Chapter 35

Once the pain dulled a little, Theo leaned on Blaine’s support and went inside. Aslan followed behind like a guilty criminal.

Blaine eased Theo onto the sofa, then asked for permission before checking his forehead. A swelling the size of a fist had already formed.

“Hyung… it’s huge. Are you really okay?”

Theo gingerly touched his forehead. It really was massive.

“Blaine, sorry, could you get me some water?”

He pointed toward the temporary storage, and Blaine nodded quickly before hurrying off. Soon, he came back with water and ice, mixing them into an ice-water cup.

Theo took a sip, then pressed the cold glass to his forehead.

“A-are you okay?”

Aslan’s voice shrank into itself. Theo pushed his bangs back, showing off the lump the size of a fist.

“Do I look okay to you?”

His glare was sharp enough to kill. Aslan tucked his lips inward and shook his head. Grinding his teeth, Theo pressed on.

“Why the hell did you sneak into my house without permission?”

“Huh? No, I-I had a proposal for you…”

“What proposal?”

“But if I say it now, I feel like you’ll literally kill me…”

“I’ll hit you even if you don’t say it.”

Theo handed the cup back to Blaine and rolled up his sleeves for emphasis. Aslan swallowed hard. The gulp was embarrassingly loud.

“O-okay… I won’t say anything about joining our guild anymore.”

“Not ‘won’t.’ You can’t.”

“A-anyway! That’s not what I came for. So…”

“So what?”

“Why don’t you… register as my partner?”

It was so out of left field that Theo froze. Before he could even react, a sharp crash rang out. Both he and Aslan whipped their heads toward the sound.

There stood Blaine, pale as a ghost, having dropped the glass.

“Blaine?”

Theo immediately jumped up, pushing him back so he wouldn’t step on the shards. He used the interaction command to clear away the broken glass, then looked up—and was startled out of his wits.

Blaine was crying. Tears streamed down his cheeks in heavy drops.

“Blaine? Wh-why are you crying? Did the glass cut you?”

Theo panicked, scanning him up and down, but Blaine shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. The tears just kept falling faster.

“Why are you…? Okay, sit down first.”

Theo hastily sat Blaine down on the sofa. His sudden breakdown was worrying, but Theo had another pressing issue to deal with first.

Theo shot a glance at Aslan. He was staring straight at Blaine. Turning his body toward him, Theo spoke.

“Blaine, could you wait here for a bit? I need to have a word with that bas— with him.”

Without waiting for an answer, Theo grabbed Aslan by the arm and dragged him into the next room. It was a room without a door, open enough that everything inside could still be seen from outside, but Blaine’s expression collapsed as if the world had ended.

Inside, Theo pulled Aslan to a spot less visible and whispered.

“What’s this sudden talk about registering as partners?”

In the game, partners were two players—regardless of gender—who swore an oath together. It allowed them to share a residence, use each other’s storage, and receive bonus experience while playing together.

“It’s not that sudden.”

“Not sudden? You pressured me to switch guilds, now you want partner registration. All of this started after I got the Eternal Fog.”

“No, I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I wanted to register as your partner!”

“Don’t give me that crap. Your guild doesn’t have a single Eternal item, so you’re just being greedy.”

“Hey, come on, think about it. Sooner or later everything’s gonna merge into the Union anyway. Who cares if a guild has an Eternal or not?”

“……”

Theo had to admit, that did make a bit of sense.

“And besides, we’ve known each other for how long now? We’re close enough to be like roommates. Don’t you feel more comfortable with me than anyone else?”

“I’ve got plenty of people I’m comfortable with.”

“What? Who?!”

“Father, Anghee, Quia, Marco.”

“…And if they asked you to register as partners, would you do it?”

“Like they’d ever lose their minds enough to ask me that.”

“Exactly, so with me—!”

“Well… if it were Marco, I might consider it…”

“Hey!”

“What?”

“Just do it with me already! You hunt with me the most, don’t you?”

“Not anymore. Our tiers don’t match, so I won’t be hunting with you.”

“Ugh, you never agree with anything I say, do you?”

“So what, you want me to shut up and follow orders? Listen to this cocky bastard.”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant—!”

“I’m not registering as your partner, so buzz off!”

“You’re seriously being too much! Do it! Just do it! Partner with me!”

“No! No! I said no!”

“Damn it, then who are you planning to register with?!”

“What?”

“Who the hell are you planning to partner with?! Which guy is it?”

“Why are you insisting it has to be some guy?”

Even in a time where relationships and marriage didn’t draw lines between men and women, being accused of choosing a man in particular rubbed him the wrong way.

“Can you swear it’s not a guy?”

Aslan asked, casting a quick glance toward the outside as if conscious of someone.

“Why the hell would I need to swear to that?”

“…In the end, you’re gonna do it with a guy, aren’t you?”

“Your wording sucks.”

“Come on… I’m putting myself out here, swallowing my pride, and asking you. Can’t you just say yes? What are friends for?”

“Not all good friends become partners. And I don’t have the slightest intention of registering with you, so give it up.”

“…Then what if I’d asked you before you got the Eternal? Would you have said yes?”

“No.”

“Wow… so I never had a chance from the start?”

“…You’ve never shown signs of this before. Why are you suddenly obsessed with partner registration? If it’s the EXP boost, just do it with someone else.”

“With someone else? You’re really cold, you know that? Then what if he asked you to register?”

Aslan pointed outside. Theo followed his finger, and even though the wall blocked the view, he knew exactly who Aslan meant. Turning back, his face was tight with irritation.

“Don’t drag unrelated people into this.”

“He’s not unrelated.”

The way Aslan kept twisting words was exhausting. Theo sat on the edge of the bed, sighing.

“I don’t want to register with anyone. Partner stuff is just a hassle. So drop it and leave.”

But Aslan didn’t move. He stood there rigidly for a long moment, then finally let out a sigh of his own. He reached out, ruffled Theo’s hair once, and turned away.

“Fine. See you tomorrow.”

His neat, heavy footsteps echoed out the door, then the sound of it closing. Theo let his shoulders slump, exhaling deeply.

He’d always known Aslan was clingy, but he hadn’t realized he wanted a partner registration. It caught him off guard. Of course, Aslan had probably gotten plenty of partner offers before, with far better terms than Theo could ever offer. Their relationship wasn’t deep enough to justify throwing all those offers away just for him.

And in reality, life in the game was life itself. Theo was basically living day to day, barely scraping by. There was no way he could be of help to Aslan. More likely, he’d only end up receiving help one-sidedly.

“Haa…”

Theo rubbed his face with both hands, heavy-hearted. To him, Aslan was nothing more than a next-door friend. Loud, troublesome, sometimes helpful when it mattered—nothing more, nothing less.

He sat there blankly for a while, then suddenly snapped his head up. Something hit him, and he jumped from the bed, hurrying to the living room. But the sofa where Blaine should’ve been was empty.

“Where’d he go?”

He looked around the room, but Blaine was nowhere. The image of him crying hard tugged at Theo’s mind. He had to go out and find him.

Opening the guild window, Theo checked his status. Thankfully, Blaine hadn’t logged out.

“Guild cha—”

He stopped himself, shaking his head, then sent a whisper instead.

“Blaine, where are you?”

No reply.

“Blaine? Blaine?”

Still nothing. Theo frowned, glancing around in thought. Then he headed to the nearest residential area to check. Blaine’s name wasn’t listed there.

“At least Ratteon’s small…”

He went around, house by house, until he found Blaine’s place. It turned out to be close to his own. Theo felt a pang of guilt—Blaine had been living nearby for a while, and he hadn’t even known.

Theo grabbed the door handle. Not marked away. So Blaine had to be inside. He raised his hand to knock, then stopped. If Blaine was ignoring whispers, he probably wouldn’t open the door either.

“Blaine, I’m right outside your house. I’ll wait until you open.”

After sending the message, Theo sat down in front of his door. He muttered under his breath.

“Why the hell am I going this far…? I just wanted to go fishing.”

He was blaming it all on Aslan when… click. The sound of the door opening came from behind him. He turned quickly, and there was Blaine, his eyes swollen red, standing hesitantly in the doorway.

“You…”

“Are you going to be his partner?”

“What?”

“With Aslan…”

Blaine’s voice trembled, barely holding back tears, his gaze unable to meet Theo’s. Theo stared at him silently, then pushed himself up to his feet. He strode closer, and Blaine flinched, stepping back. Theo frowned deeply.

‘It doesn’t even concern you.’

That’s what he wanted to say. But if he did, Blaine would probably start crying again. He could just let him cry, but the words wouldn’t leave his mouth. Maybe it was because Blaine was too young, or because being a Fourth Gen meant he’d already gone through too much.

Theo didn’t understand why he was tiptoeing around Blaine’s feelings.

He swallowed a sigh and finally spoke.

“I’m not.”