HG Ch 28

<28>

When Yoon Iseo’s lips touched his.

At first, he was just dazed. Don’t people usually go numb and stupid when a disaster strikes? Like someone standing still, watching a truck speed toward them. Eunho reacted just like that.

The first step was denial.

No way. That’s not a truck.

This wasn’t the pack of crazed royal guards from the past. Yoon Iseo kissing him? It felt even less real than transmigrating to a BL game novel. So Eunho just stood there, frozen, while Yoon Iseo, calmly cradling the back of his neck, leaned in and parted his lips.

Then, just as his lips were halfway consumed—

Ding!

[SYSTEM] Warning: Contact with this individual is prohibited. [SYSTEM] Contact will result in penalties.

Reality came crashing down on him like someone being struck by a truck, flung into the air and then slammed back onto the road.

Ding, ding! The relentless system alerts made Eunho’s eyes fly open.

He was so shocked that even the pain vanished. Snapping out of it, he shoved Yoon Iseo hard. But Yoon Iseo didn’t budge. Despite Eunho investing a fair amount of stat points into strength and agility as a Gunner-class damage dealer, Yoon Iseo didn’t even flinch. Whatever he did to his stats, it was no joke.

Still refusing to give up, Eunho attempted a full-body tackle, but instead, Yoon Iseo seized both of his hands, pulled him in even closer, and embraced him tightly.

As the kiss deepened, Eunho grew more bewildered.

What the f*ck is this? It’s got the forced intensity and twisted passion of something you’d never want to watch with your parents. What even is this?

He had saved his first kiss for a special moment, something romantic with a pure, beautiful girlfriend in a nice setting. But now? It had been stolen by some random guy (a man in his thirties, whom he didn’t even know in real life, probably with a potbelly and a forward neck posture). The sheer shock was overwhelming. He even felt like gagging.

Eunho struggled in Yoon Iseo’s arms.

Hey, are you out of your mind?! We’re not like that! You literally just tried to kill me a minute ago, and I barely survived, so why are you suddenly pulling this crazy shit?!

He had so much to say. He bent at the waist, trying to pull his lips away, but Yoon Iseo chased after him again, this time biting his lips as if scolding him. The bite was so firm that even Eunho, who had dulled pain sensitivity, could clearly feel it sting.

[SYSTEM] Warning: Contact with this individual is prohibited. [SYSTEM] Contact will result in penalties.

He kept thrashing, but exhaustion soon drained his strength, and the tension in his jaw eased slightly. At that moment, something slipped between his lips. He didn’t even want to imagine what it was.

I’d rather get hit with the ‘Hunger’ debuff again! Just send me back to the Taejagwi!

…Wait, hold on. What if this is just a hallucination? What if I was wrong about the Taejagwi passing on, and this is actually Phase 4?

Eunho was now attempting mental gymnastics to rationalize the situation.

Then, he looked up.

And his eyes locked with a pair of deep-colored irises.

Yoon Iseo had been staring at him the whole time, even while kissing him.

You shameless, perverted bastard!

With that right in front of his face, there was no way he could mentally escape from reality.

An unbelievable reality swallowed Eunho whole. The damp breath brushing the tip of his nose made him stop breathing altogether.

And in the middle of it all, his head was buzzing. It was because of the barrage of system pop-ups flashing before his eyes.

[SYSTEM] Warning: Contact with this individual is prohibited. [SYSTEM] Warning: Contact with this individual is prohibited. [SYSTEM] Warning: Contact with this individual is prohibited.

Just then, Yoon Iseo’s tongue brushed somewhere sensitive, sending a ticklish sensation through him.

“…Ugh.”

Eunho reflexively flinched.

And suddenly—

“Iseo-ya.”

[SYSTEM] A penalty will now be applied.

It felt like a memory submerged deep beneath the surface briefly rose, then vanished again…

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

[SYSTEM] …

“I think it would be even better if you did it slowly…”

In that instant, the constant blaring of system alerts suddenly and inexplicably came to a halt, as if it were a lie.

And a moment later—

Like contents crammed inside a box bursting free, a stream of system windows began popping up one after another.

[SYSTEM] Player identification error detected. [SYSTEM] Reinitializing system. [SYSTEM] Correction complete. [SYSTEM] … [SYSTEM] They say everything arises from the interlocking of causes and conditions, and when those causes and conditions scatter, they vanish[1]. [SYSTEM] Then, how deeply are the fates of you and “d20524” intertwined? [SYSTEM] Due to the unbreakable love between the two of you, <Sworn Companion> has been updated to <Vow of a Hundred Years>. [SYSTEM] “d20524” has acquired the title “True Thread of Fate” with you.

Petals in every color of the rainbow burst and scattered all around. At first, he thought it was an illusion, but as the floating petals kept getting into his mouth, Eunho spat them out with a ptooey, ptooey and realized with horror that this damn effect was real.

No.

…Why is this real?

[SYSTEM] The “Sworn Companion” list has been updated to the “Vow of a Hundred Years” list. [SYSTEM] As a title effect of <Vow of a Hundred Years>, the private message function <Pillow Talk> has been activated with your lover. [SYSTEM] As a title effect of <Vow of a Hundred Years>, <Everlong Yearning[2]> has been activated. [SYSTEM] By using the <Everlong Yearning> skill, you can teleport to your lover if a certain distance is exceeded. (※ Requires your lover’s consent)

He was stunned.

Seriously… Why is this actually real…?

Unable to believe it, Eunho opened the “Vow of a Hundred Years” list to check.

[Vow of a Hundred Years: d20524] [SYSTEM] Current Location: Seoraksan rock cave [SYSTEM] Current Status: What is it? [SYSTEM] Status Message: Status cannot be viewed due to insufficient affection level. [SYSTEM] Private Message (Activated): You can now exchange direct messages with your lover ♥

Eunho rubbed his eyes. But the grotesquely absurd “Vow of a Hundred Years” list didn’t disappear.

In fact, after rubbing his eyes, he noticed a new feature appear.

[SYSTEM] Affection level: F*cking 18[3]

Just then, a low voice sounded near Eunho.

“Lovely…”

Excuse me? Your inner peace is clearly broken, you know…?

* * *

His panic was brief. Then, like an angry wild dog, Eunho lunged at Yoon Iseo. Having had his first kiss stolen by some stranger, some unfamiliar old guy, he was so furious and humiliated that he couldn’t bear it.

Eunho grabbed Yoon Iseo by the collar.

“Hey, you jerk! I naively trusted you, and you turn out to be a complete biyeok^[4]—”

Like many furious men do, he shoved his face close enough to feel the other’s breath, hurling insults right in front of him.

Ding!

[SYSTEM] You have achieved the “Vow of a Hundred Years” title by welcoming someone not listed on your “Thread of Fate” as a “Sworn Companion”. [SYSTEM] A lover is someone you fear losing, even when they are right beside you. [SYSTEM] If traces of the heart were visible, would that fear disappear? [SYSTEM] Hidden effect of “Vow of a Hundred Years” has been activated.

What effect?

And Eunho froze completely. A bright red string had begun wriggling around his pinky finger, and then it connected to Yoon Iseo’s pinky…

“Aaagh!”

Joo Eunho let out a shriek and scrambled away from Yoon Iseo. This time, even Yoon Iseo seemed startled, backing up three steps in a row. The two of them, now far apart, stared at each other’s fingers. The red thread that had once wrapped around their pinkies had already vanished without a trace.

Only then did the two of them finally stop moving, reassured at last.

And then, like two people separated by an unbridgeable river, they began speaking to each other from a distance.

“This non-reversed humble one! How could you do that to me?! You said you weren’t into me! You said you wouldn’t be turned on by me even if you died!”

To be precise, it wasn’t a conversation. It was yelling.

“What are you doing right now? Did you touch something?” Yoon Iseo shot back, clearly just as frustrated.

“I’m the one who should be saying that! Why did you do that?!”

Eunho’s words made Yoon Iseo snap back with a sharp expression.

“Obviously I did it to ■! I took some ■■■ too, damn it! I’m out of my mind right now. If the error’s fixed, I need a moment to pull myself together…”

“Excuse me? Why are you swearing? I’m the one who got that stolen by a man twelve years older than me!”

“What?”

At those words, Yoon Iseo froze for a moment. Then he looked at Eunho again and asked, 

“Wait a minute… Joo Eunho, how old are you right now?”

Why is he banging on the window panel^[5] again?

An infuriated Eunho, unable to contain his anger, threw a punch at empty air.

“Lovely! What are you asking for?! You already knew I was nineteen when you did that to me!”

Yoon Iseo, who had been shouting from a distance, suddenly marched over with long strides.

Realizing what was about to happen a second too late, Eunho tried to run, but Yoon Iseo grabbed him by the back of the neck. At the same time, Yoon Iseo’s annoyingly handsome face twisted into a grimace.

“Hah… The ■■■ is broken…”

After that, only a stream of irritating, garbled noise continued to pour out.

“Why is it still being filtered?! I’m involved now! I’m not a third party, I’m a victim!”

Then let me in on what the hell is going on too! Eunho was scratching his head in sheer frustration when—

“Joo Eunho.”

“What?”

Yoon Iseo, his face drained of all color, declared, “This won’t work. Let’s just get to the ending as fast as possible.”