LS 64

With every dish that came out, Moonhyuk kept gasping in admiration. The mackerel from Jeju, grated ginger something or other… He listened to the chef’s explanations with rapt attention, like he was attending a lecture. Dohee, watching Moonhyuk like that, barely registered what he himself was eating.

“It’s so good.”

Thankfully, Moonhyuk wasn’t picky about food. Dohee had known he liked sweets, but he’d worried a little, what if he had a childish palate and didn’t eat certain things? This omakase spot was one of the most famous nearby, and the quality was good enough that even in a university area, it was hard to find better. Dohee sometimes came here with the twins, but only for dinner. Lunch was just as good.

He’d made the reservation on a whim, gambling on whether it’d be worth it. But seeing how happy Moonhyuk was now made Dohee feel full just watching.

“But… they only give you one piece of each. That’s the sad part…”

“You liked that one?”

“Yes! But the ones before that were all amazing too!”

Moonhyuk gently set his chopsticks to the side, but his eyes stayed glued to the dish. The look in his eyes was so pitiful, like he desperately wished he could have just one more. It made Dohee want to laugh. His eyes sparkled brightly.

Beneath those thick eyebrows were deep eye sockets, enough to mistake him for a foreigner. Despite the shadows of his features, his eyes sparkled unusually bright. They caught your gaze, and Dohee kept turning to look at him again and again. Right now, he cursed the fact that they were sitting side by side. Next time we meet, I’m sitting across from him. Dohee promised himself that, even though he didn’t know if there would be a next time. Well, I’ll just make one if I have to.

“You eat well. That’s nice.”

“Oh, uh… I usually eat a lot.”

“I can tell.”

“I used to eat more than two bowls of rice back in the day. I think that’s why I… got big?”

His head tilted slightly, and his short hair shifted. Why did that make him look even better?

“More than two bowls?”

“Yeah. I used to sit in the cafeteria for ages.”

He gave an awkward little laugh. He said he didn’t have friends, but at least he ate properly. That’s something, Dohee thought. Then, he noticed a tiny mole beneath Moonhyuk’s lip. His fingers itched to press it, but he clenched his hand into a fist and spoke instead.

“You have a mole.”

“Huh?”

“Under your right lip.”

“Ah…”

Moonhyuk fumbled to touch the side of his mouth, like he hadn’t even remembered it was there. His lips weren’t particularly plump or thin, but the line from the cupid’s bow to the corners was clean, almost sculpted. And right at the edge of it, a small mole sat. You could only see it from Dohee’s angle on the right.

“Uh… you–you have one too, Dohee…”

“I know.”

Moonhyuk glanced at him, their eyes briefly met, then he quickly looked away again. His ears were a little red. He could barely hold eye contact, yet he kept sneaking peeks. It was hilarious.

“They say it’s a beauty mark.”

“What?”

“My mole. I thought about removing it once, but Yeohoo or maybe Yeojin freaked out and said I couldn’t, that it was a charm point.”

“Oh… it’s pretty.”

“You sure like calling things pretty.”

Moonhyuk’s ears turned even redder. Dohee was used to liking his own face, but right now, he liked it more than ever. At the very least, it was good enough to make this clueless guy’s ears turn bright red.

“You shouldn’t get rid of yours either.”

“I’ve never thought about removing it…”

Yeah. That checks out. He probably never even noticed it.

While they were chatting, the next piece of sushi was served. The chef gave a quick explanation. Dohee picked his piece up and placed it on Moonhyuk’s plate.

“You’re giving this to me?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t like tuna…?”

“No. I’m just full.”

“…?”

Moonhyuk looked genuinely confused. It wasn’t like Dohee was that full. But having been here a few times, he knew his picky stomach wouldn’t survive the entire course.

Well, who’s gonna complain if the hot guy gets an extra piece?

“Eat up. I’m going to leave some anyway.”

“Ah…”

Even while glancing at Dohee, he didn’t say no. He really was enjoying the food, and that made Dohee feel full in a different way. Is this how a seasoned player feels raising a newbie? Or more like… a mama bird feeding her chick?

“You should eat a lot. You’re too skinny.”

“I’m not that skinny.”

“Yeah, right…”

“Well, I can’t exactly take off my clothes to prove it.”

Dohee grinned teasingly, and Moonhyuk quickly grabbed the sushi and shoved it into his mouth without saying a word. His ears, once again, were bright red. It was hilarious.

Watching Moonhyuk chew through the sushi like it was disappearing, Dohee casually brought something up.

“The day after tomorrow, the Demon Hunter pre-quest drops. You need to finish it early so you can join the raid as soon as it updates.”

Moonhyuk nodded, his mouth too full to respond.

“You don’t have tutoring today or tomorrow, right?”

Another nod. After spending over a month playing together, Dohee had basically memorized Moonhyuk’s schedule. Plans were already forming in his head.

“Then let’s finish all the hidden skill quests today and tomorrow. Once that’s done, we can sync up with the raid team and hit a world raid together.”

“…I’m nervous.”

Moonhyuk had just downed two pieces of sushi, but his expression immediately fell. Dohee smiled. Of course. The worrywart strikes again.

“Worried you won’t do well?”

“That too, but… what if I hold everyone back…”

“I told you, didn’t I? No one’s expecting you to carry your weight. If any of those elitist assholes expect that much from a newbie, that’s on them. And you won’t be a burden. I’ve been raising you carefully this whole time.”

“…You think so?”

“Yeah. It might feel like you’ve been power-leveled into a hard raid, but it’s really not that bad. It’s just like what we’ve been doing, with a few new patterns and slightly longer clear times.”

“Ah…”

Dohee placed the next sushi on Moonhyuk’s plate as he explained his plans.

“Daeyoung said he’d sub for your tutoring job, and we agreed we’d do the raid at my place.”

“Eh…”

“You don’t have to answer.”

Moonhyuk nodded quickly. His mouth never stopped moving. His lips puffed out with sushi, and they looked so cute that Dohee found himself wanting to poke his cheek.

Fucking Baek Dohee.

With a tiny sigh, he continued.

“If you have time before then, you can come by my place and test out the keyboard and mouse. See what suits your hand best. I have a ton at home, so we can set up whatever you want.”

That was mostly self-indulgent. There were still more than ten days left before the raid. He could just show up the night before and check everything then. But… whatever. I just want to see him sooner.

“The game room’s not too small, so it shouldn’t feel cramped. You’re tall, so you’ll want to adjust the chair height too.”

The more he talked, the more he felt like he was making excuses.

“If you’re right next to me during the world raid, it’ll be easier to explain stuff on the spot.”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Exactly. It’s easier to give orders when you’re right there. So come over anytime if you’ve got time. My place isn’t far from the internet café anyway.”

“Still…”

“Still?”

“I just… don’t want to bother you.”

I swear I’m gonna explode. He wanted to punch himself in the chest just to get the frustration out.

“I told you it’s not a bother.”

Moonhyuk flinched slightly at Dohee’s firm voice. Even at 187cm tall, the way he hunched his shoulders was kind of adorable.

“Everything we do together is fun for me. I’m doing this because I want to. So just take me at my word.”

“O-okay.”

Why’s he gotta answer so cutely, too?

“Do you live alone? You said you go to Hanguk U, right?”

“Ah… yeah, I live alone. But it’s not like I moved out for college. I’ve always lived alone.”

As Dohee kept sliding sushi onto Moonhyuk’s plate, he froze for a moment. One piece nearly slipped. He caught it in time and carefully placed it on the plate before speaking.

“What about your family?”

“…Mm. I don’t have any.”

After saying that, Moonhyuk glanced over nervously. Dohee raised an eyebrow. Why’s he looking at me like that when he’s the one who said it?

“I live alone too.”

“…Huh?”

“So just come over a lot. Anytime. So we can play.”

At those words, Moonhyuk’s expression shifted slowly. And then, he beamed.

“Okay!”

“You sure are good at answering.”

Moonhyuk popped the last piece of sushi into his mouth and smiled so widely his eyes curved into crescents. Being good-looking even when smiling was honestly unfair. Just looking at him was entrancing. At this rate, Dohee might as well hand him his house keys, and the car keys too.

“You can come after your part-time job, before it, or after the library.”

“Okay.”

“And if you miss me, you can come then too.”

This time, Moonhyuk didn’t say anything. He just nodded. Would he ever miss him? Dohee knew he shouldn’t hope for too much, and yet–just a little, just a tiny bit.

He hoped he would.