Real Life

"I almost did it with a girl though, so you can't blame me," I spoke thoughtlessly as my female coworker, Cleare, set a cup of coffee by the side of my pc on my desk.

"Eh?" A weird huff escaped her lips.

Crap, I shouldn't have spoken my thoughts out loud. Now that I messed up, I may as well sprawl the table open.

"You heard me," I took a breath as I glanced at her expression, "I even got married yesterday."

"Married? Did it? Wait, wait, wait, what's going on?" Her flabbergasted expression spoke enough about how she felt.

"Yeah, it was the first night with my betrothed, and we were just getting at the good part… Argh!" I groaned as I stretched my arms across the table, feeling the back of my monitor as I received a punch to my head.

Indeed, the given momentum made me smash my face against the keyboard.

"What's with you?!" I tried yelling but still kept my voice low. I don't want to cause a commotion after all.

"Tch, scum." She looked at me with her cold emerald eyes through the lenses of her glasses.

Damn, would it be wrong if I asked her to look at me like that when she'd step on me in bed.

Sigh, she's so hot too, why did I mess this up?

"It was in the game," I spoke a bit louder so she could hear me.

"You know, that big game that came out just yesterday? I played it and it was more realistic than I had expected. So, yeah, I got married to a game character."

"Ew, you got married to a game character?" Contempt took over her face.

"Ahem, let me finish my side first, I think it will justify the out-of-context things I just spoke of."

"... Fine."

Phew.

***

After convincing Cleare to listen to my part of the story, this was her reply, "That doesn't justify anything. You were actually going to have intimate relations with a woman you met for the first time. Even if it was inside of a game."

"Sigh," I let out a long exasperated breath, "This is why games are better…" I trailed off, already tired from my work two hours in.

I was a simple nineteen-year-old salaryman who had landed a job after going through intensive courses.

Where did all that work and effort bring me to?

It brought me to the Rat-Race lifestyle that I use VR games to avoid.

All the stress and useless interactions with brain-dead people makes it all the more exhausting.

Well, I don't mean to call Cleare brain-dead. She's a very smart, cute, kind girl that's my co-worker. I mean the meetings and the unpaid over-work that I go through.

"I'm sorry, okay?" I apologized to my close colleague without even having a reason to.

She raised her thin eyebrow up, "About what specifically?"

"That I did such a thing yesterday in the game, but trust me, I really couldn't log out till the game crashed itself. For a moment back then, I was worried for my life too."

"Hah…" A long disappointed sigh blew from her lips, "Let's just get to working." She said as she focused on the screen in front of her.

"Thanks for the coffee, by the way, I'll make sure to enjoy it." I tried to muster a gentle smile as I fought back the numerous urges to throw slurs about this whole company out loud.

"You're very much welcome, Mr. who marries a game character."

"Can you please bare with me?" I asked out in desperation, fighting the urges of cringe I felt from that.

Still, I've been feeling tension from Cleare, and if she didn't think anything of me, she wouldn't have gotten this jealous and instead would've laughed at me about it...

No way I was that dense!

Is she really jealous?

I blinked my eyes a few times as I looked at her pouting expression.

Does she by chance… have feelings for me?

Within two seconds I calculated every possibility of what it could be based on her reactions earlier, the way she talks to me compared to others, and how she also brings me my preferred coffee every morning without me even asking it of her.

"Cleare… Do you by chance have feelings for me?"

"Huh?" She whipped her head in my direction, "Why do you think so?"

"I don't know, it just feels like it."

"Wh-What?" She stuttered numerous times before making a comprehensive word.

Wow, I can't believe that the Frozen Wall Cleare can make such an expression.

Did I by chance hit my romantic springtime? I couldn't help but question within myself as I thought of the occurrences that have happened since yesterday.

I got a betrothed in-game and a woman who loves me in real life too.

Maybe, it isn't so bad out here…

"No, nothing."

"A-Ah, I see. As per your question, no, I don't have feelings for you, Adrenoid."

"I see, it's okay." I worded my sentence with a sad-sounding tone, trying to guilt-trip her into confessing herself.

"..."

Why does it feel so fun to mess with people in real life like I do inside different games?

***

Just like that, an hour of clicking and clacking passed by, and then another, and another.

The awkwardness between us just grew and grew, that is to say, I made it happen by avoiding her and giving short replies.

***

"Now I'm stuck over time, I just want to go home and log back in!" I complained to myself.

My fellow next-desk mate returned and pulled the chair back, sitting on it after turning on her pc.

"Weren't you supposed to go home?" I asked deadpan.

"Yeah, but I decided to stay for the man who likes teasing me. I feel lonely and bored without his humor, after all."

"Hmm," When did she learn to speak words such as this so smoothly?

"Ah," I lightly tapped the palm of my left hand with my right fist, "You were in the toilet saying that line over and over till you felt ready, right?"

"Gha, how do you figure such stuff so quickly?!"

"You may call it intuition I guess," I shrugged it off and continued with my work, keeping the situation light between the two of us.

"Still, I do appreciate your feelings, Cleare, but I don't know if I'm ready to date anyone yet."

"Hmm, I see. I kind of expected that reply, not gonna lie, it was so anticlimactic after all... and cringe." She furrowed her brows.

Her not getting sad and crying over me was unexpected, it eased a lot of the pressure I was readying myself to feel.

"I am grateful for your understanding. Although, I will promise you that I won't go back to that place in the game. I'll have at least this much respect for you."

"Mhm." She continued clicking away at her keyboard, "Now that my feelings are exposed, I won't hold back anymore, just so you know."

"We'll see how things proceed, I'll try my best to reflect on my own feelings."

"Yeah, let's both do our best." Cleare smiled as she raised a thumbs up.

"Hmm," It's surprising to see the stone-faced Cleare have such expressions when talking to me... It truly makes me feel that she loves me. Like, actually love me and not sputter words of affection that anyone could say or be deluded into.

***

Soon after, we both finished our jobs for the day and parted ways after drinking another coffee after our shift.

Naturally, I paid, and then I went home almost running with gurgling excitement to log in again in Emberhorn.

***

[Welcome, Player 612!]

[For the inconvenience caused yesterday at (20:57:54), you have been awarded five extra points!]

Ohh, the game is treating me well.

Soon after, I materialized into the place I formerly disappeared from yesterday.

[Trial Quest Completed]

[Trial Quest Grade: A]

I was only graded A?! I had to fight a damn hydra! I complained to myself. But I didn't dwell much in it. Grade A is already insanely well for a first-time player in this game.

[You can venture through the Trial Quest Area at any given time]

[Would you like to teleport to the first floor: (Yes) (No)]

Hmm… If this was just a trial quest, how difficult would the actual game be, I wonder?

[Would you like to teleport to the first floor: (Yes)]

I quickly clicked yes without going back to visit the villagers. I didn't need to, I could see them going about their daily lives from here.

If only you were real and not within the confines of a virtual world... 

My vision began to pixelate as I took one last look at Lira's soft smile, "Goodbye." I voiced from here.

Fwoom~

I was suddenly met with a medieval set-timed city that was bustling with people.

Online people and NPCs altogether.

Humans, elves, dwarves, fairies, chibis, and some weird-looking species were all walking, talking, drinking, eating.

"Did I get isekai'd?" I wondered out loud.

I stepped forward once, and then twice… I started walking, and that walk turned into running as I got ready for a new life of adventures.

***

Beep, beep, beep, bee–Crack!

I slapped my phone to stop the alarm.

"Hmph…" I barely managed to stand up from my bed after eating a pack of chips and drinking two colas before sitting down and readying myself to enter the VrBed.

I slid the notification bar on my phone just to see who had texted me,

[Cleare: Why won't you reply?--10:04 AM]

[Cleare: You're still playing that Emberhorn game?--10:20 AM]

[Cleare: You should quit it!--10:23 AM]

[Mom: Son why are you doing this to us?--11:22 AM]

[Dad: I warned you before and now again--11:49 AM]

[Dad: You're dead to me and your mom--11:49 AM]

"Sigh…" I moved my eyes to check the time as I felt the depressive episode take over my early morning.

[3:54 PM]

"You all didn't even care for me and now call me son... Yeah, right."

I have failed in life.

"Let's log in again," I talked to myself as I threw my phone on my bed and placed the headset on my face.