That Face Is the Problem - vanish into fiction

Jae-gyeong could not shake the feeling that he was missing something. So, he just blindly grabbed Da-sol with both shoulders.

“Um, Mr. Da-sol…!”

“…What is it?”

“Could you please explain it to me a little more slowly, step-by-step…? Because right now, I don’t understand any of it…?”

At Jae-gyeong’s words, Da-sol pondered for a moment before leading him over to the sofa. The two sat down side-by-side. Then, Da-sol’s explanation began. To summarize that explanation, it went like this:

You like me. But you said that was because I look like our older sister. The problem is, I’ve also started to like you a bit now, you see? It’s hard to believe, but that seems to be the case. However, I don’t like the fact that the reason you like me is because of my face that resembles my sister. That’s why I want to change this face and build our relationship over again. So, you can either crush my nose right now, or I’ll go get plastic surgery done.

Only then did Jae-gyeong fully comprehend Da-sol’s words, and he fell into absolute shock.

“Just how on earth does your train of thought flow into that kind of direction…?”

“Isn’t it a perfectly logical and rational flow? You were the one who liked me first because I look like my sister.”

Da-sol spoke terrifyingly, like a thug. Jae-gyeong swallowed his saliva, instinctively intimidated, but he soon shook his head.

“It was like that at first, but it isn’t anymore…! On the contrary, I can dynamically feel with my own skin right now that the two of you are completely different people…!”

“Can you really be certain that the reason you treated me so well and saved me until now… wasn’t because I look like our older sister?”

“In the beginning… In the beginning, it was definitely like that… But it really isn’t now!”

“Since when was it not?”

“It’s hard to point to an exact moment and say since when, but…”

“See there,” Da-sol spoke with absolute certainty, crossing his arms. “And you know I can read people instantly just by looking at their eyes, right? Last time when our sister came to the house. You were so damn flustered, Hunter Jeong Jae-gyeong. Your pupils weren’t just shaking; they were practically flipping upside down.”

“W-When did I ever…! That was just because I was so incredibly surprised… I really don’t like Ms. Da-in anymore… As for me, I…”

‘I’ve grown to like you, Mr. Da-sol.’ He could not bring himself to utter these final words. However, when Jae-gyeong failed to finish his sentence, Da-sol abruptly turned his head away.

“Fine. Let’s just say it’s like that, then.”

Da-sol stood up from the sofa.

“I’m tired now. I’m going to wash up and sleep, so get out.”

“Yes…”

“I’m going to show up in front of your house at ten tomorrow morning, so don’t even think about running off anywhere in the meantime.”

“Yes…”

“Rip up that resignation letter and burn it too. If you quit the guild, I will chase you to the ends of the earth.”

“…Yeees…”

“Go on now, then. I’ll check in on you later via HunterTalk anyway.”

“Yes…”

It was just ‘yes, yes, yes’ continuously. Was someone threatening him? Displeased by Jae-gyeong’s pale face and half-hearted responses, Da-sol barely held back his urge to snap at him. However, before slipping on his shoes at the entryway and opening the door, Jae-gyeong turned back to look at Da-sol and spoke.

“Get some good rest, Mr. Da-sol. Tomorrow, I will make some beef porridge for you…”

With that, the door closed with a thud. The faint sound of Jae-gyeong trudging down the stairs drifted over.

Standing awkwardly in front of the bathroom, Da-sol’s face belatedly flushed a deep shade of red.

“What the fuck. Annoying.”

Even though the door had been closed for a long time, a loud thump, thump kept echoing inside his chest. Da-sol roughly scratched the chest area over his clothes, then stripped completely and entered the bathroom. He felt as though he might faint from the rising heat all over his body if he didn’t take a cold shower this very instant.

***

In contrast to having urged Da-sol to get some good rest that night, Jae-gyeong couldn’t even sleep properly. Because he utterly could not believe the words Da-sol had spoken earlier, he tossed and turned in bed before getting up, pacing around his room in circles with absolutely no room for sleep to creep in.

‘Mr. Da-sol has a favorable interest in me? And the timing for him to say that is right now? Even though he found out that I had an unrequited love for Ms. Da-in, why now…? He used to avoid me.’

Could it be because he threw his body to save Da-sol in the jungle dungeon? Or did the fact that he was consumed by jealousy over Da-sol provide some element of surprise?

Perhaps the stir-fried pork and pork cutlet he had cranked out like a chef in the past were finally shining through now. Like suddenly missing Jae-gyeong’s cooking after eating nothing but hospital food… No, there’s no way.

Jae-gyeong let out a deep sigh. He thought he would be purely overjoyed if Da-sol harbored similar feelings toward him, but to his surprise, he couldn’t trust it at all and found it entirely confusing. As time went on, he even began to think that Da-sol might be mistaken about his own emotions.

And it made sense… because up until now, Jae-gyeong had never had an unrequited love returned. The stroke of good fortune where the person he liked liked him back… had never happened to him even once.