LS 90

Anyway, the Demon Hunter update was scheduled for next week. Normally there wasn’t much going on right before a major update… but wasn’t this a bit much? Dohee was honestly speechless. Even by SoGod’s standards, this had to be one of the shortest patch notes he’d ever seen. Why even bother tweaking random NPC dialogue? It wasn’t even that awkward to begin with.

Still grumbling, Dohee dutifully logged into Sword of God. While waiting for the update to finish and the login screen to load, he peeked into his GameTalk chat. Even though they’d exchanged phone numbers last night, they were still using GameTalk out of habit. He knew he should reply to Moonhyuk, but his fingers hesitated. He didn’t want to come off as sulky toward Moonhyuk, who had just quietly slipped away in the morning. Of course, it made sense – weekends were over, and Moonhyuk had to study and prep for his part-time job – but that didn’t stop the tangled mess in his chest.

He just… wished Moonhyuk would stay here. He wanted him to bring over a bunch of clothes and fill up the dressing room. Even if he brought ten ugly plaid shirts, Dohee would hang them all up without complaint, because they’d be his. Dohee slowly started typing a reply to Moonhyuk. His fingers felt unusually sluggish today.

Me

Why’d you leave so early, hyung?

You could’ve stayed a bit longer.

…Actually, it would’ve been totally fine if he just stayed for good.

Me

Did you eat the cereal?

Next time, bring some study materials or your work stuff.

You can use the table to study comfortably here too, lol.

He kept his tone light, but honestly? Dohee hoped Moonhyuk wouldn’t take those words lightly. That message carried about 120% sincerity. Next time, he was going to insist that Moonhyuk bring everything and just hang out here to study. Staring at his phone for a moment, Dohee eventually turned back to the monitor. Since there was no immediate reply, Moonhyuk had either not arrived at the library yet, or he was already deep into his studies.

Before logging in with his main, GoSupp, Dohee decided to cycle through his mule characters. He needed to gather all the materials for crafting a level 130 gear set for Moonhyuk, who was about to hit 130 soon. This time, he planned to craft the equipment using GoSupp instead of AssaGo. AssaGo had the gear crafting mastery too, but GoSupp had a slightly higher chance at great success thanks to a limited-edition avatar that boosted those odds.

He’d used AssaGo before to hide that he was GoSupp, but not this time. He wanted to give Moonhyuk the absolute best gear possible, especially since he’d be taking it into the Demon Hunter raid.

He gathered all the support-exclusive gear crafting items he’d had piling up in storage. Not a single thing was missing. What kind of character has this many support-only materials just lying around? What a cursed class. Still, thanks to that, he’d be able to attempt multiple great success rolls without much trouble. When he finally logged in with his main, a few guild members were already online and greeted him.

[Guild] SiblingSpicyNoodle: Go-ha

[Guild] GOingSupporter: lol what

[Guild] SiblingSpicyNoodle: It means “Hi GoSupp” lol ** I heard it somewhere, thought it was funny

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: Bruh that’s so boomer, what era is that even from

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: Did you see today’s patch, GoSupp??

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: Shortest patch notes ever lololol

[Guild] YeohooHae: I think their conscience finally exploded lol

[Guild] GOingSupporter: Yeah, it was pretty bad

[Guild] SiblingSpicyNoodle: Is the sky scale drop rate increase real just because people +12’d their weapons? **

[Guild] SiblingSpicyNoodle: SoGod’s garbage as usual ㅡㅡ

[Guild] Tando: That’s just because you suck, O-jjam~ ^^

[Guild] SiblingSpicyNoodle: ??? Why am I the problem when the patch timing sucks?? ㅡㅡ ** unbelievable

[Guild] Tando: RNG (random number generator) is a skill too, you know ㅎㅎ

[Guild] YeohooHae: lol RIP Noodle’s gauntlets…

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: <Sky Gauntlet +7>: thanks for the skyborne scales~

[Guild] YeohooHae: lololololol

[Guild] Tando: lmao

[Guild] SiblingSpicyNoodle: ** You demons… are you even human?…

[Guild] GOingSupporter: lolololol

After chatting with the guild for a few minutes, Dohee’s phone buzzed on the desk. It was a reply from Moonhyuk.

Knockoff

Good morning! ㅎㅁㅎ)/

The cereal was delicious!

Your place is so warm and cozy… ㅠㅡㅠ

Knockoff

I’m not sure I’ll be able to focus on studying… 8ㅅ8

Dohee scratched his eyebrow, tapping his phone with his other hand. What kind of message was that? Isn’t warm and cozy supposed to be a good thing? There’s food, it’s warm, it’s peaceful. Isn’t my place a hundred times better than the library?

Me

Way better than the library lol

Being warm and cozy is a good thing

Knockoff

Yeah but… because of that, I can’t focus… ㅠㅡㅠ

And I feel like I’d distract you while you’re gaming… 8ㅅ8

Wait, what? How would you distract me when I’m the one gaming while you’re studying? Dohee snorted in disbelief. If there were a national competition for saying ridiculous things, Moonhyuk might actually take gold. He let out a deep sigh. Honestly, if he could say what he really wanted, he’d just tell him to come over again after work. They could play late into the night, sleep comfortably (Moonhyuk seemed to really like that mat in the dressing room), and enjoy a nice lunch tomorrow.

The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. Why did he keep going back to the library? What, did they smear honey on the seats or something? Why? He could just do everything here. Dohee would even make him iced chocolate. And here, he could play whenever he wanted, all day long. So why wouldn’t he come unless Dohee specifically told him to? It’s not like he was going to get eaten or anything.

Once that train of thought left the station, all kinds of frustrations started bubbling up. Okay, sure, going home made sense. It’s his home. Maybe he wanted to shower in peace or change into a different plaid shirt (though Dohee did think, Why not just keep a whole lineup of them here?). But still, was it really necessary to run off to the library the moment he woke up? Would it hurt to at least say goodbye face-to-face before leaving?

Baek Dohee finally pressed a hand to his forehead and sent a reply to Moonhyuk. Honestly, he was whining like a pro. Am I really this pathetic just because I like someone? The thought even made him question his own dignity.

Me

Got it.

But you’re not bothering me, hyung, lol

Are you heading home today?

Even as he typed, his leg started bouncing with nerves.

Knockoff

8ㅅ8???

Then… should I just sleep at an internet café…?

Me

No lol

Do you have a lot to study?

Knockoff

A bit, yeah ㅠㅡㅠ…

There’s not much time left in the break.

I’ve actually been thinking about taking a leave of absence,

Knockoff

But I haven’t decided yet… 8ㅅ8

A leave of absence? That was music to his ears. Dear Lord in heaven (though Dohee wasn’t even religious), please let Kwon Moonhyuk take that leave of absence. With a prayer in his heart, he sent the most gentle reply he could manage.

Me

Thinking of taking a break?

Honestly, sounds like a good idea ㅎㅎ

Maybe you could rest a little.

And it’d be even better if you spent that time gaming all day with me. He didn’t add that part. At least for today, he decided he’d be a good person and endure being in this Moonhyuk-less apartment. He replied kindly to Moonhyuk’s uncertain message, saying he should take his time to think it over. He might be desperate inside, but he wasn’t going to show it.

💎

Patience didn’t last long. That night, Dohee ended up gaming with Moonhyuk over GameTalk voice chat. It hadn’t been that long since they’d done this, but everything about it was bothering him this time. Even in the middle of the night, the internet café wasn’t completely quiet, every bit of background noise got on his nerves. The café owner kept calling out to Moonhyuk now and then, and that annoyed him too. But the final straw came when he heard that guy handing Moonhyuk a chocolate drink.

That was it. Dohee couldn’t hold it in anymore and practically stayed up all night. He barely got two hours of sleep, and when he stumbled into the bathroom, the dark circles under his eyes were ridiculous. He massaged his eyes with a frozen spoon, pressed all over his face to get the blood flowing. Just when Moonhyuk messaged him, cheerfully saying “Heading to the library!” after a full night’s sleep, Dohee shot to his feet.

He got ready as fast as he could and left the house. When he pulled the car out of the garage, there wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his hands. He drove straight to the parking lot near the front gate of Hanguk University and parked with a sigh. I don’t know if this is the right thing to do. But the irritation and anxiety inside him were too much to ignore. He’d always thought he had decent patience, but apparently not. With that settled, Dohee picked up his phone and called Moonhyuk.

— “Oh, Dohee?”

Moonhyuk’s voice was quiet, probably because he’d just stepped outside the library. Dohee kept his tone calm.

“I’m outside the library, hyung.”

— “Ah… yeah! I just stepped out to answer your call.”

“Did you eat lunch yet?”

— “Not yet… I was gonna eat a little later. I’m not super hungry yet…”

“Then, hyung.”

— “Yeah?”

“Come out to the front gate.”

— “Uh, what? Right now?”

“Yeah. Let’s go eat.”

— “Wait… like, right now? To the gate?”

Moonhyuk asked again, clearly flustered. Dohee could only press his forehead to the steering wheel. What are you doing, Baek Dohee? But no matter what he was thinking, his mouth moved on its own.

“Yeah. I’m already here.”

Silence from the other end. Moonhyuk was obviously caught off guard. Of course he was – who just shows up unannounced on a Tuesday afternoon and says, Let’s go eat lunch? Still resting his head on the wheel, Dohee decided: screw it. If he was going this far, might as well lean into it.

“Hurry up, hyung. I missed you.”