“……Hmm.”
After she disappeared, it felt awkward being alone with Jun. When I asked how long he’d been watching, he gave no answer—whether he’d seen it from the beginning or not.
A chilly wind drifted between us, making the already awkward atmosphere even colder. Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I threw out a different question to change the subject.
“Juni. Weren’t you supposed to meet someone today?”
“I did.”
“Guess you split up early. You’re already home.”
“No, we’re still together.”
“Ah…….”
Then Jun glanced around and urged me to move somewhere else, saying monsters would probably respawn soon.
“I’ve gotta head out again. You should stop and rest too, Hyung. I was gonna carry you anyway—why’re you putting yourself through this hell?”
“That’s just how games are. Even the grind’s kinda fun.”
“Did you like it?”
“Huh?”
“Kissing someone else. Did you like it?”
Honestly, I didn’t. But when Jun said he was with someone, I wanted to act like I was doing just fine without him too, so I lied. If I admitted I didn’t like it, I felt like I’d look even more pathetic.
“……Of course I liked it.”
Jun’s expression didn’t change. I raised my hand to use a Return Scroll and tell him to go ahead, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer.
“Mm—!”
Usually he’d suck on my lips first before slipping his tongue in, but this time he shoved his tongue straight into my mouth without warning, stirring it around. Something soft and wet dragged slowly along the roof of my mouth, wrapping around my tongue again and again. A moan must’ve slipped out without me realizing, because I heard Jun let out a short laugh.
With a soft smack, his lips parted from mine. Embarrassed, I pressed my lips together. Even I had to admit the sound I’d made just now was way too pleased.
“You like it when I use my tongue like this, so why’d you refuse earlier? You could’ve just opened your mouth.”
“……No. I don’t like this stuff.”
I said I didn’t like it, but honestly, that just now had felt pretty good. Hiding my fluster, I mumbled a quick goodbye and used the Return Scroll.
<<Moving to ‘Rakvere Castle’.>>
As the screen changed, the dull scenery inside the castle I’d seen earlier spread out before my eyes.
Ha……. What’s wrong with me, seriously.
Jun’s last face flashed in my mind—the way he’d smiled with his eyes curved into crescents. It was the kind of look that felt like he could see straight through me.
First, I stood in front of the NPC who’d given me the quest to complete it. The NPC, leaning on crutches, repeated the same line as before—saying that boiling and eating Giant Centipede legs would help his condition, asking if I had any.
After handing over the Giant Centipede legs and receiving the reward, my body flashed with light. I finally reached Level 48. Though what did it matter? My dream of a server transfer had already vanished long ago. When I glanced at the partner window at the top of the screen, the connection was truly gone.
I headed back to the village auction house, listed the remaining Giant Centipede legs, and logged out.
<<Logging out.>>
Taking off the helmet, I collapsed onto the sofa. After grinding hard in the game, returning to ordinary life always left me feeling strangely empty.
As I absentmindedly watched the second hand of the wall clock, what had happened earlier in the game lingered in my mind even after returning to reality. I’d assumed kissing someone else would feel good too—but it hadn’t.
Is it because of the in-game matching rate?
Yeah. I decided that was the reason—it was just because it was inside the game.
That way, maybe my rational mind could win over my emotions.
***
It’d been a while since I arrived at work right on time, and I was sweeping the front of the office feeling refreshed.
Usually Hyesun from the clothing shop next door opened around the same time, but she still hadn’t shown up. I’d planned to say something when I saw her, but my resolve kept softening. Figuring I’d decide after seeing her face, I swept all the way to the hardware store next door.
“You’re on time today?”
The hardware store owner appeared again carrying something. Apparently, on his way to work he’d picked up an air purifier from a regular customer who asked him to fix it.
“That’s a Chinese product—can it even be repaired?”
“Once you take it apart, they’re all the same. Just think of it as a fan with a filter inside.”
Come to think of it, fine dust had been so bad lately that air purifiers were basically a necessity. Unlike my hometown, Seoul’s air quality was pretty poor even on normal days.
Is that why Juni sprays fragrance in his car?
After finishing the cleaning and heading inside, I searched about air purifiers. I was considering buying one for the office—or maybe even for home.
While clicking through articles about fine dust, an ad banner popped up beside a news article. Something about erectile dysfunction. I wondered if I should recommend it to Jun, then suddenly remembered the Aneros I’d bought from Roban.
“Where did I even put that?”
I remembered Bin getting a bit upset when he saw it, so I searched it online, wondering if it was something bad. Sure enough, a 19+ age verification popped up. I verified through my phone and entered the site.
When I clicked the shopping tab, rows of strangely shaped devices appeared. No matter how I looked at it, the Aneros didn’t seem like a typical male masturbation device.
“What the—did I search the wrong thing?”
Thinking maybe I’d gotten the name wrong, I started reading forum posts, but a creeping sense of dread set in. As the possibility that I hadn’t searched wrong at all sank in, the back of my neck burned hot.
“Stimulate the prostate? Uh…… wait, does that mean it goes in the back?”
My guess was right. The Aneros was a male toy meant to be inserted into the rear. That explained why Bin had panicked earlier. What normal guy would use something like that? If Bin hadn’t been there, who knew what Roban might’ve pulled on me.
Just like Jun said, Roban was dangerous. It was lucky Bin had caught the Aneros first—if Jun had seen it, he might’ve exploded again. Or maybe……
“He might’ve stepped in saying he’d teach me himself.”
I shuddered and forced the thought out of my head. Then I noticed the erectile dysfunction ad again on the screen and clicked it, thinking of Jun. Know your enemy and know yourself, and you’ll win every battle—I needed to understand the cause if I wanted to find a clue to help him overcome his condition.
According to the search results, Jun seemed to have what they called “psychogenic erectile dysfunction,” caused by psychological factors. It said this type was common among physically healthy people in their twenties and thirties.
If it’s psychological…… then something must’ve happened in his past, right?
I felt a pang of pity, wondering what kind of experience could’ve led to that.
After staring at the monitor for a long while, I stood up from my desk and stretched. Outside the office, workers were still bustling past on their way to work.
And there it was—Jun’s car, planted out front like a stake. I cracked the office door open and looked up at the seventh floor of the building across the street.
Is he home?
Yesterday, when we briefly met in the game, he’d said he was with someone. So it was likely he was with that person right now.
Just as I was about to close the door, I spotted a yellow-haired man coming out of that building. He was wearing a mask like before, but I recognized him instantly. I hurriedly shut the door and went back inside.
Sure enough, that guy had to be the one Jun was with. A moment later, Jun followed behind him with a slight delay. As if it were the most natural thing, they walked toward the car parked in front of my office. Jun let the yellow-haired guy into the passenger seat—the same seat I’d ridden in—then started toward the driver’s side before suddenly coming into the office.
Pretending I hadn’t seen them, I turned my back and acted like I was making coffee. When I heard him enter, I looked over my shoulder.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“I might be hard to reach again today. But I’ll pick you up later.”
“Why’re you explaining everything? Just go do what you need to do comfortably. You don’t have to pick me up.”
Jun frowned slightly at me as I waved him off.
What’s with that look?
He was out there enjoying himself and doing whatever he wanted—what good were words now? Yesterday he’d even barged into the game out of nowhere and messed things up.
While I grumbled silently to myself, Jun suddenly stepped closer. He stood so near that the morning sunlight was completely blocked, staring straight down at me.
“Isn’t there anything you want to ask me…… or say?”
“Uh……. No, not really.”
I stirred my coffee with a spoon and answered flatly. Like the spoon spinning in circles, my words kept going around in circles too.
Who was that guy? Were you with him yesterday? Where’re you going with him now? I wanted to ask all of that—but asking felt like admitting defeat.
Seeing how quickly he’d gotten friendly with Roban yesterday, Jun clearly had good social skills. Making a friend or two like that wasn’t hard for him.
I didn’t want to take away his enjoyment of life. Still, it stung a little to wonder if I was just another one of those people to him. All I had to do was fulfill my role in Jun’s life properly.
His house was too big for one person and felt empty of warmth. Thinking about that place made it even harder. If it was something I couldn’t provide anyway, there was no need to interfere further.
Last night, Jun had rescued me so dramatically that my heart had gotten carried away. Like I’d been saved, I’d given him too much meaning inside my own head—that was the real problem.
But now that things were back in place, I could feel exactly where I stood. Expecting or demanding more from Jun than necessary was excessive—presumptuous, even. I needed to stay within my boundaries.
Just think of it as feeding a stray cat.
That was the line I decided not to cross.
“Have a good trip. Drive safe.”
I smiled and offered what I thought was a kind send-off, but Jun’s expression only hardened further. I didn’t even need to keep stirring my coffee anymore, yet I couldn’t stop while he stood there. If I stopped, I might start paying attention to the yellow-haired guy sitting in the passenger seat.
When I lifted my gaze, I saw Jun’s red lips—the lips that had performed fellatio, the lips that had kissed me. Startled, I quickly turned away and walked back to my desk. Jun remained standing there, watching me.
“Let’s go already!”
The yellow-haired man finally stormed into the office and grabbed Jun, pulling him away. Only then did Jun tear his gaze from me and head to the driver’s seat. I couldn’t see them leave because the monitor blocked my view, but judging by how loud the engine sounded compared to usual, he might’ve been angry.
“I’m the one who should be annoyed. Why’s he the one throwing a fit?”
Maybe I needed a few casual relationships too, like Jun did. That was the only way to keep things balanced.
I took a sip of my instant coffee to calm myself. My stomach had been burning since I’d skipped breakfast, but it slowly settled. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head against the back of the chair.
♪♬♩—.
I’m not sure how long I sat there with my eyes closed, but just then, Han-woo called. He said he’d been busy with work lately and couldn’t log into the game much.
[Ah……. My ranking dropped. Oh, right. ShutUp’s dropped too.]
“Oh, really?”
[Yeah. He used to be, what, fifth place? Now he’s eighth. I saw it while checking my own rank.]
Koreans must have a warrior’s blood running through them. If ShutUp was only eighth, how absurdly hardcore were the people above him? Did they do nothing but breathe and play the game?
Come to think of it, ShutUp had been playing less lately while spending time with me.
“Han-woo. My banner came down.”
[I saw. Damn, doesn’t Rank #1 look awesome?]
“What attribute is it?”
[From what I know, it’s a Holy-type skill? It nullifies skills and just beats people down with a mace.]
“That sounds painful just hearing it. A mace?”
[But that’s just level ranking, not PK ranking.]
So we went back and forth saying rankings themselves were kind of meaningless. Still, level differences affected power, so they weren’t entirely separate either. People even said that up to Rank 10, everyone was more or less on the same tier.
[Yoo Du, you free today? A junior from my workplace is looking for a place around your area. Let’s grab dinner together.]
“Just tell them to come to the office. Why dinner too?”
[You’re so dense. You think I’m suggesting that for no reason? Anyway, close the office at six tonight. Got it?]
Just then a customer walked into the office, so I said okay and hung up.
After dealing with one or two clients, it was almost lunchtime. I finished organizing a contract and stood up from my seat. I was about to head out early to avoid the office worker lunch rush when Bin walked into the office.
