HFS 32

“Here, here it is now. That’s my number. Save it.”

With Lee Cheong-hyeon’s missed call showing on the phone, Seo Hee-won’s expression gradually softened. Watching Seo Hee-won save the number with that characteristic prim expression of his, Lee Cheong-hyeon could breathe a sigh of relief. Though it was a minor issue, it was certainly something that could hurt someone’s feelings if they felt discriminated against, but fortunately, it seemed to have been resolved well.

In that brief moment, Lee Cheong-hyeon couldn’t shake the feeling that he had a child on each side. While it made sense with Seo Hee-won who was two years younger, it was strange to feel the same way about Tiramisush who was clearly the same age as him.

Around sunset, they called a taxi to send Marachip and Capybara home. It was due to an inexplicable sense of responsibility that the two students should be sent home early.

“I don’t go home this early even when I’m out with friends…”

Capybara nodded eagerly beside the grumbling Marachip. They seemed reluctant to go home.

“It’s different from hanging out with friends. Your parents will worry, so head home quickly.”

“Fine. When I become an adult in two years, I’m going to play until sunrise. The guild better not disband until then.”

While Heekkom consoled the disappointed Marachip and sent him home, Lee Cheong-hyeon put Capybara in a taxi. Before getting in, Capybara hugged Cheong-hyeon’s waist tightly and whispered secretly as if telling him something confidential.

“You’re my favorite hyung.”

Though Marachip was the same age, it was because Lee Cheong-hyeon had continuously talked to and looked after Capybara whenever he seemed awkward among the older members. As Lee Cheong-hyeon smiled and patted Capybara’s round head, Seo Hee-won urged Capybara to leave quickly.

“Okay. Goodbye, Guild Master hyung.”

After the well-mannered Capybara left, Seo Hee-won, who had been glaring disapprovingly at the back of the taxi, asked, “Are you going home too, hyung?”

Though the question was clearly directed at Lee Cheong-hyeon, the answer came from Tiramisush.

“Now that we’ve sent the kids home, let’s go to the PC bang!”

“Should we? I couldn’t do today’s daily quests and dungeon runs.”

Lee Cheong-hyeon agreed first, and Heekkom and Hyutzzi, who had been thinking about heading home, also showed interest. Of course, Jimni was enthusiastically in favor too. This truly was a guild made out of gaming addicts.

The only person dissatisfied with this situation was Seo Hee-won. He hated touching keyboards and mice that could have been used by anyone else, and he particularly detested the distinctive unpleasant smell of cigarettes and men crowding the same space. PC bangs were one of the places Seo Hee-won disliked the most.

Nevertheless, Seo Hee-won didn’t opt out. The reason was simple: Lee Cheong-hyeon was going to the PC bang.

“You’re going to a PC bang? You?”

Jimni approached and spoke in a voice just loud enough for Seo Hee-won to hear. Considering Seo Hee-won’s usual fastidiousness, it was unthinkable.

“Yeah. I’ll keep an eye on things too.”

“What are you monitoring? …You’re already learning bad habits. Are you some sort of stalker?”

“No, not hyung. That Tiramisush person keeps unnecessarily touching hyung, which is suspicious.”

At those words, Jimni looked at Lee Cheong-hyeon and Tiramisush who were searching for a nearby PC bang. No matter how he looked, they just seemed like ordinary friends with nothing suspicious about them. Moreover, there had never been any skinship noticeable enough to describe as “touching.”

“You must be out of your mind…”

It seemed that Seo Hee-won, who had shown no interest in romance before, had suddenly fallen for a man he used to criticize at every opportunity, and now saw everyone as a rival in love.

In truth, Jimni thought Seo Hee-won’s one-sided love had no chance of success. Lee Cheong-hyeon didn’t seem like someone who would be interested in men at all. However, seeing Seo Hee-won infatuated with someone was such a rare sight that he was going to cheer him on, but his nonsensical comments were concerning. Clicking his tongue, Jimni could only look at his friend with exasperation in his eyes.

* * *

After enjoying the games and snacking for a while, the guild members, no longer thinking about dinner, decided to disband. While everyone was busy calling taxis or figuring out public transportation, Lee Cheong-hyeon was also contemplating whether to take a taxi or bus.

“Where do you live, hyung?”

Seo Hee-won, lingering nearby, asked.

“I live in Area A. Not too far from here.”

“Ah—I live in Area B right next to it.”

“Really? That’s pretty close then.”

“…”

Areas A and B weren’t far apart, and for Seo Hee-won to get to Area B from here, he would have to pass through Area A. Having discovered where Lee Cheong-hyeon lived, Seo Hee-won felt slightly excited. If Lee Cheong-hyeon asked for a ride since he lived nearby, Seo Hee-won would gladly oblige. To be honest, even if Lee Cheong-hyeon’s home had been in the opposite direction, Seo Hee-won was prepared to make up a non-existent schedule to drive him there.

However, contrary to his expectations, Lee Cheong-hyeon, busy checking bus schedules, only gave a half-hearted response. Not getting the answer he wanted, Seo Hee-won glanced at Lee Cheong-hyeon without malice and finally spoke up.

“…Since it’s on my way, I can give you a ride.”

“Huh?”

“Forget it if you don’t want to.”

“No! That would be great. You live in Area B? We live closer than I thought.”

Having successfully caught Lee Cheong-hyeon’s attention, Seo Hee-won pulled down the corners of his mouth that were trying to curl up. This was their first opportunity to be alone together today.

“Wow! Then the three of us can go together.”

The cheerful intruder turned out to be Jimni, whom Seo Hee-won had forgotten about. Jimni naturally assumed that since they had come together in the same car, they would leave the same way.

“You were…taking a taxi.”

“Me?”

“You said you’re taking a taxi because you needed to stop somewhere.”

When Seo Hee-won said this through gritted teeth, Jimni looked back and forth between Seo Hee-won and Lee Cheong-hyeon, and made an “ah-” sound.

“Oh, right. That’s correct. I was supposed to meet a friend. I completely forgot.”

There was no such appointment with a friend, but Jimni simply went along with Seo Hee-won’s words. Even though it was clearly a hopeless one-sided love, he had decided to support him just a few hours ago, so he planned to tactfully step aside. However, it was quite vexing that Seo Hee-won would so readily abandon his friend just because he had developed feelings for someone.

“By the way, you borrowed money from me.”

“…Me?”

“Yeah. You borrowed 50,000 won from me before. When are you going to pay it back?”

“I borrowed money from you?”

“Don’t you remember? You haven’t paid me back, so I don’t have enough money for a taxi now.”

Seo Hee-won had never borrowed any money, but Lee Cheong-hyeon was standing behind them, watching with a puzzled expression on his face. Since they couldn’t keep arguing, Seo Hee-won finally took out a 50,000 won bill from his wallet with a sour expression and handed it to Jimni. With a thoroughly satisfied smile, Jimni caught a passing taxi and ran off.

“I’m leaving! Goodbye, Ittorang-nim!”

“Okay. Get home safely~”

After the commotion, they were finally alone. Lee Cheong-hyeon patted Seo Hee-won’s shoulder and said carefully, “You should always be clear about money matters, especially between friends.”

“…”

“It’s cold. Let’s go.”

Though it felt unfair, Seo Hee-won had no excuse to offer.

Inside the car with the warm heater on, Lee Cheong-hyeon felt drowsy as he made small talk with Seo Hee-won. Meanwhile, Seo Hee-won’s mind was in turmoil.

Now that they were finally alone, he felt strangely anxious, had forgotten everything he wanted to say, and hated how he felt inexplicably diminished. These unfamiliar emotions made him feel like he was alternating between hot and cold baths.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Not wanting to part ways just yet, he brought up dinner, hoping to spend more time together. He didn’t know when he would see Lee Cheong-hyeon again after today, so he wanted to be with him as long as possible. He wasn’t sure what excuse he could use to call Lee Cheong-hyeon out another time, or if Lee Cheong-hyeon would even respond to his invitation.

“Hmm…I ate a lot today…Are you hungry?”

Having stolen food ordered by Tiramisush at the PC bang, Lee Cheong-hyeon wasn’t particularly hungry despite it being dinnertime. However, remembering that Seo Hee-won had eaten little at the café and only drank water at the PC bang, he asked for his opinion on the matter.

“No? I’m not hungry at all? I don’t think I could eat anything right now.”

The problem was that Seo Hee-won interpreted Lee Cheong-hyeon’s answer as a rejection. Furthermore, he took the question about being hungry as criticism—like “How could you want to eat more after eating so much?”—and responded defensively.

“Really? I thought if you were hungry, we could grab something simple together. I need to eat dinner too, and it’s a hassle to prepare something on my own…But if you can’t eat anything, let’s just go.”

“…Okay.”

Seo Hee-won gripped the steering wheel tightly and let out a long, inaudible sigh. It was too late to change his words now. Truly, nothing was going his way.

“The Holy War ranking tournament starts tomorrow, right? Are you going for a high rank again, Seo-hee1?”

“Yeah, well…You should try it too, hyung, now that you’ve got your PvP gear sorted. I think you could climb the ranks quickly.”

From Seo Hee-won’s perspective, Lee Cheong-hyeon definitely had talent for PvP. It seemed like he hadn’t been able to show his skills because he had been wearing mediocre equipment that unnecessarily boosted defense, but with his newly matched items and after practicing PvP in the Holy War all day, Lee Cheong-hyeon would definitely make it into the top 100 at the very least.