LS 72

After accepting all the daily quests, they were busy collecting Dawn Roseblooms. Dohee finished first, parked his character, and turned to look at Moonhyuk. Their eyes immediately met. Moonhyuk had been stealing glances at Dohee nonstop ever since they’d sat down. He’d glanced over so frequently that Dohee’s face felt hot.

“Hyung, why do you keep staring?”

Moonhyuk flinched sharply. Then, with darting eyes, he made an unexpected confession.

“B-because it’s fascinating…”

What was fascinating?

Dohee tilted his head slightly, confused. Just then, the quest completion alert rang out–ding!–from the speaker. Moonhyuk swallowed nervously and continued, looking unnecessarily serious.

“You look like… GoSupp’s character…”

Wait…

Now, of all times?

“All of a sudden?”

Moonhyuk’s ears turned bright red in an instant. He nodded slightly, mumbling in a barely audible voice.

“The more I keep looking… the more you resemble your character. I thought so even when I first saw you…”

Hmm.

Come to think of it, Moonhyuk had kept glancing at him back at the internet café too. It seemed he really had done it because Dohee resembled GoingSupporter’s character. He’d even said he gave Dohee gummies just to see his face one more time.

And, ridiculously enough, Dohee found himself feeling jealous, of his own character.

“It’s not that I look like GoSupp’s character. The character was made to look like me.”

“Huh?”

“Strictly speaking, GoSupp’s character looks like me.”

“Oh… ah, that’s right!”

“Yeah. You said you stared because I was handsome. But actually, were you just staring because it was weird?”

“W-what?”

“At the internet café.”

“Ah, t-that’s…!”

“That’s?”

“I-I mean… it’s true I stared because it was fascinating, but… at first I thought, how could someone resemble a game character this much? You were so, so pretty–no, handsome! I thought you might even be a celebrity… And then, since you looked like my favorite game character…”

Moonhyuk rambled incoherently, his ears turning an even deeper shade of red, looking ready to explode. Dohee watched him quietly, propping his chin on the armrest, swiveling his chair halfway around. Moonhyuk sat rigidly, spine straight as a board. So, basically, Moonhyuk thought Dohee looked fascinating because he resembled the GoSupp character, and was so handsome he’d thought he might be a celebrity?

Dohee tapped his cheek thoughtfully with a finger, raising an eyebrow slightly. As Dohee narrowed his eyes playfully, Moonhyuk swallowed again.

“I-if I upset you, sor–”

“I’m pretty, right, hyung?”

“…Huh? Uh… yeah…”

“You thought I was a celebrity?”

“Ah, y-yeah. Because you looked so cool…”

“Cool?”

“Your hair was really shiny too, so…”

“I’m glad.”

“…What?”

“If you like it, I like it too.”

“Oh…”

Seeing Moonhyuk awkwardly gripping his burning ears, Dohee impulsively spoke up again.

“I was planning to add GoingSupporter to the Human guild anyway. Want me to use him to help you finish your hidden quest?”

“What!?”

“You don’t want to?”

“N-no!”

The answer came back lightning fast. Dohee burst out laughing. He laughed for a long time, while Moonhyuk pretended not to notice and stared intently at his monitor, though his face remained flushed.

“Should we add each other as friends?”

Moonhyuk’s head turned stiffly toward him.

“…Yes.”

Ah, seriously, he was going to lose it. Why was he so cute?

“I’ll show you the awakening skill too.”

“Wow! Really?!”

“Yeah.”

Moonhyuk’s eyes sparkled brightly. It made Dohee’s mood improve instantly. He logged off the AssaGo character, and when the character selection screen appeared, Moonhyuk leaned slightly closer to Dohee. Strangely, despite having used the exact same shampoo and body wash, Moonhyuk still smelled faintly like a puppy dried in the sun.

💎

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: Leveling is freaking hard…

[Guild] PrettyHealerHyung: ㅠㅠㅠㅠ You’re at a tough stage…

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: ? You’re not much better off than me…^0ㅠ

[Guild] PrettyHealerHyung: ^_ㅠ….. but still higher than you…

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: Do I really need to hit 140 first? The level req is only 130… lol

[Guild] AssaGo: Have some pride, dude LOL

[Guild] SoftRiceCake: Call me dude all you want but I’m a girl!!!! ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Guild] GOingSupporter187: 8ㅅ8… Should I level up more too…?

[Guild] Tando: You can just come ^^

[Guild] SiblingSpicyNoodle: Ignore him**

[Guild] SiblingSpicyNoodle: IngSupp, you just need to show up, lol

“Should I… level up more too?”

At Moonhyuk’s mutter, Dohee snorted lightly.

“You? Even now, you don’t have enough time, I’m already carrying you.”

Moonhyuk’s shoulders drooped slightly. Dohee continued, lazily controlling his character.

“You should just thank your lucky stars if you can scrape by at level 130. No one expects more from you anyway.”

“Yeah…”

Moonhyuk nodded meekly.

Realistically speaking, constant power-leveling like this was no longer going to cut it. Moonhyuk was reaching the point where simply getting carried twenty-four hours a day wouldn’t be enough to level up efficiently anymore. From now on, he’d have to actively participate in raids and hunting parties to earn more EXP. Of course, leveling would be quicker if they formed a full party and hunted together. So the “power-leveling IngSupp” project was gradually evolving from leaving Moonhyuk’s character idle to using him more like an assistant driver. Naturally, thanks to the very busy Mr. Kwon Moonhyuk, the person actually playing the IngSupp character ended up being Baek Dohee anyway.

After smoothly finishing their daily quests, the two arrived in Hendallison to start the hidden quest. The supporter-class hidden quest, “Birth of the Spirits,” wasn’t particularly difficult. It mostly involved traveling around to the birthplaces of various spirits, viewing hidden stories and cutscenes related to myths and spirits, and gathering some items through field and dungeon hunting along the way.

In truth, it wasn’t an especially exciting quest. Most supports found it tedious since the videos were barely skippable, making it a major time sink. Probably, there were plenty of supports who had procrastinated and were now hurriedly trying to finish the quest just to unlock their new skills.

Starting from Denme, through Hendallison, passing through Yante and Valfnich, and finally returning to Rowle, the quest would show the myths connected to the birth of all the spirits. Upon completion, it granted hidden skills. Dohee didn’t have much to actually do; he was only there to keep Moonhyuk company so he wouldn’t get bored.

As Moonhyuk watched the video about the Fire Spirit, Lumitien, Dohee got up to make coffee. He also pulled out a chocolate drink he’d ordered earlier that morning especially for Moonhyuk, remembering him once mentioning that he drank at least one can of it a day.

Taking ice from the refrigerator, he placed it in a cup, stuck in a cute straw, and handed it to Moonhyuk, who promptly beamed with delight. Moonhyuk’s smile instantly brightened Dohee’s mood too. Really, who else would cook kimchi stew and serve iced chocolate like this all in one morning? Of course, Dohee didn’t just leave the thought unsaid.

“You must feel great, hyung?”

“Hm?”

When Dohee sat beside him, Moonhyuk lifted his head from the straw, having already gulped down half of the drink. Seeing him enjoy it so thoroughly made Dohee feel strangely pleased.

“You won’t find anyone else like me. Delicious spam kimchi stew in the morning, a perfectly functioning computer, cozy heating, iced chocolate in a fancy cup. Not too bad, right?”

This time Moonhyuk nodded quite quickly.

“How’s the keyboard, chair, and mouse after using them a bit? Comfortable enough? You weren’t sure at first.”

“Oh, yeah! They fit my hands perfectly, and the mouse is really quiet, too. The keyboard keys press down so smoothly, I really like it. The internet café keyboards are loud and clicky, but yours is nice and quiet. And the chair’s so soft and comfy, I kind of never want to get up…”

That was a relief. Dohee hadn’t known Moonhyuk’s exact preferences, so he’d picked a neutral, universally comfortable setup, and apparently, it had worked out great. Even as Moonhyuk spoke, he kept idly pressing keys, clearly enjoying the feel.

“From now on, that keyboard and mouse are yours, hyung, so just use them freely.”

“Huh?”

“You see that shelf next to the window?”

Dohee pointed to the white cabinet near the window. Moonhyuk turned his head.

“There are other keyboards and mice inside, so if you ever get bored, you can switch.”

“Oh… I’m good though.”

“Usually people get tired after using something for a long time, right? Just feel at home here.”

“Yeah… but I don’t get tired easily.”

“Really?”

“If I like something, I usually don’t get bored. Um, b-but if I ever feel like changing, I’ll try them out!”

“Ah, you don’t have to switch them forcefully. You don’t get bored easily?”

“Yeah…”

“That’s interesting.”

“That’s why I spend so much time deciding what to buy at first.”

“Because you’ll be using it for a long time?”

“Yeah.”

That explained why Moonhyuk had so many similar clothes. Interesting. Once again, Dohee found himself fascinated by Kwon Moonhyuk. From head to toe, he and Baek Dohee were completely different. Dohee liked the familiar, sure, but he also enjoyed variety. He had plenty of things he was too lazy to change, but also countless things he grew bored of and replaced quickly. If a brand he liked released something new, he always had to have it, and he’d easily swap things out once he lost interest. There were certainly items he kept until they wore out, but just as many he’d use only once or twice before giving them away to others. Moonhyuk was different.

Discovering someone’s differences, understanding someone who wasn’t like himself, was unexpectedly fascinating.

As Dohee parked his character next to Moonhyuk’s on the regular airship heading toward Yante, he suddenly turned his head to gaze at Moonhyuk. Feeling his gaze, Moonhyuk turned toward him. Moonhyuk blinked once, twice. Impulsively, Dohee asked,

“Once you start liking something, you like it for a long time, huh, hyung?”

“Usually, yeah. It takes me a long time to start liking something, but…”

“Then you’ll like me for a long time too.”

“Huh?”

“I mean GoingSupporter.”

Moonhyuk couldn’t answer right away. He just sat there opening and closing his mouth, cheeks reddening again. Dohee turned back to the monitor. If Moonhyuk was going to like him, he hoped it would be for a very long time. Even if someone accused him of being greedy, he didn’t mind.

Because Baek Dohee had always been a greedy person.