She was no different from a beast

Chapter 7

—–CROW—– 

The place Dad and I headed to was a PC room.

Not a fancy, comfortable PC room that blurred the lines between a restaurant and a gaming center, but a real PC room, solely focused on PC gaming.

It did have good heating and cooling like modern ones, and the latest computers with large monitors, but…

PC rooms in this era didn’t have separate smoking booths; they just had smoking and non-smoking sections.

The funny thing was, the cigarette smoke drifted into the non-smoking section, making it pointless.

Also, unlike the courteous atmosphere of 2024 PC rooms where people played quietly, it was common for kids to yell and cheer while playing together.

Well, that doesn’t mean it was a lax era without the tension of adults enforcing rules.

Kids who were snot-nosed brats back then grew up into jaded adults and would say things like this about the younger generation:

– Kids these days are so wild because they’ve never been beaten by older brothers or neighborhood adults.

The irony is that those who were called inconsiderate elementary school kids back then became jaded adults, pointing fingers at the sprouting youngsters.

Huh? Isn’t that totally old-fashioned?  It is.

After all, people tend to judge the world based on their own experiences.

The experiences and social context of those older times are seen as narrow-minded by the younger generation, and adults struggle to adapt to new changes, ultimately becoming old-fashioned.

Reminiscing about the past, saying, “Those were the good old days~”.

Anyway, Dad and I arrived at the PC room and booted up Thunder Attack.

“?? Dad. This is rated 18+.  Only adults can play this, right?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. All the kids play it these days~”

I logged in using one of Dad’s four alternate accounts, still wondering if this was right.

Was it really okay for a father and daughter to play a violent game together, shooting guns and splattering blood?

…Whatever!

If you don’t know, just enjoy it! Dad said it was okay, so it felt weird for me, his daughter, to object.

If Mom found out, she’d freak out and turn our butts as red as a monkey’s, but if we both kept our mouths shut… wouldn’t it be a happy ending for everyone?

“Honey, I’ll create a public room, so just join me.”

“…A public room? What’s that?”

“A public game room.”

Ah, right. That’s what it was called. I forgot for a moment because it was a term I hadn’t heard in so long.

But isn’t it common courtesy to teach the basics to a newbie?

Throwing his 6-year-old daughter, a newbie both in life and in the game, straight into the harsh world of a public room?

“Aren’t you going to tell me how to play?”

“WASD moves you, and you click the mouse to shoot.”

“??”

As expected, Dad is a bit of a crazy fool too.

A 32-year-old man coming to the city with his 7-year-old daughter to shoot people in a game is already a crazy act, but… well, it didn’t really matter.

‘It’s a game I played a lot in my past life.’

It was the game I played with my friends every time we went to a PC room in elementary school, I played it occasionally in middle and high school, and I even played Thunder Attack sometimes in the military to entertain my seniors.

So, if I just get the hang of it, wouldn’t my old skills come back?

The map was Warehouse 2. We started on the Red Team.

The Red Team wins by breaking through the Blue Team’s defense and eliminating them all, or by planting and detonating a bomb at a specific location. The Blue Team wins by eliminating the Red Team or successfully defending for the allotted time.

Armed with the basic M16 rifle, a pistol, a knife, and grenades, I ran forward as soon as the game started.

Before entering the building leading to A site, I jumped onto a nearby drum, calculated the angle, jumped, and… threw a grenade!!

(Grenade Kill) WifeIsAnAlien – RaccoonClaw

“?? Honey? What did you do?”

“Wow. It worked.”

More importantly, what’s with Dad’s nickname?

Why are you making Mom an alien?

It had been a long time since I last played this game, so I wasn’t sure about the positioning, but my body remembered, and I threw the grenade at an angle that felt right, and got a kill.

An enemy’s pathetic raccoon character was blown up by what’s called a sky burst or angle burst, a kind of technique.

Hmph. How dare a lowly raccoon bare its claws at a water deer.

“The raccoon will curse our daughter from the afterlife.”

“Dead men tell no tales, Dad.”

“That’s true.”

*Clickety-clack, bang, bang, bang.*

‘Maybe I’m even better than I was in my past life?’

Even though I inherited the water deer’s physical abilities, this was my first time playing games in this life, so I intended to be cautious, but… it was easier than I thought.

Aiming and shooting at the heads of the oncoming enemies came naturally, and my movements were even more agile… Oh wow. This is fun.

“Dad. How long are we going to play?”

After a complete victory, carrying the team with 19 kills in a five-round game, I stretched and asked.

I wanted to keep playing since it was so much fun after such a long time, but neither Dad nor I could stay in the city all day.

Mom would be worried at home, so we had to go back before nightfall, right?

So, two hours? Three hours?  Hmm, it might not be enough…

“Until tomorrow morning.”

“?”

“I told Mom that I’d be experiencing the taste of civilization with you.”

No, seriously. Why do you phrase it so strangely?

The taste of civilization?  It sounds like I’m an animal or a savage.

I looked up at him with a bewildered expression, as if asking if that was really how he saw me.  Dad closed his eyes tightly and spoke in a low voice.

“I’m human too. …I can’t play games at home because of Mom. She really hates games.”

“Ah.”

No wonder we didn’t have any game consoles at home.

We had a computer, but there were no games installed.

“You have to enjoy it when you can.”

“Killing people with my daughter?”

“Oh, come on. It’s a cozy date with my lovely daughter.”

Oh wow. A cozy, or rather, intensely red date with his 7-year-old daughter in a dark PC room, splattering blood.

I bet I’m the only kid my age in Korea who’s ever had a date like this.

We stayed until midnight, enjoying our dazzling shooting skills, knife assassinations, and even receiving compliments like “You play like shit” from opponents in the dark streets of Dodong.

“Dad. What are we doing now?”

“Let’s go to sleep.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know.”

“?”

Hmm.  I didn’t expect him to say he didn’t know.

No, wait.  It’s only natural.

I realized something while playing today: Dad is quite thoughtless.

He came to the PC room to play games without a plan, and now it’s late and he’s sleepy, so he came outside, but he hasn’t even thought about where to sleep.

“Okay! Yuna! What we’re about to see is a secret from Mom, okay?”

“Is it okay to tell her we went to the PC room?”

“…What we saw today is a secret, okay?”

Right. That’s how you should say it, Dad.

If we told Mom about our father-daughter head-exploding and decapitation show, we might both get kicked out of the house.

Anyway, I followed Dad, who was grinning confidently, through the complicated streets of Dodong, got into the car parked in the parking lot, and drove through the dark streets of Ulleungdo.

After driving for over 30 minutes, relying on the white headlights on the empty, dark road with almost no streetlights, we arrived at… Sadong, located between Dodong and Tonggumi.

We took a small road in Sadong, a bit remote but close to the passenger terminal and a three-way intersection leading to Tonggumi and Dodong.

The car shook as we drove slowly along the unpaved gravel road, and when Dad said we had arrived, I got out of the car… Oh? Huh?

“This is Dad’s secret base!!”

“??”

‘Holy crap. What is this?’

Why is there a two-story house in the middle of the forest?

I blinked.

It was a bit smaller than our house, but compared to the houses I’d seen in Dodong or Tonggumi, it was a very stylish and large house? Villa?  Anyway, I looked at Dad, and he grinned, puffing out his chest proudly.

Isn’t your secret base a bit too big, Dad?

“Hehe. My daughter. Did you know the land around this house belongs to Dad?”

“Does Mom know?”

“Of course, she doesn’t know yet. I built it as a villa for a cozy family getaway on our wedding anniversary.  Come on, let’s go inside.”

“Ooh.”

Ah.  Phew.  So that’s what it was.

I was startled, thinking it was Dad’s private property for sneaking out without Mom knowing.

I knew Dad was a crazy fool, but I didn’t want him to be an unpleasant one.

A fun and likable crazy fool is better.

‘So that’s why it’s a secret.’

Building a nice villa like this without Mom knowing and surprising her with a “Ta-da!” on their anniversary.

Not bad.

Yep. Very good.  Mom will love it.

For a moment, I was worried that Dad might be having an affair in a secret place, but Mom looks like a college student in her 20s.

Would any other woman catch his eye?

Even if he were to have an affair, it would be with someone more attractive than Mom… hmm. Is this a dangerous thing to say?

We entered the luxurious wooden villa, showered together to wash off the cigarette smell from the PC room, took out the blankets, and slept soundly snuggled together in bed.

—–CROW—–