Chapter 39: Clinging

“…W-What in the world are you talking about!”

I yelled at Ban-ye, louder than I ever had before.

However, despite my beet-red face and my voice sounding like it would burst, Ban-ye simply wore an indifferent expression.

Then, he stared blankly at his own palm.

I felt a pang of shame, feeling that gesture was meant to signify what he had just said—’rubbing your chest on my hand.’

“Why… Why are you looking at your hand!”

“I just looked. More importantly, why did you leave the Discord?”

“I left because you were saying weird things!”

“Leaving at that timing makes it look even weirder.”

It was a valid point, but coming from the one who caused it, the shamelessness made my blood boil.

I trembled, pointing my finger and sputtering, “You… You…!” but Ban-ye paid me no mind.

Instead, he flopped down into the seat I had vacated and casually started scrolling through my Discord chats.

I stared blankly at him, but then I saw him go into my 1-on-1 chat list and became frantic.

My conversations with ImSoCute were in there.

I hastily grabbed Ban-ye’s shoulder.

But Ban-ye must have sensed me approaching from behind because he leaned his body forward in an instant.

As a result, I ended up in an awkward pose, pressing his neck with my arm.

“Wh-What are you doing! Why are you looking at someone else’s conversations!”

“Why are you hugging me from behind?”

“No, this is…! Hey! I told you not to look!”

However, Ban-ye was being as stubborn as the time he read my love letter.

In the end, I had no choice but to wrap my arms completely around Ban-ye from behind and, grunting, drag him and the wheeled chair away from the desk.

Ban-ye didn’t resist, but for some reason, he seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.

‘Does he think he’s on some kind of amusement park ride!’

I gritted my teeth, but this was the only way to stop Ban-ye.

Panting, I stood between Ban-ye and the laptop.

Ban-ye, who had been watching my desperate struggle while sitting with his legs crossed, opened his mouth.

“Do you have something to hide?”

“What? No! …I-It’s just, this is my privacy, okay?”

As I said that, I shut the laptop completely.

Then, I said to Ban-ye.

“If you do this again, I’m locking the door!”

“That’s a harsh thing to say.”

“You keep lying about knocking and sneaking in!”

At my words, Ban-ye narrowed his eyes and muttered.

“Hah…. f*cking nagging.”

“D-Did you just say f*cking?!”

I got angry at Ban-ye for suddenly using profanity, but he just gave me a sullen look and stood up.

Then, without an apology, he simply left the room.

‘Hey! Who’s the one who should be annoyed here!’

I was resentful of Ban-ye, but I didn’t have the energy to chase after him and argue, so I just plopped down in the chair.

From that day on, I ignored Ban-ye, but he, in turn, started to subtly provoke me.

It went something like this.

“Hyung.”

“…”

“Can’t you hear me?”

“…”

“Han-young.”

“Wh-What! You!”

“You weren’t answering. What should I make for lunch?”

“I don’t know! Just make whatever….”

It felt like he was looking down on me, and also like he was teasing me, but if I didn’t answer, he would call me by my real name or say something strange, making it impossible not to reply.

It seemed his talent for trolling was just as good in real life as it was in the game.

But… the problem was that while I pretended to be angry on the outside, on the inside, I didn’t exactly hate it.

“Hah, sh*t…. I was so surprised when he said my name….”

I muttered, punching the pillow I was hugging instead of Ban-ye.

That b@stard Ban-ye, does he know what he’s doing?

It feels like he’s been dropping hints for a while now.

“No… Professor ImSoCute said not to let my delusional mind wander….”

To calm my delusional thoughts, I recalled the image of Ban-ye ignoring my call while talking to his friend.

My mood immediately sank.

Right, to Ban-ye, I’m just a mere housemate….

The problem was that recalling the worst recent situation made my mood sink too low.

“Agh, seriously….”

In a fit of anger, I got a beer from the fridge, cracked it open, and started up the game.

As soon as the notification that Ah-ang had logged in appeared, a flood of chats from the guild members poured in.

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] Ban-ye?

[Guild][Ah-ang] Nope

[Guild][Male3] Ah-ang, you’re here lol

[Guild][Male3] Heard the rumor

[Guild][Ah-ang] ? What rumor?

[Guild][HeyYam] Why, the rumor that you and Ban-ye are lovey-dovey with each other, of course ㅇㅅㅇ

“Hey, what is this person talking about!”

I was already feeling down, and now a ridiculous rumor was spreading within the guild.

Disgusted, I hammered at the keyboard.

[Guild][Ah-ang] No, we’re not?

[Guild][HeyYam] You’re a hot item, aren’t you?

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] ㅋㅋ The couple is so gross I thought I was gonna die

[Guild][Ah-ang] ㅡㅡ I told you not to tease me

[Guild][ImSoCute] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

I desperately tried to deny it, but the guild members wouldn’t listen properly.

Instead, they got excited and teased me even more, and the more I denied it, the more they teased… creating an infinite loop.

[Guild][Youngmyeong] Why are you denying it all of a sudden?

[Guild][Youngmyeong] Did you have a lover’s quarrel?

It wasn’t a lover’s quarrel… but a lot had happened between us.

I trembled at Youngmyeong’s sharpness as I thought of the mischievous Ban-ye.

[Guild][Male3] ㄷㄷ Shouldn’t we keep ImSoCute in check?

[Guild][ImSoCute] Me?

[Guild][Male3] Aren’t you trying to seduce our guild master’s boyfriend this time?

[Guild][ImSoCute] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild][ImSoCute] As if I would do that!

ImSoCute, who had been dragged into the ridiculous joke, immediately denied it, but his previous record made it unconvincing.

Of course, there was no way ImSoCute would hit on me.

Besides, once the guild members got their teeth into something, they didn’t let go easily.

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] Take your lover’s quarrel somewhere else

[Guild][HeyYam] Don’t cause trouble in the guild

[Guild][ImSoCute] I said it’s not true

[Guild][ImSoCute] Though Ah-ang is a little cute

[Guild][Bogak] ㄷㄷ

[Guild][ImSoCute] But for Ah-ang, there’s only Ban-ye

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] Ugh…

ImSoCute… seemed to be enjoying this terrifying prank, as he didn’t deny it strongly and even added to it.

As I was feeling disgusted, I heard a knock, knock on the door.

“H-Hold on!”

Of all times, we were talking about Ban-ye, so I was about to tell him to wait, but the door swung open.

And Ban-ye brazenly walked inside.

“What is it. Why are you playing alone?”

“What’s the point of knocking if you’re just going to come in right away?!”

Ban-ye ignored my words, sat down next to me, and turned on his laptop.

He then stared blankly at the game screen where the guild chat was scrolling up.

“They’re saying weird things, because of you.”

“Yeah, because of you, hyung.”

Ban-ye shot back without missing a beat.

As soon as his computer booted up, Ban-ye launched the game.

The moment the notification that Ban-yeStorage had logged in appeared, chats poured in as if they had been waiting.

[Guild][Male3] The husband’s here

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] Both of you disappear

[Guild][Youngmyeong] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Amidst the flood of chats, Ban-ye nonchalantly typed what he wanted to say.

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] Ah-ang’s drinking habits are ㄷㄷ

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] You two drink together too?

[Guild][HeyYam] Is Ah-ang’s drinking habit to get clingy?

[Guild][Male3] lol I don’t think I could drink with Ah-ang

[Guild][Bogak] Me neither

[Guild][ImSoCute] You two must have gotten really close ㅋㅋ

[Guild][HeyYam] Rather than close, this is just like a couple ㅇㅅㅇ

In particular, the guild members who had heard Ban-ye’s strange joke last time started to tease us even more relentlessly.

[Guild][Neda] Did you two perform the great deed last night?

[Guild][Ah-ang] What kind of weird things are you people saying!

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] ㅋㅋ

But what was even more maddening was that Ban-ye, who would have normally responded with something like [Cut the bs], wasn’t particularly denying it.

“Hey, you have to deny it properly!”

I said, horrified, and Ban-ye glanced back at me and just shrugged.

“These kinds of things just get weirder the more you deny them.”

“No, but still….”

“Last time, too, you could have just said it was a joke, but it got weirder because you left the Discord, hyung.”

“…I-Is that so?”

I was at a loss for words at his valid point and shut my mouth.

I felt like I had been played by Ban-ye, but I didn’t really have anything to rebut him with.

Instead, Ban-ye narrowed his eyes and looked at me as if I were the strange one.

“Why are you being so serious now? You used to always say, I love you, I’m all yours.”

“Hey, when did I say that!”

I didn’t go that far.

…Did I?

I’ve made so many different jokes that I’m getting confused.

Anyway… the situation is different now.

Back then, I just thought Ban-ye the ranker was cool and had a bit of a cute side, but now… it’s a bit far from innocent.

“Then why are you playing along now when you didn’t before?”

“What do you mean?”

“The m-marriage or couple jokes.”

It would be better if he didn’t play along at all, but it was perplexing that he would play mischievous pranks and add to the conversation, making things bigger.

However, Ban-ye’s reaction was as if he didn’t understand what the problem was at all.

“It’s a fact that we did it, right? The marriage.”

“…”

“You started it, so why are you asking why I’m playing along….”

Right, I was the one who pestered him into it…. without knowing it would turn out like this.

Blaming my foolish past self wouldn’t change anything; I couldn’t just undo the marriage I had pushed for.

Learning the hard lesson that one must be careful with marriage even in a game, I had no choice but to endure the teasing from my guild members….