PP Chapter 20
by LukaDohwa had been depressed since early morning.
The reason was simple. Because Won was scheduled to be locked in prison—no, the military—starting today.
“Who’s going to play with me if Hyung isn’t here……”
Dohwa, who had missed Won so much he dreamed of volunteering for enlistment alongside him, got out of bed with a gloomy face.
Of all days, he had woken up much earlier than usual today. The world outside the window he briefly glanced at was dyed in the pale light unique to the crack of dawn.
After staring blankly out the window for a moment, Dohwa, like a proper 21st-century Korean, fumbled around the head of his bed to find his phone.
The phone, which had been plugged into the charger all night, had quite a few messages piled up.
Scratching his disheveled hair, Dohwa turned on his phone and his eyes widened at Won’s message that was visible right away.
Scrambling into his text messages, he saw the message Won had clearly left.
「I received the baby peach the Peach gave me. I wonder who it looks like to be so round and pretty. I almost thought my Peach had a baby without me knowing.」
“What is this Hyung even saying……”
At the words he was afraid anyone else might see, Dohwa instinctively looked around despite knowing he was alone in his room.
Dohwa let out a deep sigh and checked the rest of the messages.
「I got the drawing well too. The world really is a good place to live these days. To think a peach knows how to draw too. At this rate, won’t my peach be the first peach in history to attend college?」
“I told you I’m not a peach.”
Knowing Won couldn’t hear him, Dohwa grumbled and stuck his lips out in a pout.
「If a peach attends college, everyone will be fascinated and come look, right? Ah, just thinking about it makes me jealous already. My Peach belongs to me.」
“……Hmph!”
Finding this message quite to his liking, Dohwa scoffed coyly and continued reading the messages.
「Maybe it’s because you’re a soft peach. But Peach has a lot of water, so don’t cry just because hyung isn’t there. You have to be brave. I already told the guild members to take good care of you in advance, so if you have any difficulties while playing the game, ask them comfortably and boss them around as much as you want. Got it?」
“Anyone would think I’m a child.”
Dohwa, whose face still had a lingering touch of youth with its soft fuzz, murmured to himself.
Having rattled off his complaints for a long time, Dohwa’s hand twitched.
Because he worried about whether it was okay to leave a text when Won must already be incredibly busy preparing for his enlistment.
After agonizing over it for a long time, Dohwa finally decided to send a text when his usual wake-up time arrived.
He couldn’t risk waking someone who was sleeping soundly by sending a text too early in the dawn.
“Anyone would say ‘have a safe trip.’ So it should be fine, right?”
Muttering timidly, Dohwa left a message for Won.
「Have a safe trip.」
Looking at it after sending, it felt a bit empty. After thinking for a moment, Dohwa rummaged through his emojis.
He used emojis often, so he had a wide variety, but the one that caught his eye this time was a pink puppy emoji Won had bought for him, saying it looked like him.
After agonizing seriously for a moment, Dohwa sent an emoji of a pink puppy bouncing around and blowing a kiss.
Usually, he would have checked it right away, but perhaps he really was out of his mind right now, because the ‘1’ next to the text didn’t disappear quickly.
Dohwa stared for a long time at the ‘1’ attached like a tail next to his text and emoji.
He stared until the housekeeper, worried that he hadn’t come out when it was almost time for school, knocked on his door.
“Dohwa, are you awake? You have to go to school.”
At the voice coming from outside the door, Dohwa snapped his head up and hurriedly left the room with an “Ah, right.”
“Oh my, what were you doing without even changing your clothes?”
“Ah, I was just… thinking about something. I’ll change into my uniform and head out right away.”
“All right. I’ve set out breakfast, so come out and eat.”
“Yes.”
Dohwa nodded obediently and went back into his room.
He went into the attached bathroom and washed his face.
In the mirror, he saw a face that looked strangely sullen.
He couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh because he knew exactly why he was sullen.
Giving his head a small shake, Dohwa buried his dripping face into a towel.
He stayed like that for a while before leaving the bathroom and changing into his school uniform.
Smoothing out his slightly folded collar and grabbing his bag, Dohwa left the room.
While tightly clutching his phone, with the chat window still open where the ‘1’ had not yet disappeared.
And shortly before Dohwa woke up.
Chaei, who had come out to see Won off as he headed to the military because she was his one and only childhood friend, let out a long yawn.
Naturally, she didn’t see him off all the way to the military base, just to the front of his house.
Thinking that was enough to fulfill her duty as a childhood friend, Chaei scratched her head vigorously.
“It’s autumn, is the weather crazy? Why is the sunlight so warm at dawn? I want to sleep on the ground.”
“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll just keep walking and pretend I don’t know you.”
“Huh? Why are you so sensitive? Are you doing something like, enlisting? Today?”
Chaei tilted her head, her eyes wide with innocent ignorance.
At the nonsense flowing through her uniquely plump lips, Won made a face that said the back of his neck was stiffening.
Pressing hard on his temples, Won smiled faintly.
It wasn’t a smile of genuine amusement, but a self-deprecating laugh tinged with lamentation… Because I can’t kill her…
“Ha, Chaei. Could you just leave? You don’t have to see me off. Just go. Go home. Do you see over there? That’s your house.”
“Hey, you know the military, right? That’s your house now.”
“You’re crossing the line.”
Even though he had volunteered to enlist, it didn’t mean he actually wanted to go.
He had a game like a little rabbit called Betting Bad, and to think he had to leave that game behind to go to a place with nothing but a shit-ton of men.
Won was certain there could be nothing more horrific in the world.
He already felt sick to his stomach. Rubbing his strangely aching gut, Won narrowed his eyes.
“Ha, Chaei, what should I do? Oppa feels so sick thinking about being stuck with a bunch of guys.”
“Cut it out with the misandry. You’re a man too.”
“I’m different from typical men.”
“Sure you are. Because you hate men and fucking love women.”
Chaei answered indifferently and rubbed her nose. Won stared at her for a moment and then blurted out.
“But Chaei, you’re obsessed with men. There are tons of guys in the army, do you want to enlist too?”
“I like handsome men, I don’t like just any man. How many times do I have to tell you for it to sink in?”
Chaei chattered away, saying she only stayed close to him because he was handsome too.
Won let that utter nonsense go in one ear and out the other.
By that logic, Won only stayed friends with Chaei because she was a woman; if she were a man, he would have cut ties ages ago.
Won stared intently at the cherry-colored head that was much lower than his own.
It was a head that always boasted a vivid cherry color, but it seemed her hair had grown a bit as black strands were visible near the roots.
Won poked her black crown and spoke in a low voice.
“Kim Chaei, you need to get your roots dyed.”
“Ha, shit, already? I’m going to go bankrupt just doing root touch-ups.”
“That’s why Oppa told you to stop watching gay porn.”
“Gasp, how did you know I watch gay porn? Even the guy I’m seeing doesn’t know that secret.”
“I happened to see your phone before, and two guys were going at it. And besides, isn’t that something the guy you’re seeing shouldn’t know…”
“My, my, why are you looking through other people’s phones?”
“No, I said I saw it by accident. You asked me to bring your phone, so I saw it when I went to get it. And you look at the messages I exchange with my girlfriend whenever you’re bored, so why are you like this?”
“I am me, and you are you.”
Truly, it was an answer so shameless it momentarily left him speechless. Parting his lips a few times, Won pleaded as if he had given up on everything.