Just like in other games, Kim Yeonwoo, the ordinary and kind protagonist, had a hidden backstory—he suffered from love deficiency.
Since both his parents were busy when he was young, Kim Yeonwoo spent a lot of time alone and didn’t receive the abundant affection he should have during childhood. Because of this, he craved love. He tried to become someone who would be loved by others by helping people and working hard to be lovable.
That’s why Kim Yeonwoo never rejected anyone who approached him expressing their interest.
From Jaeyoon’s perspective, the BL game his friend created could charitably be called a “harem,” but realistically speaking, it was more like “tentacles spreading everywhere.”
Even setting aside the unrealistic premise of all these impressive characters being interested only in the protagonist, Jaeyoon couldn’t understand how the main character went around meeting different people one after another, using the word “something casual” as a shield.
He believed that even if you weren’t officially dating someone, you should still show respect for the other person.
‘…What’s more shocking is that these kids who constantly talk about loving each other aren’t even dating yet…’
“Jaeyoon…?”
Hearing someone call his name, Jaeyoon snapped out of his thoughts. When he looked up, he saw Jung Jinhoo looking down at him with a puzzled expression.
“What’s wrong? Are your legs still numb?”
“Maybe I should have carried you after all,” Jinhoo muttered quietly. Jaeyoon responded with a gentle smile, shaking his head quickly from side to side.
‘What a terrifying suggestion…!’
Jaeyoon gave a wry smile as he recalled their recent minor scuffle where Jinhoo had tried to either give him a piggyback ride or carry him in his arms, which they had finally compromised by settling on Jinhoo just supporting him.
If Jaeyoon hadn’t politely refused, Jinhoo would have definitely carried him in front of everyone.
‘Surprisingly, he doesn’t care about other people’s stares…?’
While being quite shy himself.
Seeing Jinhoo tilt his head to the side in confusion, Jaeyoon smiled faintly.
“By the way, Sunbae.”
“Yes?”
“I think it’s okay to stop making them now.”
Jaeyoon said this as he accepted the crepe Jinhoo handed him.
“Are you full?”
“Yes, I’m full, and… if we don’t stop now, I think we’ll soon reach a limit.”
“Hmm…?”
“I mean, Sunbae’s patience…”
The spot Jaeyoon pointed to revealed a bespectacled boy who had chased after Jinhoo the night before the festival, determined to do his makeup.
Even while handling transactions, the boy was glaring at Jaeyoon and Jinhoo with gleaming eyes.
‘Sales, sales, sales, sales, sales!’
Feeling the wordless pressure, Jaeyoon smiled bitterly.
“Don’t worry about that…”
Jinhoo stared expressionlessly at the bespectacled boy, then turned his head away dismissively.
‘Ah, suddenly feeling a chill…’
Whether he heard Jinhoo’s voice or not, the boy’s eyes narrowed sharply. He glared at them, grinding his teeth in a way that suggested he was internally hurling all sorts of harsh words.
Jaeyoon deliberately ignored the hostile gaze and took a big bite of his crepe, which was generously drizzled with caramel syrup. Jinhoo placed a paper cup of peach iced tea beside him to ensure Jaeyoon wouldn’t choke while eating.
“By the way, Sunbae.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t you need to visit the art club?”
“Huh…?”
Jinhoo’s shoulders flinched. Jaeyoon watched his pupils shake rapidly, then smiled brightly.
“You deliberately avoided the art club when we were looking around yesterday, didn’t you?”
“No, no… that’s…”
“Don’t club members need to check on their art exhibition?”
“…We’re taking turns. I’m tomorrow…”
Hearing Jinhoo’s voice growing progressively quieter, Jaeyoon held back the laughter that was about to burst out.
“Then I’ll have to drop by tomorrow.”
“To-tomorrow… tomorrow…”
Jaeyoon could see Jinhoo’s hands trembling as he wrapped the crepe. Because of this, the crepe he was preparing for a customer became misshapen, causing the cream inside to spill out. Seeing this scene, the bespectacled boy grabbed the back of his neck. With a face that said he couldn’t take it anymore, he strode over, grabbed Jaeyoon by the shoulders, and pushed him out of the classroom.
“What do you think you’re doing…!”
“Shut up! You two are forbidden from meeting until the break is over!”
Jinhoo tried to get angry about the rough treatment of Jaeyoon. But the bespectacled boy interrupted him and shouted loudly.
Jinhoo’s face crumpled in anger as he tried to protest, but Jaeyoon stopped him. Honestly, there were many people around, and they had been sitting there for a long time without consideration.
“Calm down, Sunbae. I’ll leisurely walk around to pass the time, so contact me when the break starts.”
“…Okay, got it.”
With drooping shoulders and a sulky expression, Jinhoo looked like a scolded puppy who was sulking.
‘Cute.’
Jaeyoon watched Jinhoo being dragged away while getting scolded by the bespectacled boy, then crossed his arms and pondered.
‘What should I do now? I’ve already eaten, and I did plenty of sightseeing yesterday, so there’s not much to do… Ah!’
***
“What? Why are you here?”
Jaeyoon waved his hand cheerfully at Im Hangyeol, who shouted in astonishment.
“You’re the White Rabbit today, too.”
“I’ve been the White Rabbit for all three days!”
Jaeyoon laughed softly at the sight of Hangyeol, whose ears were red to the tips.
“I thought you said you weren’t embarrassed anymore?”
“…That was yesterday, today is different…”
“I see~”
Jaeyoon nodded his head and gently tapped the back of his hand against the solid maze wall. He looked impressed, saying it was well-made. At his admiration, Hangyeol straightened his shoulders proudly, his ear tips still red.
“Of course! Do you know how much blood, sweat, and tears… well, not tears, but anyway, do you know how much effort I put into making this?”
“Yes, yes. Good job.”
“Ahem! You can praise me more.”
Looking at Hangyeol, who puffed out his chest and exhaled through his nose, Jaeyoon thought he was starting to understand how to handle him.
“That’s it?”
“Why is that all? Do you know how hard it was to decorate this wall and make those giant card soldiers that will appear in the back?”
“You’re boldly giving spoilers.”
“Huh? …Ah! Ahhh!!”
Jaeyoon shook his head from side to side as Hangyeol grabbed his head with both hands in frustration.
“Enough of that, just stamp my card already.”
“…Give it here.”
When Jaeyoon handed him the small paper, Hangyeol stamped the paper that had a White Rabbit drawing on it with a stamp he pulled from his pocket. After receiving the paper with a clear star-shaped stamp, Jaeyoon waved his hand, just like when he had first greeted him.
“Well then, work hard. White Rabbit.”
“Hey, don’t go!”
“Why? Do you have more to do?”
“Well, no, but…”
“Bye~”
As Jaeyoon’s figure gradually moved away, Hangyeol bit his lip and pondered for a moment before shouting “Come with me!” and running after Jaeyoon. Jaeyoon frowned at Hangyeol, who was casually standing beside him.
“Why are you following me? Don’t you have work to do?”
“Ahem, this is work!”
“Then why are you following me?”
“I’m the White Rabbit, so following Alice is my role.”
“…But I met the person dressed as Alice at the very first point.”
“Ahem!”
Jaeyoon narrowed his eyes at Hangyeol, who suddenly cleared his throat loudly. Based on his experience so far, Jaeyoon had determined that Minho and Hangyeol weren’t troublesome enough to go out of his way to avoid. Since he had time to spare and was idle, he had come to see and tease Hangyeol in his White Rabbit costume. But…
‘What’s with him? Maybe I shouldn’t have come…’
After frowning at Hangyeol, who was pretending not to hear, Jaeyoon let out a small sigh. He’ll probably get caught and scolded by a classmate at the next point. And Jaeyoon’s prediction came true exactly. In the face of the Mad Hatter’s fiery anger—”Why are you skipping work?!”—Hangyeol gave all sorts of excuses, but eventually, when it seemed he couldn’t win with words, he began to get angry himself. The Mad Hatter wore an incredulous expression at Hangyeol’s unreasonable shouting. As Jaeyoon quietly watched the Mad Hatter’s face turn red and his blood pressure rise, he eventually raised his hand and slapped the back of Hangyeol’s neck hard.
“Ow! What are you doing?”
“Stop being unreasonable and go back to your post.”
“I’m not being unreasonable! What’s wrong with the White Rabbit moving around? Alice is supposed to follow the White Rabbit around Neverland anyway!”
“Neverland is from Peter Pan.”
“It’s all the same thing!”
Jaeyoon slapped Hangyeol’s mouth with his hand.
“What are you doing?”
Jaeyoon repeatedly hit Hangyeol’s forehead with the side of his hand as Hangyeol looked surprised.
“Ow? That hurts! Hey!”
“Stop. Being. Unreasonable. And. Go. Back~”
“Ah, really! Stop hitting me! What are you doing?”
“Because you never listen when I just talk to you.”
“What? When did I ever… Ah!”
Hangyeol closed his mouth when Jaeyoon pointed at his wrist. Leaving the now docile Hangyeol behind, Jaeyoon turned to the dazed Mad Hatter and apologized on Hangyeol’s behalf while holding out the paper. Unlike Hangyeol, the Mad Hatter, though blinking in surprise, diligently stamped the paper.
“Well then, good work.”
“…Hey.”
“What?”
“Wait a bit…”
“Hmm…?”
Biting his lip and furrowing his brow, Hangyeol eventually shouted as if embarrassed.
“I said wait a bit! My shift change is coming soon… let’s go together.”
“Why should I?”
“Pfft!”
The Mad Hatter burst out laughing. When Hangyeol glared at him, he waved his hand as if telling Hangyeol to get back to work, maintaining an expressionless face as if he had never laughed.
With his face turning red and shoulders trembling, Hangyeol disheveled his red hair under the rabbit headband and said,
“I don’t want to walk around alone, so let’s go around together.”
“You can go around with Kim Yeonwoo, can’t you?”
“…I want to go with you…”
“What?”
“No, I mean… Ah! I, I tried calling him earlier, but he’s not answering. He must be busy, especially since it’s a maid cafe.”
“I passed by there earlier, and it didn’t seem that busy… Try calling him again.”
“He, he might be on a break! I called him just now and he didn’t answer! So let’s go around together!”
“Break time, what… oh…”
‘Is he still fighting with Minho?’
Recalling what happened in the bathroom, Jaeyoon pondered for a moment. Hangyeol tensely watched Jaeyoon, who was narrowing his eyes with his arms crossed.
‘I don’t have anything special to do, and I could hang out with him until Sunbae contacts me…’
When Jaeyoon nodded, Hangyeol’s expression immediately brightened. Really? No taking it back? You’re really going to hang out with me? After confirming several times, Jaeyoon nodded as if to say he understood.
‘He really must hate being alone. If it were any other target character, I would have refused right away, but Hangyeol is easier to handle than the other guys…’
Jaeyoon waved to Hangyeol, the White Rabbit, who was running off while shouting not to go anywhere else, and set off for another point to get a stamp.
“Make sure to wait! You must! You absolutely cannot go anywhere else alone! It’s a promise! Got it? Promises must be kept! Don’t break it!”
‘I already want to break it.’
“Wait!”
As if he had heard Jaeyoon’s inner thoughts, Hangyeol turned around once more to shout, making Jaeyoon sigh softly.
I said I got it…
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
