CHAPTER 70………………….
Yuchan started pestering me, asking why the mood was so strange.
I couldn’t exactly say it was because my heart was beating weirdly, so I told him that while he was gone, the guy we met at the PC café had shown up, and in the process, Hwansung had found out that Hawon was actually a girl.
And also that, somehow, Hwansung and I ended up speaking casually with each other.
At my words, Yuchan looked confused, raised his arm, and checked the time on the smartwatch strapped to his wrist.
“Weird.”
“What is?”
“It feels like I was in the bathroom for maybe a few dozen minutes, but from what you’re telling me, it sounds like at least three hours should’ve passed.”
“……”
He seemed like he was joking, but his tone was completely serious.
Well… it wasn’t like his reaction was that hard to understand. Even I could barely believe everything that had happened had only taken a matter of minutes.
“But wait, you said you two dropped honorifics, so the mood—”
“Th—That’s not the point! Anyway! How are we supposed to explain this to Hawon?”
When Yuchan was about to bring up the “mood” again, the very subject I desperately wanted to avoid, I cut him off—something I rarely did—and hurriedly changed the subject.
Why is he so obsessed with the mood…?
Maybe it really did look strange from the outside.
Yuchan gave me a puzzled look, like, What’s up with this noona?, and stared at me intently.
For some reason, I can read Yuchan’s expressions better than usual today…
Fortunately, he seemed to agree with my deflection, because he quickly erased his curious expression and pressed his index fingers to his temples, groaning.
“Yeah… if it were anyone else, maybe, but of all people, it had to be hyung who found out. If I were Haryeong, I’d have assassinated that guy already.”
Of course, he only said that because his actual job was being an assassin, but still… Between that and his earlier comments about marriage, Yuchan really had a talent for saying things that would sound incredibly suspicious to anyone overhearing us.
Anyway, like Yuchan said, it wasn’t like this had been discovered by Jangyeong or Hoe—people who might’ve been easier to handle. It had to be Hwansung, the one person Hawon probably least wanted to know. What a mess.
What on earth were we supposed to tell Hawon now…
As Yuchan and I fretted over the problem, the very person who’d caused it all—Hwansung—watched us and said lightly, as if it were nothing:
“Just say I happened to find out. As long as I don’t go blabbing anywhere, isn’t that fine?”
“No, hold on… this is because of you. How can you act like it’s no big deal?”
“And why should it be a big deal?”
“It’s Haryeong we’re talking about! Haryeong!”
“So what if it is? I told you, I’m not gonna say anything. It’s not like I have anyone to tell.”
Yuchan stared at him like, What kind of person is this?
Hwansung, growing irritated, shot back with a sharp look.
“That kid hates you! Actually, this is perfect. I’ve been dying to know why. Ever since they started leaving those nasty comments, acting like they wanted you dead, I couldn’t figure it out. Sure, people say Haryeong’s only the number-two healer because of you, but I doubt that alone would make them this bitter. What did you do to them? What kind of scummy thing did you pull?!”
I almost clapped right then and there. I’d been meaning to ask the same thing someday, and Yuchan had just blurted it out for me.
I knew Hawon disliked Hwansung, but to the point of leaving those kinds of comments…?
But the answer Hwansung gave was something I never expected.
“What are you talking about? I only learned about this ‘Haryeong’ nickname today.”
“…What?”
“Today was the first time I heard it. If it weren’t for Hae-ah, I’d probably never have known. Why would I have done anything to them?”
At those words, I blinked in confusion.
A quick glance at Yuchan showed he looked just as stunned.
So… to sum it up: Hawon hated Hwansung because of some bad past incident, but Hwansung claimed he’d only just learned who Hawon even was today.
Is that even possible…?
After that, Yuchan kept pressing Hwansung, accusing him of lying and demanding the truth, but Hwansung just looked away, clearly too annoyed to bother answering. And yet, something in his demeanor made it feel like he really was telling the truth.
So in the end… does that mean I’ll have to ask Hawon what actually happened?
I didn’t really want to, but if Hwansung genuinely didn’t know, then Hawon was the only one who could explain.
We wrapped up the day’s events more or less at that, and Yuchan grumbled, “I’m going home… I’m so tired.”
I also said I should be heading out, and we got up. Hwansung looked reluctant to part ways, but when I mentioned that my brother was home on leave, he reluctantly nodded.
Oh, and right before we split up, Hwansung—no, Hwansung ssi—made sure to stress one last thing:
“If you ever find out your brother’s in-game nickname, tell me right away.”
I didn’t know why he wanted that, but I nodded awkwardly and agreed, using casual speech again.
Guess I’ll just have to get used to talking like this… otherwise he’ll just keep acting all pitiful and fake until I do.
Yuchan had said he’d summarize today’s events and send them to the guild group chat, so I opened my messenger app to check.
Before I even entered the chat, I saw there were already hundreds of unread messages piled up, and the number was still climbing in real time—clearly things were chaotic.
[Kim Sooki: ♡♡ Why did that whole thing get resolved so easily ♡♡♡♡]
[Issa: Turns out we misunderstood something ^ㅅ^;;;; But I can’t say what exactly, hehe]
[Kim Sooki: ♡♡ What do you mean, seriously ㅡㅡ]
[Issa: T_T;; I was the one who ran over to the PC café, so why are you blaming meㅠㅠ If you didn’t like it, you should’ve gone instead]
[Kim Sooki: ?]
[Issa: Ack, typo!! Ugh, what’s wrong with my phone ㅠ.ㅠ?]
[Kim Sooki: How do you make a typo that turns into a whole sentence, ♡♡]
Thankfully, Yuchan hadn’t revealed that Hawon was a girl. That left the guild members dying of curiosity about how things had been resolved. If he had said it, the chat would’ve completely exploded.
I figured I’d need to explain things directly to Hawon when she had time, so I left the chat briefly, entered the Dazoo Code, and dropped her a message asking her to let me know when she was free. Then I went back into the noisy guild chat—and noticed something unusual.
The little “1” next to the messages, always showing who hadn’t read them yet, was gone.
Which meant…
[Haeseong: Looks like you guys had fun while I was gone, huhㅎㅎ]
[Cheonma Daeje: Grandmaster!!!]
[Hoe: No way]
Haeseong-nim, who’d been away doing military service, had just read the messages.
Wow. Not only did he have a name similar to my brother’s, but he even came back from leave at the same time? What were the chances.
Reading his messages felt strangely surreal—like I’d greeted an NPC in a game and gotten an actual response back.
[Haeseong: Looks like we have a new member. I’m a tank too, nice to meet youㅎㅎ Until now, the only tanks we had were me and Nyangmeong-hyung, so I’m glad to have another one]
And… how should I put it? Jangyeong had once said Haeseong was a really nice person, and from just these couple of lines, he did seem normal. Which was rare, considering almost every other V3 guild member had struck me as odd at first.
[Haeseong: If you’re unsure about anything, feel free to ask. I might not know much, but I’ll help where I canㅎ]
[Cheonma Daeje: What are you saying! Grandmaster Haeseong’s parking is legendary!]
[Haeseong: Is it? But Junwoo’s a ranged dealer—what does parking have to do with thatㅎㅎ……?]
Wow… I’d heard that Cheonma and Haeseong were close, but seeing how delighted Cheonma sounded, it must be true. His excitement was practically bursting off the screen.
[Pleased to meet you……!]
I sent a short greeting message, and Haeseong responded with a sticker of a bowing bunny.
A normal person in the V3 guild… amazing.
I happened to have the same sticker, so I sent it back to him.
[Hwansung: What the—? You two matching stickers? I’m buying it too]
[Hwansung: Hyung, stop using that sticker from now on]
[Haeseong: Wow, Hwansung, you really haven’t changed one bit—you’re still the same trashy personality as alwaysㅎㅎ~! I guess staying the same really is a kind of integrity. Impressive……!]
“…?”
Was that supposed to be a compliment or sarcasm?
After that, the chat filled with Hwansung spamming bunny stickers and everyone welcoming Haeseong back.
By then I’d reached home, so I finally tore my eyes away from my phone and opened the front door.
As soon as I stepped in, I heard a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time.
“You’re back?”
It was coming from the living room sofa.
Recognizing the voice, I quickened my pace a little. There he was, sitting with his phone in hand—
Yoon Haeseong, the one who had led me into Dereso.
