Chapter 22
“Ooh! What’s this? Why are you here?”
Seoyul seemed surprised to find him in the Research Building instead of the Guide Building. Since Seoyul had regretfully parted ways with him last time, he greeted him cheerfully and explained.
“I don’t have much to do, so I’ve been helping with work here.”
“Aha. So that’s why I couldn’t see you.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Sunghun realized why he couldn’t see Seoyul around the Center and smiled brightly. Plus, he had just heard an interesting rumor, so thinking it was his lucky day, he opened his mouth.
“I heard you moved, Seoyul-ssi?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
Seoyul was shocked. He had just moved yesterday, so it was surprising that Sunghun already knew about it. Had Dowoon told him?
“I have my ways. Where did you move to?”
Seeing how he was asking, it seemed Dowoon hadn’t told him. But was it okay for him to tell Sunghun first?
“Well…”
Seoyul hesitated and trailed off. Then, as if reading his thoughts, Sunghun spoke up.
“I live in the building right in front of the Center. The tallest building there.”
He revealed where he lived, indicating he had no ulterior motives. This small gesture made Seoyul feel sorry for hesitating.
‘Oh… but…’
If it was the tallest building, wasn’t that the same building they just moved into? Seoyul was surprised and shared this information. Hearing this, Sunghun shouted with great joy.
“What? Really? Then we’re neighbors from now on?”
The fact that Sunghun also lived there felt somehow welcoming. Before he knew it, Seoyul was influenced by the cheerful atmosphere and began chatting happily. Eventually, not only did they leave work together, but he even ended up inviting Sunghun to his home. He couldn’t refuse when Sunghun asked if he could come over.
He wondered if it was okay to invite someone like this, but seeing Sunghun’s confident attitude, saying to just trust him, he couldn’t help but smile.
Plus…
“When you move, you’re supposed to have a housewarming party.”
“A housewarming party?”
“Yes. The invited person brings a gift, and the host provides food.”
“Wow.”
It sounded nice. Sunghun added that Dowoon would be happy too if he surprised him with a visit and a gift.
“Would he really?”
“Of course! Just trust me!”
Seoyul was completely convinced. So instead of going straight home, he went with Sunghun to pick out a gift nearby.
“For a housewarming, toilet paper is best.”
“Toilet paper?”
“Yes. It’s given with the meaning that everything will go smoothly.”
“Wow.”
Seoyul admired even these simple things. Plus, toilet paper wasn’t expensive, which made it even more appealing.
It was perfect for Seoyul, who felt his financial sense was becoming numb from finding a place to live.
After quickly purchasing the items, the two of them stood in front of the new house and rang the doorbell.
“……”
“……”
The bell sound could be heard, but there was no response from inside.
“Is no one home?”
When Sunghun muttered this, Seoyul tilted his head in confusion. He thought Dowoon would be home—had he gone out?
If that was the case, he didn’t know whether to wait inside for him or postpone the surprise visit. Seoyul felt somewhat disappointed. He had been looking forward to seeing Dowoon’s surprised face.
But contrary to their expectations, Dowoon was standing inside the door, shocked.
‘…What am I seeing right now?’
Why is that guy here?!
Dowoon had been preparing all day for a party to celebrate moving in with Seoyul.
He had been anxiously waiting for Seoyul’s arrival, but through the intercom, he saw something he couldn’t believe.
“……”
Dowoon blinked, but it didn’t disappear. This situation was real.
‘Damn. All this happens just because I didn’t go in for one day?!’
He should have been clear about it and done it together, not as a surprise party. Dowoon blamed his foolish self and opened the door with trembling hands.
Click.
“Oh! You were home. Surprise!”
“……”
Dowoon immediately understood what was going on. That perceptive guy must have heard about his move and lured innocent Seoyul into this.
He must have been curious about the move, but knew Dowoon would never tell him, so he changed his approach.
‘Damn it.’
It was his own mistake. Dowoon wanted to kick Sunghun out right away, but seeing Seoyul speaking with sparkling eyes, that thought disappeared.
“We-were you surprised? I heard that when someone moves, they have a housewarming party. I was told that Esper-nim would be happy if we surprised you like this…”
After hearing that much, he clearly understood what had happened. Dowoon immediately shot a sharp glance at Sunghun, but he smoothly handed over a pile of toilet paper and said:
“Surprised? Happy? Glad? Here, a gift. Oh! This is much bigger than my place?”
Sunghun invited himself in and wandered around the house, making a fuss. Then Seoyul cautiously added:
“Sunghun-nim also lives here. Did you know?”
“What?! That guy lives here too?!”
“Huh? You didn’t know?”
Seoyul was surprised in return, having assumed Dowoon already knew. When he heard they lived in the same building, he’d wondered if that was why Dowoon had chosen this place.
“…Come in first.”
“Yes.”
Carefully entering, he glanced at Dowoon’s expression. Sunghun had clearly said Dowoon would be happy with the surprise visit, but he didn’t seem to be enjoying it at all.
‘Ah. Did I make a mistake? I guess I shouldn’t have invited someone to our shared home without saying anything.’
Strictly speaking, it was Sunghun who had barged in, but believing he had been the one who invited him, Seoyul lost confidence and drooped his shoulders.
Seeing this, Dowoon hurriedly added:
“I was just thinking about who else to invite. See over there?”
The place Dowoon pointed to was filled with food. Since it was from all the restaurants Seoyul had said were delicious, there was quite a lot.
“Wow.”
Seoyul’s eyes widened in admiration. Then Sunghun also exclaimed in surprise:
“Ooh. What’s this? It’s amazing.”
And he shamelessly sat down. Fortunately, the tableware hadn’t been set yet, so Dowoon could make excuses to Seoyul. But seeing Sunghun’s behavior made him feel annoyed.
“Is this why you didn’t come out today?”
However, seeing Seoyul’s touched expression again made his heart melt. The round eyes that seemed to say ‘I’m so touched right now’ were too cute.
‘Right. I’ll just ignore the uninvited guest. He’s so happy about this.’
Dowoon nodded slightly and opened his mouth.
“I prepared it to surprise you, but it ended up being too much.”
“Thank you, Esper-nim. This is so wonderful.”
Seoyul’s eyes kept sparkling as he smiled prettily. Although an uninvited guest had joined them, Dowoon decided to let it slide just for today since he got to see the face he had been wanting to see.
Little did he know that Sunghun’s interference would continue even after that.
“This is…”
The next day. Another gift arrived as a thank-you for the delicious food.
“I wonder what he sent?”
It was a rather suspicious box, but since Seoyul showed curiosity, Dowoon had no choice but to take out the contents.
“Huh?”
Inside was a gaming console.
“Wow. I’ve been wanting to try this.”
…With that one sentence, it became impossible to throw it away. Moreover, that gift also completely stole all the cozy time with Seoyul.
A small hobby called ‘gaming’ entered Seoyul’s daily life. And this wicked thing called gaming was incredibly addictive.
“…Is it that fun?”
“Yes! I think I must have liked games before! This is so much fun!”
As if to prove those words, happy Guide energy bubbled up from Seoyul. Gaming had perfectly established itself as one of the elements that made Seoyul happy.
“……”
Given the situation, Dowoon had no choice but to silently remain by his side. It wasn’t particularly boring since Seoyul, completely immersed in the game, was quite cute.
But the plan to build intimacy by spending quality time together while living together was getting further and further away.
‘There’s still plenty of time.’
That’s how carelessly Dowoon thought. But no matter how much time passed, Seoyul didn’t put down the console.
What kind of game was this long? He even used entire weekends saying he needed to see the ending, which made Dowoon worry anxiously about whether his health would deteriorate.
But all games had an end.
“Wow! Ending! It’s the ending, Esper-nim!”
Seoyul shouted excitedly as he watched the ending scene. Energy bubbled up from him and scattered in all directions.
Dowoon absorbed the energy with a very satisfied expression and shared in the joy of the ending.
“You cleared it quickly. So is the game over now?”
Now that the game was over, Seoyul’s attention would return to him. Then it would be time to spend the intimate moments he had planned with him.
“Yes! Now I can try other games too.”
…What…?!
Dowoon looked at Seoyul in dismay.
“Sunghun-nim recommended a new game. He just lent it to me today.”
After saying that, Seoyul ran to his room and showed the game cartridge. Indeed, he was holding a different game in his hand.
“This is supposed to be a masterpiece too!”
“……”
Dowoon silently sharpened his knife for that damned Esper.
* * *
These days, Sunghun was thoroughly enjoying teasing Dowoon. The man who used to ignore everything without showing any reaction was now displaying all sorts of emotions regarding his newly acquired Guide.
‘I can’t miss such an entertaining event.’
Although he thought about letting it be, since he had always seen Dowoon struggling because of Guides, he couldn’t help himself when he saw how Dowoon trembled when provoked.
‘Plus, the Guide is so cute.’
He was a cute Guide with fluffy dark brown hair and round eyes. Watching him being wary of strangers like a herbivore made him smile involuntarily.
‘That day I barged into their new place was fun too.’
How flustered he was. Sunghun had never seen such an expression on Dowoon’s face before. The look of displeasure at having precious time with his Guide disrupted, yet unable to say anything because the Guide was enjoying it.
Who would have thought they’d see such a thing from the great Cha Dowoon?
‘I wonder how the game turned out.’
He had given it partly to win Seoyul’s favor, but also to tease Dowoon, so he was looking forward to the results.
Sunghun was wondering where he might run into Dowoon when he spotted a familiar back in the distance.
‘Oh! Lucky!’
Surely when he saw him, he would frown and show another interesting reaction.
“Cha Dowoon!!”
Sunghun called out loudly to Dowoon and quickly approached. As usual, Dowoon didn’t even look back and just kept going. But finding that even more amusing, he giggled and turned him around.
“Hey baby. Have you been well… huh?”
What was this?
There was a smiling man in front of him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
