LS 47

There are many coincidences in the world. But Dohee never imagined he’d run into this kind of coincidence here.
An internet cafe not far from Hanguk University Station. A tall, well-built night-shift part-timer named Moonhyuk, whose voice sounded familiar, presumably working from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. And the coworker he shared his shift with was a woman.
Could coincidences like this really be common?

Wasn’t this about as rare as GoingSupporter himself stepping in to help GOingSupporter187 when he was being bullied, personally inviting him to the guild and taking him under his wing?

Dohee placed the ion drink on the counter, trying to calm his racing heart. The part-timer, who had been brewing coffee, turned toward him at the sound of movement. Their eyes met.

Dohee was 175cm (5’9) tall. Not especially tall by objective standards, but not short either. Yet even he had to look way up at the guy in front of him.

“Ah, should I ring that up for you?”

The man spoke first. Dohee nodded and handed over his card. The way he accepted it was cautious and gentle. Dohee quietly watched him go through the motions of the payment. Something felt strange.

Straight, thick eyebrows. So neatly shaped it was hard to believe he hadn’t done anything to them. A sharp, high-bridged nose with no curves and lips that looked like they were drawn on. The short haircut suited him well.
Then again, to pull off a short cut like that, you had to be ridiculously good-looking.

And his skin, so fair and flawless.
No piercings in his ears, no accessories except for one worn-looking leather watch. Underneath, he wore a white T-shirt with a plaid button-down thrown over it that looked like it came from a workwear catalog.

The man handed the card back.

“Here you go. All set.”

“…Thank you.”

Dohee looked at the hand returning his card. The nails were neatly trimmed, the fingers long and elegant. The joints were a little thick, but his hands were big enough that they didn’t look awkward. Dohee couldn’t help but fixate on the prominent bones.
They were the kind of hands anyone would want to hold, at least once.
He looked up. Their eyes met again.
The man gave a shy, awkward smile, the kind anyone could see was forced, yet he was still handsome.

So basically…Other than the fact that his outfit was tragic, there wasn’t a single thing about this part-timer that wasn’t attractive.

And yet…That’s Knockoff?

Dohee nearly laughed out loud in disbelief. Seriously? A guy who looked like this had trouble making friends?
He could just stand there doing nothing and people would probably flock to him. It’s not like he had a terrible personality, he was sweet to a fault, gullible to the point of getting scammed. Unbelievable. Even looking at him now, Dohee couldn’t reconcile the image.

That Knockoff who was always sending emojis like “8ㅅ8” and “ㅠㅡㅠ,”
Who’d go, “AssaGo-nim~ AssaGo-nim!”
Who always said, “Our GoSupp-nim~”
That Knockoff… was this Moonhyuk guy?

Seriously?

Dohee took his card and slowly opened his mouth.

“I think I’ve seen you before.”

“Ah… yes, um, gummies….”

“I remember. There was only the green one left.”

“Y-yes, yes.”

His reply came quickly, and the skin around his neck flushed red.
Seriously? With a personality like this, how did he even pull that whole “gummies gift” stunt?
You could sense the straight-boy energy radiating from 5,000 kilometers away.

But Dohee’s stayed calm, his mouth moved on its own.

“Same as before, and now too, I noticed…”

“…Ah, yeah?”

“You’re really tall.”

“Ah… yes, yes!”

“What’s your height, if you don’t mind me asking? I don’t have many tall people around me, so I can’t really tell.”

It was a random, maybe even weird question, but the guy answered without hesitation.

“Uh, I’m–”

But before he could finish, Dohee jumped in first.

“About 187cm? That sound right?”

“Oh! Yes, yes. That’s right. 187cm. How did you guess exactly…?”

His voice trailed into a murmur.
The exact same habit Knockoff had when they talked on GameTalk. Yeah, 187cm sounded right.

How’d he guess so accurately?

Because you told me.

Should he say something? Should he speak up? I’m Baek Dohee. I’m AssaGo.
If he said that… what kind of expression would the guy make?

For a brief moment, Dohee imagined it.
But instead of introducing himself, he quietly picked up the ion drink can.

“Just felt like it. Thanks.”

“Ah… uh, sure. Thank you.”

What are you thanking me for?

As Dohee turned away, he let out a small laugh. Now that he was thinking of him as Knockoff, everything clicked into place.
The stammering, the awkward glances, the familiar voice, it was all unmistakably him.

There were two reasons he didn’t reveal his identity right away.

First, a 0.5% chance that this guy wasn’t actually Knockoff.
Second, and more importantly, if he was Knockoff, and Dohee outed himself right here, the guy would probably freak out and fall over from shock.

That second reason carried the most weight. If Dohee suddenly said, “Hey, I’m AssaGo,”
Then judging by Knockoff’s usual behavior, he’d freeze, stammer, and completely shut down.
He might even forget how to talk.

Better to say something later. Maybe during a GameTalk chat or while playing together. Make it sound natural, so Knockoff wouldn’t panic and bolt.

If he did it that way, the next time they ran into each other here, maybe they could greet each other like it was nothing.

Dohee returned to his seat and looked over at the desk again.
The guy took a tray from the coworker and tidied up naturally.
Then he turned and resumed sorting out the coffee beans and cups.

Dohee picked up his phone.
He’d just thought of the most reliable way to confirm whether the guy was really Knockoff.

He opened GameTalk and sent a flurry of messages to Knockoff.

Me

Hey
This is random, but wanna try guessing a quiz?
Do you know what the most apologetic animal in the world is?

As the notifications went off, Dohee quietly watched the man.
Once he finished arranging the beans and cups, he turned back toward the front.
Then, right on cue, he pulled out his phone.
He was clearly trying not to smile as he rapidly typed something.

And then, Dohee’s phone buzzed.

Knockoff

…? 8ㅅ8
Don’t tell me… it’s what I’m thinking…?
Fakey
Oh… the sound…? 8ㅅ8¹Expected answer: “개미” (ant) because it sounds like “미안해” (I’m sorry) when you say it fast. Knockoff misinterpret “짭퉁이” (Knockoff) as the answer, thinking it sounds apologetic. “오… 소리…?” (“Oh… the sound…?”) Like, “Wait, is the answer hidden in how ‘짭퉁이’ sounds?”

A string of silly dad jokes.
Despite the crying emojis in his messages, the guy’s expression was genuinely cheerful.
Was that what he looked like while gaming too?

Dohee glanced at him, then without replying, tapped the call button in GameTalk. The dial tone rang out.

The man jolted, holding his phone.
He looked around, then said something to the coworker. They were too far away for Dohee to hear the words.

Then the guy put the phone to his ear with a look of hesitant determination. At the same moment, Dohee’s phone stopped ringing.

From the phone’s speaker, he heard, “Hello…?”
And he saw the man’s lips move in sync. He hung up without answering.
The man looked down at his phone with a confused expression.

Me

Ah

Wrong button lol

Knockoff

8ㅅ8…?

Is something wrong?

Seeing him so serious about just texting made Dohee laugh again.
He turned back to his phone.

Me

Nah

I just ran into an old friend I was happy to see,

but I must’ve tapped something by accident while saying hi.

You must be busy, get back to work lol

He lifted his gaze to look at the guy again. The guy tilted his head for a second, then started typing quickly once more.

Me

By the way, has anyone ever told you you’re kinda slow on the uptake? lol

Knockoff

8 ㅅ 8…?

Sometimes… I’ve heard that… ㅠㅡㅠ

Me

Yeah, I figured lol

Knockoff

ㅠㅡㅠ…? What?? Why all of a sudden?? Did I do something wrong…???

Me

Nah, nothing like that. It just randomly came to mind lol

Dohee had been about to set his phone down but changed his mind.
He sent one more message to Knockoff.

Just as he hit send, a call came in from Yeohoo. Dohee answered.

— Where are you?

“Uncle left already?”

— Just now… And yo! He brought a whole load of vitamins for you. You have to take them today… Get here fast, the house is a total wreck! Agh, Baek Yeojin still hasn’t come home! That bastard caught on that Dad was here! Total traitor… UWAHHH–!

“I’m nearby. I’ll be right there.”

Dohee shut down the computer and slowly stood up.
As he passed the front desk, the man stood up abruptly and gave a polite bow.
Dohee smiled and gave a small nod in return.
The guy looked completely stunned. What’s with that dumbfounded face now?

Dohee stepped out of the internet cafe.
He raised a hand to his chest.
His heart was pounding fast.

• 1
  Expected answer: “개미” (ant) because it sounds like “미안해” (I’m sorry) when you say it fast. Knockoff misinterpret “짭퉁이” (Knockoff) as the answer, thinking it sounds apologetic. “오… 소리…?” (“Oh… the sound…?”) Like, “Wait, is the answer hidden in how ‘짭퉁이’ sounds?”