Vol 1 Chapter 8 (2/2)

”W-what are you saying?! Of course not!”

”Then, please excuse me”

Sukyong-sunbaeherself directly between Yeonji and I And so, it was quickly decided that Sukyong-sunbae was joining us for a walk

”Nyyuuuuuuunnnnnn----gggghhh!”

Yeonji gritted her teeth like she had a grudge against her ena I could do about this situation Our walk continued, now in a strange co-sunbae

After Sukyong-sunbae joined us, the atrew fairly aard

It wasn't only because of Yeonji's negative disposition towards anyone affiliated with Yerin; -sunbae involved repeated, painful blows to ests, she was a wo conversation proved difficult with our group

The way she stood between Yeonji and I, she felt like a personification of the Berlin Wall

”Grrrr”

To rier by the second I had to speak up quickly and dissolve any negative feelings in this group

I hesitated for a few e to speak: ”By the way, Sukyong-sunbae Why are you still talking that way?”

”Pardon me, Mister Injin?”

That! Exactly that!

”Ito us politely like I' like a maid”

I couldn't really describe it in any other way than 'maid-like' The 'Mada like she's at her job?

After tilting her head around like a puppy in deep thought, Sukyong-sunbae replied, ”You misunderstand I always speak like this”

”You're kidding!” It's shocking enough to hear someone talk like a maid in this country, so how am I supposed to react if it was never an act?!

Sukyong-sunbae continued nonchalantly, ”To tell the truth,is an act She is fully aware of how she speaks to others”

”Of course! It would be scarier if she wasn't aware!”

”She speaks in a tone e when she becomes panicked or when she's alone and I find that cute If you ever get the chance to hear it, please do so, Mister Injin”

”I don't need to know that! Wait, why are you revealing sensitive information about your own boss?!”

”However, I a”

Sukyong-sunbae paused in her track, standing still We turned around, as she lagged behind by a single step by pausing

”This has always been my way of speech, Mister Injin Ten years before, perhaps fifteen, I have always been taught and grew up to speak this way”

”Why?”

”There were three children,” said Sukyong-sunbae nonchalantly, ”The eldest sister, far older than the other two, and then a little sister and brother The eldest was an Otaku; perhaps the world's most powerful one”

Oh hell, I don't even want to knohat that means

”She was as bad as hs into character archetypes she enjoyed as soon as they were able to speak Is that clearer, Mister Injin?”

”!” I gasped

”It is as you i-sunbae nodded quietly ”The little sister was raised to be an emotionless and expressionless combat-maid, and the little brother was made to be a butler with a permanent, honest smile on his face The children were raised very closely to the liking of the eldest, and came to resemble characters from animations”

”Nyuu-”

Yeonji gripped on htly We stared at her, our eyes no doubt filled with disbelief and terror

”Youthe truth” Her robotic narration continued ”It was fairly easy to learn how to talk in this manner, but I was not sure how to fulfill the 'combat' duty I learned Tae-Kwon-Do and Taekkyeon; now I a perfectly upright Would you like me to demonstrate, sir and madam?”

We rerip of th

”And so, ere raised this way,” said Sukyong-sunbae, following a e in tone or emotion, she continued, ”And one day, my sister went bankrupt She had a lot of debt to her name She had a decent job, but her salary could not cover the debt I should have said so spree while our country's exchange rate eak”

She went bankrupt frooods?! She's crazy! The terror intensified even further

Sukyong-sunbae's voice carried no signs of disturbance ”She escaped out of the country, leaving us to fend for ourselves The only thing we learned from her was how to live a life of servitude, and thus ere als to survive”

What are these 'allthat little kids shouldn't hear, I hope

”Then, ere saved by Lady Yerin”

”Ack!” Yeonji flinched, squeaking like a kitten falling off furniture

”Our fa about our situation, she kindly repaid our debts and hired us It is thanks to her that we are attending Eunsung at this time”

”R-really”

I've believed that she was soirl who extorted her poor fellow classmates with the promise of money I was embarrassed

”Nyuu-”

Yeonji's face beca the saan speaking again ”H-h to say? Are you saying that you people have such a heartwaruys to that match”

Co the mood?

Toat Yeonji's remark She replied quietly, ”That is not what I want, but You hate our mistress because she is the Pubtaku Queen, yes?”

Yeonji flinched She frowned and replied angrily, ”That's right I don't hate her just because I'm on the other spectrum of Otaku She simply went too far! Crossed the line! I won't stand for the i to hell thanks to her!”

”About that,” Sukyong-sunbae interrupted softly, ”The reason she became what she is noas entirely our fault”

”What-?!”

I lost count of how many times Yeonji was taken by surprise today

Sukyong-sunbae explained further, her tone faintly distant and nostalgic ”That is right The first ti an Otaku was around the tirade”

”That's too young--!” Yerin was an Otaku prodigy herself

”At that tihter of Eunsung Group's CEO She had high expectations and jealousy from those who surround her, but unfortunately she was never the sharpest tool in the shed-- to put it bluntly, she displayed below-average intelligence”

Below average? Considering how she acted yesterday, it was difficult to iuess she acted like an idiot at times

”She judged the position she was in as the child of the Eunsung Group, and compared that to her academic abilities, and she must have been quite depressed It was that tiht a DVD to boost her confidence, titled 'Is Maria-Sa Over Us?!'”

”Why?!”

What does that have to do with boosting confidence?! Even if that's a great series but, still!

Sukyong-sunbae answered cal Over Us?!' is truly the h the animation, Madah-society life, and she began her life anew”

That sounds like some terrible sales pitch for a lucky charm 'With this charm, our client Mister A had all of his problele day, and he started a new life!'

”And around this tihty, yet intelligent and noble lady' archetype”

”I really hoped that wouldn't be the case”

What kind of eed to convert the employer into an Otaku? Scary

”Lo and behold, the e”

”She caused all of this by herself?!” Not only did she change the lives of her siblings, she exacted the same upon her mistress! Is she some sort of a supervillain? Her 'decent job' orking at the Eunsung mansion?!

”However, Madame was initially a closeted Otaku She never flaunted her hobbies outside of her room” That was the most unbelievable part of her entire story She continued, ”The tiht aftersister escaped from the country, and Mada Middle School”

”That's not a long time at all!”

If she was telling the truth, she became the Queen within merely three years The horror behind this story was surely unending

Very briefly, a note of apprehension entered and exited Sukyong-sunbae's blank face ”Yes Ultimately, she started on her path precisely because of what happened ere admitted into the middle school”

”?”

”Two children were adh entrance exa fan to other schoolchildren”

Sukyong-sunbae continued as if she was reading a textbook, ”At that tis the school had yet to see We never had proper education prior to that date, either, so it was i with other children We acted differently, and ere Otakus Soon, ere outcast and beca”

It didn't ent children of our population; bullying still happened One could even say that theytheir intelligence

”Saving us fro-sunbae shook her head, a hint of sadness entering her voice ”She was too young to know any better She confronted the bullies and defended us, asking what's wrong with being an Otaku”

””

Yeonji's hand quivered, shakinginstead

”She used her power to create the Moe Research Club, watched ani and tinted contact lenses, and forced classht She ht already know that her actions were poisonous Nevertheless, that was the root of her evils; thanks to us And we have crossed the point that we cannot go back”

I knew there was so-sunbae firmly shut her mouth as if she felt a bitter aftertaste

”The reason I wanted to say this isn't because I wanted to gain your sympathy before the match Rather, I wanted you two to win tomorrow”

”Wha-”

Taken by surprise once one?”

”Yes,” she nodded ”The club is the symbol for the kindness and mercy that our lady showed us, but my brother and I do not want her to build any more bad reputation to her name”

Her e honest and true

”The club is the result of her three years of effort We couldn't end it by our hands No one else could have ever thought about ending it I ahted that there is finally a chance for an end” For ain relief ”Perhaps the whole reason she bet her club on this match is also because she wanted someone else to end her current lifestyle”

””

We could not find a proper response back Aontoto ith us and throw the game on purpose?”

”No, not at all”

”No?!”

There was no end to the twists

Sukyong-sunbae hastily replied to dissolve our confusion ”I aives ardless of my personal beliefs-- that is hoas raised And so she had spoken, 'We will show those peasants what for, and irl weep and lick my boots!' and so on”

””

It didn't sound like she wants her lifestyle to end

Hearing Yerin's confident declaration of war, Yeonji scowled, her eyes burning with a predatory light Sukyong-sunbae glanced at her ”And so, I will not be holding back in any way tomorrow Whateverour Moe Research Club to victory”

”Man”

What am I supposed to do differently, then?

Yeonjithe expressions on our face that I assu-sunbae assured us calmly ”Despite that, I wanted you to know this”

””

”Please win against us, however , and allow our lady to drop her façade This is all I can say for now”

”Nyuu--” groaned Yeonji, quietly

Sukyong-sunbae bowed ”Whoever wins the match tomorrow, I believe there cannot be another chance for ive --” She paused just as she was about to turn around and leave ”--I would like to add, thanks to eable of the Otaku culture As far as the Word Chain gaainst any opponent Also”

At that -sunbae's blank, expressionless eyes lit up pleasantly, as if to smile at Yeonji with her eyes

”Miss Yeonji, I absolutely love what you are wearing today”

After Sukyong-sunbae had left,

We sat down on the next bench we could find, and spaced out in silence There werewo around on their tricycles

I muttered to myself, ”That story, I wonder if it's real”

Sukyong-sunbae's story was, honestly, too ridiculous to be true However, her expression was serious and her voice rang true; but, even then, why tell us anything at all?

Was it because she didn't want to keep that secret fro on winning the match?

Yeonji answeredin particular ”I think she was telling the truth, probably”

”Really?”

How unlike her I thought she would be stubborn and say so like 'Of course it's a trick fro to fall for that!'

”Heh,” Yeonji scoffed, ”I did find it strange, too That butler-brother guy, he was in a neighboring class back in e person, so people”

I couldn't disagree, since I thought he was pretty strange, too

”A brother and a sister who grew up to an Otaku's expectations, and a girl who tried to defend theross Just hearing about it rumbled

”I'et toto create a land of Otakus yourself”

”Hmph, that's not the issue here” Yeonji pouted, and nervously swung her legs underneath the bench fros, Yeonji started another conversation ”You know, back then”

”Hmm?”

”Before the weird irl showed up”

Unfortunately for Sukyong-sunbae, Yeonji had now profiled her as the 'weird irl' You're like this to the nurse, too! Can't you watch yourself a littlewith older people?

Ignoring lare, Yeonji continued ”You asked oal I mentioned”

”Hmm Yeah, I did” As I re-sunbae's sudden appearance ”What about it?”

”It was maybe July of last year Do you remember the 'War of Otaku Power Levels'?”

”Um, yes”

The War of Otaku Power Levels

It all began in the aniest online community, 'DDInside'[2] One user uploaded a video of hiathered the attention ofhateful comments like 'This is an embarrassment', or 'Don't do that in public', and then ca closeted

Within hours, the argu the coroups that labeled themselves 'Clotaku' and 'Pubtaku' The incident grew uncontrollably large, so le Otaku in the country would have heard of it by now

In other words, it was the e-worthy time period in Korean history

Just to add, the Clotaku group see side that time To support their own claim, the Pubtakus created and uploaded nu out scenes fro them The Clotaku side could not find an effective way to denounce their actions, and so the 'war' ended the way it began; aardly

Ultie of Otakus worse off in the country

God damn, why did I even remind myself?

As I beat myself up to be rid of my memory of the incident, Yeonji continued ”I was part of the Clotaku group when that happened Phew I can't count how many opponents I've cut doith my keyboard”

A keyboard warrior, huh? Well, I guess it suits your usual ie

Yeonjian arainst us There were e to display their interests in public, when in reality, they'd rather run away and hide Plus, I could never find a good way to retort when they askthat I truly enjoy in life”

She briefly looked like she could use a long beard to scratch to aid her thought ”Worst of all, there weren'tto actively resist the Pubtaku By definition we're supposed to be secretive and quiet, so howto lead the argument?”

”Yeah”

Yeonji was special for having a twisted goal behind being a Clotaku

”The only arguet from others like, we needed to tell real life experience of people ere bullied However, there wasn't anyone ould reveal such a story At least on the Internet, no one wants to reveal that they're weak”

”!”

”However,”

I winced

”There was one Clotaku who did One guy”

Cold sweat dripped frolance at her; Yeonji's face had yet to change from her solemn expression

”So he told a story about his time in ing around with a Pubtaku friend”

”Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgghh!”

I screamed involuntarily

”Whoa! What's wrong with you?!” exclai off the bench in surprise Sweat continued to drop in volumes from my face

”N-n-n-nothing! I was sitting for so long, ”

”How much did it hurt that you had to screa fro your spine off!”

How do you kno people scream when they snap their spine?

Yeonji clamored on for a while, upset by my outburst, but the situation safely passed with a few quick excuses Yeonji resutale of 'I couldn't leave ' However the bullying began, I was thoroughly impressed by his fresh tale of school bullies So, I saved the text and linked it to every website I went to”

”Dooooon't doooooooo thaaaaaaaaat!!”

I knew it! I knew so! I deleted that post a ot too embarrassed, and you just went ahead and spread it all over the Internet?! My darkest past is just an impressive story to you?!

But I would die of embarrassment if I said that to her I screa Yeonji looked at one mad

”Why not? I' tale And really, I got a lot of responses from other websites, and most people sympathized with him, such as 'lmao what a poor bastard LOLOLOL'”

”They're le bit of sympathy in that comment!”

”Well, don't forget that DDInside is full of Tsunderes They probably wrote that in the comments, but silently cried by their lonesome Tsk tsk, they're not honest people”

”That's pretty terrible in its oay!”

At this rate, I'll be the one who's silently crying by hed, as tears almost welled up from my eyes

”Well, despite my best efforts, the ent in the favor of the Pubtaku”

”And the only person who suffered was that writer!”

”His noble sacrifice will always be in our hearts”

”No one died yet! Don't kill off people like that!”

”And that was oal”

Yeonji concluded, ignoring my objections ”There was only one ic past, but I am sure there are many more who suffered like hiood reason be disliked, but I confidently doubt every Otaku is like that I want to save those people Because” Yeonji staht I had to do when I read his story”

””

Yeonji fir

I wanted to tell her that she was utterly ridiculous for having the idea of beco a modern day savior, butfurther

Did she realize that I was the wrote one wrote that post?

Yeonji's expression was overly nonchalant for that to be true Not that she could have figured out that it was me, when I had posted anonymously

I wanted to ask her if she knew

”Hey”

”I' home” As soon as I opened my mouth, her small body bounced off the bench ”It's alry”

” Is that so?”

Where did the chicken skewers frolare, Yeonji posed with her hands on her hips and gruot a problem? If you want me to stay with you, you pay for lunch Conveniently, there's a restaurant right there”

”I' to pay for you!”

My wallet isn't bottomless, you know! I shot down her dereedy! Anyway, you don't get to study today! Just memorize words you can use to to throw you in an iron maiden Do your best!”

”Hey, hey, hey”

Before I could say 'please have mercy', Yeonji was already far, far away She looked perilously close to falling down and hurting herself by running in those platformed shoes, but she disappeared without an incident

”And she left”

I stared at the direction Yeonji left, spacing out

I sighed I was disappointed that I could not ask, but I was thankful that I did not ask

If I ed to ask her, ould she say?

””

I stood alone, looking at the cloudless blue sky above me

I started walking back home Like Yeonji said, at least I shouldn't be e poorly

______________________________________________________________________

Reference

1 Reference to Kaitou Saint Tail There are lish translations, so the reference may be hard to notice

2 Reference to 'DCInside' It is essentially the 2ch/4chan/Reddit of Korea