Chapter 33

(Alliance) MouseTrap: Momo, were you chopping wood out here?

(Alliance) 0momo0: Ah yep!! I was over here chopping wood with Miu!

(Alliance) MouseTrap: Aha LOL chopping wood at this hour? Total date vibes LOL

(Alliance) MouseTrap: Why isn’t Miu saying anything???

(Alliance) Opening: He’s on mobile.

Come to think of it, ever since the two of them showed up, Miu hadn’t said a single word. Seeing as he was still standing right beside him, it didn’t look like he’d logged off.

(Alliance) MouseTrap: Guess he’s AFK!

(Alliance) Opening: Hm.

It was a little strange, but then again, he had abruptly stepped away earlier too....

(Alliance) 0momo0: What were you two doing??

Glad to see the two people who had appeared like relief pitchers and gotten him out of that horribly awkward situation, Yeonhoo asked.

(Alliance) Opening: ?LOL

(Alliance) Opening: Why do you care? LOL

Huh?

Yeonhoo tilted his head at the slightly odd reply in chat, and MouseTrap quickly jumped in.

(Alliance) MouseTrap: Ah haha I logged in for a sec this morning cuz I had something to do, and Opening happened to log in too

(Alliance) MouseTrap: so since we were both on for the first time in a while we were like, should we go do a raid~~ and then we saw you two

(Alliance) 0momo0: Ahhhh I see!!

Judging by what came next, it was nothing special. He hadn’t asked because he was actually interested in the first place, so after skimming the chat, Yeonhoo more or less let it go and stared fixedly at Miu instead.

‘Did she clock in?’

Miu still hadn’t moved from that exact same position as before. He’d probably gotten to the café and started work.

Well, if she had just gotten to work, she was probably busy. There had to be a lot to do.

‘She did seem like she was in a bad mood. So it was because she got rejected asking for someone’s contact info.’

Yeonhoo, who couldn’t imagine what kind of lunatic would have the nerve to turn down bright, adorable, fresh-faced little baby-rabbit Ms. Miyoung when she asked for his number, felt his own spirits sink.

‘If we were close, I could at least bring her something.’

It hurt to see a heartbroken Miyoung, but realistically, they weren’t anything to each [N O V E L I G H T] other, so there wasn’t much he could do.

Thinking it over, Yeonhoo suddenly remembered the famous bakery near his place, the one neighborhood people started lining up for first thing in the morning.

He’d heard the bread there was insanely good.

‘Wouldn’t she like it if I bought her some?!’

At the café, Miyoung would sometimes eat dessert on her break.

And when she did, she looked ridiculously happy!

Since there just so happened to be a famous bakery near his house, he could casually say he’d bought too much and offer her a little without making it weird!

(Alliance) 0momo0: Ah, I’m gonna head out first then!

Thinking that, Yeonhoo typed into chat.

‘Huh? No one’s answering?’

But there was no response from anyone, including Miu, MouseTrap, or Opening.

After waiting a little, Yeonhoo figured they were all AFK and just quit the game. But the determination he’d felt to go see Miyoung immediately wavered the moment he stepped into the bathroom to shower.

“Wow, my face is a disaster....”

He’d stayed up all night gaming, so his complexion was duller than usual, and somehow he looked kind of grimy.

Wouldn’t his likability score take a hit if he went looking like this...?

[(Alliance) Miu: I asked for their contact info and got rejected.]

But then he remembered Miyoung’s messages and steeled himself.

‘Love is something you have to win.’

Maybe it was because he showered with twice as much care as usual, but after getting dressed neatly and even putting on glasses to hide his dark circles, he looked pretty decent.

Yeonhoo headed out right away, picked up some simple pastries at the bakery—where the line was shorter than usual—and made his way to the café.

‘It’s quiet.’

Maybe it was the awkward time of day. A few takeout customers came and went now and then, but nobody was really settled in with a seat, so the café felt sparse.

‘Miyoung’s alone.’

It always seemed like they worked in pairs, but maybe there weren’t many orders during this time slot, because Miyoung was handling the counter by herself.

[(Alliance) Miu: A lover?]

[(Alliance) Miu: Married???]

[(Alliance) Miu: LOL]

[(Alliance) Miu: LOL LOL LOL]

‘Is her mood... okay?’

From beyond the window, he couldn’t make out her expression very well. But remembering how bad Miyoung had seemed in the game, he wasn’t sure whether he’d be able to hand over the bread without incident.

Still, he’d come all the way here, so Yeonhoo gathered his courage.

Jingle.

“Welcome!”

The worry in his chest melted away the instant he stepped into the café and heard Miyoung’s bright, lively voice.

At the sight of her smiling face, just like always, Yeonhoo reflexively started to smile back, then awkwardly touched the corners of his mouth and walked forward.

“Oh!”

As he approached the counter, Miyoung let out a small sound, as if she had recognized him.

“It’s been a while since I last saw you—since that rainy day!”

Her startled voice quickly shifted into cheerful chatter.

“Yeah, it has.”

Even though he’d marched into the café full of momentum, Yeonhoo had stiffened up completely. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and looked away.

“How come it’s been so long? Did you get home okay that day?”

“Yeah. I got home okay....”

“That’s good! I was a little worried!”

She was worried about me....

Just hearing that felt so good that Yeonhoo slowly lifted his head and looked at Miyoung.

But maybe she had been looking at him too, because their eyes met head-on.

The moment that happened, Miyoung’s eyes went round, and she whipped her head away.

“I-I mean, you used to come to the café every day, and then I stopped seeing you, so—I wondered if maybe you’d caught a cold or something—um.”

......Do I look ugly right now?

Because Miyoung had suddenly avoided his gaze, Yeonhoo absently fiddled with his glasses and took a step back.

“It wasn’t a cold. I was just a little busy....”

“Oh, I see.... By the way, there was something I was curious about! Are you maybe acquainted with my cousin?”

“Your cousin?”

“Yes, Kwon Mieon.”

At that name, Yeonhoo froze.

You don’t remember me?

A small face, unusually curly hair, a cold-looking appearance paired with a surprisingly gentle way of speaking, and a face that had seemed fairly desperate despite how striking it was.

‘Right. That happened.’

He’d been drunk that day, and it had been pouring rain, so his mind had been all over the place. He’d completely forgotten about it.

“Ah, not really....”

“Oh, really? You two seemed pretty familiar when you were talking, so I thought maybe you knew each other well.”

The awkward one here, though, was Miyoung.

He had felt they seemed like family that day too, but cousins?

‘That guy’s a druggie.’

He couldn’t exactly tell Miyoung, “Your cousin’s friends with someone who does drugs, and I think he does too, by the way,” and it was also hard to say they were total strangers.

“This.”

Yeonhoo chose to change the subject. He hurriedly handed her one of the two bags he’d been carrying.

“Huh? This is—”

“I bought too much bread. So, if it’s okay with you, would you like some? I heard this place is really good.”

Miyoung couldn’t take her eyes off the shopping bag Yeonhoo held out to her.

“Isn’t this the place where people stand in super long lines? Wow, oh—wow. Thank you. I’ll really enjoy it.”

Soon enough, Kang Miyoung’s face turned so red it looked like it might burst, and she took the bag.

Feeling awkward himself, Yeonhoo hurried to hold out his card.

“Then I’ll have one iced Einspänner and a ham-and-cheese sandwich.”

“Oh, yes. Yes! Put your card in here, and your pager—ah, why is this doing that.... One second!”

Apparently flustered by the gift, Kang Miyoung fumbled with the register in a face gone bright red, moving more clumsily than usual as she tapped at the POS machine.

Glancing at her, Yeonhoo parted his lips awkwardly.

‘Did I go too far? She looks uncomfortable.’

A little deflated, Yeonhoo took the pager and moved away.

Normally, he would have chosen a seat where he could see Miyoung well, but today he felt strangely embarrassed, so after pouring himself a glass of water, he headed toward the window.

‘Nice sunlight. Smells good too.’

As soon as he sat down in the sun, his body turned pleasantly heavy. Leaning lightly against the window, Yeonhoo slowly closed his eyes.

‘......I’m sleepy.’

It felt like all the exhaustion that hadn’t hit him while he’d been gaming through the night came crashing down at once.

As if to mock how perfectly fine he’d been just moments ago, a wave of drowsiness flooded him in an instant, and just as Yeonhoo’s head began to tilt slowly—

......Knock, knock!

Someone tapped on the glass.

With hazy eyes, Yeonhoo opened them.

His head tilted on its own as soon as something felt off.

‘That’s weird. The sun was definitely shining here just a second ago... huh?’

It had been an especially sunny seat, but now it was in the shade.

There was no way the sun had suddenly set.

Puzzled, Yeonhoo lifted his head—and went rigid.

Outside the window, one person was standing there, looking down at him.

The man’s large frame stood out, of course, but what caught Yeonhoo’s eye even more vividly was the wet curly hair, as if he’d just gotten out of the shower.

A mask covered more than half his face, so only his eyes were visible.

And those eyes were fixed precisely on Yeonhoo through the glass.

Looking closer, the man’s body was moving up and down slightly.

Like he had run there.

Yeonhoo stared blankly at him as if entranced.

Then, once the man seemed to have fully caught his breath, he bent down sharply at the waist.

Tap.

He flicked the window lightly with his fingertip.