TWKH Ch 33

In the new dungeon ‘Valley of Death,’ Majorca, the supreme commander of the Raptor army, has resurrected. It was an expansion of the main story.

🎮

Majorca, who met his death at the hands of users in the final dungeon ‘Majorca’s Tomb,’ wanders the place unable to resolve his deep-seated grudges and falls into Capulet’s hell, Ampere.

Ampere, where souls filled with malice gather, is a world disconnected from the earthly realm. Its master, Destroyer, possesses the power to overturn Capulet.

Soon after his fall, Majorca realizes this and tries to join forces with Destroyer to invade the surface. However, Destroyer, a dead entity who has lost interest in living things, eventually treats Majorca with disdain and expels him from his palace.

But even now, the Raptor kin are on the path to extinction at the hands of Capulet’s heroes. Enraged by hatred, Majorca plans to steal Destroyer’s power to return to the surface, continuously fighting and devouring souls to grow stronger.

After thousands of years, Majorca finally cuts off Destroyer’s life and inherits his position, becoming the master of Ampere.

Immediately afterward, Majorca assembles an army from the souls still yearning for the surface. He tears through the barrier separating Capulet and Ampere, returning to Majorca’s Tomb where his still-warm corpse lies.

However, the souls of Ampere are heretical beings who cannot wield their power under Capulet’s sun. Upon reaching the surface, Majorca feels his power draining away with tremendous pain. He gathers his remaining strength to create a dark shield over the tomb, barely escaping the sun, and tries to regain his power by devouring the souls that followed him.

Meanwhile, the allied forces advancing to annihilate the remaining Raptors hear that they cannot approach Majorca’s Tomb and return to the allied headquarters to investigate the anomaly.

Upon returning to Majorca’s Tomb, where it has become the Valley of Death as the planes of Ampere and the world connect, the heroes face Majorca, who has resurrected once again in just a few days in real time.

Master of Ampere, Majorca, in a place where time has no boundaries.

Master of Ampere, Majorca, where death does not come.

Master of Ampere, Majorca, even you will not escape your chains here.

Master of Ampere, Majorca, feel the pain as if your organs are being torn apart while your kin die by my hands…!

Majorca summons hell.

The planes of the world have split due to the power of the goddess Ter. Once you fall below the nine layers, there’s no coming back.

“It’s open. Let’s start.”

With Jehyun’s calm voice, the five characters standing on the dry land were moved. The place they reappeared was a strange space where lava flowed up black walls. At the very top of the screen, above Majorca’s health bar, the floor number is indicated as 9F.

Majorca, facing the heroes, tries to send them straight to hell, but due to Ter’s intervention, the contact surface between the two worlds splits into nine, granting a grace period. Users must defeat Majorca before falling into hell after passing through these nine layers.

All characters summoned to the 9th floor are moved down one level every three minutes. However, from the 4th floor, as they get closer to Ampere, Majorca’s power strengthens, and the time for moving down speeds up.

Moving from the 4th to the 3rd floor takes 2 minutes, from the 3rd to the 2nd takes 1 minute 30 seconds, and from the 2nd to the 1st floor takes 1 minute. If Majorca isn’t defeated within 40 seconds after reaching the 1st floor, the heroes fall into hell, where Majorca, free to use all his power, kills them instantly. If the heroes die, Majorca devours their souls to transcend, leading to Capulet’s downfall.

In other words, Majorca must be defeated within 20 minutes and 10 seconds. It’s a time attack, but the developers made it even harder by reducing the time attack window.

There was a skill called ‘Call of Ampere,’ similar to ‘Call of Maternal’ from Majorca’s Tomb. While ‘Call of Maternal’ in the tomb summoned the spirits of Raptors to kill users and drag their corpses to their home planet, in the valley, ‘Call of Ampere’ makes hands emerge from the ground to pull the user’s soul to the lower floor.

If you don’t retrieve your body within 30 seconds while out of body, you can’t be revived. Then, you would have to make Majorca go berserk to blow up the current floor and move down to revive your teammate.

And as expected, Contempt, the official hole of the Countess Guild, had a particularly hard time surviving ‘Call of Ampere.’ Most of their forced floor changes were due to Contempt’s out-of-body experience.

Contempt’s soul leaves his body. If you don’t recover your soul within 30 seconds, you can’t return.

[Party] Spellchecker: There he goes again…

Contempt🔉 Hing…

“Hing?”

Boss🔉 What can you do, he’s cute, and he’s chained.

Cute, so you’ll let it slide? That couldn’t be allowed. In Baekyung’s eyes, Contempt wasn’t cute at all, and even if he were a chain, with just a bit of intelligence, this gimmick could be avoided.

Why is he good at PVP but bad at PVE? Baekyung, dissatisfied with Contempt’s behavior that keeps making things tight, glanced sideways with a twisted mouth.

“Okay, I’ll let it slide once. Because he’s cute.”

Jehyun was laughing with his headset on. His attitude was relaxed because they were still on the 9th floor, but Baekyung couldn’t nod in agreement with his senior’s words.

Cute? Cute, you say? Saying Contempt is cute while I’m right here? Baekyung’s face hardened into a pout. He turned his gaze back to the monitor while puffing out his cheeks in a petulant manner.

“From now on, every time you get out of body, you owe a billion won.”

Boss🔉 A billion?!

Contempt🔉 Wait… can we talk in real money?

“From now on, every time you get out of body, you owe a million won.”

He repeats the same statement without a hint of wavering, just changing the unit. Jehyun next to him burst into laughter at Baekyung’s robot-like demeanor. Ahahaha, with a clear laugh, he turned to look at him as if he had gone mad.

“Looks like Baekyung’s pissed. Myeol-ah, do better. Why are you getting on our kid’s nerves?”

Contempt🔉 No… I’m hyung’s kid too! I’m the dealer of this party too!

What nonsense is that? Contempt clearly didn’t deserve to be called ‘our kid’ by Shin Jehyun, and looking at how he was performing, you couldn’t call him a dealer either. Baekyung frowned and denied Contempt’s words.

“You’re not a dealer, you’re a hole. Just considering the floors we’ve gone down because of you, we would be well over 63 floors.”

Contempt🔉 Wow. Are you saying you’re good at this?

“Doing well is enough, is there more that needs to be done?”

Contempt🔉 …No…

In response to Baekyung’s cold words, Contempt answered dejectedly. This made everyone laugh again. So cute, really. Jehyun wiped away tears with the hand that was on the keyboard and dodged Majorca’s attack.

As he saw the shockwave spreading from Majorca, whose rage gauge was at its maximum, he raised a shield. At the same time, as the party members’ HP was reduced by half, the floor shattered and broke apart, making their characters fall to the floor below.

“Contempt, find the body.”

Contempt🔉 Yes…

“Baekyung, calm down.”

Seeing the pattern start again, he summarized the situation. But at those words, Baekyung, who had been silent, grumbled in a small voice.

“…Hing.”

“Oh, for real.”

Jehyun burst into laughter as if he couldn’t handle the sound that resembled a puppy whining. Baekyung was trying to act cute because Jehyun said Contempt was cute, and this made him even more adorable.

Jehyun couldn’t help it. As Majorca was casting a skill, he moved his character to the back. After moving the healer to a spot where they wouldn’t get hit by the AoE, he quickly pushed his chair over and bit Baekyung’s lips.

Baekyung’s handsome eyes widened in surprise. Jehyun bit his lower lip once while Baekyung’s eyes were wide with shock, then quietly returned to his seat to make sure no embarrassing sounds were transmitted through his mic.

Now, all that was left was Habaek beating Majorca like a dog and Baekyung with his face flushed red. Jehyun smiled, seeing Baekyung’s damage bar skyrocketing.

“You’re doing well. We can clear it this time, right? From now on, if anyone dies, it’s a billion won.”

It had already been 9 hours. Although the time attack was tight, everyone was now accustomed to Majorca’s patterns, so the clear wasn’t far away. Jehyun spoke in a subtle voice as he watched Baekyung focus with sharp eyes.

“Can you hit 5 million?”

At that gentle request, Baekyung gritted his teeth. If Jehyun said to do it, he had to. Because he was Jehyun’s time-stealer.

🎮

Live stream of the Valley of Death

Don’t spam the chat, let’s do it here

Comments(2459)

Anonymous1 12 clears? All 12, they’re really going for it?

└ Yeah, if they don’t, they’re gonna get flamed lol

└ They got 11, not getting 12 is just not making sense

Anonymous2 But Elka was grinding hard

└ They trained hard to block the all-clear

└ What kind of training?

└ What training do you do…? They did overnight PC bang sessions?

Anonymous3 Connected, let’s go

└ The stream is on a 10-minute delay, so wait longer

…

Anonymous468 How do they clear this? Did the devs bang their heads?

└ Doubt they even tested it

Anonymous469 I was so hyped for a new dungeon after 2 years, what is this?

…

Anonymous910 Elka got the 2nd boss first

└ Nice

Anonymous911 Elka made a comeback

Anonymous912 The Four Heavenly Kings doing this?

Anonymous913 Let’s not choke, Gyuwon, f*ck

Anonymous914 Honestly, let’s give it up until the end. Let’s aim for the Grand Slam

└ Sure, it’s the beggar’s spirit~

└ If you mess this up, you’re a traitor

└ Not a traitor, a revolutionary lol

…

Anonymous1295 3-second difference for 2nd boss clear lol

Anonymous1296 It’s so nerve-wracking

Anonymous1297 Feels like watching the Epic finals

Anonymous1298 Can Capulet be an e-sport too? Even this sh*tty game?

…

Anonymous1542 If I were Habaek, I’d honestly assassinate Contempt

└ That guy should stick to PvP forever

└ Why is he like this in dungeons?

Anonymous1543 Contempt, at this point, just drop the chain… no one would complain if you changed class

└ True lol

Anonymous1544 The devs probably don’t give chains movement skills to balance with other classes

└ True, if he wasn’t there, their clear party would jump in level

└ Is there even room to improve?

└ Aren’t you tired of hating on Contempt?

Anonymous1545 How many times has that guy fallen?

└ 7 times? lol

…

Anonymous1921 Don’t they even eat?

└ Food is important

└ The game is more important

Anonymous1922 Wow

Anonymous1923 Huh??

Anonymous1924 Wow?

Anonymous1925 What the f*ck

Anonymous1926 I thought they cleared it…

Anonymous1927 The Guardian of Balance… that name

└ Con

└ tempt

└ F*ck lol

…

Anonymous2289 Seems like the last try

Anonymous2290 Let’s go for the last try

Anonymous2291 If they don’t clear it now, Elka will

└ Elka, please be considerate

└ Four Heavenly Kings, hello

…

Anonymous2311 yayayayayayayayayayayay

Anonymous2312 They did it

Anonymous2313 lololololololololololololololol

Anonymous2314 Crazy bastards, they’re so good, f*ck

Anonymous2315 They didn’t make a single mistake, right? Are they insane? Keep going, f*ck

Anonymous2316 Countess 12 consecutive first clears

Anonymous2317 No one’s moving, look at that ;_;

Anonymous2318 Good job, you guys

Anonymous2319 But seriously, what kind of game has this record? A guild getting 12 first clears in a row, is that even a record?

└ Ah, the Capulet hype is more dangerous than nationalism…

└ Go eat some jjambbong, f*ck, you’re into Capulet hype because you have nothing else to eat, this game’s going to shut down soon, what’s the point of competing

└ Yeah, all the social misfits who project onto in-game heroes are here

└ Are the Contempt haters washing their dentures?

└ There are so many fake prodigies

Anonymous2320 It’s frustrating but they’re damn good, those f*ckers

Anonymous2321 Habaek’s damage, 5.21 million, is that right?? In the try?

└ Time-stealer will get nerfed

└ No, no one else can do that, they won’t nerf even if he dies

└ With 5 million steal, who else is there to nerf? Objectively a trash character, subjectively a god character, nerfing it is just crazy

Anonymous2322 The meter’s gone crazy lol

🎮

A news program requested an interview. It was a week after clearing the new dungeon ‘Valley of Death’. The situation was as follows:

It was unprecedented for a single guild to first clear all 11 renewed dungeons and the new dungeon. This great achievement by them excited Capulet players.

The players residing in the Capulet server were completely drunk on the Countess hype. They boasted about the first clear saga of Countess everywhere as if they were honorary guild members. The timeline of Countess’s first clears, organized by them, spread across various domestic communities under the title ‘Latest News of the Sh*tty Game Capulet.jpg’.

Meanwhile, during an interview following his season final victory in the globally famous AOS game ‘Epic,’ pro-gamer Tiger mentioned the achievements of the Countess Guild, unexpectedly causing a snowball effect.

Tiger, revered as the god of Epic, had immense influence. Countless users, incomparable to Capulet’s, searched for Countess and Capulet on Google, and quickly got excited together with the players. If you relate what the Countess Guild did to Epic, it’s like clearing all seasons of the league. It was a dreamlike story.

Amidst all this, for the benefit of foreigners who couldn’t read the posts filled with abbreviated Korean and memes, someone translated the timeline into English and posted it on a huge American community. Someone else, for the sake of their compatriots who didn’t understand English well, translated it into their native language. The spread of the post around the world happened in the blink of an eye. That’s how popular Epic was globally. Tiger was an idol to tens of millions of gamers.

Their story, which became a hot topic overseas, eventually appeared on the 9 PM news, and in no time, it turned into nationalist content, with 3-minute summary videos uploaded to YouTube.

Of course, not everyone was saying they were amazing. Given the nature of communities filled with armchair warriors, there were plenty of people claiming that since Caplet was such a terrible game with no players, they could become number one just by playing with their toes.

After a few days, as these top comments filled the top of the posts, Ha Baekyung, known as Habaek, publicly challenged Caplet players to a duel.

He declared that he would ‘shave his head’ if any player, regardless of the game they played, could beat him in a PVP match with basic gear equipped.

Upon hearing the news, many famous game streamers rushed in. Well-known gamers on the internet, retired pro gamers, all came to Caplet to defeat the reputation of Countess and Habaek. Before long, Caplet had become the center of attention.

Channel subscribers created new characters in Caplet to watch them, and in doing so, the gameplay of Caplet, which had been overshadowed by its notorious capitalist management, began to gain word-of-mouth.

That weekend, Caplet ranked 9th in PC bang occupancy rates. It was nothing short of a miracle, a holy achievement that would make even the specters of bad games dance out of their graves.

The butterfly effect that started from Countess Guild’s goal of clearing all first dungeons caused the community to buzz once more. To ride on this destructive hype, a famous current affairs entertainment show on KBC requested an interview with them.

The MC was Shin Jehyun’s older brother, announcer Shin Jehyun.

“No way.”

“They’ll mosaic your face.”

“Still no.”

Jehyun naturally refused. Appearing on a terrestrial broadcast at 11 PM on a Saturday night? Only a madman would do such a thing.

“They scouted Team Leader Ahn Yiyoung too.”

“…What?”

But one word from Shin Jehyun piqued Jehyun’s interest. Ahn Yiyoung, you say?

“Really? Ahn Yiyoung? That Ahn Yiyoung?”

“Yeah, the one you always curse at. It was really hard to get him. He didn’t want to appear on the broadcast because he’d get bashed.”

“Does he even know what he did wrong?”

Jehyun retorted with a sneer.

There was no way there’d be a good response if Ahn Yiyoung came up in conversation. If Jehyun heard that he had accepted to appear on the broadcast, he would have been just as angry. Isn’t he shameless?

Shin Jehyun, who was drinking coffee, furrowed his brows at Jehyun’s cold tone and put down his cup.

“What do you mean by ‘he’? He’s the same age as me.”

“The same age as you? You mean Ahn Yiyoung isn’t some balding, pot-bellied old man?”

“He’s got plenty of hair and no belly fat.”

That was shocking news. In Jehyun’s mind, Ahn Yiyoung’s image was close to that of a stubborn old man who was rotten to the core.

“Are you sure you’re not lying?”

Jehyun asked, narrowing his eyes with suspicion.

“Did you meet him in person?”

“I met him for the recruitment. He wouldn’t agree over the phone. His mother is a fan of mine, so I went with the PD to take pictures. So, you guys should come too. Especially, please tell that player Chee Eule to come.”

“Noona?”

Anyway, when Jehyun told Chee Eule about the interview, she agreed without hesitation. Of course, he didn’t tell Shin Jehyun. By the way, Contempt refused, saying he didn’t want to come all the way to Seoul, and Matchum declined, saying he’d get beaten by his brother if he went on such a show.

In such a situation, the only reliable one was his younger brother, Jehyun, which is why Shin Jehyun was clinging to him so desperately.

“I’ll make sure you get a good appearance fee.”

“How much? Ten million won?”

“Are you crazy? I only get 40,000 won. 300,000 won.”

“You’re the crazy one? Selling your face for 300,000?”

Jehyun was considering whether to tell Shin Jehyun about Chee Eule’s consent but decided to keep quiet. At 300,000 won, the merit didn’t match the risk. If he told him Chee Eule had agreed, Shin Jehyun would probably be even more persistent.

But he was curious about Ahn Yiyoung… Jehyun was driven by a mix of love-hate and curiosity. Ahn Yiyoung was not only the one who ruined Caplet but also the one who created Caplet. After some thought, Jehyun asked:

“If someone else appears apart from me, can I come to observe the broadcast?”

“Would that be okay?”

“Ah, you always tell me to come visit when you’re making shows.”

“Not this time. If you want to see Ahn Yiyoung, you have to appear yourself.”

It seemed Shin Jehyun had seen through Jehyun’s plan. Jehyun had intended to coax Contempt if it was possible, but he clicked his tongue in disappointment and checked the time.

Soon it would be 7 PM, Baekyung’s arrival time. Baekyung still didn’t know Shin Jehyun’s true identity. There was no harm in telling him, but Jehyun didn’t want Baekyung to feel awkward about being from a family of broadcasters.

Jehyun pulled Shin Jehyun up from the couch where he was lounging to prevent them from meeting. He issued an eviction notice to him in the most casual voice possible.

“Alright, I’ll think about it, so leave now. I’m going to rest.”

“What? I was going to have dinner here.”

“Whose decision was that? Leave, I’m tired.”

“You can’t be…”

But Shin Jehyun was much quicker to pick up on cues than Jehyun had thought. Even though Jehyun was just pushing him out as usual, he sensed the strange nuance coming from his brother.

“Jehyun, is someone coming over? Is it Eunjae? I haven’t seen Eunjae in a while, I should stay for dinner.”

With Shin Jehyun firmly planting his feet, Jehyun couldn’t handle him. Unlike Jehyun, who only had survival muscles, Shin Jehyun’s physique was honed by all sorts of exercises, far surpassing what Jehyun could overcome with strength.

“It’s not Seo Eunjae. Leave because it’ll be awkward with you here.”

“I don’t want to. Jehyun, you’ve been too harsh lately. Do you want to get into the News Department or something?”

That was a threat, saying if Jehyun kept acting this way, he’d ruin his future ambition of becoming a newspaper reporter.

If Shin Jehyun just whispered to their father, ‘Jehyun seems to have lost interest in journalism,’ Jehyun would be summoned by his father and forced to change his career path, so it was a very effective threat. Jehyun flinched, then glared at him, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

But regardless of the threats, Jehyun didn’t want to show Baekyung to Shin Jehyun. There was no particular reason; he just felt embarrassed and awkward. So Jehyun took drastic measures.

“And what about you? You want to put an embargo on the article where an anonymous informant exposes Shin Jehyun’s private life? What did you say last time? Some celebrity?”

“How can you never give in to your Hyung?”

“You taught me to use information efficiently, didn’t you? Now that you understand, leave.”

“I’m really hurt.”

“Okay, I get it.”

Even though Shin Jehyun put on a pitiful face, Jehyun didn’t even bat an eyebrow. Faced with such determination, Shin Jehyun eventually raised his hands in defeat and started to leave. After all, there would be other opportunities.

“Alright, I’ll go. Just make sure to decide by tomorrow and give me a call. We need to prepare for the shoot.”

“Sure.”

As Jehyun nodded promptly, Shin Jehyun chuckled and ruffled his hair. To others, he might seem like an ill-mannered, characterless adult male, but to him, Jehyun was still an adorable younger brother.

Could the person he talked to about dating advice over the phone be coming over? Shin Jehyun was very curious about the existence of his brother’s first love, but he decided to leave quietly since Jehyun might get really angry if he lingered longer. He put on his shoes.

“Ah, get out quickly. Are you going to a fan meeting or something?”

“A nation’s son-in-law must always be neat.”

“You seem to have caught celebrity disease.”

However, just as he was reluctantly fixing his clothes in front of the mirror, there was a beep beep beep sound from the door lock, followed by a cheerful beep, and someone opened the door to apartment 1701.

“…”

The person who appeared was, of course, Ha Baekyung. He had brought sushi to eat with Jehyun after visiting his parents’ house. Seeing a stranger at his boyfriend’s doorstep, Baekyung tilted his head with a cold, expressionless face.

However, there was something oddly familiar about the neat face of the other person. In that brief moment, Baekyung remembered that he was Shin Jehyun’s older brother whom he had seen before, and he smiled brightly as if nothing had happened, greeting him.

“Hello.”

“…Hello?”

It was a brief moment, but the change in expression was clear. Shin Jehyun, who never forgets a face once he’s seen it, recognized Ha Baekyung at once, especially since Baekyung’s handsome face had left an impression before.

He definitely remembered Baekyung making a similar expression when leaving the house last time. He seems to have a bit of an edge to his personality, Shin Jehyun thought, scrutinizing Baekyung with a keen eye as if he were interviewing his brother’s boyfriend.

“You’re here? Hurry up and leave, Hyung. Take care. Okay? Leave.”

Jehyun pushed Shin Jehyun out. After struggling to get him out the door, Jehyun sighed in relief and turned around only after the door closed with a thud.

Then, immediately, Baekyung, who was standing behind him, hugged him tightly.

“Sunbae, I missed you.”

They had last seen each other the previous night, so it had been less than a day since they were apart. At Baekyung’s whining, Jehyun burst into laughter and hugged him back, patting his firm, broad back to soothe him.

“I missed you too.”

Only after Jehyun said that did Baekyung let go. He lifted the shopping bag with the sushi he had placed on the floor and smiled prettily.

“You haven’t had dinner yet, right? Let’s eat together.”

“Yeah, let’s eat and then you can sleep over?”

“Okay.”

Lately, whenever there was a chance, Baekyung slept over at Jehyun’s place, and vice versa. They lived in the same building, just three floors apart, so there was no real need to sleep at each other’s homes, but they couldn’t stand being apart, so they often spent the night together.

Of course, there had been no further progression in their relationship. But Baekyung was content with it.

Of course, Ha Baekyung was a healthy 19-year-old male still dominated by sexual desire, and he had a strong urge to do various things with Jehyun. Sometimes it got so intense that just hearing Jehyun’s voice would give him an erection, but he was trying to convince himself that experiencing the purest and most noble form of love, platonic love, with Jehyun wouldn’t be so bad.

“How is it? Delicious, right?”

“Yeah, but isn’t this from a really expensive place?”

The sushi Baekyung brought was incredibly tasty. The aged fish had a deep umami, and the fresh sweetness from the wasabi and ingredients was delightful. Given Jehyun’s family background, he knew this was from a high-end sushi place. At least 100,000 won per person, but likely more.

“I don’t know.”

In response to Jehyun’s question, Baekyung just smiled as if he didn’t remember. Jehyun almost fell for that innocent face but realized Baekyung was deliberately not telling him to avoid burdening him. That wouldn’t do. After swallowing what he had in his mouth, Jehyun gently touched Baekyung’s hand and asked:

“Did you buy this with your allowance?”

“No, I had dinner with my parents earlier and brought this back. My mom bought it.”

Dinner with parents?

“…So, you’re eating sushi for two meals in a row? You didn’t buy this just to feed me, did you?”

“I did buy it to feed you because it was delicious, but it’s okay. I love sushi so much I could eat it three times a day.”

Jehyun could also eat tteokbokki three times a day, but somehow he felt that was an empty boast. Because in all the time he’d known Baekyung, he had never heard him suggest eating seafood first.

He probably bought it because of me, even though he doesn’t like it. Jehyun frowned, feeling uncomfortable. Seeing this, Baekyung shook his head, insisting it wasn’t the case.

“Really, sunbae. Sushi is my second favorite after tteokbokki.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You can eat tteokbokki three times a day, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“There’s no good sushi place around here, so I never suggested we eat it, but I really do love it, just as much as tteokbokki.”

Baekyung was still pretending to like tteokbokki. Jehyun didn’t even consider that Baekyung might be pretending because he had been doing it since they first met.

Jehyun had been suspicious that Baekyung was eating the same food just for him, but after a while, he decided to let it go. Baekyung wasn’t stupid enough to do something like that.

As the suspicion faded and the atmosphere softened, Jehyun smiled. A pleasant expression appeared on his face. He found Baekyung’s act of buying something delicious to eat together very cute.

“Anyway, it’s really delicious. Shall we go to a restaurant next time? I’ll treat you.”

“I’d like that. Let me know when you’re free, and I’ll make a reservation.”

“Okay, let’s go next week.”

“Yes.”

Baekyung smiled, drawing out his words. Finding him so lovable, Jehyun placed his favorite fish, goldeneye snapper sushi, from his lunchbox onto Baekyung’s plate. Goldeneye snapper was Jehyun’s most favorite fish.

In response, Baekyung took out his favorite, the abalone, from his lunchbox and placed it on Jehyun’s plate. They continued sharing food like this, and then Jehyun suddenly asked:

“But can’t I pay for this meal? It’s too expensive for me to just eat without even seeing their faces.”

At this unexpected remark, Baekyung’s eyes widened. When they drank with Seo Eunjae, he was frustrated because he couldn’t get money out of her, but here he was, feeling guilty over just sushi. It was clear that Shin Jehyun loved him more than his 24-year-old friend.

Feeling his heart warm, Baekyung smiled and asked back:

“Then how about coming to meet my parents this time?”

“Huh?”

“Then it works out, right? You can introduce yourself as my boyfriend, and you can have another expensive meal.”

“…What?”

Introduce himself as… a boyfriend?

As he seemed a bit flustered, he continued.

“Why? Do you not like it? Is it too much for you?”

Although he looked disappointed, Jehyun couldn’t lie about such a thing. He nodded awkwardly.

“It’s… a bit overwhelming…”

Then Baekyung responded with a playful, twinkling smile as if to say ‘don’t worry’.

“It’s okay. Sunbae, do you know about the White Children’s Hospital in Seocho? There are only two of these children’s hospitals in Seoul, and my parents run it.”

“Oh, they run a hospital? Are they both doctors, then? No, no, that’s not why it’s overwhelming for me…”

Jehyun almost got caught up in Baekyung’s pace but regained his composure, shaking his head. But Baekyung took the initiative again, asking with a disappointed look, his eyebrows drooping.

“Then? You don’t want to be introduced as my boyfriend?”

His expression looked like he might cry at any moment. His innocent eyes seemed somehow moist. That’s cheating… Jehyun’s heart softened immediately, and he reached out to stroke Baekyung’s cheek.

But even feeling sorry for him didn’t mean he could gloss over such matters. Coming out was something that needed to be handled carefully.

“No, it’s not that. I also want to proudly tell the whole world that we’re dating. But from your parents’ perspective, it’s not an easy issue. We haven’t been dating that long, and introducing myself so soon might shock them. Wouldn’t it be better to wait a bit longer?”

“What does the length of time we’ve been dating have to do with anything? …Do you plan on breaking up with me?”

“…”

It wasn’t like that, but one never knows what might happen in life. Maybe it could happen. Jehyun was about to answer like that, but Baekyung’s gaze was intense, suggesting something was off.

Jehyun had come to realize that Ha Baekyung wasn’t as innocent and pure as he thought. So, he quickly realized that if he answered ‘yes’ here, it might start a fight. He needed to answer carefully.

“Well…”

Shin Jehyun was not the type to hold back, so swallowing the words that had reached his throat was hard. But they had only been officially dating for about four months. He didn’t want to hurt feelings and fight over something like this after only a hundred days.

Coming out, of course, was important. But was there a need to hurt feelings by assuming a negative future like ‘we might break up’? No, definitely not. The first to speak the truth often faces the worst fate.

Jehyun quickly rationalized to himself and spoke up.

“Is there… any chance of that? I’m planning to go to a nursing home with you?”

“Right?”

After saying something he had never even thought of, Baekyung’s face lit up with a bright smile. Jehyun felt this topic was a bit dangerous. He sighed in relief internally and changed the subject.

“But if it’s a children’s hospital, are both your parents pediatricians?”

“Yes. Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. They also deal with heart conditions sometimes.”

“But neither you nor your brother went to medical school? Didn’t your parents want you to go to medical school?”

“Yes, since both of them worked hard to build their careers, they told us to do what we wanted. So Ha Jaekyung opened a cafe because he didn’t want to work, and I quit swimming to study Political Science.”

It wasn’t strange at all that Baekyung referred to his seven-year-older brother by name. From what Jehyun had experienced, Ha Jaekyung’s mental age wasn’t much different from Baekyung’s.

Anyway, hearing this made him curious. Baekyung didn’t like talking about swimming, so Jehyun hadn’t heard from him, but he remembered what Ha Jaekyung said during their time in high school. If not for the accident, Baekyung would have been an incredible athlete, representing the country at the Olympics.

If he worked that hard, he must have loved swimming very much. Even with an injury, he could have pursued a career in physical education, but why did he choose Political Science, which was completely unrelated? Jehyun, who had placed his chopsticks on his lunchbox, asked while drinking water.

“Is Jaekyung’s dream to run a cafe and chill? Then what about you, Baekyung, what’s your dream?”

“Ah, I’m going to join the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism after graduation.”

“…What?”

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism? That was unexpected. But Baekyung’s demeanor was very serious.

“I’m going to develop the gaming industry from within the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.”

If his thoughts leaped from swimming to developing the gaming industry, something must have had a significant impact on Baekyung’s values. Jehyun remembered that Baekyung started playing Caplet when he was 16 after quitting swimming. Could it be because of Caplet? he asked.

“Did you dream of that because of Caplet?”

And Baekyung nodded.

“Yes. Caplet was the first game I ever played, and I thought it was incredible content. But both my parents and other adults treated games like a social evil. So, I want to join the Ministry and change the fundamental view on games. Well, since I’m not from a political family, it might take a long time, or it might even be impossible, but there’s no harm in trying, right?”

He could feel the passion. If he touched Baekyung’s cheek now, he felt like that warmth would reach his heart.

“Yeah… you’re right.”

A thin smile appeared on Jehyun’s face.

Baekyung’s words were filled with a love for games that one could only have if they genuinely enjoyed them. The fact that he loved Caplet, which Jehyun also loved, made his heart swell with warmth. Sharing such a significant common interest with someone you love is a wonderful feeling.

“You’re admirable. If you work hard in the Ministry, I’ll make sure to cover it in articles all the time.”

“Yes, I’ll count on you, sunbae.”

When Jehyun patted his head, Baekyung nodded with a smile. That face looked angelic and cute, making Jehyun laugh like a proud parent.

Glancing over, he noticed Baekyung’s lunchbox was empty. Jehyun stood up to help clear the table with him.

“Want some coffee?”

“Yes.”

After washing the empty lunchbox containers and putting them in the utility room, they made coffee. As Jehyun was taking out a pie from the fridge for them to share, Baekyung suddenly asked:

“But why did your brother come over? Just to see your face?”

“Huh? Ah…”

Ha Baekyung knew about the interview request from the current affairs entertainment program. But he didn’t know that the host was the national announcer Shin Jehyun or that this Shin Jehyun was Jehyun’s brother.

Was it time to tell him now? Jehyun felt a bit embarrassed to reveal this fact like it was a coming-out moment since it wasn’t that big of a deal. However, not telling him now might seem like he was hiding something, so Jehyun placed the pie dish on the table and spoke up.

“Why he came… Baekyung, you know about the interview we got, right?”

“Yes, did he come because he was curious about that?”

“Yeah, that’s part of it. But more than that… actually, the host of that show is our brother. He came to ask for our appearance.”

“…”

At that explanation, Baekyung blinked quietly. He seemed not to understand for a moment, then tilted his head to ask:

“Is your brother a celebrity?”

“You really have no interest in that area, huh…”

Even though the show that requested their appearance was very popular, he didn’t know who the host was. Jehyun had thought Baekyung would at least know the name Shin Jehyun, but he was ashamed to inform Baekyung that his brother was quite famous, feeling his face flush with embarrassment.