LS 131

I’m so mad I can’t sleep.

Dohee was already on his fourth glass of cold water that felt like it could freeze his insides.

“Dohee…”

Moonhyuk, sitting across from him, cautiously called his name. Dohee had told him to go to bed, but even with drowsy eyes, Moonhyuk was still stubbornly sitting there. Dohee felt guilty seeing Moonhyuk trying so hard not to be a bother and wanted to go lie down just to ease his mind, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

And in the middle of all this, Dohee had even ordered food in case Moonhyuk was hungry. A pot of pork bone stew sat on the table, but Dohee couldn’t eat more than five spoonfuls. His insides were burning so badly he felt like he might literally die from the stress.

He didn’t even remember how he ended the stream. Everything went white when he heard that Xeno had gotten the full clear first, claimed the first-clear title, and topped the Adventurer’s Monument ranking. And when he found out it was all thanks to those bastard NGA’s bugs, he got a migraine so sharp it felt like someone was yanking the back of his head.

So this is what it feels like to be so angry you could die.

The emergency maintenance that was supposed to start at 5 a.m. and last two hours was now scheduled to run for six. Everyone in the Human guild agreed to wait and see how the devs would handle it.

But it’s not like screaming and swearing right now would change anything.

Even knowing that, Dohee felt like he was going to lose it, cursing in his head every five seconds.

He wanted to be the mature one, to calmly say, “Well, things happen. I’m sure NGA will handle it,” and go to bed like an adult.

But… damn it, “things happen”? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

They’re launching a raid they’ve spent over a year preparing for, and they can’t even catch a shitty bug like that?

They have the nerve to call themselves the number-one RPG? A god-tier game?

Screw that.

Bullshit.

I should’ve quit ages ago.

Actually, it was more like every three seconds he wanted to scream.

Dohee let out a long sigh.

He saw Moonhyuk flinch.

Okay, enough of this. If he was going to sulk, he should do it in his room. He couldn’t keep letting Moonhyuk walk on eggshells around him.

“Go get some sleep, hyung.”

“…What about you?”

“I’ll sleep too. Maintenance is six hours, and sitting here sighing isn’t going to change anything.”

He glanced at Moonhyuk’s eyebrows, drooping like a sad cartoon. Underneath them, those big shiny eyes were honestly beautiful. Watching him fidget, open his mouth and close it again, run his fingers over his lips, it actually made Dohee feel a little better.

Stupid things were still stupid, but Moonhyuk was still cute.

And maybe that’s why he was even angrier.

Goddamn it. They had trained this newbie up and taken him through the raid, and even though they cleared it, they couldn’t even call it a true full clear.

If anything, they should be handing those twitching fingers a trophy that says “Demon Hunter First Clear!”

What the hell is this bullshit?

Dohee pressed his fingers against his temples. He was hoping it might ease the migraine, but no luck.

“Um…”

Just as he furrowed his brow and focused all his attention on that acupressure point, Moonhyuk hesitantly spoke. Dohee lifted his head and looked at him. When their eyes met, Moonhyuk mouthed something again, his fingers twitching anxiously.

“Hmm?”

His head was pounding and his rage was boiling over, but Dohee turned to him kindly. After all, Moonhyuk hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d actually done an amazing job.

Dohee felt a pang of guilt for not giving him proper credit.

He lowered his hand from his temple and was about to speak when Moonhyuk beat him to it.

“Um, so…”

“So?”

“You were… really, really cool.”

“…Huh?”

His reply came out a beat too late.

Dohee had expected some comforting words, something like, It’s okay. But what came out instead was so unexpected that he didn’t know how to respond.

Moonhyuk’s eyes curved, forming perfect little crescent moons, sparkling so brightly Dohee instinctively squinted.

What the…?

“Earlier, the heading—uh, that’s what it’s called, right? Heading party? When you go in without looking at a guide…?”

“…Yeah.”

“It was my first time, and it was super hard, and my heart was pounding like I was running a marathon the whole time… But you were so! Incredibly! Cool…!”

“…?”

With both hands clasped together, Moonhyuk looked like he was reliving a dream.

It had been a long time since someone praised Dohee like this right to his face.

Watching Moonhyuk, who was purely and sincerely admiring him with no ulterior motive, Dohee didn’t know what to say. His palms started to feel itchy.

“Like, the way you figured out the mechanics was amazing… and did you know? When you’re focused–uh, when you’re really focused, your lips go straight like this. Usually the corners of your lips turn up a little, but when you’re focused, it tightens just right and it looks so cool… And then the light from the monitor hits your eyes and they just shine. It’s seriously cool. Also, when you’re thinking hard, your eyebrows scrunch together like this, and then when you figure it out, they move like this and you smile like this!”

Moonhyuk’s words sped up in excitement. He started mimicking Dohee, raising and lowering his eyebrows, pressing at his mouth, pinching his cheeks.

This wasn’t some bland, cliché comfort like ‘Good job, we’re the first clear party.’

This was…

“So when you smiled, I got so hyped I was like, ‘I have to survive!’”

“Hyung.”

“Then I worked even, huh? Yes?”

“Come here.”

“…What?”

“Come sit next to me for a sec.”

Dohee patted the spot beside him. The expensive sofa dipped under his hand.

Moonhyuk hesitated, then slowly got up and sat down beside him, hunched over.

They were still about 30cm apart. Dohee didn’t like that, so he moved in closer.

“Uh…”

Their bodies were now so close they were practically touching. Moonhyuk let out a flustered noise.

Dohee turned and sat sideways, facing him. Moonhyuk looked back, their eyes meeting and darting away, again and again.

He couldn’t keep his eyes still.

“Hyung.”

“Uh… yeah?”

“Do you really like me that much?”

“Yeah, yeah. Huh? Uh… yeah!?”

Moonhyuk shouted like he’d been caught off guard.

Dohee burst out laughing without meaning to.

His laughter filled the quiet living room.

His head was pounding and his gut felt like it was on fire, but now it all felt like it had vanished.

He felt totally fine.

“Come on, you were just as focused on the raid. When did you have time to watch all my facial expressions?”

“Uh, well… I mean…”

“I don’t know about other people, but me?”

“…Yeah?”

“I don’t observe people I’m not interested in. Why would I care about their expressions?”

There was no reply. Moonhyuk just stared at him in complete confusion.

So Dohee made up his mind.

He was going to indulge his selfish desire, just a little.

They didn’t get the full clear, but couldn’t he at least have this?

“You did great too. More than just pulling your weight, you were like ten people in one.”

“…So, uh…?”

Dohee looked at Moonhyuk, who had turned his head in his direction and was huddled in on himself like a frightened turtle.

He reached out and cupped Moonhyuk’s cheek.

His scrunched-up face looked a little silly, but not even slightly ugly.

Good-looking people were just good-looking, no matter what.

“This is a reward. For doing well.”

Dohee leaned forward. Moonhyuk’s face was slightly higher, so he had to stretch a bit, but it was worth it.

Moonhyuk’s eyes widened as far as they could go.

Dohee gently pressed his lips to Moonhyuk’s.

Moonhyuk didn’t even breathe. His lips trembled.

Dohee nearly opened his mouth and slipped in his tongue, but with Herculean restraint, he held back.

After a few seconds, he pulled away with a soft smack.

“When you do well, you get a kiss as a reward.”

Dohee smiled brightly at the frozen Moonhyuk, who looked like a statue.

“Okay, I’m gonna shower and sleep now. I’m really fine, so don’t worry about me. You sleep well too.”

He stood up quickly. He needed a shower, badly.

If he looked at that gorgeous face for even five more seconds, he might really lose it.

Just as he turned to leave, it happened.

“Wait…!”

Moonhyuk’s urgent voice rang out, and Dohee felt a warm, soft hand grab his wrist.

He looked down.

Moonhyuk’s large hand was holding his wrist loosely, like he wasn’t sure he should be doing it.

It wouldn’t take more than a second to shake it off.

Dohee lifted his gaze.

Their eyes met.

Moonhyuk’s face was bright red, like it might burst.

Honestly, Dohee hadn’t expected him to grab him like this.

Should I sit back down and kiss him again? Would he freak out if I used tongue? Has he ever even kissed anyone before? His hands are so hot, how hot would his mouth be?

A thousand thoughts swirled through Dohee’s head. His brain felt like mush.

But somehow, he managed to smile and ask,

“…Why?”