That Face Is the Problem - vanish into fiction

“Hunter Jeong Jae-gyeong, are you alright?”

“Ah, sniff… Me…? Of course, sniff, I am fine… but why…?”

“Well… because you were crying.”

Huh? Jae-gyeong wiped his cheeks with those words. Sure enough, they were damp. Why was he crying?

Kim Ye-jin, who handed him a tissue, looked at him with a sympathetic expression.

“How badly must you have been heartbroken to cry the moment you got drunk. If she was that difficult, just forget her!”

“Y-You are too harsh… sniff.”

He had no memory of what happened while his mind had briefly gone blank from drinking. Had he said something about Da-in…? The thought made his face pale. Da-sol, Da-in’s younger brother, was right beside him!

Jae-gyeong quickly glanced to his side. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the seat was empty.

“Da-sol went to the bathroom. Hunter Jeong Jae-gyeong held his shoulder and cried so much that his clothes got wet…”

Still, Ye-jin kindly reassured him that he had only cried, not verbalized any complaints. At the same time, Jae-gyeong wrapped both hands around his head. Was this real? Could this really be happening?

“I am sorry, I am so sorry…”

He had committed a grave breach of etiquette toward Da-sol, and from the first day had embarrassed himself in front of other team members as well. By now, the training guild might regret having hired him. A tank who cries when drunk was not reliable at all.

“I truly apologize…”

Even while apologizing, panic surged and tears welled up again. Jeong Jae-gyeong, you are a complete fool. What on earth are you doing? You had promised a fresh start, quit everything, and now were miserably clinging to past regrets. It was almost self-loathing.

“Hunter Jeong Jae-gyeong! Jae-gyeong!”

Ye-jin clapped to get his attention. The pale-faced handsome man, eyes brimming with tears, looked at her pitifully. Ye-jin felt her chest tighten. Why did a stranger evoke such maternal feelings in her? She spoke in a voice twice as kind as before.

“It’s alright. Ri-na went to throw up, and the guild master kept bothering Hunter Jeong-eon so much that he took him home first. I also want to see my cats, so I am heading home. Only Da-sol and I saw Hunter Jae-gyeong cry, so you do not need to worry.”

Anyway, Da-sol would not interfere in other people’s matters. Ye-jin lightly tapped Jae-gyeong’s shoulder and said, “The guild master paid the bill, so do not worry and go home safely. See you tomorrow,” then left.

“Ah…”

Jae-gyeong sniffled, wiped his tears, and blew his nose. So the embarrassing incident happened toward the end of the dinner. Only Ye-jin and Da-sol saw it. That was at least fortunate.

When he looked around, the spacious room was empty except for him. The bowls that had filled the table were mostly empty, and the grill had long been turned off. He gathered his bag and stood up. The world spun, and he leaned against the wall for support.

Despite crying every time he drank, quitting drinking was so difficult. The intense pain and loneliness made him crave alcohol even more. He liked how quickly his mind went blank, his vision blurred, and how crying was treated as a hangover effect.

“But… I have to stop now…”

Continuing this pitiful, long-ended unrequited love and blaming it on alcohol would be cowardly. Jae-gyeong clenched both fists and tightened his lower abdomen.

“From now on! I will never drink again! I… will not do love…! Never!”

Jae-gyeong glared sharply as he made his vow. The problem was that at the exact moment he shouted this with determination, the room door opened.

“…Ah, really.”

Da-sol, who heard Jae-gyeong’s vow straight on, replied indifferently and passed by him into the room. Jae-gyeong froze like stone.

Da-sol ignored the stiff Jae-gyeong, collected his bag and phone, and walked past him outside. That was the end of it.

Jae-gyeong slid down to the floor like the protagonist of a tragic story.

“Ugh… ugh, so embarrassing…!”

A sorrowful cry once again swept through the restaurant.

***

“Ah…”

Jae-gyeong woke up with a hangover, blinking his dry eyes. He did not remember everything from yesterday, but he was certain that he had embarrassed himself in front of Da-sol toward the end.

“From now on, love and alcohol are both forbidden, Jeong Jae-gyeong…”