By Zephyria 
It felt strange to think that while I had been unable to remember, Kwon Mi-eon had been searching for me. I felt as though this odd sensation would only dissipate once I saw his face, so I tried my best to hail a taxi.
‘This isn’t working. I’ll just have to flag one down.’
It would take about five minutes for a hailed taxi to reach this spot, and Mo Yeon-hu felt that even that amount of time was a waste. Driven by the desire to see Kwon Mi-eon a second sooner, he stepped toward the road and reached out his hand.
“Hey, why are you here!”
Just then, Park Taek-yoon appeared.
“You scared the life out of me, suddenly running out like that. What are you doing here! You aren’t even answering your phone!”
Park Taek-yoon approached with a startled expression, appearing as though he had been searching for Mo Yeon-hu after he suddenly vanished from sight.
“…Ah, sorry.”
Realizing belatedly that he had bolted out without a thought for his companion, Mo Yeon-hu apologized, and Park Taek-yoon stood beside him, waving it off.
“Are you trying to catch a taxi? What happened to make your face look like that? I’m really sorry, but I can’t stay with you; I just got a call from home…”
“Taek-yoon. There’s something I want to ask you.”
“What? What is it?”
Mo Yeon-hu stared at him intently before asking.
“What is this feeling—this desperate desire to meet someone? It feels like something terrible will happen if I don’t see their face right now, and I can’t think of anything other than finding a way to get to them.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden…”
“I mean.”
He elaborated to Park Taek-yoon, who was looking at him with a puzzled face.
“Someone had been looking for me, and I didn’t know. Now that I’ve found out, I miss them so much it hurts. What is this?”
“What on earth are you talking about? You know the answer to that better than anyone.”
“I know?”
“That’s exactly how your unrequited crushes start. Don’t you remember the countless people you’ve pined for?”
Park Taek-yoon replied as if it were common knowledge, but Mo Yeon-hu looked as if he had just heard something bizarre.
“How many times have you told me you’re going crazy missing someone just by thinking about them?”
Park Taek-yoon’s face was nonchalant, as if this were a story he’d heard a thousand times, his expression clearly saying, ‘Here we go again.’
“But I’ve never… I’ve never felt like this before. It’s different from before. This feeling that something terrible will happen if I don’t see them immediately is a first…”
“That’s exactly why I’m asking how it’s any different from your usual crushes.”
“But… he’s someone I can’t possibly feel this way about.”
However, Mo Yeon-hu seemed genuinely distressed this time.
“Someone you can’t?”
“If I had to put it simply, he’s someone I’m not supposed to like,” Mo Yeon-hu said firmly.
“Someone you can’t like…”
Park Taek-yoon’s expression turned strange. “Hmm…” He let out a small groan, rubbed his chin, and stared intently at Mo Yeon-hu.
Indeed, as Mo Yeon-hu said, this was different from usual. He had experienced countless unrequited loves. And during all those times, he had never shown this kind of anxiety.
Although he had pursued love relentlessly, as if addicted to the state of pining, he had never looked this desperate—to the point of wearing an expression that screamed he needed to see the person right this instant. Thus, Park Taek-yoon reached a conclusion.
“Then I guess you just really like this person a lot this time.”
He said it quite cheerfully.
“And where is there such a thing as someone you ‘can’t’ like? You were the one who said it first. Love is not a crime.”
He used the words Mo Yeon-hu always lived by as his basis. At those words, the dam Mo Yeon-hu had tried so hard to maintain seemed to burst.
‘It wasn’t a phobia of Kwon Mi-eon.’
The line he believed he could never cross because the other person was a man began to be washed away by the overflowing water.
‘I was interested in him.’
To be honest, he didn’t know yet if it was love or if he “liked” him in that sense. However, he had reached a point where the news that Kwon Mi-eon had been searching for him felt joyful.
‘I want to meet him right now and confirm it.’
He felt that if he saw him, he would be able to properly identify his feelings.
“…Taxi! Taxi over here!”
Luckily, he managed to catch a passing taxi just in time.
“I got one. I have to go. Taek-yoon, thanks!”
“Hey, no… call me, you brat. Today was fucking exhausting, so buy me drinks next time.”
“Of course! Thanks, seriously!!”
Because Mo Yeon-hu was leaving so abruptly and seemed so rushed, the words that had risen to the tip of Park Taek-yoon’s throat were forced back down.
“Mo Yeon-hu! Get there safely!”
“I’ll call you! Sorry!”
Watching the back of Mo Yeon-hu’s head as he leaned out the window to wave goodbye and disappeared, Park Taek-yoon muttered, “Good grief…” and let out a hollow laugh. But he wasn’t particularly angry.
“I’ve never seen him like that before.”
It was the first time he had seen this love-crazy bastard be so urgent. He had a feeling they would have a lot to talk about the next time they met.
“The address is…”
Mo Yeon-hu hesitated just as he was about to go straight to Kwon Mi-eon’s house.
‘Don’t I look a mess right now?’
Looking at himself, he realized he was a disaster after scuffling with Lee Seung-hwan. He wanted to tidy himself up before going…
“Customer? Where to?”
“Ah! Please take me to Gallery Infinity in Yongsan-gu.”
“Yes, yes. Starting now.”
As the taxi departed and the scenery shifted rapidly outside the window, Mo Yeon-hu felt that this entire situation was novel. The fact that he was conscious of his appearance and wanted to dress up to see Kwon Mi-eon, and the tickling sensation near his heart. He hadn’t given this emotion a proper name yet, but…
‘Kwon Mi-eon.’
One thing was certain: he wanted to see him right now.
Since it didn’t seem to be rush hour, Mo Yeon-hu arrived at the house in an instant. His first plan was to take a shower. He wanted to wash up and change his clothes before heading out.
‘First, I’ll apologize.’
He had so much to say to Kwon Mi-eon. He would tell him he was sorry for chatting all night and making a promise to meet again, only to forget everything and go blank; he would tell him about everything that had happened, and surely Kwon Mi-eon would welcome him…
‘Ah, wait a minute.’
Mo Yeon-hu dropped the bathrobe he was holding onto the floor.
‘I’m currently ghosting Kwon Mi-eon…!’
It had been about a week since they last contacted each other, and it had only just occurred to him that they were in a very awkward state!
‘What do I do?’
Mo Yeon-hu paced the room frantically.
Was there any way to gauge his current mood before going to meet him? He groaned softly, clutching his head, when something suddenly flashed through his mind.
‘Come to think of it, there’s Zombie Village!’
How could I forget that? After all, wasn’t it because of Zombie Village—this game—that their connection was restored?
‘Let me just see if he’s logged in.’
Remembering this, Mo Yeon-hu quickly sat down in front of his computer.
‘But should I log in as Na Oh-jik or 0momo0?’
After some deliberation, since the last time he logged in was as Na Oh-jik, he entered using his alt character.
[Welcome back, Survivor!]
As soon as the system window appeared, notifications with red circles attached to the top left corner popped up frantically.
‘Why are there so many Alliance notifications?’
They all seemed to be related to system errors, but since that wasn’t why he had logged in, Mo Yeon-hu immediately cleared the notifications and checked the friends list.
‘Offline.’
Mo Yeon-hu was about to close the game immediately when his fingertips paused.
‘Could he… be playing as Miu?’
Indeed, given that they were ghosting each other, there was no reason for Kwon Mi-eon to log in as the alt character, “I’m Not Mi-yeong,” which they were raising together.
With that thought, Mo Yeon-hu logged out and logged in as 0momo0.
[Welcome back, Survivor!]
It was the same window as before, but perhaps because it had been a very long time since he had logged in as 0momo0, it felt strangely welcoming.
‘Let’s check the Alliance members online first.’
Intending to check if Kwon Mi-eon was connected, Mo Yeon-hu cleared the system window, only to freeze at the sight that met his eyes.
“…Huh?”
There was no need to check 47’s member list. What unfolded before him was…
“What is this…”
It was, quite literally, pandemonium. Everywhere was filled with black smoke, gunfire, and the sound of artillery. Between burning buildings, NPCs were screaming, desperately trying to put out fires and establish defensive lines.
With an ominous feeling, Mo Yeon-hu stared blankly at the screen and clicked the Alliance window.
[Alliance Members Online]
Mo Yeon-hu doubted his eyes.
(86/86)
…Everyone is online?