TGMND 101
by SpringlilaYoon Ji-gu had secretly kissed him while he was asleep. And Yoon Ji-gu had been the one to suggest they watch that movie in the first place… It was clear now what his intentions were when he invited Yeo-woon over.
‘So does this mean Yoon Ji-gu likes me? But why?’
Even now, Ji-gu was lurking around him as if expecting something from him. He had even managed to drag Yeo-woon to the café, picking on that ridiculous agreement to come to the cafe up to three times a week.
“H-here, eat this. There’s a lot left.”
“…?”
Then, without saying a word, Yoon Ji-gu brought over some vanilla cookies he had baked himself, claiming it was a “service,” and wiped down the empty table next to him three times. He stood there watching him silently and suddenly moved the heater in the center of the room. It seemed odd that he wasn’t saying a word.
“Ji-gu.”
As Yoon Ji-gu approached to wipe the table for the fourth time, Yeo-woon called his name, feeling like he wanted to be spoken to. His broad shoulders flinched. As if Yeo-woon’s guess was correct, he approached with a bright expression and lifted his head.
“What is it?”
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“…What about you?”
“I don’t.”
“Then when are you going to say it?”
“What are you talking about? I asked because you’ve been staring at me without saying anything.”
Yeo-woon’s playful tone made Yoon Ji-gu blink in surprise.
“Me?”
“You were staring.”
“…”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
At Yeo-woon’s words, Ji-gu looked around to make sure no one could hear their conversation and whispered softly.
“Well, someone said I look cool when I keep my mouth shut…”
“Who said that?”
“Just someone.”
“Are you trying to look cool to me?”
Yoon Ji-gu’s face flushed bright red.
“N-no, that’s not it!”
He snapped back, turning away angrily. What a strange guy. Yeo-woon should have noticed earlier, like when he blushed for no reason. Until now, he had thought Yoon Ji-gu was just shy, but clearly, that wasn’t it. A strange sense of déjà vu washed over Yeo-woon like he had experienced this before.
But what was even stranger was that until now, he hadn’t noticed Ji-gu’s feelings, which were so transparently obvious. And once he realized it, all of Yoon Ji-gu’s actions suddenly seemed filled with affection.
…The fact that he didn’t find it entirely unpleasant or creepy was also a problem. Was it because he’s good-looking?
Yeo-woon stared at the vanilla cookies Ji-gu had baked for a long time. There was only one intention behind giving a gift to someone you like. A bribe. A gesture meant to seek favor and also to express the desire to give something to the person they like. Even though the cookies were small, knowing the giver’s feelings made them feel like a heavy burden.
“It tastes good…”
Why on earth does Yoon Ji-gu like him?
Yeo-woon wanted to tell him to sort out his feelings soon, rather than stringing himself along with false hope. But saying that out of nowhere, without even having received a confession, would be absurd. It felt like he was jumping to conclusions. What if, by some slim chance, Yoon Ji-gu didn’t actually have those kinds of feelings for him?
‘I’d rather we just deal with the awkwardness briefly and move on…’
Should he just say he has no feelings and cut it off cleanly? …But no, that wasn’t quite right either. If they were never going to see each other again, maybe that would work. But avoiding him entirely wasn’t realistic. He could change his swim practice times, sure, but they lived next door to each other. And Yoon Ji-gu worked at the café right in front of their homes.
“And…”
Yeo-woon didn’t want to worry Yoon Ji-gu, who always asked if anything had happened when he stumbled at the pool. He didn’t want to hurt him. Chewing on the end of his straw, Yeo-woon pondered the best way to find a solution that wouldn’t leave either of them hurt.
‘…I guess he needs to confess to me first?’
Only then could he decide whether to reject him or not, and move things along. Yeo-woon lifted his head and made eye contact with Yoon Ji-gu, who had been staring at him. When Yeo-woon smiled at him unexpectedly, Yoon Ji-gu blushed once again.
Now, there was no denying it.
Yoon Ji-gu likes him.
Since Yoon Ji-gu was so shy, it was important to create an environment where he could openly express his feelings and confess. The chances of him confessing in a crowded place were probably close to zero.
‘…I need to create as much time alone with him as possible.’
Until then, Yeo-woon decided to think of a way to reject Ji-gu without hurting his feelings.
[Guild] neutaaaa: Hi hi
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Whoa
Yeo-woon awkwardly returned to the game. Wandu Wandya, who had said he was quitting but came back after 6 hours to watch this game properly fall apart with his own eyes, welcomed him. Wandu Wandya stood in the guild room, preciously hugging his equipment that had exploded and returned, waving his hand.
[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: OMG youㅠ
[Guild] Captain Poseidon: Welcome back, Neuta!!
[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: Welcome back congrats congrats ㅠㅠㅠ
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Huh, you came back sooner than expected
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Since you didn’t say anything in guild chat
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: I thought Neuta wouldn’t come back lol
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Captain, Earth Star told me to shut up
[Guild] Captain Poseidon: Listen to Earth Star today
[Guild] Ji9star: My subordinate, listen well
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: ㅡㅡㅗ
Earth Star and CatMeowMeowMeow didn’t seem to get along, but it was more playful than hostile. Wandu Wandya approached Yeo-woon and asked:
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Neuta, what about the rabbit?
[Guild] neutaaaa: I’ll go get it!!!
Yeo-woon returned to the village and collected his mail from the postman. Besides the snow rabbit adoption certificate, several other pieces of equipment that had gone missing were returned, filling an entire page of his inbox with compensation items. Yeo-woon pressed “Receive All” and confirmed that the adoption certificate was properly in the item window before closing the mailbox.
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Phew, Illusion almost became a dead game lol
[Guild] neutaaaa: ?
[Guild] al0ha: Someone from a dead game seems really sensitive lol
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: No, I really
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: I didn’t mean to target anyone with that report
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: ㅠㅠ
[Guild] neutaaaa: Seems like you were targetingㅡㅡ;
[Guild] Ji9star: Seems like you were targetingㅡㅡ;
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Earth Star’s taking Neuta sides ’cause they’re couple;
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Seems like you were targetingㅡㅡ;
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Cat’s taking sides ’cause he’s Earth Star’s subordinate
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: No I’m not lol
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Yes you are
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: No I’m not
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Cat’s really childish;
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: lol No I’m not~
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: F***
[Guild] neutaaaa: lolololololololol
[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: lolololololololololol
Seeing Earth Star and CatMeowMeowMeow taking his side made him realize he was really playing Illusion again. Looking at the number of guild members, not a single person had left. The regular members were still there too. Seeing people welcoming him back made him feel a bit ticklish inside. It was kind of amazing to think that relationships like this could continue on.
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: ㅠㅠ It’s hard living without a couple
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Anyone want to be a couple with me?
‘CatMeowMeowMeow has logged out.’
‘al0ha has logged out.’
[Guild] neutaaaa: lololololololololololololololol
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: OK…ㅠ;;
CatMeowMeowMeow and Al0ha came back in less than a minute. It seems their only intention was to tease Wandu Wandya.
Yeo-woon confirmed that the place where most guild members gathered was the guild room, and moved into the guild room. Wandu Wandya and CatMeowMeowMeow danced around Yeo-woon as he appeared from the portal. Earth Star jumped down from above and joined in, increasing the number of dancers to three.
[Guild] Captain Poseidon: Are you going to hatch the rabbit now?
[Guild] neutaaaa: Yes!
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: What are you going to name it?
He hadn’t thought about it yet. Come to think of it, they could name their pets, right?
[Guild] neutaaaa: Haven’t thought about it lol Please recommend
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Gym Freak
[Guild] neutaaaa: ?
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Sorry
[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: lololololololololol
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Tomato
[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: TOEIC
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: TOEFL
Why is everyone’s sense like this? Yeo-woon looked disapprovingly at the names he didn’t like and scanned the names of the pets the guild members were carrying around.
What’s up with their sense of humor? Yeo-woon wasn’t impressed with the suggestions, so he glanced at the names of the pets his guildmates were carrying.
‘ItemShuttle,’ ‘CreditCardDebt,’ ‘My Subordinate,’ ‘1.2 Million Won Pet,’ ‘Gonzales III,’ ‘EndlessStarEssenceBuyer,’ ‘Buff the Surfer’
They were all weird names.
“Seriously, their taste…”
Yeo-woon resigned himself to their strange sense of humor.
[Guild] Ji9star: ㅇㅅㅇlol
Earth Star was jumping around above Yeo-woon’s head with his ghost cat ‘My Subordinate’. He was always hyper, no matter when Yeo-woon saw him.
[Guild] neutaaaa: Earth Star, don’t you have any name ideas?
When Yeo-woon showed interest, Earth Star stopped his fidgeting and stood still for a while, thinking. Meanwhile, the other guild members continued throwing out weird names that started with “To.”
[Guild] Ji9star: How about Ji-gu(Earth)? >_< lololol
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Ugh
[Guild] Captain Poseidon: Ah…
[Guild] neutaaaa: Gross
[Guild] Ji9star: Come on, it’s not that gross ㅡㅡ;;
[Guild] neutaaaa: Don’t talk to me;
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Why are you recommending your own name for a pet? What’s wrong with you? lololololol
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Are you out of your mind?
[Guild] Ji9star: What’s wrong with naming it Ji-gu, hyung?
“…?”
Yeo-woon’s eyes widened. It wasn’t a whisper. Earth Star had called him ‘hyung’ in the guild chat, and suddenly Yeo-woon felt his blood run cold.
[Guild] al0ha: What’s up with you two lol
[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: Hyung? lololol
It seemed unfamiliar to the guild members too, as they all had question marks floating above their heads.
[Guild] Ji9star: I’ll make a 12-line acrostic poem! >_<
[Guild] neutaaaa: Oh no
[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: He’s trying so hard to cover it up lolololololol
[Guild] al0ha: lololololol for real lololololololololol
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: lololol Pretending to be natural tsk tsk
[Guild] Ji9star: Haha anyone give me the first syllable!
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Ah
[Guild] Ji9star: Acting smart, huh?
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: ;;; Ni (Ani= no)
[Guild] Ji9star: No, I’m talking to you, Cat, shut up a bit
[Guild] Halloween Eggplant: lololololol This doesn’t seem like an n-line acrostic poem
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: I’m out, forget this
At least the situation was blowing over. Yeo-woon let out a sigh of relief and whispered to Ji-gu to be more careful.
[Whisper] Ji9star: But seriously
[Whisper] Ji9star: It’s not even a pet name between lovers, what’s the big deal
Why wouldn’t it be a big deal? They agreed not to show it in front of the guild members. This was something they promised when they first agreed to speak informally. Earth Star wasn’t a goldfish, there’s no way he could have forgotten that promise…
[Whisper] neutaaaa: lolol A pet name would be better
[Whisper] Ji9star: ?
[Whisper] neutaaaa: That could be seen as just joking around lol
[Whisper] Ji9star: Are you serious about that?
[Whisper] Ji9star: Take responsibility for what you said, hyung
[Whisper] neutaaaa: What responsibility
[Whisper] neutaaaa: You just be more careful from now onㅡㅡ
[Whisper] Ji9star: Hmph
‘Please name your Muscle Rabbit.’
Yeo-woon just named the pet whatever came to mind, and Yeo-woon’s snow rabbit became ‘Super Strong Rabbit’. The guild members, of course, started criticizing Yeo-woon, saying TOEIC would have been better, or TOEFL, or why didn’t he just go with Gym Freak Rabbit.
Yeo-woon smiled contentedly as he watched his pet suddenly bulk up and grow when switched to attack mode. To him, how a pet looked was more important than what it was called.
[Guild] Ji9star: Babe, the name sucks
“……?”
[Guild] Ji9star: You should’ve just named it after me, hehe >_<
[Guild] neutaaaa: ?
Has he lost his mind?
[Guild] Wandu Wandya: Earth Star, did you eat something wrong today? lolololololol
[Guild] CatMeowMeowMeow: Gross
‘CatMeowMeowMeow has logged out.’
‘al0ha has logged out.’
Despite the cold reactions, Earth Star continued to use terms like ‘Babe’ or ‘honey’ for Yeo-woon and used cute emoticons. Even though Yeo-woon tried to avoid him here and there feeling creeped out, he couldn’t completely shake off Earth Star, who was more than twice as fast as him.