Chapter 78: Small Victories and Hidden Identities

“Un-ha?”

Get it together, Chae Un-ha. I scolded myself internally and finally reached the table where Na Eun-hyeok was sitting. He looked up at me with those large, expressive eyes. Since he was much taller than me, I was used to looking up at him; seeing him from this slightly lower angle was a fresh perspective.

Wait. Now is not the time for these thoughts.

I snapped out of it just as Eun-hyeok tilted his head in curiosity. I hurriedly pulled my backpack off my shoulder and yanked at the zipper. In my haste, the fabric got caught. After a brief struggle, I managed to open it wide enough to shove my hand inside.

“Here.”

What I pulled out was a pair of those plump, iconic banana milk bottles. I placed them carefully in front of him. Eun-hyeok’s eyes flickered down to the yellow bottles, then bounced back up to me, clearly waiting for an explanation.

“Looking… looking forward to working with you.”

My tongue felt like it had tied itself into three knots, but I managed to get the words out. Inside, I felt a surge of pride. My tone might have been a bit robotic, but there was nothing I could do about that. Once again, my right arm and right leg moved in sync as I circled the table to the opposite side. I fought the urge to keep staring at him and desperately shifted my gaze away. I awkwardly pulled out the chair directly across from him, then reconsidered and moved to the seat next to it.

“There’s plenty of room at the table if you sit there.”

I froze. Eun-hyeok was smiling brightly as he laid out his prints and notebooks. As he said, his file folders didn’t even reach the middle of the table. “Uh, yeah.” I nodded awkwardly and carefully sat down beside him. Truthfully, I hadn’t wanted to sit right in front of him because I was afraid I’d space out and just stare at his face—but that was hardly something I could tell him.

As I started pulling out my own papers, a yellow bottle slid into my view.

“I think it’d be better to share these rather than me drinking both. What do you think?”

“Oh… I only brought one straw, though…”

“It’s fine. I usually drink without a straw anyway.”

Even the thin straw was pushed toward me. While I sat there flustered, looking at the milk and the straw, Eun-hyeok had already peeled back the foil lid of his and taken a sip. It felt too late to offer the straw back, so I just tapped the table anxiously.

“It tastes better when we drink together, Un-ha.”

His words made it feel like he could see right through me.

After a moment’s hesitation, I gripped my bottle. Eun-hyeok leaned forward, resting his chin on his palm. I kept glancing at him as I poked the straw through the lid. I didn’t know why I was acting like this. All I knew was that every time our eyes met, Eun-hyeok would crinkle his eyes into a gentle smile.

Only after I finally took a long sip of the banana milk did the subtle tension between us seem to dissolve. Eun-hyeok straightened his posture and gave me a genuine smile.

“I’ll enjoy this. Thanks, Un-ha.”

“It’s nothing.”

My reply came out somewhere between blunt and stiff again, but Eun-hyeok didn’t seem to mind, just letting out a light “Haha” of amusement. It felt like I was the only one nervous, the only one conscious of every second.

Maybe he really doesn’t think anything of it at all.

The study session lasted quite a while. Aside from Eun-hyeok being a little surprised that I’d already finished the assigned tasks on the printouts, nothing “special” happened between us.

But my internal monologue? That was a different story. Realizing how many times I caught myself stealing glances at him wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience. When he said, “Thanks to you, it’s a lot less work. Thank you,” I felt a literal shiver of electricity. I had been helpful to him. Maybe I’d even scored some points. That thought made my fingertips tremble. I pretended to rest my arm on the chair’s armrest just to hide my shaking hands under the table.

If I had to grade my performance today, it wouldn’t be a high one. Chae Un-ha was still Chae Un-ha—overthinking every single word he said and freezing up like I’d looked into Medusa’s eyes. It was a blessing that Eun-hyeok was kind enough to understand my awkwardness so the project could move forward. At least it didn’t seem like he still thought I hated him.

Thanks to that, I even found the courage to strike up a conversation.

“Do your classes end late today?”

“Hmm, around three-thirty? You?”

“I’m out at three.”

“Ends a bit earlier than mine, then.”

“Yeah.”

It wasn’t a long conversation, and truthfully, I already had a rough idea of when his classes ended, but it was the first time I’d spoken to him first. Naturally, I was screaming internally. I had to force my face to stay stiff just to keep from cheering out loud.

Fortunately, Eun-hyeok didn’t seem to misinterpret my silence or my expression. He just smiled warmly and added:

“Good luck with your classes today, Un-ha.”

Yes. This is the power of banana milk.

[Guild] BuffNinjaPls: hi

[Guild] BlueberryWhiskey: Hello~

[Guild] BuffNinjaPls: Blueberry-nim

[Guild] BlueberryWhiskey: Yes?

[Guild] BuffNinjaPls: Wanna try playing a Ninja?

[Guild] BuffNinjaPls: At your level, you wouldn’t lose much by restarting a char.

[Guild] ParkJinSol: Ninja stfu.

[Guild] BuffNinjaPls: Ah, why do you only pick on me ㅠㅠ

[Guild] ParkJinSol: You really asking?

[Guild] ParkJinSol: Because you’re the only one here who’s full of it ㅎㅎ

[Guild] ParkJinSol: ful of it

[Guild] ParkJinSol: full of it

[Guild] ParkJinSol: Ah f*ck.

[Guild] BuffNinjaPls: I think your keyboard is full of it too.

[Guild] ParkJinSol: Shut it.

The guild chat was peaceful today. Watching Park Jin-sol and BuffNinjaPls bicker made me realize that like attracts like. They were perfectly in sync.

[Guild] AngelA: Hello~

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Urgh Angel-nim ㅠㅠ

[Guild] NasiGoreng: HELLOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guild] AngelA: Hey ㅎㅎ

[Guild] AngelA: Goreng-nim, are you doing the Battlegrounds today too?

[Guild] AngelA: Want to go together?

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Huk

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Omg yes

[Guild] NasiGoreng: I’LL FOLLOW YOU ANYWHERE ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Guild] Ayron: Never seen Goreng-nim like that before ㅇㅅㅇ

[Guild] Ayron: Screenshotting this ㅇㅅㅇ

[Guild] NasiGoreng: Middle finger emoji.

Meanwhile, NasiGoreng was losing his mind over AngelA logging in. I wondered if he was secretly the president of her fan club. While I was watching him send a middle finger to Ayron, I felt someone behind me.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

“The chat.”

Since I’d logged off in Sephiroth’s room last time, I’d logged back in there today as well. After logging in and out of his dark house several times, it had started to feel weird not to start the game here.

“When did you get on?”

“Just now.”

“Am I a bit late today?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and turned around. His massive black armor gleamed subtly in the light. This sight was so familiar now that not having him stuck to my side would have felt more awkward. Sephiroth and I always seemed to have similar login times.

Wait, maybe it’s just that he’s always online. It felt like an anomaly whenever I was the late one.

“What were you doing today that made you late?”

“Were you waiting for me, our Blee?”

“Do you get a canker sore if you go one day without saying something weird?”

“Yeah.”

“Bullsh*t…”

“I was at school.”

“So you actually do go to school.”

Since he was such a delinquent-type, I half-expected him to be a dropout. But I guess he attends faithfully. Or maybe he’s just the type to skip afternoon lectures.

Sephiroth walked leisurely to the table. He sat on a black chair in front of a white-marbled black stone table and crossed his legs. It was a mystery how he could cross his legs in full plate armor.

“Of course I go. What about you? What did you do today, Blee?”

“Uh, me?”

“Yeah.”

“I went to school too.”

“What did you do there?”

“Lectures, group project.”

“How was the project?”

He’s being unusually nosy today.

“It was good.”

“Really? I heard group projects are usually hell.”

“My teammate is great, so it’s fine. If anything, I’m the one being carried.”

“Oh? What kind of person is this teammate?”

“Um… He’s smart. And handsome.”

It would have been easy to say, “You know that child actor Na Eun-hyeok? That’s him,” but I didn’t want to use his name like that. From what I’d seen, Eun-hyeok didn’t seem to enjoy people bringing up his child-actor days all the time. Besides, if I revealed it was him and Sephiroth started asking for gossip, I’d be in a tough spot. They say you get punished for talking about people behind their backs.

Sephiroth is fishing for info about your “handsome” teammate! Do you keep it vague and change the subject to the Battlegrounds, or do you tease him back for being jealous?

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