Chapter 67

With the fire, the rebuilding, and even the suspicions all settled, peace finally returned to the guild house. The members scattered—some heading out to their tasks, others tending to the interior. Those with nothing better to do gathered around the central hall’s table. Sitting there were Theo, Blaine, and Noquia.

They chatted idly for a while, but the conversation soon ran dry. Theo and Blaine exchanged a few words now and then, while Noquia, clearly bored, lay slumped over the table.

“Hmm?”

After who knew how long, Noquia, who’d been resting her chin on her arms facing the main entrance, suddenly frowned and lifted her head.

“What the hell’s their problem, peeking around like that? It’s annoying.”

“Huh?”

Her sharp tone made the two look at her in confusion. Noquia jerked her chin toward the door. The guild house of Father and the Guest Guild sat half a flight up from the entrance, meaning you couldn’t easily see the hall from outside. But if someone crept close and knelt near the stairs, they could still peek inside.

When Theo and Blaine turned toward the door, they caught someone doing exactly that—peering inside. The moment their eyes met, the person jerked upright and scurried away.

“You know them?” Theo asked.

“Nope.”

“So, that person kept looking in earlier?”

“No. They were all different people.”

Theo glanced back at the entrance. This time, a woman was peeking inside. At first, he thought maybe word had spread about the fire, but the way each stranger inspected the interior—it looked more deliberate than simple curiosity.

“Let’s just close the door.”

Theo stood, and Blaine naturally followed. As they moved toward the entrance, the woman at the door hurried off in a panic.

When Theo stepped down to shut the door, he noticed other players loitering nearby, pretending to wander aimlessly. The moment they spotted him, they averted their gazes as if nothing happened—but when Blaine came into view behind him, their eyes locked onto him, unblinking.

Theo frowned at the discomfort creeping up his spine and quickly shut the door.
Even through the narrowing crack, their stares clung to Blaine until the last moment.

Only after the door closed and the outside gaze was gone did Theo mutter,

“What the hell was that?”

He turned to look at Blaine, who stood there blankly, as if unaware of anything.
When their eyes met, a faint blush spread across Blaine’s face, and he tilted his head with a shy smile.

“Hyung?”

The simple word carried a hint of confusion, Why are you looking at me like that?

Theo shook his head lightly to clear his thoughts and pointed up the stairs.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go back up.”

When they returned to the hall, Noquia stretched her neck out to glance at the now-closed door. Theo sat down again, acting as if nothing happened, and whispered quietly to her.

“Noquia, has any weird rumor been going around about Blaine?”

Startled by the whisper so close to her face, Noquia turned to look at him. Theo’s expression was as indifferent as ever. She glanced at Blaine, then whispered back.

“What’s this about all of a sudden?”

“Noquia, those people outside—they all looked like they came here to see Blaine.”

“What, Blaine?”

“Yeah.”

“Should I go out there and rough them up a bit? I was getting bored anyway.”

“Don’t start anything.”

“Tch.”

“I’ll take Blaine out through the back door. Once we’re gone, ask Father if she knows anything.”

“Got it.”

After finishing their whisper exchange, Theo stood and looked at Blaine.

“Let’s head out.”

“Already?”

“Yeah. I’m a bit tired. I’ll rest at home.”

At the mention of being tired, Blaine jumped up immediately, eager to follow.
He tried to walk toward the front door, but Theo grabbed his arm.

“Not that way. Let’s go out the back.”

“Huh?”

Blaine blinked in confusion, but Theo didn’t bother explaining—he just led him out through the back. Noquia waved lazily as they left.

Slipping out the back entrance, Theo avoided the main street and took a narrow alley instead. Thanks to that, they made it out of Lucilvania without incident and arrived at the relay station—but there, a few players were waiting for carriages.

Theo hesitated for a moment, then turned to Blaine.

“Is it fine if we walk?”

“Huh?”

“No, I was just wondering if I should go to the stable and get the horses instead…”

Theo muttered to himself, clearly lost in thought, not really expecting an answer.
Blaine, watching his serious expression, reached out and patted Theo’s shoulder lightly.

“I’m fine walking, Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

Blaine smiled and nodded, and Theo didn’t ask further before starting to walk again.

He moved quickly, almost like he was being chased by something. He didn’t look around or slow down once, and even though Blaine had to strain to keep up—especially with Theo’s movement-speed buffs active—he didn’t mind. Just being able to walk alongside him, alone like this, made him strangely happy.

By the time they arrived in Ratteon, both of them were exhausted. Even if the carriage was slow, there was still a world of difference between riding and walking.

Naturally, Blaine followed Theo toward his home. When they reached the door and Blaine was about to say goodbye, Theo suddenly called out to him.

“Blaine.”

“Yes?”

Blaine looked up at Theo, who stood on the step above him. Theo opened the door and said,

“Don’t go. Come in.”

“…What?”

“Stay here tonight.”

The unexpected invitation froze Blaine in place. Before he could even react, he found himself gently pulled into Theo’s house.

It was his second time visiting, and the place felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Theo told him to wait, then disappeared into the bedroom. Left alone, Blaine sat stiffly on the couch, nerves strung tight.

After a while, he slowly lifted his gaze and started taking in the surroundings. Cooking tools were stacked in one corner of the living room; a tapestry hung on the stone wall, probably to cover its rough texture. The furniture looked like the kind of sturdy, unremarkable stuff you could find in any store, and the fluffy carpet on the floor contrasted sharply with the loud, gaudy sofa and table that didn’t match the rest of the room’s vibe. He guessed those must’ve been Noquia’s or Holanghee’s doing.

He even turned his head a little to look around more closely—until he heard movement from inside the bedroom. Startled, he quickly dropped his gaze like he’d been caught doing something wrong. It wasn’t intentional, but he suddenly felt like he’d been snooping in someone else’s house.

“What are you doing?”

As he silently repented, Theo’s voice reached him, and at the edge of his vision he saw two legs approaching. Blaine lifted his head like a guilty man awaiting judgment—then froze in shock.

“?”

Theo blinked, puzzled by his reaction, but Blaine couldn’t even process that. Theo looked completely different. Gone were the blond hair and green eyes he always had. His hair and eyes were now black, his height and build slightly smaller, and instead of his usual tight techwear outfit, he wore a simple T-shirt and shorts.

“Hy-Hyung… is that really you?”

Blaine stammered, and Theo, realizing what he was seeing, scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“Ah—right. You can disable your custom appearance while you’re at your residence. It just feels more comfortable sometimes, so I tend to turn it off.
Guess I must’ve done it automatically while changing clothes.”

While Theo rambled on, trying to explain himself, Blaine couldn’t take his eyes off him.
It wasn’t the customized Theo he usually saw—it was the real Theo. How could he possibly look away?

“I’ll set you as an authorized guest,” Theo said casually. “You can change into something comfortable—and disable your custom settings if you want.”

Even if it wasn’t your own residence, once the owner gave permission, guests could use the place like their own. They could recover fatigue, and even disable their character customization.

Theo went over to the cooking set, made a simple drink, and sat across from Blaine, handing him a glass. Blaine, still unable to tear his gaze away, accepted it wordlessly, then brought up his display to disable his own customization. He didn’t need to—but if Theo was doing it, he wanted to follow suit.

Before Theo’s eyes, Blaine’s appearance shifted instantly. He’d already had black hair, so only his eye color changed, and the wolf ears on his head vanished. Other than that, he looked the same—just a little more mature, a little closer to reality than his in-game avatar.

Theo stared at him for a moment, then asked lightly, “You said you started the game at eighteen, right?”

“Huh? Oh, no—I left the Center at eighteen, but I started playing at nineteen.”

“Ah… so you must’ve grown a lot in that one year.”

“Really? I… did?”

Blaine blinked and touched his own face uncertainly.

“Yeah,” Theo said with a faint smile. “The gap’s kind of fun to see.”

“Should I resync my model, then?” Blaine asked.

Theo looked at him for a few seconds before shaking his head.
If Blaine reset and resynced his customization, the grown-up version of him would replace this one completely. And somehow, that felt like a waste.

“Let’s keep it as is. If you resync, this version of you disappears forever.”

Hearing that, Blaine’s chest swelled with a strange warmth. Theo only meant he didn’t want the old image gone—but it felt… more personal, somehow. Like Theo wanted to keep this version of him around.

Smiling awkwardly, Blaine brushed at the heat creeping over his cheeks and asked,

“Hyung… what about you? How old were you when you synced yours?”

“Me? Twenty-three.”

“So, not that different from now, huh?”

Theo burst out laughing at the naive question.

“I was already grown by then.”

Only then did Blaine realize how silly his question had sounded. Theo wouldn’t mock him for it, but the embarrassment still made his face burn. He fanned his cheeks with both hands, unable to meet Theo’s eyes.

While fanning himself, a random thought popped into his mind. He looked up shyly.

“Now that I think about it… ‘Theo’ isn’t your real name, right?”

“Half of it is.”

“Half?”

“Yeah. My real name’s Tae Seon-oh.“

“Oh…”

Tae Seon-oh.

So that’s where Theo came from.¹

“What about you?” Theo asked.

“Huh?”

“Your name. Not fair if only I share mine.”

“M-me? I’m Soo-hyun. Shin Soo-hyun.”

“Shin Soo-hyun, huh? That actually really suits you.”

“It… does?”

“Yeah. Somehow, that name just fits you perfectly.”

“What does that even mean?”

Blaine said, flustered—but then laughed.

He’d never thought about whether his name suited him or not. It had always just been a simple, ordinary set of three syllables he was called by since birth. But because Theo said it fit him, those three syllables suddenly felt special. He was glad his name was Shin Soo-hyun. And even gladder that he was someone who looked like he deserved that name.