Chapter 64

Mo Yeonhoo was so startled by Kwon Mieon picking up before the call had even properly rung once that he nearly shot out of his seat.

—Did you call me, Yeonhoo?

It felt like not even a few seconds had passed since the call connected, yet Kwon Mieon answered immediately, as if he had been waiting. Flustered for a moment, Mo Yeonhoo mumbled.

“No, this just got pressed by accident somehow... I was looking at the missed calls.”

—You saw my missed calls and pressed it by accident?

“Uh....”

—Wow.

At that, Kwon Mieon laughed softly.

—I should leave missed calls more often.

His voice was gentle.

Meeting him and talking to him on the phone felt different. Maybe it was because of Kwon Mieon’s distinctively cold impression. In person, no matter how kindly he treated him, Mo Yeonhoo found it hard to accept it purely.

But now, hearing only his voice, his soft and affectionate tone was enough to make Mo Yeonhoo’s ears itch, and he flinched.

What is this between two guys?

He absolutely did not talk to his friends in this kind of tender tone. For no particular reason, Mo Yeonhoo spoke in a sullen voice.

“Then I’ll block you.”

—...What?

Kwon Mieon’s quiet laughter cut off.

“If you leave a bunch of missed calls, I’ll have to block you. So I don’t call by mistake.”

To anyone listening, he was clearly being deliberately curt, but it was a reflex that slipped out without him realizing. Because the other person treated him so softly and gently, he somehow became prickly in response.

—Really?

But Kwon Mieon asked in a bewildered voice, and Mo Yeonhoo was surprised.

—You’re really going to block me?

Was that really something to be so shocked about? His voice made Mo Yeonhoo the more flustered one instead.

“...You believed that?”

—If you say it, I believe it.

If he had at least looked innocent, maybe Mo Yeonhoo would have understood. But with that cynical face that looked like it would interrogate someone by asking whether even the truth was a lie, it was ridiculous that he took Mo Yeonhoo’s words so literally.

—Ah, it was a joke.

Belatedly realizing that Mo Yeonhoo had said it lightly without much thought, Kwon Mieon spoke in a lighter tone. Amusingly enough, there was relief in his voice.

—But what were you doing all this time, Yeonhoo? Why was it so hard to reach you? What are you doing now?

Then he immediately hung one question mark after another, asking him this and that.

No, how long has it even been since we parted? He’s seriously weird.

His tone was so affectionate that Mo Yeonhoo could practically hallucinate a puppy’s tail wagging wildly. Embarrassed, Mo Yeonhoo rolled his eyes and forced out a cough.

“I was just playing a game....”

—Do you like games?

Did he like games? In truth, he had started because of Ms. Miyoung, and it had not been long since he began.

It is fun, though.

This was the first time he had ever done something instead of meeting his friends.

Enough that I even forgot to go see Ms. Miyoung.

These days, logging into Zombie Village and meeting Miyoung there was more fun and even more exciting than seeing Miyoung Miyoung at the café. So it should be fine to say he liked games, right?

—I like games too. We have something in common.

But what did thinking that matter?

“I don’t really like them.”

Was this some kind of saying-the-opposite game?

It felt like whenever Kwon Mieon said one thing, Mo Yeonhoo needlessly veered off and said the opposite.

—Ah, now that I think about it, I don’t like games either.

And what was this now?

“You said you liked them until just now.”

—Yes, I think I liked them until about yesterday. Now I hate them. I don’t understand why people play games.

“I don’t hate them that much....”

—Sometimes I understand it too.

His change in position was so fast it was absurd. Even babies probably would not switch attitudes that drastically.

“You know you’re really weird, right?”

After a few seconds of silence, Kwon Mieon asked back seriously.

—...Am I very weird?

Hearing that voice, Mo Yeonhoo finally let out a small laugh in disbelief. Because he sounded genuinely worried.

—You’re laughing.

“No, I’m not.”

—You laughed, Yeonhoo.

Kwon Mieon, who had somehow heard that perfectly, laughed with him. As if Mo Yeonhoo laughing were something good enough to lift his mood too.

—But, Yeonhoo. When I first answered the call earlier, your voice didn’t sound good. Did something happen?

Kwon Mieon seemed very natural at continuing a conversation. Around the time there was nothing in particular left to say, he would somehow bring up a new topic as if by instinct.

My voice didn’t sound good?

Mo Yeonhoo stared blankly at the screen. Apparently, after spending so long with his mouth shut, doing nothing but playing the game, his voice had sunk.

“It’s just....”

He was about to give a vague answer when he saw the chat.

(CH03) Miu: Are you stupid?

(CH03) Miu: Why are you refusing something other people would happily run to take?

(CH03) Miu: Don’t you know that makes you lose out in life instead?

(CH03) Miu: Take it when I’m giving it to you, would you?

It was Miu’s chat, with every single word so obnoxious. The moment Mo Yeonhoo saw it, his expression turned sulky on its own, and his lips jutted out.

“Someone called me stupid.”

—Stupid?

What exactly was so stupid about it? Even if he did not take money or anything else, they were in the same alliance, so he could help that much.

“Yeah. They said I’m stupid for not being able to take something when it’s given to me.”

He tried to act like it was nothing, but maybe it had been bothering him inwardly. As Mo Yeonhoo grumbled without realizing, he froze.

Ah, right. He’s Ms. Miyoung’s cousin.

Had he just badmouthed—or not quite badmouthed—his cousin? Flustered, he was about to brush it off and say it was nothing, but the other side of the phone was quiet.

“...Kwon Mieon?”

Kwon Mieon had been answering almost before Mo Yeonhoo finished speaking until just now, so Mo Yeonhoo asked in confusion. Then Kwon Mieon responded.

—What son of a... person called you stupid, Yeonhoo?

Person?

What was that now?

“You’re asking what person said that?”

—Yes. Tell me.

He had not expected Kwon Mieon to ask who it was. What was he supposed to say?

He could not honestly reveal, “It was your cousin.” So as he said nothing, Kwon Mieon let out a deep sigh over the phone.

—That person is Mi—no, weird. Why would you be stupid, Yeonhoo? Where else is there someone as smart and good as you? Your personality is so good that when I look at you, nothing but compliments come out.... What kind of life have they lived to say something that rude to you? What a genuinely unbelievable bastard.

“.......”

—Yeonhoo??

“Ah.”

I was spacing out. Mo Yeonhoo belatedly came to his senses and flinched.

—So... what’s their name?

It was not the first time in his life that someone had taken his side, but the entire time he listened to Kwon Mieon defend him, he felt strange.

—No, really, I’m just curious who it is. Pure curiosity. I’m simple anyway, so once I hear it, I’ll forget right away, okay? So just tell me their name. Who was it?

He sounded ready to run over and scold them the moment he learned their name. As Mo Yeonhoo listened to that low voice growing more and more wordy, his ears kept itching, and he fidgeted with his fingertips for no reason before he stopped.

In the small mirror beside his desk, his reflected face was faintly flushed.

Ah, seriously, what am I doing!

He had blushed while talking to Kwon Mieon on the phone?

Even though he was not facing Kwon Mieon in person, Mo Yeonhoo suddenly found it too embarrassing to keep the call going.

“Uh, yeah. Hey—sorry. Something urgent came up.”

—Something urgent? Yeonhoo, wait a second.

“I really have to hang up now.”

—So when exactly are we going to....

“I’m hanging up!”

Kwon Mieon cried out urgently as if trying to add another question, but Mo Yeonhoo was faster.

Click! He ended the call immediately. It was probably the fastest he had moved recently. Even after hanging up, Mo Yeonhoo glared at the screen for a while, then raised a hand and rubbed hard at his ears.

“What is wrong with me?”

His eyes narrowed, and even though the call had ended, not only his earlobes but the back of his neck still felt hot.

Just then, his phone buzzed with a message.

K >. .

rnjsaldjs47

XX/XX 11:50 PM

If I leave missed calls, will you call me again?

At the message repeating the same thing he had said on the phone, Mo Yeonhoo let out a laugh despite himself.

What is he talking about....

Mo Yeonhoo rubbed the back of his neck, then sent a reply.

Nope, blocked

ㅠㅠ

(sticker)

The sticker that flew in immediately showed a dog flopped flat on the floor, sobbing loudly. It suited Kwon Mieon remarkably well. Mo Yeonhoo stared at the sticker, then asked.

Where do you get that?

(sticker)

This one?

Yeahㅇ

You see the gallery-shaped icon, right?

Press the smiley next to it and keep scrolling

And it’ll say

Cutest Puppy in the World

Mo Yeonhoo followed Kwon Mieon’s explanation. Sure enough, the puppy stickers he used were all gathered there.

Do you buy them?

No, they’re free

You can use them as soon as you press them haha

(sticker)

Looking at the puppy excitedly rolling over to show its belly and wagging its tail, Mo Yeonhoo quietly browsed the others. Among them was the sticker Kwon Mieon used most often, a puppy hugging a heart and wagging its tail wildly.

He wanted to look at it a little more closely, so he pressed it.

(sticker)

And ended up sending it.

So it sends right away if you press it.

He had not used StarGram much, so it was fascinating. But then.

lololol Yeonhoo

Did you just send me a heart?

What was this now?