Chapter 45
Before Beodeul could strike up more conversation, the professor entered and announced the start of class. As a result, his opportunity to properly talk with Wooseok didn’t come until lunchtime.
“Do you have a free period for lunch? If you haven’t had hangover soup yet, want to go get some? It’s on me.”
“I should be the one paying, sunbae-nim.”
Wooseok, emphasizing the term “sunbae-nim,” looked directly at Beodeul for the first time today. Beodeul nodded willingly.
“Alright then.”
Somehow, their first meal together ended up being bean sprout soup. Beodeul, visiting the restaurant after a long time, comfortably found a seat, but Wooseok seemed a bit nervous as he looked around the restaurant.
“You can have something else if you want.”
“Huh? Have you already had hangover soup? I still need mine.”
“Didn’t you eat breakfast?”
“I had cereal.”
“Then have this today, and next time I’ll treat you properly.”
“Next time I should be the one paying, Wooseok. Why are you trying to pay for everything?”
Not knowing whether Wooseok had frozen at the sudden mention of his name, Beodeul spoke casually while preparing the utensils.
“If it’s about what happened yesterday, you don’t need to worry about it.”
“…Cough!”
Wooseok, who had just taken a sip of cold water, choked and coughed.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes. But more importantly, could you tell me if I made any mistakes yesterday?”
“Mistakes?”
While Beodeul recalled yesterday’s events, Wooseok anxiously tapped his fingers on the table. As the silence grew longer and his tapping speed began to increase, Beodeul finally spoke.
“There weren’t any mistakes.”
“…Then there were other things?”
“Hmm, don’t you remember anything at all?”
“Roughly, I heard about how I got home. You called the café and asked for my address, right?”
That’s right. Fortunately, it was a part-timer who recognized Beodeul’s voice, so getting the address wasn’t difficult.
“I’m sorry. For causing you trouble.”
“It wasn’t any trouble. The taxi driver dropped you off, and you walked into your house just fine.”
Although intoxicated Wooseok may have had a memory blackout, he didn’t behave embarrassingly. Rather, he acted so normally that at times Beodeul wondered if he was truly drunk at all.
“Actually, I found out your home address because you were reluctant to go home, and I forced it out of you. For a drinking habit, that’s pretty mild. I think even if I had left you alone, you would have gone home on your own soon. You acted very properly.”
“Then you should have just left me…”
Beodeul casually replied as he sprinkled hot chili peppers into the steaming bean sprout soup that had just arrived.
“How could I do that? Even though it’s spring, the nights are still chilly.”
“…”
“Stop saying nonsense and eat now, Wooseok.”
“…Yes.”
Beodeul thought he heard a sigh. After watching Wooseok take a spoonful and put it in his mouth, Beodeul waited for him to swallow before asking subtly.
“If you don’t remember what happened yesterday, you probably don’t know why I started speaking to you informally?”
Wooseok’s spoon stopped with a clunk.
“No? You remember that?”
“…Yes. And what you said as well, sunbae-nim.”
“Really? That’s a relief. I was worried I might have suddenly started speaking informally on my own.”
Beodeul uttered the words “that’s a relief,” unaware of the self-reproach piling up in Wooseok’s heart.
“Wooseok, you can speak comfortably to me too.”
“Pardon?”
“Comfortably, however you want. If you don’t want to speak informally, you don’t have to.”
“No. It’s not that—”
When Wooseok appeared flustered, Beodeul recalled what he had heard from him yesterday.
‘I want to get closer to sunbae.’
‘-more than in…’
Since the person who said it didn’t remember, he couldn’t even ask about the reason.
‘I can’t even ask what the rest of his words meant.’
What word was it that he hadn’t fully heard? If they got closer as Wooseok had said, would he find out someday? Beodeul unconsciously thought about this as he gazed into Wooseok’s eyes.
Perhaps interpreting that gaze in a certain way, Wooseok spoke in a very serious voice.
“Did I perhaps say something unspeakable to you yesterday…?”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. There really wasn’t anything else? Like me talking nonsense?”
“Nothing at all.”
“I’m just really sorry for everything.”
He seemed quite worried about what had happened yesterday. Beodeul let out a short laugh and shook his head.
“I told you that you were proper, so why do you keep apologizing? Now really eat your food. I won’t bother you anymore.”
“And…”
“Yes?”
“Is it okay if I call you hyung?”
Despite having thought that Wooseok exuded charisma unlike himself, today he only looked cute like a younger brother. Without realizing it, Beodeul let out another laugh and nodded to Wooseok who was waiting for his answer.
*
[Friend] Shotgun: Wow, both of you are online today
[Friend] SaltySalt: Ooh, simultaneous login? You two must be soulmates>ㅅ<
[Friend] Youngglory: Hello Girmu-nim^^
[Friend] Youngglory: Welcome, Sinu
[Friend] Sinu: hi^^
[Friend] Girmu: Hello everyone haha
After his classes ended and he’d finished working out, Beodeul took a shower and launched <SOG> first thing. He was greeted by an attendance stamp box with a missing stamp from yesterday when he couldn’t log in, and a bustling friend chat.
[Friend] SaltySalt: Why does Sinu seem to be in a good mood…>ㅅ<
[Friend] Shotgun: OMG Wasn’t Sinu’s personality exploding in the guild chat earlier?
[Friend] Sinu: Whose what was exploding?
[Friend] Tangerine: Shotgun’s head seems about to explode
[Friend] Shotgun: You’re so violent>ㅅ<;;;;;
[Friend] Goyounghee: What’s this? I thought you were SaltySalt
[Friend] SaltySalt: What>ㅅ<;;;;
[Friend] Shotgun: ㅋㅅㅋ Caught red-handed
While looking at the continuously scrolling chat and selecting daily quests, Beodeul paused when he saw the next message.
[Friend] SaltySalt: Phew, time to go clean up the field>ㅅ
[Friend] Shotgun: Kekeke,, finally this time has come,,
[Friend] SaltySalt: All worth enduring the day with respect>ㅅㅠ~
Field cleanup. It was a term Grace guild members used when they PK’d members of the opposing Bankruptcy guild. After the first mass battle, the two guilds, which hadn’t had any significant conflicts, now sought to devour each other at every opportunity following the so-called Treasure Island event.
The cause was Paguk inviting Girmu to join his guild. Beodeul naturally declined, but Sinu, irritated by this, went around PK’ing Bankruptcy guild members.
The Grace guild members, who had found justification through the vice guild master’s corruption, were completely excited. Now they even set specific times for “field cleanup” to thoroughly crush the Bankruptcy guild.
‘It seems this has gone beyond something I could stop by joining the guild.’
Beodeul felt a slight responsibility for the current situation but had nothing he could do.
[Friend] SaltySalt: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Friend] Shotgun: ♡♡
[Friend] SaltySalt: Shotgun died~>ㅅ<
[Friend] SaltySalt: Dying to Bankruptcy? Shame on Grace tsk tsk!
[Friend] Shotgun: ♡♡ ♡♡♡
[Friend] Goyounghee: Bankruptcy is so underhanded;
[Friend] Tangerine: Agreed, targeting the weakest, how sneaky
[Friend] Shotgun: Are you guys allies or enemies?????
[Friend] Youngglory: Doesn’t seem like allies, that’s for sure^^
[Friend] Shotgun: …
This was why he felt responsible. Despite being Grace guild members, they didn’t always unilaterally PK and defeat Bankruptcy guild members.
[Friend] Girmu: Youngglory-nim, are you planning to maintain this hostile relationship with the Bankruptcy guild?
[Friend] Youngglory: Hmm, unless something happens, I suppose so?
[Friend] SaltySalt: The duration is roughly until Sinu’s anger subsides?>ㅅ<
[Friend] Sinu: ?
[Friend] Goyounghee: Wow, even with a nickname that red, you can still chat
[Friend] Shotgun: Where? I want to see too
[Friend] Goyounghee: It’s where you died?
[Friend] Shotgun: ♡♡
Even the guild master Youngglory didn’t know when the war would end. After hesitating, Beodeul sent a whisper to Sinu.
[Whisper/Sinu] Girmu: Sinu-nim
[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: Yes?
[Whisper/Sinu] Girmu: If I said I wanted to join the Grace guild
[Whisper/Sinu] Girmu: would you stop the PK?
[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: ;; For you to make your decision to join because of me and Bankruptcy
[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: Don’t you think you haven’t given it enough thought? I’d feel too guilty
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. The biggest reason was that he had only experienced joyful moments while hanging out with the Grace guild members. Besides that, there were countless other reasons, such as them not crossing the boundaries Beodeul had set.
He had a hunch that being with these people would be enjoyable.
[Whisper/Sinu] Girmu: I genuinely want to join
[Whisper/Sinu] Girmu: Everyone is so fun, and since you all treat me so comfortably, I think I’ll fit in well
[Whisper/Sinu] Girmu: Wanting you to stop PK’ing is just secondary haha…
[Whisper/Sinu] Girmu: Sinu-nim, you can hardly walk around town these days ㅠㅠ
[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: If I hunt field bosses and do dungeons, the penalty will clear up quickly
[Whisper/Sinu] Girmu: But it seems like as soon as your nickname is about to clear up, it turns red again…
Sinu, who had been silent, posed a meaningful question after a while.
[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: Are you really going to join?
[Whisper/Sinu] Girmu: If possible, yes haha. Actually, I’ve been thinking about it for a few days
[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: Then would you like to talk to Youngglory hyung?
[Whisper/Girmu] Sinu: It’s a formal procedure, but still, Youngglory hyung is the guild master
[Whisper/Sinu] Girmu: I will
Beodeul set Youngglory as the whisper recipient and chose his words carefully. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous about this, especially since he had already received a guild invitation before.
[Whisper/Youngglory] Girmu: Youngglory-nim, I’ve already mentioned it to Sinu-nim
[Whisper/Girmu] Youngglory: Yes^^?
[Whisper/Youngglory] Girmu: I’d like to join the guild haha…
[Whisper/Girmu] Youngglory: Ah
[Whisper/Girmu] Youngglory: You mean Grace?
[Whisper/Youngglory] Girmu: Yes, is it too late?
[Whisper/Girmu] Youngglory: Not at all^^
[Whisper/Girmu] Youngglory: I’ll send the invitation now^^
Finally, a new window appeared on Beodeul’s screen.
[‘Grace’ guild has sent you an invitation. Would you like to join this guild?
Yes / No]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
