MTLNOVEL Chapter 3 - Anonymous Expert (3)
“Yujin, you’re here. You’re early today?”
The owner greeted me happily when he saw me.
“Hello, boss!”
“There are caffeinated drinks in the fridge, have one if you’re tired.”
“Awesome, I’ll have one right away. Thank you!”
I opened a can and immediately gulped it down. As the caffeine entered my system, my blurry vision became as bright as if it had received illumination.
A vintage-style local bar.
The store’s name is Geunbon (根本, meaning “foundation”).
This was where I worked part-time.
And,
“Ha-Yoo-Jin! It means Han Yujin the loser.”
It was where my ball friend, Sung Dojun, worked.
This store was owned by Sung Dojun’s father.
“Get lost. Don’t cling to me.”
I said grumpily as I put on my apron.
“Who’s clinging? You’re the one who’s good at yapping like a Maltese.”
Sung Dojun.
We had been close enough to share our worries and secrets since I was a man.
But,
Since becoming a woman, I feel strange when I see the Sung father and son.
Not romantic feelings, but a sense of wistfulness.
There was a time when I used to go to public baths with them and scrub each other’s backs.
Now it felt like a distant past that had already vanished.
It was scary.
In the scenario of
I feel like I’ve become the Zealot from the scenario.
Can I never return to being a man?
My eyes met my reflection in the mirror. I regained my scattered thoughts.
Get a grip, Han Yujin.
Even if what you’re wearing now is the shell of a woman,
Your foundation is that of a man. Don’t forget that.
You’re the manly man who would rush to beat up anyone who dared to hit the loser Sung Dojun.
Once again, I steeled my resolve.
“Ha-Yoo. Want to try this? You’re good at GalWar, right?”
Sung Dojun showed me a flyer. It read ‘Galaxy War Seoul PC Bang Tournament’ on it.
My uninterested eyes suddenly turned when I saw the prize money.
1 million won?!
“Of course I have to enter.”
“It says it’s a 512-player bracket, is that okay?”
“I just need to win 9 times.”
Suddenly, I remembered Han Sejin’s old and worn-out smartphone.
…If I win, I should replace Sejin’s phone.
The other kids used cheap phones too, but Han Sejin had the most sensitive personality.
It’s understandable.
She was an idol trainee who needed to pay a lot of attention to her appearance and styling.
“Oh, right. Speaking of GalWar, did you see this?”
“Don’t talk about Hyun Junho and Barcode.”
When I cut him off, Sung Dojun looked puzzled.
“What? You already knew?”
“I know it well. Because I’m Barcode.”
At my words, Sung Dojun was startled and his eyes widened like a rabbit’s.
Then his gaze became quite serious,
And Sung Dojun opened his mouth.
“Ha-Yoo. You should start streaming.”
“Wow, they’re good.”
“How should I put it, their control is dirty but clean.”
“What does that mean?”
“I mean they’re messy but skilled.”
In the dorm of ELF, who won second place in last season’s pro league.
Two team members were watching the match between Hyun Junho and Barcode.
“Seems like Junho hyung got a bit beaten up?”
“Looks like it. His timing was off, and his build order luck wasn’t good either.”
Just then,
“What are you watching?”
Joo Sehun, who ranked first in ELF’s internal rankings and placed second in the individual league, appeared.
“Ah, hyung… We’re watching Junho hyung’s match from early morning.”
“The one where he got utterly destroyed by an amateur?”
“…Yes.”
The team member smiled awkwardly.
Joo Sehun spoke with a sneer.
“Is he an idiot? How does he lose to an amateur even if it was all-in? He’s bringing shame to all pros.”
“But there’s a rumor that this Barcode person might be a pro.”
“It’s just a rumor. Didn’t they say they checked the IPs against all domestic pro gamers and found no matches?”
“Ah, that’s true.”
“Then he’s an idiot for sure.”
The practice room became as cold as if a fire hose of cold water had been sprayed.
Joo Sehun, unconcerned, entered his personal streaming booth.
[I heard Barcode is trending?]
-JooSehunny
As Joo Sehun turned on his stream, viewers flooded in like bamboo shoots after rain.
After the match between Hyun Junho and Barcode, mentioning Barcode had become a sort of viewer guarantee.
The viewer count had already surpassed 7,000.
“Hello everyone.”
-Hi
-Jooha
-Left
-JoohaJooha
-Hodadak
-Weren’t you on break!
“I was supposed to be on break, but… well, I heard Junho hyung played against someone called Barcode and got utterly crushed?”
-Yeah
-That’s right
-Shocking
-So who is this Barcode?
“I don’t know who they are either. But they don’t seem to be a pro? No matter what, a pro shouldn’t lose to an amateur. Junho hyung, practice more. Stop doing that amateur teaching content.”
-For real lol
-Lolololololol
-Turned on the stream and immediately in Joo Cola mode lololol
-True, Hyun needs to be scolded
-Whipping ON
Honestly, he didn’t like Hyun Junho.
Joo Sehun was always ranked first in ELF, and Hyun Junho was second. But it was always Hyun Junho who received the fans’ attention and interest.
“I want to play against this Barcode person too.”
That’s why he wanted to show the viewers the difference in level between him and Hyun Junho against the same opponent.
“I skimmed through the game, but this Barcode person doesn’t seem to have any gada-goo at all. I don’t understand why Junho hyung lost.”
ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 won!
-Are you confident you can win against Barcode??
“Are you kidding me?! Of course I’d win. I’m a pro. I’m confident I can 3-0 them.”
Joo Sehun boasted confidently.
And then,
News that Hyun Junho had started streaming dominated the chat.
-Hyun Junho Jun Hyun stream open lololol
-Seems drunk
-Sehun-ah, Junho seems drunk
-Drunk Junho Zealot mode ON lololol
Suddenly, 2,000 viewers left.
Realizing that he had become Hyun Junho’s waiting room, Joo Sehun’s expression slightly distorted.
‘F*cking bastard.’
[I’ve had a drink. I’m going to settle things with Barcode.]
-ELF Hyun Junho
As soon as Hyun Junho’s stream turned on, it immediately became the most-watched stream.
“I’m sorry. I’ve had a drink.”
A flushed and drunk Hyun Junho stared at the monitor with unfocused eyes.
-This bastard drank again
-Drunk Junho f*ck
-Stop drinking already
-Junho no ㅜㅜㅜ
-Let’s go measure his liver function
“It’s embarrassing, but I sent about 80 KakaoTalk messages to that person. But I only got one reply.”
Hyun Junho began speaking with a voice mixed with intoxication.
“Ah, first, I’ll cover this person’s name. Can you all see it?”
He displayed a screenshot of the KakaoTalk conversation on the screen.
Han Yujin’s name was covered.
[Hyun Junho: Let’s play one more game]
[Hyun Junho: You]
[Hyun Junho: Mr./Ms. –]
[Hyun Junho: If you’re not a pro]
[Hyun Junho: Who are you]
[Hyun Junho: Please!!!!]
[Hyun Junho: Tell meeeee]
And the last reply from Han Yujin.
[—: I’m the head of a household raising 9 siblings]
“Haha. Does this make sense? Are you saying I lost to a married uncle? Crazy. This is why I can’t quit drinking, you know?”
-Let’s turn off the stream
-This looks like it’s heading for an accident
-This is not pro gamer Hyun Junho but streamer Ho Jun-hyun
-Preparing popcorn lol
“Ah, whatever. I’m going to make a voice call. This time I’ll bet 100,000 won, no, 1 million won.”
A cheerful voice call connection tone rang.
He was determined to get his revenge no matter how much money he had to offer if the call was answered.
Click.
The connection tone cut off and a voice came through the speaker.
“Hello?”
Hyun Junho spoke nervously.
What he heard was,
The sound of bustling conversations. Loudly playing hip-hop music. The loud voices of the necktie brigade.
The atmosphere of a bar could be felt through the speaker.
-Hello?
A clear female voice, like the sound of bells, gently overlapped the noisy background.
-?
-??
-Seems to be outside
-A woman’s voice?
-Huh?
-A woman?
-Voice ㅗㅜㅑ
-Noona lololololol
-Not an uncle after all
Hyun Junho stammered in confusion. He looked like his mind had gone blank.
“Um, well…”
-Who is this? Ah, what? One soju? Yes, I understand! Table 4, one soju!
“You’re Barcode, right?”
-Excuse me. I’m sorry but I can’t hear you well. I’m busy so I’m hanging up. Yes, I’ll take your order, customer!
Click.
The call ended.
A quiet stillness flowed through Hyun Junho’s stream.
I collapsed on the bed like a scarecrow.
Maybe because it was Friday night, customers poured in like waves. I worked frantically, swept up in those waves.
“Ah, I really feel like I’m going to die.”
Lying on the bed, I accessed GalWarGal.
It’s in a state of chaos again with some new topic circulating.
The titles of the top posts are outrageous, simply outrageous.
-Drunk Junho wailing.mp4 [261]
-Barcode’s voice?.mp4 [697]
-Joo Sehun “Barcode sucks” [72]
-Joo Sehun “Hyun Junho practice more lol” [54]
I clicked on the posts and read each one carefully.
First, I checked Joo Sehun’s statements.
ㅡThis person has no gada-goo, you know? I don’t understand why Junho hyung lost.
ㅡYou’re asking how it would go if I played against them? Are you kidding me?! Of course I’d win. I’m a pro. I’m confident I can 3-0 them.
ㅡBarcode. If you’re seeing this, contact me. I’ll play you anytime. I’m quite different from Junho hyung.
A stinging anger enveloped my entire body.
…This bastard, what kind of bastard is he?
Other pros didn’t make such insulting evaluations like this.
He must be a guy with serious character flaws, no doubt about it.
For now, I’ll keep you in mind.
I clicked on another post.
[Title: Barcode’s voice?.mp4]
(Video)
It was a woman????
Likes: 1127 Dislikes: 17
ㅇㅇ(115.41): Noona!Noona!Noona!Noona!Noona!Noona!Noona!Noona!Noona!Noona!
ㅇㅇ(223.39): The voice is crazy lol
ㅇㅇ(212.64): Top-tier voice actor level national treasure level disaster level voice
ㅇㅇ(183.99): Look at Hyun Junho becoming mute when he confirms it’s a woman lol
└This guy was said to be a virgin, seems true lol he’s just a shy boy
ㅇㅇ(112.135): Not an uncle but f*ck it was a noona lol
ㅇㅇ(58.21): Are those who believe this idiots?
└Any reason not to believe it?
└Idiot
└If you look at Hyun Junho’s chat yesterday, it mentions ‘woman’s name’
ㅇㅇ(211.187): I think we need to wait and see… Does it make sense for a woman to be this good at GalWar?
└Agree
└Agree, this is why I can’t believe it either
└In my opinion, Hyun Junho probably created a fake Barcode character to draw YouTube attention
Wait a minute.
Was that voice call from Hyun Junho while I was working earlier?
It was peak time so I was too busy and the surroundings were too noisy to hear the voice properly. Moreover, my old budget phone doesn’t have the best call quality to begin with.
I had completely forgotten about it, but it must have been this obsessive guy who called.
And he was broadcasting that on his stream?
I clicked my tongue and read the last post.
The post saying Hyun Junho wailed.
I clicked on the video and Hyun Junho sobbed and wept bitterly.
ㅡYou GalWarGal bastards. You think I wanted to lose? You think I want to always stop at the quarterfinals? I want to win too. I feel like I’m going crazy. I’m already frustrated enough, if you guys keep poking at me…
ㅡJust know this one thing. That Barcode person is really good. I heard Joo Sehun say something about Barcode, but that bastard would get utterly destroyed too in my opinion. Since we’re on the topic, that bastard Joo Sehun subtly looks down on me, but that f*cking son of a…
(The broadcast has ended.)
“Crazy bastards.”
This is the mother of all circus shows.
However, the reason Hyun Junho ended up like that was honestly because of me.
“…Maybe I should have gone a bit easier on him?”
Some sense of responsibility and conscience pricked at my heart.
After careful consideration, the conclusion I came to was to face it head-on.
I wrote a post on the Galaxy War gallery with my profile verification.
[Title: This is Barcode, Mr. Joo Sehun please read (Verification included)]