He could feel every place Heegang’s gaze or touch landed heating up as if branded. Wonyoung couldn’t even breathe properly.
“Wait, wait, I need to sneeze!”
“You can just do it.”
Wonyoung pushed Heegang away, turned around, and sneezed “achoo.” Watching that, Heegang burst into a small laugh. Feeling unnecessarily sulky at that sight, Wonyoung asked sulkily.
“Aren’t you affected at all?”
“Hmm, by what?”
“You…… said you like me.”
“Ah, in that sense?”
Wonyoung was about to flare up asking what kind of reaction that was, when Heegang smiled with folded eyes and said.
“If you looked into my head right now, you couldn’t say I’m not affected at all.”
“……What?”
“I’m thinking about it a lot. Shameless thoughts that Rae would hate.”
“Ugh.”
Saying that, Heegang grabbed Wonyoung’s wrist. The distance closed in one stride, and Heegang’s smile deepened.
Then Heegang brought Wonyoung’s hand to his chest and said.
“See. My heart is beating this fast.”
Heegang’s fierce pounding was transmitted intact through his palm. Wonyoung felt his own heart racing along with it and tried to quickly pull his hand away. But Heegang didn’t loosen his grip.
“Don’t forget, Rae. I’m an actor. Actors are good at lying.”
Heegang’s eyes were holding Wonyoung intently. At that persistent gaze, Wonyoung finally realized how careless he had been.
“……That’s not what I meant……”
“I’m barely holding back, but if you keep acting this cute, even I don’t know what I’ll do. For example, something shameless.”
“N-no. I won’t forget. I won’t forget.”
In the face of a crisis of chastity, Wonyoung truly became a docile lamb. Right now, he was shirtless, and this was Heegang’s house. It was truly like entering enemy territory alone. And yet he had been calmly provoking him!
‘Have I really become stupid? Has the number of my brain cells decreased?’
No, it’s not just that he became stupid. His emotions…… were being shaken. Every time he faced the characters, he was becoming more immersed in the situation and absorbed in them. Though he didn’t want to admit it.
Even now, along with the past he saw in his dream, wasn’t he showing more interest in Heegang than necessary because of his confession that he liked him?
‘Get a grip, Heo Wonyoung. Your goal is to go home no matter what. Safely with an all-ages rating. You don’t need to worry about the rest.’
They’re all data anyway. They have to be. Baek Heegang’s confession and his feelings must also be nothing but text. Wonyoung repeated this to himself as he pulled his hand from Heegang’s grasp.
“I understand now. I’ll do the rest myself.”
At Wonyoung’s attitude that seemed to draw a line, perceptive Heegang immediately asked.
“Rae, are you mad?”
“Why would I be?”
“Because I acted too selfishly? Or because you came to receive nursing care but only suffered……?”
Wonyoung deliberately turned his head and stayed silent. If he looked at Heegang now, his heart would obviously soften again at that damn dejected expression…….
[Heegang, I’m not mad!]
[Yeah, I’m mad. Because……]
Wonyoung ground his teeth seeing the two choices that appeared before his eyes at perfect timing.
‘Ah, come on!’
Maybe the data isn’t them but me? Aren’t I the one who has to move according to the creator’s will? Wonyoung had such sad thoughts as he chose the upper option.
“Heegang, I’m not mad!”
Then, as expected, Heegang’s expression, which had been standing forlornly as if about to shed tears, immediately brightened considerably.
“Really?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Then I can finish drying your hair too, right?”
“……What? Uh, y-yeah.”
While thinking he had dug his own grave, Wonyoung had no choice but to offer his wet hair to Heegang. Then, as if affection increased, hearts popped up. Heegang gently dried Wonyoung’s hair with careful touches.
After silence continued for a while, Heegang suddenly opened his mouth quietly.
“Rae, you know I’m deliberately not asking about when you were young.”
“Hm?”
“I changed a lot. I thought you must have been curious about many things. I wouldn’t have anything to say even if you doubted whether I’m really that Baek Heegang.”
“……I.”
As Wonyoung hesitated to answer, a mission window suddenly appeared.
[※Mission Alert※]
Goal: Listen to Heegang’s circumstances.
Reward: Penalty Exemption Right (1 time)
Upon failure: All characters’ affection levels decrease by 15
‘This is……’
It was almost identical content to that mission he saw when with Siyeon before. Except that the target changed to Heegang and the penalty upon failure increased from affection level 10 to 15 decrease.
‘The affection level condition seems to already be met…… there’s no guarantee a bug will occur this time like last time.’
So this time he had to listen. Whether Baek Heegang liked it or not, proceeding with the mission was right. Ultimately, wouldn’t this be the side where affection increases?
Feelings of reluctance or willingness had to be excluded now. Though his mouth didn’t open easily, Wonyoung only thought about returning home.
“I want to know. About your past.”
“……”
Heegang’s expression couldn’t be seen, hidden by the towel and hair. But Wonyoung knew Heegang would be smiling. This guy was someone who only smiled all the time anyway.
And after a brief uncomfortable silence, Heegang’s voice was heard.
“……I couldn’t adapt properly even after transferring schools. Of course, there were no more kids bullying me, but even if there were, I didn’t make a big deal of it. I didn’t know what would happen if I disappointed my parents any more than that.”
At Heegang’s explanation, Wonyoung frowned.
“……What does that mean? Why would your parents?”
“My parents don’t really like me. More precisely, they’re afraid of me.”
“What?”
“Because I’m different from them. I don’t interact with people, don’t laugh or cry, and I’m unpleasant in various ways.”
“……”
“Then I found out they were trying to send me to America, and I pretended to be normal because I wanted to stay in Korea. My height naturally grew, but everything else was created. My clothing, personality, tone…… all of it was just observing and imitating others.”
Wonyoung removed the towel and swept back his hair. Heegang, whom he finally faced like that, was indeed smiling. Just a bit sadly. At that, Wonyoung unknowingly asked like this.
“Then where’s the real you? Where is the real you?”
At Wonyoung’s question filled with worry, Heegang quietly shook his head.
“He’s gone now.”
At Heegang’s answer, Wonyoung’s heart sank. But the most regrettable thing was that he couldn’t tell Heegang to find his original self. Baek Heegang was no longer a child. He already had a profession as an actor and people with whom he had formed social relationships. He had to take responsibility for that. If he just lived however he pleased, that couldn’t be called being an adult.
At least that’s what Heo Wonyoung thought.
‘But if it were Narae…… he might have really said something for Baek Heegang’s sake.’
Wonyoung unknowingly lowered his gaze. However.
“Don’t make that expression.”
With a gentle voice, Heegang cupped Wonyoung’s cheek.
“Don’t make such a sad expression, Rae.”
“……Me?”
“Yeah.”
“……”
“You said you wanted to know. If it’s something you’re curious about, I can answer anything.”
Those words sounded more like a reproach to Wonyoung, making him feel uncomfortable. Isn’t this something that doesn’t help with affection even if you find out? He was also angry about why the game made him do such things.
“I’m sorry.”
And above all, he felt sorry to Heegang. The story of being abandoned by one’s parents must be something no one would want to talk about. Having dug up his past just because of a number called affection level, belated guilt washed over him.
Because that expression trying hard to smile really didn’t look like data at all.
“I’m fine. Because I have you. I changed because I wanted to see you. If I went to America, I wouldn’t be able to see you.”
“Was it worth it? Even erasing the real you?”
‘I’m not even Narae?’
Wonyoung couldn’t bring the last question out of his mouth and swallowed it. And Heegang hugged such Wonyoung strongly.
“Yeah, because only you recognize me. I’m still here. Before you. It’s not all a lie.”
“……”
“And you’re still worrying about my heart more than criticizing my pretense.”
“I……”
“That’s enough. That’s sufficient. You just need to be you.”
‘That’s not it……’
Wonyoung exhaled in complexity. Perhaps because it was painful, it felt like his fever was rising.
[※Mission Complete! Reward has been granted.※]
While bitterly watching the notification window that appeared in the midst of that, Heegang released Wonyoung from his embrace.
“Rae, you seem to have a fever.”
“……I do feel a bit like that.”
“This won’t do. Since it’s a mess here, let’s go somewhere else to rest. Just hang in there a bit.”
Saying that, Heegang helped Wonyoung up. Soon, he put Wonyoung in the car and moved to a nearby hotel. Heegang, who rented a room, took Wonyoung and laid him on the bed.
‘I should rest a bit. My stamina has almost run out.’
[Stamina: 4]
Wonyoung was making such a judgment while looking at his remaining stamina when, the next moment, Heegang uttered a statement that made him doubt his ears.
“Rest here. I’ll go cook some porridge and bring it up. This is a hotel with cooking facilities.”
“What?!”
Cook porridge again? Does he mean to start another fire? And this wasn’t just anywhere, this was a hotel. If a fire broke out, from then on it would just be a disaster movie. Wonyoung jumped up from his seat.
“I’ll cook it!”
“Huh? How can you……”
“If I say I’ll do it, I’ll do it! You stay still!”
Porridge is, as the saying goes, a piece of cake to eat, no, to cook. The variable was that he didn’t have much stamina left, but porridge was a dish that just needed to be stirred well, so he wasn’t too worried. ……That should have been the case.
“Why did the rice…… get cooked?”
And perfectly fluffy at that……
