LS 62

This is a lie.

Staring at Dohee sitting across from him, Moonhyuk was in denial of reality.

He couldn’t even remember how he ended up ordering hot chocolate and sitting in that seat. His mind felt like it had burned to a crisp. White steam curled up from the mug on the wooden coaster. Moonhyuk gripped the handle, desperately trying to hold on to his sanity. His mouth was parched, but he couldn’t even take a sip. He just wasn’t in the right state for it.

“Isn’t it hot?”

That was the first question that managed to slip into Moonhyuk’s ear after he barely came to his senses.

“Ah… Uh, what?”

“You’re still wearing your coat. And your scarf.”

Only then did Moonhyuk realize that he was still bundled up in his padded coat and scarf, sitting there like a chubby penguin clinging pathetically to the hot mug handle.

“Ah, oh! Yeah. I should, I’ll take it off now.”

As Moonhyuk fumbled to untangle his scarf and peel off his coat to lay it on the seat beside him, Dohee just watched him quietly.

“I wasn’t saying you had to take it off right this second.”

Dohee’s quiet mumble didn’t reach Moonhyuk’s ears, too consumed by nerves.

“You’re wearing that shirt again.”

“Huh?”

“The checkered one.”

“Ah… It’s just my favorite…”

“I can tell.”

A brief silence hung between them. Moonhyuk stared blankly at Dohee’s face. So…

“S-so, um… AssaGo-nim?”

“Yes?”

“You’re the customer?”

“I’m Dohee.”

“Do… Dohee?”

“Yep.”

This was clearly real, yet his vision was spinning. He was experiencing cognitive dissonance. The customer who sometimes came into the internet cafe, the one he’d given gummies to and blurted out “the green ones taste better!” to–the one he confessed to staring at because he was too good-looking… That customer… was AssaGo? That was Baek Dohee? That was the person he was supposed to meet today–AssaGo-nim?

Moonhyuk now fully understood the phrase “soul leaving the body.” He really felt like he might pass out. Actually, maybe he already had.

While he sat there completely spaced out, Dohee remained perfectly composed. In fact, he even looked like he was having fun. He sipped his iced Americano and smiled at him. And every time he smiled, it was like something from a movie, everything around him seemed to sparkle. Maybe it was just because of his bright hair, Moonhyuk thought, still reeling.

“You seem really surprised.”

“Ah…”

“Well, I was surprised too.”

“Liar!”

The words flew out before he could stop them. Moonhyuk instinctively slapped his hand over his mouth. Dohee chuckled softly, clearly amused.

Moonhyuk added in a small voice, “…You weren’t surprised…”

“Not now. The first time I saw you, hyung.”

“Wh-when? I mean… you knew? AssaGo-nim was…”

“Dohee.”

“R-right, Dohee?”

“Mm-hm.”

“B-but how?”

“When I went to the internet cafe a little while ago.”

Moonhyuk blinked. The last time that customer came… It must’ve been the day he finished the quest and was carried by the guild’s members. Now that he thought about it, he remembered their conversation while buying an ion drink.

“You’re really tall.”

“Can I ask how tall you are? I don’t really have tall people around me, so it’s hard to tell.”

“About 187 cm? Maybe around there?”

“I figured as much.”

Which meant… those were all things he said after recognizing who Moonhyuk was.

“Ah…”

“One of your coworkers called you Moonhyuk-oppa while I was heading to the smoking room. I overheard it. And it just stuck in my head.”

Dohee shrugged. The green sweater moved fluidly along his body as he did. It wasn’t anything special, but Moonhyuk couldn’t take his eyes off him, he just blankly stared at Dohee’s every move.

“Once I heard your name, I noticed you were tall. You’ve mentioned it often. Said you were 187 cm.”

“…”

“You’re tall, live near Hanguk Univ. Station, work night shifts at the internet cafe, your coworker’s a woman… After all that, there’s no way I couldn’t figure it out. And your name’s Moonhyuk.”

Why the hell did I give him those gummies?

That was the only thought running through Moonhyuk’s head as he listened to Dohee talk. Was I actually insane? Seriously, why did I give it to him that day? Why did I say green was the tastiest? Why did I blurt out something as dumb as “I looked at you because you’re good-looking”?

Please.

Can I turn back time?

“At first I was shocked, then I got a little disappointed because you didn’t recognize my voice. And then… I was glad. Honestly, I thought about saying something right then, but I was worried you’d be too surprised.”

Moonhyuk suddenly remembered the message Dohee sent him on game chat:

– But hey,

– Have you never been told you’re slow on the uptake? lol

“Ah…”

“See? Even now, you can’t say a single proper sentence. Sitting there like a lump, and 80% of what you’ve said so far are just ‘ah’s. Can’t be like that while working, right? So I figured I’d just tell you later.”

“…”

“But then we met first anyway.”

“So embarrassing…”

“Hm?”

“It’s embarrassing.”

Dohee let out a louder laugh at that. Even without a mirror, Moonhyuk could tell just how red his face must be right now. It felt like all the blood in his body had rushed straight to his head.

“So, do you hate it?”

At Dohee’s question, Moonhyuk quickly shook his head. No, absolutely not. Honestly, if anything, it was closer to being happy. It was kind of amazing too… Just, embarrassing. If only he hadn’t done anything stupid, maybe he wouldn’t be this embarrassed. But now he didn’t know what to do with himself.

“Then that’s fine.”

“…Okay.”

“Am I good looking again today?”

The sudden question left Moonhyuk blinking like an idiot. He didn’t even register what was just said.

“…Huh?”

“You said you kept staring at me because I was good looking. Am I still handsome today?”

“O-oh! Yes! Yes, yes.”

“Then good. I put some effort in.”

When Dohee said he’d put effort in, Moonhyuk felt oddly relieved. It meant he wasn’t the only one who cared about this meeting, who wanted to look good. Without realizing it, Moonhyuk broke into a beaming smile. A smile so wide it curved his eyes into crescents, but he wasn’t aware of it. It wasn’t forced or fake, it just came naturally.

“You’re pretty.”

Dohee smiled back. But then he followed up with a question that froze Moonhyuk on the spot.

“But really, why’d you give me the gummies? Was it because I was pretty?”

His face flushed hot all over again. His throat suddenly dry, Moonhyuk grabbed the white mug with trembling hands. At least he thought he grabbed it, the mug slipped slightly from his grip. It wobbled on the table, and though it settled without tipping over, a few drops of hot chocolate splashed onto his shirt.

“If you get that flustered, I’m the one who feels awkward. That’s not your favorite shirt, is it?”

Dohee pulled a napkin from the table and leaned forward, reaching toward Moonhyuk. Just before the napkin could touch his shirt, Moonhyuk snatched it from Dohee’s hand like he was stealing it. Their fingertips brushed. The spot where they touched tingled like it had been burned.

“A-ah, it’s f-fine…! It’s fine. I actually have two more–same shirt, just different colors.”

It was his favorite shirt, but he had two more in different colors. So there was no need for Dohee to reach out and wipe him down. As he frantically dabbed at the chocolate stains, Moonhyuk hung his head low.

“Shit. Can’t exactly burn it all to the ground…”

Dohee’s muttered comment, thankfully (or perhaps unfortunately), didn’t reach Moonhyuk’s ears.

“Uh, um…”

As he shoved the crumpled napkin to the edge of the table, Moonhyuk began to stammer again. He tried his best to sound casual. He had to answer the question somehow–even if it didn’t seem like he was pulling it off, he was trying. He decided to just go with something safe. There was no way he could admit that he’d wanted to see Dohee’s face just a little longer, so he gave him gummies.

“S-so… it’s just, they’re my favorite gummies.”

“Your favorite gummies?”

“They’re really good, so…”

“Because they’re good?”

“I thought you… Dohee might enjoy them too.”

“Mm. I did. But don’t go around giving gummies to just anyone, okay? I’m still a customer.”

“Uh…?”

“Have you given them to anyone else?”

“W-what? No!”

“Don’t in the future either. People might get the wrong idea.”

“W-wrong idea?”

Moonhyuk blinked. His eyes met Dohee’s. What kind of misunderstanding? Still blinking blankly, Moonhyuk suddenly burst out–

“They weren’t expired or anything! Really!”

They weren’t past expiration, he didn’t dig them out from a drawer, and it wasn’t because he didn’t want to eat them himself… As he rattled off every excuse he could think of, Dohee brought a hand to his forehead.

“I get it.”

Why am I even trying to explain anything to this guy?

This was ridiculous. Dohee let out a laugh. A laugh of pure exasperation. Faced with someone who seemed to take two steps back for every one step forward in anything remotely romantic, what was he supposed to say?

It wasn’t like he’d been trying to flirt, and he didn’t have any particular intent when he gave him the candy, it was just something tasty. Maybe he thought the good-looking customer would enjoy it and feel good. That was all. Simple enough. And he hadn’t given it to anyone else either. Then that’s all that mattered.

If Moonhyuk had gone around handing out candy with that face, he’d probably be facing life in prison for emotional assault.

Dohee quietly watched Moonhyuk fumble with his words. It was the first time he’d seen his face get this red, looking so flustered and panicked, and yet… he still looked good. Being good-looking really was nice. No matter what, it was pleasant just to look at. With that easy thought, Dohee took another sip of coffee.

Now that the ice was broken, Moonhyuk seemed to be breathing properly again. When he’d first sat down, he’d looked like he’d forgotten how to breathe entirely. Dohee knew he’d be surprised, but not this surprised. He’d honestly thought the guy had passed out for a moment. Dohee sighed internally.

He still had to tell him today that he was GoingSupporter. And he had no idea how to bring that up either.

It was one hurdle after another.