promise between Hwang Ji-ho and Jecheon Daeseong, they would still have to be on guard, but those who didn’t know would be even more anxious.

However, since Jang Nam-wook said they were trustworthy, it seemed like there would be no problem.

“So, what message did Doshihu send?”

“Don’t take the elevator from the lobby on the first floor, come to the VIP entrance. I think he wants to go with you.”

“What kind of private entrance is that? Just tell him to come this way.”

Yoo Sang-hoon seemed to want to keep nitpicking.

Even though he was grumbling like that, Jang Nam-wook answered him in a fact-based manner without showing any sign of displeasure.

This time, Jang Nam-wook hit him with facts.

“Sang-hoon, this is also for your sake.”

“What?”

Before Yoo Sang-hoon could say anything to stop talking nonsense, Jang Nam-wook started talking at length.

“The reason we’re taking a taxi instead of a bus or subway right now isn’t simply to make it easier to get around. It’s because your fame can cause crowds and inconvenience the traffic, and it can also be a nuisance to those around you. There are a lot of PlayerZ gamers who want to take pictures with you and get your autograph.”

“Uh.......”

“If you want to take the elevator to the banquet hall from the first floor of the hotel, you have to go through the lobby, but there are cafes and restaurants, so there are quite a few people. There may be less people than on the street, but if they know you’re here, people will quickly gather, so it would be better to take a different route. The VIP-only passageway exists to prevent this kind of chaos. Since the World Championship has just ended, it would be better to act inconspicuously in public places. Got it?”

Yoo Sang-hoon was speechless at Jang Nam-wook’s long argument.

Yoo Sang-hoon couldn’t refute that statement because he had already encountered several violent game fans who shouted “Shield!” and charged at him in public places.

Most of them kept their mouths shut and took pictures from afar with their device cameras, or cheered him on with things like “BPB Fighting!”, but the brave fans charged forward.

They usually asked for autographs or two-person selfies, and sometimes they even asked to exchange device codes or add PlayerZ as a friend.

Even by the standards of Eun Kwang-go, Yoo Sang-hoon was a decent player, so he escaped on his own, but he must have been stressed.

‘If he continues to live as an ordinary person or an internet broadcaster, it might be okay, but if he aims to become a professional gamer, he can’t push away fans so fiercely. He must be tired because he has to deal with them moderately.’

I could somewhat understand Yoo Sang-hoon’s situation.

I was in a similar situation when people around me praised him as a chess prodigy.

If I treated a fan wrongly, it would be reported in the news, and if I did wrong, it could put the entire chess world in jeopardy, so I always had to be careful.

I felt a little bad because I thought Yoo Sang-hoon would have a similar hardship.

I was secretly cheering Yoo Sang-hoon on, but Yoo Sang-hoon suddenly tried to turn the arrows toward me.

“Jo Eui-shin is listening as if it were someone else’s story.”

“Yisin-ah, you really don’t think it’s someone else’s story, do you? You must have seen how much you’ve been talked about on the internet lately. I heard that Jiho and the other kids in Class 0 usually organize things well even when there are a lot of people, but now it’s just us. It hasn’t even been a few months since the exchange, so you better be careful.”

Jang Nam-wook continued his long, mind-numbing nagging.

Yoo Sang-hoon, who had caused the incident, seemed to be happy that the target had changed and that it was someone else’s business, and he acted differently with a brighter face.

Doshi-hoo used to be a good shield because he would nag and listen to all the nagging, but now he wasn’t.

Thinking that he had to quickly meet up with Doshi-hoo, he hurried to move as soon as he got off the air taxi.

Jang Nam-wook praised him for moving quickly, saying, “Okay! Let’s move quickly before we run into your fans!”

When we finally arrived at the meeting place, Yoo Sang-hoon’s face, which had been ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) grinning while I was nagging him, became distorted.

“Everyone is here. I was waiting because I wanted to say hello.”

The identity of Doshi-hoo’s trustworthy companions was none other than Yoo Sang-hee and Do Won-woo.

If you think of players who would take Doshi-hoo’s side no matter what and give him time to escape even in front of Mujigi, there weren’t many candidates.

So I had expected it to some extent, but it wasn’t Yoo Sang-hoon.

It’s not that Yoo Sang-hoon is stupid, he just didn’t want to think about Do Won-woo and didn’t think about it.

“Hey, why are you here?”

“Sang-hoon, what are you saying as soon as you see me?”

“I didn’t do it to you.”

Yoo Sang-hoon still seems to dislike Do Won-woo.

He must have seen Do Won-woo’s ugly days the longest after Yoo Sang-hee, so it was inevitable that he would react like that.

Still, I think he’s improved a lot compared to just telling him to get lost or treating him like he doesn’t exist.

Ignoring Yoo Sang-hoon, who suddenly became very talkative, Jang Nam-wook and I greeted the two people.

“Sang-hee, have you met Mujigi? How is it?”

“It’s okay, so you don’t need to use your healing skills. However, there’s still a difference from Mujigi’s appearance in the records.”

Yoo Sang-hee’s expression became slightly clouded as he answered Jang Nam-wook’s question.

Yoo Sang-hee, who had been quiet for a moment, spoke to Yoo Sang-hoon.

“Then I’ll go on a date with Won-woo. Sang-hoon, don’t wait and eat dinner first. No. I’ll just eat with my friends and come back.”

“Ah! Don’t say that in front of me!”

‘That kind of thing’ seems to refer to Do Won-woo and Yoo Sang-hee’s date plans.

It’s time to get used to it, but it seems like they’re still far from it.

Do Won-woo seemed to have gotten used to Yoo Sang-hoon’s attitude, so he gave him an unwelcome greeting and said to Do-shi-hoo.

“Listen to your friends and take good care of Yoo Sang-hoon.”

“Haha, Wonwoo hyung. When I hear that, I can’t tell if he’s being treated as a child or as an adult.”

These days, Yoo Sanghoon doesn’t eat or sleep because he plays games whenever he’s left alone, so I understood Do Wonwoo and Yoo Sanghee’s worries.

Seeing Yoo Sanghoon complaining made my heart, which had been heavy from listening to Jang Namwook’s nagging, feel much lighter.

I wanted to talk a little more to see Yoo Sanghee and Do Wonwoo’s affectionate appearance, and Yoo Sanghoon’s wild behavior, but I had no choice but to move on as the irregular luncheon meeting was about to start.

“Sihoo, is everything okay? I think it was okay because Wonwoo hyung and Sanghee noona were there, but if there’s anything uncomfortable, please let me know.”

“Yeah, I’m fine! I heard they made an artificial pond in the banquet hall specifically for today, but I looked around first and there was nothing wrong.”

Even if it’s an artificial pond made indoors, Mujigi, the great water monster, can use it as a weapon.

It was a creepy thing to say, but seeing Doshifu acting so calmly made it seem like it was really okay.

While Jang Nam-wook was pouring out words of concern for Doshifu, we arrived at the banquet hall.

Since we arrived on time, it seemed like most of the attendees besides us had arrived.

There was an unexpected person among the attendees.

“Oh, isn’t the kid with Soo-hyuk the Japanese guy from the exchange?”

Doshifu, who had been listening to Jang Nam-wook’s nagging, chimed in and said while looking at one side of the banquet hall.

Arihara Tomoaki was next to Joo Soo-hyuk.

The irregular luncheon was a gathering of children from prestigious families, so it wouldn’t have been strange if the sons of Arihara’s Ph.D.s in literature and chemistry were there, but it was strange.

‘Arihara Tomoaki is not the type of person who would volunteer to come to a place like this.’

If Hirano Seiji or Renzouin Karen had asked him to come, he would have come, but right now, the only one here was Arihara Tomoaki.

It seemed like Arihara Tomoaki was the only one present.

“Guys, you’re at a good time. I wanted to introduce Arihara.”

Ju Soo-hyuk, who had found us, called us right away.

Arihara Tomoaki nodded once at me.

He greeted them roughly.

Yoo Sang-hoon asked Joo Soo-hyuk.

“Do foreigners come here?”

“They don’t come often? I haven’t been able to attend every time, so I haven’t seen all the attendees, but Arihara is the first time I’ve seen a non-Korean attendee.”

While each person was introducing themselves after Joo Soo-hyuk’s introduction, Arihara Tomoaki looked in this direction as if he was exploring, but he didn’t show any signs of being bothered or displeased.

No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t seem like he was dragged here by force.

Arihara Tomoaki cleared up his doubts, as if he had noticed that I was observing him.

“I came because I needed to. I didn’t come because someone told me to.”

“Because I needed to?”

“The Chuo Group’s other-worldly industry division proposed a technology partnership, and my parents sent me to respond. And Chuo sent Joo Soo-hyuk to deal with me.”

Arihara Tomoaki was studying abroad in the United States when he participated in the exchange.

It seemed like he would finish his studies in Japan because of the exchange, but it didn't seem to be just for his studies.

Before he could ask Arihara Tomoaki for more details, someone interrupted.

"Everyone was here."

He heard a familiar tiger's voice and turned around to see Hwang Ji-ho and Andain.

The two seemed to be attending as members of the Hwangmyeong Group.