LG 12

#8 Love Game

Perhaps because it rained last night, the sky was clear today, and the air was clean without a speck of dust. Puffy clouds floated in the blue sky. Kyung-soo, excited by the rare good weather, opened the window.

“…Cough, ugh, cold.”

Kyung-soo coughed lightly and quietly closed the window again. New buds sprouted from the ground, and flower buds formed on the branches, but the cold remained. He woke up in the middle of the night last night because it was cold and put on another layer of clothing.

Still, it felt like a waste not to go outside on a day like this. Surely everyone, including Cheon No-eul, would think so. Therefore, he called No-eul, who was in a tentative romantic relationship with him.

-Kyung-soo hyung! Did you sleep well?

“You should say hello first.”

-Hello.

“Yeah, did you sleep well? What are you doing now?”

-I’m collecting materials to get a chocolate bouquet. Are you coming in now too, hyung?

“Ah, well….”

Of course. I was a fool to expect anything. Kyung-soo answered that he understood, turned on the computer, washed his face, and came out.

The main screen featured an illustration of the main character of the game’s story wearing a chef’s hat and eating chocolate. The Valentine’s event, which ran from early February to the end of March, was one of the events that couple characters gritted their teeth and participated in. This was partly because of the limited-edition fashion items covered in sweets from head to toe, but also because couples who got married during the event period while holding the fashion weapon item ‘White Chocolate Bouquet’ were given the title ‘Chocolatier’s Blessing.’

[Global] Ji9star: ? Cat-nim, what are you doing here?

[Global] neutaaaa: hihi

Kyung-soo stopped beating the chocolate ball event monsters with automatic skills and answered.

[Global] Catmeowmeow: Collecting materials….

[Global] Ji9star: What for?

[Global] neutaaaa: Didn’t you already get all the chocolate looks?

That’s right. It had been a long time since he had obtained all the limited-edition fashion items.

[Global] Catmeowmeow: Someone wanted a bouquet….

At that, even strangers who were just catching monsters next to him reacted with ‘trembling’.’ You had to collect 999 of each type of material to exchange for the chocolate bouquet item. This was why everyone was shocked when you said you were going to have a Valentine’s Day wedding. But in fact, when you think about it, it wasn’t a big deal. The only minor difference was that during the wedding event, monsters appeared wearing candy-covered clothes.

[Global] Ji9star: Who but Cat-nim would do such a pointless, futile thing? lol

[Global] Sunset: T_T/

[Global] Ji9star: Ah

[Global] Ji9star: Ah lol I knew it. Cat-nim was running around so diligently ^^ Looks good! I want a God-tier bouquet too;;; ㅡㅡ;;

[Global] Catmeowmeow: Look at that attitude change, so annoying;

[Global] neutaaaa: hahahahahahaha

His stomach kept growling. Kyung-soo, who had registered automatic skills, tried to get up from his seat but hesitated and sat down again. For some reason, he didn’t want to eat alone today.

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: How much is left?

[Couple] Sunset: I still have a long way to go with the whipped cream balls and jelly slimes, but the rest is almost done lol

[Couple] Sunset: But the weather is really nice today, right?

That’s right, it’s almost too good to be stuck in a room. Is he saying let’s go out since the weather is nice? Kyung-soo nodded slightly.

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: Yes, yes

[Couple] Sunset: It’s a good day to propose ㅇㅅㅇ

“……”

That damn wedding. Kyung-soo had no intention of getting married in the game with No-eul yet. It was partly because of the guild members who would tease him, saying how could they get married so soon after starting to date, and he also thought it was too early.

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: Isn’t marriage a bit early when we’re not even dating yet?

[Couple] Sunset: Not at all?

He wouldn’t be this clueless. He’s usually overly perceptive, but I don’t know why he’s like this when it’s really needed. Kyung-soo decided to give him a little hint.

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: There’s something we need to do before marriage.

[Couple] Sunset: Is it? o(≧▽≦)o

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: I’ll give you a hint. It involves a date

[Couple] Sunset: Update? lol

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: Fucking hell, don’t talk to me today

He put a little too much force into the fingers typing, but it was a joke.

[Couple] Sunset: lololollolololㅋㅋㅋI’m kidding

[Couple] Sunset: What do you want to do?

Kyung-soo paused for a moment. Usually, anything you do together is a date, right? Meeting up and taking a walk, watching a movie, riding a bike by the Han River, going to a karaoke room, and going out to eat were all dates. So, he thought of what he wanted to do today.

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: Just a walk

[Couple] Sunset: Come to Märchen Bridge

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: ?

He moved there first. Was there an event NPC there too? Why there when there’s a nearby NPC…. Following No-eul, he warped to the city with Märchen Bridge. Entering the portal in the middle of the city, a long bridge unfolded.

“No way….”[Couple] Sunset: Let’s walk ㅇㅅㅇ

No-eul started walking along the bridge.” Kyung-soo followed him like a pet dog, denying this fact. No way, he wouldn’t have brought me here because I said walk. It can’t be.

[Couple] Sunset: Let’s walk to the other side once more

When he reached the end of the bridge, he turned his body to the other side. Kyung-soo burst out laughing.

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: lololollololol

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: Are you kidding me right now?lololollololollololollolololㅋ

[Couple] Sunset: lololollololol

Seeing him laugh along, it seemed like he was just teasing him. He couldn’t take it anymore.

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: Let’s settle this IRL, come out right now

[Couple] Sunset: Okay hehe

Kyung-soo started getting dressed. He was already excited.

After meeting up and having an early lunch, the two strolled along the Han River, and after their cheeks were slapped around by the riverside wind, they had no choice but to take refuge in No-eul’s house. No-eul tried to melt Kyung-soo’s red ears by holding them in his hands, but his hands were also red and chapped, so it was no use.

“Let’s go bike riding when it gets warmer.”

“I’m not good at riding a bike….”

Judging by his appearance, he looked like he would be good at it, but he seemed to lack athletic ability more than he looked. Kyung-soo tilted his chin slightly as if to ridicule him and advised.

“You can ride a four-wheeled bike.”

“Just let me ride on the back, hyung.”

Kyung-soo narrowed his eyes and imagined No-eul on the back, pedaling the bicycle. It was good up to the point of holding his waist, but his hands wouldn’t stay still and would grope his back or dig into his clothes. Inevitably, he had to give up on his romantic bike date early.

“Cough… ahem.”

He kept coughing lightly. It seemed to be because the air wasn’t good these days, and No-eul had been touching Kyung-soo’s forehead with his hand since earlier. He must not have dried his hands properly, as his soapy-smelling hand was damp. As a result, some of Kyung-soo’s bangs got wet.

“Get away, I don’t have a fever.”

“Hyung, I think you’re going to catch a cold….”

“I don’t catch col… uh, uh oh?”

No-eul pushed Kyung-soo onto his bed as he was. He had a smile in his eyes, wondering what kind of plan he was plotting.

“Pass it on to me. They say you get better if you pass on a cold.”

“……?”

No-eul sat next to him, hugged him tightly, and asked.

“Will I catch it if I stay like this?”

“I’m telling you I don’t have a cold. Even if it is a cold, why would you take it?”

“I’ll be sick for you instead.”

“No thanks.”

Even if he dropped the hand around his waist, he stubbornly hugged him again. There was no reason to push away a guy who would stick to him in every way possible even if he said he didn’t like it. When he moved to the center of the bed and settled down, No-eul followed and lay down, using his thigh as a pillow.

No-eul started writing on his thigh with his finger. While looking at his phone, he focused all his senses on the letters his finger was drawing.

‘Hyung.’

“What.”

When he gave a short answer, he brightened up and his eyes sparkled. He suddenly thought of stroking his hair, but he lowered his hand because he thought he would feel disgusted if he liked it too much.

“Wow, I got it right! Then next.”

‘Why don’t you carry anything in your bag…?’

It tickled like a brand was being left wherever his finger moved.

‘…at all?’

Kyung-soo, who barely managed to read the long sentence, hesitated for a moment whether to just pretend he didn’t know, then answered as if scolding him.

“What’s it to you? It’s weird if only I don’t carry it around.”

“Ah.”

Kyung-soo slapped No-eul’s forehead with his palm. No-eul, who was holding his reddened forehead with both hands, said that this time it was a formula, and told him to guess this too.

‘7500-7000-100-400=?’

“……”

When did I cut that all off…. Kyung-soo’s eyes wavered.

“What’s the answer?”

I don’t know, damn it. Kyung-soo pretended not to know.

“…No, I didn’t understand…. Pass, give me the next question.”

“The answer is 0.”

No-eul jumped up and quickly pinned Kyung-soo down. Kyung-soo was startled and turned over, covering his face with the blanket.

“Damn it, I’m going home!”

“See, you understood but you said you didn’t know…. And hyung, since earlier.”

“Eek!”

No-eul’s hand suddenly came in through the blanket. He shouldn’t have just covered his face. It was no use even if he quickly bent his legs. He moved his hand along the shape over his clothes and said.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you were flinching every time I wrote a letter?”

“…I didn’t know?”

“Liar. How could you not know this.”

He really didn’t know. Now that he thought about it, it seemed like he did. He had a strange feeling every time his finger touched his thigh, but he hadn’t realized it because he was focused on the letters.

‘Why do I like this guy…. I’d rather die….’

It seemed like he was losing the bet more and more. When he took his face out of the blanket because of the dizzying sensation, No-eul, who was holding his thigh with one hand, met his eyes. He came up and blinked his eyes prettily.

‘He’s not trying to seduce me in this situation, and why is he opening his eyes like that….’

Kyung-soo felt his heart pounding and swallowed hard. Cough, No-eul laughed when he coughed lightly without any tact. Kyung-soo glared at No-eul and asked.

“Yeah, damn it. What are you going to do?”

‘At best, he’ll just peck at my lips a little and stop.’

It didn’t seem that difficult. Anyway, there were very limited ways to do it. He would shake them together, or if he wanted to be more perverted, he would cover his eyes or change his position. But No-eul deviated from that expectation and pointed to an unexpected place.

“I’m going to do it here.”

“……?”

His butt? No, that’s not it. His hand dug between the two mounds. He didn’t touch it exactly, but he quickly realized it. Before Kyung-soo’s hand could point to the exact spot, he quickly grabbed No-eul’s wrist and brought it over, shaking his head slightly.

“…Not there. You must have looked in the wrong place. I’ll look again.”

“It’s right, though? I even watched a video while looking it up… Wow! It works!”

“It’s not ‘it works’! There’s no way!”

Kyung-soo took a deep breath to calm down first. But soon a cough came out, so it was ineffective. Even if a dick went in there, he would definitely get hurt. No matter how annoying Cheon No-eul was, he would definitely feel bad if he cried. Actually, he wanted to see him cry a little bit…. But it didn’t seem necessary to take the risk.

“No-eul, calm down and listen.”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

“When I see it, I don’t think your idea is very good. No matter how I think about it, it’s too…. I don’t want to hurt you. Okay?”

“Thank you for worrying, but I’m okay. Just loosen it up enough. I’ll be careful not to hurt hyung.”

“……Why would I get hurt?”

It seemed like No-eul was misunderstanding something. I should be the one putting it in, not him.

“You’re the one who gets hurt. Get a grip.”

“You know. I learn everything quickly.”

“You son of a bitch, don’t talk nonsense. I’m the one who’s putting it in.”

“You don’t hate doing it with me, right? I knew it. Hyung also….”

“Shut up!”

Kyung-soo shouted loudly and shook his head.

“I’m the one who’s putting it in. Say you understand. Quickly!”

“You have big dreams. Ugh, looks good.”

Kyung-soo forgot that he was persuading him not to do it and started insisting that he was the one putting it in. No-eul didn’t just give in, and in the end, they decided to decide with rock-paper-scissors after a debate. Kyung-soo squeezed one eye shut and held out his fist.

God was not on his side.

“I guess today is a bit early after all?”

“……”

No-eul, who easily won with paper and took the position of putting it in, smiled softly as if he knew this would happen. And he kissed Kyung-soo’s stiff lips briefly. The hands that had been groping all over his body wrapped around his waist. His head became complicated.

“Ugh….”

When he barely came to his senses, he was mixing tongues again. Kyung-soo flinched and parted his lips, saying.

“Ga, games are best out of three….”

“If I win all three times… I’ll do it right now.”

“Sniff…. No, sorry, keep going….”

No-eul buried his nose in Kyung-soo’s neck and breathed heavily. He kissed his neck thickly, went up his chin, and brought his lips to his lips with a peck. Kyung-soo wrapped his arms around No-eul’s neck and glanced up.

How am I supposed to do it there, damn it. Are you crazy? …I’m fucked. I’m really fucked….

“Ah, ugh… Kyung-soo hyung….”

The voice moaning in his ear, No-eul’s profile that he could see with just a slight turn of his head, and the faint smell of sweat mixed with the refreshing scent shook Kyung-soo’s mind. A strange sensation went up his spine.

Kyung-soo let out a suppressed groan and cried out in his heart several times. No-eul let Kyung-soo go willingly for some reason, and Kyung-soo came home and shuddered while showering, remembering Cheon No-eul’s red lips tightly closed and his eyes reddening. He took a long shower under the warm water and came out of the bathroom.

“……”

His feverish head cooled down. Damn it, my life is over now! He struggled and collapsed as if exhausted and fell asleep.

And Monday morning.

「No-eul: ㅠㅠ I caught a cold」

“……”

Kyung-soo, whose light cough had completely disappeared, had to suffer from guilt. The rain, which had started to fall little by little in the morning, poured down from the time the fourth period started. Thud, the sound of raindrops hitting the leaves was heard. Kyung-soo, who was playing with his hands by bending and unfolding the end of the paper, hid his phone under his desk after much deliberation and secretly checked the screen.

「Me: Should I go to the hospital with you?」

No-eul still hadn’t replied to the message he had sent in the morning. He hadn’t even read it. As soon as the bell rang to end the fourth period, Kyung-soo called No-eul. He was a guy who answered the phone without the ringtone ringing several times, but today the waiting time was longer than usual. Just when he thought it would go to voicemail, he answered the phone.

-Hello….

What he heard was a low voice. But it was definitely Cheon No-eul’s voice.

“What’s wrong. Why does your voice sound like that?”

-Hyung? I… woke up from sleeping….

“You said you don’t sleep at school.”

-I had a fever… I left school early and went to the hospital…. Ugh, so I’m home now.

He was speaking more slowly than usual, perhaps because he was still struggling to wake up. He also coughed lightly from time to time.

-So don’t come today. You’ll catch it….

Is he weak? Seeing him groaning like this with just a cold, there must be something wrong with his immunity.

“I won’t go even if you don’t tell me. Get some rest.”

-Okay. Sleep well too, hyung….

“……Uh.”

You may not know it, but I’m at school right now. Sleep well, does he know what he’s saying? Kyung-soo laughed in disbelief after the call ended.

*

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Kyung-soo packed up vegetable porridge from the porridge shop in front of the school and headed to No-eul’s house. His feet moved on their own when he thought that there was no one to take care of No-eul, who lived alone. 258789, he entered the password that No-eul had told him, but the alarm beeped briefly because he had changed it. He felt a little sorry to wake up a sleeping kid. While he was wondering if he should just leave the porridge in front of the door, the door burst open.

“Hyung?”

No-eul, whose hair was sticking out in all directions and whose forehead was wet for some reason, asked with a dazed expression. Kyung-soo raised his hand and touched No-eul’s forehead. It wasn’t terribly hot, but he definitely had a fever.

“Go inside, it’s cold.”

“…The doctor said I have the flu.”

“It’s okay. I’m confident I won’t catch it.”

“Cough, it looks like it…. You even came heavily armed.”

Kyung-soo pushed No-eul, who seemed out of his mind with fever, into the house. Then, adjusting the two masks he had hurriedly bought from the pharmacy, he followed him inside. The air inside the house was as chilly as outside. He thought that wearing such thin clothes in this kind of house was making his cold worse.

Kyung-soo sat No-eul down at the table and gently placed his coat over his shoulders. No-eul looked up at him with what seemed like moved eyes.

“I thought you wouldn’t eat if you were sick, so I came. I’ll go home as soon as you finish eating.”

“What about you, hyung?”

“I’m okay.”

“It would have been nice if we could eat together…”

No-eul mumbled blankly and picked up his spoon. Kyung-soo set the bedroom temperature a little higher. A wet towel had fallen beside the bed. It seemed that the reason the guy’s forehead had been damp earlier was because of this. The thought of him sleeping soundly with a towel on his forehead, having seen it somewhere and doing it plausibly, made him chuckle.

Except for the slightly disheveled bed, it was still neat. Books and notebooks were neatly arranged on the desk, and a frame he hadn’t seen before was standing there. ‘Happy birthday, me.’ Inside was a note he had started to write on his birthday but never finished. Why even put this in a frame…

He left the room when he felt a little warmth in the floor. But in the blink of an eye, No-eul, who had emptied a bowl of porridge, had moved to the power button of the computer. When their eyes met, No-eul hesitated for a moment, then smiled bashfully and said.

“I’m okay now!”

He meant that he felt better now and wanted to sit in front of the computer.

“Do you want to die?”

“…If I collect just 300 more slime balls, I can get a white chocolate bouquet… Ouch.”

“Want to get your ass beat?”

“No…”

Kyung-soo grabbed No-eul’s cheeks and shook them wildly. No-eul then replied with tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

“Hyung, I’m a patient…”

“If you’re a patient, go back and lie down like one.”

Then No-eul, unable to make eye contact, retorted defensively.

“But the Valentine’s event is only until tomorrow. I have to get married tomorrow…”

“Lie down.”

“Yes.”

Kyung-soo pushed No-eul onto the bed as if crumpling him up and covered him up to his head with the blanket. No-eul, who had been wriggling inside, poked his head out of the blanket and smiled, crinkling his eyes. When asked why he was smiling, he just shook his head slightly and grinned.

“Actually, I thought hyung would come. So I kept falling asleep and waking up since earlier. Because I had to open the door…”

“What? You told me not to come?”

“Even if I say that, you’ll come anyway. So… I’m a little happy.”

He couldn’t just brush off No-eul’s rambling. He felt a little embarrassed when he said he was happy and cleared his throat. He felt a little happy too.

“It’s been a long time since someone was by my side when I was sick…”

“I didn’t ask.”

He brushed the guy’s bangs up and answered gruffly. No-eul gently closed his eyes and leaned his face against Kyung-soo’s hand, saying.

“I think it’s even better because it’s hyung.”

“……”

If it’s good, it’s good, what’s with the ‘I think it’s good’ again. Even while grumbling, he felt inexplicably good.

“I know, I get it, so close your eyes.”

He covered his eyes with his palm. After a while, when he took his hand away, No-eul, with his eyes obediently closed, muttered.

“I wish I was sick every day…”

Such a childish thing to say. He brushed back his disheveled hair and chuckled. At that moment, he heard the sound of the door lock being pressed and raised his head. Leaving No-eul, who was trying to get up, as he was, he went out and opened the front door.

“……What. Who are you?”

The man frowned and asked. Kyung-soo was quite taken aback by the abrupt question of who he was.

“Excuse me?”

“Did the person who lived here move out?”

Move? Does he know Cheon No-eul? Or does he know someone who lived here before?

“Why didn’t No-eul tell me or Dad that he was moving…”

Kyung-soo’s eyes widened at the familiar name. Come to think of it, he had heard that he had an older brother. He still hadn’t returned his car keys, and they were still lying on the corner of the table.

“Oh, No-eul? Are you perhaps Cheon No-eul’s brother?”

“…Are you No-eul’s friend? So No-eul still lives here?”

Friend? Friend… Kyung-soo hesitated to answer, then smiled awkwardly and replied.

“Yes…”

“No-eul has a friend!”

“……?”

It was obvious since they weren’t related by blood, but his brother didn’t resemble No-eul. He had been showing an unpleasant expression, but when No-eul’s name came out of Kyung-soo’s mouth, the atmosphere changed completely. He even wiped away tears, saying that he thought he was a bad person with no friends, and Kyung-soo couldn’t say anything.

“…Hyung?”

No-eul, who came out of the room, frowned at the person standing in the doorway.

“Don’t you read the newspaper?”

“……?”

He was briefly surprised by No-eul, who was openly treating him like a peddler, but that worry quickly disappeared thanks to the man who continued to speak as if nothing had happened.

“No-eul, it’s been a while! Have you gotten taller again? You’re growing so fast because you’re in puberty.”

“I’m not buying.”

“Oh, you’re doing it again. When did you change the password? You have to tell your brother.”

“Ah, really… Kyung-soo hyung, why did you open the door…”

Kyung-soo felt like he had committed a deadly sin at the sight of No-eul’s tearful face and almost prostrated himself to apologize.

“But did the school uniform design change?”

“……?”

“Well, it’s similar to the old one, but why did they change it? It would suit you, though. But you should have told me if it changed, No-eul. Did you buy it with your allowance? It’s not cheap, are you eating well? Do you need allowance?”

He was overwhelmed by the barrage of questions. No-eul made a disgusted expression. Kyung-soo was also lost in thought.

“Is No-eul’s friend going home?”

No-eul looked at Kyung-soo with an earnest expression, as if begging him not to go. Kyung-soo reluctantly shook his head slightly. Then No-eul’s brother smiled brightly as if it was a good thing and held up the paper bag he was holding. At that, Kyung-soo, who was about to say that No-eul had eaten, closed his mouth because of what No-eul whispered in his ear as he subtly grabbed his hand.

“Just leave him alone. It’ll be louder if you talk to him…”

“……”

As he said, No-eul’s brother was really talkative. No-eul also chattered quite often, but he didn’t spew out words all the time like the man, answer himself, and laugh heartily, absorbed in his own words. Above all, because he didn’t hide his affection for No-eul, it was understandable that No-eul would whine that his new brother was annoying. As soon as the topic his brother was talking about turned to Kyung-soo, No-eul didn’t hide his unpleasant expression.

“Ah, I’ll give you back the car keys, so go quickly. My head hurts.”

“Your head hurts?”

“……”

He felt a little better at Kyung-soo’s touch of turning his head and touching his forehead, but No-eul frowned because of his brother, who was sitting across from him and predicting Kyung-soo’s grades.

What was he so unhappy about? It was unfamiliar to see No-eul wavering, who didn’t care even if he shouted and kicked his shins.

“If he’s one year older than him, he’ll be a senior in high school…”

“Don’t tell Kyung-soo hyung that he’s bad at studying!”

No-eul shouted, glaring at his brother. Kyung-soo, who had suddenly become someone who was bad at studying, looked back and forth between the two with his mouth agape.

“……What, me?”

“He’s not bad at it, he’s just not doing it! And he must have his own reasons… Right, hyung?”

“……”

Kyung-soo, who had no particular thoughts, just blinked blankly. He didn’t know how he knew his grades and was spouting such nonsense in the first place. Was it that he looked like he couldn’t study even if he tried?

No-eul snatched the stolen car keys and put them in his brother’s hand, then pushed him up and into the shoe rack. Even while being chased out, he didn’t stop talking and said goodbye to Kyung-soo before leaving. Only silence remained in the place where No-eul’s brother had swept through. Kyung-soo was gasping for breath in a daze.

“I’m all awake now, can’t I just exchange for the chocolate bouquet and then sleep? It’ll really only take an hour…”

“……”

They didn’t look alike at all, but the way they got you caught up in their words was similar between the brothers. It was a sudden meeting, but it made him think a lot. No-eul grabbed Kyung-soo’s hand and urged him once again.

“Hyung, our wedding tomorrow…”

“We’re not getting married tomorrow. I don’t think that’s the priority right now.”

No-eul mulled over the word ‘priority’ a few times in his mouth and then asked cautiously. His expectation that he would jump up and down, asking why he wouldn’t marry him, was off.

“You mean the order of priority is important? Are you perhaps thinking the same thing as me, hyung?”

“What are you talking about.”

“I agree with that. I knew hyung was thoughtful.”

“……? Anyway, I’m not getting married or anything. I’m… going to study…”

He had to change the perception so that at least No-eul wouldn’t think of him as ‘someone who can’t study even if he tries’. The thought that the guy might have seen him as a fool all along made him dizzy. He wanted to appear as a reliable and cool hyung to No-eul. If he confidently showed him his grades, he had to make the guy fall over in surprise. So from tomorrow, he had to listen to the classes diligently and reduce the game time to two hours a day…

“Then hyung should study hard too… How about this weekend…?”

If he worked hard on weekdays, he thought he could make time to play with No-eul on the weekend.

“The weekend… Yeah, good.”

He smiled brightly and pressed the screen of his phone. Then the words he had just said were repeated.

‘The weekend… Yeah, good.’

“……?”

“I recorded it. I’ll get over my cold quickly too!”

No-eul clenched his fist tightly with an unknown sound. He suddenly thought that his red eyes, still flushed with fever, were lovely.

As soon as the bell rang, he collapsed on his desk and closed his eyes. Other things aside, the 5th period literature class was really hopeless. The monotonous voice of the teacher and the drowsiness after lunch combined to make it impossible for anyone not to fall asleep. He put his arms down and took a deep breath, exhaling it all at once.

His friends, who could not have imagined Kyung-soo doing this, were either cautiously worried or openly teasing him.

“You’re doing things you don’t usually do, that’s why. Kim Kyung-soo, wake up, let me copy your notes.”

Kyung-soo woke up with hollow eyes at the hand shaking his shoulder.

“…Why are you copying mine? Did you sleep too?”

He mumbled and looked around, but there was no one awake. The vice president left the class and turned off the lights indifferently.

“Everyone except you and the vice president slept… But why are you suddenly studying when you’re not even going to college? Are you going to college?”

“…No. I’m just bored.”

It was strange even for him to hear that he was taking classes he didn’t listen to because he was bored. But Tae-yeol was only focused on copying the notes without any suspicion.

“What is this? Is it English?”

His finger was pointing at Kyung-soo’s handwriting. Why English in literature class? Kyung-soo frowned and answered.

“No, it’s obviously ‘evening glow’.”

“Is it hieroglyphics or something…”

“……”

His head was dizzy from the onrushing sleepiness, and the breeze coming in through the open window made him feel languid. He didn’t know how many years it had been since he had properly attended classes and brought a book to review in his bag after school. It had only been three days, but he already wanted to give up. But he couldn’t because of Cheon No-eul.

It was a matter of how the guy usually thought of him and how he would think of him in the future. There was nothing more important to Kyung-soo than this issue right now. Since entering high school, he had only attended classes when he felt like it and hadn’t even touched subjects he didn’t like, so this was the result. It was possible because his parents weren’t the type to force him to study. He was thinking of graduating and going down to his parents’ place to help with the store… But now he had changed his mind. He didn’t want to go down.

“…What’s so great about him.”

His head was in chaos. Kyung-soo thought of No-eul and then collapsed on his desk again, lost in thought. In fact, even if he didn’t study, No-eul wouldn’t ignore him or look at him with prejudice. And that was the same for him. Regardless of No-eul’s grades, he liked him for being honest, sassy, and kind. Still, he wanted to appear as a confident and cool person to No-eul. He needed to change.

「No-eul: I’m boredㅠ What are you doing, hyung?」

He reached into the drawer and checked his phone when he heard it vibrating on the desk. It was a message from No-eul.

「Me: Studying」

「No-eul: Ah hahaha Aren’t you at school?」

No-eul always laughed like that whenever he heard that he was studying. And sometimes he even added, ‘I have to go do it too!’ It was like he was saying that he would follow along because his hyung was doing it.

「No-eul: Hyung, you’re always doing it hahaha!!」

「Me: Is that so?”No-eul: But I thought that was good too ㅇㅅㅇ”

He was the one who always said he liked him. Kyung-soo looked at his phone and smiled with his eyes narrowed.

“Cu…te…ba…stard…!”

“What’s wrong with you, creepy bastard.”

Tae-yeol, who had successfully finished copying the notes, pushed the book away and turned around without regret. Kyung-soo was busy exchanging messages with No-eul and trying not to laugh until the bell rang for the next class, and his lips turned white.

On Friday afternoon, he was planning to turn it on for only 10 minutes to receive the consecutive login reward. He opened the friend list without thinking and saw that Min-jae was online. He thought it was a good opportunity and sent him a whisper.

[Whisper] Catmeowmeow: Are you there now?

[Whisper] Spade Queen: ?

[Whisper] Catmeowmeow: What’s Cheon No-eul’s rank in class? ㅋㅋ

It was to set a goal. Kyung-soo was expecting around the middle. He had been seeing the guy on the friend list every day for over a year, even if he only logged into the game, so he naturally thought he would be similar to him or lower.

[Whisper] Spade Queen: ㅋㅋ….

[Whisper] Catmeowmeow: Is it very low? ㅠ

[Whisper] Spade Queen: ? No???? If you’re in the top 20 in the whole school, they give you a separate desk in the reading room to study during lunch or something.

[Whisper] Spade Queen: He has a seat there too, haha……”

Top 20 in the whole school?

[Whisper] Catmeowmeow: Bullshit

[Whisper] Spade Queen: It’s real

It couldn’t be. Was he not just playing games all the time except for eating and sleeping?

[Whisper] Catmeowmeow: Why…?

[Whisper] Spade Queen: I don’t know what to doㅠㅠ

[Whisper] Catmeowmeow: ????

[Whisper] Spade Queen: If you ask him, he says, ‘I listened to the classes diligently, focusing on the textbook!^^’ so don’t ask him haha I almost died of high blood pressure after hearing that hahaha

[Whisper] Spade Queen: It’s better if you don’t know~

[Whisper] Catmeowmeow: You just told me

[Whisper] Spade Queen: haha sorry haha

‘You have been logged in for 10 minutes. Please claim your reward!’

Kyung-soo, who received the login reward and turned off the game, didn’t study right away, but instead sat blankly for about 10 minutes, staring at the monitor that had turned black. He never thought that No-eul would be in the top ranks of the school. In comparison, no matter how hard he tried from now on, it was clear that it would be difficult to even move up to the middle ranks, let alone the top ranks.

“…Well, it’s not his fault that he’s good at studying.”

There was no need to blame No-eul for no reason. Setting the guy as a goal was not a good idea. He had been thinking that from the beginning! What would he do by setting No-eul as a goal when they were in different schools and grades? Kyung-soo, who had barely regained his senses, sat down at his desk.

He took out a book and tried to read the words, but nothing came into his head at all. He had promised to play with Cheon No-eul on the weekend, but he couldn’t do this today… As he forced himself to read the words, drowsiness began to creep in. When he was almost lying down and sucking on the end of his mechanical pencil, staring blankly, the phone he had plugged into the charger began to ring. Kyung-soo opened his half-closed eyes and quickly got up.

‘Video call from No-eul!’

Why a video call. Kyung-soo quickly went into expression management. He straightened his eyes so as not to be caught sleeping and smoothed his hair. Then, when he pressed the call button, No-eul’s face filled the screen.

“Why.”

-Hyung, you have to say hello first.

No-eul said as if scolding him. The corners of his mouth were raised pleasantly. He was learning his words and following them exactly. Kyung-soo chuckled and said what the guy wanted.

“…Okay, hello?”

-Yes, it’s your honey.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

No-eul was walking down a dark night road. His face was hard to see when he was far from the streetlights, and clearly visible when he passed under a new one. Just looking at him, Kyung-soo could almost smell the dawn air. He must have been coming back from somewhere, as Kyung-soo could hear the rustling of a plastic bag.

-I missed you.

“Yeah. Why are you still outside?”

-I went out to buy something. What were you doing, hyung?

“Studying.”

-Ah….

No-eul blinked and grinned, cooling the heat in his cheeks with the back of his hand. He seemed shy for some reason. There was no reason for him to be. Kyung-soo’s eyes went to the black bag hanging from his wrist.

“What’s that?”

He asked, pointing at the screen. No-eul looked back and forth between Kyung-soo and the bag, then smiled with the corners of his lips raised. When Kyung-soo stubbornly said no to his question of whether he was curious, No-eul even let out a clear laugh and chuckled briefly. Then, with a rustling sound, he slyly took out what was in the bag and showed it to him.

“……?”

Kyung-soo was completely awake. Kyung-soo’s relaxed face instantly hardened.

“……??”

-Why do you look like that?

Kyung-soo was so dumbfounded that he could only open and close his mouth. In No-eul’s hand was a rustling object. As far as Kyung-soo knew, no candy or sweets in the world looked like that.

“……No-eul-ah. Why is that….”

-Why? I think hyung would know if you studied hard.

“Damn it, why would I, who only studied, know that!”

-Ah, did you only look at the ones you don’t use?

“……What?”

-I can’t say more because I’m outside.

No-eul covered his flushed cheeks and grinned. Kyung-soo repeatedly replayed No-eul’s words in his head, as if deciphering a code.

No matter how he thought about it, there was only one conclusion.

“……Damn….”

Kyung-soo muttered quietly. No wonder he even recorded such trivial words. No wonder he liked the word “study” so much; it seemed that No-eul’s definition of study was different from his.

It was that kind of study! What should he do? He hadn’t done any!

-We’re seeing each other tomorrow, right? What time are you coming?

Should he tell him? Then would he be disappointed? He even bought con…doms. The thought of disappointing No-eul, who was so full of anticipation, didn’t sit well with him.

-Or should I go there?

He couldn’t let that devil into his house. Kyung-soo swallowed hard and shook his head vigorously.

“…Ah, no. Let’s see each other on Sunday!”

-…Sunday? I was going to tell you to sleep over. …Can’t we just see each other tomorrow too?

“No! I’ll bring clothes to change into on Sunday! I’m super busy tomorrow!”

-…Why are you so busy?

“Studying!”

-Ah, okay…!

No-eul seemed convinced by his words and ended up smiling happily. But Kyung-soo couldn’t smile. It really must be that kind of study, damn it, what should he do! He had said he would study dozens of times, even at school. It pained him to think that No-eul would think of him as someone who looked for weird things at school. Kyung-soo muttered all sorts of curses under his breath as he watched No-eul go into his house.

He almost ended his life tomorrow without knowing anything. Kyung-soo, who barely earned a one-day grace period, rushed to the computer as soon as he hung up the phone. All sorts of thoughts floated around in his head while the power was turning on. But… surely he wouldn’t die? It wouldn’t be a big deal. He tried to force the corners of his lips up to pretend to be calm, but failed. His heart was beating faster than usual due to anxiety and nervousness.

“…….”

It would have been really nice if he had just slept until Monday. His eyes opened on their own. When he looked at the clock, it was only nine in the morning.

The internet was truly a sea of information. There was nothing that wasn’t there. People enjoyed pleasure in all sorts of bizarre poses. They didn’t care about the time or place. The only problem was that it was men with men, not men with women.

As if by God’s trick, today was the last day of March, and tomorrow happened to be his birthday. What if he died the day before his birthday, it would be so unfair. All sorts of thoughts crossed his mind. Kyung-soo took a deep breath and got up. His heart was already tightening. He wanted to think it wasn’t a big deal, but his body was honest. Perhaps because he had crammed all day yesterday on the relevant study, he felt like flesh-colored figures were floating in front of his eyes.

The phone screen flashed on and off again. It was obvious that it was Cheon No-eul without even looking. Kyung-soo didn’t reply immediately and wiggled his toes, pondering.

‘Should I just run away? If I hadn’t lost at rock-paper-scissors back then, I would have been much less burdened.’

Even just thinking about what would happen in the afternoon without doing anything, an hour passed quickly.

In that short amount of time, Kyung-soo experienced many psychological changes. Anxiety, nervousness, shortness of breath, decreased concentration, tension, fear, excessive heart palpitations…. There was also some anticipation, but Kyung-soo tried hard to deny it. He wanted to see Cheon No-eul, but he didn’t want to see him. Should he just pretend he didn’t know? If he was stubborn, No-eul wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Several hours passed like that. Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong. Kyung-soo, who rang the doorbell three times in a row, raised his head slightly with a determined look. Even though he knew the password, he didn’t open the door lock himself. Soon after, the door opened and No-eul greeted Kyung-soo.

“Are you nervous, hyung?”

“Huh? About what?”

No-eul’s hair was slightly wet. He must have just finished showering, as he smelled like soap.

“You don’t have to be so nervous.”

“Huh? Nervous? No way! I even took a calming pill. I’m totally fine right now.”

“……?”

Seeing No-eul’s face, it seemed that the medicine he had taken was not very effective. He was sure that his heartbeat had been fine all the way here, so he thought the effect of the medicine was really great, but that was not the case. He briefly thought about hitting him and running away, but he decided to refrain from that because he had seen his face for so long.

“Hyung is really… fully prepared.”

It was funny to see him already blushing with a happy face, not knowing anything. Kyung-soo smiled back and answered nonchalantly.

“Do you like movies?”

“…Yes?”

“I’m going to watch a movie with you today.”

“What movie?”

If he told him the truth, he would probably rush in and throw the USB into the trash, so it seemed better to say it vaguely.

“I brought a really good one….”

Kyung-soo took out the USB from his pocket and whispered subtly. No-eul tilted his head with a puzzled look, then soon exclaimed, “Ah!” and smiled strangely.

“I… I like it!”

“Yeah, that’s a relief.”

It’s a movie with a pretty high rating, so of course you should like it. However, since there’s a bit of blood and a lot of startling scenes, there won’t be any time to set the mood.

‘Because it’s a horror movie.’

Or he could get bored and fall asleep first. Kyung-soo was really fully prepared, just as No-eul had said. Kyung-soo put the bag he was carrying down in No-eul’s room. No-eul took out his laptop and shrugged his shoulders as if he was excited.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Yes, I like it!”

“Then let’s make a promise. Don’t do anything until the movie is over.”

“…….”

“Cheon No-eul, answer.”

“…….”

No-eul kept his mouth shut and only blinked, pretending not to know. He had prepared for this. Kyung-soo rummaged through his bag and took out the tie that his cousin had left behind last time.

“No-eul-ah, then hold out your hand.”

“No. What are you doing, hyung? What are you going to do to me…!”

“I’m going to do something really good with you.”

“That’s a lie! That’s a lie!”

“I can’t lie. Don’t you know this?”

Kyung-soo narrowed his eyes and held up the tie. No-eul answered with a reluctant look.

“We’re doing this for the first time, so that’s a bit much. Hyung, you’re like a pervert. The first time is usually a bit more normal….”

“You don’t know anything. It’s more special because it’s the first time you’re tied up. Are you stupid?”

“…Is that so….”

He knew it would work. Because the word ‘first’ is a very special word.

“Yeah. It’s the same as the first kiss.”

“……No, it’s not.”

Why is he obediently holding out his hands while saying no? If he tied up his hands, he wouldn’t be able to do anything weird while watching the movie, so it would be okay. The inside of the tie is soft, so Cheon No-eul won’t get hurt. He seemed more lovely because he was behaving himself. Kyung-soo tested No-eul with the ‘how to tie wrists so they can’t untie themselves’ method that he had been researching and practicing all night.

“Done. It’s tied up nicely!”

“…Ah, yes.”

It took a while, but the tied shape was neat. After tying it all up, he made the knot face up and pulled both hands taut. Just as the internet said, the knot did not come undone easily. No-eul, whose movements were restricted, twitched his eyes as if he was very annoyed. Kyung-soo soothed him by kissing his forehead a few times. Then No-eul’s ears turned red. See, he’ll like it soon, but he’s just being difficult. Kyung-soo plugged the USB into the laptop that was turned on.

“Is the movie short?”

“Short.”

“Okay….”

Everything is short compared to life. Kyung-soo clicked on the file name ‘♨Very Good Thing♨ (No-eul will probably like it haha♨)’. Just before pressing the enter key to play the video, he heard No-eul muttering in his ear.

“Hyung, you’re really thinking about me all the time….”

“…….”

If he said no, he didn’t know what kind of impulsive behavior he would do, so it was better not to answer. After playing the video, Kyung-soo immediately hid the mouse so he couldn’t see the playback time of ‘3 hours and 52 minutes’ and pushed No-eul to sit on the bed.

A house with a gloomy atmosphere appeared with the sound of a clear music box. No-eul’s eyes narrowed as he stared blankly at the monitor.

“I saw the trailer for that last year.”

“Is that so. I didn’t see it.”

“Are you kidding me? That’s a horror movie!”

“I know.”

“There’s no such thing. You shouldn’t do this to me, hyung. Wasn’t it an 19+ movie?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not old enough yet…. That’s illegal.”

“Ah, is that so….”

No-eul nodded obediently, as if he had understood. His two hands tied with the red tie looked pitiful. He fidgeted uncomfortably throughout the introduction of the movie, then suddenly raised his arm, hugged Kyung-soo’s neck, and lay down as if collapsing.

“Hey, Cheon No-eul.”

“I… I’m too scared, so can I watch it while hugging hyung?”

Kyung-soo’s heart softened for a moment at No-eul, who was biting his lower lip tightly. He must have been looking forward to it, and he was the one who broke that anticipation, so shouldn’t he be able to do this much?

“…….”

Yeah, this much is okay.

“…Then will you be okay?”

“Yes….”

No-eul, who was looking at him with his eyes at a distance where their lips were about to touch, bent his eyebrows pitifully. In fact, Kyung-soo was just as scared.

“I can’t help it. Then let’s at least sit down and watch it.”

At those words, No-eul groaned and got up with Kyung-soo. Sitting between his knees and hugged from behind, the two of them stared at the cold monitor in a very affectionate pose that anyone could see.

Every time a ghost suddenly popped out, Kyung-soo swallowed his breath. Every time, No-eul, who was hugging him, kissed his neck. The movie was too scary to stop the nonsense that it would calm him down. No-eul was very calm for someone who said he was scared.

“…You said you were scared.”

No matter how he looked at it, that wasn’t the attitude of someone who was scared. Kyung-soo pressed his pounding chest and looked back suspiciously. No-eul shamelessly nodded.

“Ah, I’m so, so scared.”

It was like reading a textbook.

“Y, you bastard…!”

At that moment, the sound of two male and female protagonists, who were running away from ghosts, expressing their love that had blossomed in a desperate situation, was heard. Oh Claire, oh Marian, the two who were kissing each other fell on the bed and kissed each other, blooming a pink atmosphere.

“…….”

“…….”

The level of the 15+ movie was surprisingly high…. Kyung-soo sadly held his breath and hoped that this scene would pass quickly. The male protagonist groaned. The atmosphere, which had been very gloomy until just now, quickly became strange. At the same time as the woman’s hand caressing the male protagonist’s thigh was zoomed in, the corners of No-eul’s lips slowly went up.

“I knew it! I trusted hyung from the beginning.”

“Ah, no. You clearly said earlier….”

You didn’t believe me?

At the same time as Kyung-soo was wondering, No-eul slightly lowered his head and kissed the corner of Kyung-soo’s lips. Kyung-soo, who was trying to push him away in annoyance, felt No-eul’s chest, which was touching his back, beating violently. Once he was conscious of it, he kept being bothered by it. The volume of the movie was loud enough, but his heartbeat was so loud that he couldn’t hear it at all. He felt like his own chest was beating a little faster too.

‘It must be a misunderstanding.’

I even took a calming pill. Kyung-soo shut his mouth tightly. He felt No-eul resting his chin on his shoulder and glancing sideways. Without saying anything, he soon called himself, Kyung-soo hyung.

“Why?”

“Hyung….”

This…. No-eul fidgeted with his tied hands and groaned. His wrists were a little red, probably because they had been rubbed all the time. Kyung-soo reluctantly turned his head slightly and looked back at No-eul.

“Does it hurt?”

“A little….”

No-eul lowered his eyes slightly. His eyelashes fluttered, and the light pupils between them stared straight at him. Soon after, slightly cold lips came down and touched his lips exactly this time.

No-eul, who was fidgeting with his tied hands as if he was uncomfortable, did not take his lips off of him. The same was true for Kyung-soo. The strange atmosphere disappeared and the sound of people’s bones grinding was heard again from the laptop. The two of them didn’t even care about it.

Slightly cold and dry air, the only things heard in it were each other’s movements and heartbeats. No-eul, who was making a sucking sound and biting his lower lip, put his forehead against his forehead and smiled slightly. His heart moved once again at his smiling face.

“…I wasted my money.”

“Yes? What are you talking about…?”

“It doesn’t have any effect at all.”

That damn calming pill. It doesn’t suit me…. Kyung-soo mumbled blankly. No-eul smiled slightly and kissed him again. The two of them naturally fell onto the bed as if lying down. Time did not wait for them and the movie continued to play. Until the three-hour movie ended and the laptop screen turned to a black protection screen, the two of them did not leave the bed.

Kyung-soo barely opened his eyes, feeling that the pillow he was hugging was warm today. Today, No-eul was hugging him and sleeping. Anyway, he didn’t know if it was because he slept in the wrong position, or if it was No-eul’s fault for hugging him from behind all night, but his waist was all stiff. He rubbed his waist with his hand and looked down at his lover.

“…No-eul-ah.”

No-eul did not wake up easily at the small whisper. Kyung-soo looked at him lovingly and stroked his fallen hair. The curtains were open, and the sunlight that came in diagonally touched a streak on No-eul’s cheek. His light hair sparkled in the sunlight. Pretty. Kyung-soo muttered silently.

Yesterday, he felt like he was a bastard who deserved to be beaten to death, but seeing him sleeping soundly again, his anger subsided a little. He was sure that he had never been like that before, but he was subtly weak to faces, he was. Kyung-soo, who was staring blankly at No-eul’s face and grinning, raised his head to check the time.

“…Huh!”

“Ugh….”

No-eul tossed and turned. Kyung-soo shook him and checked that he had opened his eyes before shouting.

“Cheon No-eul! Get up right now! I’m late!”

Because he slept at No-eul’s house, he would be late if he didn’t run right now. If he was late one more time, he would be stuck with community service at school. Kyung-soo kicked the clothes scattered on the floor with his feet, picked up the school uniform hanging on the chair, and put on his bag.

“Hey! I’m leaving first!”

“…Okay.”

No-eul rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up groggily, waving his hand. Seeing Kyung-soo’s back as he closed the front door and went out, he was briefly confused as to why that hyung was wearing his school uniform.

Kyung-soo, who ran like crazy and barely reached the school gate, took a breath and confidently passed through the gate. But the look in the math teacher’s eyes as he looked at him was unusual.

“You little bastard, you’re in the third grade and you want to play pranks like this. Even if it’s April Fool’s Day….”

Who is it this time. Kyung-soo chuckled and turned around. But there was no one there but himself. He turned his head again and pointed to himself, asking, “Me?” and the teacher laughed in disbelief.

“Are you going to pretend you don’t know?”

“…What.”

Grumbling in response, Kyung-soo looked down at his attire and realized the meaning of those words. Except for No-eul’s school and the details, the color scheme was similar, so he had mistakenly picked up and worn No-eul’s clothes. He wondered why his pants kept dragging all the way here, but he thought he had lost weight because he hadn’t slept all yesterday.

“That’s Kim Kyung-soo! That bastard even rented a school uniform for April Fool’s Day!”

“Life should be lived like Kyung-soo. His scale is extraordinary….”

“He even lied to the math teacher earlier that it was his birthday, the crazy bastard.”

“……”

Kyung-soo became a spectacle, hailed as the hero of April Fool’s Day.

As soon as school ended, Kyung-soo hurriedly ran to No-eul’s house. Unable to enter without the password, he waited in front of it for about 10 minutes until No-eul belatedly walked over. He couldn’t help but laugh when he saw Kyung-soo wearing his school uniform.

“What, what are you? Why are you….”

No-eul was wearing his usual clothes, not his school uniform. It was certain that he was wearing No-eul’s clothes, but there was no way he could have bought a new set in a hurry this morning. As he stuttered, pointing at No-eul’s attire, No-eul smiled and replied.

“I have three school uniforms.”

“……”

Kyung-soo clenched his fist, thinking about how he had sacrificed himself for the laughter of others all day long. They snatched his clothes and ran away when he tried to change into his gym clothes, and the girls even took pictures. He was so frustrated that he was the only one who had to suffer.

Kyung-soo changed into his neatly folded clothes in No-eul’s room, then immediately slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped into the shoe rack. Then, No-eul looked back at him, bewildered, and asked.

“Hyung, where are you going?”

“Home.”

“Why?”

The computer, which was turned on, caught his eye. He seemed to think that the reason he was coming home was obviously because of the game.

“I’m studying these days.”

“……Why?”

“Not that studying…. Real studying.”

“So, why?”

No-eul tilted his head. He seemed to be asking purely out of curiosity. They played games together, but Cheon No-eul was different from him and always ranked at the top of the school. And if he asked why….

“Midterms are coming up soon.”

“Don’t you listen to the classes at school?”

Just like Min-jae said, his blood pressure rose. When he showed his clenched fist, No-eul opened his palm and covered his fist.

“No, don’t grab it. I’m really going to study.”

Cheon No-eul would probably go to college since his grades were good. Compared to him, he was hopeless except for math. Kyung-soo, facing No-eul, who didn’t let go of his hand and blinked innocently, blurted out words that would plunge himself into a swamp.

“…Well, I have to go to college too, don’t I?”

It was a hasty remark to get home quickly. No-eul thought for a moment at his words and asked.

“Then we might be able to go to the same college?”

“……Maybe?”

“I wanted to go to school with Hyung and eat together every day! I saw that I can’t transfer to Hyung’s school. They won’t let me.”

“…You were going to transfer?”

“But I got called to the principal’s office because they said no.”

With an indifferent expression, he spouted nonsense. Sometimes, Cheon No-eul’s thoughts were more bizarre than he could imagine. And his execution was also a big part of it.

“But I’m not planning on applying to a lower-ranked school?”

“…Who said you should? So, if you can’t help, don’t get in the way.”

“Why can’t I help? I can help you just study!”

“Yeah, sure.”

How are you going to help me? Kyung-soo turned around without regret. And that evening, he found out what No-eul was trying to say.

「Ji9star: [Breaking News] Sunset, Cat-nim has put a bounty on you again! But if you kill him, you won’t be spared….」

「Captain Poseidon: ??”Ji9star: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL”

“Halloween Eggplant: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL”

“Ji9star: This event is not about reporting the location, but just holding him in place, trading, or debuffing him LOLOL”

“ParkRoaches: What LOLOLOLOL”

“Ji9star: Couple fight LOL”

“Me: [expression]”

“Ji9star: Getting used to it now?” Cat-nim’s reaction has become bland LOLOLOLOLOLOL」

「Captain Poseidon: Hmm… Cat-nim said he’s studying, so it might be a good thing…?」

As he said, as soon as he entered the game, dozens of people rushed at him at the same time, talking to him and popping up party invitations or trade requests, making it impossible to proceed with the game. It was even difficult to cross the map.

Kyung-soo was forced to quit the game for several months.

Studying was also a habit in a way. Some people took out their books and studied as a habit, while others could only concentrate after a long time of deciding to do so. Kyung-soo belonged to the latter. Still, his grades improved as much as he put in effort, and his grades on the final exam and the June mock exam had risen quite a bit.

Still, it was impossible to quit the game all at once. Kyung-soo occasionally logged into the game to clear his head, but he couldn’t proceed properly because of the bounty that Cheon No-eul, that damn bastard, had put on him. It was the same even if he logged in with a Sub Character. Still, it was an act done for his own good, so he couldn’t ask him to take it back, and when he actually faced No-eul’s face, his desire to punch him disappeared as if washed away.

And today, Kyung-soo, who had been sitting in the reading room for two hours and couldn’t concentrate, jumped up, grabbed his wallet and cell phone, and left the library. His head was overheated because he had nowhere to relieve his stress. Because it was vacation, the PC cafe was full of people. Kyung-soo walked a little further and found a place with seats left, and habitually tried to double-click the Illusion game icon, but shook his head.

He knew that he wouldn’t be able to move to the next map, and he wasn’t desperate enough to buy a slot to create a new character. And if No-eul came in first when he logged in, he would subtly urge him to leave immediately, saying, ‘Hyung, what are you doing here?’.

“Cheon No-eul, you son of a bitch….”

Kyung-soo muttered, grinding his teeth. So he decided to play the FPS shooting game he used to play with his friends. Before logging into the game, he went to the website and reset his nickname.

‘Please set your account nickname.’

Kyung-soo tapped his fingers on the mouse and pondered for a moment, then set his nickname to ‘Cheon No-eul’. Since it was to relieve stress, he thought that he could relieve stress twice as efficiently if he shot and killed his opponents while being cursed in the name of Cheon No-eul.

In this game, users were divided into grades, and random matching games were played between users with similar skills. In order from lowest to highest, there were ‘Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grand Master’, but he had only stayed in Platinum grade because he only used it to help his friends occasionally.

He had even reached Master when he was playing hard…. He reminisced about the past and clicked the random matching button.

There were six characters he had never seen before, so many new characters must have come out in the meantime. Among them, he liked the character holding a large Bazooka. When he selected the character, someone started talking in the team chat.

[RedOcean: Thunder trash out;]

[Cheon No-eul: ? Do you know me??]

[RedOcean: How would I know you LOLOLOLOL Why are you throwing from the start]

At the word Thunder trash, Kyung-soo thought of No-eul’s nickname, ‘Sunset’, first. But fortunately, it didn’t seem like he knew Sunset. It was because he belatedly discovered that the name of the character he had chosen was ‘Thunder’.

[HammerSmash: Ah, why isn’t anyone a healer; Someone be a healer;;]

[Cheon No-eul: Don’t look for one, you do it]

[HammerSmash: Cheon No-eul shut the fuck up]

It wasn’t him who had to shut up, but No-eul, so it had no impact at all. Kyung-soo raised the corners of his lips and ignored HammerSmash’s words. Was this character that bad? Before the game started, Kyung-soo tested the attacks in the corner of the waiting room. The speed was slow, but he liked the impact when he shot the Bazooka.

[ACHOO: LOL I’m throwing too]

[HammerSmash: Ah;;;]

Following Kyung-soo, other teammates started changing their characters.

‘The entrance is open. Charge into the battlefield!’

Fortunately, the map was a familiar one. Kyung-soo followed behind RedOcean, who was rushing out first, turned on team voice, and put on his headset.

-Ugh, Thunder is on our team.

-Hey, change quickly! Who picks Thunder trash in a deathmatch, damn it.

-Cheon No-eul, die.

There was no reason to listen to them since it wasn’t a competitive match anyway. It wasn’t a conquest or a stronghold battle, but a team deathmatch, so the important thing was to kill a lot of opponents without dying.

[Cheon No-eul: Just don’t die;]

[RedOcean: Are you good at aiming? I’ve never seen anyone handle Thunder well]

[Cheon No-eul: No, it’s my first time LOL]

-Ahahaha, our No-eul is trying it for the first time.

-Die! Die without getting in the way!

[Cheon No-eul: Why are you telling me to die without even trying?]

[HammerSmash: Cheon No-eul, I recommend you just turn off the game and go freediving in the Han River LOL]

[RedOcean: LOL It’s hot, so that’s good LOL]

He knew that it was a character that mainly did ranged attacks, but the attack speed was too slow. Eventually, Kyung-soo, who had died as his teammates wished and revived in the waiting room, started to think about whether he should really change his character.

-Ah, Cheon No-eul, you son of a bitch, we’re short on healers! Change to a healer!

[Cheon No-eul: F***]

Instead of relieving stress, it was building up more. He didn’t like the name Cheon No-eul coming out of their mouths. Kyung-soo belatedly regretted it. …He shouldn’t have changed his nickname. He was making No-eul, who was innocent, get cursed for no reason.

Then Kyung-soo found the opposing team running towards him. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to have found Kyung-soo yet. Kyung-soo quickly hid inside the building. Then he went up to the second floor via the stairs and started charging his ultimate. He aimed at the heads of the characters moving around and fired the charged ultimate. With a bang, the bomb flew towards the opponent.

‘PpeolPpeolPpeol Eliminated (+100)’

‘POLIG Eliminated (+93)’

He jumped down from above before his location was revealed and hid behind an obstacle. Then he started testing his skills. The speed was slow, but as long as he aimed properly since the attack was heavy, it didn’t seem like a bad job.

‘ALL Kay Eliminated (+100)’

[Cheon No-eul: SS]

-What, you said it was your first time….

-There’s a cooler in the bushes!

In a deathmatch where the team that scored a total of 50 kills won, Kyung-soo, who had achieved 9 kills in a row by himself, was killed after his location was revealed. After that, the attitude of his teammates began to change. The guys who had been calling Cheon No-eul’s name and even making parental insults were now calling Kyung-soo ‘Hyung’ and telling him the location of the enemy.

But Kyung-soo no longer chose the character Thunder and chose a healer. It was a job that gave heals while flying in the air like Moon Fairy of Illusion. He dodged the incoming attacks and filled his teammates’ health.

-Hey, heal me!

[HammerSmash: Hey, heal me]

[HammerSmash: Fucking heal]

[Cheon No-eul: F*** you]

[HammerSmash: ??Why?]

[Cheon No-eul: You cursed No-eul]

[RedOcean: No-eul?]

[HammerSmash: Ugh, 3rd person is so cringe;;;;;;;;]

Except for the guys who had cursed Cheon No-eul. He wasn’t interested in winning or anything. He only gave heals to half of his teammates and let go of the other half, so there was no way he could win the deathmatch. In the end, the opposing team, who had reached 50 kills first, won.

As soon as the game ended, Kyung-soo reported all the guys who had made parental insults and leaned back in his chair. He thought he would feel good if No-eul was cursed, but it was more unpleasant than he thought. He had been cursing No-eul as a son of a bitch until just now, but when others joined in and cursed him, he suddenly felt really bad. He suddenly missed No-eul.

“Should I study in his room since it’s hot….”

He muttered, getting up from his seat earlier than he thought. It was a distant future when No-eul, who found out that his nickname in another game was ‘Cheon No-eul’, would rush at him with shining eyes.

The atmosphere at the school ahead of the college entrance exam was grim. Only Kyung-soo, who would be happy if he did well and didn’t have much reason to be concerned even if he didn’t, was relaxed. Everyone resented Kyung-soo, who had a particularly good complexion among the children whose faces were turning pale, and harassed him. For some reason, Kwon Tae-yeol, who had only studied during exam periods until last year, was also memorizing words and solving problems with his eyes burning.

The one-year bet with No-eul had already passed its expiration date by several months. But neither No-eul nor Kyung-soo even mentioned it. They only exchanged messages on weekdays, and on weekends they went to the library together or spent time at No-eul’s house.

If there was a problem he didn’t understand, No-eul would set conditions and subtly give him hints. He had never refused a condition because it wasn’t bad. Compared to other friends, Kyung-soo’s third year was monotonous and even peaceful.

However, he sometimes wondered if this was right. Of course, he didn’t know how time was passing when he was with No-eul, and he was happy, but. Both he and No-eul were biologically and mentally men. He didn’t tell No-eul, but he thought about it every time their bodies overlapped.

“Confess after the college entrance exam. What are you going to do by dating now.”

“Why would I confess? He has to do it.”

Kyung-soo scratched his cheek, listening to the conversation coming from the back of the quiet class. Then he rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.

‘And, …if you want to be picky, we’re not even dating yet.’

Of course, he seemed to be getting more attached and liking him more as time went by, but on the other hand, he wondered if it was because of the stress of the exam. Was it because he needed affection because of stress, because he needed a place to relieve his desires? Kyung-soo, who was receiving significantly less stress than others, was seriously worried in his own way.

And a few days later, he found two of his friends kissing in the gym storage.

‘Crazy, Han Do-young and Kwon Tae-yeol?’

His mind went blank. There were other guys besides us who were stuck together and kissing? Even this close? He hadn’t noticed at all. The two of them were childhood friends! Kyung-soo, who couldn’t accept the scene in front of him with his eyes wide open, suddenly made eye contact with Han Do-young.

“……”

“……”

Why are you guys doing this here, what if someone sees you….

Kyung-soo closed the storage door and backed away, running away like an arrow.

After that, Do-young didn’t acknowledge him first. He seemed to be peeking into the class and looking at him sometimes. Kyung-soo couldn’t approach Tae-yeol and Do-young first either. That was because it wasn’t easy to accept that the two of them, who were friends, were in such a relationship.

…Are they crazy from exam stress like me? Do they kiss when they’re bored, and even have sex when their eyes meet? Kyung-soo, who was mistaken in thinking that he was under exam stress, seriously worried and worried again. He felt like he had witnessed his parents’ sleeping place, so he felt uncomfortable. So he didn’t recall it in detail. A few days later, he called Do-young out and asked him if they were dating.

“Or are you not dating and just doing that, that thing?”

Do-young, who was looking at Kyung-soo calmly, replied that they were dating. Kyung-soo’s mouth dropped open.

What, you’re already dating? Does that mean your progress is faster than ours?

“…Since when?”

“What kind of relationship is it if you’re just kissing? It’s so weird.”

“……”

Kyung-soo became a strange person. No-eul also became a strange person.

Yeah, it was weird. Kissing without dating.

He had forgotten the concept of a normal person because he was with a guy who recorded the day of their first kiss, the day they first met, the day they first got hit, and even the day they first made love, and took care of anniversaries from time to time. The calendar on No-eul’s desk was filled with red letters.

“……”

Dating before the college entrance exam is a bit much, right? It’ll get in the way of studying! Kyung-soo decided to confess to No-eul that he had lost the bet as soon as the college entrance exam was over.

White breath came out every time he spoke. The day when it was so cold that his whole body would freeze was, unfortunately, the day of the college entrance exam.

“Did you bring your marker? Do you have your admission ticket?”

“I brought it.”

“You can’t just use any marker. Is it for computers? Let me see it.”

“Of course, am I stupid?”

“And also… this is a blanket to cover yourself with later when you’re cold….”

Kyung-soo took the sky-blue blanket No-eul handed him. Even though he was the one taking the exam, he was perfectly fine, but No-eul had been restless for a week. And it wasn’t like he was the one taking the exam instead. He was still rolling his eyes anxiously, worried he might have forgotten something. Kyung-soo reached out and patted No-eul’s head. No-eul fiddled with Kyung-soo’s school uniform tie and asked.

“Aren’t you nervous? Do you want some Cheongsimhwan…?”

“No. I don’t like Cheongsimhwan.”

That goddamn Cheongsimhwan.

Kyung-soo, who was grinding his lips as he recalled that night, soon messed up No-eul’s soft hair and grinned. Seeing that Kyung-soo showed no signs of nervousness at all, No-eul finally seemed to relax a little. Kyung-soo unwrapped the scarf from his neck and wrapped it around No-eul’s, saying he’d be back. No-eul grabbed Kyung-soo’s hand firmly, his expression noticeably more relaxed, and smiled prettily as he spoke.

“Kyung-soo hyung, I’ll wait for you.”

He liked the words “I’ll wait” much more than “Do well.” Kyung-soo faintly lifted the corners of his mouth and replied.

“…Yeah.”

“I was going to give you my talisman, but I didn’t bring it because you gave it to me. I was afraid it might tear.”

“What is it…?”

“The letter!”

“Ah, that? I don’t need it.”

Kyung-soo thought that for No-eul’s birthday in a few months, he should write a proper letter instead of something like “Happy birthday, me.”

“I’ll give you all my luck for a week. So all your guesses are right!”

“Why a week? Give me a month’s worth.”

“…I can’t. Next week, I have to pull the Christmas probability box, so a little…”

This bastard. Couldn’t he even say it as an empty promise? Annoying.

Kyung-soo chuckled and flicked No-eul’s forehead. No-eul just giggled happily even after being hit. His cheeks were bright red from the cold. Kyung-soo pulled the scarf up a bit more and said.

“Stay home. You can play games.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, play games. If you don’t, you’ll die.”

“…Hyung, are you mad? Why are you suddenly like this?”

He wasn’t mad at all. Because No-eul suddenly made a serious face, he had to suppress the laughter threatening to spill out.

“I’ll call you first when it’s over.”

“Okay! First!”

No-eul’s expression quickly softened as he buried his face in the white scarf and waved his hand. Kyung-soo moved his reluctant steps and blended into the crowd of students passing through the school gate.

He wasn’t nervous at all, but as soon as the proctor teacher entered the assigned classroom, his fingertips stiffened. The content of the open book didn’t register. He opened the book wide as if taking a picture and memorized the content on the page verbatim. And strangely, only the things he had just memorized started appearing on the exam. For the ones he didn’t know, he counted the number of answers and guessed the missing number.

“Kim Kyung-soo, did you do well?”

“I don’t know.”

He solved all the ones he knew, but since he hadn’t checked the answers, it depended on how many of his guesses were right.

“Going home? Let’s go together.”

“No, I have somewhere to go. You go ahead.”

After sending his friends off first, Kyung-soo started walking toward No-eul’s house. The bus would be crowded, and it was only a 30-minute walk, plus there was a PC bang along the way. He entered the PC bang closest to No-eul’s house, secured a seat, and took his exam ticket out of his bag. Then he called No-eul.

• Hyung!

“Are you done? I called you first.”

Then No-eul giggled ticklishly. Kyung-soo, with the phone tucked between his shoulder and ear, downloaded a PDF file and started grading his CSAT answers.

• Where are you now?

“……”

• Hyung?

“…I got all the Korean questions right.”

• Gasp, …You? You’re lying.

He had guessed one entire non-literary passage…. He started getting more nervous than during the exam. Kyung-soo alternated looking at the computer screen and the back of his exam ticket with trembling hands.

“……”

How is this possible? The ones I solved were wrong, but all the guesses were right. Kyung-soo blinked his eyes stupidly.

‘I’ll give you all my luck for a week. So all your guesses are right!’

No way…. Suddenly, goosebumps rose on his arms. He shuddered and exhaled.

• Hyung?

Kyung-soo abruptly hung up and clicked the game icon to log in. The loading screen had changed to a new illustration for the Christmas season.

‘Lord Meowmeowmeow has logged into the game.’

[Guild] Ji9star: OMG Cat-nim!!!! Did you do well on the exam???????

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: Cat-nim, long time no seeㅠ

[Guild] WanduWandya: Cat-nim, it’s been so longㅠㅠㅠ

[Couple] Sunset: ?????????Hyung, where are youㅠㅠㅠ Home?

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: Meow hihi~!~!~!!!!

[Guild] neutaaaa: Hihi

[Guild] ParkRoaches: Dude lololololololol your comeback is so fast lolololololol you log in right after the exam ends lololololololololol

[Guild] Ji9star: So what lol? You got a problem?

[Guild] ParkRoaches: Nope lol

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: Anyone going to Milky Way lol

[Guild] Ji9star: Guild Master hehe

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: Ah, no…. Cat-nim said he’s going.

[Guild] Catmeowmeow: Excuse me;

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: lololololololololol

The guild members’ welcoming messages flooded the chat window chaotically. It was so fast he couldn’t even read all the messages. And not just that.

[World] Hamster: OMG it’s Money lol

[World] Blessing of the Old Fisherman: Where???

[World] Hamster: lolololololololDude, it’s been so long~ lolololololol

[World] Seol-yeong: Daebak

[World] Seol-yeong: Cat-nim lolololololol hihi

‘Hamster has invited you to a party. Will you accept?’

‘You have declined.’

‘AppleFlavorCookie has invited you to a party. Will you accept?’

‘You have declined.’

‘Seol-yeong has challenged you to a one-on-one duel (PVP). Will you accept?’

‘You have declined.’

‘AppleFlavorCookie has invited you to a party. Will you accept?’

‘You have declined.’

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: Ah fck, hey cancel the bounty

[Couple] Sunset: Oki!!!

Kyung-soo had to keep clicking the mouse to decline the continuously popping request windows. Instead of canceling the bounty, No-eul moved directly to the guild zone where Kyung-soo was and wildly swung his weapon around.

[World] Sunset: What’s wrong with you guys! Don’t bother Cat-nim Oki;\n\nKyung-soo let out a soft laugh at the attacks that amazingly only missed him. The familiar users who had swarmed around him retreated in an instant.

[World] Hamster: ?

[World] Seol-yeong: What is this, a no-attack line…?

[World] Aslehn: Seems like dementia lol

[World] anamato: Dementialololololololol

[World] AppleFlavorCookie: What, no bounty now?ㅡㅡ

AppleFlavorCookie, a mage character, was prowling around and accidentally swung his weapon at Kyung-soo. Fortunately, ‘miss’ appeared, but No-eul didn’t even seem to notice how much damage was dealt. He instantly knocked down AppleFlavorCookie and added.

[World] Sunset: I can give condolence money Oki

No-eul said that and scattered money around using the money scattering skill.

[World] AppleFlavorCookie: lolololHere we go again with the personality disorder, motherfcker;; Is your cooldown over?D D

[Server] Seol-yeong: This kid’s a no-attack line too,,, Sunset Event Part 3 is ending, they say ‘_ㅠ ~!!

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: OMGㅠㅠ

[Guild] Ji9star: Ah noㅠ

[Guild] Catmeowmeow: ? Sorry, but do you want to die?ㅠ

[Guild] Ji9star: lolololololololololololololololololololololololol Nope ㄷㄷ

[Guild] neutaaaa: Do you want to die lololololololololol

[Guild] ParkRoaches: lololololololol Long time no see the honorifics too

Kyung-soo opened the couple window. They could have held the wedding ceremony long ago, but they had been putting it off. Without even thinking, he clicked the heart-shaped ‘Propose’ button.

‘Please enter your proposal message with love!’

Proposal message? Kyung-soo didn’t hesitate and placed his hands on the keyboard. Soon, the character Catmeowmeow approached Sunset and knelt on one knee before him.

♡ Catmeowmeow: Cheon No-eul lol I lost, let’s get married lol ♡

[World] Hamster: That dude got hacked, I think ㄷㄷ

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: No way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: Guild Master, please lower your voice a bit

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: ㅠㅠ Cat-nim, are you in your right mindㅠㅠ????

[Guild] ParkRoaches: No-eul, finally gone crazy from exam stress,,,

[Guild] Ji9star: Aklolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: Fck, I’m going to the makeup shop for the wedding! I’m gonna change to sparkling eyes!!!!

[Guild] Ji9star: Even so, you’re a sparkling bald head

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: Angry><

Not long after, No-eul, who had accepted the proposal, also posted a message.

♡ Sunset: O//k//i ♡

‘The wedding ceremony will begin in 30 minutes at the Isis Royal Palace!’

[World] AppleFlavorCookie; The way you’re blushing;

[Whisper] Hamster: Dude, are you really hacked?

[World] Seol-yeong: ?? lolololololololololol

[World] Aslehn: lolololololololololololololololololololF*ck lololololololAh crazy lololololololol

[World] anamato: lololololololololololIt’s kinda funny, so funny lolololololol

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: I’ll come to your place after this is over

[Couple] Sunset: ㅠㅠㅠㅠHyungㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Server] Catmeowmeow: Let’s meet up IRL and fight

“…Ah.”

He was about to turn off guild chat for a moment but accidentally pressed the wrong chat tab again.

[Server] Sunset: lololololololololololOkay Oki

And where else would you find someone answering on the server mic…. Kyung-soo, unable to cry or laugh, made a subtle expression and let out a short sigh.

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: ㅠㅠ

[Guild] ParkRoaches: Ugh finally lolololololololol

[Guild] WanduWandya: This time, really meet up and fight, I swear if you forget like last time, I won’t let it slideㅠ

[Guild] Catmeowmeow: It was a mistakeㅠㅠ

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: lolLies lolololololololololololololololol

[Guild] Ji9star: Can’t you stream while fighting IRL? I’m preparing to donate 100,000 won!

[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: I’ll do 20 lol

[Guild] WanduWandya: 30 hehe

[Guild] ParkRoaches: I’m broke, so I’ll just watch T_T

[Guild] Captain Poseidon: What’s that? T_T Wedding gift money?ㅠㅠ

[Guild] neutaaaa: Ah wedding gift money lolololololololololol

Kyung-soo moved to the royal palace wedding venue with No-eul. Without even being invited, Melody and Poseidon’s guild members were quietly swinging their weapons in the guest seats. There were also complete strangers who came to receive buffs and users he seemed to have seen in passing a few times.

[Couple] Sunset: Hyung, are we really dating now!!!

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: I know lol

[Couple] Sunset: I won Oki!

[Couple] Catmeowmeow: Congrats congrats

The wedding was eventful. A group crashing the wedding to oppose the marriage was a first in Illusion wedding history. No-eul gritted his teeth, saying he would submit a request to introduce PVP in regular maps and wedding venues as well.

Things were never smooth when involved with No-eul. Even setting aside numerous incidents, Cheon No-eul alone was hard to handle. He was noisy, stubborn, unreasonable, bothersome, and also… cute. Kyung-soo couldn’t hold back and laughed at No-eul, who had called him excitedly, unable to contain himself. The future seemed daunting, but he was lovable enough to make all that daunting worth enduring.

Love Game Main Story End.