GBAS 32

[Say] HoneyButter : This is today’s present!

[Say] HoneyButter : Hehe

Noticing Jooin alternating his gaze between the gift box and HoneyButter, Hyunwoo gritted his teeth.

How do you know what’s in there to accept it? Don’t take it, don’t take it!

Just as he was internally muttering while glaring at the gift box, a yellow message appeared in Hyunwoo’s chat window.

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : hey

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : what r u doing tonight?

To JuJuGeneralAssembly, who had suddenly asked about his schedule, Hyunwoo kept his eyes on them while typing and sending a message.

[Whisper] Jeonguk-noye-jarang : Feeding my dog.

[Whisper] Jeonguk-noye-jarang : Why?

Just as he was waiting for Jiwoo’s reply, Jooin, who had been contemplating, began to reach for the gift HoneyButter was holding out. At the sight, Hyunwoo’s eyebrow twitched crookedly.

After accepting the gift, Baek Jooin bowed his head to HoneyButter. A faint smile was on his face. Does he like anything as long as it’s a gift?

As he was watching the front of the stage with a displeased expression, a reply from JuJuGeneralAssembly arrived.

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : nn I know for a fact you have plans

What’s this all about now.

[Whisper] Jeonguk-noye-jarang : ???

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : The four of us were supposed to meet

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Mandoo and Aqua, me, and you

There was no such appointment in his memory. He had planned to be holed up at home for at least another week, so there was no way he would have rashly made plans.

[Whisper] Jeonguk-noye-jarang : Don’t remember.

He sent the message with a blunt touch, and a reply came back quickly.

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Of course not, cuz I just decided it now

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : 8 o’clock, Eulsae-gol, let’s go

Hyunwoo’s gaze shifted to the clock in the corner of the screen. The time was just past 6 PM. If it had been 7, he would have declined, saying it was too much of a hassle to get ready.

Tsk.

Hyunwoo clicked his tongue briefly.

Even the location they’d decided on was an awkward one to refuse. The pub named Eulsae-gol was a place he could reach in five minutes on foot from his house. The fact that they had specifically chosen this place, which would take them over 30 minutes to get to, felt like a vow to drag him out.

Can’t be helped.

[Whisper] Jeonguk-noye-jarang : ok

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Ooh?

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : I really really wanna ask why you’re saying okay right away for once but?

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : I feel like you won’t come if I do

[Whisper] JuJuGeneralAssembly : See ya later lol

JuJuGeneralAssembly, who quickly spammed a thumbs-up emoticon at the end, had their name turn gray. It seemed they had logged out right away.

As Hyunwoo was mentally calculating the time it would take to wash up and get ready, he looked toward the stage with a start. Jooin, who had been standing in the middle of the crowd, was nowhere to be seen, and the densely packed people had also scattered into smaller groups.

Hyunwoo’s gaze, which had been slowly scanning them, stopped at one spot. It was the character draped in yellow from head to toe, HoneyButter. Seeing her standing still and looking at the ground, it seemed she was either organizing her inventory or adjusting her settings.

‘She’s really persistent.’

She must have shown up without missing a single day, even on the days he was avoiding Jooin. Preparing gifts and letters every single day might make her a grateful fan to the recipient, Baek Jooin, but to Hyunwoo, who remembered her gaze, he couldn’t shake the somehow unsettling feeling.

Just as he was sending a suspicious look her way, HoneyButter, sensing the gaze, whipped her head around to look at the alley where Hyunwoo stood.

“……”

Hiding himself in the building’s shadow, Hyunwoo swallowed hard.

👾🎮

It felt like it had been ten days since he’d worn anything other than bathroom slippers.

Hyunwoo, wearing a mask and a black cap pulled down low, walked through the crowded street. Even though his face was completely covered, he was a head taller than most, and passersby turned their heads to stare at him.

Arriving at the meeting spot, Hyunwoo opened the restaurant door, and with the jingle of a bell, the noisy chatter of a drinking party poured out. From inside the warmly lit establishment with its incandescent lights, an employee approached with hurried steps.

“Welcome! Sir, you’ll have to wait for a bit right now…”

“I have friends inside.”

Behind the employee who was gesturing toward the outside with their palm, a familiar face could be seen wavering between the partitions. When Hyunwoo pointed his index finger in that direction, the employee turned around, nodded in understanding, and said.

“If you take a seat, I’ll bring you some plates.”

“Thank you.”

Hyunwoo bowed his head slightly and walked toward the back of the restaurant. As he got closer to his friends, their familiar voices grew louder, as if they were in the middle of a lively conversation.

“Ah, YouTube is really a good idea, I’m telling you. You should try it too.”

“Just thinking about editing makes me tired already. No way, no way.”

Passing the lattice partition and stepping inside, Jiwoo, Napjak-mandoo, and Juha, who were sitting facing the outside, spotted Hyunwoo and broke into grins.

Hyunwoo quietly approached and sat down in the empty seat, placing a hand on the shoulder of Aqua, Seonwoong, who was in the middle of a passionate speech. A startled Seonwoong’s eyes widened as he turned to his right.

“Agh! You scared me.”

Smiling from under his mask, Hyunwoo gave a nod, then took off his cap and mask and ruffled his flattened hair. As he straightened his crooked glasses while fixing his hair, an exclamation of admiration burst from Seonwoong beside him.

“Ooh.”

When Hyunwoo turned to the side as if to ask what was wrong, Seonwoong continued.

“You going somewhere after this? What’s with dressing up so much.”

“I’m wearing sweats, what are you talking about.”

“Ah?”

Even if it was a busy area, right outside his house was still right outside his house. After properly checking Hyunwoo’s attire, which consisted of nothing more than a white short-sleeved t-shirt over gray sweatpants, Seonwoong nodded and began to mutter.

“Right, right. The world’s so damn unfair. I completely forgot the saying that the face completes the fashion, my friend. Is the only thing Jeon Hyunwoo doesn’t have is the 38th generation descendant of the Chumil-gong branch of the Andong Kwon clan, me, Kwon Seonwoong… ”

What’s with him all of a sudden.

While Hyunwoo, at a loss for words in response to the nonsense that had started out of nowhere, could only blink blankly, Seonwoong drew out the end of his sentence and sent a look across the table. At that, Juha, sitting opposite, clapped her hands and said in a cheerful voice.

“That’s right, that’s right. Noja-nim, you’re truly amazing.”

“Uh-huh, yeah. Jeon Hyunwoo, you pretty bastard. You’re the best!”

When even Han Jiwoo, who seemed to think he’d get a canker sore if he said anything nice about someone, joined in, the situation became even more suspicious. Frowning, Hyunwoo looked around at the three of them and asked.

“What is it. Why are you all being like this.”

At Hyunwoo’s question, Jiwoo and Juha exchanged glances and let out sly laughs. Noticing their gazes shifting towards Seonwoong, Hyunwoo turned his head to his left, and at that moment, Seonwoong, who had made a gun shape with his hand and aimed it, mouthed the word “bang,” blew lightly on the tip of his index finger, and said.

“This is why I hate guys who are quick on the uptake.”

“So why are you buttering me up.”

“Was it that obvious?”

When Hyunwoo didn’t avert his gaze, as if it was obvious, Seonwoong cleared his throat with a “ahem, ahem,” picked up his phone which had been lying face down on the table, and fidgeted with it as he continued.

“Well, it’s nothing else, just that we uploaded our dungeon video the day before yesterday. The view count was just so good. It was the first time I got on the trending page while streaming, and I think I gained 30,000 subscribers that day. It’s all thanks to you. My friend!”

Saying that, Seonwoong shoved his phone in front of Hyunwoo’s face. The screen on Seonwoong’s phone showed the trending videos tab of a video platform. Among the variety shows featuring celebrity MCs, the ranking of the gaming video was out of place.

He’d thought there was a lot of talk about it, but he hadn’t realized it had become this much of an issue. Seeing this, he could understand the flood of messages that had been blowing up his mailbox.

“If you’re thankful, then pay me.”

“Ooh, so cold. That’s why I came out to buy you a drink today, isn’t it?”

This must have been the reason they insisted on this place. To think they’d try to get away with just one meal when he should be receiving an appearance fee. When he glared at the shameless comment, Seonwoong just smiled benevolently and shook his wallet.

How much do I need to fleece this bastard to feel satisfied? Hyunwoo, contemplating, scanned the table.

On the table were the basic side dishes and a plate of assorted sashimi. This isn’t enough. Grabbing all three menus stuck between the seats, Hyunwoo handed them out to his friends sitting in front of him and said.

“Order whatever you want. He said he’s paying.”

Saying that, Hyunwoo pushed up his black horn-rimmed glasses and began to study the menu. When even Jiwoo and Juha, who had been cautiously observing, started poking at several large pictures of food and smacking their lips, Seonwoong, who had been sitting blankly, shot his wallet-holding hand up high and shouted.

“Yeah! Order whatever you want! It’s on me. Buhaha.”

…….

Embarrassed that no one was playing along, Seonwoong quietly lowered his hand. Sitting with both arms politely folded, waiting for his friends to finish reading the menus, Seonwoong suddenly snuck a peek at Hyunwoo sitting next to him.

“Oh, right.”

Muttering as if he’d remembered something, Seonwoong reached for his water glass and continued.