Hansu Lee's room seems especially strange to me today.
It's... a little small.
I had always found this room cozy, but now it seemed stuffy for some reason.
And I'm not even a big barbarian right now. It doesn't matter, let's turn on the computer.
Momentarily distracted by the peculiarity, I quickly turned on the computer unit and entered the forum.
[Long live Korean Independence – 0 people connected].
I checked the Korean chat room first, but it was empty at the time.
I guess Hyeonbyeol isn't here yet.
There was no reason to enter an empty room, so I used the mouse to click on the bulletin board. Sure enough, the board was quickly filling up with everything from troll messages to advice. I clicked on the message that caught my attention the most among the various topics.
[(Breaking news) Bjorn Yandel, who everyone thought was dead, is alive].
Content.
It was a post that clearly demonstrated the writer's determination to be the first, taking into account that the only thing inside was the word «contents». But since it was the first post on the subject, the comments were immediate.
Harbinn: Wow! This is news that would scandalize the marquis and the palace!
└Sogeking33: Without a doubt. They would be surprised if the writer had the audacity to call «at the last minute» this news from two weeks ago.
└these99: They only wrote «Content» as the actual content as well.
└OP: But I was quick.
The comments were more or less all the same. Since everyone had already heard the news of my return, I was sure that it was not so shocking to anyone as to justify a great reaction. However, some people acted as if they were hearing it for the first time.
showmustgone: Huh? It's true? How come Bjorn Yandel is alive? I thought he had died?
└Sogeking33: Is he locked in a basement? Yandel announced his return to the Palace of Glory centuries ago.
└IsABot: I was there when he announced his return and honestly I got goosebumps.
└arolf5205. He went to apologize to the families of his dead crew before even saluting the throne and it was honestly no joke. Until now I thought he was a manly man but I realized that that word is reserved for people like him.
└WingPizza: The nobles' looks were really funny.
└showmustgone: Declaring his return at the Palace of Glory? What does that mean? He may be alive, but Bjorn Yandel is still an evil spirit.
└ReDCod: Apparently that's not true. He was doing some secret mission for the king and was just pretending to be dead.
These reactions were interesting, so I read them all and hit update once again.
└vaman: But am I the only one who thinks this commenter is suspicious? Don't they know anything about a rumor that has already spread throughout the city?
└vaman: ¿Este imbecil es de Noark?
Come to think of it, they were suspicious. Noark's upper echelons must have already known of my existence, but if they controlled the flow of information, it made sense that some wouldn't know it yet.
└WingPizza: I'm a little suspicious too, so I sent a quick message to the mods to let them know.
Others already seemed to be reporting them, and I abandoned the thread once things got to that point.
Hit.
I stood paralyzed, mouse in hand. It wasn't necessarily a shock, as I knew this moment would come.
[Long live Korean independence – 2 people are online].
Two people were inside the chat although I wasn't. There were only three probable explanations for this. Someone entered by accident, the GM was meeting with Hyeonbyeol, or... Baekho had returned.
Hit!
Hah...
If the GM had agreed to my request to remove Baekho's ban in three months, there was a good chance it was Baekho.
«Ok, let's go in.»
So what am I going to find, a domestic cat or a tiger? I guess I'll only know for sure once I'm inside.
Click-click.
As soon as I double-clicked the mouse, everything turned white and my surroundings changed to an elaborate mansion designed to the taste of the original moderator, Baekho.
Crujido, crujido, crujido.
Two people were sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace.
«Oh, Hansu!» One of them was Hyeonbyeol, as expected. «Why did it take you so long?» Hyeonbyeol seemed relieved to see me, probably because she had been in a hurry to leave last time because of the marquis. But before greeting him back, I looked at the person next to him.
Diapositive.
Coincidentally, the person in question was also looking at me.
«Oh, right. You should say hello. We are all Korean here». Hyeonbyeol tried to make the conversation easier, but unfortunately for her, we didn't need her to.
«No need for introductions.»
«Yes, it's not necessary, sister. We already know each other». The man got up from the couch and approached me with a smile. «It's been a while. I've missed you». His attitude was completely different than when we met outside.
Although this one «one-eight» seemed especially strange to me, I greeted him without problems. «Yes, it's been a while, Baekho.» I wanted to see him too, because I had a mountain of questions I wanted to ask him.
Crujido, crujido, crujido.
The studio fireplace crackled quietly. The three of us were sitting on the couch in front of her, chatting friendly. Apparently, we were having a good time.
«What, you say you knew each other in the real world and you met here again?», Baekho asked.
«Sí».
«Wow, that's amazing. If someone I know showed up here, I'd treat them like a king», Baekho said. Then he bowed his head nonchalantly and his cunning eyes looked us from side to side. «So... what do you know each other about?».
Hyeonbyeol looked at me before answering: «We were just friends». True, he never liked to talk about his personal life. That really worked for me.
«Come on... I'm sure it was more than that», Baekho insisted with a mocking smile.
That made the polite smile disappear from Hyeonbyeol's face. «Excuse me, Mr. Lee».
«What... yes?»
«Why are you suddenly talking informally?»
«Eh... this is not informal... it is, you know... half-casual. As spoken between close acquaintances».
«Oh, I see... but are we close?» It's been a while since I've seen her make that poker face.
Baekho seemed quite upset by the question, but only briefly played the role of a fool. «You're very sensitive to small things, huh?». His voice became more aggressive as his outer personality slowly began to surface.
Of course, Hyeonbyeol didn't care at all. «Shouldn't I be the one to judge if it's a small thing or not?».
«Well, that's true. But strictly speaking, I'm actually older than you».
This argument would be unimaginable in a Confucian country like Korea. It was one that only Baekho, who had lived in this world for more than ten years, could wield.
Hyeonbyeol sighed annoyed. «First of all, it was you who said that our real ages are more important and you started calling me sister».
«But...»
«Secondly, I never asked you to call me that».
«But...»
«Three, I never said I consider you younger than me. Just like a man I first met today».
«Eh…»
«That's why I'm still using formal language, Mr. Lee.» Hyeonbyeol dropped her stony expression and smiled again. As a result, the cold, harsh tension in the room suddenly softened. «So I want you to respect people's boundaries from now on. It shouldn't be a very difficult request to fulfill, right?».
In the end, Baekho was overcome by the strength of his personality. «Uh... uhh...»
«You can do it, right?»
«Yes...» The opportunity to fight back escaped Baekho completely, and he nodded meekly, while laughing awkwardly.
It seems that he is surprised by what just happened... Even he is no match for Hyeonbyeol.
That was pretty useful information. Even now, when I felt like I had grown a lot as a person, it reminded me once again that I should never pick a fight with Hyeonbyeol.
«Ahaha... but Miss... Hyeonbyeol... and Mr. Hansu, do you know each other?»
«Hey? What if we know each other?»
Baekho seemed to want to change the subject because he responded quickly. «Ah, I mean, not in real life but in 'real life'... Ah, damn, how do I say this?».
«Are you asking me if we've ever met in town?».
«¡Sí! Fruit. Fruit».
He was about to answer honestly because he saw no reason to hide it when Hyeonbyeol jumped up. «Why do you want to know that?».
I immediately closed my mouth, and Baekho did the same.
«You ask a lot of questions, Mr. Lee. In fact, you've only asked one-sided questions since you arrived».
«Ahahaha... Have I done it? I have done it?»
«Sí.»
Ugh, this is so uncomfortable it's practically torture.
«Hyeonbyeol, deja de meterte con edge.»
«But keep asking us for personal information.»
«...I'm sure he means well.»
«You do not know that. We are strangers who met today.»
«E-Strangers? We are still Korean! Sister!» Baekho screamed, but his pleas did not influence Hyeonbyeol's heart in the slightest.
«Are there no criminals in Korea? That's not the Korea I remember. If you really want to hear from me, you should go first. Who are you, what do you do and where do you live now?».
«That? I? Because?»
«Well, wouldn't I feel more comfortable sharing with you if I knew those things?».
«Hey... but still, that's a bit... you know? A man should have a mysterious side... hahaha...»
«You are an interesting person, Mr. Lee». Hyeonbyeol's eyes were not smiling at all as he said that, and an awkward silence ensued.
Yikes, this guy is going to run away if this goes on any longer. We haven't even gotten to the main question yet.
«Hyeonbyeol. »
«What's happening?»
«I'm sorry, but can you leave us the room for a moment? I have something to talk to Baekho».
Baekho shuddered at my request. Then he gave me a look that clearly asked, have you gone crazy? That was because he didn't know Hyeonbyeol very well.
«...Okay. Do you want me to come back later?» Hyeonbyeol hated it when lines were crossed without permission. That's why he never crossed other people's lines when they were drawn in the sand. Well, actually, there was one particular day in my memory that showed that even she had exceptions to her rule. «Don't disappear again. I'll wait outside and go in as soon as the number of people inside drops to one».
«Okay. And thanks».
Was it so strange for her to hear a thank you come out of my mouth? Hyeonbyeol gave me a strange look and left the conversation. With that, Baekho and I were left alone in the mansion.
«Hansu... No, sir!» Baekho stood up, apparently impressed. «So you are the one in charge! Yeah! I knew it!»
Si, vale...
I laughed because I had nothing to say to that, and Baekho changed the subject. «Ah! But what's happening? Did you have something to tell me?»
«Ah, it's nothing special. I just wanted to ask you a few things. It's been a while since we last saw each other».
«Really? So why don't we each ask a question? I have some questions for you too».
A truth game where we take turns, huh? Why do all my conversations end up having this format?
I didn't know it, but I accepted anyway. «Then can I start?» i asked.
«Yeah. Forward».
Okay, I had an advantage here. I decided to start by asking easy questions. Or, well, they weren't really easy questions, but rather they would serve to hide my real motive. «Let me ask this one first. The famous Baekho Lee in the city... are you too?»
«Ah... so you know». Baekho didn't deny it, which made sense considering he had been openly using his name in the first place. «But you must be very good. I'm actually not that famous».
«Vale, it's your turn».
When I handed him the baton, Baekho asked cautiously, «What was your real relationship with Hyeonbyeol?» This was an anticlimactic question.
«Why do you want to know?»
«Why wouldn't I want to know? What else can I ask?» Baekho said frivolously, but I knew too much about him to let my guard down.
«Es mi ex novia».
When I answered him honestly, he jumped back out of his seat. «Of course! I knew. I knew you had something from the beginning».
After that, the question and answer session continued. I heard Noark left the castle walls, do you know anything about that? I heard a rumor that Auril Gavis is alive, do you know if it's true? My questions were quite heavy, but Baekho only asked frivolous questions on his shifts.
«How did you start dating someone like Hyeonbyeol? Did you ask her out first?»
Did this guy just suggest taking turns asking questions like this? The thought came to mind, but I didn't let it show and little by little I increased the difficulty of my questions.
«Why do you have so many questions about me? And about you?» asked.
« ¿Yo?»
«Yeah. Don't you have a girlfriend? You have lived here for more than ten years. Actually, forget about a girlfriend, you could have gotten married if you wanted to».
«Hey. That's crossing the line».
«Uh... I'm sorry... but I'm curious. Don't you really have one?»
«Well... it's not that it's easy».
«Really? Why are they NPC?»
«I guess... you could see it that way».
«Hey, you're making him uncomfortable by getting pessimistic with me. Man, you're strangely cautious about certain things. Think about it. I was joking about the marriage part, but you could at least go on a date, right?»
«Hmm... how I will think ».
«Yes, look for someone around you if possible. I heard you have a woman on your team».
«Oh, ¿Missha Karlstein?»
«Yeah, I think that was the name».
«Hmm...» Baekho stared at me for a second. «But what do you know her about?».
I figured you'd ask something like that. «Of what? I found out from the group of Round Table Watchers you introduced me to. They said you used it to spread the rumor that Bjorn Yandel is an evil spirit».
«Sí, ¿y....?»
«Now that I think about it, I'm curious», I said, feigning some caution. «If that's true... why did he do it?». This was one of the many questions I had been wanting to ask and finally had the opportunity to do so. Why did Baekho do something like that? «I never thought you would do anything to harm a partner». I added it as an explanation to my question and calmly waited for an answer.
Soon, Baekho parted his lips. «My friend... Now it's my turn».
«…¿Eh?»
«You asked me if I had a girlfriend or not».
Ah... Is this how this works?
«So now it's my turn.»
«...Okay, go ahead.»
When I nodded, Baekho stared at me before letting out a frustrated sigh. «Ugh, I don't like the idea of using this against you. This is to do to enemies». The atmosphere suddenly changed. Before he could comment, Baekho continued. «Let's stop trying now.»
«...Feeling?» There was something wrong with his statement. Maybe he was testing him, but each other? That implied that he had been testing me too. My heart beat restlessly. Perhaps because of the excessive blood flow to my head, I almost felt like time had slowed down.
Baekho was groping me.
So that? It was obvious.
Since when? I had my assumptions.
What clues did I miss? It didn't matter. The important thing was my decisions to move forward.
What was I going to do in the future? Exactly what I had already planned. The only thing that had changed was the order.
As soon as I finished using all the mental capacity available to take stock of the situation, I was forced to return to reality.
«Ha, I can hear your gears turning, Hansu». Baekho's mouth moved and he spoke in a voice too calm for someone trying to start a fight. «Are you Bjorn Yandel?».
I responded after a brief pause. «Yeah».