2

    When I... Agreed to Work Together

    After Kingdom cooled down, although he still glared at me with hostility, I was safe. He wouldn't rush to hit me again.

    Pat wiped her sweat, trying to prevent a fight. "Don't irritate Kingdom anymore," she said with a weary expression.

    Kingdom smirked, seemingly pleased that Pat warned me.

    "Your friend insulted me first," I said calmly. "I was merely exhibiting a human response to stimuli," I explained with an impassive face.

    Since birth, I had been taught not to use foul language, so every sentence was always polite and respectful, even though many people said it was funny and didn't fit with modern teenagers. But I liked being this way, so I was often accused of being maliciously polite.

    Kingdom gritted his teeth. "Let me hit him, Pat."

    "Enough, Kingdom!"

    Pat held her temples. "He's right, though. You started it," she said when the hotheaded guy frowned.

    After finishing our biology class, our group was now sitting under a building planning the project. I looked at the ID-card-sized paper without any concern.

    'Neurological System and Hormones in Medicine'

    Having studied for less than two months, the professor already assigned us a brutally tough task. If we didn’t do well, there was no chance I would get an A grade.

    But the project wasn't as much of a concern as working with them.

    The Chinese-looking guy sitting next to me started the conversation. "Let's divide the tasks," he said, the fair-skinned guy of our group.

    "I’m letting you know in advance that I'm not good at presenting," the guy with thick eyebrows, whom I later learned was named Beer, quickly said. When Beer saw everyone looking, he explained, "But if you want me to perform experiments during the presentation, I'm very comfortable with that."

    Pat nodded in understanding.

    The four of us weren't friends before except for Pat and Kingdom, who had been classmates in high school. Tee and Beer had just become friends from being roommates in the same dorm.

    As for me, I prefer not to share a room, so I rented a place outside the university, living alone. It was not very far from here, which might be one reason I still did not have friends.

    "I'll volunteer to be the reporter," Pat said from across me. "But who's going to do the research? Anyway, you need to get the content to me in advance," she said with a sweet smile.

    "I'll help report too," Tee held up two fingers.

    That left Kingdom and me without specific tasks. I thought for a moment before saying, "I can gather and organize the information into PowerPoint myself," I volunteered for the task nobody wanted. "Is there anything else besides the PowerPoint?"

    Pat nodded, "I'd like you to print handouts too. It will increase the cost, but it might help us get more points."

    "Sounds good," Beer snapped his fingers. "I'll borrow a human anatomy model for us. My uncle happens to be a biology teacher at a high school."

    I added, "Make sure it's a model that shows the internal organs, as we need to identify which organs are stimulated by hormones." Hearing this, Beer took out his phone to make a note.

    Bang!

    Kingdom, who had been quiet for a while, slapped the table. "Great, if we've all agreed! Since Dark here is handling the data, everything's perfect!"

    ‘Wait a minute! And what is your role?’

    I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to take on the task of making the handouts?"

    Kingdom paused for a fraction of a second before smirking at me. "I have a role that is hundreds of times more important," he boasted, sparking curiosity among everyone.

    Except for Pat, who knew Kingdom well. She massaged her temples gently.

    Seeing Beer and Tee looking curious, he revealed, "My role is to be the group leader! I'll be the one to face the curses if there are any mistakes in our work!"

    Was that even a role?

    The two roommates looked at each other, their skepticism was evident until the only woman in the group became restless.

    Pat quickly said, "Kingdom will help with the presentation. He’s naturally good at drawing the people’s attention."

    What she said implied that Kingdom's role was to assist with the presentation.

    With the group's only woman so confident, it eased everyone's concerns to some extent. Pat told me she would handle the handouts herself but needed the content first to summarize it.

    Kingdom grinned, creating a new topic of conversation. "We should schedule a place to practice our presentation. I've got a perfect spot where everyone can meet even at night without any trouble."

    Tee blinked rapidly. "On Campus?" But Kingdom shook his head.

    "Your house, Kingdom?" Pat ventured a guess.

    "I thought you'd know," Kingdom waved dismissively. "We both meet there almost every day," he said, making me frown.

    After Beer, who had been resting his chin on his hands for a while, spoke up, "The virtual world, right?"

    "Yes!" Kingdom clapped his hands. "Imagine how great it would be if we practiced there. No need to go out. It's awesome!"

    Pat smiled. "Makes sense... Nowadays, everyone's meeting there to work anyway. Why didn't I think of that?"

    "Really cool!" Tee slapped Kingdom's shoulder. "So, which virtual world shall we practice in? The simulation rooms or the..."

    Kingdom didn't let Tee finish.

    "Hero Land!"

    I looked at Kingdom, who shouted out with such audacity, and felt exasperated.

    His behavior made me think he was a game-addicted kid, always finding a way to connect work time to online gaming.

    But I didn’t object to the suggestion, as I personally liked Hero Land too.

    But I didn't like it in the way that gamers typically do.

    I was quite impressed with Hero Land because it could create a virtual world that was more realistic than any other, encompassing visuals, tastes, smells, sounds, and touch. Since I first stepped into Hero Land, following its claim to be as real as another world…

    It made me stop using the bed in my house.

    Sleeping just a few hours in the real world was nothing compared to sleeping in a virtual world that mimicked every detail of our world but allowed for longer rest because time moved slower. Wasn’t that good?

    Anyone who had not entered the world of Hero Land was truly missing out…

    "You’re playing too, huh!" Beer grinned. "I've been playing for over two years now!"

    "Me too," Tee hugged Beer. "I've only been playing for seven months," he smiled, showing his braces. "Let's exchange character names, and we can meet up tonight."

    Was this turning into a gathering of game addicts?

    Pat picked up her smartphone and placed it on the table. I glanced at the screen showing a square barcode before turning to see Tee offering his phone.

    Tee opened the 'Hero Friend' app, a cool feature from Hero Land that allowed adding game friends in real life by scanning barcodes.

    As soon as Tee finished scanning, a message popped up on Pat's phone screen:

    'Player Little Tee has sent a friend request.'

    Pat pressed accept, and Beer came over to scan the barcode next. Just then, Kingdom glanced my way and moved his lips mockingly, "Aren't you going to scan?"

    ‘Watch your tone and expression, please.’

    I didn't respond but took out my latest model smartphone, unable to bear his gaze any longer. The group members were all amazed.

    Tee was the first to comment, "The latest model!"

    What was special was that it wasn't even on the market yet.

    Pat asked in confusion, "How did you manage to buy it?"

    "I reserved it," I replied evasively.

    "If you reserved it, you'd have to wait several months before getting it," Beer looked puzzled. "Because I reserved one on the first day, too!"

    I sighed.

    The truth was my father works as a co-producer for this brand. It was not surprising that he would send me the new model as a small gift instead of visiting his son from England. My mother, a designer in France, left me to live with my aunt, just the two of us.

    My parents once invited me to study abroad, but I didn't want to. Unlike my brother, who packed his bags and went to a university there.

    Thinking about it made me miss my brother a bit.

    During high school, I lived with my aunt, but once I started university, I decided to rent an apartment for convenience since my home was quite far from here.

    "So where are we meeting in the game?"

    I avoided their gazes and changed the subject, not wanting to delve into the topic of the smartphone too much, lest it trigger an incident like during my high school days when my father's brand released a new model.

    Even though it was old now.

    That incident involved each friend screaming and pleading for me to wrap that thing up as a birthday gift with an unwavering face!

    They even had the nerve to say they'd stop being friends if I didn't give it to them!

They valued the smartphone more than me!