LS 87

by Nilu

After gaming late into the night, drowsiness hit like a freight train. Moonhyuk, full of joy from all the praise he received from guildmates after their raid, was in a great mood.

After shutting down his computer, he naturally headed to the bathroom in the living room to shower, then walked into the dressing room. He hesitated, unsure where to place his floor mat, and ended up calling Dohee. Once Dohee pointed out where it should go, Moonhyuk neatly spread out the mat and slipped right into his blanket and pillow. All Dohee did was stand by the door and give verbal instructions.

Should I ask him to just sleep with me on my bed…? It’s not like the thought hadn’t crossed his mind. But Dohee was a realist, and he knew very well that in the relationship between Kwon Moonhyuk and Baek Dohee, he was the only one who felt this kind of longing. He hadn’t read Moonhyuk’s mind, but there were things in the world you didn’t need to be told to understand. To Kwon Moonhyuk, Baek Dohee was, at most, a precious friend – or maybe a favorite streamer. Nothing more, nothing less.

He thought he’d fall asleep instantly, but lying on his big bed, Dohee found himself blinking at the ceiling for a long time. He wasn’t usually someone who overthought things, but lately his head had been more crowded than usual, with thoughts of the Demon Hunter full clear, his relationship with Moonhyuk, his stream… everything tangled and noisy. Eventually, he sighed and closed his eyes. It was a particularly lonely night.

💎

When he opened his eyes, Moonhyuk was already gone. Dohee had wanted to feed him lunch and send him off to tutoring, but it seemed he’d gotten up early and left. It was only his second time staying over, so he probably didn’t want to make a fuss by waking the host. Dohee knew Moonhyuk wasn’t used to this, and yet, he couldn’t help but feel a little let down. He could’ve at least woken him so he could whip up a quick fried rice or something. Dohee thought maybe he should buy some cereal soon, for mornings like this.

That small feeling of disappointment melted away as soon as he saw the GameTalk messages Moonhyuk had left behind.

Knockoff

I woke up early… ㅠㅡㅠ

I slept really well but just woke up anyway!

Knockoff

Was worried you might think I couldn’t sleep… 8ㅅ8

Gonna study at the library for a bit then head to tutoring!!!

Knockoff

Um… is it okay if I come over again tonight to play games?

I want to make dinner for you today… ㅠㅡㅠ

Only if you’re okay with it!!

Knockoff

Anyway, eat a good lunch and have fun gaming!

Let me know if you need the OTP, I’ll send it ㅎㅁㅎ)/

Sorry if I spammed too much… is your phone blowing up? 8ㅅ8

Knockoff

Sleep well!!

Dohee laughed out loud. So damn cute. He brushed his fingers over the phone screen. Moonhyuk was unexpectedly thoughtful. Worrying Dohee might be concerned about him waking up early, asking if he could make dinner but checking first to see if Dohee would be okay with it, then fretting that he might’ve sent too many messages, it all came so naturally to him.

The kind of consideration that wouldn’t even cross Dohee’s mind, Moonhyuk did like breathing. And every time, Dohee was reminded just how differently they were raised, how different their personalities were.

Not that he disliked it. It was just… interesting. New. Dohee replied with a smile on his face. He hadn’t expected that a simple “Can I come over to game again tonight?” would make him this happy.

ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why’d you leave so early, hyung

Did you eat lunch?

You don’t need to ask, just come over whenever

What do you want to make for dinner?

Can I trust you though?? ㅋㅋ

There’s not much left at home

Wanna go grocery shopping after tutoring? There’s a mart nearby

If there’s cereal you like, let’s grab some too

You can have it in the morning when I oversleep ㅋㅋ

Maybe he was at the library, because Moonhyuk replied quickly. Well, unless he was working, Moonhyuk usually answered fast.

Knockoff

You can trust me… ㅠㅡㅠ

What does Dohee like!? ㅎㅁㅎ)/

Knockoff

I’ve lived alone for a while

So I can cook a bunch of stuff!!!

Moonhyuk still mostly spoke in formal speech, but he seemed to have gotten used to calling him “Dohee.” When they first met, he kept saying “AssaGo-nim” or “GoSupp-nim,” and it took some time to break that habit – but now he called him by name. Watching those little changes in Moonhyuk was one of Dohee’s quiet joys.

Still, seeing that confident reply, Dohee couldn’t help feeling a little mischievous.

Then… spicy noodles ?

Or braised pork belly? lol

Kinda craving Chinese food ㅋㅋ

Knockoff

Huh? 8ㅁ8

Ah…

I’m sorry… ㅠㅡㅠ

The apology came instantly. That “sorry” within one second had Dohee rolling on his bed, laughing.

I’m joking, hyung ㅋㅋㅋ

Then how about something simple like fried rice?

Knockoff

Sounds good!

I can make so many kinds of fried rice ㅎㅅㅎ

Knockoff

Um… there’s tofu fried rice

I just season it with salt and pepper! It’s light and has a lot of veggies

It’s really good with egg soup… ㅎㅁㅎ

That sounds delicious ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Then let’s go shopping after your tutoring session

Knockoff

Okay!!!

Dohee could practically see Moonhyuk bouncing with excitement on the other side of the chat. He must’ve felt a little bad about always being fed. Dohee hadn’t even let him do the dishes, so it might’ve been weighing on his mind. The only reason Dohee didn’t let him was because he had his own system for dish placement and cleanup, but maybe he needed to start compromising, if he wanted to ease Moonhyuk’s guilty conscience.

Oh, and Moonhyuk had set up OTP security the first day he came over. He must’ve really hated getting baited by that hack lie. Watching him fuss over setting up that OTP, Dohee had laughed so many times. The determined look in his eyes as he installed the app and typed in the password practically screamed I won’t be tricked again.

Dohee made some coffee and turned on the computer, naturally logging into Moonhyuk’s account. When the OTP prompt popped up, he couldn’t help but chuckle again. Because of the time limit, he called Moonhyuk via GameTalk. Come to think of it, he still didn’t have his phone number. He’d ask for it tonight.

Moonhyuk answered in a quiet voice, probably stepping outside the library. His soft voice carried gently over the phone, and Dohee, enjoying the sound, ended up chatting longer than necessary, talking about the weather and such. Moonhyuk, of course, listened and responded to every word without a hint of annoyance.

After hanging up, Dohee focused on leveling up Knockoff’s character. Just in time, Yeojin logged in.

[System] Guild member ‘YeojinHae’ has logged in.

[Guild] YeojinHae: Behold, I have arrived

[Guild] PrettyHealerHyung: [WelcomeEmoji] Welcome, noona!! ㅎ3ㅎ

[Guild] YeojinHae: Aww, my Healer’s the best as always!

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: This is the chat of a dead human, ruined by a long night of grinding…

[Guild] YeojinHae: ? That’s it??

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: Everyone in this guild is inhuman…

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: You’re all seriously insane…

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: How does anyone even hit max level… what is max level… ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Guild] YeohooHae: lololol Back in my day~

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: Ugh, grandpa please ㅠㅠㅠㅁㅈ대ㅏㅈ듀ㅎㅈ다깆다으아아아ㅏㅏㅏ

[Guild] Tando: Haha, max level comes from grit and grind

[Guild] SiblingSpicyNoodle: Leveling is easier than upgrading gear lol

Apparently, even after the raid ended in the early morning, Yeojin had dragged them off for more grinding. Malrang sounded half-dead, but it couldn’t be helped. She was mostly focused on PvP anyway, if she didn’t level up like this, she might end up parked at level 130 forever.

Yeojin was pretty similar to Dohee in personality. She acted on impulse, but once she had a goal, she charged toward it with reckless focus. Lately, she seemed to be having fun whipping guild members into leveling. Frankly, that was a plus on Dohee’s end, higher guild ranking and all. He called Yeojin to join him as today’s hunting partner, fully confident she wouldn’t say no.

[Guild] GOingSupporter187: Yeojin-ah

[Guild] GOingSupporter187: Got time? Wanna grind now?

[Guild] YeojinHae: lol is that GoSupp?

[Guild] YeojinHae: I do have time… you wanna push that char’s level?

[Guild] GOingSupporter187: Yeah, Knockoff’s working now

[Guild] GOingSupporter187: So I’m gonna grind hard till he’s back

[Guild] GOingSupporter187: He’s about to hit 128, so after that

[Guild] GOingSupporter187: I think I can hit 130 after maintenance with some more raids and grind runs

[Guild] YeojinHae: RiceCake and our healer coming too?

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: [CryingEmoji] No pls spare me……

[Guild] GOingSupporter187: Lol don’t back down, be a man

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: I’m a woman you bastard!!!!!!

[Guild] PrettyHealerHyung: I’m in… noona! ^_ㅠ

[Guild] YeojinHae: So proud, lol. Let’s full buff and go grind

[Guild] YeojinHae: Tando, got any spare EXP potions?

[Guild] Tando: Yeah, I’ll mail some to IngSupp since it’s urgent

[Guild] Tando: Free for IngSupp ^^

[Guild] Tando: Everyone else, 1.2 million gold per potion please ㅎㅎ

[Guild] Tando: These mats are expensive~ ^^

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: Is it just me or is Tando starting to act like Daeyoung?? lol

[Guild] Tando: What a hurtful thing to say ㅎㅎ

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: Sigh… it’s gonna be a long day

Despite the grumbling, RiceCake dutifully sent out party invites. Dohee loaded up on EXP potions from Tando’s mail, activated the guild skill buff for 10% extra EXP, and set off toward the hunting ground with his party, determined to hit level 128 before dinner with Moonhyuk.

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