GBAS 63

He didn’t even have to look to know. This was undoubtedly Jeon Hyunwoo. How long had it been since he logged out of the game? His head was already starting to ache because of the guy who wouldn’t leave him alone for a single moment.

Buzz, buzz, buzz-.

At the incessantly vibrating message notifications, Jooin’s expression crumpled, and he finally shot up from his spot.

He slid his hand between the sheet and the pillow, and his fingers soon touched something hard. Jooin took out his phone and tapped the black screen with his thumb, and it immediately lit up. Below the numbers displaying the time, messages from Hyunwoo were neatly stacked up.

Jeon Hyunwoo

(Crying cat emoji)

(Puppy crying facedown emoji)

(Puppy crying a waterfall of tears emoji) 4:28 PM

The emojis, which had been sent one per second, came to an abrupt stop.

Hyunwoo, perhaps realizing he had read the messages, called out to him, Hyung!, and then continued.

Jeon Hyunwoo

Why did you log out?

We have to do today’s homework together 4:29 PM

Oh and

(Screenshot of an SNS profile)

Is this your ID, hyung?

The screenshot Hyunwoo sent was indeed his SNS profile.

Uh, it is.

Jooin, after giving a simple reply, tilted his head.

“That’s strange.”

How did he know? He’d never told him. Just as he was about to ask how it happened, a pop-up appeared on the messenger screen. It notified him that an ID that seemed to be Hyunwoo’s had followed him. Before he could even grasp the situation, a DM arrived.

(Short video link)

Hyung

I think this is near your house

They say it’s a super popular restaurant these days

If you haven’t been, would you like to go with me?

When he clicked on the video Hyunwoo had sent, a dish with a mountain of meat appeared. A man’s voiceover in the video introduced the place as a must-visit spot in OO-dong.

He was skeptical just from the food, but when a familiar background appeared, Jooin was convinced and sent a reply.

That place isn’t very good

Pardon?

I went with Cheon Namyeong

Ah!

Ah.

After that short exclamation, Hyunwoo’s messages stopped abruptly. Still, the three dots indicating he was typing were pulsating at the bottom of the screen, so it seemed he had more to say.

As Jooin waited, his gaze landed on the profile picture next to Hyunwoo’s ID at the top of the screen. The figure standing in the middle of the photo, with the blue sea as a backdrop, was probably Jeon Hyunwoo. Just as he was staring intently at it, his hand moved on its own.

When he clicked on the account section, a neatly organized profile appeared.

The feed was roughly composed of a 2:3:5 ratio of work, landscapes, and photos of Hyunwoo himself. Most of Hyunwoo’s pictures were taken by someone else, and it was amazing how well-shot they were, as if he brought a photographer with him every time.

He had once mentioned that he’d given up his hobby of traveling after starting the game to take care of the Frost Wolf, and it seemed that was true. Starting from the United States to what looked like a remote village in Southeast Asia, the endless travel records stopped two years ago.

After scrolling through the album, Jooin returned to the top of the feed. Then he clicked on the most recently uploaded photo.

The last picture posted was from the day of the guild’s offline meeting. It seemed to have been taken on the boat heading to the island.

Starting with that photo, there were records of cheerful moments, such as the Platoon Leader falling over while moving a barbecue grill, and Jinyoung-kun and FlatDumpling having a cooking showdown.

Letting out a soft laugh, Jooin swiped the page in the opposite direction and brought up the first picture again.

Hyunwoo, his hair a mess from the sea breeze, was smiling brightly and making a V sign.

“…”

When his eyes met the gaze that seemed to hide nothing, a sigh escaped him automatically.

If it had been any other person, he would have cut ties already. The reason he couldn’t be colder and cut him off was all because of that face. It was he who was in a difficult position, now that a guy who was exactly his type had shown up.

As he was looking at Hyunwoo’s picture with a heavy heart, a message pop-up appeared.

Returning to the previous screen, he saw the messages Hyunwoo had sent.

Perhaps his silence had been to search for this. Hyunwoo had brought a promotional post for another restaurant with the title of ‘hot spot’ and asked again.

What about this place, hyung?

Have you been here too?

They say it’s number 1 on the reservation app ranking for that area

Unfortunately, he’d already been there.

Yeah

With Mr. Cheon Namyeong too?

Yep

What would a guy who just manages real estate do in his spare time? Thanks to Cheon Namyeong, who diligently darted around saying he had to patronize every new shop, he had unwillingly become a master of this neighborhood. Whatever he brought up would be a place he already knew, a taste he had already tried.

A few more attempts followed, and despite being rejected every single time, Hyunwoo showed no signs of giving up.

(Short video link)

Then what about here!

This time, it was a cafe. Of course, he’d been there.

Jooin, now finding it too bothersome to even reply, finally called Hyunwoo. Ring, ring— The call connected before even a single ring could finish.

It seemed he wasn’t the only one feeling frustrated, as Hyunwoo poured out his words so quickly it was hard to understand.

[Hyung, please don’t tell me you’ve been here too.]

A hollow laugh escaped him, finding the situation absurd.

“So you want me to lie?”

[Th-that’s not what I mean!]

Hyunwoo paused for a moment before starting to mumble.

[Jeez, that hyung must spend all his time looking at stuff like this. Does he have too much time on his hands?]

Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he continued to mutter.

[…Ah, he did say that.]

As Hyunwoo sighed as if the world were ending, Jooin let out a small laugh and opened his mouth.

“If you want to eat something delicious, you can just eat in your neighborhood. There are way more of those so-called hot places and popular restaurants there, so why insist on coming all the way here-.”

[Hyung.]

Hyunwoo cut him off firmly. Then, in a frustrated tone, he continued.

[I didn’t want to have to say this, but.]

“…What.”

[Don’t you have any sense? Do you think I’m doing this because I want to eat something delicious? I’m doing this to see your face, that’s what.]

He could hear heavy breathing over the speaker, as if he were angry.

[You said you’d do that thing too if I wanted, and whatever. How can it be, ugh, harder to have a meal together than to do… that thing? Damn it. Seriously.]

Jooin, who had been quietly listening to Hyunwoo’s mumbling, spoke nonchalantly, as if tossing out a comment.

“Then just come over.”

[Where.]

“You know. My place.”

At Jooin’s words, a gasp burst from the speaker.

[…Wow.]

Hyunwoo was silent for a moment. Jooin waited for his reaction, then quietly added.

“If you don’t want to, then never mind.”

Hyunwoo’s voice grew urgent.

[No, no. Wait a second. Hyung. Who said I don’t want to? I’m going, I’m going. I’m on my way now.]

“Good. When you leave, text me your ETA. I’m hanging up.”

Jooin replied nonchalantly, hung up before even hearing a response, and threw his phone onto the white mattress. Then he buried his face in his hands and sighed.

“Aah.”

A belated wave of regret washed over him. He had gotten swept up in it again.

“…Why did I invite him.”

Should he tell him not to come now?

A deep sigh escaped.

No, the water’s already been spilled.

After some thought, Jooin got up from his spot and headed to the refrigerator. He opened the door and looked inside, but he couldn’t see anything suitable to serve a guest.

👾🎮

Jooin pulled on a shirt, grabbed his wallet and keys, and slipped his feet into a pair of slippers.

Creaak.

Jooin went outside past the squeaky door, locked it, and gave it a shake. After confirming the door was securely locked, he went down to the first floor via the building’s internal staircase.

Just as he was pushing open the glass door of the commercial building, his eyes met with the director of the first-floor interior design office, who was coming out with a coffee cup.

“Oh, Mr. Jooin! It’s been a few days. Where are you headed?”

His name was Lee Youngmin. They had gotten to know each other after running into each other as often as twice a day because he came out for air so frequently it was doubtful whether he was actually working.

Was that all? After accepting his offer for a cup of coffee a few times, he had started blushing at some point, and it had been a few months since Jooin started secretly avoiding him.

Jooin stopped for a moment and answered.

“To the supermarket for a bit.”

“Ah, I see.”

The director’s expression as he nodded seemed unusually anxious, which Jooin found strange. Just then, the director looked around and gestured to Jooin, saying.

“Wait, could you come inside for a moment?”

After a moment of hesitation, Jooin followed behind Youngmin and took a step inside.