VSP 125

When Sejun asked for clothes, Dogyeong stepped out of the room. Sejun stared at his retreating back, then recalled Dogyeong smiling when he’d offered to cook.

…I think it was a little cute.

Just looking at his appearance, Cha Dogyeong, true to his name¹, seemed cold and distant, a kind of cold-hearted man with a wall around him that made it difficult to get close to him. It was a little cute to see him smile with delight at the thought of someone offering to cook for him.

But that thought was quickly clouded when he saw the younger man in question come in with Sejun’s clothes that he had washed in advance.

Sejun began to doubt his own aesthetic sense, which had thought that the person, who was over 190 cm tall and looked like he wouldn’t bleed even if you stabbed him, was cute.

While Sejun, who’d spent last night being tossed around under that massive body, debated retracting the thought entirely, the younger man in question merely dangled the clothes in front of him without any intention of handing them over.

“I guess this is how the woodcutter felt². Why is it so hard to give them back?”

I’m retracting the cute comment. I’m retracting it completely.

“Hey, you bastard!”

In the end, Sejun had to go through quite the ordeal to reclaim his “winged clothing.” The difference from the fairy tale was that even after getting his clothes back, he didn’t leave Dogyeong’s side and headed to the supermarket with him.

Sejun sneaked glances at Dogyeong’s side profile as he naturally drove with Sejun in the passenger seat. Dogyeong’s demeanor was so nonchalant that it was hard to believe this was the same guy who’d risked his life to save him just a few days ago, or the one who’d had such intense sex with him last night.

Because of that, Sejun had braced himself to feel far more embarrassed, but he wasn’t as mortified as he’d expected. He was honestly relieved.

However, every now and then the whispered dirty words Dogyeong had murmured or flashes of last night would hit him like a flashback, making his insides heat up, but it was bearable.

Even though the mission was cleared, Cha Dogyeong’s attitude remained unchanged. It was to the point where he wondered why he’d been needlessly worrying, wondering if Cha Dogyeong’s feelings would even last.

Yeah, it’s okay. It’s okay, Seo Sejun.

There was still that “calculating reward” notification hanging there, which was a little concerning, but Dogyeong wasn’t going to change. It was baseless belief, but thinking that way made Sejun’s heart feel noticeably lighter.

“While we’re out, let’s get me a phone too.”

He decided to get a new line activated as well. Being without a modern necessity was far too inconvenient.

This time, he had to memorize Cha Dogyeong’s number in advance. Sejun’s determination burned brightly

“What model do you want?”

“Hmm…”

For some people this was an exciting decision, but Sejun had never cared much about phone models. Whether it was an Apple phone or an Android one, he just picked whichever looked cleanest in design, so he had no preferences.

“Would you like to get the same phone as mine? It’s a recent release.”

So he nodded without thinking much about what Cha Dogyeong suggested.

“Sure.”

Since all the phones coming out these days seem similar, Sejun went to a nearby store and bought the latest phone, which was exactly the same as Cha Dogyeong’s.

Wait… isn’t this a couple phone?

As soon as he purchased it, a thought crossed Sejun’s mind.

Of course, since the model was the latest flagship model and there were so many people using the same model, it was too bland to be considered a couple phone, so it was embarrassing to even think about it for a moment.

Now you’re giving meaning to everything, Seo Sejun.

Unless they got matching phone cases… Cha Dogyeong seemed to only use a minimal transparent case, so Sejun felt awkward because he felt like he was the only one getting ahead.

For now, Sejun saved a few important contacts, including Dogyeong’s number and tucked the phone away. Then the two headed to the supermarket.

Cha Dogyeong took out a large red cart, stared at the child seat attached to the cart, and then glanced at Sejun.

“…Probably not, huh?”

He couldn’t help but understand what that meant

“As if!”

Sejun immediately slapped Dogyeong on the back. “I won’t ride it even if it means getting hit!”

Dogyeong looked at the child’s seat with a face full of regret, but when Sejun glared at him, he gave up and walked into the mart, pulling the cart.

Thanks to his overwhelmingly superior physique, the moment Dogyeong entered the supermarket, everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to him.

Thanks to Sejun giving him a hat and mask, no one recognized him, but he was so eye-catching that it seemed like it was only a matter of time before he was discovered.

Besides, it may sound like self-praise, but Sejun also has striking visuals, so when the two of them were together, the attention doubled.

Unlike Sejun, who hurried along, determined to get his shopping done as quickly as possible, Cha Dogyeong seemed to be excited about shopping. He wasn’t in a hurry, his eyes wandering around like a child in the toy section.

The reason was quickly apparent.

“I’ve never come grocery shopping like this before.”

“What? First time? You’ve never even come with your mom?”

“Yeah, my mom’s not really the type to do that.”

“……Ah.”

Sejun, who was wondering how it could be possible that this was his first time visiting the market, realized something.

Cha Dogyeong’s family history was well-known. Everyone knew that his relationships with his mother, father, and grandparents were strained.

That he was on worse terms with his family than with strangers was now so commonplace that even the media, which liked to rip off Cha Dogyeong, didn’t mention it.

“Don’t worry about it.”

When Sejun was at a loss for words, thinking he had made a slip of the tongue, Dogyeong naturally changed the subject as if it was nothing.

“Let’s get alcohol.” He immediately reached for a bottle of soju with a red label, making Sejun freak out and check the alcohol content before swapping it for something milder. Fortunately, the awkwardness didn’t last long, but that was just the beginning of Sejun’s troubles.

Cha Dogyeong, who had been joking about his first time shopping, seemed to be excited, wandering around, stuffing everything he saw into his cart. It was Sejun’s job to take them out, check the ingredients and expiration dates, and either remove them altogether or replace them with something new.

“Why did you put a pot in there? You’re not even cooking. Hey, you know what beef that is, right? Beef jerky? No, what jerky all of a sudden… No, if you’re going to have a side dish, do whatever you want. … Hey, wait a minute, the alarm clock was too much. Why didn’t you put it back? What the heck, when did you put this in there? Why did you put a mug warmer in there when you’re not even drinking?”

Sejun was busy trying to stop Cha Dogyeong, who was haphazardly throwing things into the cart like he’d been saving up all this energy just for today’s shopping spree.

He thought, “Feels like I’m shopping with my son rather than my boyfriend.” But then he was startled by his own thoughts.

Sejun looked at the back of Cha Dogyeong, who was still filling his cart with all sorts of things like a walking disaster zone.

… Boyfriend, right?

Sejun’s expression turned uncertain. But even he knew that asking “Are we really dating?” at this point wasn’t the right move. Even if you were tactless, asking that question just wasn’t right.

Sejun looked at his ‘boyfriend’ again.

He attracted attention with his unusually tall height and large body, and he is handsome enough to make even men fall for him. He is also the world’s only EX-rank hunter. He seemed to have all the good qualities in the world.

The protagonist of this world.

Back then, it made Sejun seethe with resentment. Now, realizing this guy was his boyfriend made his insides tingle.

But that warm gaze didn’t last long. Sejun sighed as he saw him hurriedly toss dumplings, a promotional item from the frozen goods section, into his cart. He approached him, scolding him.

“Hey, why are you buying a whole pack of new things you’ve never even tried?!”

By the time they finally made a round of the supermarket, they had filled two large carts, each one overflowing with groceries. Sejun had never even managed to fill one completely in a month’s worth of shopping.

Sejun looked at the two carts stacked like a tower and made an exhausted face.

He was at a loss as to when they would ever finish checking out, or if they would even be able to load the groceries up and carry them home. Cha Dogyeong, on the other hand, looked completely satisfied.

“You bought so much, when are we ever going to eat all this?”

“Half is frozen food. We can just keep them and eat them over time.”

“The freezer compartment isn’t actually that big… haa.”

Sejun stopped nagging. He was so clueless about daily life, he barely ate properly, so why did he buy so much food to eat?

It seemed like there was a mountain of things he’d have to teach and take care of from now on. Was this what people meant by “precious”?

At the self-checkout, while absentmindedly scanning items, Sejun suddenly thought that the world was too quiet.

Come to think of it, the system had been completely silent ever since he woke up today.

<Calculating reward>

The mission window was still the same. Every now and then, when he remembered, he’d mentally call for the system. But the system, who had always answered whenever Sejun called, whether aloud or silently, didn’t appear again.

1. I don’t have the exact hanja, so I don’t know what his name means. Common combined interpretations include, one who follows the right path, a person of honorable principles, a calm and dignified person, someone whose presence is bright or respected ↩︎
2. Reference to The Heavenly Maiden and the Wooden: a solitary woodcutter entraps a fairy into marrying him by stealing her clothes while she is bathing.  ↩︎