MAX 42

“Ah, it’s so hot…”

Unable to bear the heat, he got up and headed toward the kitchen. He intended to drink some water because his throat was parched.

However, someone had already taken over the kitchen. Seo Jaeyoon was making a huge fuss, having spread out all sorts of food on the dining table.

“Oh, JoJo. You’re finally up?”

“Yeah…”

He was vigorously blending something in a blender that Han Jiho didn’t even remember when they’d bought. He offered a morning greeting, and Han Jiho looked over the items on the table while letting out a wide yawn.

Kimchi stew with pork, Mediterranean salad, sushi, fruit, and even a mint chocolate frappuccino with a straw stuck in it.

A variety of foods from different countries were scattered about randomly without any consistency.

What a mess so early in the morning. Han Jiho let out a hollow laugh while stretching at the absurd sight.

“What’s all this? Did you order it all?”

“Yeah. I wanted to have brunch with you.”

“It looks like a bit much…”

Shaking his head at whatever whim had possessed his friend, Han Jiho headed to the refrigerator to get some water.

He opened the door to grab a bottle of water, but for some reason, the spot where the water should have been was empty. Instead, there was only a single, already opened can of beer—he had no idea when it had been put there—sitting lonely inside.

Did I not put any water in?

Retracing his memory for a moment, Han Jiho finally realized that the water Seo Jaeyoon drank at dawn was the last bottle. He felt a quiet surge of anger as he glared at the back of his one and only friend.

That son of a…

Thinking about the lack of water made his throat feel even drier. After looking around for a moment, Han Jiho had no choice but to take the mint chocolate frappuccino from the table and start drinking it.

The terribly sweet taste of chocolate syrup began to terrorize his newly awakened taste buds, but it was cold enough to make his head throb—perfect for cooling down the heat.

He had mindlessly finished about half of it when Seo Jaeyoon, who was coming over with a cup full of the blended mixture, suddenly screamed at him.

“Hey! Why are you eating that!”

“Why? Didn’t you leave it there to be eaten?”

“Dammit, I bought that for myself!”

“Ah, really?”

Huffing, Seo Jaeyoon strode over, set down the cup he was holding, and snatched away the frappuccino Han Jiho was holding.

He glared at the half-empty drink, grinding his teeth, then opened the lid and began to gulp it down in one go.

“Ugh…”

Seeing him frown as if he had a brain freeze, Han Jiho let out a sigh. He was really something else.

“What’s this?”

Regardless of whether Seo Jaeyoon was forcing the drink down or not, Han Jiho asked while staring at the reddish liquid in the glass. It looked strangely thick, more like a mass of solids softened by water than something drinkable. It looked like the kind of thing that would choke you to death if you ate it.

Having finally succeeded in finishing the drink, Seo Jaeyoon rubbed his temples as he answered.

“ABC juice. Drink up. It’s good for you. They say it flushes out all the toxins.”

Han Jiho had heard of it before. It was the same thing his mother used to blend and drink religiously after seeing it on TV.

He had tried it a few times back then, but for some reason, this looked very different from what he remembered.

The one his mother made looked healthy and had a clear color, whereas the one Seo Jaeyoon made was thicker and the color was murky. It looked like a poison made by mixing all sorts of toxic chemicals.

…Are you sure these were made with the same ingredients?

Feeling for some reason like he might die if he ate it, Han Jiho looked at Seo Jaeyoon with a suspicious face.

“It feels like more toxins will just build up.”

“Shut up and eat. There’s a lot of pulp, so just scoop it out with a spoon. It didn’t blend very well. Maybe the blender sucks.”

With a fierce glare, Seo Jaeyoon held out a spoon, and Han Jiho took it with a reluctant expression.

“I won’t die from eating this, right?”

“Do you want to eat and live, or just die?”

“I’ll enjoy the meal.”

Even so, he sat there with the spoon raised, staring down the juice for a long time. Just as he was about to admit defeat and take a bite—

Seo Jaeyoon, who was sitting opposite him wearing an apron, picked up a piece of eel sushi with his bare hands and asked:

“So, what exactly happened with Hepari? Tell me quickly. I’m dying of curiosity.”

Han Jiho let out a deep sigh the moment he heard those words. There were really many ways to make a person lose their appetite.

“Do we really have to talk about that now?”

“Yes. Why? I’m curious.”

After glaring at the shamelessly answering Seo Jaeyoon for a moment, Han Jiho scooped up the rest of the juice and frowned as he chewed the mushy pulp.

He didn’t know what the ratio was supposed to be, but it had a strong, astringent taste that reminded him of dirt. It was not at a level one could endure for the sake of health.

“Hey. Is this really ABC juice? You didn’t scoop up some dirt and blend it in, did you?”

“What are you talking about? Why would I put dirt in there? That’s ridiculous.”

“Try it yourself.”

“Man, after I went through the trouble of making it…”

Seo Jaeyoon, glaring irritably, took a large spoonful of the juice and immediately ran to the sink to spit it out.

“Uwaaaaaagh!”

The sound was incredibly loud. He sounded like someone gripping a toilet and throwing up because they couldn’t overcome a severe hangover.

“Good grief…”

Good for the body, my foot.

Since it looked harmful no matter how he viewed it, Han Jiho pushed the cup far away, grabbed some chopsticks, and started eating the salad. It was the perfect menu for someone whose appetite had vanished after eating something strange.

In the meantime, Seo Jaeyoon rinsed his mouth and returned to his chair. He looked like he had visited hell from just that one bite.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Ah, seriously, I thought I was eating mud.”

Wiping his wet chin, Seo Jaeyoon grumbled while glaring at the cup full of purple liquid. He seemed angry even though he was the one who made it.

“Dammit, did I get the ratio wrong…”

Watching him, Han Jiho clicked his tongue and pushed the eel and beef sushi toward Seo Jaeyoon. It was one of his favorite foods.

“I’ll eat that later, so stop glaring and just eat the sushi.”

“Why would you eat that? Just throw it away.”

“It’s a waste. Besides, you made it yourself.”

“Whoa…”

Perhaps because it was an unexpected comment, Seo Jaeyoon’s face flushed with emotion. But Han Jiho wasn’t finished.

“I have to get sick once from eating it so you won’t think of making it again next time.”

“Hey! Forget it. Just throw it away. See if I ever make it for you again.”

“Aw, why? I said I’d eat it.”

After bickering for a while, they finally threw it all away and began to eat a proper brunch. Because of that, the sink was a total mess.

“But why did you suddenly make that? Did you buy the ingredients too?”

“Yeah. I brought them yesterday, but I guess you didn’t see. My manager hyung gives me some sometimes because his wife makes it for him. I tried it and it felt like it was good for my health.”

At that, Han Jiho tilted his head in confusion.

“I couldn’t really tell…”

“Do you want to die? Anyway, I was going to try making it for myself, but then I thought of you.”

“Oh.”

“It was pitiful thinking of you stuck in the house all day playing games and eating delivery food.”

“…Tsk.”

The touching moment was shattered in just one second. Han Jiho, clicking his tongue with a displeased face, went back to eating the kimchi stew. He had already finished the salad.

Seo Jaeyoon continued talking while picking up a rakkyo instead of sushi.

“What am I going to do with our JoJo? He’s so pitiful. He has no one to take care of him except me. It would be soooooo nice if he had someone by his side.”

The words were suspiciously fishy. It felt like he was laying the groundwork for ‘a certain purpose.’

So, instead of answering, Han Jiho decided to just listen quietly. He could roughly guess what he was trying to say.

“So, what I’m saying is, by any chance, a blind da—”

“No.”

How can a person be so predictable?

“No, you don’t even know what I was going to sa—”

“I don’t want to.”

It wasn’t even worth listening to. After cutting him off twice and stating his refusal, Han Jiho set down his spoon and looked at Seo Jaeyoon.

Despite having been rejected countless times before, he still wore an expression that said he didn’t understand.

“I told you I don’t do things like that.”

“I know that, but this time it’s a really great person! Just meet her once. You can just think of it as meeting a friend. Pleaaaase.”

Hearing the nasally, whining voice, Han Jiho felt his appetite drop. The way he pointed his index finger and pretended to be pitiful was utterly loathsome.

“I don’t want to. I’m busy, I don’t have time to meet anyone.”

“Wait, you’re an unemployed guy who just plays games at home, what are you busy with?”

Give me a break, Seo Jaeyoon scoffed, then suddenly asked with a suspicious face.

“Hey. Tell me honestly. You aren’t seeing someone behind my back, are you? Huh?”

“What are you talking about, you crazy bastard.”

Han Jiho let out another hollow laugh at the ridiculous suspicion. But Seo Jaeyoon looked even more suspicious.

“It’s fishy. You know my intuition is good, right? Where did you meet? Don’t tell me you met in a game?”

“Ah, stop talking nonsense.”

Good intuition, my foot. He shook his head at Seo Jaeyoon’s sudden persistence.

“Let’s speak the truth and find the light, Jiho. How old is she? Is she the same age? What’s her name? Is she pretty? No way, is she in the same clan?”

While eating fruit and ignoring the shower of questions, Han Jiho suddenly thought of Chaehyun. It was because he was the only person among the gaming friends he met in EOE whose name and face he knew.