SANN | Chapter 5.5

Regardless, Sieon closed the internet window after finishing what he needed to do. Honestly, that free board had always felt like a gathering spot for idiots banding together, shouting at the top of their lungs about how right they were.

A true intellectual would avoid stepping in dung for obvious reasons. It seemed like these folks naturally congregated and isolated themselves, creating such an environment.

Sieon snorted softly.

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Of course, he had no intention of letting Gureum know about this. It was obvious Gureum would be scared if he learned people were bad-mouthing him. Anyway, without the consent of the person involved, filing lawsuits was impossible in the first place.

So the threat of legal action was entirely a bluff, but it was likely enough to stop further slander of Gureum on the free board. Cowardly weaklings always tucked their tails and fled at the first sign of real trouble.

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Stretching with satisfaction, Sieon decided to head out for some leisurely exercise.

Lately, one of Sieon’s hobbies had been sending photos to Gureum after working out. His own sweat-covered, toned body looked undeniably sexy even to himself, but Gureum always responded with dull comments like “You look amazing! That’s so impressive!” No matter how long he kept this up, he felt he’d never hear Gureum say something like, “You’re so sexy! I’m turned on!”

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It was infuriating. He was starting to feel a twisted determination. Should he just go topless today? Grinning mischievously at the thought, Sieon left the house.

[Couple] Chaesyongsyong (Chaesyongsyong) has logged in.

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The moment Chaesyongsyong logged in, Gureum couldn’t help but glance at the chat window with subtle anticipation. Usually, it was Sieon’s sub-account manager logging in, but lately, Sieon himself had been showing up more often.

[Couple] Chaesyongsyong: Gureum-ssi~ㅎㅎ

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As expected, Sieon reached out to Gureum the moment he logged in. Gureum’s face lit up with a smile.

[Couple] hazeee: ㅎㅎㅎ Hello, Sieon-ssi!
[Couple] Chaesyongsyong: Having fun?
[Couple] hazeee: Yes, ㅎㅎ.

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Not long after, Sieon’s character arrived at Gureum’s location. One of the perks of being a couple in the game was the ability to teleport directly to each other without needing any items or skills.

Gureum blushed as he saw Sieon’s character, marked with a heart icon on the minimap. No matter how often it happened, he couldn’t get used to the embarrassment.

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Though it was late in the evening, and they couldn’t use That’s Code to chat, Sieon didn’t seem to mind. Recently, they had been hunting together more often, just the two of them. Because of this, the hunting ground, which had once felt vast and lonely, now felt like a cozy hideout. In fact, he had gotten so accustomed to this setup that hunting alone now felt oddly isolating—an emotion he hadn’t experienced before.

While hunting, Sieon suddenly approached Gureum and casually dropped a heart-shaped chocolate in front of him.

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“Picked this up on the way,” Sieon said nonchalantly before darting off to the other side. Moments later, he returned and dropped something else—a heart-shaped candy this time.

Gureum chuckled awkwardly and gathered the adorable items into his inventory. Hunting with Sieon always had these little moments of amusement, making his absence all the more noticeable when he wasn’t around.

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By the time Gureum had collected about five heart-shaped items, his bedroom door suddenly burst open.

Gureum froze. There was only one person in the house who would open his door like that. His body stiffened as he slowly turned his gaze toward the source of the disturbance. As expected, it was his father.

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“A-ah, Father….”

His father, leaning unsteadily against the doorframe, clicked his tongue in irritation as he glared at Gureum. In one hand, he held an empty soju bottle. Despite his drunken, unfocused eyes, the look of disdain for his son was unmistakable.

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With a venomous tone, his father unleashed a string of profanities.

“You useless bug… Look at you, holed up in this room, just playing games all day…”

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The insults poured over Gureum like a deluge. Instinctively, he dropped to his knees, clasping his hands together. Without even knowing what he had done wrong, Gureum begged for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

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“Didn’t I tell you, you little shit, that I can’t stand your face? Huh? Didn’t I?!”

“……”

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“Answer me, you bastard! Didn’t I say I can’t stand looking at you?!”

“You… you did. I’m sorry…” Gureum quickly bowed his head, his shoulders trembling. Tears dripped onto his pants, leaving dark stains.

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“Lower your damn head before I carve up that face of yours!”

Suddenly, his father hurled the empty soju bottle at him. It missed Gureum’s head by a hair and shattered against the wall with a loud crash. Gureum instinctively shielded his face with his arms—a reflex developed from years of dodging his father’s flying objects.

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“You useless piece of shit…! I raised you, and you can’t even act like a decent human being…!”

“……”

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“It’s because of you that your mother left me! Do you get that? Do you?!”

Even after this barrage of abuse, his father wasn’t satisfied and continued hurling insults. Eventually, he revealed the real reason for barging into Gureum’s room—money. It was always about money.

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“How much do you have right now, huh?”

Gureum immediately thought of the 20 million won in his bank account. Normally, he would have been honest, but for some reason, he lied this time—a lie that would have catastrophic consequences if discovered.

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“I-I have two million won…”

“Transfer all of it. Now.”

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“Yes, sir…”

“You ungrateful brat… I raised you, and you can’t even send a little money to your parents. What a disgrace…”

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Grumbling, his father left the room, slamming the door so hard it rattled. Gureum flinched at the sound, his whole body trembling. At least it was over for now. With shaking hands and blurred vision, he transferred the two million won and double-checked the calendar on his desk.

His memory was correct. He still had a week left before he was supposed to send his father money. Was he now so drunk that he’d lost track of the days? The injustice of the situation made Gureum feel a wave of despair.

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A sudden thought crossed his mind, and he bit his lip hard.

Could he ever earn his father’s love?

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If he obeyed his father and devoted himself completely, would he receive even a shred of affection someday? He used to believe it was possible. Other kids’ parents seemed to love them that way.

Parents scolded their kids out of love, gave them allowances on the way to school, packed them lunches for field trips. They attended school events, beaming proudly at the back of the classroom. They picked their kids up after school, went on trips during holidays, helped with difficult homework projects. And more, so much more…

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“Huu, hhng…”

There were too many things he had envied to list. Gureum pressed his hands tightly over his mouth to stifle his sobs.

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But what about his father? He had never once called Gureum by his name. Not “son,” not even anything remotely affectionate. To his father, Gureum was always a “bug,” a “moron,” a “loser,” a “disgrace,” or simply “that bastard.” To him, Gureum wasn’t even human.

Letting out a shaky breath, Gureum scanned his small room with vacant eyes. Luckily, the soju bottle hadn’t shattered into too many pieces, so cleaning it up wouldn’t be too difficult.

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“Hngh… hh…”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Gureum calmly gathered the glass shards. He threw the larger pieces into the trash and carefully wiped up the smaller ones with a tissue.

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Once the room was clean, he examined his hands and noticed small beads of blood forming on his fingertips. Despite his caution, he had still managed to get cut. Finding a bandage in his room, he applied ointment and wrapped up his fingers.

Satisfied that he hadn’t missed any shards, Gureum suddenly remembered something and hurried back to his computer.

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“Oh…”

The chat was filled with messages from Sieon calling out to him. His phone, now lighting up on the desk, also displayed several missed calls and texts from Sieon. He had been so engrossed in the chaos that he hadn’t noticed the notifications.

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Shaking his head, Gureum took a deep breath to compose himself.

Me: Ah, I’m so, so sorryㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Sieon-ssi: Did something happen?
Me: Ah… noㅠㅠㅠ. It’s just… can we talk in Cloud Online chat? I just got back….
Sieon-ssi: Sure.

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Gureum began typing, wincing every time his injured fingers pressed against the keyboard.

[Couple] hazeee: Soㅠㅠ, my father called me suddenly….
[Couple] hazeee: I should’ve told you before I leftㅠㅠ I’m so sorryㅠㅠ

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It was a half-truth. Gureum didn’t want to reveal his wounds, both physical and emotional, to Sieon.

[Couple] Chaesyongsyong: Ahㅎㅎ
[Couple] Chaesyongsyong: I was worried something had happened, but I’m glad to hear that it’s nothing serious^^.
[Couple] hazeee: I’m so sorryㅠㅠㅠㅠ. I’ll definitely let you know next time….
[Couple] Chaesyongsyong: It’s fineㅎㅎ. It’s not a big deal, so don’t worry^^.

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As the tension drained away, a wave of pain surged in, causing Gureum’s eyes to scrunch up. His fingers hurt too much to continue hunting, and he needed a reason to log off.

[Couple] hazeee: But Sieon-ssi, I’m really sorryㅠㅠㅠㅠ.
[Couple] hazeee: My dad scolded me about playing games, so… I think I’ll have to log off for todayㅠㅠㅠㅠ.
[Couple] Chaesyongsyong: Ah, that’s unfortunate.
[Couple] Chaesyongsyong: But, well… it can’t be helpedㅎㅎ. See you next time^^.
[Couple] hazeee: Yesㅠㅠ. I had fun today… I’m really sorryㅠㅠ.

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The regret was heavy, especially since they’d only been able to meet late in the evening. But there was nothing else to be done. After exchanging goodbyes, Gureum opened his status menu to log off when a sudden realization brightened his thoughts.

Despite everything that had happened, there was at least one positive takeaway. He quickly reached out to Sieon again, pain momentarily forgotten.

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[Couple] hazeee: Ah, wait, Sieon-ssi!!
[Couple] Chaesyongsyong: Yes??
[Couple] hazeee: So, um, about the meeting we planned last time….
[Couple] hazeee: I think I can go out sometime this week!

Every time Gureum gave his father money, he would disappear for two or three days to drink outside. That gave Gureum the chance to meet Sieon again in real life.

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Clutching this small silver lining amidst his misfortunes, Gureum’s face lit up with a bittersweet smile.