Chapter 9: The Space Between Us

MachoKing’s unexpectedly reasonable answer seemed to genuinely surprise Seohyun.

[Whisper] Seohyun: That’s unexpected??
[Whisper] MachoKing: I’m doing what you said, so why.
[Whisper] Seohyun: No;; I thought you’d insist until the bitter end.

After a week of seeing way too much of each other, both of them fell silent in the rare moment of normal conversation. Seohyun watched MachoKing for a beat, and Gyeongheon peeked at Seohyun’s reaction before asking, almost shyly:

[Whisper] MachoKing: Then… can I be a Hunter?

[Whisper] Seohyun: …What?

Gyeongheon thought of the job-change token he saw in the item shop a few days ago. He’d always assumed you needed to reach max level and reincarnate to change jobs, but apparently there was a shortcut—and he hadn’t decided whether to tell Seohyun or not.

Still, he typed:

[Whisper] MachoKing: With the job-change thing.

[Whisper] Seohyun: You, who couldn’t even afford repairs, are going to buy that with cash?
[Whisper] Seohyun: Are you insane?

Instant regret.

[Whisper] Seohyun: You’re joking, right?
[Whisper] Seohyun: LOLOLOL
[Whisper] Seohyun: What are you gonna do?
[Whisper] Seohyun: You?
[Whisper] Seohyun: Hyung—
[Whisper] Seohyun: MachoKing, I told you to get a grip.

[Whisper] MachoKing: …Did you just call me MachoKing?

Before he could even clutch his heart, the barrage continued:

[Whisper] Seohyun: With that skill level you’re gonna shoot guns? Are you out of your mind?
[Whisper] Seohyun: Is it that hard to stay sane?
[Whisper] Seohyun: After getting wrecked on day one, you learned nothing?
[Whisper] Seohyun: With your current brain you couldn’t do it even with a full gear swap.
[Whisper] Seohyun: Why aren’t you answering?

[Whisper] MachoKing: I’m not answering because I don’t want to ♥♥ Gross.

There had never been another option. MachoKing was doomed to be an archer.

[Whisper] MachoKing: I’ll just shoot arrows, okay?

[Whisper] Seohyun: Hyung.
[Whisper] Seohyun: Do you remember the day we first met?

[Whisper] MachoKing: Of course I do, f**k.
[Whisper] MachoKing: If I hadn’t been digging like an idiot that day—
[Whisper] Seohyun: ?
[Whisper] MachoKing: If I could go back, I’d slap myself.
[Whisper] MachoKing: Hard. And ban myself from this game.
[Whisper] MachoKing: Wait no
[Whisper] MachoKing: Then I wouldn’t have met that trash and Wi-Fi.
[Whisper] MachoKing: I still have to get revenge on those bastards.

[Whisper] Seohyun: Yeah yeah that’s like the tenth time.

Before Gyeongheon could go off again, Seohyun cut him off and began his own story.

[Whisper] Seohyun: Actually,
[Whisper] Seohyun: I was planning to toy with you a bit and dump you.

[Whisper] MachoKing: Dump who?

[Whisper] Seohyun: Who do you think?

Gyeongheon’s face twisted.

[Whisper] Seohyun: If you hadn’t played along with my word-chain that day,
[Whisper] Seohyun: we would’ve never gotten tangled up like this.

[Whisper] MachoKing: It’s not too late now.
[Whisper] MachoKing: Let’s end this cursed relationship.

[Whisper] Seohyun: Hyung.
[Whisper] Seohyun: Do I look like someone that irresponsible?

[Whisper] MachoKing: Why do you keep trying to take responsibility for me?
[Whisper] MachoKing: You can throw me away.

[Whisper] Seohyun: No no, honestly,
[Whisper] Seohyun: You kept whining about tanking
[Whisper] Seohyun: and it pissed me off, so I pushed you.
[Whisper] Seohyun: But choosing archer
[Whisper] Seohyun: was the right call.
[Whisper] Seohyun: So let’s do our best from now on—

[Whisper] MachoKing: Okay enough stop right there.

Letting go of his dream job, Gyeongheon changed the subject.

[Whisper] MachoKing: So today I just clear quests, right? I gotta kill mobs.

[Whisper] Seohyun: That quest isn’t urgent. Let’s do your main quest today.

[Whisper] MachoKing: Oh, finally.

There hadn’t been any big events since the last update, so players made their own fun—dungeons, farming, screenshots, cosmetics. But everything was still new to Gyeongheon, and with Seohyun around, he wouldn’t get ambushed and die unfairly.

When he showed interest in exploring new content, Seohyun cut in:

[Whisper] Seohyun: Before that—we’ve got something to do.

[Whisper] MachoKing: ?? What?

[Whisper] Seohyun: You’re used to the game now, right?
[Whisper] Seohyun: Time to join a guild.
[Whisper] Seohyun: I have one. Come join mine.

**

Gyeongheon instantly hit No.

[Whisper] MachoKing: NONONONONONONO
[Whisper] MachoKing: Hyung doesn’t do that stuff.

[Whisper] Seohyun: …Ha.

[Whisper] MachoKing: NONONONONONONONONO
[Whisper] MachoKing: Nope.

Seohyun’s typing got noticeably faster.

[Whisper] Seohyun: I fed you, clothed you, sheltered you—

[Whisper] MachoKing: Hey say it properly
[Whisper] MachoKing: You only clothed me. When did you ever feed or shelter me?
[Whisper] MachoKing: And I hate meeting people in games
[Whisper] MachoKing: Social stuff makes me uncomfortable

[Whisper] Seohyun: It’s fine, we’re a small group.
[Whisper] Seohyun: You can pretend not to know us.

[Whisper] MachoKing: How do I pretend not to know you if you’re a small group?
[Whisper] MachoKing: You’ll be breathing down my neck.
[Whisper] MachoKing: God, you’re so good at being annoying.

[Whisper] Seohyun: Just join. Don’t go get yourself beaten up alone.
[Whisper] Seohyun: You’ll get lonely by yourself anyway.

[Whisper] MachoKing: Me? Why?

He thought of his upcoming return to the police station, to the chaos and constant teamwork. These three quiet hospital weeks had been bliss. He wasn’t ready to give that up.

He typed firmly:

[Whisper] MachoKing: I won’t be logging in much now.
[Whisper] MachoKing: Oh right.
[Whisper] MachoKing: Hey do you want anything to eat?
[Whisper] MachoKing: Want chicken?

He’d received enough gear that he felt obligated to buy the kid a meal. He bought a few gift coupons on his phone—twenty-four-year-olds usually craved greasy, huge portions. He remembered being the same.

But… how was he supposed to give it to him?

Meanwhile the chat kept sparkling nonstop.

[Whisper] Seohyun: You won’t log in much?
[Whisper] Seohyun: Hyung you’re unemployed
[Whisper] Seohyun: What are you, a responsible unemployed man?
[Whisper] Seohyun: Living as a respectable bum?

[Whisper] MachoKing: I’m doing part-time work.

[Whisper] Seohyun: ?????
[Whisper] Seohyun: You never told me that.

Gyeongheon was impressed he remembered.

[Whisper] MachoKing: Good memory
[Whisper] MachoKing: I got hurt at work so I was hospitalized
[Whisper] MachoKing: I’m getting discharged the day after tomorrow and going back.

[Whisper] Seohyun: ????????????????????

[Whisper] MachoKing: Hey calm down a bit

[Whisper] Seohyun: You got hurt?? You never told me that either

[Whisper] MachoKing: Why are you so curious, Seohyun
[Whisper] MachoKing: Stop pestering hyung

Then he realized his tone and added:

[Whisper] MachoKing: Anyway I won’t be helpful to your guild
[Whisper] MachoKing: And I won’t be on often;

But Seohyun didn’t reply.

The silence made Gyeongheon scratch the back of his neck. He never had a talent for soft phrasing, and Seohyun—temperamental as he was—was still only twenty-four.

Finally, a line appeared:

[Whisper] Seohyun: How often won’t you be here?

[Whisper] MachoKing: Wait.

He checked his schedule. Three weeks in the hospital meant a mountain of reports and paperwork awaited him. He grumbled under his breath.

He typed:

[Whisper] MachoKing: Like… once or twice a month?

[Whisper] Seohyun: You can only log in once or twice a month?

“What kind of disaster are you saying,” Gyeongheon muttered. A police detective with that much free time would be a problem.

[Whisper] MachoKing: No no, I can log in once or twice a month.

A few seconds later:

[Whisper] Seohyun: Hyung
[Whisper] Seohyun: …Did I do something wrong?