Love Language and the Snowfall

I stared blankly at PatchNote’s continuously appearing chat, my eyes narrowed.

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: You.]

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: Yes!]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: Who told you to send whisper bombs?]

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: What?]

PatchNote was silent for a while at the question, which I thought was direct.

‘Was he deliberating whether to tell me or not?’

Eventually, I checked his reply, then clutched my forehead, bowing my head.

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: I just wanted… to show you… my love for you, hyung… so I sent… it….]

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: Was it… uncomfortable…?]

‘Argh! It’s so annoying how he spams those pointless periods in between words!’
‘He could just send it normally; why does he mindlessly put so many periods?!’

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: Ah, yes.]

Drrrk—.

I pulled my chair back slightly, leaned against the backrest, and let out a sigh that was close to a lament.

PatchNote, who had been sending chats non-stop, paused and couldn’t answer immediately when asked about the instigator.

That meant he had gone to ask someone how to reply.

‘Who the hell is it?’

‘Which bastard is manipulating him from behind?’

I bet that guy must have told PatchNote, who seemed a bit simple-minded in some way, to give such a reply just to tease him.
This was a certainty born from experience.

‘What experience, you ask?’

‘To be precise, I was the one behind the scenes.’

Transparency, Moon Young-yoon, once got a girl’s number from another department, and I was exactly like that when I tried to ‘help’ him from behind by teasing him.

The funny thing was that all that fuss I made to tease him unexpectedly worked, and they actually became a campus couple.
It was so irritating when Moon Young-yoon grabbed my arm, shedding tears and thanking me for helping him.

‘What’s important right now isn’t that…’

‘What’s his goal?’
‘Does he even have a goal in the first place?’
‘At first glance, he just seems to have no particular thoughts.’

I subtly rolled my eyes and looked at the steady chat window.

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: Hyung, I was wrong….]

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: I won’t bother you….]

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: I just wanted to get closer to you, hyung, really!!!!111]

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: Hyung??? Are you not there??ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

‘…I don’t know.’

From the guy manipulating him, I felt malice, wanting PatchNote to be screwed, but from PatchNote himself, there was no such feeling.
‘What should I say…?’

Instead, I felt pity and thought I should advise him to stop being swayed.

‘If I give him some advice, he’ll probably realize it and snap out of it.’

Seeing that all his community posts were like scholarly papers, he wasn’t a stupid person.
Alright, let’s tell him.

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: Listen.]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: I’m telling you this because I’m genuinely worried.]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: I hope you don’t take it the wrong way.]

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: Yes! I’ll listen carefully!]

His reply was so excessively cheerful that my pity for him doubled.
With eyes full of compassion, I continued typing on the keyboard.

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: I don’t know who’s manipulating you from behind, but it’s probably better not to do it.]

[Whisper/PatchNote>DontOrderMe: What?]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: Before you send me a whisper, someone is telling you how to send it, right?]

There was no answer to the question.

Thus, what had been a mere suspicion became a certainty.

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: That person is doing it to mess with you.]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: Don’t trust what such a person says, whoever they are.]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: If you do, you might really get royally betrayed later.]

[Whisper/DontOrderMe>PatchNote: Be careful. I’m telling you this because I genuinely care.]

Still, there was no reply.

Eventually, the only thing that appeared in the chat window was an alert that PatchNote had logged out.
At that, I smiled more benevolently than ever.

‘This guy, he believed my words and went to beat up that instigator!’
‘To live this harsh life, he definitely should!’

In my excitement, I picked up my phone, which I had casually placed on my desk, and sent a message to PatchNote.

[Since you’re going to beat him up, beat him up for my share too.]

[Come back victorious.]

[Fighting.]

‘Not one, but three, huh?’

I proudly put down my phone and continued running dungeons.
With the disappearance of an inexplicable query that had been mentally tormenting me, my fingers just flew across the keyboard.
After finishing the dungeon, displaying perfect control for the first time in a while, I entered the next dungeon.

‘I wish every day could be like today.’

Clank-clank—!

The sound of the window rattling from the heavy snow echoed loudly.

‘Ah, except for the weather.’

(5)

After I gave PatchNote some sharp advice, he didn’t log into the game for several days.

Guild members even started expressing concern, subtly asking if something had happened, which made me realize how significant his presence in the guild had become.

I also felt unwarranted worry because there was no reply at all after my message of encouragement.

‘No way, he didn’t go to beat someone up and then get beaten up himself, did he?’

I lightly tapped the desk with my fingertips, then glanced at my phone.

‘What difference would it make to look, though…?’
Still, we had gotten somewhat close; it felt heartless not to worry at all.

Buzz—, buzz—, buzz—.

My phone, which I had left on vibrate just in case, lightly buzzed.
Exactly three times.

After that, seeing it go silent, I picked up my phone with a soft sigh.
I pressed the power button to turn on the screen, and the name ‘Han Do-yoon’ was the first thing that caught my eye.

[Han Do-yoon: Hyung…]

[Han Do-yoon: If you have time today, by any chance,]

[Han Do-yoon: Could you buy me a drink, please?]

“…Alcohol?”

‘Not anything else, but alcohol?’
‘If he had asked me to buy him a meal, I might understand, but alcohol? Aaaaalcohol?’
‘After throwing such a tantrum just recently?’

“That’s a bit much…”

He was better than the other absolute drunkards, but recalling how he was the one who drank the least, got drunk first, and caused a scene first, I couldn’t help but frown.

“If someone who knows they’re a lightweight asks to drink…”

‘Did something really serious happen?’
‘Maybe after he went to beat up that instigator, something went wrong, which is why he hasn’t logged into the game all this time…?’
‘Then I bear some responsibility, don’t I?’
I pondered for a moment, then sent a reply with a sigh.
‘Just in case, I should probably cut him some slack this once.’

[Where should we meet?]

I shut down my computer and immediately got ready to go out, without waiting for Han Do-yoon’s reply.
Normally, during vacation, I do nothing but stay cooped up at home playing games, but lately, I seem to be going out frequently.

‘Since a person has to go out and live a little… is this a good thing?’

I quickly finished getting ready and stepped outside, and the cool air embraced my cheeks.
With every breath, pure white mist emerged from my mouth.

‘Today’s weather was also below zero.’

Being on vacation was comfortable, but I still wished spring would come quickly.

It wasn’t particularly because I liked flowers or anything like that.
It’s just… when spring comes, I truly feel that the year has changed, and my resolve strengthens.

Seeing fresh green shoots sprout on bare branches that were only skeletal before, and pretty pink flowers blooming, I can’t help but feel a little sentimental, you could say.

Fiddling with my phone with hands frozen from the cold weather, I arrived at the meeting place I had arranged with Han Do-yoon.

At least it was a place I could reach by bus without the hassle of transferring, so it was easy to get there.
While I debated whether to go into a nearby shop, a man running from afar, his coat flapping, caught my eye.

“—D-did you wait long?”

“—No. I just arrived too.”

‘It’s so cold, and he’s wearing a coat, not a padded jacket?’
‘Isn’t he cold?’
Seeing Han Do-yoon’s cheeks flushed red from the cold, I unwrapped the scarf from my neck and put it around his.
Han Do-yoon looked surprised, his eyes wide.

“Wear a padded jacket. You’ll freeze to death if you only wear a coat in this weather.”

“—Yes, yes! I’ll wear a padded jacket next time!”

He shyly smiled, touching the scarf around his neck, and I smiled back.
‘What’s so special about this that he’s so happy?’
‘Has no one ever given him a scarf before?’
My heart ached, so I even pulled out the hot pack I had shoved into my pocket and put it in his hand, and he looked truly touched.

‘Don’t look at me like that.’
‘It makes me want to stab something.’

I checked my surroundings, then entered a nearby shop, my face relaxing in the warm air as I checked the menu.
‘I prefer makchang over gopchang.’
‘Can I order what I want to eat?’

“—What do you want to eat? Do you have a favorite?”

“—I’m fine with whatever you, hyung, have.”

‘That means he’s not picky at all.’

I called the server, ordered two servings of seasoned makchang and two bottles of beer, then turned my head to look at Han Do-yoon again.
Alright, now it was time to hear what had happened.
Of course, I should give him a warning first.

“I’m buying you alcohol because you asked, but don’t drink too much. If you pass out, that utility pole over there will be your home. Besides, you’re too heavy for me to carry alone.”