Peep-peep.
"Riceball… be quiet…"
Peep.
"Just a little more sleep…"
Peep! Peep-peep!
"…"
A small bird pecked at Yoon Seo's hair irritably. As expected, Riceball never let him get away with it more than three times. If this continued, Riceball would start flapping its wings at his face, but Yoon Seo ignored it. He was too exhausted to do anything about it. For an S-rank awakened being who could stay awake for days and still function perfectly, it was rare for him to be this sleepy. But there was no helping it. Yesterday was truly…
Buzz, buzz.
Now, following Riceball, his phone began vibrating. He squinted his eyes open just enough to see the caller ID: 'Boyfriend.' It wasn't the name he had saved it under. This was already the third time it had been sneakily changed without him knowing.
Kwon Jihan had never been happy with the name 'Kwon Jihan' in his contacts, so he secretly changed it to 'Cute Younger Boyfriend.' Naturally, as soon as Yoon Seo found out, he promptly changed it back to 'Kwon Jihan.' But after another incident where the phone fell into Kwon Jihan's hands, the name was changed to 'Younger Boyfriend,' and Yoon Seo had to restore it once again.
Now it had ended up like this… Still, the fact that Jihan had shortened the nickname as a compromise was kind of cute.
'Should I leave it like this…?'
Buzz, buzz.
Cute or not, exhaustion was still exhaustion. Yoon Seo decided to ignore the call.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
The final interruption came from the doorbell. It was obvious who it was. He hadn't answered the phone because he already knew Jihan was at the door.
Even after keeping me up all night like that, now he's here this early in the morning (it was currently 12:29 p.m.).
It wasn't exactly torture last night—they'd both enjoyed it, after all…
…Actually, Jihan had tried to stop, but Yoon Seo had insisted they continue.
Was he here this early to scold him?
"Ugh…"
Shuddering, Yoon Seo pulled the blanket over his head. "Hyuung." The visitor's voice came from the other side of the door as Riceball excitedly flew over.
"Hyung, what are you doing?"
Kwon Jihan called out to Yoon Seo in a surprisingly gentle voice from beyond the front door.
It was the same voice he had heard all night.
"Yoon Seo Hunter, your boyfriend is here."
Peep!
"Riceball, your owner still isn't awake?"
Peep-peep-peep!
"I'm coming in."
Shortly after, there was the sound of someone pressing the eight digits on the keypad. Kwon Jihan punched in the familiar password and opened the door. Peep-peep. Riceball made a pitiful sound full of affection, and Jihan began to comfort it. "Yeah, yeah. Hyung's not awake yet. He overslept and didn't play with you. You were upset, huh?" His voice grew closer. From under the blanket, Yoon Seo smiled.
"Oh…"
A low sigh came from right beside him.
"Still buried under the covers, I see."
"…"
"Guess he's sleeping in. Riceball."
Peep.
"Let's forgive him this time. We had such an amazing night yesterday. And we got some good results, so let's let it slide."
That's right. The reason Seo Chaeyoon, who normally didn't tire easily, was still fast asleep by noon.
Last night, the two of them… played games all night.
'Hunter and Skills.'
Of course, staying up gaming alone wouldn't be enough to wear out an S-rank awakened being. The real issue was that they had just finished tackling an S-rank Red Dungeon the day before yesterday.
It had been half a year since the end of the tutorial.
Now that 'Distorted Beings' had started appearing, the dungeons were far more challenging than before. However, there were also more awakened individuals than before, and the drop rate for good items had increased. Skills had become more powerful too, so hunters weren't overworked as much as they used to be.
But that didn't mean it wasn't dangerous.
This time, it took 11 days for Kwon Jihan and Seo Chaeyoon to clear the S-rank Red Dungeon, and during that time, 'Hunter and Skills' underwent a massive update. They added 300 new monsters to match the number of new Revengers.
When they returned to Earth, they expected the game to have been completely cleared by then. However, when they logged in, they saw that there were still some unchallenged monsters. The infamous 'JanyYun Duo' in 'Hunter and Skills' couldn't just sit by, so Yoon Seo ended up pushing himself harder than he did in the dungeon.
"See, I told you we should've taken a break. You were the one insisting we could keep going."
As annoying as it was, Kwon Jihan was still right as usual.
"This hyung definitely isn't asleep. I can tell you're grumbling inside."
Jihan pulled the blanket off Yoon Seo, who shut his eyes in response. Even though he'd been caught, he still wanted to lie there a bit longer. A quiet laugh came as a warm hand tousled his hair. Yoon Seo didn't mind being petted, especially since Jihan's touch was always warm, as long as he didn't do it in front of other people. Since it didn't seem like Jihan was trying to wake him up, Yoon Seo continued to enjoy the peaceful moment with his eyes closed.
Click.
The unmistakable sound of a camera shutter made Yoon Seo open his eyes. His gray eyes met Jihan's, who was grinning at him.
"Ah, hyung's awake."
Peep!
The little bluebird on Jihan's shoulder fluttered down to Yoon Seo. Riceball landed on his palm, brushing its wings between his fingers, asking for pets. Yoon Seo stroked the small bird, his tone turning cold.
"What do you think you're doing? Delete that photo right now."
"Do you even know what I took before telling me to delete it?"
"You're going to post it on social media again, aren't you?"
Yoon Seo snatched Jihan's phone away in a flash.
When Yoon Seo checked the gallery, he saw that the photo Kwon Jihan had just taken was a close-up of Riceball, the small, round, blue creature looking quite pleased while being petted. Kwon Jihan grinned mischievously.
"I just took a picture of our little one. Is that so bad?"
"You're only getting away with it because it's Riceball. If you post a picture of me on social media like last time…"
"That time, I only posted a picture of Riceball. Your face wasn't even in it; it was just about 1cm of your shoulder. No matter what, I always protect your identity. My lips are sealed tight."
"Yeah, sealed so tight you told Tae Jaesik ahjussi about us dating?"
"The important part is, I only told one person about us, and it's really unfortunate that he happened to tell the whole world."
"You're unbelievable."
"Come on, give Kwon-unbelievable a morning kiss."
"Stop asking for couple-like things."
"Are you forgetting that we are a couple? We even have the blessing of the god of love."
Yoon Seo fell silent, having no response to that fact. As soon as they returned to Earth, another god—a god of love—had granted them a blessing. This god, who seemed to be a mix of both the gods of life and death, had been constantly making embarrassing requests ever since.
"Hyung, kiss."
"This is ridiculous."
"I swear, when you use informal speech, my heart skips a beat. It's scary, but so damn sexy."
As Yoon Seo sighed and tried to get up, Kwon Jihan gently pushed him back down, laying him flat again.
"I thought you said to get up?"
"Morning kiss first."
"…"
Yoon Seo blinked up at him in disbelief. Kwon Jihan, cupping Yoon Seo's cheek, simply stared down at him. Yoon Seo's brown eyes darted around before he finally regained his composure. Jihan's face slowly drew closer, and Yoon Seo couldn't bring himself to say anything, simply closing his eyes as Jihan neared.
Just as their noses touched, and their lips were about to meet…
Peep peep!
"…"
"…"
Peep? Peep!
The innocent chirping of Riceball snapped Yoon Seo's eyes open. The little bluebird had perched on the pillow next to him, sitting only 5cm away, watching the most famous couple on Earth with wide eyes.
"Let's stop. Riceball is watching."
"Do Ego Swords come with a guardian mode or something?"
"Stop with the nonsense and get off me. You're heavy."
Peep. Peep!
"Alright, alright, I'm getting up," Yoon Seo said as he tried to sit up, only for Kwon Jihan to push him back down onto the bed again. Yoon Seo looked at him, silently asking what he was doing. With a slightly pouty expression, Kwon Jihan grabbed the back of Yoon Seo's head.
"But still, a kiss."
"Wait—"
Before Yoon Seo could finish his sentence, Kwon Jihan pressed his lips against his, abruptly cutting him off. The warmth and softness of his lips were followed naturally by the intrusion of his tongue.
Peep peep! Peep! Peep!
Riceball fluttered its wings, bumping its body into both of their faces. It seemed to be demanding a kiss as well. Yoon Seo, deciding to shower Riceball with affection later, focused on kissing his younger boyfriend for now.
***
After washing up, Yoon Seo emerged to find a lavish lunch set up by Kwon Jihan waiting for him. Seeing the amount of food on the table, Yoon Seo asked.
"Hunter Kwon Jihan, didn't you have breakfast?"
"I did. At seven in the morning… but now it's almost one. I'm starving. Let's eat."
As the two sat at the table, Riceball hopped in front of its own little bowl on the table. Even though it didn't need to eat, Riceball always insisted on copying everything Yoon Seo and Kwon Jihan did, so they always prepared a portion for it.
They chatted as they ate.
"Riceball's been staying in bird form a lot lately."
"It's convenient for flying."
"Bird, weasel, cat, lizard, flying squirrel, hedgehog… I wonder if it can turn into a mini human version?"
"It can only take the form of animals I recognize as 'animals.'"
Even though humans technically fall under the category of animals, since Yoon Seo distinguished between 'humans' and 'animals,' Riceball couldn't take on a human shape.
"I want an item like Riceball too. Can't you imagine how cute it would be if two birds sat side by side, pecking away happily?"
Yoon Seo glanced at Riceball while stuffing a piece of bossam into his mouth. Riceball wiggled its tail feathers joyfully as it tore into the meat.
(note: bossam is a Korean dish made of boiled pork slices, typically wrapped in cabbage or lettuce with kimchi and sauces.)
"That would be really cute."
"Right? Gaia, if you're watching, please grant my wish."
Yoon Seo smiled softly.