Heegang pressed the doorbell with an indifferent expression. Then a noisy commotion arose from inside.
“Heegang must be here. I’ll go out……”
At the sound of Wonyoung’s voice heard intermittently, Heegang smiled. Soon the sound of the door lock opening was heard. Heegang prepared to greet him with a bright smile.
“Heegang-ah, welcome.”
“Hel…… lo, I can’t say it. What kind of spectacle is this?”
Heegang’s expression contorted at the sight before his eyes. At the entrance, three people were clumped together like a poorly-made chimera.
“Disgusting. What is this?”
“I really went through a lot, Heegang-ah.”
“In that time?”
“Come in first, come in.”
Even while making way for Heegang, the three people remained stuck together. Heegang looked at them while imagining eliminating one arm each from Taerim and Siyeon.
Wonyoung said with a face that looked considerably more exhausted.
“While you were gone, we had about five ending crises.”
“What?”
“An ending appeared when Taerim-ssi was carrying my luggage and our hands touched, an ending appeared when I dozed off on Siyeon’s shoulder because I was tired, and an ending appeared when I tried to enter Taerim-ssi’s house first.”
“……”
“Besides that, an ending popped up when I was suddenly made to confess or just from one word saying he was cute.”
After hearing Wonyoung’s explanation that was close to complaining, Heegang asked.
“So…… the three of you are moving as one body, is that it?”
“Yeah. If we’re left alone as just two, an ending almost always pops up.”
Wonyoung sighed and added.
“The game must be cornered too. I don’t know why it’s going this far though.”
“It must really dislike you.”
“……I guess so……”
Seeing the dejected Wonyoung, Heegang smiled.
“It’s okay. Because I like you that much.”
“I like you too.”
“Me too, hyung.”
At the successive rush of confessions, Heegang frowned.
“What’s this?”
“We have to do this or the ending won’t trigger.”
Siyeon shot back bluntly. Wonyoung was lying sprawled on the floor, exhausted from endings and everything else.
At least Taerim pointed to a room and said to Heegang.
“First, Baek Heegang, you go unpack your stuff. Your room is over there.”
“Ha.”
“Clear your schedule as much as possible for the time being. I’m also planning to switch to remote work for a while.”
“Don’t know how long this will last.”
Heegang grumbled fiercely and strode past. Wonyoung grabbed Taerim’s pant leg and shook it, saying weakly.
“Please understand. He’s originally sensitive.”
It was an appropriate packaging of “he sees everyone except me as parasites,” but Taerim replied coldly.
“I already know that bastard has no manners, so there’s no need to take his side.”
“Yes……”
But Heegang’s words weren’t wrong either. There would be limits to continuously avoiding endings like this. When the time came, he himself would probably…….
Then suddenly, a sculpture-like handsome man came into view.
“What will you do if you get tired already, Heo Wonyoung-ssi?”
“Taerim-ssi.”
“There’s still a lot to do. We need to clean, and prepare dinner too. We can’t call a housekeeper since we can’t let it be known that the four of us are gathered, and I don’t eat delivery food.”
“Ah……”
Wonyoung slowly got up. Right, there was still time. There was also a lot to do. At least he couldn’t waste the remaining time.
Soon Wonyoung regained his energy and said in a confident tone.
“I’m good at cooking.”
“Hyung……?”
At Siyeon’s disbelieving gaze, Wonyoung’s face heated up as he recalled his past failures.
“I’m originally good at it. It was Narae who was bad at it……”
“Hmm.”
Taerim didn’t seem to believe it much either. Wonyoung rolled up his sleeves and stood up.
“I’ll make dinner tonight. Just wait.”
“Then me too!”
“……Then I should do it too.”
“I don’t know what it is, but include me too.”
Siyeon and Taerim following in a line, and Heegang who suddenly appeared. Wonyoung once again felt like a mother hen leading her chicks.
“Really? We’re going to cook while crowded together as four?”
“Otherwise an ending will pop up.”
“……”
Maybe this was the game’s aim? At least they should be a bit smaller in size…….
Though he himself had never been called small anywhere, these three men were way too big. Even though Taerim’s kitchen was considerably spacious, with four grown men standing there wasn’t much room to step.
“Won’t you move aside? You’re stick-thin but tall like a beanpole.”
“You’re the one who should get lost, you muscle pig.”
The problem was that these bastards were fighting even in this cramped space.
Hoo, Wonyoung sighed and placed onions and carrots down with a thunk in front of the bickering Siyeon and Heegang.
“Here, chop them. Today’s menu is chicken cream stew and oil pasta. Here, Taerim-ssi gets potatoes.”
“Why do I get onions, hyung?”
“You’re……”
[Because your crying face is pretty. (ㅍ ͜ʖㅍ)Grin]
[Because you’re handsome no matter how much you peel. (ᴗ ͜ʖ ᴗ)Smirk]
Wonyoung was flustered by the choices that appeared after a long time, and suddenly at that. The problem was that now the choices were visible to the three people too.
“Pfft.”
Siyeon turned his head trying to hold back laughter. Meanwhile, Heegang and Taerim asked nonchalantly.
“What are those expressions? Are you doing it like that?”
“It seems the atmosphere has changed a bit from before, is this also changed to be ‘Heo Wonyoung-like’?”
Of course, both of them were smiling all the same. Wonyoung clenched his fists tight.
“Everyone, let’s stop……”
Wonyoung gritted his teeth and threatened, but no one was listening.
“Does Heo Wonyoung-ssi think of yourself with that kind of image?”
“But aren’t you the uke? Did you perhaps think of yourself as a seme deep down?”
“How do you know that, no wait, stop it! Hey, Ki Siyeon! Stop laughing!”
“Puhaha, puhahahahaha……!”
In the end, Siyeon burst into loud laughter. Meanwhile, 1 minute passed, and Wonyoung had no choice but to say with a cheerful man’s smile.
“Because your crying face is pretty.”
At the line he finally uttered, not only Taerim but even Heegang turned their heads and their shoulders shook. Wonyoung glared at the potato and imagined himself becoming a potato. Please, become a potato. Please.
But Wonyoung, who had become closer to a red beet than a potato, eventually sat down.
Fuck!
Just when things seemed quiet lately, it attacks like this?
“Wonyoung-ah, are you crying?”
“I’m not crying, you…… bastard.”
Wonyoung looked up at Heegang resentfully, then paused. All three men were looking at him and laughing alike. As if they were truly happy.
“……Good grief.”
Wonyoung let out a bitter laugh and stood up from his seat. In the end, if the three of them were happy, he was happy too. He couldn’t help it.
Only then did Siyeon, who had laughed the loudest, apologize while reading the room.
“Hyung, I’m sorry. I absolutely didn’t mean to tease you.”
“It’s just, because you’re cute.”
When Taerim added a word, Siyeon quickly chimed in.
“Right! It’s because you’re cute.”
Wonyoung glared at Siyeon as if finding him ridiculous, but ended up laughing.
“Yes yes, that’s enough. Everyone hurry up and cut the vegetables.”
“Yees.”
Relieved that Wonyoung wasn’t angry, Siyeon excitedly picked up a knife. Though he could feel a slight aura from his former workplace, he thought, so what? Actually, the more dangerous person was Baek-something over there chopping carrots.
Wonyoung, belatedly recalling that he was cooking-challenged, advised Heegang.
“Heegang-ah. Just chop them into big chunks. We’re going to boil it for a long time anyway. You can at least do that much……”
Wonyoung, who had been continuing his words, paused and then asked in disbelief.
“Why are you making sashimi out of carrots?”
Heegang’s carrots were so thin that the inside seemed to show through. Heegang said proudly as if it was obvious.
“Isn’t it good to cut things as thin as possible?”
“What kind of thinking process leads to that? It’s stew, stew.”
“Ah, really?”
“Were you even listening to me? Stew.”
Wonyoung, who pressed his head in frustration, suddenly looked at the onions Siyeon was chopping and was flustered again.
“No, Siyeon-ah. Why are you julienning them? It’s stew?”
“Isn’t julienning the basic for onion chopping?”
“Why are you demonstrating those basics here?”
It was impossible to cook with these things in the first place! These bastards who are useless except for being handsome. Wiretapping, stalking, and beating people up weren’t abilities useful in real life at all.
What was fortunate at least was the fact that Taerim knew how to cook somewhat.
After skillfully peeling the potatoes, he chopped them into chunks, pushed them to one side and said.
“Just tell those two to watch.”
“That might be better.”
“Ah, why? I can do it too. I just need to cut them big, right?”
Then Siyeon cut the onion in half.
“Done.”
Wonyoung lost his words along with his wits for a moment.
“……That size won’t fit in your mouth. Stew, stew. I’m saying it’s stew. Cut it into sixths. Got it?”
“Tch, fine.”
Fortunately, Siyeon at least knew how to do it when told. The problem was the carrot artist Baek Heegang. Wonyoung ran his brain at full capacity and came up with the best solution.
“Heegang-ah, you…… you be my assistant next to me. Bring me what I ask you to bring.”
“Okay, good.”
Fortunately, Heegang seemed quite satisfied. Siyeon, whose spot next to Wonyoung was taken, felt a bit wronged, but even he couldn’t beat the carrot sashimi and eventually accepted reality.
The dish they barely managed to make was quite delicious as Wonyoung said. Perhaps it was even more so because the four of them were together.
After finishing the meal, Wonyoung, who came to the bathroom to brush his teeth, was flustered seeing the three men following him.
“What? Why are you following? There’s another bathroom.”
“We have to do everything together as four.”
“I can just do it alone……”
De…… Even before the final syllable came out, the men were already brushing their teeth with their respective toothbrushes. Wonyoung was dumbfounded, but seeing the three people’s determined(?) appearance reflected in the mirror, he eventually bit down on his toothbrush.
Four grown men crammed in the bathroom brushing their teeth.
Even though it was an utterly ridiculous sight, Wonyoung somehow wanted to cherish this time forever.
* * *
That night, while sleeping huddled together in the living room due to the three men’s claim that no man can be trusted, Wonyoung stealthily opened his eyes and got up.
After confirming that everyone was sound asleep, he got up from his spot and carefully headed to the bathroom.
Soon, having closed the door, he looked at the mirror and said.
“You can come out now.”
Then a window popped up before Wonyoung’s eyes.
[Good night, Wonyoung-nim! ><]
It was the chat window with the game creator.
