MAX 34

“…”

No way, he probably just asked because he was curious.

Though he didn’t feel great about it, Han Jiho tried his best to think that way as he read through Chaehyun’s chat.

[Whisper] cocogus2: Ah, that guy is really good at manipulating things like videos and chats.

[Whisper] cocogus2: So I’m going to save the video in advance.

[Whisper] cocogus2: Just in case haha

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Manipulation???

Manipulation.

Han Jiho frowned at the completely unexpected word.

No matter how much of a trashy person Hepari was, he was still a streamer who broadcasted with his face on the line.

But he would openly manipulate things?

Surely not.

But why did he have an ominous feeling that “surely not” would come back to bite him?

“…”

Han Jiho closed his eyes for a moment and raised his hand to rub his temples. His head had been throbbing ever since he encountered Hepari.

It was hard to believe, but Chaehyun wouldn’t be saying something like that for no reason. Hadn’t he also once suffered a headache due to Hepari’s ridiculous manipulations?

Chaehyun wasn’t doubting him right now. Rather, he was trying to help.

“Haa…”

Realizing this, Han Jiho let out another sigh.

He had played just one game, but he had ended up entangled in a troublesome mess.

Of course, he could just ignore something like being archived in a video, but if it were maliciously manipulated, the story would be different. To him, it was no different from past events repeating themselves.

Just how much more do I have to prove myself?

He had lived his life endlessly proving his existence and skill for the sole reason that he was better at games than others. That hadn’t changed even after he became a pro gamer, nor after he reached the pinnacle that countless people looked up to.

That was exactly why he had decided to retire.

And yet, in a game he started to enjoy lightly, this was happening again. Now, it wasn’t just tedious; it was getting to be disgusting.

[Whisper] cocogus2: Don’t worry too much.

[Whisper] cocogus2: If a problem comes up,

[Whisper] cocogus2: I’ll handle everything.

[Whisper] cocogus2: Just trust me lol

In the midst of that, Han Jiho let out a chuckle at Chaehyun’s chat, where he confidently proclaimed he would solve everything if a problem arose. He had no idea how he intended to solve it, but he was grateful just for him saying it.

But his words didn’t end there.

[Whisper] cocogus2: So even if other bastards talk sh*t,

[Whisper] cocogus2: don’t pay any attention to them.

[Whisper] cocogus2: You didn’t do anything wrong, 98-nim.

You didn’t do anything wrong.

Seeing that, an emotion he couldn’t easily explain in words pressed down on his chest. Until now, no one had ever said those words to him.

Perhaps that was why Han Jiho felt the headache that had been painfully tightening around his head gradually disappear. It was a strange thing.

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Thank you… hahahaha

[Whisper] HanJiHo98: Still, I hope nothing happens..

Please, let nothing happen.

Han Jiho, who was smiling while looking at the screen, let out a Hansum while earnestly wishing for that.

Three days had passed since that incident. It was also the third day he hadn’t logged into EoE.

During that time, Han Jiho went to work out out of habit, met Seo Jaeyoon who grumbled about being busy to death, and uploaded a new photo to his forgotten SNS. It was because of Seo Jaeyoon’s nagging about why he was neglecting it after making it.

I didn’t even make it. Even while grumbling like that out of absurdity, Han Jiho took a picture of his hand holding a glass of milk and uploaded it to In-byeol (Instagram). When he checked later, his follower count on In-byeol had surpassed one million.

Immediately after, as likes and comments began to pile up like crazy, a message arrived from Seo Jaeyoon: ‘Are you kidding me, seriously ㅡㅡ’. Apparently, he had been waiting until he uploaded a post.

Han Jiho sent a simple ‘🖕’ to that stalker-like friend, looked at the real-time increasing likes and comments with a slightly overwhelmed face for a moment, then turned off the screen and placed the phone face down. Since he had turned off the notifications long ago, the battery wouldn’t drain like before.

So, with a comfortable heart as if he had cleared a postponed homework assignment, he accessed an internet site to look up the latest news on Xenoforce, but…

“…”

For some reason, his head was completely filled with In-byeol. It was because a late-blooming curiosity had suddenly popped up and poked at his nerves.

Did Chaehyun-nim leave a comment this time, too?

Then, Han Jiho hurriedly shook his head.

Thinking about that person all of a sudden. I must be going crazy. He felt so embarrassed that his face flushed even though no one else was around.

So, he put the phone down as if throwing it and gulped down some cold milk. Thanks to that, the heat in his face seemed to calm down a bit, but his eyes were still fixed on the phone.

Why am I even curious about that? Is it because I haven’t seen him for a few days?

Han Jiho, who was biting his lip while asking himself, eventually couldn’t stand it and picked up the phone. Then, he cautiously unlocked it and clicked the speech bubble icon.

Even though only two minutes had passed since he posted the photo, the comments and likes had already surpassed three thousand.

gabiii__2000 miss you baby

drefsx Jiho-hyung, I’m good at being a milk shuttle

call_me_luke I AM STILL GAY TO ZIHOHYUNG

zeroo_day Ha, Jiho-hyung, I just f*cking love you

b_merong TOP 3 rude things people surprisingly don’t know: 1. Hello – How can I be “well” (An-nyeong) when Jiho-hyung isn’t by my side? 2. Have you eaten? – How can food go down when Jiho-hyung isn’t by my side? 3. Sleep well – How can I sleep when Jiho-hyung isn’t by my side?

yeonsoo_seo Show your face, Jiho-ya ㅠㅠ

ava_in_wonder missing: my husband JIHO❤

Countless comments written in all sorts of languages spread out before his eyes. Starting with words saying they missed him, various unique and funny “fangirl” comments were listed one after another.

Han Jiho, who let out a low laugh while seeing that, scrolled up the screen with a careful touch in case he accidentally liked something. Finding Chaehyun’s account among the real-time increasing comments was by no means an easy task.

He searched for a good while, about five minutes.

“Phew…”

Finally setting the phone down, Han Jiho massaged his stiff nape and leaned his head back.

Looking at the white ceiling where the ceiling fan was spinning, a sense of skepticism washed over him—why am I doing this? He felt like he had wasted his mental energy on something pointless.

“Let’s not care.”

Muttering to himself in a low voice, Han Jiho composed his mind while lightly cracking his neck here and there to stretch. Then, he stared blankly at the ceiling, and—

“Ah, geez.”

He sat up and picked up the phone again.

He thought he would check just one last time. If he couldn’t find it this time, he planned to give up cleanly. But in that short interval, the comments had already more than doubled.

Han Jiho let out a Hansum while seeing that.

jun.woo_p Hyung, are you making a comeback? Please comeback plsplsplsplspls

via_viva_vic Happy milk time ma babe

alliswell__ I want to go to Korea someday and meet you. I love you. I want to learn the Korean language and culture and marry you. Please wait until then.

Thinking he wouldn’t be able to find it this time either, he was scrolling through the comments when a familiar word suddenly caught Han Jiho’s eye.

It was Chaehyun’s account.

“What the…”

Han Jiho let out an exclamation with a stupid look on his face. Wondering if it was real, he even clicked the account to check. It really was Chaehyun.

Even so, Han Jiho couldn’t believe the fact that Chaehyun had really left a comment and that he had eventually found him.

But what he couldn’t believe even more was the content of the comment Chaehyun had written.

“…”

Did I see it wrong? Han Jiho raised his hand and rubbed his eyes, then read the comment he wrote calmly while squinting like someone with poor eyesight.

“Hyung, I like milk too… I-lub-u-mil-k (I love you)?”

Then, as he blinked for a moment, searching for the correlation between milk and ‘I-lub-u-milk’, Han Jiho’s face began to turn bright red.

“Cough!”

The bonus was that he choked even though he hadn’t eaten anything.

Han Jiho, who dropped his phone, covered his face while coughing loudly. He felt not only his neck and face, but even his eyeballs heating up. It was to the point where a few tears even pricked his eyes.

Wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes with a trembling hand, Han Jiho panted while looking at the phone that had fallen onto the sofa. On the screen, Chaehyun’s comment—which left a confession that was like a pun—was still there.

A milk emoji, clearly imitating him, and the red heart attached behind it.

It was clearly a “fangirl” type of remark that wasn’t much different from the comments other fans had written. But the moment he realized the one who wrote it was Chaehyun, strangely, he couldn’t dismiss it as simple fandom. It was something even he couldn’t easily understand.

“This is driving me crazy, seriously…”

Han Jiho eventually collapsed onto the sofa, letting out a laugh like an idiot.

Then, he grabbed a cushion—not knowing when it had fallen to the floor—hugged it to his chest, and buried his face in it. The tips of his ears, sticking out through his fluffy, disheveled short hair, were as red as Chaehyun’s heart.