Chapter 85

The chat, which had been buzzing moments ago, went dead silent.

(Alliance) dude: ?

(Alliance) ShinJadu: Huh??

(Alliance) MouseTrap: Y-yes....?

(Alliance) YoureGettingSued: ...........Eek...........?

(Alliance) 1Poop1: K-kind?

(Alliance) FUNK: ???

Thankfully, it was not a bug. As question marks began flooding in a beat later, Miu’s chat appeared.

(Alliance) Miu: Haha, everyone suddenly stopped replying, so I thought you were all dead

(Alliance) Miu: Good thing. You all look healthy

...That was meant as a kind word, right?

(Alliance) FUNK:

(Alliance) 1Poop1: G-gasp;;gasp;;;;;

(Alliance) dude: D

(Alliance) ShinJadu: K...

(Alliance) Miu: Anyway, after I suspected Momo of being a spy and harassed him, he must have had such a hard time

(Alliance) Miu: You all know how much emotional suffering I went through too..

(Alliance) FUNK: butforthatyourmouthiswaytoounfiltered

(Alliance) 1Poop1: Read the room, man;;

(Alliance) Miu: Haha.. Anyway, Momo saved my life today

(Alliance) Miu: He turned out to be such a kind, good person haha. We cleared up our misunderstandings in the process

At that moment, Miu walked over to Yeonhoo’s character. The moment they saw the two standing side by side, the alliance members who had been crowding nearby skittered backward as though fleeing germs.

(Alliance) Miu: Anyway, we decided to get along well from now on, so please cherish him

(Alliance) dude: ??? Who..

(Alliance) Miu: Momo, haha

The alliance chat went quiet again, but the private chat did not.

(CH03) Miu: I did well, right?

The question sounded like he wanted praise, which left Mo Yeonhoo flustered.

(CH03) 0momo0: Um; do you think they’ll believe that?

(CH03) Miu: Do you mean you don’t believe that I’m the merciful, kind, affectionate, easily moved to tears type?

(CH03) 0momo0: No, that’s not what I mean, I’m crying

That was not the point.

(CH03) 0momo0: Look at the chat!!

The answer to Mo Yeonhoo’s question was right there in the alliance window.

(Alliance) ShinJadu: What is going on..?

(Alliance) FUNK: noisthisactuallyrealandnotadream?

(Alliance) dude: Why is he suddenly acting like that???

(Alliance) 1Poop1: Maybe it’s time to quit Zombie Village; this is weird;; I’m seeing things;

(Alliance) MouseTrap: What’s happening? I’m scared, I’m crying

Sure enough, the alliance members did not believe them. In the end, Mo Yeonhoo could not stand it and stepped in himself, but their reactions did not change much.

(Alliance) 0momo0: It’s real!!

(Alliance) 0momo0: We get along now. We made up

(Alliance) 1Poop1: ?? Momo’s saying it too

(Alliance) 1Poop1: What the fuc1 is this scheme?

(Alliance) FUNK: it’sevenweirderthatmomosaidittoo

(Alliance) dude: There’s a typo..

(Alliance) dude: He’s lying..

He even received a whisper from ShinJadu.

(Whisper) ShinJadu: Momo, can you tell me what happened in detail? What on earth happened for things to turn out like this??

(Whisper) ShinJadu: Miu’s ignoring all my whispers right now, so I can’t figure out the situation, I’m crying;;

(Whisper) ShinJadu: He was grilling you over whether you were a spy just a moment ago, so why is he acting like that now?;; And why are you going along with him??? You’re not getting hit or... being extorted, are you?

(Whisper) ShinJadu: If he’s threatening you, tell me;; Even if he isn’t, don’t trust him too much, I’m crying. After how scary he was last time, I’m worried he might suddenly beat you up again... I’m crying

And it was incredibly long!

She’s really worried I’ll get hurt.

She seemed to be wringing her hands over the possibility that Miu, whose attitude had changed overnight, might grab Mo Yeonhoo again at any moment.

(CH03) 0momo0: You know, I don’t think anyone believes us??

At least one person should have accepted it, but judging by their reactions, not a single one of them trusted it. Astonishingly so.

(CH03) Miu: Hmm, really?

(CH03) 0momo0: Yeah, I’m crying. What do we do??

(CH03) Miu: Then I guess it can’t be helped

(CH03) 0momo0: Huh??

Yet Miu replied brightly, as though he had been waiting for that answer. It was Mo Yeonhoo who found himself speechless at his composure.

What do you mean, it can’t be helped?

The alliance members needed to believe the two of them had made up. Otherwise, they would draw unnecessary attention while searching for the spy together.

But there was something that worried Mo Yeonhoo more than that.

(CH03) 0momo0: You’re not upset

(CH03) 0momo0: Because of how everyone reacted, right........?

He was more worried that the suspicious alliance members might have hurt Miu’s feelings. But what was the point of fretting over it alone?

(CH03) Miu: You’re worried I’ll be hurt?

(CH03) Miu: Really??

(CH03) 0momo0: Huh? Of course I am

(CH03) 0momo0: It hurts when alliance members look at you like you’re weird..

(CH03) Miu: Ahahaha. Really??

(CH03) Miu: So that’s why you kept talking about it

(CH03) Miu: It bothered you that much??

(CH03) Miu: You were worried about me, weren’t you?

Why was he so focused on something completely different? He should be worrying about himself.

(CH03) 0momo0: Of course I’m worried....

(CH03) 0momo0: Your heart is so

Mo Yeonhoo paused, then typed.

(CH03) 0momo0: sensitve...

(CH03) Miu: Did I just see a typo, or am I imagining it?

(CH03) 0momo0: Sensitive!!

(CH03) 0momo0: Anyway, I’m really worried because it doesn’t seem like the others believe you..

(CH03) Miu: Don’t worry

(CH03) 0momo0: Okaaay.....;;

Mo Yeonhoo was unconvinced by that confident declaration, but because it was Miu, he decided to trust that he would handle it somehow.

(CH03) Miu: Ah, but

(CH03) Miu: A little worry is necessary

(CH03) 0momo0: Huh??

He’ll... handle it, right?

The more they talked, the more Miu kept veering in strange directions, making Mo Yeonhoo worry despite himself.

His actions and manner of speaking had been especially strange today, which was a little concerning, but...

I’m so tired.

He was starting to get sleepy, and his thoughts were not coming easily anymore. He had played games all day, gone out for drinks, then come home and played another whole round.

And I was really tense at the end.

On top of that, he had exchanged gunfire with an unknown anonymous group.

At the time, the adrenaline had been pumping so hard that he had not even noticed his exhaustion. But now that he was safely inside alliance territory, surrounded by familiar people, all the fatigue that had built up came crashing down at once.

(CH03) 0momo0: I’m sleepy, so can I go to bed now? I’m crying

(CH03) 0momo0: O-of course, if you need me, I can stay here longer—

(CH03) Miu: No

(CH03) Miu: Go rest already

(CH03) 0momo0: Huh??

(CH03) Miu: Just so you don’t misunderstand, I absolutely do not mean “get the hell out of here already”

(CH03) Miu: You look really tired, so I mean you should go rest soon

(CH03) 0momo0: Ah..

(CH03) Miu: Anyway, don’t worry

(CH03) Miu: Starting tomorrow, I’ll make sure the alliance members can’t so much as peep

At hearing that Mo Yeonhoo was tired, Miu hurried him off. Pushed along by Miu’s insistence, Mo Yeonhoo told the alliance chat he was turning in for the night and, before he knew it, shut down his computer.

It’s off.... Wow, it’s quiet.

Zombie Village’s background music abruptly cut out, leaving his reflection in the black monitor. The noisy game world he had been in only moments ago suddenly felt like a dream.

In the silence before dawn, just as Mo Yeonhoo was about to rise from his seat, he noticed a huge pile of tissues stacked beside the monitor.

Could Kwon Mieon have done that?

He had been too distracted to notice earlier, but Kwon Mieon must have panicked when he saw his nosebleed, pulled out a whole pile of tissues, then left.

For some reason, the sight made him smile.

How startled had he been to pull out that many tissues?

I should text him.

To thank him for the medicine and for taking him home. Things had been so frantic that he had not even seen him off properly. Kwon Mieon had left in such a rush that Yeonhoo had not found a chance to speak to him.

Just as he reflexively reached for his phone, Mo Yeonhoo touched the back of his neck and froze.

Why is it so itchy back here?

Why did the thought of sending a single text make him feel this way?

It’s the middle of the night. I should send it later.

Uneasy at the strange shyness rising in him, Mo Yeonhoo raked a hand through his hair.

Then—

DING.

His phone chimed. Mo Yeonhoo tilted his head at the message preview on the lock screen.

❮Kwon Mieon⠇

Text Message—SMS

Yeonhoo, sleep well.

Wow, what timing.

How did he know Yeonhoo had only just been about to go to bed?