When I returned to the office, Han-woo was sipping bubble tea while staring at his phone.
“What’s your office Wi-Fi password?”
“Huh? Hang on.”
I jotted down the memo stuck beneath the monitor and handed it to him.
“But why don’t you have a Guide?”
“Me? Well, sometimes a party member I hunt with links with me, but since I’m only B-rank, I guess I’m not much help. And most Guides just link with whoever they meet at the time—they don’t tie themselves down to one person. It’s not very profitable.”
He added that rankers like ShutUp probably had people lining up to Guide them. Since they could practically solo bosses on their own, they wouldn’t be lacking in loot or experience anyway.
“Come to think of it, something weird happened in a dungeon yesterday.”
“What happened?”
“I ran Dreamlike Forest with some other Psychics. And wow… you know who showed up in the hidden stage?”
“Why? A dragon-type?”
“No… something worse than a dragon.”
“Did you kill it? The loot must’ve been insane.”
“We all died. Wiped—completely. Even Moment was there too…”
“What the hell spawned that a ranker like Moment died?”
“ShutUp.”
Han-woo had been noisily slurping up tapioca pearls in quick succession when he suddenly choked. He coughed, saying that made no sense. Why would a user turn into a monster? The admins must be out of their minds, he said.
“Want to hear something even crazier? ShutUp’s PG was infinite.”
“That’s just a trap, isn’t it? Just think of it like you stepped in shit.”
“So that’s why you fought ShutUp yesterday and split?”
“No, that’s separate… I told him I didn’t like linking with him.”
“Hey. But is it true?”
Even though it was just the two of us in the office, Han-woo leaned his head closer to mine and lowered his voice.
“They say it feels insanely good if you link from behind with a guy. Have you ever tried it? Ever been the one getting pounded?”
If he weren’t my actual close friend, I would’ve wanted to report him to the police.
“Curious?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you want to try getting fucked once? I’ll link with you.”
I sucked loudly on my bubble tea and chewed the pearls like a delinquent while staring at him. Realizing he’d gone too far, Han-woo laughed it off, saying it was a joke—he’d just been curious.
“So who are you going to hunt with now?”
“I’ll look on the party board. Seems like a lot of people are looking for Guides. If I can’t find anyone, I’ll ask you.”
“Sure, whatever.”
After that, we made small talk about how much nearby officetel studios cost. He asked if I really commuted all the way from that far and told me to find a place closer. I shot back that if I’d had the money, I would’ve done that already. Honestly, playing a game in my current situation was insane. I should’ve been pouring every ounce of focus into my livelihood instead.
“Ah, I’ve gotta go. If I’m late, Manager Lee will go apeshit.”
A little past 2 p.m., Han-woo stood up. Even a life chained to office hours like his seemed enviable—at least he got paid on time.
“When’s payday?”
“Me? Next week. Why?”
“Han-woo… when you get paid, buy me some hanwoo.”
“You know what they say—be careful of anyone who buys you beef. A pure heart only goes as far as pork.”
“If you buy me hanwoo, I don’t mind if you have impure intentions.”
“You’re insane. I’ll think about it after I get paid.”
I stepped ahead of him and personally opened the door. He waved lightly and walked off toward the subway station.
Man, it’d been a while since I’d even seen beef. Back then, my mom and I used to eat it about once a month, and at company dinners I could have it every now and then without much thought.
Now that I was self-employed and living alone, there was no occasion to grill meat. The moment the craving hit, like I’d turned into a carnivore, I couldn’t let the day pass without eating meat. I sat at my desk and searched for a single-person BBQ place.
“Oh, as expected.”
If I was going to start a business, it should’ve been something like this. According to the reviews, they even had partitions for solo diners and spots to prop up your phone.
It wasn’t far from the office either. I opened my wallet and checked—after buying the bubble tea earlier, all I had left was 3,000 won. Worst case, I’d just pay with my card. As I looked forward to my solo after-work feast, I felt a flicker of excitement.
***
The office usually closed after 6 p.m., but since there were no visitors, I shut it at 5. After locking up and stepping outside, Jun’s jet-black car was parked right in front, planted there like a wall. At this point, it felt strange when it wasn’t there. He must’ve gone out after showering earlier and come back already.
Leaving the car behind, I checked the location of the single-person BBQ place on my phone again. It wasn’t far, so I could walk leisurely. Soon, a familiar signboard came into view—the restaurant was on the third floor. I entered the building, pressed the elevator button, and waited.
“Time alone. A meal just for me. A reward for myself.”
I assigned all sorts of meaning to this simple act of going to eat meat, studying my reflection in the mirrored elevator doors.
“Mm, I look decent enough.”
I was muttering to myself and fixing my hair when a man dressed all in black stepped up behind me.
“Your baseless confidence is insane.”
That irritating tone. I whipped around. Jun was smirking.
“Huh? Why are you here…?”
“Why else? To eat meat.”
He pointed at the flyer for the single-person BBQ place posted beside the elevator. Said he was a regular here. Then he scolded me—after bringing him that pathetic excuse for lunch earlier, was I really going to eat meat by myself?
I had to eat at the same restaurant as him? Still, since it was a solo BBQ place, I boarded the elevator planning to sit far away from him. Just as I pressed the close button, someone’s hand shot in and blocked the door. It reopened, revealing yet another familiar face.
“Ah, thank you—… huh?”
It was Namgung Bin. He stepped in belatedly, nodded at me in greeting, and then deliberately ignored Jun standing behind me.
Noticing the third-floor button was already pressed, Bin glanced between the two of us and stood there quietly. Ding—. When we arrived, Bin, who had been standing in front, stepped out and blocked both Jun and me.
“If you’re all here to eat meat, how about the three of us go together? I’ll pay.”
Jun said there was no need, but I immediately chimed in that it sounded great. Jun, who had been about to step off alone, looked at us and then reentered the elevator. He’d answered like that, but it seemed he was planning to follow anyway.
“Du-seon, what do you want to eat?”
“Ah… I can choose?”
“Of course. I’ll treat you properly. Just say whatever you want.”
“Well, if I’m being treated with pure intentions, pork is fine—but I really want hanwoo.”
From behind us, Jun muttered under his breath.
“All confidence, no shame.”
He wasn’t even the one paying, yet he sniped at me anyway.
Bin smiled leisurely and said that was fine—let’s go eat. We stepped out of the building, and as I hesitated about which direction to head, Bin’s hand touched my lower back. He gently pulled me toward his side.
“This way.”
“Oh, okay.”
My body naturally turned in that direction.
But then one of my arms was grabbed by Jun and pulled the opposite way. Bin’s hand dropped from my back.
“Aren’t we going to Hanwoo Alley? This way’s faster.”
“Not Hanwoo Alley. Hoengseong Gamagol.”
Bin pressed close again, placing his hand behind my back and tugging me toward him. Jun pulled even harder than before—I thought my arm might come off.
“Ah, let go.”
“If we go to Hanwoo Alley, I’ll buy you yukhoe too.”
“Really?”
“Du-seon. Hoengseong Gamagol sells packaged galbi too. I’ll wrap some up for you when we leave.”
“You’ll even pack galbi for me?”
I didn’t know why they were so insistent on taking me to their respective regular spots, but at that moment, I should’ve remembered my friend’s words.
“Be careful of anyone who buys you beef. A pure heart only goes as far as pork.”
But I was too hungry to think about that. My wavering heart tilted toward packaged galbi over yukhoe, and as I tried to free the arm Jun was holding, he gripped it even tighter. Eventually, he extended his other hand and wrapped it around my waist.
“Let’s go to Hanwoo Alley. I’ll let you eat hanwoo once a month.”
“Once a month? Really?”
I’d thought there was no one in my life who’d ever buy me hanwoo—this situation felt like a miracle. Pretending I couldn’t resist, I leaned into Jun’s arms as if to be dragged along.
“Mr. Namgung Bin, you should try Hanwoo Alley too. Seomun Jun says he’s paying.”
“Yeah, follow us. What money does a tenant have to buy hanwoo? Then again, if you had money, you would’ve terminated the contract.”
“…Ha. Do you really want to end up dead?”
The muttered words slipped from Bin’s lips, but thanks to a car horn blaring nearby, Jun didn’t hear them. I just hoped whatever bad blood they had would melt away over hanwoo.
Bin, who had looked like he wouldn’t come, shot Jun a glare and obediently followed our way. Still, the way I was being dragged by the arm looked awkward, so I used my free hand to pry Jun’s grip off. I was startled by how soft the back of his hand felt.
And so, we walked with a certain distance between us—far enough apart that we hardly looked like a group at all.
