Taerim, who had confirmed that appearance without missing anything, smoothly put distance between himself and Wonyoung. Only then did Wonyoung gasp for the breath he’d been holding. His heart was pounding like crazy.
When he glanced at Taerim, Taerim was drinking coffee as if nothing had happened.
Wonyoung, who had been glaring at that appearance as if it was outrageous, suddenly had some change of heart and went ‘Ah’ before standing up abruptly.
“Wait here for a moment.”
“Well, sure.”
Leaving behind Taerim who was somewhat puzzled and also somewhat amused, Wonyoung hurriedly ran somewhere—the place he headed to was in front of the compact car he’d brought for delivery. After taking out coffee in a tumbler from inside the car, Wonyoung ran back to Taerim.
“Here, please try this.”
Taerim’s eyebrows rose as if asking what it was. Wonyoung answered awkwardly to that silent question.
“I made it. I failed a bit, but it’s not that bad.”
“…….”
“Maybe it might have a scent. Coffee is meant to be enjoyed by scent. For reference, our cafe uses good coffee beans.”
Taerim didn’t take the coffee, didn’t open his mouth, and just stared at Wonyoung. Wonyoung grumbled internally about why he was meddling, yet elaborated to Taerim.
“If the coffee I made also has a scent, you could come to our cafe often from now on. I don’t have any other intention, it’s just a scheme to make a regular customer.”
Wonyoung’s expression was calm, but the tips of his ears were slightly red. At Taerim’s reaction of still just looking at him without saying anything while crossing his legs, Wonyoung grew increasingly anxious.
‘Did I say something useless? Why did I do that? I told myself not to give false hope, so what kind of meddling is this? Did Narae’s germs transfer to me? Is this what abangsu is? Am I abangsu? Could there also be something called meddlesu?’
Wonyoung’s thoughts were gradually going to places they shouldn’t go, when suddenly the sound of laughter brought Wonyoung sharply back to his senses. Before his eyes was Taerim covering his mouth and chuckling. When Wonyoung looked at him with a deflated expression, Taerim turned his head and laughed lowly again.
“What is this, right now? Are you laughing? What do you take a person’s sincerity for…….”
[This is a statement unsuitable for the character. Warning 4. When warnings accumulate beyond a certain number, a penalty will be given.]
[This is a statement unsuitable for the character. Warning 5. When warnings accumulate beyond a certain number, a penalty will be given.]
As warning windows rushed in, Wonyoung bit his lip. He was frustrated. Why was he swayed so well by this person?
“Are you angry?”
When Wonyoung couldn’t bring himself to express his anger outwardly and was just fuming, Taerim, who had finally somewhat reduced his laughter, asked. However, his lips were still grinning broadly.
“Hehe, I’m not angry though.”
Wonyoung smiled showing his teeth in a tone that was clearly angry to anyone watching. Taerim burst into laughter again and said.
“If I said it’s because you’re cute, would you get angrier?”
“!”
Momentarily flustered, Wonyoung quickly crumpled the front of his hoodie with his hand.
“These aren’t my clothes…… there were circumstances.”
“You know it and yet you pretend not to again.”
“Wh-what?”
“I’m talking about you. That you’re cute.”
Why is this person acting like this today?! Wonyoung’s face turned red again in a different sense. Up and down, it felt just like riding a roller coaster.
In the meantime, Taerim swiftly snatched the tumbler Wonyoung had held out. While Wonyoung fumbled in confusion, Taerim took a sip of the coffee inside the tumbler. The sight of his Adam’s apple moving as the coffee went down his throat looked like slow motion to Wonyoung’s eyes.
What if it doesn’t have a scent? What if Kyung Taerim becomes more disappointed?
A momentary fear passed through Wonyoung’s pupils.
“Mm.”
Whether knowing that feeling or not, Taerim made a short exclamation, then opened his mouth leisurely.
“It’s weak. Didn’t you tamp properly?”
“You know about coffee too……?”
“The basics.”
“Ah, no, more than that…….”
Wonyoung, who had asked in a daze for a moment, belatedly came to his senses and changed the subject. Then Taerim smiled and said.
“The scent is good, it seems you use good coffee beans as Narae-ssi said.”
“……Hah.”
Only then did Wonyoung let out a sigh of relief. Taerim was looking at such Wonyoung as if amused.
“Do I matter to you?”
“Then would you not?”
“Why do I matter?”
“No, are you even calling that a question…… sir?”
Now only one warning remained until the second penalty. Wonyoung glanced at the status window. Whether the game developer had been lenient or had gone somewhere, fortunately no warning appeared.
“Are you pitying me?”
“Well…….”
When Wonyoung hesitated but silently affirmed, Taerim recited Wonyoung’s information as if it was absurd.
“Narae. Total debt 200 million. Signed a physical forfeiture agreement. Lives in a one-room studio with 500,000 won monthly rent, working part-time at a cafe for minimum wage.”
“Wh-what, suddenly?”
“But I’m pitiful?”
Wonyoung’s eyes, who understood Taerim’s meaning, immediately turned fierce.
“……Know your place, is that it right now?”
“I’m just curious. I wonder if there’s anyone else with a good heart like you.”
“That’s because I’m…….”
Wonyoung, who was about to say it was because he was abangsu, couldn’t finish his words. When he thought about it, it wasn’t.
This time he acted according to his own will. There were no choices, and there was no status abnormality. Or.
Or…… was it just that he had room to spare because the 200 million debt would disappear when the game ended? Because he wasn’t the real Narae, so he had no desperation?
The positive thinking that had barely begun to sprout quickly turned negative again.
“Rae-ssi.”
“……Yes? What did you just…….”
At that moment, at the call that suddenly came, Wonyoung’s mind snapped alert. Right now, what did…… did I mishear?
As if answering such inner doubts of Wonyoung, Taerim said clearly again.
“I said Rae-ssi.”
“Wh-why are you suddenly dropping the surname……?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to make a regular customer? To do that, we need to become close.”
He thought what kind of logic that was, but no suitable rebuttal came to mind either. When Wonyoung made a lukewarm expression, Taerim added.
“Besides, if I diligently call you Rae-ssi, won’t Rae-ssi also get used to the address of Taerim-ssi?”
It wasn’t logical at all, but somehow it sounded plausible. Wonyoung, who was about to let it pass, very suddenly ended up thinking about how he would feel if Taerim called him ‘Wonyoung-ssi.’
‘Vain thoughts.’
Wonyoung quickly shook off the thought, but he couldn’t help the corner of his heart becoming heavy.
“……I think I should get going. I can’t leave my spot empty for too long. Thanks to you, I had a good meal.”
This wasn’t the time for this. He needed to avoid all of them, he shouldn’t enter the ending yet.
Wonyoung quickly bowed his head and turned around. Taerim tried to say something, but Wonyoung kicked off the ground and ran as he was.
The whirlpool in his heart that had appeared at some point was growing larger as time passed.
* * *
Wonyoung had sleep paralysis. He could hear voices from somewhere, but his body wouldn’t budge.
The voices he heard were somehow heterogeneous. As if human yet not human.
―……abnormal phenomena are occurring in them.
―Like the previous case of ……, a collision of choices occurred again…….
―Especially ……’s situation of seeing ……’s appearance has been confirmed.
―Regarding countermeasures after this…….
The voices were hard to understand intermittently, as if coming from a very distant place. Wonyoung struggled desperately to try to wake up. And in one moment, with a snap the paralysis released and the last sentence clearly pierced Wonyoung’s ears.
―The person to be most wary of is ‘Ki Siyeon.’
With a jolt.
Wonyoung, who sprang up from the bed as if bouncing off, gasped and reconsidered what he had just heard.
―The person to be most wary of is ‘Ki Siyeon.’
‘What……?’
It was somehow suspicious to just dismiss as a dream. Wonyoung, holding his head, tried to recall more of what he heard, but he hadn’t heard properly even in the dream, and perhaps because it was a dream, the memory was fading much faster.
‘……To be careful of Siyeon. Why did such words come up?’
Was it just a coincidence? But it was a dream inside the game. Wonyoung had never had dreams except for Narae’s past until now. It bothered him somewhere to dismiss it as nothing.
‘I feel anxious for no reason.’
Wonyoung decided to call Siyeon even though it was a bit early. However, only the ringtone went through, and Siyeon didn’t answer the phone. The anxious Wonyoung entered the text message box to leave a message.
And.
[Hello, Siyeon? Hehe ( ´ ∀ ` )ﾉ]
He came face to face with the forced text choice he’d completely forgotten about.
‘Fuck…….’
He swore just yesterday before going to sleep that he wouldn’t curse anymore…… it was broken after 9 hours.
[I woke up this morning to the sound of sparrows chirping. The sunlight is also bright, I feel so happy!]
What are you talking about, I woke up from sleep paralysis. Moreover, sunlight my ass, this semi-basement house even faced north so no sunlight came in at all.
And most of all, Wonyoung’s mood was absolutely shitty!
‘Represent my feelings!’
However, the text was continuing to write abangsu content on its own.
[When I thought about it, I became curious about how your day will be. It’s just morning now but…… heheh!]
‘Why is it doing that, really.’
If this game was released and he got to see Narae, he wanted to curse at him through the screen. It was fine if it didn’t reach. He was sincere.
[Your face also sparkles like sunlight, Siyeon~]
Wonyoung slapped his forehead at this part. Damn face-crazy fool. Still, the choices continued to appear.
[You know what? When you come, our house is always bright?]
[Hahahaha, funny, right?]
[I hope you smiled even a little. Your smiling face shines the most.]
[I’ll smile a lot thinking of you too!]
[Fighting on your gang work today too!]
