Chapter 87

This is ridiculous. Since when was I waiting for him to contact me?

Despite the baffled look on his face, Mo Yeonhoo could not tear his eyes away from his chat with Kwon Mieon.

“What...?”

Though no one was there to hear him, his lips moved soundlessly. Then he hit the button to leave the chat altogether.

Why should I care? I’m not looking. I’m not going to look.

He did not know why sending a single message telling him to sleep well had him acting like this, but it did not put him in a good mood.

He stared sullenly at the empty chat window, then hit back. Just then, he saw the post Kim Seongjae had uploaded yesterday, tagging both Park Taekyun and him.

<img alt="like.png" src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302047889/epub/images/Images/like.png"/> 1,146 <img alt="chat.png" src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302047889/epub/images/Images/chat.png"/> 17 <img alt="share.png" src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302047889/epub/images/Images/share.png"/>

3ungjae123123 lol it’s so damn hard to see your faces @ta.ek_yuni_verse @momo01019

#seoul #apgujeong #LeFoibar #fyp #like #follow

There was a picture of Yeonhoo staring blankly at the camera with a foolish expression, along with Kim Seongjae and Park Taekyun.

Thinking that Kim Seongjae had uploaded it awfully fast, considering how little time had passed, Yeonhoo tapped Like.

Naturally, messages from Kim Seongjae and Park Taekyun came flooding in right away.

Seongjae >. ..

3ungjae123123

XX/XX, 11:13 AM

Hey, you wouldn’t answer calls, but you’re on StarGram.

You alive?

J Taekyun >. ..

ta.ek_yuni_verse

XX/XX, 11:14 AM

No reply allll day,

Did you get home okay??? Nothing happened, right?

He had meant to call them, but since they had messaged him first, he hurriedly replied, trying to convey his apology.

Kim Seongjae was satisfied with being told he was alive and well, replying only, k cool let’s drink again sometime.

But Park Taekyun seemed to have something else to say.

J Taekyun >. ..

ta.ek_yuni_verse

I got home fine.

Don’t worry, haha.

That’s a reliefㅠ

But Yeonhoo.

You know that guy who came to pick you up?

Huh?

Kwon Mieon??

J Taekyun >. ..

ta.ek_yuni_verse

Are you close?

Yeonhoo paused at the short question after all that typing.

Did we look close?

Well, Kwon Mieon had driven him home and taken such good care of him. It was understandable that Taekyun might get the wrong idea.

J Taekyun >. ..

ta.ek_yuni_verse

No...?

Oh, really~??

I thought you were close.

He was taking such good care of you~

Ah, he’s just naturally sweet lol.

Mmm... is he??

That’s strange~~

He didn’t feel like that when I saw him before.

Huh??

Park Taekyun knows Kwon Mieon?

Yeonhoo’s eyes widened.

They had acted as though they were meeting for the first time yesterday. Had they run into each other before at the party?

J Taekyun >. ..

ta.ek_yuni_verse

You know Kwon Mieon?

Ah, I saw him at Seunghwan Lee’s party back then~

Didn’t he have black hair before??

Holy shit, yeah.

Between the hair color and his expression, I didn’t recognize him right away at first.

His expression?? Why?

I mean, back then he looked like his eyes had gone completely dead and he was about to beat someone to death??

But yesterday he was smiling and acting all sweet, so I didn’t recognize him right away...

Then I saw his face when he was helping you walk, and I remembered lol.

Once I sobered up, it all came rushing back lol.

Someone who looked like he was about to beat another person to death.

His first impression is scary, but isn’t he actually gentle once you talk to him...?

Yeonhoo remembered Kwon Mieon chatting easily with his friends yesterday, even while Yeonhoo himself had been clutching his head.

J Taekyun >. ..

ta.ek_yuni_verse

Maybe you saw him wrong?

He was back then, too—

Kwon Mieon in Yeonhoo’s scattered old memories had always worn a smile as well.

The first image that came to mind was the two beauty marks near his eyes, sitting side by side so companionably. But as Yeonhoo stared at Park Taekyun’s messages...

Something flashed through his mind.

Amid the blurred vision of his drunkenness, one pair of eyes glaring at him with unusual clarity.

Someone disheveled, staring at him fiercely, fist clenched as though he might throw a punch at any moment.

“Fuck... off.”

It had been Kwon Mieon.

What was that?

Yeonhoo was startled by the memory he himself had summoned.

The Kwon Mieon in that fleeting scene had been completely different from the man he knew now.

Fuck, what even was that?

Of course, the memory vanished again as if it had never existed, leaving his chest tight with frustration.

His memories of Kwon Mieon were always like this. Only isolated images surfaced.

How much did I drink?

His head began to throb again.

No matter how drunk he had been, could he really have forgotten this much? Once more, Yeonhoo wondered whether what he had drunk at Seunghwan Lee’s place might not have been alcohol at all.

J Taekyun >. ..

ta.ek_yuni_verse

???

He was back then, too, what?

N-no... never mind.

What do you remember?

Um... it’s kind of vague...

Honestly, I’m not even sure it wasn’t a dream lol.

I was puking my guts out that dayㅠㅠ

Since Taekyun was speaking more vaguely than usual, it seemed he had seen something that day but was holding back because he was not certain.

It would be better to talk in person.

Maybe then the gaps in Yeonhoo’s memories would finally fill in.

J Taekyun >. ..

ta.ek_yuni_verse

There’s something I want to ask you,

so should we set a day and meet up???

When? I’m going to Jeju Island to play golf with my uncle,

so I can’t for a whileㅠㅠ

Yeah, then after you get back!!

Okay, I’ll message you when I get back. God, this hangover is killing meㅠ Are you okay?

Maybe I’m getting oldㅠ fuckㅠㅠㅠ

Park Taekyun was apparently too restless to resist taking off for Jeju Island again.

After telling him to make sure he took his medicine, Yeonhoo left the chat window. Then he tapped Kwon Mieon’s profile again.

<img alt="insta k" src="https://webview-cache.ridibooks.com/3302047889/epub/images/Images/insta%20k.png"/>

Should I ask him?

The video Kwon Mieon had shown him had been so shocking that Yeonhoo had avoided thinking about it, but asking him directly would be the surest way to find out.

Though I don’t know whether he’d tell me.

Kwon Mieon, too, had kept his mouth tightly shut about how they had become entangled in the first place.

As though he wanted Yeonhoo to remember on his own.

Welcome back, Survivor!

The bright game-login notification snapped Mo Yeonhoo out of his thoughts.

I’ll talk to Park Taekyun when we meet, and later, I should have a proper talk with Kwon Mieon too.

He could ask Seunghwan Lee, but that would be difficult when Yeonhoo was the one who had cut him off without a word...

A strange discomfort still stirred in one corner of his heart, but he quickly pulled himself together when he saw the alliance members greeting him.

Whatever. I’ll just play the game.

When had he ever wasted time on complicated worries?

With the thought that things would somehow work themselves out if he simply let them unfold, Mo Yeonhoo put his hands on the keyboard.

(Alliance) 0momo0: Hello!!!!

(Alliance) MouseTrap: Welcome back, Momo!

(Alliance) 1Poop1: hii hii

(Alliance) GoodLuck: Welcome back~~~

(Alliance) BBQ: Ooh~ Momo~~ kehehe hi hi lolol

(Alliance) KimFactory: Hi, Momo.

(Alliance) ShinJadu: Welcome back, Momo!

(Alliance) BBQ: Is my life for real??? The same old crowd is logging in at this hour too lol.

(Alliance) ShinJadu: lol exactly

(Alliance) GoodLuck: Unemployed person passing through~

(Alliance) MouseTrap: Ahhh 😭

Thanks to the many alliance members online despite the awkward hour, the atmosphere was lively.

The worry he had been carrying eased.

What a relief. Everyone seems fine!

Until Yeonhoo had logged out yesterday, the alliance members had struggled to accept that 0momo0 and Miu had reconciled, so he had been concerned about how they might react.

Thankfully, they did not seem particularly interested anymore.

Friend List

Miu (Offline)

Is he still asleep?

When Yeonhoo opened his Friend List, Miu was still offline.

Judging by when he had sent those messages, he must not have gone to bed until dawn. He had probably been exhausted.

Then even if he logged in today, it would probably be sometime late in the afternoon...

Friend List

Miu (Online)

At that moment, Miu’s status changed to online.

Yeonhoo blinked. He wondered whether he had seen wrong, but he had not.

(Alliance) KimFactory: Holy shit!!! My leaderㅠㅠㅠ It’s been forever, hiㅠㅠㅠ

(Alliance) ShinJadu: Welcome back, Miu!

(Alliance) 1Poop1: Hi, Leader.

(Alliance) BBQ: Kheh Miu, hiii.

(Alliance) GoodLuck: Welcome back, Leader~~~~~~

(Alliance) MouseTrap: Ah, Leader!! Hello!!

Before long, the alliance members were busy greeting Miu, who had appeared in alliance territory.

Wow, is this fate?

How had he logged in right after Yeonhoo did?

Yeonhoo glanced toward Miu, his heart fluttering for no reason.

Unlike Yeonhoo, who was at the helicopter landing pad, Miu was in the middle of alliance territory.

Naturally, the place was packed with people, and he looked distracted.

Should I contact him by private message?

Rather than greeting him in alliance chat like everyone else, wouldn’t it be a little more romantic to say hello through CH03, their private radio channel?

As Yeonhoo selected the channel, though, he noticed Miu doing something strange.

Huh? Is he looking for something?

His character kept turning quickly from side to side.

Then it abruptly stopped, facing the place where Yeonhoo was.

As though whatever he had been searching for was over there.