HSF 62
by Sorai“Hey, this is Abyss.”
“Who got hit with it? Not me.”
Taeyoung, who had essentially been in charge of the Abyss in Phase 1, was confused. In Phase 3, it seemed the debuff was applied to random targets. Lee Cheong-hyeon’s character was fine, and when he turned his head to look at Seo Hee-won’s screen next to him, he saw his character zoomed in with darkness around it. It was identical to the blindness pattern from Phase 1.
“Seo Hee-won got hit. It seems like it’s randomly assigned.”
“Hahaha!”
“Woo-jin, how can you laugh at our guild master?”
Seo Hee-won, unable to see his surroundings clearly, made an annoyed face and operated the keyboard while looking at Lee Cheong-hyeon’s screen. Seeing this, Lee Cheong-hyeon stayed as close as possible to Seo Hee-won’s character to keep it visible on his monitor. As he helped make it easier to see, Seo Hee-won’s eyes lit up as if pleased and moved even closer. A refreshing scent emanated from him, like something that could help clear the mind.
“This is really convenient…”
“Come to think of it, is this your first time being hit with Abyss?”
“Yes. I think I understand why you were so afraid of it…”
When Seo Hee-won tried to casually rest his head on Lee Cheong-hyeon’s shoulder, Lee Cheong-hyeon shook him off with a jerk. He muted his microphone and spoke firmly.
“Today, let’s play while looking at each other’s screens. But I won’t be here tomorrow, so you’ll need to adapt to the Abyss on your own.”
“No, you should keep staying by my side.”
“Hee-won…”
“It would be good for you too when you get debuffed—you could look at my screen.”
“I can manage on my own.”
“Think about it, hyung. If we sit together, it’s like having two people immune to debuffs.”
“…”
“Playing together can somewhat offset our lack of practice time. Didn’t you say you wanted to clear it perfectly?”
“…”
“You’re more comfortable playing games at my house anyway. Let’s just practice together here.”
“But…”
But you’ll keep trying weird things if I come here. Lee Cheong-hyeon couldn’t respond and only sighed. What Seo Hee-won said made sense, but it was all just an excuse for him. As Lee Cheong-hyeon was caught in this dilemma, the boss seemed to take Seo Hee-won’s side by continuously applying new debuffs.
[Judgment status effect is applied.]
This was also a debuff they had never seen before. Lee Cheong-hyeon’s character became immobile for a moment and floated in the air. Artilens used a fan-shaped area attack. Unfortunately, Lee Cheong-hyeon was caught in its range and faced the crisis of being hit while unable to move. Watching Lee Cheong-hyeon’s monitor, Seo Hee-won immediately cast a protection skill on him. Thanks to the protection that reduced damage, Lee Cheong-hyeon was able to survive safely. Seo Hee-won said triumphantly, “See? If we were playing separately, you would have died without me noticing.”
“…I’ll think about it.”
He had planned to never set foot in Seo Hee-won’s house again after retrieving his clothes…but it was certainly a good opportunity that was hard to refuse outright. Despite the ambiguous answer, Seo Hee-won nodded with a satisfied smile.
That day too, they challenged the boss until dawn, causing Lee Cheong-hyeon to miss the last train. He prepared to go home despite the late hour.
“It’s late, you could stay over…”
“No. It’s fine.”
Would you stay over if you were me? He flatly rejected Seo Hee-won’s offer.
“Then I’ll drive you home.”
“That’s okay too.”
After successive rejections, Seo Hee-won came out of the room with a shopping bag. This was the reason Lee Cheong-hyeon had endured despite having his energy drained at Seo Hee-won’s house today. He extended his hand, but Seo Hee-won brushed past him, grabbed his car keys, and went outside. Left with no other choice in the matter, Lee Cheong-hyeon trudged after him.
“If you’re thinking of practicing the boss together, come tomorrow.”
Seo Hee-won said this brazenly after arriving in front of Lee Cheong-hyeon’s house. Thinking there was no way he would go, Lee Cheong-hyeon still nodded for now. Only then did Seo Hee-won pick up the shopping bag from the back seat. It was a bag too large for just one small piece of clothing. Seo Hee-won was about to hand it over but then pulled it back.
“Hmm, is this shopping bag a bit too big?”
As he said this and tried to look inside, Lee Cheong-hyeon quickly snatched the bag and got out of the car. After slamming the car door, Seo Hee-won lowered the window with a smile and said goodbye.
“See you tomorrow.”
After saying that, he drove away without hesitation. See you tomorrow, my foot. After glaring at the back of the departing vehicle, Lee Cheong-hyeon looked down at the shopping bag in his arms. He hadn’t noticed when he grabbed it, but the bag felt oddly plush, with a sense of volume and weight. Checking curiously, he found that it contained only the scarf he had previously lent to Seo Hee-won.
“Heh.”
He didn’t even feel angry, just hollowly amused. He was a fool for not expecting this.
* * *
The next day, despite saying he would visit Lee Cheong-hyeon’s workplace, Seo Hee-won was nowhere to be seen at the café. He must not be showing up because he felt guilty about something. Lee Cheong-hyeon considered just letting it go, but the memory of Seo Hee-won’s expression when asking if he could keep it kept coming to mind, making it impossible to leave things as they were.
Eventually, after his shift ended, Lee Cheong-hyeon went to Seo Hee-won’s house of his own accord. Standing in front of the entrance to the house he had frequently visited, he entered the familiar passcode and went inside. There he found Seo Hee-won sitting on the living room sofa reading a book. Without even looking up, Seo Hee-won greeted him.
“You’re here?”
“Hee-won.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t you have something to say to me?”
“What do you think about younger partners, hyung?”
“Not that!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon snatched the book Seo Hee-won was reading from out of his hands. He had been wondering what book Seo Hee-won was reading since the café yesterday, and it turned out to be a famous classic romance novel. Seo Hee-won looked up with an innocent face as if wondering why Lee Cheong-hyeon was acting this way.
“What’s this book about?”
“I’m studying. They say books are food for the mind, and that’s true.”
“What kind of studying are you doing with a book like this…”
“You know the story of the Fairy and the Woodcutter? There’s a lot to learn from it.”
“…So is that why you stole my underwear?”
“Stole? I’m just keeping it safe.”
Seo Hee-won blinked with wide eyes as if shocked by such an accusation.
“Then why don’t you return it? Who asked for the scarf back?”
“Wasn’t that what you wanted? Since you weren’t specific, I naturally thought you meant the scarf.”
Lee Cheong-hyeon grabbed the back of his neck in response to this brazensness. He felt ashamed that he had somehow become like a pubescent student who couldn’t properly mention underwear in front of another man, and that this predicament was caused by his inability to say that one word clearly. With a trembling voice, Lee Cheong-hyeon shouted, “Not the scarf, my underwear! Where is my underwear?!”
“Hmm, I don’t think I should give it back…”
Seo Hee-won muttered as if giving in, then went into his room and came out with a small shopping bag. When Lee Cheong-hyeon lunged to snatch it, Seo Hee-won raised his arm high to avoid him. For a moment, they engaged in a battle of nerves.
“Give it back quickly.”
“Alright, I’ll return it. But in exchange…”
“In exchange for what?”
“Come here and practice together until we clear the boss. That’s better for you and for our party, right?”
In the end, that was the one thing Seo Hee-won wanted. Just one thing: that Lee Cheong-hyeon wouldn’t avoid him.
“Are you really okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay with it?”
“I…honestly, it’s a bit uncomfortable for me.”
“…”
“It’s uncomfortable having to see your face when I know you have feelings for me.”
“Do you think you’d feel better if you didn’t see my face? We still need to play the game together either way, right? Hyung, you’re not going to leave the party, are you?”
“…”
“And I keep telling you I don’t like you, so why do you keep saying these things, hyung?”
Seo Hee-won was so stubborn that communication was nearly impossible. Lee Cheong-hyeon finally nodded with a sense of resignation.
“Fine, it might be better to clear the boss quickly…”
“…”
“If that’s what you want, okay. I’ll come here until we clear the boss.”
As Lee Cheong-hyeon said this, he established one condition. He couldn’t keep being swayed by Seo Hee-won’s whims.
“But let’s respect each other’s boundaries. Don’t do strange things to me. For example, physical contact.”
“Oh please…when you’re the one who’s always been touching me…”
“…What did you just say? ‘You’? ‘You-u’?”
“I’m the one who was harassed, yet anyone listening would think I was the perpetrator.”
Seo Hee-won said this crookedly as he roughly shoved the shopping bag into Lee Cheong-hyeon’s arms and sauntered off to the computer room. Lee Cheong-hyeon stared at his retreating figure with mixed emotions. It felt like he had made a bad choice by getting entangled with Seo Hee-won, but it was too late to turn back now.
* * *
After that, Lee Cheong-hyeon frequented Seo Hee-won’s house as before. The discomfort and awkwardness only lasted at first—now Lee Cheong-hyeon, too, was beginning to adapt to this relationship.
Lee Cheong-hyeon lay on Seo Hee-won’s bed, blinking his eyes. Initially, he had been reluctant even to lie here, but after borrowing the bed for naps once or twice due to lack of sleep from lectures and raids, it now felt like his own bed. Seo Hee-won flung open the door and entered the room. He surveyed Lee Cheong-hyeon with an enigmatic expression on his face.
“You’re lying so defenseless on someone else’s bed.”
“Well. You said you don’t like me.”
“But seeing you lying so freely on a stranger’s bed, seducing me…I think I might be feeling something…”
By now, Lee Cheong-hyeon had developed quite an immunity to such remarks. He didn’t respond and just pulled the blanket over himself. When Seo Hee-won acted like this, ignoring him was the wisest approach.