LS 24

You could technically see what programs each customer was running from the desk, but last time, Moonhyuk had been too busy preparing for tutoring to check what the man was doing. Had he been playing SoGod back then, too?

The uneasy feeling that had already been stirring in his chest grew even stranger. The moment he realized the man was playing Sword of God, Moonhyuk’s heart started beating faster. He accepted the man’s card, glanced at the monitor, and then looked back at him. Their eyes met. The man gave him a look, slightly puzzled, like he was wondering why Moonhyuk hadn’t walked away yet.

Seeing the man’s face head-on again, Moonhyuk was certain: he really did look strikingly like GOingSupporter’s character. That much was beyond question. Moonhyuk had watched that video over and over again.

The weirdest part wasn’t that they looked exactly alike or that the man looked like a 3D-rendered character, it was that at a glance, you couldn’t quite tell. Does he look like him? Maybe not? It was uncertain… but if you imagined the character’s face next to his, they overlapped. So subtly. So precisely. That odd resemblance was so uncanny that Moonhyuk couldn’t take his eyes off him.

“Do you have something to say?”

The man’s voice reached him while Moonhyuk was still dumbly staring at his face. What the hell are you doing, Kwon Moonhyuk? Even as he scolded himself for being rude, he couldn’t pull himself together. Was he just imagining it? Was he so obsessed with the game now that even the man’s voice started to sound like GoSupp-nim’s?

You’ve really lost it, Kwon Moonhyuk. You’ve completely gone off the deep end over this game!

Moonhyuk blinked. The man’s large eyes stared straight back at him. Every time he blinked, his long lashes fluttered like fans. Moonhyuk swallowed without meaning to. His head was spinning. His grip on the card tightened.

He opened his mouth hesitantly, and finally forced out a word.

“Ah… no, no. Um–this! Would you like this?”

He quickly dropped the small gummies packet next to the coffee. It had been sitting on the tray awkwardly this whole time. Moonhyuk had brought it for himself but now shoved it forward in a flustered panic.

“Just, um, I’m giving it to you! The green ones taste really good!”

His voice was a mess, and so were his words, but he didn’t have the mental bandwidth to care. Moonhyuk rushed back to the desk and processed the payment for the iced americano using the man’s card. Behind him, he heard soft laughter.

He asked Soohui to return the card. His face was burning so badly, he couldn’t bring himself to go back over there. Soohui, on the other hand, practically skipped over to return it, full of giddy energy.

“Wow, he’s even hotter up close.”

“…Y-yeah.”

“Okay, I’m off now! Fighting today too, oppa~!”

“Yeah, get home safe.”

“See you tomorrow!”

As soon as it hit ten, Soohui escaped the internet café like she’d been waiting for the moment. Apparently even one of the best-looking guys she’d ever seen wasn’t enough to keep her from leaving on the dot. Only after Soohui disappeared like the wind did Moonhyuk finally start to calm down.

Station 77, where the man was sitting, was in perfect view from the front desk. The monitor itself wasn’t visible, but if Moonhyuk leaned just a little, he could easily see the man’s face. After ten, when the teenage customers all cleared out at once, the café quieted down. The man was still at 77, gaming away.

Moonhyuk knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t stop fidgeting, couldn’t keep still. Even while he cleaned up the tables the group had left behind, he kept sneaking glances at the man. Now that he knew the guy was playing SoGod, his curiosity was only growing. He couldn’t see the screen from here, but the man’s face was in full view.

“Excuse me.”

It happened while Moonhyuk was cleaning a seat across the aisle from him. The man lifted his head slightly and spoke. At first, Moonhyuk didn’t realize the man was talking to him.

“You. Over there.”

The man chuckled when Moonhyuk looked around, confused. Moonhyuk’s face flushed hot with embarrassment. He adjusted the tray in his hands and scratched his brow with the other, unsure why the man had called him. Blinking rapidly, he hesitated, then finally answered.

“…Yes?”

“Did you maybe have something you wanted to say to me?”

“…Huh!?”

His heart pounded all over again. You can’t just ask someone that out of nowhere! What am I supposed to say!?

He hadn’t exactly meant to say anything, but it was true he’d been staring. Now, flustered and fidgeting like a dog who needed to pee, Moonhyuk shuffled on the spot.

“Uh… n-no?”

“Then why do you keep looking at me?”

“Me!?”

“You’re not? Felt like you kept staring. What, are you wondering if I liked the gummies?”

The man grinned wide. And in that moment, Moonhyuk had the stupidest thought: Was the lighting in here always this bright?

“Ah…”

“There was only one green one.”

“Uh, ah–would… would you like another?”

“No thanks. So you really don’t have anything to say? You weren’t staring?”

“Ah… I just…”

“Just?”

“It’s just that you’re so, so handsome… I couldn’t help staring. I’m sorry.”

Moonhyuk bowed deeply. He nearly hit his forehead on the monitor. Startled, he jerked his head up to find the man staring at him with a baffled expression.

He must’ve… been offended, right? Yeah?

Moonhyuk glanced around nervously, watching the man’s reaction. With an exasperated scoff, the man finally spoke.

“You’re not messing with me, right?”

“…Huh!?”

“I mean, you’re the one who looks good. Have you seriously never been told that before?”

“Ah…”

He could feel the heat rising all the way up his neck. Moonhyuk hastily rubbed the back of it. He had heard it before, but always thought people were just being polite. He didn’t know how to respond. Flustered, he finally mumbled something.

“Ah… no, um… thank you…?”

He wished the earth would open up and swallow him whole.

His mind had gone blank. That was the dumbest answer he could’ve given, but he had no clue what else to say. Seeing how lost he looked, the man let out a bright laugh.

“Thanks for the compliment. Go do your thing. I won’t take up any more of your time.”

The man turned back to his monitor. Only then did Moonhyuk let out a long, silent sigh. He grabbed the tray and rushed back to the desk. He dropped into his seat and finally processed what had just happened.

What now… He definitely thinks I’m a weirdo, right? First I give him gummies out of nowhere, then I stare at him, tell him he’s handsome, stutter all over the place, almost slam my head into the monitor…

Moonhyuk ran a hand down his face. It was definitely winter, but he couldn’t stop feeling hot. He blankly stared at the screen of station 77, where the words “Guest – Sword of God running” were displayed.

Whatever. He just hoped the café would get a little quieter soon so he could boot up the game. If he started hunting or gathering, he’d forget this whole embarrassing moment in no time.

💎

The couch was soft and comfy, just the way he liked it. He was glad he’d recommended this brand when Yeohoo and Yeojin had been debating which one to buy. It was already well past midnight. In the living room of the Baek siblings’ empty home, Dohee lounged lazily across the sofa. He’d been watching NuTube on his phone earlier, and now he’d switched to watching a movie on TV.

The twins had invited him over for a night of gaming and chatting, but ironically, they were still out. They’d said they’d grab a drink and head back, but it seemed like they were taking their time. Not that Dohee had really expected them to come back early. The twins loved drinking, and when they were out, showing up late was just standard behavior.

He figured he’d go ahead and get to their place early since he knew the door code anyway. But the detour to the internet café had been completely impulsive. It was the same one he’d ended up waiting in before, back when Baek Yeohoo had dragged him along. As he passed by it again, it felt like something had pulled him in. Even as he walked through the doors, Dohee couldn’t believe what he was doing.

Baek Yeohoo’s house had three computers. Why come here? That’s what he’d thought at first, but the moment he laid eyes on the part-timer inside, all reason vanished from his head. The biggest reason he’d walked into that internet café again was simple: to maybe catch another glimpse of the hot part-timer’s face.

Beautiful things are worth seeing over and over again.

As a hopeless face-obsessed simp, Baek Dohee had no trouble justifying his actions.

He had worried a little while going down the stairs, he only knew the guy worked night shifts, but it wasn’t even 10 PM yet when he walked in. Thankfully, the part-timer must’ve started early. The moment he stepped inside, Dohee saw that gorgeous face again.

When he ordered an iced americano and sat down, he could see the guy getting up from the desk to make the coffee. He was so tall, it only took the tiniest glance to spot him. As the part-timer carefully approached with the tray, Dohee chuckled inwardly.

He was wearing the same light-wash jeans as before, and the same patterned flannel, just in a different color. Where the hell did he get that engineering student flannel in every color? Did he bulk order them? The thought was absurd, and it made Dohee shake his head.

Then, when the part-timer finally reached him and placed the coffee on the table, along with a tiny pack of gummies, Baek Dohee, the king of shamelessness, was momentarily taken aback.

—Just, um, I’m giving it to you! The green ones are tasty!

His cheeks turned red, and with that big frame of his, he managed to blurt out, “the green ones are tasty”…?

Dohee was floored. Seriously?

Also–why give gummies I didn’t even order?What kind of move is this supposed to be?