VSP 126

Is it because of the main mission reward? That was the most likely explanation, but the absence of a presence that had always been by his side made Sejun feel restless as time passed.

Sejun felt his mind would finally calm once the settlement was completed, regardless of the reward. However, everything seemed to drag on for no apparent reason.

Was it because the system was processing the reward? Because the mission wasn’t fully complete yet? Or did Dogyeong liking Sejun really have nothing to do with the mission?

Come to think of it, there was a time when the system disappeared like this for quite a while. When was that again?

Sejun, who had fallen into thought, quickly realized the answer. That day. The day he first connected with the original author, learned the truth of this world, and received the mission. Back then, the system had vanished for a long while, showing nothing but the words “Loading.”

Was it the same now?

Was it having some long conversation with the original author again?

…Why?

“Hey, isn’t that Cha Dogyeong and Seo Sejun?”

The voice nearby made Sejun flinch. He instinctively pulled his mask higher, but a small mask wasn’t enough to hide either him or Dogyeong. They both stood out too much. Once someone suspected them, it was only a matter of time before they got recognized.

Thinking could wait. Sejun grabbed Dogyeong’s sleeve while Dogyeong leisurely scanned items, as relaxed as someone playing pretend at a toy market.

“Cha Dogyeong, let’s finish up and go.”

Even as Sejun hurried him, Dogyeong suddenly picked up some gum near the register, scanned it without hesitation, and tossed it into the cart. Why was he buying that now? Sejun sighed and called him.

“Cha Dogyeong, stop taking your time and…”

“Thinking about it…”

Dogyeong abandoned the few remaining items and turned toward Sejun.

“I think I’ve only heard you call me ‘Dogyeong-ah’ once.”

“What?”

“You always call me by my full name.”

Do I? Sejun thought for a moment, then admitted it. He usually said “hey,” or “Cha Dogyeong.” He really couldn’t remember calling him Dogyeong-ah in a gentle way. In fact, the idea that he ever had was stranger. Did I really say that?

But Sejun soon remembered when he had first called his name that way.

‘Dogyeong-ah.’

That day. The day they didn’t even have time to go to a motel or hotel and ended up causing trouble in the car…

…Fuck.

Caught off guard by the sudden recollection, Sejun’s face turned red instantly. Just like Dogyeong had once declared, even his ears felt like they were burning red.

Seeing Sejun’s reddened ears, Dogyeong crinkled his eyes.

“Sejun-hyung, try saying Dogyeong-ah.”

“…Stop screwing around and just pay already.”

“Our Sejun-hyung really has too many things he can’t do.”

Dogyeong set the scanner down in protest. They kept labeling him a troublemaker, and now he was behaving like one. Sejun was aware that Dogyeong could be prickly, but he had not expected him to be so childish. Sejun became flustered when he realized this.

Discovering a new side of Cha Dogyeong was fine. But why did it have to be now?

“Hey, Cha Dogyeong.”

“Dogyeong-ah.”

“Ah.”

The murmurs around them were growing louder. Dogyeong couldn’t not notice that, yet he was still taking his time. Sejun, at a loss, realized there was only one way out of this situation and bit his tongue.

“Do… Dogyeong-ah, let’s go.”

“One more time.”

“…Dogyeong-ah.”

It was ridiculous, yet his face felt hot.

In the end, only after hearing Dogyeong-ah three more times did Cha Dogyeong finally finish paying, looking satisfied. Before the surroundings grew any noisier, Sejun grabbed Dogyeong’s hand and hurried out of the mart.

Even then, Sejun’s mission window remained unchanged.

Leaving only the words “calculating reward.”

***

“Want to stop by a cafe and grab some coffee?”

After cramming all the bags from the mart into the car and heading toward Cha Dogyeong’s place, Dogyeong suggested, knowing Sejun liked coffee.

Sejun, who felt a bit tense at how naturally they were heading to Dogyeong’s house, nodded slowly. Coffee was always the right choice.

While Dogyeong was delayed adding five extra lemons after hearing that extra lemon was available for handmade lemonade, Sejun, who had already received his americano, stepped outside first. Dogyeong stood out enough on his own, and Sejun didn’t want to draw more attention by sticking close.

As he absentmindedly sipped his coffee and looked around, his eyes landed on phone cases being sold in the shop next to the cafe.

It looked like a store selling phone cases along with various stationery items, crowded with people inside. Drawn in without realizing it, Sejun stepped closer toward the phone case display.

He idly turned the rotating rack, where cases of various designs hung in rows, when Dogyeong came out holding his lemonade and approached him after noticing.

“Thinking of buying a case?”

“No. Just looking.”

“Why not? You changed phones. Get one.”

Should he? He did have the clear case that came with the new phone, but when it came to phone cases, having more was never a problem.

Despite this, Sejun couldn’t bring himself to reach for one. He wasn’t the kind to incessantly buy cute cases that he liked, and he had the impression that what he desired was more than just a case.

“Want to match?”

Sejun, who had been frowning because he couldn’t make sense of his own feelings, tilted his head at Dogyeong’s words.

“What?”

“The cases.”

It took Sejun a moment to understand what that meant. His eyes widened.

Wouldn’t that be too obvious? Then again, it wasn’t as if people would immediately assume they were dating just because two men had matching phone cases.

But hearing it made what he actually wanted feel suddenly obvious. He thought he would like that quite a lot.

Matching cases with Cha Dogyeong.

It had been a thought he kept to himself, but when he bought the new phone, Sejun had wondered if it could count as a matching phone with Dogyeong. When confronted with a statement that appeared to target that concealed thought, Sejun scratched his cheek.

Dogyeong ignored Sejun’s lukewarm reaction and picked out a case first.

“How about this one?”

“Are you serious?”

“Why not?”

Unlike Sejun, Dogyeong didn’t seem to dwell on worries like how people might look at two men using matching cases. He seemed to think simply that if there was a case he liked, and their phone models were the same, then buying the same one made sense.

“If you don’t like it, we don’t have to.”

Watching Dogyeong’s casual attitude, as if it really wouldn’t matter either way, Sejun soon shrugged. He glanced at the case in Dogyeong’s hand, then picked up one that looked almost identical.

“If Cha Dogyeong wants matching cases that much, I guess I’ll go along with it.”

Dogyeong, who’d been sipping his lemonade, smiled around the straw.

“Yeah. I really want matching cases with Seo Sejun. Please do it.”

The tone was playful, but he also sounded sincere. Sejun cleared his throat.

In the end, they bought the cases. The shop was full of small, cute items, so most customers were women or students. With Dogyeong already standing out, attention naturally turned their way when he entered, but they finished the purchase quickly and left before it drew too much notice.

They got back into the car and headed home.

Sejun absentmindedly ran his fingers over the case now covering his new phone.

It was the same design as Dogyeong’s, with only a slight difference in color. Anyone could tell they were a pair.

…Not bad.

That thought occurred to him, then Sejun immediately corrected himself. No, it wasn’t just not bad. This was enough to count as happiness.

He was happy. That was the simplest way to put it.

The silent system and the mission window that still read “calculating reward” bothered him, but not enough to shake the baseless confidence that everything would work out somehow.

After that, things flowed naturally. They returned to Dogyeong’s place, ate, took a walk around the neighborhood, watched a movie in the living room, played board games, and before they knew it, evening came. After dinner, they ended up drinking together.

The wine was something Dogyeong had picked out at the mart. Other than knowing it was expensive, Sejun knew nothing about it. Even so, as expected of Dogyeong’s choice, it suited Sejun’s palate well, even though he knew little about alcohol.

While absentmindedly nibbling on the cheese and almonds Dogyeong cut for him and taking small sips of wine, the alcohol slowly went to his head. Around then, Dogyeong finally opened the conversation.