HFS 31

“Hyutzzi! Sit here, here!”

“Yes.”

As Jimni patted the seat next to him calling for Hyutzzi, Cheong-hyeon naturally moved to sit next to Seo Hee-won. Though he sensed a subtle change in the atmosphere, from Jimni seeming more agitated than before to the changed seating arrangement, Cheong-hyeon dismissed it and asked Hyutzzi.

“By the way, why did you choose ‘Hyutzzi’ as your nickname?”

To be honest, the cute nickname “Hyutzzi” didn’t particularly suit the seemingly gruff twenty-year-old man.

“Oh, my dog’s name is Hyutzzi. Since he was a baby, he would tear up any tissue paper he saw…”

“You raised a dog?”

“Yes. Would you like to see pictures?”

As if he had been holding back from showing off his dog, Hyutzzi began showing photos he had saved in a separate folder in his phone gallery. Not to be outdone, Cheong-hyeon also showed pictures of Ittorang, and a lively conversation between dog owners was taking place when Seo Hee-won, who had been staring from the side, tugged at the sleeve near Cheong-hyeon’s forearm.

“What? Want to see photos?”

“Yes.”

Cheong-hyeon showed Seo Hee-won what could be called a once-in-a-lifetime photo of Ittorang smiling brightly in a yellow kindergarten uniform. Seo Hee-won then reached out and scrolled through the screen to look at other photos as well. It was unexpected—Cheong-hyeon had thought Seo Hee-won wouldn’t like animals.

“He’s cute. His personality is really gentle too. I’ve never heard him bark even once.”

“…Cute.”

“That’s my photo.”

“I clicked it by mistake.”

Seo Hee-won glanced sideways at Cheong-hyeon with a sulky tone. Thinking about how this face and expression had been throwing mean remarks from behind a monitor all this time made Cheong-hyeon want to laugh out loud. The pretty features, completely unpredictable from the voice or speech pattern, felt so unreal that if Seo Hee-won claimed something, Cheong-hyeon had no intention of arguing and could only nod in agreement.

Instead of the poorly organized album with various photos mixed together, Cheong-hyeon entered an album where the system had automatically sorted only dog photos and handed the phone to Seo Hee-won. It was Cheong-hyeon’s consideration for Seo Hee-won to comfortably view Ittorang’s photos. Seo Hee-won, who had been fiddling with the phone with a strange expression, kept glancing at Cheong-hyeon as if wanting to say something.

“…By the way.”

“Hmm?”

As that voice, which already caught attention, came from right beside him, Cheong-hyeon unconsciously turned toward Seo Hee-won and responded. The problem was that the two of them were already quite close together as they looked at the phone screen together.

Seo Hee-won’s face, which met with Cheong-hyeon’s, was closer than expected. Seo Hee-won, who had been frozen for a moment, noticeably flustered, turned away sharply in the opposite direction.

“Nothing.”

“Why? Weren’t you going to say something?”

“It’s fine, just…back off.”

Seo Hee-won pushed him away while returning the phone and started bouncing their leg nervously like someone uncomfortable. Then Seo Hee-won began kicking the chair of Jimni sitting across from them, picking a fight for no reason, which was incomprehensible behavior.

“Hey, sh…stop kicking.”

“…”

“Come on, say something.”

Having only received undeserved criticism, Seo Hee-won avoided Cheong-hyeon’s eyes and quickly typed on the phone. After checking the message, Jimni looked at Seo Hee-won as if looking at the most pathetic man in the world, then began in a bright voice.

“Um…hmm, come to think of it, we haven’t even properly introduced ourselves yet?”

In the case of Seo Hee-won and Jimni, they roughly knew each other’s names from occasionally calling each other by their real names, but since they were used to calling each other by nicknames, they had never properly introduced themselves.

“You somewhat know me and this one’s names, right? I’m Yoo Jimin, and this is Seo Hee-won.”

“Yeah. I’ve heard it a few times. I’m Lee Cheong-hyeon. Call me whatever’s comfortable.”

“I’m Kim Taeyoung.”

From the side, Cheonghyeon heard Seo Hee-won murmuring his three-syllable name in a small voice. Wondering if Seo Hee-won was going to call him whatever he wanted since he had said to call him comfortably, Lee Cheong-hyeon was looking suspiciously at Seo Hee-won when the doors to the group room swung wide open and another person entered.

“The main character has arrived!”

The person who appeared boisterously was Tiramisush. Taking the empty seat next to Lee Cheong-hyeon, Tiramisush started chattering non-stop even before sitting down, and as Heekkom, Marachip, and Capybara arrived one after another, the atmosphere became even more lively.

Once everyone who had agreed to meet arrived, service began with tea and porridge, followed by appetizers one by one, and the taste was excellent, living up to the high price. When the main dish, Korean beef grilled by the staff, was served, they had considered sending the employee away to grill the meat themselves so that they can be comfortable among other guild members, but it didn’t happen because Marachip strongly insisted that they should eat meat grilled by a professional.

The Korean beef, cooked just right and melting in the mouth, along with guild members who chattered away without any awkwardness regardless of the employee’s presence, made it possible to continue the meal pleasantly. After completely finishing the dessert that came last, people began to get up from their seats one by one, and Seo Hee-won also headed to the counter for the bill. Lee Cheong-hyeon, who followed right behind, snatched away the card Seo Hee-won held out and presented his own card instead.

“Please charge this one.”

As the employee with a capitalistic smile completed the payment in an instant, Seo Hee-won, who had somehow managed to open their sharp eyes round in surprise, asked, “What are you doing?”

“It was quite expensive.”

“…But why are you paying, hyung?”

Although Lee Cheong-hyeon had come to the meetup intending to mooch off Seo Hee-won thoroughly, the restaurant’s price range was higher than expected for a twenty-one-year-old to pay alone. Moreover, Lee Cheong-hyeon had the prize money from winning the “Zero Game of Giving Away All the Holy War Championship Prize Money” that had just been deposited yesterday, so no matter how he thought about it, eating for free without saying a word pricked at his conscience. Instead of explaining these circumstances, Lee Cheong-hyeon just smiled mischievously.

“So you feel like calling me hyung now?”

“…Next time I’ll pay, hyung…”

Covering their eyes with one hand and roughly rubbing them, Seo Hee-won answered and walked ahead with quick steps. Considering the past when Seo Hee-won would stubbornly call him “Ittorang-nim,” calling Lee Cheong-hyeon “hyung” was a touching development. 

Lee Cheong-hyeon, with a broad smile, chased after Seo Hee-won and teased, “All it took was buying you a meal? Hee-won, you’re too easy~”

“…”

“What will you call me if I buy you two meals? ‘Hyung-ah’?”

“Stop it.”

While the two were bickering, the second venue was decided as a large café nearby. It was due to Tiramisush’s insistence that they should have coffee after eating. Even Seo Hee-won, who was expected to refuse saying “You guys go to the café,” followed along without protest when Lee Cheong-hyeon asked, “Seohee1 is coming too, right?” Lee Cheong-hyeon thought that the real-life Seo Hee-won had a milder flavor than his in-game persona.

The guild members, who took seats in the group section slightly separated by translucent partitions, quickly inhaled bread and desserts as if they hadn’t just eaten their fill. Particularly, the eating speed of Marachip and Capybara, who were still growing, was such that Lee Cheong-hyeon wanted to applaud.

Meanwhile, Tiramisush, who seemed unfamiliar with the concept of personal space, leaned on Lee Cheong-hyeon almost to the point of lying down and talked about renting a pension house for the next outing. Since they were in a location where people didn’t pass by often, Lee Cheong-hyeon left it as it was without saying anything, but it seemed to bother Seo Hee-won quite a bit.

Sit up straight, I don’t want to look at you. You’re not even a child, do you really want to lean on someone like that?

Eventually, Tiramisush heard and pouted his lips, whispering to Lee Cheong-hyun.

“She’s bossing me around. I’m two years older.”

Lee Cheong-hyun, laughing embarrassedly, intervened.

“You should sit properly in public, and Seo-hee, what’s wrong with your manners?”

“What’s wrong with you…?:

Seo Hee-won pouted, this time from the other side. The way he glared at him was unnerving. Using Lee Cheong-hyun as a shield, the grumbling Tiramisush quickly moved on to the next topic. He talked about going to the beach, swimming, and having a barbecue, then suddenly held out his mobile phone to Lee Cheong-hyun.

“Oh, give me your number, I want to go to your neighborhood next time.”

Lee Cheong-hyun happily tapped in his mobile number, but a sullen voice came from the side.

“…You wouldn’t give it to me when I asked for it.”

It turned out to be Seo Hee-won, who looked quite ferocious, his sharp eyes narrowed to the corners. Looking like he had suffered a serious betrayal, Lee Cheong-hyun panicked and explained.

“No, I didn’t give it to you on purpose, I was just messing around at the time…”

“I gave you my number, but you never contacted me until the end.”

It wasn’t that Lee Cheong-hyun didn’t contact him on purpose, as all of their communication was done through Seeko anyway, so there was no need to call his number. Later, he forgot that he’d even gotten his number, so Lee Cheong-hyun was the only one who still had Seo Hee-won’s number. Tiramisush, who was watching with interest from the sidelines, added fuel to the fire.

“He likes me better~.”

“…Why are you discriminating against people?”

Suddenly, Seo Hee-won’s expression turned sullen, so Lee Cheong-hyun quickly took out his mobile phone, found Seo Hee-won’s number, and dialed it.