HFS 41

A cool breeze brushed against his cheek, raising goosebumps on his skin. His shoulders involuntarily hunched. Lee Cheong-hyeon buried his cold face in the scarf wrapped around his neck one and a half times.

It’s a good thing I wore a scarf today.

The mountain village in Gangwon Province where they would arrive in an hour or two would be even colder. The sudden meetup had been decided about a week ago. This gathering of six guild members who raided bosses together was aimed at building unity for the first clear of the new boss.

The argument that they could help each other with difficult parts and clear it faster than others by meeting in person was quite persuasive. That was why they were having their second meetup at a pension house equipped with six desktop computers. And the date was set for the day the new boss was released.

Lee Cheong-hyeon took out his phone to check the time. Seo Hee-won was supposed to pick him up soon. Not long after, a familiar car arrived in front of the villa where Lee Cheong-hyeon lived. He approached Seo Hee-won’s car and immediately opened the back door.

He did this thinking Ji-min would be in the passenger seat, since Seo Hee-won had said he would pick up Ji-min first. However, contrary to his expectation, Ji-min was in the back seat. Lee Cheong-hyeon was surprised to meet Ji-min’s equally startled eyes.

“Oh, hi oppa!”

“Hey Ji-min, it’s been a while. But…did you ride in the back?”

“Well…I have a lot of luggage, haha! Oh, give me your bag.”

“Thanks.”

“Hyung, sit in the front.”

Lee Cheong-hyeon nodded a greeting to Seo Hee-won as well and pushed his backpack into the empty space. Despite saying he had a lot of luggage, Ji-min only had one bag similar in size to Lee Cheong-hyeon’s. He tilted his head to one side in confusion but got into the passenger seat anyway.

Even if they’re close, isn’t it a bit strange to ride in the back?

Seo Hee-won had already been reluctant to attend the overnight meetup. Lee Cheong-hyeon worried that he might be upset at being treated like a driver, since he was giving them all a ride.

“Why were you waiting outside? I said I’d call when I arrived.”

“No, I just came out a moment ago.”

However, Seo Hee-won showed no signs of displeasure. Instead, he turned up the heater, concerned that Lee Cheong-hyeon might be cold.

This kid is surprisingly gentle…

Lee Cheong-hyeon thought as he slightly lowered his scarf. Ji-min would snicker if he knew about this thought, after having been told “get in the back seat or I’ll leave without you.”

After shopping at a supermarket, they arrived at the pension where another car was already parked. It was the car Hyutzzi, Heekkom, and Tiramisush had arrived in. As Lee Cheong-hyeon got out of the car, he briefly greeted the guild members who welcomed him warmly. While carrying in the meat and food they had bought, Tiramisush came bouncing over from afar, hung on Lee Cheong-hyeon’s back, and asked in an excited voice, “Ittorang! Did you buy a lot of meat?”

“Too much. I don’t think we can eat it all.”

“No way, I’ll eat it all. Ahh! I can’t wait for the barbecue party.”

Tiramisush started singing “barbecue, barbecue.” Seeing this,  Lee Cheong-hyeon whispered in a low voice so others couldn’t hear, “Be honest. The boss first clear was just an excuse, right?”

“Of course. I came today for the barbecue party.”

The equally quiet voice entered his ears quickly. After passionately arguing that they needed to meet in person for the first clear of the new boss, it turned out he was just full of thoughts about having fun and eating. Lee Cheong-hyeon chuckled and replied, “Actually, me too.”

After finishing organizing the food, Lee Cheong-hyeon looked around the spacious pension. Six computers were arranged like a small Internet cafe along one wall of the living room. After briefly touring the rooms and bathroom, Lee Cheong-hyeon returned to the living room and stood in front of the glass window overlooking the yard. He could see Seo Hee-won unloading the remaining luggage from the car and the guild members moving things.

“By the way, Tiramisush, did you greet everyone else?”

“Of course! Jimni and…actually, I’m a bit scared to greet him.”

The “him” Tiramisush pointed to with his eyes while hesitating was Seo Hee-won. Lee Cheong-hyeon had thought he hadn’t seen them greeting each other, but they were being awkward for such a ridiculous reason. Lee Cheong-hyeon wished the two who always fought with each other would get along better.

“What’s so scary? Seohee1 is actually quite nice.”

“Are you crazy, Ittorang? Have you forgotten what ‘nice’ means after hanging out with Seohee1 all the time?”

“No, really. He just sometimes speaks…a certain way. But he’s really gentle if you don’t provoke him first.”

“Is he a dog? Gentle if you don’t touch him and goes crazy if you do?”

“He’s really become nicer lately. From what I can tell, Seo Hee-won is kind of hot and cold. Go ahead and say ‘Hey Hee-won’ kindly first. I bet he’ll respond well.”

“Ugh, no. I think he’ll hit me.”

“…Just trust me and try once. You can’t keep pretending not to know each other every time you meet. Hee-won has really become much gentler.”

“Damn…I think I’m going to get cursed out…”

Tiramisush, who had been fidgeting with a disgusted look, finally took a step forward, unable to resist Lee Cheong-hyeon’s encouragement. Since it seemed like the guild members would meet often in the future, it would be good if they became friendlier and if Seo Hee-won could clear up his bad-tempered image. Tiramisush looked back at Lee Cheong-hyeon several times, hesitating, but then approached Seo Hee-won with determined steps as if he had made up his mind.

“Be friendly! Don’t forget to smile!”

Cheering Tiramisush on, Lee Cheong-hyeon watched the two through the glass window. They were a bit far, so he couldn’t see their expressions clearly.

Tiramisush walked straight up to Seo Hee-won and stood face to face with him. Lee Cheong-hyeon clenched his fists, feeling tense along with him. He held his breath, wondering if they were about to greet each other.

Tiramisush turned around just 2 seconds after facing Seo Hee-won, and walked back toward Lee Cheong-hyeon along the same path he had come. Wondering if it was already over, Lee Cheong-hyeon also approached him. As Tiramisush got closer, his expression became visible, and for whatever had happened in that short time, the corners of his mouth were drooping so much they nearly touched his chin.

“W-What’s wrong? What did Hee-won say?”

In response to the bewildered question, Tiramisush shook his head and answered with a voice full of grievance, “No, he just looked at me…his eyes…”

“His eyes?”

“His eyes were like this…”

Tiramisush scrunched up his face, trying to show how Seo Hee-won had looked at him. He seemed to be attempting a fierce expression, but his naturally round eyes made it not very threatening. Though not entirely clear, it seemed Seo Hee-won had cursed him severely with just his eyes.

“You said he was nice! That he’d become gentle!”

“That’s strange…he’s really been nice lately. Maybe he’s tired from driving? Are you sure you just greeted him?”

“I did it super kindly with a smile! I’m never doing it again!”

Tiramisush, full of irritation, stomped off into the room where the other guild members were. Lee Cheong-hyeon had to break a sweat apologizing on Seo Hee-won’s behalf and explaining the situation.

Just as he had finally calmed things down and stepped outside, he ran into Seo Hee-won who was alone. Lee Cheong-hyeon stood with his arms crossed, silently and thoroughly examining Seo Hee-won’s face. No matter how he looked at it, Seo Hee-won appeared exactly the same as usual. Being observed without knowing why, Seo Hee-won quietly raised a hand to cover his face.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“What did you say to Tiramisush just now?”

“Ah…he greeted me, and I just said ‘yes.’ That’s all.”

Seo Hee-won lowered his hand and shrugged his shoulders as if wondering what the problem was. It was hard to believe two people could have such different reactions to the same conversation.

“He said you looked at him like this.”

Lee Cheong-hyeon frowned deeply and glared daggers at Seo Hee-won with intense eyes. As soon as their eyes met while in this state, Seo Hee-won turned away and burst into laughter. Lee Cheong-hyeon had only imitated the expression to demand an explanation, but this unexpected reaction caused him immediate embarrassment.

“I didn’t tell you to laugh! Why were you angry at someone who was just greeting you?”

“I wasn’t angry. I just looked at him like this.”

Seo Hee-won, who had been laughing so hard his shoulders shook, finally calmed down and faced Lee Cheong-hyeon while slightly bending forward. His cat-like eyes were still full of amusement. Though he seemed to be trying to maintain a straight face, the corners of his mouth remained upturned. Whether from the cold outside or from laughing, his cheeks were faintly flushed.

Lee Cheong-hyeon briefly stared at that brazen and strangely prim face. Then he left after pushing Seo Hee-won’s face away and leaving one comment.

“Stop pretending to be pretty, and get along with him.”

Seo Hee-won’s eyes sparkled for a moment as he took a big step forward, closing the distance. Then, with an even deeper smile, he innocently asked, “Do you think I’m pretty?”

“No, I didn’t say you’re pretty…”

Who said that he was pretty? He said he was pretending to be pretty. There was a heaven-and-earth difference between the former and latter meanings. Lee Cheong-hyeon closed and opened his eyes slowly, like someone with a headache, amazed at how Seo Hee-won heard only what he wanted to hear.

He tried to correct Seo Hee-won’s misunderstanding but found himself at a loss for words. This was because Seo Hee-won, who had come right up to his face, had a face that, though he didn’t want to admit it, was undeniably pretty to anyone who looked at it.