[Guild] Freedeal: If you didn’t get back to me by today, I was planning to come find you, haha.
[Guild] Killer: I moved.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: For real, the master of push-and-pull tactics.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: I took down the mercenary recruitment post.
[Guild] Swakkoong: LOL deleted faster than light ă… ă…
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Honestly, I’d rather deal with someone lacking skill than someone lacking character. 🙂
After resolving the conflict, the new update was suddenly just a day away. Everyone warmly welcomed Killer, who had been ghosting them all this time.
[Guild] Freedeal: Since we’re all here, I’ll just say this—
[Guild] Freedeal: If anyone’s late tomorrow, I’m hunting you down and killing you.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: I saved my summer vacation just for this moment.
[Guild] Swakkoong: …Isn’t it winter in Korea right now?
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: No comment on my tragic circumstances ă…
[Guild] Freedeal: Jeon-gi, why aren’t you answering my calls???? Don’t tell me you left your phone on mute or something??? ^^^
[Guild] Freedeal: A real, live person is calling you right now.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: I’m with Jeon-gi.
[Guild] Freedeal: Ah, got it.
[Guild] Furple: This is the first time I’ve felt this relaxed while heading somewhere with Jeon-gi, lol.
[Guild] Shokrates: I even set an alarm yesterday.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Wow, you can actually use the alarm function? You’re almost a real person now.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Technically, I was the one who set it.
[Guild] Shokrates: Ah, I’ve been exposed, haha.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Humanization failed. ă…
The guild was peaceful as usual today. The chat buzzed with activity while Sa-yoon gathered his fishing rod and bait.
“By the way…”
By now, Sa-yoon could tell his lover’s mood just from their voice.
“Yeah.”
His nicely shaped lips stuck out like a little bird’s beak. I wanted to pinch them between my thumb and index finger, but that would probably just make him sulk even more.
“When exactly do I stop being a temporary guild member?”
“Oh, right.”
Sa-yoon blinked a few times before opening the guild window.
[‘Killer’ has been promoted to a regular guild member.]
“This feels… so weird.”
To be honest, he never really felt the need to promote him before. Who cared about Killer? But now that Killer was his boyfriend, it was a different story. Even as he watched the character move on the monitor beside him, it still didn’t quite feel real.
“Huh?”
Even after getting his rank upgraded, his face was still sulky. Was this some kind of linked quest? At this point, Sa Shin-jae’s days of pretending to be an easygoing guy felt like a past life.
“Hyung, do you know you always draw a line with me? Every time I do something, you threaten to block me. You act all annoyed.”
Do you even know how upset I was?
He whined, venting all his grievances about how much he’d suffered as “Killer.” Ever since they decided to get back together, he had been anxious that Sa-yoon might change his mind, so Sa-yoon had treated him extra gently. But within just a few days, he had turned into a complete spoiled brat.
Sa-yoon, watching him, answered matter-of-factly, “I wasn’t subtle about it. I was blatantly drawing a line.”
Shin-jae’s face twisted in shock, and for a moment, he was speechless.
“Why would I be nice to some random guy?”
“But you’re nice to everyone else.”
“Hmm… Not really?”
Guild members were guild members, so of course he got along with them, but that didn’t mean he was particularly nice to anyone.
However, Shin-jae had a different take. He started listing off familiar names and recounting all the things Sa-yoon had done for them—things he’d mostly done for his old drama club members. Putting a blanket over a sleeping guy, holding doors open, picking up forgotten hand cream and returning it, helping carry heavy props…
“That’s just basic consideration.”
It was no different from giving up a seat for the elderly. Sa-yoon had never thought someone would be jealous over something like that, and he let out a small laugh.
“You were nice to me too.”
“Huh?”
Was he… jealous even over that?
“You swapped drinks for me, and since you don’t like sharing food with others, you made sure I got my own.”
“Oh… yeah, I did.”
Back then, he had been trying to get closer on purpose, so he had put in a little extra effort.
“You’re not even a driver, but when the car braked, you’d stick your arm out to block me. And when someone sneezed near me, you’d cover my food with your hand…”
As he listened, he realized there was no end to the things he had done for him.
Had he really gone that far? Now that he thought about it, it was a bit excessive to call it just “manners.” Cute or not, his younger boyfriend wasn’t exactly the type who needed an arm thrown in front of him when the brakes were hit.
“And the worst part is, you don’t even realize you’re doing it.”
With that, Shin-jae let out a deep sigh. Sa-yoon scratched under his eye.
“What if everyone starts liking you because of it…?”
So that was what all of this boiled down to.
“Shin-jae.”
Sa-yoon reached out and stroked his hair, and his head instinctively leaned into the touch. He probably wasn’t even aware of it, but Shin-jae was naturally affectionate. And every time he acted like this, Sa-yoon couldn’t help but soften. He couldn’t stop thinking about how lonely he must have been in that big house all by himself.
“Then should I start being mean to people? Like, not holding doors for them when they’re carrying stuff, leaving them to catch a cold, pretending I didn’t see when they forget things.”
“Yes, that would be nice.”
“Alright.”
If his boyfriend wanted it, there wasn’t any reason not to. Sa-yoon answered so easily that Shin-jae looked at him, surprised.
“Really?”
“What’s so hard about that?”
“…Well, still, if someone’s carrying a lot of stuff, at least hold the door for them.”
That was the one thing he chose to object to? This time, Sa-yoon couldn’t hold back a smirk.
“And besides, I only did all that for you.”
I guess I must have liked you even back then.
When he whispered those words, Shin-jae immediately went quiet. As he glanced at the face resting against his hand, he noticed his boyfriend looking downward, lips pursed in a pout—clearly embarrassed.
“Come here.”
He pulled him close and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. Shin-jae’s eyes went wide before slowly fluttering shut. A moment later, his tongue gave a light tap against Sa-yoon’s lips, wordlessly asking for more. By now, it was second nature.
After the kiss, they spent time clearing their daily quests together. While they were at it, Sa-yoon finally accompanied Killer to the new daily quest dungeon—one he had always wanted to go to but never managed to drag him along for.
Overjoyed, Killer instantly annihilated the monsters before his cast bar could even finish. Watching that cocky display, Sa-yoon felt a sudden surge of irritation and smacked him lightly in the side. Their eyes met, and before they knew it, their lips met again.
They spent more time kissing than actually hunting in the dungeon. By the time they finished and stepped outside, it was already close to midnight. Since there wasn’t much to do on the day before an update, they took a few commemorative screenshots before logging out.
And then, finally, the long-awaited day of the Warlock buffs arrived.
<Divine: The Firstborn Demon Update Notice>
There it was.
Sa-yoon, who had been relentlessly refreshing the page, clicked the announcement faster than anyone.
***
“Hyung, are you okay?”
Like hell he was.
Instead of answering, Sa-yoon clenched his teeth. His poor lips were already swollen, covered in bite marks from how hard he’d been chewing on them.
Is this for real, you bastards? The first balance patch in two years, and this is what you give us? Hades, my ass. The Firstborn Demon, my ass. You scam artists.
But venting his frustrations here wouldn’t do any good. The person who needed to hear his wrath was the damn developers, not his innocent, rabbit-like boyfriend. No matter how many times he looked, it was clear—the new dungeon was centered around Demon Summoners, yet somehow, this patch was a disaster.
After 500 refreshes, Sa-yoon finally saw the Warlock’s balance patch notes.
[Warlock]
-A new demon has been added.
[View new demon]
That was it.
No matter how you looked at it, there was zero effort put into this.
And yet, Sa-yoon, still filled with naive hope, failed to recognize that this was merely the prelude to a nightmare.
A new demon! This was the first balance patch Warlocks had received since they were labeled bottom-tier garbage. Just how powerful was this new summon going to be?!
Warlocks were damage dealers. He wasn’t even asking for burst DPS on par with Black Mages. At the very least, a damage buff. Or a damage buff. Or, if not that, a damn damage buff—
Third Demon – Harpas
[Skills]
-Can summon an ally within the same space.
-Can hide within an ally’s shadow.
-Can produce mana orbs that allies can absorb.
-Enhances party support skills.
…Mana orbs? Summoning? Party support?
Sa-yoon rubbed his eyes and looked again. Something was wrong. Not a single word he had been hoping for was there.
Desperately rejecting reality, he even went to the bathroom to rinse his face, but when he returned—
It was the same.
The new demon’s abilities were: spit out mana for party members to eat, pick up party members, and support party members.
That was it.
Sa-yoon let out a hollow laugh as he stared at the beak, wreathed in black flames, spitting out mana orbs. Warlocks were damage dealers. And yet, at this rate, they were about to be reduced to either dungeon entrance chauffeurs or walking backup batteries.
You insane bastards, does this seem right to you?!
