78.
“You don’t have to take me there.”
As I said this while carrying the box containing his luggage to the car, Chae Yoo-jeong followed behind, holding another box, and smiled brightly.
“I have to go move my luggage to the dorm anyway. And it’s late, so how can I let you go alone?”
“It’s 7:30 now.”
“……”
“It’s dark outside. It’s dangerous!”
Are you crazy?
Of course, the days got shorter and it was as dark as midnight. Oh no, it’s not even 8 p.m., but this is the first time in my life that I’ve heard someone say that it’s dangerous.
I’m a healthy young man in my 20s who served in the military.
“Don’t go somewhere and say something like that.”
“Why am I saying this to someone other than Hyung?”
“...let’s go.”
The car left the underground parking lot and left the apartment complex.
“Yes.”
Chae Yoo-jeong, who was constantly looking at me in the passenger seat while driving, opened his mouth when the signal went off.
Chae Yoo-jeong asked carefully in a very stiff voice.
“Hyung, today was so good.”
“There is a lot of good to be had.”
“Th….”
“Can’t we meet again next week and hang out?”
As I was sorting out the situation by thinking over and over the moment when Yoo Chae sent me a message, I turned my head to that question.
Chae Yoo-jeong was looking straight ahead as he was driving, and a nervous look was evident on the side of his face.
“You think playing with me is so much fun that you want to keep seeing me?”
“Of course it’s fun for me. It’s really nice to be able to meet my Hyung and have a conversation like this.”
I had a strange feeling seeing Chae Yoo-jeong say without hesitation that he was happy to meet me.
How can he express things like that between men without any hesitation? It’s amazing every time I see it.
“I don’t know what Hyung would like.”
“I’m.......”
My time with Chae Yoo-jeong wasn’t bad, but I didn’t feel it had much meaning. The reason I always accepted Chae Yoo-jeong’s offer to meet me in the first place was because of Yoo Chae.
But now the situation has changed. If I go home today and meet Yoo Chae and solve the last problem, I will no longer have to doubt myself.
So... I didn’t really want to meet Chae Yoo-jeong any more.
‘What should I answer?’
It’s a bit difficult to say out loud that you don’t want to meet in this atmosphere.
Feeling embarrassed, I watched the lights passing by outside the car window and quickly came up with an excuse.
“Well. It’s exam time soon, so I don’t know what will happen.”
“Is it the exam period? So are you very busy?”
“There are a lot of assignments, but it’s okay if exams overlap. I think I’ll live at school for a while.”
Chae Yoo-jeong’s stiff shoulders slumped at my rejection.
“I don’t mind hanging out for an hour or two.”
“I have to reduce my eating time while doing assignments and preparing for exams. I was at school when I called you about the interview.”
“Ah…”
Chae Yoo-jeong, who was greatly heartbroken, looked at me with a face like a puppy getting caught in the rain. I steadfastly pretended not to see it.
Even if you look at it like that, it doesn’t work. I didn’t want to cause trouble by adding various words to get my sympathy.
Just like last time, I parked the car near the convenience store and Yoo-jeong followed me out of the car.
“Thank you for taking me here.”
“Excuse me, Hyung.”
Chae Yoo-jeong, who had been dozing off while holding both his hands together, opened his mouth with an expression of lack of confidence.
“Then you can meet me and have a meal… Can’t you make time for me sometimes?”
Less than 20 minutes had passed since I thought I couldn’t do it, but my heart wavered a little when I faced Chae Yoo-jeong, who looked as dejected as he sounded.
“...if it’s only sometimes.”
I can’t help it. If you think about it, didn’t Chae Yoo-jeong spend money twice for him– on beef and today’s delivery food?
If you just get something and then cut off contact, it’s trash, so it’s better to buy it once or twice and then call it a day.
“Yes. That’s enough.”
Chae Yoo-jeong smiled and took a step back from me.
“Goodbye, Hyung. I’ll just go now.”
“Okay. Drive carefully.”
“Yes.”
After saying my final goodbyes, I turned away first and headed home, leaving Chae Yoo-jeong behind.
As I walked down the alley lit by yellow streetlights with my brows furrowed, I couldn’t stand it anymore and stroked my bangs in annoyance.
‘I’m so bothered, really.’
Why are you smiling like that? I can’t understand why he’s so sincerely disappointed about not being able to eat with me as if it’s such a big deal.
“Ha... let’s forget it, forget it.”
I sighed and tried to push Chae Yoo-jeong’s face away from my thoughts. For now, we need to focus on Yoo Chae.
***
After arriving home and washing up, I logged in to Zenoris.
As soon as I entered, I first checked whether Yoo Chae was connected. As expected, the guy entered the game just fine.
[Guild] Drink some water: Hi~
[Guild] TheHunter: Insider (1) sleepy guy is here.
[Guild] Seasoned Crab Sauce: hi hi
[Guild] Mocha Bread: Hi
[Guild] This is Dorahee: Sleepy hi, haha
[Guild] I’m sleepy: hi hi
[Guild] I’m sleepy: Why did I become an insider?
[Guild] TheHunter: It would be obvious if you came into the game at this time on the weekend, hu...
[Guild] Crazy Hunting Friend: I agree, You should play games early in the morning like me ㅋㅋ
[Guild] Manaolingnam: You’re proud haha
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung><
[Guild] Harn: Hi hi
[Guild] I’m sleepy: hi
[Yoo Chae: Hyung hyung]
[Yoo Chae: Are you home?]
Yoo Chae noticed that I was online and chatted with me separately on messenger. I left it alone for now and spoke to Harn.
[I’m sleepy: Harn-nim]
[Harn: Yes?]
[I’m sleepy: I asked this last time too]
[I’m sleepy: Do you know what time Yoo Chae logged in today?]
[Harn: ???ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Harn: What kind of bet are you making? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[I’m sleepy: It’s important]
[Harn: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
Harn, who had a strange misunderstanding, laughed excitedly and answered right away.
[Harn: I overslept today, so I turned it on during the day]
[Harn: Gilma-nim came in first]
[Harn: I don’t know what time he was online]
[I’m sleepy: Have you been playing the game ever since?]
[Harn: Hmm]
[Harn: It looks like he was doing something with Drink some water-nim earlier]
[Harn: I’m also busy completing some quests today, so I’m not sure.]
[Harn: I didn’t log out]
[I’m sleepy: Yes]
[Harn: If you don’t tell me why, I won’t be able to sleep at night because I’m curious]
[I’m sleepy: Thanks for letting me know tk tk]
[Harn: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[Harn: I really wonder what the two of you are plotting togetherㅇㅅㅇ]
[Harn: You must tell me later]
[I’m sleepy: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[I’m sleepy: ok I’ll tell you later]
Although I didn’t have the slightest desire to explain, I said I would find out as soon as possible and sent a messenger chat to Yoo Chae.
[I’m sleepy: Of course I’m home]
[I’m sleepy: Do you want to do a discord call?]
[Yoo Chae: Yes]
[Yoo Chae: Yes yes yes!!]
[Yoo Chae: Very much]
[I’m sleepy: ㄱㄱ]
After exhaling slowly, I put on the headset and turned on the discord call.
For the past month, in some ways, I’ve been doing something in vain. I tried to secretly gather evidence without Yoo Chae or Chae Yoo-jeong finding out that I was suspicious, but I wasted time in vain.
‘I should have done this a long time ago.’
If that were the case, there wouldn’t have been any inconvenience for over a month. Even if Yoo Chae was disappointed in me or criticized me, I should have asked him honestly and then apologized if I was wrong.
“Hello, Hyung.”
“Hi.”
Yoo Chae entered the voice call room and greeted me in a bright voice.
“You said you called me earlier... It was Hyung who did it, right?”
“Ah, it’s true that I did it.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t look at my phone when I’m playing games... so I didn’t know you’d contact me because you said you were busy today.”
“It’s alright.”
“Yeah. So what did you call me about?”
I was wondering how to start the conversation, but thankfully Yoo Chae took the initiative to ask a question.
After clearing my throat once, I opened my mouth.
“Actually, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask you for a while.”
“What do you want to ask me?”
“I would like you to answer honestly.”
“What is it?”
Yoo Chae’s voice sounded like he was just curious, without any trace of nervousness.
“Do you remember when I first came to Early Evening Guild? You quarreled with me. Saying that you don’t like the nickname.”
“Ah... yes. I remember.”
“I still don’t understand that.”
This was the decisive reason why I was suspicious of Yoo Chae and Chae Yoo-jeong.
“You changed your attitude when you heard that I was a Hero ranker.”
“.......”
“I thought it was because Hero’s username and Zenoris’ username were the same... so I thought you changed your attitude. Is that right?”
As soon as he finished speaking, a cold silence came. The silence stretched for a long time, but I waited for Yoo Chae’s answer without prompting him.
“Um….”
After a while, Yoo Chae opened his mouth in an embarrassed voice.
“I understand what you’re trying to say, but I misunderstood for another reason.”
“...For another reason? What do you mean?”
“Actually… I’ve already encountered the nickname ‘I’m Sleepy’ in another game.”
What?
“Before starting Zenoris, I played another FPS game for a while, and there I met a bad-mannered user with the nickname ‘I’m Sleepy.’”
—--
Notes:
[1] Insider - 인싸[In-ssa] 인싸 in Korea is someone who gets along very well with lots of people, follows all the trends and are considered very cool! The slang is derived from 인사이더 which means Insider!
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor: Meimei
Support on Kofi:
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HM: My brain has stopped working
MM: YC PLEASE IF YOU’RE LYING PLEASE STOP NOW–
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