VSP 51

Because Sejun had many complicated thoughts, when he came out clean after washing and saw expensive alcohol placed on the table, his thoughts leaned more and more toward ‘Cha Dogyeong is trying to comfort me.’

The black bottle, whatever it was, looked expensive.

“Kuruk…? Kuruk…?” Sejun tilted his head, since he did not usually enjoy alcohol. He did not know what it was, but considering that in the past Cha Dogyeong’s kitchen had not even a drop of water, he probably did not drink much either. Yet with alcohol and even thick slices of cheese cut, it seemed Cha Dogyeong was sincere.

Sejun started to feel restless, so he stood still and looked at the information written on the alcohol he could not even read. Then he saw Cha Dogyeong, who must have finished washing before him, come out from the inside, even bringing glasses.

Like Sejun, Cha Dogyeong seemed to have washed too. He had a towel on his head and wore a gown, but the gown could not cover his large body. Every time he moved, it stretched tight on both sides and exposed his chest.

If Cha Dogyeong’s fans saw this, they would probably lose their minds, but strangely the only audience was Sejun.

Sejun truly thought this was a pity but the system spoke.

[Sejun-nim, you also look like you are enjoying it.]

“What?”

At that ridiculous comment, Sejun loudly asked back, and Cha Dogyeong’s puzzled gaze quickly landed on Sejun’s face.

Ah, shit.

Since so many people around him had said talking with the system looked creepy, Sejun unconsciously shrank. But when Cha Dogyeong unexpectedly let it pass without saying anything, Sejun carefully watched and then naturally sat down next to him on the sofa.

Because of that, Sejun missed the timing to argue against the system’s words.

When he reflexively took the glass handed to him, Cha Dogyeong filled it to the brim.

He was serious. He did not pour lightly, he poured heavily. Is this not expensive alcohol? Or maybe it is not as expensive as it looks?

“Drink.”

He started spreading honey thickly on top of a large chunk of cheese.

Sejun quietly stared at the dark liquid swaying in the glass, then picked up the bottle that Cha Dogyeong had set down.

“Should I pour for you too?”

“Go ahead.”

Cha Dogyeong obediently held up his glass, and Sejun poured it just as full as his own.

After that, only the sound of sipping alcohol filled the quiet living room for a while.

It must not be that strong after all.

Sejun, who had not enjoyed alcohol in a long time, found it tasty. At first he wondered why he had filled his glass so much, but he diligently emptied it sip by sip. Since he usually did not enjoy alcohol, he quickly started to feel tipsy.

“Why did you block that?”

How long had they gone back and forth pouring alcohol? The large bottle emptied faster than expected. Rarely feeling regret that the alcohol was running out, Sejun chewed on the cheese Cha Dogyeong handed him, then raised his head with a small sound, “Hm?”

He quickly understood what it was about. If Cha Dogyeong brought up something, it could only be what happened today, and Sejun had ‘blocked’ twice today.

In the end it was Hoya who took the damage instead of Sejun, and when Sejun held Hoya, thanks to Choi Yerin stepping in to handle the situation, no one got hurt. Sejun himself had not suffered any damage.

“How do you know that?”

He was genuinely curious how he knew, but Cha Dogyeong seemed puzzled by such a question.

“Because I saw it.”

“…Ah.”

On the way up from Busan, Sejun also realized things had gotten noisy everywhere. He had no time to confirm.

Maybe it even hit the news, since his parents, who normally did not use the internet much, had called him nonstop asking if he was okay, making him feel embarrassed in front of Choi Hangyeol who surely heard it all. Of course, Choi Hangyeol’s expression didn’t change.

Cha Dogyeong likely had not bothered to watch that crazy man’s internet broadcast, so he must have seen it on the news. Who knew how it was shown.

But whatever it was, it would not have been favorable. It would have been about how incompetent Sejun was again.

Whether there was main news or not, it was always the same. That way the views went up and it became a hot topic, or maybe it was just the law of this world that Seo Sejun, the so-called villain, had to be cursed at. Whenever problems came up, Sejun was always torn apart everywhere. The pattern of the news was obvious.

Sejun, who had been chewing slowly, answered after a long pause.

“Hoya is… everything to me.”

Leaving ability aside, Hoya, like the system, was one of the very few things by his side.

If he lost that, Sejun could not endure it. At that time he had no thought to remember the logic that if he was hurt, then naturally Hoya would be hurt too. He only thought he had to protect Hoya no matter what.

“That is not what I am asking.”

But what Cha Dogyeong asked did not seem to be about that Sejun back then.

“Why did you block in front of that idiot? That is what I am asking.”

“Ah.”

It wasn’t about the moment when Hoya got hurt.

Sejun instead tilted his head because that question sounded too obvious.

“No matter what, it is better that I get hit than him.”

“Why?”

“…Of course, because I am sturdier?”

Even if people called him an incompetent S-rank hunter, Seo Sejun’s physical condition was still that of an S-rank hunter. He was stronger than others, and he recovered better than others.

“I may lack in other things, but my body is S-rank. I endure better than others.”

So it was better for Sejun to take the hit rather than that idiot who would have surely died from just one. Since Choi Yerin was on her way, even if Hoya had not blocked it, Sejun could have somehow held out until he received treatment.

It was only an optimistic theory, but if things had gone the way he thought, the result would not have been much different from Sejun’s expectation.

Of course, in the end Sejun did not get hurt at all.

After saying it, he started to feel more and more upset.

Sejun emptied the glass that had been filled to the brim in one shot. Since the bottle was almost empty, Cha Dogyeong stood up and brought another bottle. The label was different, but it was the same type of alcohol as before.

“Hehe.”

And the more he drank, the more he got drunk. That was natural. Sejun became very cheerful and grinned.

“Hey, Cha Dogyeong.”

And the alcohol made him do things he normally would not.

“Did you call me over to comfort me?”

He finally asked the question he had held back since entering this house.

[Oh dear, you are drunk.]

The system, which had been constantly telling him to stop drinking, spoke like it was losing its mind, but Sejun did not hear it.

“Comfort? Well.”

Cha Dogyeong neither agreed nor denied it. But Sejun had not known Cha Dogyeong for just one or two years. If it were really nonsense, he would have gotten annoyed and said it was bullshit.

So that was no different from agreement. That made Sejun feel even better, so he grinned.

“Hey, it’s true. You normally don’t care about this kind of thing…”

“Maybe.”

Cha Dogyeong agreed easily on that part. Sejun blinked.

“I think it really bothered you.”

Cha Dogyeong, who admitted it without resistance, handed over a small bottle he had brought along with the alcohol earlier.

“Open your mouth.”

“…What is this?”

“Hangover cure.”

When he heard what it was, Sejun felt there was no reason to refuse. He obediently opened his mouth like a baby bird, and Cha Dogyeong tilted the bottle into his mouth.

The fresh apple taste was not bad, but like things that have medicinal effect, it had an unpleasant aftertaste, so Sejun frowned. Then Cha Dogyeong put something peeled into his mouth at the end.

What is this? Sejun accepted it without thinking and chewed, then realized it was chocolate and chewed diligently.

Sejun liked chocolate.

“It’s good.”

How did he know I like chocolate? Sejun remembered he had said he liked chocolate the last time he came to Cha Dogyeong’s house. He had been told that except for cooking ingredients, the only thing he had bought was chocolate.

…So he remembered that?

Did he maybe buy it in case Sejun came again?

But he soon shook his head. That was going too far. He probably just happened to have it and put it in his mouth as a snack. Or it meant to shut him up.

After accepting both the hangover cure and the chocolate, Sejun chewed the chocolate eagerly. Then Cha Dogyeong cleared away the two bottles of alcohol that were almost empty. Sejun unknowingly felt disappointed at the the gathering was ending, but Cha Dogyeong pulled him up by the arm and pushed him toward the bathroom.

“Now brush your teeth.”

Sejun followed that instruction exactly.

“Go sleep.”

After brushing his teeth, he was told to go to sleep. Sejun also followed that faithfully.

He did not make the beginner mistake of asking where to sleep. He staggered straight to what he assumed was Cha Dogyeong’s room.