GBAS 67

At a loss for words, Jooin’s lips parted and closed. As the silence continued, Jooin, having finally come to his senses, lowered his head deeply and said.

“…Let’s just eat.”

Muttering like a sigh, Jooin speared a well-cooked carrot with his fork.

As only the clattering sound of silverware filled the space between the two, Hyunwoo, remembering something, tapped the floor to get Jooin’s attention.

“Hyung, by the way. I’ve been curious for a while, but you know that yellow person who comes every day? HoneyButter.”

“Yeah.”

“What on earth does that person give you?”

He had been curious all along. What was inside those gift boxes that the person who visited Jooin without fail every single day always gave him?

At Hyunwoo’s question, Jooin tapped the empty plate with his fork as if retracing his memories, then soon answered as if it were no big deal.

“Dolls.”

“Dolls?”

“Yeah, dolls. Rabbit dolls, bear dolls, cat dolls. Things like that.”

Dolls? For someone who he thought was extremely suspicious, with their daily persistence and the way they glared at him on sight, it was an overly ordinary gift.

Ha.

Hyunwoo, letting out a deflated breath, swallowed hard and asked again.

“Th-then what about the letters? What’s in the letters?”

At that, Jooin put down his silverware, his expression hardening as he spoke firmly.

“You’re not supposed to talk about things like that.”

“You must have received hundreds of them. Just one of them. Please?”

If it was just one out of hundreds, he could answer easily. Jooin averted his gaze, looked up at the night sky, and said.

“…They asked me to become that.”

“Become what?”

“That, you know, my name.”

“Your name, hyung?”

“Yeah.”

Hyunwoo looked strangely at Jooin, who uncharacteristically couldn’t meet his eyes, and then his eyes flew wide open as if he had been struck by lightning.

“Th-th-th-!” Hyunwoo, who stuttered, unable to get the words out, finally managed to spit out a complete sentence after a long moment.

“Th-they asked you to become their Jooin?”

That perverted bastard!

He almost threw his plate. What, what kind of person is this?

“Are they insane?”

He wanted to log into the game right now and question them just the same. Asking him to become their Jooin. What a perverted thing to say. It was beyond absurd. He couldn’t even close his mouth.

Unlike his horrified self, Baek Jooin’s attitude was completely nonchalant.

“What’s the big deal? It’s just something they say.”

“Hyung, no matter how you look at it, that’s not right.”

When Hyunwoo, his face crumpled in disgust, shook his head, Jooin glanced to the side, clicked his tongue, and continued.

“You wouldn’t know since you’ve never received them, but female fans are often like that. Asking me to be their Jooin, or asking why a country named after me doesn’t exist. They say things like that often.”

“Fan compliments, are you talking about something like that?”

“Yeah, right. That.”

Hyunwoo, who was staring intently at the nodding Jooin, shook his head.

He might not know about others, but he knew. That look in their eyes was definitely not something that would be satisfied with just that.

👾🎮

Hyunwoo, having finished the dishes, wiped his wet hands on the back of his shirt.

“Dishes are done!”

Hyunwoo swung open the refrigerator, took out a can of beer, and asked Jooin, who was sitting in front of the computer.

“Hyung, would you like a beer?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Hyunwoo, whose lips were about to pout again at Jooin who answered without even looking his way, sucked them in and closed the refrigerator door, then walked towards Jooin.

“Here you go.”

Hyunwoo handed over the beer can and peeked at the monitor screen Jooin was looking at.

“This is…”

While Jooin took the can and gulped down a few mouthfuls of the cold beer, Hyunwoo, who was staring intently at the screenshot uploaded in the post, reached out and grabbed the mouse.

“Looks like it was posted a while ago. Maybe because of this, they decided to stop talking about me. I don’t see anything.”

“That’s a relief.”

Hyunwoo used the mouse to check both the body of the post and the comments, then scrolled all the way down to check the username written at the top of the page.

‘chu03’

Having only seen it floating above their head, it didn’t quite match up seeing it like this. Chugongsam. It was the username of a fan who had been around long enough to be considered one of the two pillars alongside HoneyButter, in terms of years.

It was something that had passed by in an instant, yet they had captured it and even written a post about it. He felt sorry for not even considering that there might be a decent fan, as he had been so preoccupied with HoneyButter. Was their class Blaster? I should give them a stack of Elixirs or something when I see them later. Just as he was engraving the username in his mind with that thought.

Jooin, who had quickly finished a can of beer, crushed the can and asked.

“You’re sleeping over, right?”

What is this? Sensing something strange in the oddly slow tone, Hyunwoo was just blinking when Jooin whipped his body around and pointed to the middle of the mattress.

“That, you came here to use it, didn’t you.”

Jooin pointed to the condom box, all crumpled from being hidden in his back pocket, and let out a soft laugh. Hyunwoo, who was staring intently at his half-closed eyes, furrowed his brow and asked.

“Hyung, are you by any chance drunk?”

“No?”

“No, you are.”

If he really wasn’t drunk, his eyes should have been sharply focused, not curved into crescents, and the end of his sentence should have sounded final like a period, not inquisitive like a question mark.

To think he could be knocked out by just one can of beer.

Come to think of it, he didn’t think he had ever seen Jooin drink properly. All he could recall was the image of him always sipping water or soda.

Just as he was observing Jooin, who was nodding his head while leaning back against the floor chair, Jooin’s eyes flew open and he stood up. Hyunwoo, whose gaze had followed Jooin as he headed for the entrance, asked in a voice full of bewilderment.

“Wh-where are you going?”

Is he going for a smoke? Hyunwoo’s gaze, which was tracking Jooin’s movements with worried eyes, stopped at one place. The spot where Jooin’s steps had halted was in front of a two-tiered storage unit.

Next to a sleekly designed Bluetooth speaker, Jooin turned on the power of an old-looking audio device, squatted down on the spot, and then ran his index finger across the CD cases that filled the shelf right below. After a brief moment of deliberation, he pulled one of them out and stood up again.

Click-

Jooin placed two CDs inside the machine and fumbled with it to press the play button. A sound like something turning could be heard, and soon, a heavy saxophone sound blared from the speakers attached to both sides of the machine.

The 70s vintage-mood sound mixed with the static from the old speakers, creating a good synergy. It was a sound that, if you could touch it, would feel like the texture of rough paper. Finally, after adjusting the volume, Jooin took his hand away with a satisfied smile.

Jooin glanced at Hyunwoo, who was standing next to the computer desk, and started walking again. A few steps later, Jooin’s foot stepped on the edge of the mattress, and his body staggered greatly.

“Hyung!”

Hyunwoo, who had been watching Jooin with a nervous heart, finally threw his body forward.

“…Ugh.”

Hyunwoo, pinned under Jooin’s body, groaned in pain. It was because he had fallen on his back, absorbing the impact with his whole body. A plump, full can rolled near his head. It was a huge relief that it hadn’t been opened.

Hyunwoo took out the palm-sized box that was pinned under his back, tossed it carelessly to the edge of the bed, and busily checked Jooin’s condition.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

Hyunwoo, who had been prodding Jooin collapsed on top of him, grabbed his limp shoulders with both hands and shook him gently. Worry washed over him like a wave at Jooin’s unusually unresponsive state.

“Hyung, hyung!”

It was then.

“Ah, you’re so damn loud.”

Jooin, who had bitten down hard on Hyunwoo’s lips, muttered.

“Uh, I’m not sleeping. I said I’m not sleeping. I can just do it for you and then sleep, can’t I.”

Jooin, with half-lidded eyes, gazed intently at Hyunwoo and licked Hyunwoo’s lower lip, which was pinned beneath him. Even though this was their third kiss, Hyunwoo’s face, which showed no signs of getting used to it, flushed red. The black eyelashes above his half-closed, half-open eyes trembled precariously.

Jooin tilted his head to the opposite side and pushed the tip of his tongue between Hyunwoo’s lips. Jooin’s tongue, reaching a deeper place, languidly traced the moist mucous membrane inside Hyunwoo’s mouth. Their hot breaths mingled, and Hyunwoo’s Adam’s apple bobbed 크게 as he swallowed the saliva that had pooled in his mouth.

Jooin gently bit the lips glistening with saliva as if nipping at them, then pecked at the area around Hyunwoo’s mouth with small kisses. At the light touch that landed and lifted, desire steadily grew in Hyunwoo’s core.

Jooin’s movements grew slower and slower.

Just as Hyunwoo was looking up at Jooin, who was moving lazily on top of him, with an eager gaze, Jooin pressed his forehead against Hyunwoo’s and let out a breath, pooh. Then, as if deciding it wouldn’t work, he shook his head, causing their two noses to rub together messily.

“Hey, I’m so sleepy right now. Can we do this later?”

As Jooin mumbled, Hyunwoo let out a hollow laugh and bit down on his teeth. A strange light flashed in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Jooin’s shoulders.