HFS 44

“Why, why?”

The new boss Artilens was much more difficult than expected, with a lot of health. After hours of practice, they hadn’t even reduced the first phase’s health by half. Checking news from other parties, their progress seemed similar. It wasn’t clear how long it would take until the first clear, but it was evident they needed to take a long-term approach. After focusing on practice for hours in front of the computer, they decided to take a short break to clear their minds.

“It won’t take more than a week to clear, right?”

“Judging from what we saw in the teaser, there seem to be at least three phases, so considering that…it’ll probably take some time.”

“I’m worried since I’ll be busy once the semester starts.”

Lee Cheong-hyeon stood up and stretched lightly. Meanwhile, Seo Hee-won naturally moved to sit in Lee Cheong-hyeon’s seat. Then he started browsing through his account without permission. This wasn’t the first time, and since everyone knew it was Seo Hee-won who was usually to blame for saying something rude to guild members or did suspicious things, Cheong-hyeon didn’t mind much and just focused on loosening his stiff neck.

“Hyung, what’s this?”

“Why, why?”

Seo Hee-won, who had been checking various things on the same account every day, called Lee Cheong-hyeon over with a stiff voice. He glared at the monitor and pointed a straight finger at Lee Cheong-hyeon’s equipment window. The guild members’ attention immediately focused on the unsettling atmosphere.

Wondering why he was suddenly acting this way, he quickly checked what Seo Hee-won was pointing at. His fingertip indicated equipment he had newly equipped about 30 minutes ago. These were accessories he used to wear when he wanted to increase survivability, which he had stopped using since he started playing with Seo Hee-won.

“These are things I used to wear before…Why?”

“Why? Are you really asking because you don’t know?”

Seo Hee-won stood up with an angry face as if he had been greatly betrayed. Their eye levels suddenly reversed. Lee Cheong-hyeon looked up at him with a still confused expression. The other guild members who were watching began to murmur amongst themselves.

“Whoa, they’re fighting.”

“Suddenly? Why are they fighting?”

“It seems like Cheong-hyeon changed his equipment without saying anything.”

“He can change equipment if he wants. Why get angry over something like that?”

“He said it’s equipment he used to wear, so it must be items that increase survivability.”

“Oh…that might hurt Seo Hee-won’s pride.”

“It is better to change it now when survivability is important.”

Lee Cheong-hyeon had his own rational reasons for changing equipment. The boss’s attack damage was quite high, making it very difficult to survive even after just a few hits. He also thought that if he became a bit tougher by changing equipment, it might make things easier for Seo Hee-won, who was always busy healing.

Moreover, they were currently in a situation where they couldn’t proceed to the next pattern because they hadn’t figured out the boss’s gimmick, so surviving longer to find a strategy was the priority rather than dealing damage quickly.

Seo Hee-won surely knew this fact, so this kind of reaction didn’t make sense. Was he angry because he was worried about insufficient damage output? Although the speed at which the boss’s health decreased had slowed down compared to before, it wasn’t problematic. Instead of damage output, he had secured stability, allowing him to attack more smoothly. Lee Cheong-hyeon first wanted to calm Seo Hee-won down and calmly explain these facts. But things didn’t go as planned.

“Why are you getting angry? Just calm down and sit first.”

“You’re wearing this trash-like item in front of me, and you’re telling me to calm down?”

“There’s a reason for all this…Trash?”

Among the equipment Lee Cheong-hyeon had changed, some were items he simply bought from the auction house, but most were precious equipment that he had personally rolled options for and finally enhanced after countless failures. When these items, which had shared his joys and sorrows like friends or children, were treated as trash, Lee Cheong-hyeon couldn’t bear it either.

“Hey, Ji-min asked if I would sell this necklace to him! Do you know how good this is? I used to run all dungeons wearing this before I met you!”

“Don’t call me ‘hey.’ And you said it well, why are you wearing items you used before meeting me? Aren’t they unnecessary items now?”

“No, you know too. The boss’s damage is too strong to endure. We need to stay alive first to find a strategy.”

“So, you’re saying you changed because you’re afraid of dying? Because you don’t trust the healing I give you enough to rely on these trashy items?”

“Why are you talking like that? It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just added one safety measure. And they’re not trash, I told you!”

“When have I ever given you insufficient healing? Have I ever let you die because I couldn’t heal you?”

“…It’s not like it never happened.”

“…Knowing how much I save my skills just to keep you alive…This really hurts my pride.”

As soon as Lee Cheong-hyeon’s words came out after a moment of silence, a collective “Woah” sound was heard from behind. The guild members were now openly watching, huddled together on the sofa.

“Booooo!”

“What Cheong-hyeon just said was too harsh.”

“But you really do save your skills too much.”

“True…You’re always like that, but today especially…”

“That necklace is really good though. The options are so pretty.”

“Shh! Do you all have two lives?”

Seo Hee-won bit his teeth, seemingly trying to suppress his emotions. His accusatory gaze was full of hurt feelings. Lee Cheong-hyeon had expected him to get angry like during their previous fights, claiming it was his fault, but his unexpected reaction made him feel guilty. Seo Hee-won turned his back and moved away as if he didn’t want to talk anymore.

Lee Cheong-hyeon urgently grabbed his retreating figure.

“Wait, Hee-won. I misspoke just now. I just changed it because you looked too tired, so you could heal more comfortably.”

“If that’s your excuse…Fine, do as you please. I’ll also change to the weapon I use for dealing damage.”

“Huh?”

Seo Hee-won quickly returned, passing by Lee Cheong-hyeon. Sitting in his seat, Seo Hee-won opened his item window with an expressionless face and equipped a staff that Lee Cheong-hyeon had seen once before. It was the weapon he had used when he left the party after quarreling with Lee Cheong-hyeon previously. He quickly changed all his other accessories as well.

“T-This isn’t right!”

“Why not? You looked like you were struggling with damage output. Isn’t it good if damage increases?”

“What? Me? Me? Did I look like I was struggling with damage output?”

“Yes. You looked very tired, so aren’t you grateful that the healer is also helping with damage? Just play comfortably.”

“There hasn’t been a lack of damage while we’ve been trying! If there had been times when I couldn’t perform, I would understand, but I was doing well, so why say that? Don’t you trust me? I’ll handle the damage while you focus on healing, but you even changed your equipment…Wow, my pride really…”

“…”

“Oh.”

His excited rapid speech slowed down. His eyes met Seo Hee-won’s as he stared at him silently with his arms crossed. Lee Cheong-hyeon closed his mouth, making a foolish sound. So this is how he felt too. He felt self-doubt wondering if he was inadequate, and felt completely disrespected as a damage dealer. Now he began to understand why Seo Hee-won had reacted so strongly.

Seo Hee-won still kept his mouth shut, staring at Lee Cheong-hyeon expressionlessly. It felt like being crushed under silent pressure. Lee Cheong-hyeon glanced around nervously, sat down, and hurriedly changed back to the equipment he usually wore. After checking Seo Hee-won’s expression once more, he mumbled in a smaller voice than usual.

“I was wrong. I’m sorry, shall we make up?”

His tone was tinged with subtle aegyo. He let out a silly laugh at the end to cover his embarrassment. Kang Woo-jin, who was watching while eating potato chips from behind, added a comment.

“We’re in trouble. When you try to get past it by acting cute like that, Seo Hee-won gets even more angry.”

As if Kang Woo-jin’s words were true, Seo Hee-won, who had been sitting motionless, bit his lip hard. As if determined to draw blood, he chewed on his lip, then turned around, clutched his head, and even banged it on the desk. Startled, Lee Cheong-hyeon pushed his chair back to distance himself from Seo Hee-won. Seeing his thoroughly angered appearance, he was contemplating whether to run away when Seo Hee-won suddenly raised his head and turned to look at Lee Cheong-hyeon again. Seo Hee-won let out a big sigh and obediently replied, “Yes. Let’s make up.” Kang Woo-jin was the most shocked by those words.

“Huh…? You’re letting this slide…? Then why! Why only to me…?!”

“Woo-jin, it’s about time you got used to the discrimination.”

“Ah, why is this so irritating to see?”

“Is the fight already over?”

Regardless of what was being said behind him, Seo Hee-won began to change his items again. The speed at which he equipped each item one by one, starting from the weapon in the first slot of the top row of the item window, was fast. After changing everything, the top row was neatly arranged with the equipment Seo Hee-won said he used for dealing damage. Since he had applied the option to make weapons appear transparent, there was no visible change in the character’s appearance before and after changing equipment. Looking at this scene gave him an unsettling feeling.

“But…you seem really familiar with this.”

“With what?”

“Changing weapons. Even placing them conveniently in the first row, as if you could change them anytime…”

“…”

“Why do you have the transparent option turned on for your weapon? You usually don’t have that on.”

“…”

“Don’t tell me…”

“I just tried turning it on once before.”

“Hee-won. I’m getting a bit…suspicious now.”

Seo Hee-won hurriedly closed the item window, seemingly flustered. It was suspicious no matter how he thought about it. There was no unnecessary movement in all of Seo Hee-won’s actions when replacing equipment. The natural behavior without a hint of hesitation showed no signs of redundancy whatsoever. As if he had frequently changed equipment until recently.