TWKH Ch 6

[Raid] KimchiBapIsFried: lololol;;;

[Raid] KimchiBapIsFried: We’re running to the 3rd ladder

Jehyun, momentarily shocked, frowned before snapping back to reality at KimchiBapIsFried’s update.

“This is insane.”

Unable to hold back, he cursed out loud.

Mechanically operating the mouse and keyboard to replenish the raid members’ health and remove debuffs, while dodging enemy dealers, Jehyun couldn’t smooth out his furrowed brow.

Honey?

Ever since Jehyun started this nonsense two years ago, Habaek had never responded to his provocative jokes. At first, he would curse, then disappear in disgust, but he had never responded in the same manner.

But now, “honey”?

Jehyun didn’t know why Habaek suddenly changed his attitude, but in that moment, he understood just how much Habaek must have hated his “honey” jokes.

[Battlefield] Healer: This is disgusting, fuck;

[Battlefield] Healer: OK, I get it now

[Battlefield] Healer: Stop it

Jehyun typed with a pale face. His tone changed immediately. He was saying to stop.

[Battlefield] Habaek: Stop?

[Battlefield] Habaek: You’re so selfish, honey… After all that flirting with me…

[Battlefield] Habaek: Give me a chance to love you too

But Habaek didn’t stop his nonsense. Jehyun stared blankly at the chilling lines, his mouth agape. Then, as if to retract his previous statement, he scolded Habaek.

[Battlefield] Healer: How dare you speak informally to the vice-guild master

[Battlefield] Healer: No discipline?

[Battlefield] Habaek: You said to take off our armbands and fight

[Battlefield] Habaek: I’m talking to you man to man^^

[Battlefield] Arco: lolololol

[Battlefield] Contempt: I can’t even…;ㅅ;

[Battlefield] Gangdan: Are these two really dating?; They’re crazy

[Battlefield] Gangdan: Caplet is this dangerous

[Battlefield] LipsaApplication: The forum rumors seem to be true..lol

[Battlefield] Gangdan: How far gone do you have to be to act like this?

[Battlefield] Gwamsigomseu: The guild merger was like a political marriage ㅇㅇ something like that

[Battlefield] KimchiBapIsFried: This is what they call dating after marriage?

[Battlefield] Healer: Shut up, seriously

[Battlefield] Habaek: Alright, then let’s stop talking and communicate with our bodies instead?^^

[Battlefield] Gangdan: It’s love after endless pursuit lololol

Nonsense was starting to fill the battlefield channel. Caplet was such a trash game that even if you blocked someone, you could only stop private messages; you could still see their chat in other channels. There was no way to filter out the chat.

Jehyun, with a stern expression, said so and quickly switched the chat tab. He didn’t want to see any more of Habaek’s chilling messages.

Anyway, the chaos at the left outer gate continued. However, occasionally, ‘lol’ speech bubbles floated above the characters standing there. It seemed like the battlefield tab had blown up.

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: What are you all doing?

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Stop the battlefield chat, damn it

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Look at the inner fortress

Our team is attacking the Annihilation Stone!

[Raid] Contempt: I got the illusionist ㅇㅅㅇ

Just as he was about to ask for a report, the Annihilation Stone strike alert appeared. The Annihilation Stone’s health, displayed in the corner of the screen, was slowly decreasing. Contempt had taken out the illusionist guarding the Annihilation Stone and was dealing free damage to it.

This little bastard.

Jehyun thought that although Contempt had shown a bit of incompetence during the Ragnarr fight, he never disappoints. He smiled slyly.

Lying on the ground near the outer gate, which was about to be destroyed, he quickly typed in the chat.

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Keep pushing like that

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Where are parties 5 and 6?

[Raid] KimchiBapIsFried: We’re fighting in front of the right inner gate

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Don’t engage, just run

A speech bubble saying ‘Honey..’ floated above Habaek’s character. Jehyun pretended not to see it and pressed the resurrect button. He got up from the camp, rode his fake motorcycle, and rushed towards the castle while checking the status of the raid members.

Caplet was a non-targeting game, making PVP quite difficult. Except for the lock-on skills of the squishy ranged classes, characters that moved out of aim range wouldn’t take damage. Because of this, dozens of characters were moving chaotically in front of the left outer gate.

Our team is attacking the Annihilation Stone!

KimchiBapIsFried has died.

[Raid] KimchiBapIsFried: lol There’s a dark mage on the ladder, Contempt be careful

Habaek noticed the presence of parties 5 and 6, who had gone to support Contempt, and sent a party with many crowd control skills, including a lancer, to the inner fortress. A fierce battle was happening there, but looking at the health bars, they seemed to be at a slight disadvantage.

The Annihilation Stone’s health was now around 50%, but if they were pushed back and the enemy party entered the inner fortress, Contempt wouldn’t be able to destroy the stone alone. Jehyun anxiously gave orders.

The left outer gate has been destroyed!

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Parties 1 and 2, go to the left inner gate, the rest run to the right inner ladder

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: If you block them on the ladder, they can’t get in anyway

Once the round started, the defending side couldn’t enter the inner fortress without using the ladders. Even the defending raid couldn’t respawn inside the inner fortress until the inner gate was destroyed.

Anyway, the enemies also had to use the ladders to catch Contempt inside, so the situation was even. Since Contempt’s class, the chain swordsman, had high defense, it was better for him to avoid the dark mage and hold out inside, hitting the Annihilation Stone as much as possible, while the others kept the enemy busy outside.

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Hurry up and destroy it, you’re our only hope, if you can’t, I’ll delete my character

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: If you can’t catch the dark mage and die, the chain association will sue you;

[Raid] Contempt: ㅠㅅㅠ

While urging Contempt, Jehyun pulled down Habaek, who was trying to enter the inner fortress using the left inner ladder. He climbed the ladder, then fell off due to attacks, and attacked the allies to secure a safe zone. Amidst the chaos, he perfectly marked Habaek.

Using the Curse of the Earth God.

Using the Blessing’s Protection.

The priest’s protection increases the party members’ debuff resistance.

Following Habaek, who was heading towards the left inner ladder, Jehyun continuously interfered with him. He cast a movement speed reduction debuff and blocked Habaek’s path, preventing him from reaching Contempt.

Habaek tried to ignore Jehyun and pass by, but when Jehyun kept canceling his ladder climb, Habaek seemed annoyed and cast a self-buff before charging.

Using the Origin.

Resisted Habaek’s time theft.

You feel the weakening effect of the Horizon’s Blade.

You took 8241 damage from Habaek.

“Fuck, this OP character.”

Now he understood why the boss cursed the theft of time every day. The critical damage of the time thief was too strong.

Seeing his sharply decreased health, Jehyun quickly cast a protective shield and self-healed. In that moment, seeing Habaek trying to climb the ladder again, he cast a debuff to interfere.

[Raid] Contempt: Praise…me..

Contempt has died.

Due to Contempt, the Annihilation Stone was destroyed, and the concentrated energy annihilated the enemy.

The message that the Annihilation Stone had been destroyed appeared at that moment.

The screen froze, and the image of the inner fortress where the Annihilation Stone was located filled the screen. Cracks appeared on the large, diamond-shaped blue jewel, and at some point, the jewel was destroyed. The shockwave from the jewel swept through the entire Capitol Castle.

Habaek has died.

Gangdan has died.

Gwamsigomseu has died.

Nothing remained where the shockwave had passed. The enemy raid members all died on the spot. The word ‘Victory’ appeared on the screen.

It was 6 minutes and 54 seconds after the start.

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Good job

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Well done

[Raid] KimchiBapIsFried: nice

[Raid] LipsaApplication: nice

[Raid] Contempt: Did you see.. my ‘class’..ㅣㅅㅇ

It was an impressive performance that made everyone forget his previous poor showing during the Ragnarr fight, where he was dealing a mere 300,000 damage per second. Jehyun opened the scoreboard and saw Contempt’s contribution score of 500 points for destroying the Annihilation Stone alone. He smirked and looked at the countdown on the screen before typing in the chat again.

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Let’s finish this 2:0?

The Annihilation Battlefield was a best-of-three format. If they won one more round, they would win cleanly. Jehyun narrowed his eyes and began adjusting the party.

This time, Jehyun’s raid was defending. If they lost this round, the next round would randomly decide the attacking and defending sides. Defense was a bit more challenging against Habaek compared to offense. Habaek had a tendency to go all-in, making it a make-or-break situation.

Habaek’s tactics usually involved either pouring all his forces into the left or right outer gate or filling the infiltration airship with the maximum of 10 high-damage or crowd-control classes to send them via the inner ladders.

The former would decide the battle’s outcome, but the latter often led to frustrating losses. It was a tactic that made losses feel two or three times worse.

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: Confirm party adjustments

Jehyun’s only task was to predict Habaek’s thoughts.

Since they just won with Contempt’s free damage, wouldn’t this bastard also target the inner ladders? Jehyun thought that if Habaek, who liked to return the favor, would target the inner ladders and the left outer gate. He gave his orders.

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: 1, 2 to the inner fortress, 3, 4, 5 to the left outer gate, 6 to the right outer gate. Who’s on the anti-aircraft cannon (located on the outer wall, used to strike the attacking side’s airships entering the inner fortress)?

[Raid] Sillipop: I’ll do it

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: OK, Sillipop on the left cannon, I’ll take the right.

The Annihilation will begin in 1 minute!

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: If the enemy comes to the right outer gate, 3, 4, 5 immediately go out and engage in a brawl

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: 1, 2, make sure they can’t enter at all and hold the shortcut

Contempt waves his hand.

LipsaApplication waves his hand.

WoorijuneNobeol waves his hand.

The Annihilation will begin in 30 seconds!

The buffed raid members moved to their positions, and soon the battlefield start message appeared.

Jehyun, on the anti-aircraft cannon, fired at the airship approaching from the right while continuously checking the health bars of the raid members. There was no movement at the left outer gate, and the right gate was also quiet.

[Raid] Contempt: ㅇㅜ12331

KimchiBapIsFried has died.

Contempt has died.

YangnyeomGalbijjim has died.

RIPYiyoung has died.

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: ?

Jehyun was confused by the sudden multiple death notifications. He quickly checked and saw that Party 6, which had gone to the right outer gate, had been completely wiped out.

[Raid Leader Notice] Healer: What happened?

[Raid] RIPYiyoung: Enemy at right outer; outer gate destroyed

His prediction was wrong. The enemy had sent all 30 members to the right outer gate. Jehyun gritted his teeth.

[Guild] Habaek: You always leave the right side open, don’t you? ^^?

[Guild] Habaek: Are you left-handed by any chance?

Knowing that Jehyun had turned off the battlefield chat, Habaek started taunting him in the guild chat. Just as Shin Jehyun knew Habaek, Habaek also knew Shin Jehyun well. Knowing Jehyun’s habit of focusing more on the left side whether attacking or defending, Habaek quickly wiped out Party 6 defending the right outer gate and destroyed the gate.

With their forces not divided, the right outer gate, attacked by 30 enemies, was destroyed before the defending Parties 3, 4, and 5 could reach it. The enemies immediately entered and clashed again with the respawned defending Party 6 in front of the inner gate.

Soon, Parties 3, 4, and 5, who had run from the left outer gate, joined the chaotic battle, but the defending side was outnumbered because Parties 1 and 2 were waiting on the shortcut inside the inner fortress.

The inner gate was quickly destroyed, and the Annihilation Stone’s health started to decrease.

Defeat

In the second round of the Annihilation Battlefield, Jehyun lost in 3 minutes and 12 seconds.

Title: Countess guild split up in just a week lol

They’re in the same Guild but doing Annihilation separately

Seems like Healer and Habaek still hate each other lol

Comments(10)

Anon1: Wasn’t Matgom running with Healer?

└ Who’s that?

└ Jangji is such a tryhard

└ ??

Anon2: They just seem to be running separately, why call it a split?

└ Running separately IS the problem lol

└ What, if you’re in the same Guild you have to do Annihilation together? Dungeons together? Raids together? If Guild leader dies should guild members die too? lol

└ What’s wrong with your social skills? So it’s okay for guildmates to kill each other but not this?

└ Why not?

└ Then why be in the same Guild? Really curious

Watched Habaek in Annihilation, still the same

Still pulling the same crap lol

When other raid groups stack 30 people on one side it’s a stupid strategy, but when you lose to this tactic from Habaek you can’t even laugh – it’s just absurd

Comments(3)

Anon1: Why other raid groups? └ Habaek is good at taking out healers so their raid group’s focus fire makes sense, others can’t do that so it’s just a waste of time. Habaek does burst meta, other groups just do messy fights

Anon2: We tried copying that in Jigo and couldn’t even break outer wall lol. Only Elca can do it cause Seop’s good at catching healers

So Habaek and Healer are dating now?

[Screenshot]

Habaek finally accepting Healer’s feelings

Finally getting that galbitang (Korean beef soup)?

Comments(6)

Anon1: Isn’t this too much for public space?

Anon2: wtf what are they doing in sacred Annihilation -_-

Anon3: Not many Caplet users anyway, might as well invite everyone to the wedding lol. Let’s see their faces

└ If you invite those basement dwellers there’ll be complaints about the smell

└ Police will come because of rotting corpse smell lol

└ Take a shower, idiots

* * *

[Guild] Sangjae: Healer, are you leading?

[Guild] Healer: No, someone else please

[Guild] Boss12MoreHours: Tyrant, that’s unusual..

[Guild] Habaek: Baby, are you still mad?

“Fuck!”

Jehyun was putting together a Party for the Mallorca’s Tomb Inferno Dungeon. While clicking the mouse with a bored expression, he got irritated at Habaek’s sudden message and put his hands on the keyboard.

[Guild] Healer: Stop it

[Guild] Healer: Don’t be disrespectful to guild leader with informal speech. Use formal speech again, you’re annoying me

[Guild] Habaek: You said let’s drop the formalities ㅠㅠ Don’t you know once you take off the badge you can’t put it back on?

[Guild] Healer: Got it?

[Guild] Sangjae: ;;;;;;

[Guild] Healer: Is something wrong with your brother?

[Guild] Sangjae: The kid is just… like that..

[Guild] Healer: Must be out of his mind

Jehyun sighed after typing that chat. They ended up losing the Annihilation against Habaek. In a 1:1 situation, if they had gotten attack side in the last round, they could have won easily, but they unfortunately got defense and lost.

‘Surely he won’t go right this time’ – focusing on left defense while thinking this was the problem. Habaek brought all 30 members to break the right outer wall again, leaving behind nasty comments like ‘even AI can learn…’ before destroying the Annihilation Stone.

While Contempt logged out sobbing, Jehyun was collecting enhancement stones doing daily quests, barely hiding his irritation, when he got called to the Tomb Inferno Party.

Anger that started building from Ragnarr was churning inside Jehyun. It was already annoying that his kid Contempt couldn’t even do proper DPS in Ragnarr before the Party disbanded, and then getting completely crushed by Habaek in Annihilation made him hate seeing that ID.

However, even while fuming, Jehyun was diligently preparing to enter the dungeon with his ingrained hardcore gamer spirit.

[Guild] Habaek: Let Sangjae lead

[Guild] Sangjae: ok

[Guild] Boss12MoreHours: But I’m curious

[Guild] Boss12MoreHours: What’s the age gap between you two that you speak so casually?

[Guild] Sangjae: 7 years lol

[Guild] Boss12MoreHours: ? 7 months or 7 years?

[Guild] Sangjae: Surprising right? The kid has no manners haha

[Guild] Boss12MoreHours: Think it’s because you’re too nice;;

After entering the dungeon via the entrance stone, Jehyun frowned at the chat window he belatedly noticed. 7 years difference?

Since Sangjae said he was 27, that meant Habaek was just a 20-year-old kid.

“Hah…”

An incredulous sigh escaped Jehyun’s lips. He had been fighting with Habaek for nearly 4, no, 5 years now. The fact that the person he’d been fighting with while spitting words for 5 years as an adult was a minor until a month ago. He felt tremendous self-loathing.

But the self-loathing was brief. With his anger meter fully charged, Jehyun quickly typed a chat. Whether Habaek was a minor in the past or not, he isn’t now, right?

Teasing a freshly turned 20-year-old boy was nothing to Jehyun. Unlike the kid who had to go to military service, Shin Jehyun was a healthy man who had completed his service in the Marine Corps.

[Guild] Habaek: Is serving in the military our guild leader’s greatest life achievement?

[Guild] Healer: Habaek, got any facial hair yet? lol

[Guild] Boss12MoreHours: Here we go again

Boss12MoreHours has invited you to the Party.

You have joined the Party.

Sangjae has joined the Party.

[Guild] Habaek: Ah~ It’s quite thick, you know?^^

[Guild] Sangjae: Are you crazy? Shut up

The tension that started from Annihilation was still continuing. As the two started picking at each other again, the boss tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

Habaek has joined the Party.

[Party] Boss12MoreHours: lololol why don’t you two meet up IRL?

[Party] Boss12MoreHours: Settle it man-to-man with one round and make up

[Party] Boss12MoreHours: Let’s be cool about it

[Party] Sangjae: lol.. Habaek used to be an athlete

[Party] Boss12MoreHours: ? Our guy is pretty tough too? Can’t help but be intimidated when you see his face

When Sangjae subtly implied that Jehyun would lose, the boss stepped up to defend Jehyun.

This kind of visible yet invisible strange tension continued in the Countess Guild. Shin Jehyun messed up his hair and sighed, thinking he was spoiling the mood while reading the boss’s chat defending him.

Fuck, we can lose in Annihilation sometimes. It’s not like losing is anything new?

But even while trying to brush off losing to Habaek like it was nothing, his blood pressure rose when he remembered Habaek’s chat bubble saying they were worse than AI.

Jehyun took a deep breath in and out to regain his composure. We’re in the same Guild. With teamwork like this, getting 1st rank after server integration would be impossible. While comforting himself for the future like this, he placed his hands on the keyboard.

[Party] Healer: ;; No way a Marine Corps vet would lose to someone who hasn’t served

However, contrary to his intentions, what came out in chat was a completely different provocative statement.

While Habaek laughed at those words, Jehyun was serious. The average height of Korean men is 173cm. Shin Jehyun was 179cm, just 1cm short of 180. Although he looked somewhat fragile due to being lean without muscle, he hadn’t just been breathing during his time in the Marine Corps.

Shin Jehyun had learned various martial arts in that terrible place. He didn’t want to use skills learned for protecting the country on some beardless kid, but anyway, he was confident he’d win if he fought Habaek.

Jehyun snickered and provoked Habaek.

[Party] Healer: Seriously

[Party] Healer: Won’t lose to someone who hasn’t served

[Party] Habaek: lol want to try?

[Party] Habaek: Let’s see who wins

[Party] Healer: ok if I lose I’ll call you hyung

[Party] Habaek: If I lose? What should I do?

[Party] Healer: Leave the guild

A laughing sound came from somewhere. Turning the screen, Habaek’s character was standing not far from him, having entered at some point. Habaek used the laughing emote as if finding it ridiculous, then after the emote ended, asked seriously:

[Party] Habaek: Can you get guild rank 1 without me? ㅠㅠ

[Party] Boss12MoreHours: wow… the confidence of the robbery king

[Party] Sangjae: This is embarrassing, let’s stop

[Party] Healer: We’ve done fine without you until now

Jehyun shot back with a sour face, then suddenly frowned remembering the server merge. While Countess Guild had many rankers, there were few true skilled players within the top 3 ranks. At most just four people: Jehyun, Habaek, Contempt, and SpellChecker.

Then where were the other rankers? They were on the Maverick and Cullen servers.

And on Maverick and Cullen, most would be affiliated with large guilds like Hell and Four Heavenly Kings. The same Hell and Four Heavenly Kings that were merging guilds this time.

Of course, Jehyun was confident they could still hit Guild Rank 1 after the server merge. Looking at the Mallorca’s Tomb Inferno Dungeon clear times, he was certain no one could clear dungeons as fast as them when considering pure DPS alone.

But… the person who contributed most to shortening that clear time was Habaek. Jehyun had never seen anywhere else the kind of DPS that could reach 4 million per second, or 5 million with lucky crits. If Habaek left and was replaced with another DPS, they’d lose 2 million DPS per second, increasing clear times accordingly.

After thinking that far, Jehyun sighed in irritation and typed again.

[Party] Healer: Come to think of it, leaving the guild might be too much

[Party] Healer: Can’t break up brothers

[Party] Sangjae: We’re already broken up as much as possible

[Party] Healer: Please be quiet

[Party] Healer: If I win you take a vow of silence

[Party] Habaek: Vow of silence?

[Party] Healer: yeah life would be bearable if you just stopped chatting

[Party] Habaek: lol shall we do that then?

Right. Let’s fight next time we meet.

Just as Jehyun was about to type that:

[Party] Habaek: Since it came up, how about meeting now? I live near Korea University back gate, I’ll come to you

[Party] Boss12MoreHours: ;;;no wtf guys it was just a joke

[Party] Boss12MoreHours: Let’s just do the dungeon why are you like this

[Party] Boss12MoreHours: You two are just joking right now and I’m being oversensitive?? You’re not really going to fight??

[Party] Sangjae: ;;;

Though Jehyun had made hundreds of IRL fight jokes to Habaek while living, he had never actually thought about carrying it out. He was also surprised by the suggestion to meet right now.

Is this kid serious? Does he want to get beaten up? As Jehyun laughed incredulously and tried to use the laugh emote, suddenly his left mouse button wouldn’t respond.

“Ah, what’s this.”

It seemed broken from being thrown after losing in Annihilation earlier. Fuck, because of that bastard! While Jehyun hesitated, frantically clicking the unresponsive button, Habaek continued:

[Party] Habaek: Why no answer

[Party] Habaek: You scared ㅠㅠ?

It was perfect aggro.

“Hey, are you really going out?”

“They told me to come.”

“This is driving me crazy. I was just joking around, how did things end up like this? I called Sangjae and asked him to do something about it, but he says he doesn’t know because his brother’s crazy. Though he said not to worry since he’s never actually hit anyone…”

“Noona, you’re close enough with Sangjae to call him? That’s ridiculous.”

“Is that what’s important right now?”

“Then what is important? Are you worried we’ll actually fight? What could I possibly do meeting a kid who just turned twenty at this hour, noona? Do you really trust me that little? We’ll probably just talk and come back. I’ll persuade him well. Don’t worry.”

Hearing Jehyun’s confident voice, the manager seemed at a loss for words and just sighed. Shin Jehyun tied his sneakers, smiled, and said “I’ll call you later” before pressing the end call button.

Standing up and looking in the mirror, there was a fierce-looking man inside. His small face visible under the deeply worn cap was smooth enough to be considered objectively handsome, but perhaps due to his sharp, upturned eyes giving him a fierce impression, most people only realized his good looks later.

Moreover, his small ears had so many piercings, making Shin Jehyun’s impression even more delinquent-like. It wasn’t the kind of appearance that would make people want to approach easily. Jehyun objectively assessed his state, zipped up his long padded coat, and walked out the door.

[Party] Habaek: Then at Korea University back gate in 30 minutes?

He agreed to meet Habaek at the back gate. Jehyun was slightly surprised to hear that Habaek, who had just turned twenty, also lived in this area. It seemed unlikely that someone who just became an adult would live independently without reason, and the fact that he got a room near Korea University of all places made Jehyun think he might be a student there.

Habaek had been fighting with Jehyun in Caplet almost every day since he was 16 and lived like a gaming addict focused on ranked matches, but he still studied enough to get into Korea University? If that was true, Jehyun needed to run away immediately. It was better not to associate with such a crazy person.

However, even if Habaek was truly insane, he needed to settle things with him. For the sake of a smooth gaming life after the server merge, it was necessary to discipline this annoying guy once.

“Oh.”

While going down to the first floor in the elevator, Jehyun spotted a familiar face just as he was imagining grabbing Habaek by the collar. The elevator stopped at the 14th floor, three floors below the 17th floor where Jehyun lived, and Ha Baekyung was standing there.

Like Jehyun, Baekyung was wearing a cap and padded coat with his hands in his pockets. When their eyes met, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. Seeing that expression, Jehyun smiled briefly and asked.

“Hi. Do you live here?”

Ha Baekyung seemed a bit flustered meeting Jehyun in an unexpected place. He stepped inside and stood next to Jehyun before answering.

“Sunbae, hello. Yes, I moved here.”

“Really? Guess there must be something between you and me.”

It was quite a coincidence. It was already fascinating that they had become mentor and mentee, but to be in the same officetel? Jehyun smiled at how strange it was and continued.

“But where are you going so late? It’s dangerous.”

After saying this, Jehyun looked up at Baekyung and their eyes met as the other stared down at him with an expressionless face.

Had he ever made such an expression before? Having only seen Baekyung’s smiling face until now, Jehyun tilted his head slightly and asked again.

“Going to meet a friend?”

“…Yeah, something like that.”

However, Ha Baekyung quickly regained his usual demeanor. Nodding as he answered, Baekyung smiled smoothly like before and threw a question at Jehyun.

“Where are you going, sunbae? Going to get a refund or something?”

“What?”

Jehyun burst out laughing at the mention of a refund. After laughing out loud, he saw the door open and gently pushed Baekyung’s back to let him exit the elevator first before following.

“Not a refund, but something similar.”

“Who is it? Doesn’t seem like someone you’re on good terms with.”

“Can’t say we’re on good terms…”

Jehyun answered and walked toward the back gate. Then, noticing that Ha Baekyung was walking in the same direction, he nudged him with his elbow.

“Hey Baekyung, look.”

“Yes?”

When Ha Baekyung looked at him, Jehyun took off his cap, put it back on, and made eye contact with him. Then he scrunched his eyes and made a fierce expression.

“Do I look scary?”

“…”

Ha Baekyung closed his mouth at the question, seemingly at a loss for words. Was it too scary? Jehyun relaxed his expression for a moment, then twisted his lips askew and asked Baekyung again. Since Habaek was also twenty, he thought their perspectives might be similar.

“Like, do I look fierce? Like someone you shouldn’t mess with?”

“Haha!”

Ha Baekyung burst out laughing at the follow-up question. Turning his head and laughing loudly, he soon covered his mouth with his palm and made deflating sounds while laughing. Feeling awkward at this reaction, Jehyun jutted out his lips and fidgeted with his cheek.

“Do I look weak? Why are you laughing?”

“No… it’s just.”

Ha Baekyung couldn’t easily stop laughing. His shoulders shook with laughter for a while, and only after wiping tears from his eyes did he collect himself.

“It’s not that, just…”

“Be honest. I’m not the kind of senior who pulls rank. Did I look too approachable?”

At Jehyun’s grumpy question, Ha Baekyung smiled with downturned eyes as if in a difficult situation. Then he honestly shared his impression of Jehyun’s stern face from moments ago.

“Honestly? Yes.”

“…Really? You’re very honest. Thanks.”

Jehyun clicked his tongue at that. Then suddenly realizing how much taller Ha Baekyung was than him, he shook his head.

Shin Jehyun was 179cm tall. It was just that Baekyung was exceptionally tall; Jehyun wasn’t short at all. The chances of Habaek being as tall as Ha Baekyung were low, so his impression might be different. Jehyun walked while trying to maintain as fierce an expression as possible to resolve the situation peacefully.

“But where are you going? At this late hour. Meeting with other freshmen again?”

The semester was about to start. Students living alone would have mostly moved into their rooms by now, so it wouldn’t be strange for freshman living alone to have gatherings before classes began. In fact, Shin Jehyun remembered drinking with Seo Eunjae and other classmates who started living alone nearby for a whole week when he was a freshman.

“No, just… meeting someone.”

At Ha Baekyung’s answer, Jehyun narrowed his eyes and glanced up at him. Then, noticing the faint smile on Baekyung’s lips, he grinned and said,

“Looks like things are going well with that person from before.”

“Who?”

“What was their name… Jihyun?”

He was referring to Baekyung’s classmate who was with them when they had drinks with Seo Eunjae last time. They kept calling them Jihyun, Jihyun, so he wasn’t sure about the surname, but anyway, Jihyun… That person was small and cute. Their way of speaking and behavior were straightforward, making them quite charming.

However, Ha Baekyung frowned in confusion at Jehyun’s words.

“Who’s Jihyun?”

“Your classmate…. You don’t mean I was the only one who saw them?”

“…”

At that trembling voice, Baekyung smiled awkwardly. He tilted his head thoughtfully, then asked Jehyun:

“Are you perhaps talking about Jiwon? Hyun Jiwon?”

“…Wasn’t it Jihyun?”

“It’s Jiwon.”

Ah, it was Jiwon. He got confused just hearing it. Jehyun nodded, saying “Oh, Jiwon, Hyun Jiwon.” Just as he was about to ask if he was going to meet Jiwon, Ha Baekyung asked with a subtly amused voice:

“Sunbae, do you remember the name of the other male student who was there that time?”

“Oh yeah, Kim Woohyun. The one who looks like a rabbit?”

“…You remember the guys’ names well.”

“Ah, I heard Woohyun’s name before too. And he was memorable because he looked cute.”

“Jiwon looks cute too.”

“Yeah, all the new students seem cute this year.”

“…Ah~.”

At that sound, Jehyun blinked and looked up at Baekyung. Didn’t he just say “ah~”? Not “ah.” or “ah!” or “ah…” but “ah~”. It seemed to have a somewhat unpleasant nuance…

However, when he looked up, Baekyung was wearing his usual polite smile. Did I hear wrong? Jehyun smiled, thinking Ha Baekyung wouldn’t make such a sound.

While having this pointless conversation, they had reached the back gate. Standing in front of the large golden nameplate that read “Korea University,” Jehyun asked Baekyung who stood beside him:

“Did you agree to meet here?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s wait together. I’m supposed to meet someone here too.”

“Okay.”

Baekyung smiled brightly as he said this. Looking at that smile, Jehyun thought he really was a kind and polite kid. It would be nice to have someone like this in the Guild. Someone who listens well, calls him Sunbae-nim, and does good DPS… Suddenly, Jehyun felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Somehow, he felt like he’d had this thought before about wanting a junior like Ha Baekyung in the Guild. But he couldn’t remember ever talking about games with Baekyung. Shin Jehyun was confused. It was because he couldn’t remember his blackout drunk memories.

Finally, unable to find the source of this strange déjà vu, Jehyun picked up his phone. With some time left before meeting Habaek, he decided to look for someone selling something he could use temporarily in place of his broken mouse.

Searching for “mouse,” he found someone selling a gaming mouse they’d recently bought, complaining about the LED lights being light pollution. Seeing “Korea University back gate” mentioned, Jehyun messaged asking if he could buy the mouse right now.

“Hah…”

And during the 30 minutes Jehyun waited after setting up the appointment with the seller, Habaek never showed up.

“…Sunbae, who are you here to meet?”

Baekyung asked Jehyun, who was taking deep breaths to control his anger while tightly gripping his phone. Ha Baekyung had been standing near him, also waiting for someone who hadn’t shown up.

When he looked up at the sudden question, he could see a subtle smile on Ha Baekyung’s lips. Whether it was playing hard to get or not, it seemed Ha Baekyung had also been stood up by Jiwon like him, but seeing how they weren’t even angry, they must have a really good personality. Jehyun forced a smile and answered Ha Baekyung.

“Oh, Daangn (Carrot Market). My mouse broke.”

“…Daangn?”

“Yeah. It suddenly stopped working. So I came out to buy one.”

“Ah…”

He couldn’t bring himself to say that he had come out to have a real-life confrontation with a 20-year-old who didn’t show up, so he was just going to do the Daangn transaction and leave. As Jehyun made up his excuse, Baekyung tilted their head slightly and asked.

“Why did you ask me earlier if I looked scary?”

“Uh…?”

“Were you planning to negotiate the price in person?”

Jehyun’s face flushed at Baekyung’s bright-smiled question. He was embarrassed to be mistaken for someone trying to haggle in person. But… being seen as an in-person negotiator was far better than being seen as someone looking for a real-life fight over a game.

Jehyun smiled awkwardly and waved his phone as he spoke.

“Well, something like that. The other person’s manner temperature was 18 degrees. So I was just checking, just in case.”

“I see…”

“What about you? Did Jiwon say they couldn’t make it?”

“I’m not meeting Jiwon. I just had plans with someone I know, but they’re not showing up.”

“Really? That’s tough, at this hour.”

Jehyun comforted Baekyung, thinking they were making excuses because they were embarrassed about being stood up by Hyun Jiwon. As he was patting their broad shoulders saying “it’s okay,” Ha Baekyung narrowed their eyes and glanced down at Jehyun.

It was at that moment when Shin Jehyun’s trading partner appeared. Just as Ha Baekyung’s eyes were becoming increasingly narrow.

“Are you… from Daangn…?”

A man as big as Baekyung approached and asked shyly in a low voice.

The man who appeared with a mouse wrapped in its cord inside a convenience store plastic bag truly had an intimidating appearance. He looked even more like a back-alley thug than Shin Jehyun, whom anyone would mistake for a delinquent at first sight.

A physical education major? Jehyun thought as he nodded toward the man.

“Yes, the mouse…?”

“Ah, yes. Here it is.”

“Thank you. You confirmed the money transfer earlier, right?”

“Yes, yes. I saw it. Thank you.”

“Ah, could I check it for a moment?”

“I’m in a hurry right now… If there’s any problem, send me a message.”

“Ah, okay. Take care.”

Though Jehyun wanted to check its condition, the other person thrust the bag into his hands and left without looking back. What could he be busy with at this hour? Jehyun looked inside the bag with suspicious eyes.

But the mouse’s shape seemed odd. As Jehyun stared at the mouse’s connection port, he turned on his phone’s flashlight and shined it into the bag while pulling his lips into a tight line.

“This is…”

A voice that sounded like he was gritting his teeth escaped from Jehyun. The long connection cord was covered in grime. The USB connector looked like someone had chewed on it with their mouth, with the outer covering nearly peeled off to expose the internal wires.

To sell such garbage for 30,000 won! Furious, Jehyun immediately sent a message to the seller, but the other person read Jehyun’s message and didn’t respond. He was being ignored.

“Wow…!”

After being played by Habaek in this dead of winter and then getting scammed with the mouse, he couldn’t take it anymore. Jehyun unzipped his padding jacket and let the cold air hit his heated chest as he flapped the edges of his clothes. As he was cooling down his anger like that, Baekyung, who had been watching him with pity, asked:

“Is it in bad condition?”

“No, Baekyung. Look at this. In all my life, this is the first time I’ve bought something like this.”

“…This is just garbage, isn’t it?”

“Right? Ah, so annoying. Now I know why their manner temperature was 18 degrees.”

Jehyun took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration while taking deep breaths. He wanted to curse them out over the phone, but since they hadn’t exchanged phone numbers, all he could do was send filtered messages through the app.

“I have a spare mouse at home.”

“Huh?”

What was going to calm down the frustrated Jehyun, who had been wondering how he’d play in battle with a broken left-click, was this single statement from Baekyung.

“I have a spare gaming mouse at home. My older brother bought several through parallel import and gave them to me… Would you like to use one of those if you don’t mind?”

That kind face asking so gently couldn’t have looked more handsome. Jehyun, who had been staring blankly up at Baekyung, suddenly couldn’t help but reach out to pat Baekyung’s head through their hat. He smiled broadly and answered:

“Yeah, I’ll buy one. Sell me one.”

“Then let’s stop by my place.”

“Is that okay? When are you heading home? If you’re going to wait longer, I’ll wait with you. It’s not urgent, you could give it to me tomorrow morning.”

“Let’s just go now. Looks like they’re not coming.”

Baekyung said this with a faint smile. Somehow, the smile seemed unlike Ha Baekyung, which made Jehyun feel a bit strange, but he soon smiled pleasantly and put his hand on Baekyung’s back.

Ha Baekyung quietly followed as Jehyun pushed them along. Since they were just big but gentle and kind, reminding him somehow of his younger sibling Shin Jehee, Jehyun smirked and asked Baekyung:

“Have you had dinner? Want to get something to eat before heading home? My treat.”

“Really? You’ll treat me?”

“Yeah. There are lots of good places around here. You probably don’t know much about this area, right? I lived here for 4 years. Tell me if there’s anything you want to eat. I’ll tell you which places are the best.”

“What I want to eat…”

Baekyung tilted their head as if thinking. Watching them, Jehyun was thinking about places that might be open at this hour when he stopped at the crosswalk signal.

“Do you like market-style chicken? You know, the kind fried without batter. There’s an amazing place that does that. Want to do chicken and beer? You drink well, right? I think you stayed until almost the end last time. My memory’s a bit fuzzy since I blacked out that day.”

“I probably drink pretty well. You blacked out? You didn’t seem that drunk that day.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Jehyun, who was about to answer, suddenly noticed the green light and patted Baekyung’s back. Walking side by side with Ha Baekyung on the crosswalk, Jehyun continued:

“I usually look pretty normal even when I’m drunk…”

Just as he was about to say “look,” it happened. Late at night, a delivery motorcycle that apparently hadn’t properly seen the two people in black padding jackets quickly brushed past them from the right.

“Whoa, shit! That scared me!”

Jehyun, startled, pulled on Baekyung’s arm and stopped in place. Still gripping Ha Baekyung’s sleeve tightly, Jehyun turned his head toward where the motorcycle had gone.

“Is that guy crazy? Hey, are you okay?”

With that, Jehyun quickly moved, conscious of Ha Baekyung who had been standing on the side where the motorcycle came from. After safely getting Baekyung onto the sidewalk, he looked around checking if they were injured anywhere.

“Were you scared? Are you hurt anywhere? Did it run over your foot?”

“…I’m fine.”

Baekyung seemed a bit shocked. Their brown eyes, looking down at Jehyun with a strangely expressionless face, sparkled in the streetlight. Shin Jehyun confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his handsome junior’s face in the darkness and let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s a bit dangerous here at night. If you’re okay, that’s good. Let’s go.”

Jehyun said this with a slight smile and started walking toward the chicken place. Ha Baekyung stood still for a moment, staring intently at Jehyun’s back, before finally taking a step to follow him.

* * *

“Hyung.”

“What.”

“If you’re walking with me and a motorcycle quickly passes by my side, what would you do?”

“What do you mean what would I do?”

“Would you ask if I’m okay and check if I’m hurt?”

At Baekyung’s sudden question, Ha Jaekyung looked at his sibling with a creeped-out expression. Then, with a disgusted look, he flicked a snack at Baekyung and said:

“What nonsense. Be grateful I don’t just push you away.”

“……”

Right, that was the normal reaction. Ha Baekyung shot a knowing look at Ha Jaekyung before turning their head away. Sitting cross-legged on the sofa with their chin propped up, they recalled what happened the other day.

189cm and 95kg. Thanks to swimming until age 16, Baekyung had shoulders so broad that even the Pacific Ocean might feel narrow, and they had rarely experienced being protected by anyone in their life. Maybe when they were very young, but Ha Baekyung, who was already over 170cm tall in fourth grade, was always treated as a premature adult due to being bigger than their peers.

Even Ha Jaekyung, Baekyung’s older brother, would sooner push Baekyung forward when fights broke out due to their large size rather than try to protect them.

So, Shin Jehyun’s actions of tightly gripping their sleeve and pulling them close as if to embrace them protectively were very unfamiliar to Baekyung.

It was truly a strange feeling. Extremely unfamiliar, and also ticklish… As Baekyung was thinking about that day, Ha Jaekyung suddenly asked:

“Hey, so did you meet the healer or not? Noona said you didn’t show up at the meeting place?”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Are you both insisting you went while actually being too scared to show up?”

“I really did go. The healer didn’t come, I’m telling you.”

The ridiculous accusation was irritating. Baekyung ignored Ha Jaekyung’s comments about their attitude and got up to open the refrigerator. They grabbed a zero cola and went straight to their room.

While waiting for the computer to boot up, Baekyung frowned, remembering the person who was with them that night. Shin Jehyun, a sunbae who strangely kept occupying their thoughts.

They had been conscious of Shin Jehyun since the orientation. At first, they were drawn to his intimidating first impression. But as they listened carefully, his voice felt oddly familiar. They definitely seemed to have heard it somewhere before.

After orientation, while practicing party coordination for server integration, Baekyung received guidance from the healer through voice chat. That’s when they realized why Shin Jehyun’s voice felt familiar despite never having met him before. Though their speaking styles were completely different, their voices were very similar.

There were some differences from the healer’s voice heard through speakers, but Baekyung knew that voices filtered through microphones, internet connections, and speakers couldn’t be exactly the same.

Then, when they happened to meet him at a bar with their classmates, Baekyung tested him, suspecting that Shin Jehyun might really be Healer. Shin Jehyun showed suspicious reactions. When told he looked good at gaming, he countered by saying Baekyung looked like a gaming addict, and then when Baekyung continued, he pretended to defend Caplet, fueling their suspicions.

When the topic of meeting in person came up, Baekyung deliberately chose Korea University’s back gate as the meeting place, conscious of Shin Jehyun who had said he lived nearby. So when they met him in the elevator, Baekyung was a bit flustered. If Shin Jehyun was really the healer, the timing to reveal that they were Habaek had become awkwardly off.