VSP 76

Could it be his parents? Sehyun, who couldn’t help but notice Sejun’s shallow and limited social circle, had expected a safe, predictable contact.

-What is it, Seo Sejun?

But piercing through that expectation, the voice coming through the receiver was so familiar it startled even Sehyun.

“Uh, uh, it’s me…”

As if he hadn’t dialed the wrong number, Sejun stammered but kept talking. He didn’t dial the wrong number? Sehyun’s grip tightened on the steering wheel.

“I was wondering if I could come over to your place today.”

And what followed was even more absurd.

-My place?

The other end seemed just as taken aback, laughter echoing through the receiver. The S-Class Hunter’s keen hearing picked up every word as clearly as if it were on speakerphone.

-You’ll make something delicious again?

“If you want.”

The conversation flowed effortlessly, as if nothing was wrong.

What did ‘again’ mean? Sehyun felt his chest tighten instantly. Did this mean it wasn’t the first time? He wasn’t unaware that the two had become quite close, unbeknownst to him, and he already knew Sejun had visited Cha Dogyeong’s house once before. But he hadn’t realized their interactions had become this natural.

-Sure. I happen to have something to give you anyway. What are you making?

Cha Dogyeong, the other party, casually invited Sejun to his house. Sejun, who had been looking slightly tense, finally relaxed, seeming somewhat relieved.

“What do you feel like eating?”

-Nothing in particular… I’ll eat anything.

“I figured as much.”

Sejun even chuckled softly as he said it. The laughter seemed to reach him too, as a similarly low chuckle came from the other end.

“Did you finish the tteokbokki?”

-Yeah. Your mom’s cooking was amazing.

“You’re welcome.”

-If you’re staying over, you don’t need to bring underwear. You left some last time.

“Uh…”

Only after discussing when they might leave did the two finally end the call. Sehyun, who had been holding the steering wheel so tightly it felt like it might break, had to clench his teeth several times to fight off the feeling of his insides drying up completely.

He couldn’t make heads or tails of what he’d just heard. His head was spinning.

Tteokbokki? Mother? Underwear? He couldn’t dismiss any of it.

But what drove Ryu Sehyun madder was that he was in no position to question any of it. Ryu Sehyun wasn’t anything to Seo Sejun.

He was just a slightly close hyung.

It wasn’t a relationship where he could act like Cha Dogyeong.

He was sure he’d started out ahead, but he couldn’t figure out when the gap had widened so much.

“Sejun. Are you going to Dogyeong’s house?”

Finally, unable to hold back any longer, Sehyun admitted he’d overheard the conversation unintentionally and asked.

“Huh? Yeah.”

Even knowing Sehyun had overheard, Sejun showed little reaction and simply affirmed.

Why the hell are you going to his place?

He barely swallowed the words rising to his throat. He nearly smashed the steering wheel.

He knew they’d gotten closer. That they were closer than before. Didn’t they sleep together and drink together last time too? But he thought that was just a one-off event.

But now, Sejun had actually asked first, and they were visiting each other’s homes? What’s more, the conversation seemed to reveal a lot of things between them that he didn’t know about, and it was driving him crazy.

“……”

Sehyun clamped his mouth shut.

Sejun started searching for something on his phone, and only silence filled the car.

He didn’t think rushing would do any good. He planned to approach slowly, bit by bit, gradually increasing his share in Sejun’s heart, so Sejun wouldn’t feel burdened.

But instead of gaining ground, it seemed he was losing even the ground he had already covered.

The moment Sehyun realized Sejun was searching for a cooking recipe, anxiety coiled itself around his chest.

It was the first time Ryu Sehyun ever felt nervous in his life.

•••

“Damn it.”

When he arrived at Cha Dogyeong’s house, a place he was now somewhat accustomed to, Sejun saw something unfamiliar attached to the door and cursed without thinking.

Hanging from the doorknob was the cute character KuXmi doll that Sejun had used to decorate his car.

It was clearly aimed at Sejun. He set down the heavy supermarket bags he was holding in both hands and immediately tore the doll off.

His face flushed bright red as he glanced around nervously, even though no one was watching.

Staring at the doll, which seemed to be grinning maliciously, Sejun bit his lip. Instead of pressing the doorbell, he pounded on the door.

Soon, the door opened, and Cha Dogyeong greeted him calmly.

“Hi.”

“I can’t say hello!”

Sejun shouted angrily, shoving the doll forcefully into Cha Dogyeong’s arms. Dogyeong blinked at the doll that had slammed against his chest, then chuckled softly.

“Why? You like it, don’t you?”

“I don’t like it!”

Sejun pushed Dogyeong away, pushing out a ridiculous lie, and went inside the house.

Sejun placed the shopping bag he’d brought on the kitchen table, which still felt rather lifeless. He started washing his hands first. Cha Dogyeong, who had followed him into the kitchen with the doll, began rummaging through the shopping bag he’d brought, just like he used to.

“Oh, you bought snacks this time.”

Unlike last time, Dogyeong saw there were various snacks besides cooking ingredients and excitedly pulled out the cookies.

The doll Sejun had forcibly placed in his arms was now sitting demurely on the table.

“……”

Sejun’s gaze turned to the problematic doll. Even thinking about it again, he couldn’t understand why it was here now.

It hadn’t been there the last time he visited, and Cha Dogyeong didn’t even know what that character was, so he must have gotten it after visiting Sejun’s family home.

Why on earth?

“Why did you buy that?”

Sejun voiced his question directly. Cha Dogyeong, who was flipping the bag upside down and shaking it out, replied nonchalantly.

“I saw it while passing by.”

“……”

What on earth had he been doing to just happen to see that while passing by? No, it wasn’t strange that it caught his eye since it was a popular character, but the fact that Cha Dogyeong bought it was what was strange.

Cha Dogyeong’s house was still stark and bleak. The clean, black-and-white interior aimed for minimalism that was excessive by Sejun’s standards.

And suddenly, a KuXmi doll in that space? It didn’t fit, not even a little bit.

“Isn’t it Seo Sejun’s favorite?”

Unaware of Sejun’s inner thoughts, Cha Dogyeong popped one of the snacks Sejun had bought into his mouth and asked, looking genuinely confused.

“……Yeah.”

Sejun didn’t deny it.

He might have looked sullen, but he genuinely liked that character. But it was more of a secret hobby, and having Dogyeong catch him out was embarrassing.

“That’s pointless. Why buy it?”

“I didn’t buy it.”

“Then?”

“I won it.”

“……?”

Sejun didn’t immediately understand the meaning of that statement, but belatedly realized that ‘won it’ referred to a claw machine game.

Isn’t that the same thing? No, unless you got it on the first try, isn’t that a worse deal than just buying it?

“How long did it take you to get it?”

Cha Dogyeong chose silence in response to that question. For a while, the only sound in the kitchen was the quiet crunching of the cookies Cha Dogyeong had forgotten about.

“These are good.”

It seemed Cha Dogyeong had chosen to change the subject instead of answering. The way he casually changed the topic with a stick of candy in his mouth clearly showed he didn’t want to talk.

It felt awkward to insist, so Sejun kept quiet too.

He could only gasp for breath, clutching his flushed cheeks, overcome by a strange sensation, as if someone were tickling the area around his heart.

•••

Sejun discovered the truth about the doll right after they finished eating the duck stew made with the ingredients he’d brought and had just ordered coffee via a delivery app.

He simply couldn’t drink instant coffee anymore! Every time he visited Dogyeong’s house, Sejun had been forced to drink terrible coffee. Unable to endure it any longer, he decided to order delivery from a shop that took coffee seriously, one where he could choose the beans.

‘I like it with acidity.’

At Sejun’s preference statement, Cha Dogyeong made a face like he didn’t understand what the difference was. Seeing his completely disinterested expression, Sejun made a sullen face, thinking, That guy probably drank so much lemonade because he liked acidity…

‘What about you? Lemonade?’

‘I don’t drink it every day. And do you have an extra lemon option?’

What nonsense. Sejun frowned.

‘Where would you find that?’

‘Hmm.’

In the end, he ordered a mocha. Seeing him drink an Americano one time, a sweet coffee another, it seemed he didn’t really have any particular preferences beyond his philosophy on lemonade.

Cha Dogyeong went into the bathroom to wash up, and somehow, the atmosphere naturally shifted to him staying over. While Sejun, still stunned, munched on the chocolate he’d bought and watched TV, the system spoke to him.

[I found it]

“Huh? Found what?”

[The doll.]

Saying this, the system projected a holographic article right in front of Sejun’s eyes.