LS 25

Finding a gay guy by chance under the Korean sky is about as likely as stumbling upon a pearl in the desert. So Dohee had to try hard not to read too much into the little pack of gummies the part-timer had given him.

If this had been a gay club or a gay bar, it might have been a different story–but unfortunately, this was just a regular internet café in a college neighborhood. Dohee didn’t even like sweets that much, yet he found himself opening the gummies like he was in a trance. Despite being told the green ones were the tastiest, there was only one inside.

What kind of move is this supposed to be? Dohee thought, but he quickly forced himself to stop speculating and logged into SoGod. He chewed the poor, innocent gummy like it had personally offended him.

From Baek Dohee’s experience, it made no sense for women to just leave a guy that handsome (and seemingly kind) alone. He didn’t really know how to dress or carry himself, but with a face like that, no one would care. Odds were 99% he was straight. There was no way giving gummies meant anything special. Dohee was long past the point of getting excited just because some hot straight part-timer handed him candy.

But as if to mock him for trying to be rational, the part-timer gnawed away at his nerves all night. That sharp, tingling stare felt like it was actually setting fire to the top of his head. Dohee couldn’t take it anymore and finally called him out, only to get an absurd response.

He said he was staring because he thought Dohee was good-looking.

That part-timer, who looked like he had the most claim to the word “handsome” in all of Korea, had the nerve to say he was the one staring because Dohee was attractive. What even was this guy? Every time he opened his mouth, he blushed and stuttered. Was he just shy despite his looks, or was this all part of some convoluted flirtation attempt? Dohee couldn’t figure him out. He’d only gone to the internet café for some eye candy, and now he was left with this strange, unsettled feeling.

Anyway, lately Dohee had been busy chasing down the gutsy bastard who dared to scam people in SoGod. Every time he logged in, it was all-out war. Even the other guild members–who’d only heard about it secondhand–had gotten worked up over it, and things had escalated. It had actually been pretty fun. Word on the street was that someone had even posted about his revenge antics on a community forum after he put out a world chat hit order.

Dohee had snorted when he heard. So what?

It wasn’t his fault. If anything, he was just doing his duty as deputy guildmaster of Human, avenging one of his guildmates. Sure, the person being “avenged” didn’t know anything about it, but there were things in this world better left unknown.

But eventually, even Dohee grew bored of storming the PVP continent with his Assassin character. Lately, the guy who used to log in all the time was barely showing up, probably from getting beaten down so hard. And besides, that gorgeous, possibly-straight part-timer who kept glancing his way was way more interesting.

So Dohee ended up loitering in the internet café for hours, until midnight had long passed. Even when he left, the part-timer jumped up and bowed like his life depended on it, telling him to have a good night. On the way to the twins’ place, Dohee got annoyed all over again.

Seriously, what was that guy’s deal? He wasn’t even gay. Why the hell was he pulling stunts like that? So annoying. Dohee swore to himself that he was never going back there again.

He was repeating that resolution in his head when the electronic beep of a door lock echoed through the apartment. The Baek twins were finally back.

“Baek Doheeeee!”

“Hey, Dohee-chan~! We’re ho~me!”

They barreled through the entryway and down the hall, making a complete mess of it. Dohee, sprawled casually on the couch, watched them with a judging stare as they reeked of booze.

“You two really went for it.”

“Eh, we didn’t drink that much~ right, Yeohoo-chan?”

“Ugh, can you cut the anime voice already? But for real, we didn’t drink much. It just smells because we mixed stuff.”

“Yeah, when you two walked in, I seriously thought someone shoved an alcohol-soaked cotton ball up my nose.”

The twins stumbled toward the couch and flopped down like rag dolls. Even so, they’d brought coffee. Dohee snagged one and took a sip, then nudged Yeohoo’s shoulder with his foot.

“You’re seriously gonna game in that state? Just go to bed.”

“What are you talking about, Dohee-chan!! We’re finishing the rest of this week’s raids tonight! This coffee’s supposed to help with hangovers!”

“It’s true. It even said so on the bottle, ‘specially formulated for recovery’ or something!”

He couldn’t help but laugh.

“You guys are a disaster.”

“Hey–oh right. Did you hear?”

Yeohoo sat up, brushing Dohee’s foot off his shoulder. His eyes looked clear, so maybe he really hadn’t drunk that much. Still, what was with the stink?

“Hear what?”

“About IngSupp-chan!”

“Baek Yeojin, are you seriously sticking to this anime act tonight?”

“What, you little–?”

“What about that fake?”

“Ever since IngSupp-chan joined, the guild’s been having a blast. You logged off right after doing your quests yesterday, right? Well, he hit level 35 in the meantime.”

“Daeyeong offered to make him gear, and he totally turned him down.”

“Yeah, I saw that in chat. It was so cute! They were like, ‘AssaGo-nim said he’d craft me a set~’ Man, they looked like they were gonna die waiting for AssaGo-nim to log in. If he finds out you are GoSupp, he’s gonna pass out on the spot.”

“Don’t even open your mouth. Already level 35? Guess I’ll have to log in tonight and whip something up.”

“They log in a lot around dawn and in the morning, right? Only the dawn shift kids are hyped. They’re always losing it about giving IngSupp a bus ride.”

“If you keep spoiling them like that, they’re going to get used to it.”

“Hey, it’s always the newbies who’ve got it the best. Let it be. The guild members are so hyped they can’t help themselves.”

Yeojin waved a hand dismissively.

“They said they want them to hit level 50 for New Year’s and take IngSupp to Krunite.”

At Yeohoo’s words, Dohee raised an eyebrow. There were only about ten days left until the new year, what kind of bullshit was that?

Krunite was considered the first real step for newbies, it was a server raid in Sword of God. The game had two types of raids: server raids and world raids. Server raids were casual, not very difficult, and done with players on the same server. You could clear them twice a day, and they didn’t even take ten minutes, so old veterans did them half-heartedly like daily chores.

World raids, on the other hand, like the Corrupted Hana , the Sniw Witch, or the upcoming Lost Demon Hunter, had long playtimes and allowed players from any server to party up. They could only be cleared once a week and were far more difficult, with a level requirement of 80, while server raids started at 50.

Still, even server raids weren’t easy for beginners, that was the general consensus. Especially Krunite, which had the lowest entry level of 50. It was the training wheels of raiding, with basic gimmicks and boss patterns.

The idea of dragging along IngSupp, who’d only just taken their first steps, to that kind of raid after leveling them up at high speed was just absurd. More than anything, Dohee wondered whether IngSupp even had a say in the plan.

Thinking that far, Dohee shook his head. They probably had no idea what hitting level 50 even meant. If someone said “let’s go here,” they’d go, and if someone said “over there,” they’d follow, so it was safe to assume IngSupp’s opinion wasn’t even a factor.

No wonder their level was rising so fast even when Dohee wasn’t online. The guild members had clearly gotten way too into the whole “IngSupp Power-Leveling Project.” Dohee had added them to the guild to make sure they’d be well taken care of, but somehow, that thought left a strange feeling. Hard to put into words, but definitely not a good one. Kind of like leaving your kid at someone else’s house.

“They still can’t even run a basic support skill rotation, you know?”

“Then you teach them!”

“They’ll get sick if you cram too much content too fast.”

“Come on~ we leveled at this speed too.”

Like hell IngSupp and we are the same. This is literally their first game.

But Dohee kept that to himself. Whatever. It’d work out somehow. Just as he was reaching that chill conclusion, Yeojin suddenly lifted her head.

“Anyway, Baek Dohee.”

“Huh?”

“You know you haven’t said anything about quitting lately?”

Dohee tilted his head. Had he?

“Did I?”

“Yeah. Ever since you brought IngSupp into the guild, you haven’t said a thing about quitting.”

“…”

Now that he thought about it… maybe that was true. Instead of answering, Dohee just shrugged. Honestly, he was probably enjoying the “IngSupp Growth Arc” more than anyone. Not too long ago, he could’ve quit at any moment because nothing was fun anymore, but lately, he’d been thinking maybe there wasn’t any reason to quit just yet.

The rush of throwing together gear to keep up with IngSupp’s rapid leveling was fun. And watching them bumble their way through Sword of God unpredictably always made him laugh.

“Be real, you haven’t thought about quitting lately because you’re too busy raising IngSupp, right?”

“Mmm… well, it is fun.”

Dohee admitted it easily to Yeohoo’s question. Yeohoo scooted a little closer on the couch, and Dohee instinctively leaned back. The soft leather met his back. That gentle smile of Yeohoo’s, never a good sign. Dohee kicked lightly at his knee and spoke up.

“What is it?”

“Since you’re not quitting anyway, why not try a full clear of Demon Hunter?”

“Full clear?”

Even Yeoji leaned in, echoing the words like a chant. So this was why they’d invited him over to spend the night. Dohee snorted.

“Obviously…”

“Obviously?”

“Obviouslyyy~?”