LS 140

The guild chat had come alive for the first time in a while. Since most of the guild members were the kind of guys who logged in the moment they opened their eyes, the chat was usually dead quiet unless something urgent came up. They figured there was no need to message in chat when they’d be seeing each other in-game anyway. Honestly, even Dohee had forgotten the guild chat existed until the Demon Hunter raid.

Everyone was really on it from early Saturday morning. Dohee clicked his tongue as he skimmed through the noisy guild chat. Though, to be fair, he wasn’t really in a position to talk, he’d been at the salon since morning to touch up his grown-out roots. He’d decided to scrub himself clean and shine a little for once. Definitely not because of the guild meetup… it was just that his rearing roots and dry skin had started to bother him.

While the bleach sat on his head, Dohee dazedly thought of Moonhyuk. The guy didn’t seem to do any skincare or exercise, so how was his skin so smooth and flawless? It was ridiculous, his skin looked like a perfectly peeled egg. Some people were just born lucky.

Dohee lifted a hand and brushed his fingers over his face. With spring coming, the dryness felt even worse. He figured it was time to change his skincare appointments to once a week. He’d been slacking even though he’d already bought a membership, but now he really felt the urgency. It was probably because he was spending more time with Moonhyuk. Wanting to look good for someone you like, that’s something everyone in the world understands.

It was the day of the guild meetup. The others had left for the pension in the morning, but Dohee and Moonhyuk planned to arrive a bit later. Dohee would pick Moonhyuk up after his tutoring session, and they’d probably get there just before dinnertime. Since everyone was planning to stay until lunch the next day, being a bit late was no big deal.

Dohee saw in the guild chat that the guys were out shopping, saying barbecue and alcohol would be perfect for dinner. The template for these kinds of meetups never changed. He didn’t really care what they ate. His job, after all, would just be to keep an eye on how much alcohol Moonhyuk drank.

While he stepped away briefly to get shampooed, a message from Moonhyuk popped up in the chat:

Knockoff

I think I’ll be done around 4! 8ㅅ8

Dohee quickly replied:

Me

Come out front when you’re done.

I’ll match your timing.

Don’t wait outside if it’s cold.

Call me if you finish early.

He’d already dropped Moonhyuk off at his tutoring job before heading to the salon. He planned to swing by again once he was done. Moonhyuk had been flustered, saying he felt bad for making Dohee run around like that, but honestly, Dohee couldn’t understand what he was so sorry for. What was there to feel bad about?

To Dohee, it all felt natural. Dropping Moonhyuk off, picking him up, buying him good food, making sure he had a good place to study… None of it was hard. He had more time and freedom than Moonhyuk, so of course he was willing to do whatever he could. Someday, he hoped Moonhyuk would learn to accept those things without guilt. For now, it was still just Dohee’s own selfish wish.

He checked the clock nervously. He wished it were already five. He missed Moonhyuk again, just like that.

💎

They said it was the coldest cold snap in years. March was just around the corner, but snow was falling in some places and the ground was frozen stiff. The climate was seriously out of control. Moonhyuk, who was especially sensitive to the cold, was bundled up in a padded coat and scarf. But today, he was a little different, he was wearing a shirt Dohee had given him under the coat.

Last night, Dohee had suddenly handed him a shopping bag. A spring present, he’d said. Even though spring wasn’t even here yet, Moonhyuk had gotten a gift ahead of time. He tried to refuse at first, saying he didn’t need it, but Dohee said the tags were already off and it couldn’t be returned, so he ended up accepting it. Dohee mentioned he’d picked it out while passing through the department store because he thought it would look good on him.

The gift was a pair of dark indigo jeans with minimal washing and a light ivory sweatshirt. Dohee had made a point of telling him to wear a T-shirt underneath and even checked before they left the house to make sure he dressed properly.

Truthfully, the color and style were completely new to Moonhyuk. He felt awkward all day. Miji had gushed that it looked amazing on him the moment he took off his coat, but Moonhyuk just fidgeted with the ends of the sleeves throughout tutoring. The soft fabric still felt strange.

He thought maybe he should get Dohee a spring gift in return, but Dohee had shot that down immediately. He’d said he already had everything he wanted, so there was nothing he needed. Moonhyuk thought to himself, “Well… I didn’t need this either.” He didn’t say it out loud. The truth was, even if it made him feel weird, it also made him happy.

With his face buried in his scarf, Moonhyuk stood inside the apartment building entrance, playing with his phone. His session had ended ten minutes early. Dohee had told him to call, but he chose to wait quietly inside.

One of the things Moonhyuk had learned while living with Dohee was that Dohee had no concept of time. He never woke up at the same hour, never slept at a consistent time. Meal times were, at least, generally adjusted to match Moonhyuk’s. Even when Moonhyuk was the one who suggested gaming at 3 p.m., it usually took at least fifteen more minutes before Dohee would even turn on the computer.

He was impulsive and relaxed, he’d make plans and cancel them just because he didn’t feel like going. He’d say they were having kimchi stew for dinner and then randomly switch to pasta instead. Moonhyuk honestly couldn’t understand someone like that. But people are adaptable creatures. After living with Dohee for a bit, he’d gotten used to it.

Baek Dohee was like a rubber ball, full of bounce, you could never predict where he’d go next. Trying to understand him was pointless. It was easier to just accept that that’s how he was. From Moonhyuk’s perspective, someone who wrote out a daily to-do list every morning and organized his schedule in a notebook, Dohee was someone he’d never fully comprehend.

But there was one promise Dohee never broke, the promise to pick up Moonhyuk.

One day, Moonhyuk realized that Dohee had never once been late when he said he’d come to get him.

If anything, he came early. He’d never made Moonhyuk wait.

So Moonhyuk decided to wait quietly again today. He didn’t want to make Dohee feel bad by calling him. He’d be there soon anyway.

Even though it was the long-awaited day of the guild meetup, his heart still felt unsettled.

Lately, that had become the norm. It was like facing an unanswerable riddle.

Watching the numbers change on his phone screen, Moonhyuk let out a deep sigh.

Is this really okay?

If someone asked what “this” meant, he wouldn’t know how to answer. Just… everything.

So many things had changed so suddenly over the past few months.

Since starting Sword of God and meeting Dohee, Moonhyuk’s life had been swept away like in a whirlwind.

Without even realizing it, he was now living with Dohee.

It wasn’t something they’d officially declared, but looking at the outcome, that’s what had happened.

His lease was almost up anyway. He’d clean up and move out.

But… was that really okay?

A quiet, unease continued to grow in a corner of his heart. Dohee’s invitation to live together seemed sincere. And he didn’t hate it. No, he liked it.

That’s where Moonhyuk’s biggest dilemma began.

He’d been alone ever since his grandfather died. And he’d gotten used to it.

He never had money, so things like school membership trainings were luxuries he couldn’t afford.

His life had always been study and part-time jobs. Having someone around was a burden. So he gradually shut people out. Just getting through each day had taken all his energy.

Then Dohee had entered his life like a natural disaster. A force he couldn’t stop or control. The quiet life he’d carefully built crumbled apart. The thick walls he’d put up around himself collapsed. And the moment he realized he didn’t hate it, that he liked it, it felt like being struck by lightning.

He had no choice but to admit it: For the first time in his life, he’d fallen for someone. And that someone was Baek Dohee, a man. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t confused.

He thought about the hug, the kiss that barely touched his lips and then slipped away, dozens of times a day.

Whenever he saw Dohee’s face, he wanted to pout and ask for compliments.

Whenever Dohee sat next to him on the couch, casually scrolling on his phone, Moonhyuk had the sudden urge to hug him.

So he kept dodging, kept looking away, afraid his feelings might show. It was the first time he’d ever liked someone. And the fact that that someone was a man made it all the more confusing. He’d never even imagined it. And he didn’t know how Dohee felt.

Dohee had asked him to live together, took him to work every time, made him good meals, kept cereal stocked just for him, bought him clothes…

Moonhyuk knew Dohee didn’t do that for just anyone. Even someone as clueless as Kwon Moonhyuk couldn’t help wondering “maybe…?”

Because Dohee was kind. So kind that it really did feel like he might like him.

But Moonhyuk still hesitated. He knew he was being treated specially. But liked? He wasn’t sure. Dohee was handsome. Cool. Pretty. Well-dressed. Even if he didn’t think so himself, people liked Baek Dohee.

He had more friends than Moonhyuk. He had money, talent, and charm. Anyone who got to know Baek Dohee would fall for him. That was just a fact.

Would someone like Dohee really be satisfied with someone like Kwon Moonhyuk?

As Dohee’s car pulled into the apartment complex, Moonhyuk scuffed his shoes nervously.

He didn’t know what to do. But there was one thing he knew for certain:

“Hyung!”

That face smiling at him through the rolled-down window, he loved it more than anything in the world.