Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The person on the screen was Hyunoh.

“What is this?”

“Like, how the heck, right? Hyunoh Gong is on a live report of the final round.”

Doyeon didn’t feel sleepy at all.

Hyunoh hadn’t said a sword when they parted ways after their lesson at the tutoring center last night, so how did he find the time to participate in a gaming tournament and maintain his first place out of the entire class for their midterm exams? He was a sophomore too! And why didn’t he brag about reaching semi-finals? He really was a strange guy.

“When did he register for this? I thought he was busy studying all the time. How did he get to the finals?”

“I know, right?! Come on, let’s put this on the big screen.”

Kangbin and Sunwoo moved Doyeon’s laptop to the dining table.

But because Doyeon’s laptop was so old and was taking far too long to turn on and lagging once it was on, they had to turn back to Kangbin’s phone again.

“Wow, Hyunoh’s amazing! He read the whole game and flipped the score after getting one kill, did you see that? He used his ultimate...! Holy crap!”

“Seriously... What is this guy...?” Doyeon mumbled blankly.

Kurendin was a game Doyeon enjoyed too, so he found Hyunoh’s clean mouse movements and destructive game sense near god-like.

The three stared at the screen until the final match ended and screamed and hugged each other when Hyunoh was declared the final winner.

“Oh my god! I knew Hyunoh would win, I knew it!”

“Holy crap, holy crap, he actually won! Oh my god!”

“Someone call Hyunoh right now! Get your phones out!”

“He won’t pick up, he just finished a live stream! He’s probably in the award section now.”

The three continued to jump up and down, happiness spreading across their faces. It was hard to believe a student from their school, a friend of theirs, had just won an official tournament for a very famous game in a league for high schoolers.

Kangbin pushed Doyeon into the bathroom.

“Dude, hurry and wash up! We need to get to a PC room right now. I need to play a round, like, right now!”

“Yes, agreed! Come on!” Sunwoo shouted.

Doyeon’s shoulders drooped.

“But I used all my pocket money... I guess I should just watch.”

Doyeon could feel his blood boiling, just like them, but he used all his pocket money eating out with Hyunoh after class a few days ago for ramyeon.

Sunwoo took out a 10,000 won bill from his pocket and waved it in the air, shouting passionately.

“I’ll pay for Doyeon’s PC! I got pocket money from my grandma!”

Doyeon bowed at him, hailing him, then hugged Sunwoo’s waist.

“I’ll buy you a hot bar next week!”

* * *

He got to enjoy a few rounds for hours thanks to Sunwoo. When he got back home and flung himself on the couch, the sun was already setting.

“Should I...? I want to know what Hyunoh’s doing...” He rubbed his phone.

Doyeon shook his head and walked toward the nearest bathroom.

When he got out of his shower, it was dark outside. Doyeon laid down on his bed after finishing his homework from the tutoring center. He found the main page of the game, Kurendin, while surfing the internet.

Most of the comment section was about Hyunoh Gong.

[Title: Today’s very handsome winner (note: he’s a high schooler)]

Doyeon clicked on the post. He wanted to know what photos were up. The post had one picture of Hyunoh Gong in his introductory panel before the final round began.

“Huh, he’s not photogenic. He looks better in real life.”

Yes, Hyunoh was handsome, but his charm came from the combination of his looks, his clear eyes, and his soft but low voice.

Doyeon pitied the people looking at him on a screen, who wouldn’t know Hyunoh’s true value.

Doyeon scrolled through more posts.

[User 1: He looks good and he reached the final round. Damn, high schoolers these days are on another level.]

[User 2: Did you see how he held that flank? He literally just flicked Ven out, lmao]

[User 3: Mybaby’sgoodatgamingtoo >_<♥]

⤷ [User 4: Go home mom.]

[User 5: It’s not fair, is it? He got the girls and the round, like damn, choose one, dude.]

[User 6: What’s with his holy-looking aura? I’m kidnapping him.]

Doyeon flipped the phone on its face. He felt like some otaku snickering in a corner of a dark room, cheering on Hyunoh Gong.

He was a friend! He was a close friend.

“I can ask about his win on Monday...”

Doyeon kicked his sheets for a while, then his phone above his head suddenly buzzed.

Why was it buzzing in the middle of the night? He flipped the phone around and found Hyunoh Gong. He was asking... for a video call.

Surprised, Doyeon quickly accepted it.

“What the heck?”

“Were you sleeping?”

“No.”

I was looking at you. And pictures of you, and comments talking about you…

Unable to admit to his actions, Doyeon fell silent. He wondered if Hyunoh noticed he had been thinking about him.

“Doyeon, look.”

Hyunoh shook a trophy in front of the camera. It was a shining golden trophy that indicated his first place victory. Doyeon leaned closer to his phone to see the glinting golden thing.

“That’s so cool! Is that the trophy you won today?”

“You knew?”

“I saw you win a while ago. You were so good.”

“Really? But Doyeon, you know you can’t see this even if you press your eye against the screen, right? I can see nothing but your forehead right now.” Hyunoh laughed on the other end.

Doyeon fell away from his screen with an awkward expression, realizing he had been trying to shove his face in his phone. Hyunoh was right. Hyunoh was the one who had to place the trophy closer to the camera, not him.

“Do you want to see it?”

“Yeah! Are you going to bring it to school?”

“No, I was going to show it to you right now.”

“What?”

“I’m in front of your house.”

Doyeon shot up from his mattress and opened the window. The moment he pushed open the iron frame that was wedged unevenly into place, the cold October breeze rushed into his room.

When he looked down, Hyunoh waved his golden trophy at him with one hand while waving with another.

“Come down.”

“Right! Hold on!” Doyeon sprinted out of his house. He ran down the stairs, past the entrance of the shared house, and found Hyunoh standing next to the worn wall.

“What are you doing here so late?” Doyeon asked, stepping into the glow of the streetlight Hyunoh was standing under.

Hyunoh frowned when he saw his outfit. “Why did you come out like that?”

Doyeon was in his T-shirt and shorts, the set he used as pajamas because of the rush.

Doyeon only shrugged. Hyunoh gave him a serious look.

“Didn’t you suffer from a cold recently?”

“I did? When?” Doyeon asked, rubbing the goosebumps rising on his arms with a confused expression.

Hyunoh took off his black jacket and tugged it around Doyeon’s shoulders. Doyeon took it off and handed it back to him.

“No, wear it. You’re in a T-shirt too.”

“You wear it.”

“It’s yours, you should wear it.”

Hyunoh frowned as he pulled it back up one arm.

“Seriously, Doyeon, you’re so stubborn... You were absent from school because of a cold, remember?”

“Are you talking about the time I got sick on the first day of school? That was two months ago.” Doyeon smiled, leaning down to take a better look at Hyunoh’s trophy. He didn’t like how Hyunoh was scolding him when he was here to show him the trophy.

“Look at it later. It’s cold tonight, go back in.”

“All right, all right, I’ll wear your stupid jacket.”

Knowing Hyunoh meant what he said, Doyeon took Hyunoh’s jacket back and wore it, feeling like a child in his dad’s clothes when the sleeves hung over his hands and the width enveloped him like a loose blanket.

Why do I feel... defeated?

Doyeon turned Hyunoh’s trophy over and over. First place. First place at school, and first place in a gaming competition. Hyunoh was a monster.

“This is so cool... When did you sign up for the tournament? I should have known when I saw that gaming session in your daily planner.”

“I signed up to kill time, but I ended up reaching the finals.”

“Ended up? Damn, your motivation sounds flimsy and rich.” Doyeon handed the trophy back to him. “I’m jealous. You looked super cool.”

“You can have it.”

“What? Oh, so it’s mine now?” Doyeon stared at Hyunoh with a grin, thinking it was a joke, but his soft smile told him Hyunoh was not joking.

He meant it.

Doyeon wanted to snort. He had never met such an uncaring, greed-less person before.

“Okay, why should I? It’s not as if I won first place.”

“My name’s not on it.”

“But I’m not the one who won it.”

“Fine, then.” Hyunoh took the trophy back.

The trophy admiration time was over, and Hyunoh was supposed to head back home now, but Doyeon continued to linger. He didn’t want to leave yet.

“But why did you come here this late? If you wanted to brag to me, you could have come earlier.”

“I had a family meeting.”

“Oh. Does your family know you participated in the gaming tournament? What did your parents say?”

“My father plays golf while working too, so I'm allowed to game while studying. He was happy I won first place.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I came straight here after dinner. I wanted to brag to you first.” Hyunoh jokingly shook the trophy in front of his face.