MAX 24

It was just after he had finished his workout and a shower, turning on his computer with a clean body and mind.

Habitually logging into EoE, Chaehyun opened his friend list and scanned the players who were online. Perhaps because it was still early, most were offline despite the list being full.

Of course, there were a few users logged in, but they weren’t the person Chaehyun wanted. He was looking for someone specific.

His dark eyes, sparkling in the sunlight, stared at the nickname floating at the very top of the list.

It was the newbie user he had met in the tutorial as if by fate and played with since then: ‘HanJiHo98’.

‘Why hasn’t he logged in?’

Chaehyun thought as he licked his dry lips.

Feeling guilty about failing to keep their promise last night, he had logged in early today determined to play together, but for some reason, the other man was still offline.

As he stared at the nickname grayed out, the excitement he had felt—imagining a whole day of pushing the campaign, doing ES, and Dimensional Clashes just the two of them—began to slowly subside.

Every plan he had envisioned was ruined. This was unexpected.

Could it be that he was staying offline on purpose because he was angry at Chaehyun for not keeping the promise yesterday?

In his disappointment, Chaehyun briefly entertained the thought. Of course, he knew it was a ridiculous idea.

However, the last image he had of HanJiHo98 yesterday was of him looking hurried, as if trying to avoid something, and it bothered him that it happened right after Chaehyun had logged in late.

Something that happened yesterday must have made him uncomfortable.

And Chaehyun vaguely guessed that there was a high probability he was the one who caused it. He didn’t know why, but he just had a feeling. Come to think of it, HanJiHo98’s attitude toward him seemed strangely cold.

“Was I too aggressive…?”

Chaehyun rubbed his chin, reflecting on the past few days. But no matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t think he had been aggressive enough to make the other man feel burdened. At least, that was what he thought.

“…”

Wait, was I?

Now that he thought about it, he remembered the clan members cursing, saying they felt like throwing up or asking if he’d swallowed cooking oil for dinner every time he spoke to HanJiHo98.

At the time, he had ignored them and pretended not to hear, but honestly, he felt it was a bit unfair. He was just looking out for HanJiHo98 so he wouldn’t feel left out or uncomfortable.

Of course, he had never taken care of other people like that, but well, wasn’t that his own prerogative?

Besides, if those guys wanted to be taken care of, they should play as well as HanJiHo98. They aren’t even good, so why do they keep acting up? Seriously.

Chaehyun grumbled internally. In truth, HanJiHo98 was the best player he had ever seen. No, beyond just being good, he was practically a genius.

It might sound funny, but every single movement was precise, as if measured with a ruler, without a single wasted motion or error. He was clearly a newbie trying EoE for the first time, yet his movements and skills were like someone who had spent their entire life playing nothing but FPS games.

Outstanding situational awareness, judgment, reflexes, and sense. On top of that, a powerful carry ability that wasn’t restricted by position.

HanJiHo98’s playstyle resembled Jiho hyung in many ways.

That’s why he liked him. As expected of someone who likes Jiho hyung. There was nothing lacking, nothing he didn’t like. He felt like he could play games with him for the rest of his life.

Of course, the person he wanted to be with the most was Jiho hyung, but Chaehyun was a realistic otaku who knew how to distinguish between reality and delusion. Spending his life with Jiho hyung was a dream that could never come true.

Anyway, for those reasons, Chaehyun found himself constantly drawn to HanJiHo98. This was the first time he’d been interested in a man since Jiho hyung.

Ah, but that didn’t mean he had romantic or sexual interest in HanJiHo98 like he did for Jiho hyung.

It was, how should he put it? A kind of kinship, a sense of satisfaction, and curiosity. Chaehyun wanted to become close friends with him.

But what would be the point of all this if he didn’t log in?

Feeling his mood drop sharply, Chaehyun stared blankly at the nickname ‘HanJiHo98’. When he sighed and checked the clock, it was just past 3 o’clock.

Let’s just wait for now.

With that thought, he pulled out his phone.

He was getting hungry since he’d missed lunch while working out. He was scrolling through a delivery app to order a poke bowl for a late lunch when a DM suddenly arrived from 1Jiho.

drefsx

Hyung, are you crazy?

Did you see this????????????

What did he see this time to make such a fuss?

Frowning slightly, Chaehyun checked the message without a shred of expectation. It wasn’t the first or second time 1Jiho had made a scene over something trivial like this.

However, at the message that followed, Chaehyun blinked like a fool.

drefsx

Jiho hyung got an In-star

@theziho

FUCK finally

Jiho hyung. In-star.

Those two words, which he had never thought to connect, pierced Chaehyun’s eyes. It was so absurd and unbelievable that he even suspected it might be one of those phishing messages popular these days.

However, the link 1Jiho sent was definitely someone’s account. And under the ID ‘theziho’, the name ‘Han Jiho’ was clearly written in the profile description.

Chaehyun frowned upon seeing it. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like an impersonator. He clicked the ID, intending to report it immediately if it turned out to be fake.

But the moment he saw a photo on the feed…

Chaehyun stopped breathing. In the photo, Jiho hyung was smiling cutely while holding a doll that was just as cute as he was.

(Photo)

theziho Hello. I am Han Jiho. I am doing well. Stay healthy.

“…”

I have to save this.

Staring blankly at the photo as if he’d lost his soul, Chaehyun quickly ran a shortcut to save the image.

After that, he enlarged parts of the photo to examine every detail of Jiho hyung. Jiho hyung was famous for not revealing his private life, so candid photos like this were not easy to come by.

Unlike the day he saw him at the salad shop, Jiho hyung in the photo was wearing a loose-fitting white short-sleeved T-shirt and black training pants. Judging by the logo visible at a glance, it seemed to be the same sports brand that Chaehyun often wore.

‘We have matching items.’

Chaehyun grinned at the coincidental match.

They weren’t the exact same clothes, but that actually made him feel better. Chaehyun preferred a “similar look” over wearing identical twin outfits. It felt more… realistic?

And the doll in his hand looked like a famous cat doll, but peculiarly, it was doing a hula dance. He didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like a limited edition product.

Memorizing the brand of the training gear and the cat doll, Chaehyun moved his gaze and slowly scanned Jiho hyung’s body from the bottom up.

The first thing he saw was the faint line of his waist revealed under the oversized T-shirt. Chaehyun stared at it intensely, as if he could see what was beyond it if he just kept looking. Now, as in the past, a firm waist tracing a nice line was subtly asserting its presence under the T-shirt.

Moving his gaze a bit higher, he saw a thick chest and broad shoulders compared to the waist. It seemed he had been working out hard since his retirement, as his body looked even better than during his active days as a player.

Chaehyun moistened his lips and swallowed hard. Thank goodness. A man really needed a strong waist.

In addition, his forearms, revealed beneath the wide and long sleeves, boasted clear muscles, and the veins faintly showing above them extended to his hands, exuding a masculine charm. The large hands that used to hold a keyboard and mouse were now fiddling with the soft doll, showing off well-proportioned joints and long fingers. His hands were so large that the doll was almost entirely hidden.

And that wasn’t all. Chaehyun couldn’t take his eyes off the slightly awkward, shy smile. When those eyes—manly and straight without double eyelids—curved into a smile, it felt as if his own hardened heart was softening and curving along with them.

“Ah. He’s seriously handsome.”

Dark eyebrows as if drawn with ink, a straight bridge of the nose, a sturdy jaw, and lips flushed with a reddish tint.

Chaehyun, having scanned every inch, muttered those words and licked his lips. He had only looked at Jiho hyung’s face, but for some reason, he felt famished. He felt like he needed to order that poke bowl right away.

But before that, he liked the post, followed the account, and then tapped on the comment section to type on his keypad. On this monumental first day of Jiho hyung opening his In-star, he wanted to leave his mark.

10_cogus_10 Hyung, I really miss you… I love you.