"Okay, this is how you click."
"...If you don't teach me properly, I’m going to get mad."
Finally, Ha-eun's Battle Island tutorial began.
She started from the very basics, explaining how to pick up items from the ground, tailored to Da-yeon’s complete newbie level.
She showed Da-yeon how to equip a bulletproof vest and helmet, how to attach various accessories to the gun, and how to use healing items like medkits.
Lastly, she covered how to use throwable weapons like grenades and smoke grenades.
"Be careful with grenades. They explode after 5 seconds, so don’t hold onto them."
Ha-eun provided as many detailed tips as she could, but the problem was, no matter how much Ha-eun tried, she couldn’t teach Da-yeon how to aim.
"Hey, Ha-eun. Every time I shoot, the screen shakes. Can’t you fix that?"
"Yeah. You just have to shoot while adjusting to the shake."
In FPS games like Battle Island, the most important skill, shooting, couldn't be easily learned just from instructions.
So, Ha-eun decided to play some regular games to make things easier. After all, the reason she met with Da-yeon today was to hang out.
She wanted to enjoy the fact that she was playing Battle Island with Da-yeon.
As they boarded the Battle Island plane, Ha-eun fully accepted Da-yeon's opinion.
"Where should we go?"
"We don’t have a specific destination, so let’s just go wherever you want."
Even when it came to choosing a place to farm for items, Ha-eun gave Da-yeon the choice.
They ended up in a small village.
"I found a shotgun. Is it any good?"
"If you hit them up close, it’s a one-shot."
"What about the Molotov?"
"Molotovs are good too."
Every time they farmed items in the village, Da-yeon asked questions about them, and Ha-eun enjoyed explaining.
Maybe this was why seasoned players liked duoing with newbies.
However, when they were farming near a house, Ha-eun sensed the presence of other players.
"There are items on the third floor, so keep farming."
She sent Da-yeon up to the top floor and started patrolling the area around the house.
Soon, she spotted other players and shot them without hesitation.
Unlike Diah’s Battle Island streams, which were flooded with snipers, there weren’t many snipers here.
Perhaps it was because the game matched them with other newbies of similar skill levels.
As a result, there was no player who could pose a threat to Ha-eun.
The "easy win" scene was unfolding.
However, Da-yeon, who was still busy farming, didn’t notice Ha-eun’s killing spree.
She didn’t even know how to read the kill logs.
"Hey, I keep hearing gunshots outside?"
"That’s just my gun. Don’t worry."
Soon, when Da-yeon finished farming, only corpses remained.
The problem was that Da-yeon’s farming was very strange.
"Why do you have two shotguns?"
"Well, you said shotguns are one-shots up close."
"Yeah, that’s true... but still..."
Ha-eun almost tried to correct Da-yeon’s farming choices but decided to let it go.
After all, Da-yeon wouldn’t be able to hit other players with sniper rifles, so it didn’t seem like she could do much with them.
‘Well, shotguns are fine, you just point and shoot.’
It was right after that when the poisonous gas cloud started approaching.
So, they decided to get in the car and head for a safe zone where there was no gas.
"Da-yeon, want to try driving?"
"If I drive, I’ll flip the car. You should just do it."
At some point, Da-yeon’s avatar had moved to the back seat.
So, Ha-eun ended up taking the wheel.
About 10 minutes later, they arrived at a military base.
Since there were only a few players left, they decided to hide in a small warehouse.
"Shotguns are for close-range. I have a sniper."
"Seems like you’re just using me as a shield."
So, with that, they both headed toward the warehouse.
And when Da-yeon opened the warehouse door,
Sudden gunfire came from inside the warehouse.
At the same time, Ha-eun’s avatar quickly backed away.
The problem was that Da-yeon’s avatar didn’t run away, but instead went into the warehouse.
So, Ha-eun scattered smoke grenades to help Da-yeon escape.
"Da-yeon, we need to get out of the warehouse first─"
[StrawberryLatte707>>>☠You said you’d protect me]
[StrawberryLatte707>>>☠When did I say that?]
Somehow, Da-yeon had single-handedly wiped out all the players hiding inside the warehouse.
Although Da-yeon’s screaming while shooting was embarrassing, that wasn’t important right now.
"What... what just happened... did I kill them all?"
Was this what they called beginner's luck?
Ha-eun, who was speechless, just watched as Da-yeon excitedly farmed the items of the players she had killed.
‘...I never thought I’d see this for real.’
Honestly, Ha-eun was a bit surprised.
Da-yeon’s gameplay, with the shotgun and tremendous skill, reminded her of a player who was famous for using the double-barrel shotgun.
That player, like Da-yeon, used a shotgun to eliminate enemies in the smoke.
Of course, there was no way Da-yeon was the same person as that legendary player.
Unlike Da-yeon, who was shooting recklessly, the legendary player would only aim for the enemy’s head through the smoke.
It just happened that Da-yeon’s playstyle and the legendary player’s were quite similar, so Ha-eun was a little taken aback.
After all, Ha-eun had once wanted to meet that famous player.
‘I wonder what that person is up to now…’
Anyway, thanks to Da-yeon, they had secured a solid base in the warehouse.
Ha-eun decided to make sure they won this round for Da-yeon, who had unexpectedly performed so well.
"Hey, Da-yeon, if you hear any footsteps, let me know."
After that, they kept guarding the warehouse and soon spotted other players. Ha-eun raised her gun and took action.
Not long after, both Ha-eun and Da-yeon’s monitors displayed the victory message.
It wasn’t until the final results screen appeared that Da-yeon realized she had won.
A slight thrill could be felt naturally.
After playing a couple more rounds, Da-yeon was satisfied.
Perhaps it was the intense enjoyment of the shotgun that kept her sticking to it, as she didn’t even look at any other weapons.
Time passed, and when their PC bang time was almost over,
Ha-eun asked Da-yeon how the day had been, with all the new experiences.
Da-yeon’s reply was more positive than negative.
"More than I thought."
Ha-eun knew very well that Da-yeon had really enjoyed the day.
The reason Da-yeon wouldn’t admit it was because of some late-found embarrassment.
After leaving the PC bang, Ha-eun quietly smiled as she saw Da-yeon bashfully trying to hide her excitement.
She didn’t tease her, though.
Later, Ha-eun got a taxi for Da-yeon, who was heading home.
After saying goodbye to Da-yeon, Ha-eun went back home.
Ha-eun felt that the goal of spending time with a friend had been achieved perfectly.
‘...I guess I can’t do game collaborations anymore.’
After realizing just how strong Ha-eun’s gaming skills were, Da-yeon knew she had to revise a few of her plans.
Not long after, Da-yeon’s house came into view.
"Hey, Da-yeon. What about dinner?"
"I’ll eat later. I have something urgent to do."
Passing by Da-yeon’s mother, Jeong Go-eun, Ha-eun headed straight to Da-yeon’s room.
There, Da-yeon powered on her computer and opened a text file she had been working on for weeks.
It was a character concept sheet.
Caught up in her imagination about the character Hida, Da-yeon began to work on it.
She began filling out the application form with the words "Application" written at the top.
‘Well, if you think about it, it’s just acting. I’m confident.’
While Ha-eun was an actress who matched herself to a character, Da-yeon was an actress who matched a character to herself.
So, Da-yeon believed she could perform as Hida with no awkwardness at all.
The problem was the last section of the application form.
"Hmm, a video showing the applicant’s talent..."
She went online and searched for movies or dramas Da-yeon had been a part of.
Eventually, she found a highlight video of Da-yeon and copied the link to paste it into the application form.
With that, Da-yeon’s application for Illusionary Realm’s 2nd season was sent to Ji Hye-min’s email.
Afterward, Da-yeon played a video of the "opera genius" girl she had portrayed long ago.
Opera had been one of Da-yeon’s specialties, forced upon her by the director during practice.
She hadn’t sung opera in a while, but she was still very good at it.
Soon after, Da-yeon’s eyes met Jeong Go-eun’s, who had been watching from the doorway.
"Opera? You said you’d never do it again."
"...When did I say that?"
"Hey, someone’s impersonating Min Da-yeon?"
"Look at this. They only put a highlight reel of Min Da-yeon for their application video."
"Who even does that…"