Chapter 95

Blaine could only stare at Daize with a blank, stunned expression. At some point, Daize had even held out a hand, as if asking for a handshake to say “nice to meet you.” Blaine glanced back and forth between Daize’s face and the outstretched hand, then, looking hesitant, slowly hid behind Theo’s back instead. Daize’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Ah… this is kind of awkward…”

Muttering with an embarrassed look, Daize stared straight at Theo. The gaze felt probing, as if assessing him. After scanning Theo from head to toe, missing nothing, Daize broke into a bright smile and offered the handshake to Theo instead.

“Then could you be the one I get close to?”

Theo stared at Daize for a moment, then let out a sigh and accepted the handshake.

“I’m Theo.”

Despite the indifferent expression, the greeting itself was polite. Daize seemed relieved, his expression softening as he deliberately complained in a half-pout.

“He seems really shy around strangers.”

“Yes.”

Daize had probably hoped for a denial, but what came back was a clean, immediate affirmation, without a second of hesitation or a change in expression. As a result, Daize’s smile stiffened slightly.

Having said he joined the guild because he wanted to get close to Blaine, Daize surprisingly didn’t press Blaine any further. Instead, he focused more on greeting the other guild members, likely trying to be considerate of Blaine, who clearly wasn’t comfortable with strangers.

Watching Daize energetically move around the guild, eagerly striking up conversations, Theo could tell that Daize’s personality was completely different from Blaine’s. He wondered whether the two would really be able to get along.

“Someone wants to be friends with you. Do you not like him?”

At Theo’s question, Blaine glanced once at Daize standing some distance away. Then he lowered his gaze, fidgeting with his fingers as he replied.

“It’s not that I don’t like him… I just… don’t know him…”

“But you didn’t know the guild members at first either.”

“Still… those were people you introduced to me, hyung…”

Theo leaned back against the table and stared down at Blaine, who had his head lowered.

Was it because there was a bridge between them that Blaine felt safe enough to get close?

“Then if Theo becomes close with Daize, would Sweetie become close with him too?”

At that moment, Holanghee walked up and perched on the table beside Theo, asking casually. Blaine lifted his head and looked at the two sitting side by side. Theo getting close with Daize? As Blaine silently imagined the two of them becoming friendly, his lips parted slightly, and a faint frown formed between his brows.

“…I don’t like that…”

He murmured it quietly, when suddenly a unfamiliar voice cut in.

“What are you talking about? Can I join?”

It was Daize. Daize stopped beside Blaine, keeping a deliberate distance. From Daize’s perspective, it was consideration for Blaine’s shyness, but even that space made Blaine uncomfortable. Blaine edged away little by little, retreating to Theo’s side.

Seeing Blaine avoid him yet again, Daize couldn’t fully hide the hurt on his face. With downturned eyebrows, he looked at Blaine, but instead of complaining or sulking, he held out his hand once more.

“I really want to be friends with you, Blaine-nim. Could you at least return a greeting?”

Having his hand left hanging in the air twice would have been embarrassing enough, yet Daize waited patiently. In the end, Blaine still didn’t take his hand.

“I’m… Blaine…”

He offered a distant, restrained introduction instead.

It had been a barely exchanged introduction, but Daize withdrew his hand with a satisfied look and smiled brightly. It was a clean, refreshing smile on a neatly handsome face.

Overall, Daize was a strikingly handsome man. He was slightly shorter than Blaine, with shimmering ash-brown hair, long narrow eyes without double eyelids, a sharp nose bridge, and thin lips that curved into a naturally pretty smile.

Judging by looks alone, he was clearly someone people would find appealing. Holanghee stared at the peacock-like man for a moment, then crossed her arms and asked,

“But why do you want to be friends with our Sweetie in the first place?”

At the question, Daize echoed, “Sweetie?” A brief silence followed before Holanghee explained that Sweetie was Blaine. Startled by the affectionate nickname, Daize nodded as if it made sense, then spoke in a noticeably higher, excited tone.

“You two might not remember me, but I ran Hexi’s Fortress together with you! Blaine-nim was incredible there!”

“…That’s it?”

Unlike Daize, who was buzzing with excitement, Holanghee asked back with clear skepticism. Since she hadn’t been at Hexi’s Fortress herself, she couldn’t judge Blaine’s performance, but the reason still felt a bit flimsy.

Seeing Holanghee’s lukewarm reaction, Daize seemed embarrassed and scratched his head, his enthusiasm dialing down.

“Haha, well, that too, and I kept seeing you around whenever I went places. Like Sanaret Village. Seeing you so often, I ended up forming a one-sided sense of closeness.”

“But why specifically Sweet— I mean, Blaine? If you saw Blaine often, you must’ve seen Theo just as much.”

“Well… just at a glance, Blaine-nim stands out more, doesn’t he?”

“…….”

Holanghee’s expression visibly twisted. It was true that Theo had a plainer appearance compared to Blaine, but saying that outright, right in front of him? There were things you said and things you didn’t say.

She really wanted to shout, “Are you trying to put our Sweetie down right now?!”

If not for Blaine’s voice cutting in.

“Why?”

It was a pure, genuinely curious question, straight from the heart. Blaine looked sincerely unable to understand.

“…Huh?”

Daize, a beat too slow to grasp the meaning, asked back. Blaine tilted his head like an innocent child facing an unsolvable puzzle and continued,

“Why do I stand out more? When hyung is with someone, I feel like I’d only see hyung anyway…”

All around the guild house, sharp inhales and choked coughs erupted at once. Holanghee wore a stunned expression, and Daize stared at Blaine as if he were the one who truly didn’t understand anymore.

As for the person in question, Theo’s ears turned bright red as he covered his face with both hands and bowed his head.

This was embarrassing. Extremely. Painfully so.

As the atmosphere instantly turned awkward, like cold water had been dumped over everyone, Blaine panicked, wondering if he had said something wrong. He looked to Holanghee for help, but Holanghee flinched and avoided his gaze. He looked to Theo, but Theo was still hiding his face with both hands.

Just as Blaine stood there, on the verge of tears and unsure what to do, Father approached from behind like a savior. With a gentle, understanding touch, she patted Blaine’s shoulder reassuringly.

It truly was the peak of being a “prisoner of embarrassment.”

Once the commotion that had only embarrassed Theo settled, the guild house returned to its usual peaceful state. The only noticeable change was Daize’s presence.

Daize approached the central hall table where Theo, Blaine, Holanghee, and Father were chatting and slid into the empty seat next to Blaine. He asked,

“Blaine-nim, where’s your residence? Since you switched guilds, maybe you should change your place too.”

“Ratteon…” Blaine replied, showing a hint of discomfort as he subtly pulled his chair closer to Theo, widening the space between himself and Daize. Daize stared silently at the gap for a moment before leaning his upper body forward toward Blaine.

“Ah… really? Ratteon? Isn’t it too cramped there? The town’s a bit messy too…”

Daize muttered to himself, while Blaine, clearly uncomfortable with the closeness, inched even closer to Theo. Yet Daize, seemingly unconcerned, leaned once more toward Blaine.

“Is there a decent house there?”

“Go see for yourself.”

“Oh, do I have to? Then can I help you look for a place? Ideally somewhere near Blaine-nim’s current home!”

Daize’s voice carried an excited energy as he pulled his chair closer to Blaine. Blaine, increasingly uneasy, tried to inch sideways toward Theo. Somehow, he was blocked, and in trying to resist Daize’s approach, he ended up squeezed onto the same chair as Theo.

“Uh…”

Startled, Blaine’s face turned bright red, and with a shrill scream, he jumped up. Theo, who had been precariously balanced on half of the chair, was pushed sideways into Father.

“Oh!”

Father caught Theo just in time, but Blaine, panicking at having caused Theo to fall, reached to steady him—and in doing so, toppled over onto Theo. The three of them ended up tangled on the floor in a heap.

The surrounding guild members rushed over, asking if they were okay, but Blaine felt like dying from sheer embarrassment.

With a crimson face, Blaine tugged at Theo, insisting it was time to go home. Theo, noticing Blaine’s teary, pleading demeanor, reluctantly rose from the chair, realizing there was no other choice.

As soon as the two showed signs of heading back, Daize quickly followed them.

“You’re going to Ratteon? Can I come too? I want to check out some houses.”

“Do as you like,” Theo replied nonchalantly. Blaine, still clinging to Theo’s back, didn’t even respond. Daize, clearly delighted, trailed after them, grinning.

Upon arriving in Ratteon via warp from Lusilvania, Daize grimaced at the sharp smell of the sea and quickly pinched his nose.

“Ugh…”

Theo gave him an indifferent glance before turning away.

“Well, good luck then.”

Blaine remained clinging to Theo’s back. Daize, flustered by his disregard, called out in a nasal voice.

“Hey, wait a sec!”

Theo looked back at him with a clearly annoyed expression but didn’t stop walking, forcing Daize to hurry forward.

“C-could you help me?”

Finally, Blaine lifted his head from Theo’s back and whispered toward him.

“Will you help me?”

“No,” Theo’s curt reply left Blaine with no choice but to look at Daize.

“He said he won’t help.”

“Oh? Then I only need Blaine-nim’s help…”

“If he won’t, then I won’t either.”

Daize looked utterly shocked. By this time, the trio had reached Theo’s house. Theo tapped Blaine’s arm to signal letting go, and Blaine slid off his back.

Observing the house, Daize realized it was a modest stone home. Seeing the pair separate, he guessed it belonged to one of them—hopefully Theo. Indeed, Theo climbed the steps and opened the door.

It was Theo’s house. Daize brightened momentarily, looking at Blaine, but soon his expression fell. Theo had naturally brought Blaine inside, leaving Daize outside. In disbelief, he asked almost hypnotically,

“You two… are you partners or something?”

Blaine and Theo answered in perfect unison, effortlessly.

“Nope.”

With that, the door closed firmly. Daize, left alone outside, stared blankly at the door. He climbed the steps to knock, but the door remained shut.

“Blaine-nim, are you really leaving me like this? Could you help me at least?”

[Blaine: Sorry]

“Then, could you at least tell me where you live?”

[Blaine: Why?]

“I want to find a place near Blaine-nim’s home.”

[Blaine: Just pick anywhere you like… see you tomorrow]

“Blaine-nim, Blaine-nim?”

Despite calling repeatedly, there was no reply. Daize, staring helplessly at the firmly shut door, shouted loudly in frustration.

“Ah, I feel so left out…!”

Still receiving no answer, he stomped down the steps, kicking up dust and coughing for some time.

The next morning, Theo and Blaine left their homes to choose a village for breakfast but barely took a few steps before stopping. The first reason: a door across from Theo’s house swung open. The second: Daize appeared, his face bright with cheer. And the third: his hair, once a sparkling honey-blonde, matched Theo’s honey-blonde shade.