“Did you have dinner?”
“Not yet.”
“Then should we order delivery? There’s nothing suitable at home……”
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
Somehow Taerim’s atmosphere was very strange. It seemed similar to usual, but there was a sort of deflated feeling? Wonyoung hesitated before asking.
“Um, did something happen today?”
“Does it seem that way?”
“Uh…… a little.”
“No one else noticed.”
Rae-ssi, you really.
Muttering that, Taerim brought up an unexpected story.
“Today was my mother’s death anniversary.”
“Ah.”
So Taerim didn’t have a mother. It’s hard when they were never there from the start, but it must be just as hard when they were there and then disappeared. Wonyoung hesitated, not knowing what to say.
“Um…… well, did it go well?”
“Yes.”
Taerim said nothing more. Wonyoung fidgeted with his hands and then carefully asked.
“Next time, would you like to go with me?”
Then Taerim made a surprised expression and smiled brightly.
He should be getting used to it by now, but seeing that smile, his heart pounded again without any awareness. Wonyoung quickly changed the subject, lowering his head to hide his reddened face.
“M-more importantly, what kind of person was your mother, Taerim-ssi?”
“I don’t really know. I never saw her after she divorced my father when I was young, and then she passed away.”
Oh no. Of all topics to choose, the wrong one. Wonyoung regretted his words.
“……I’m sorry.”
“Then will you come here and comfort me?”
When Wonyoung raised his head, Taerim patted his lap. While Wonyoung was worrying ‘Sh-should I go?’, Taerim burst into laughter.
“What are you going to do being so innocent?”
“Are you teasing me?”
“Teasing you is my pleasure.”
Wonyoung made a sullen expression. In front of this man, he really felt like he was becoming abangsu, which he didn’t like at all.
Well, if someone is this outstanding, anyone who comes along would inevitably fall short. Even me, the elite Heo Wonyoung.
Wonyoung brainwashed himself like that.
“Let’s just eat. What should we have?”
Wonyoung deliberately changed the subject and rummaged through the delivery app. But suddenly, he felt that subtle fragrance he had smelled before.
“Eek!”
Wonyoung raised his head and was shocked to see Taerim who had approached right beside him. Taerim frowned with an indifferent face.
“What, as if you saw a ghost.”
“N-no, what are you doing getting so close?”
“We should choose what to eat together.”
“That’s true, but you’re sticking too close……”
“Because this way your scent becomes stronger.”
At those words, Wonyoung jumped even more.
“I haven’t even washed?! I smell like sweat!”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
Saying that, Taerim embraced Wonyoung from behind. Wonyoung froze stiffly, unable to even turn his head.
“Th-th-this person really……”
“When I went to see my mother, I thought about you a lot.”
At Taerim’s single sentence, Wonyoung couldn’t properly object and became like a mute who ate honey. Looking carefully, sometimes he was a man more fox-like than Siyeon.
And in front of his eyes, a mission window appeared for the first time in a while.
[※Mission Occurred※]
Goal: Listen to Taerim’s inner circumstances.
Reward: Taerim’s affection level increases by 30
For appearing after a long time, the content was manageable. Well, if they had any conscience, they should do that.
It’s not like he was trying to force him to listen, and thinking that Taerim would feel more comfortable if he opened up, Wonyoung silently waited for his words.
And slowly Taerim began his story.
“As I said, my mother divorced my father early on. So she went abroad to live, and instead of meeting, we would exchange letters. That was a great joy to me.”
He couldn’t imagine young Taerim well, but surely from birth his features must have been saying ‘I am features!’ Wonyoung smiled slightly imagining that, when unexpected content followed.
“But I learned later. That those letters weren’t written by my mother. My father had fabricated them so I wouldn’t be hurt.”
“What?!”
Flustered, Wonyoung questioned loudly. Taerim hugged Wonyoung tighter and continued.
“Mother…… didn’t really want to see me. She didn’t marry my father out of love, and she had someone else she loved. It was a strategic marriage between families, and our household was especially strict with daughters-in-law, so it must have been hell for mother.”
But that wasn’t Taerim’s fault. As Wonyoung was thinking, Taerim’s voice was heard again.
“The day I found out, I burned all the letters I had carefully saved. I can still vividly remember the smell of those letters burning. And from that time, my sense of smell became paralyzed.”
“……”
Then Taerim said self-deprecatingly.
“It’s a pathetic reason. That’s why I’ve never told anyone this story. You’re the first person I’m telling this to.”
“It’s not pathetic. Not at all.”
He too was carrying a deficiency. Even though he seemed to have everything, he couldn’t.
Feeling a corner of his heart aching, Wonyoung grasped Taerim’s hand that wrapped around him.
“Thank you for telling me.”
“……Is that something to be thankful for?”
“Yes, it means you trust me now.”
“I’ve trusted you for a while now. Rae-ssi, aren’t you holding a grudge for too long?”
At those words, Wonyoung burst into laughter. At Wonyoung’s laughter, a smile spread across Taerim’s face too.
“I was sorry about that time. After that, I started competing with my cousins too, and for various reasons it became difficult to trust anything. I became more suspicious and sensitive to lies or fakes.”
But at that moment, the smile left Wonyoung’s face.
Lies or fakes. Those words pierced his heart for a moment.
Because Narae is fake…….
“But thanks to you, I’ve changed now.”
“……”
“Rae-ssi?”
At Taerim’s call, Wonyoung came to his senses and forced his expression to relax.
“You must have had a hard day today. You must be hungry. Let’s eat quickly.”
Saying that, Wonyoung escaped from Taerim’s embrace. Taerim hesitated for a moment, but seeing Wonyoung’s composed appearance, he let it pass without saying anything.
‘I absolutely can’t let Taerim-ssi find out I’m Heo Wonyoung.’
The game is already a problem, and it might stir up Taerim’s trauma too. He didn’t want to see Taerim become cold to him like last time.
Wonyoung rubbed his fingertips that had grown cold from the surging anxiety.
It would be okay. There isn’t much left until the ending, so he just had to endure until then.
Then, Taerim’s large hand grasped Wonyoung’s hand.
“Why are your hands so cold?”
“……Taerim-ssi.”
After looking at Taerim for a moment, Wonyoung finally managed to smile.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry.”
“……Next time.”
Taerim seemed to hesitate a little before opening his mouth.
“Let’s go together. To where my mother is.”
Would he still be here by then? He didn’t know, but the answer was already decided anyway.
“Yes.”
I’m quite the liar. Wonyoung realized anew.
* * *
“Again……?”
Wonyoung looked at Heo Wonyoung’s face reflected in the mirror in dismay. They said they deleted it, so why is it appearing again!
“System-ssi! Or at least the game developer, come out!”
But both sides were silent with no news. How could there be such irresponsible people? He felt like he wanted to punch them all once.
If he went out and met someone, a bug might occur again. Wonyoung had no choice but to send a text to the cafe owner saying he felt sick and couldn’t come out, and lay down on the bed.
This time he really had nothing to say even if he got fired, but the reply from the owner contained words of concern telling him to take care of his health.
‘Ha…… He’s quite good-natured too.’
Anyway, the restoration button must be broken too, so now he didn’t even know when he could return. But since there was only one day left until restoration, it might not be a big problem.
After tossing and turning for a while, Wonyoung got up from his spot and approached the mirror again.
A face with long eyes and a sensitive impression was looking at him. No matter how he looked, it was completely different from Narae.
Soon, when restoration is complete, seeing this appearance would disappear too.
But then, his phone rang and Wonyoung hurriedly checked who it was. It was Siyeon.
No matter how soon restoration mode would start, there was nothing good about showing Heo Wonyoung’s appearance to Siyeon. Wonyoung didn’t answer the call and instead sent a text. Of course, it was a dog-shit affection-raising text. He couldn’t send anything else anyway.
[Siyeon, hi! Sorry I couldn’t answer the phone ㅠㅠ]
[I’m in the bathroom right now ㅠㅠ]
[The stir-fried octopus I ate yesterday must have been too spicy ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
Damn it, stop!
Wonyoung entered the grave he dug himself and covered his face.
[Right now I can’t leave the bathroom…… Boo hoo.]
[Maybe I won’t be able to come out today ><]
[If I don’t contact you by tomorrow, will you come rescue me? Hehe(´ω｀*)]
[Saying this makes you seem like a prince.]
[A prince with tattoos then? Hehehehe]
Are you crazy, Narae? Or is it the game developer? Enraged, Wonyoung hit his phone but only his hand hurt.
[Then I’ll contact you later if I safely return from the bathroom! Ugh, my stomach……]
[Fighting with your organization work today too!]
This time too, the ending phrase was dog-shit encouragement. Thinking that if I had received that text I would have come to hit Narae once, Wonyoung collapsed onto the bed.
But then, a vibration rang and a message appeared. It was from Siyeon.
[Hyung, it’s Heo Wonyoung right now, isn’t it.]
“!”
How did he know? As Wonyoung was flustered, messages came in succession.
[This time after the giant pimple, it’s bathroom homelessness?]
“……”
At those words, Wonyoung’s face became a bright red tomato. It was so embarrassing he felt like hiding in a mouse hole if there was one.
[I’m coming to your house now.]
“What?”
Surprised, Wonyoung hurriedly called Siyeon. After a few ring tones, Siyeon answered.
“Yes, hyung.”
“Siyeon.”
Just as Wonyoung was about to tell him not to come, Siyeon gasped.
“Hearing it like this, I can hear your voice better, hyung. My heart’s fluttering.”
“……”
“It’s completely different from when you’re Rae hyung. It’s a sweet voice, but should I say it’s a bit sexy?”
“……Siyeon……”
“So what, hyung? I’m about to get in the car right now.”
