#Side Story, When They Met.

The evening bar was filled with a relaxed atmosphere as people gradually gathered after work hours. The sound of loud conversations and clinking glasses, busy waiters, and mingling scents in the moderately dark space made even the young man who had just opened the glass door momentarily relax his expression.

"Young-Jin! A customer has arrived!"

"Ah, yes. Welcome."

Young-Jin, who had only recently started working part-time and was frantically busy, hurried to the door. The young man who had been looking around for a seat turned his head.

"Are you alone?"

"I'm supposed to meet some people here... but I can't find them."

"Then please come in and look around."

The young man nodded at Young-Jin's words and moved forward, first extending the thin black cane he was holding in his hand.

"Oh?"

Young-Jin, who only then realized that the customer had difficulty walking, approached with a flustered expression, seeing the very slow footsteps that weren't severely limping.

"It's fine. It's nothing."

The young man shook his head expressionlessly, refusing help.

"But still..."

At Young-Jin's words, the young man turned his head while walking ahead and glanced at him. Young-Jin stopped in his tracks, reading the firm refusal in his eyes. In fact, Young-Jin's gaze had lingered on the young man's face, which looked even paler under the bluish light. The only reason his face didn't look sickly was that despite being tall and thin, he clearly had a solid build.

In these days when nano-dye that could produce colors more natural than real hair color was easily available even in supermarkets, the young man's black hair also felt very unique. Moreover, for some reason, he was dressed all in black, with a black coat and black pants.

But more than anything, what gave the feeling that one couldn't approach the young man directly were his eyes, as deep as the abyss. Young-Jin, who couldn't take his eyes off those dark, inorganic yet strangely straight eyes that seemed to pull him in, was only freed after the young man had disappeared among the customers with his slow steps.

"Whew... What a scary person."

"Young-Jin! What are you doing there! You haven't taken the order from that table!"

"Yes, I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Even as he shouted back in response to the yell from the kitchen, Young-Jin somehow couldn't easily forget the customer he had just seen. He was a man who seemed sick, yet conversely exuded a strange strength that made one feel they would be helpless if they tried to confront him.

Is that what they call charisma?

'Somehow, I felt a tingling in my chest... A customer that gives me a strange feeling for no reason. ...Could I have a taste for that side too?'

Young-Jin looked back once more to where the young man had disappeared, then soon scratched the back of his head and headed towards the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Kang Mu-heon, the young man who had unsettled the innocent waiter's feelings, was looking for the people waiting for him while focusing all his nerves on not limping too much. However, even after wandering around for a while, he couldn't easily find the people he was looking for. It was because the place was large, but there were also that many people.

Recalling Kion, who had said to meet here because his friend was the owner of this place, Mu-heon slightly furrowed his brow. It was nice to come to a place with so many people after a long time, but the gazes he received while walking around were unpleasant.

As he was wandering between tables a bit more, familiar faces came into Mu-heon's view. Feeling glad, he approached that direction, but strangely, only that table seemed to have a peculiarly frozen atmosphere. Mu-heon quickened his steps, feeling slightly apologetic and puzzled.

The original meeting time was seven-thirty. However, the current time was seven forty-five. Although he had taken a taxi properly and gotten off, 15 minutes had already passed while walking, so he had hurried as much as his slow steps allowed, but there were already three people sitting at the table, excluding him.

As he got closer, he could feel more and more that this was the first time they were meeting in reality, not in the game. Mu-heon approached the table, feeling an uncharacteristic nervousness.

"Sorry I'm late."

As soon as he opened his mouth, the three men, whose atmosphere had been gloomy, raised their heads fiercely, startling Mu-heon and making him step back slightly. Soon, shouts erupted.

"Kap!"

"Is it really Kar? Really Kar?"

"..."

And in an instant, the atmosphere at the table that had thawed like snow melting on a spring day sank back into a solemn silence when the three people's eyes fell on the cane Mu-heon was leaning on.

Mu-heon inwardly sighed and sat down, placing his cane under the sofa. The atmosphere was still frozen. He knew they would be somewhat surprised, but seeing that they weren't saying anything, it seemed they were quite shocked.

'To be precise, are they dumbfounded...?'

Looking to the side, there sat a man with a familiar face and bright golden-brown hair. Mu-heon opened his mouth with a faint smile towards the eyes that were staring at him intently.

"Hello, Kran."

At that moment, as if Mu-heon's words had broken the ice, the atmosphere became much lighter. Kran, dressed in a neat casual suit, nodded with a gentle smile after a moment, saying, "Yeah." The surrounding gazes gradually gathered at the kind smile of the flawless handsome man.

"Hyung and..."

Now turning his gaze forward, Mu-heon, with a slight smile in his eyes, bowed his head slightly towards Kion, who had a tense expression, and Palton, who was sitting imposingly as if to occupy the entire seat.

"Mr. Palton too."

"We promised before, didn't we? You should call me hyung."

Palton, who had been the most relaxed, said with a toothy smile and a pretend dissatisfied tone, and Mu-heon grinned and corrected his words.

"Palton hyung too."

"My name is Seon Jeong-woo."

Feeling that Palton's immediate introduction of his name was to dilute the tension, Mu-heon decided he should cooperate as well.

"My name is Kang Mu-heon."

Kran, sitting next to Mu-heon, chimed in as if not to be outdone.

"I'm Jung Min-hoo."

Then Kion, who had been keeping his mouth tightly shut until now, opened his mouth, saying, "Damn, I don't know either!" while vigorously messing up his yellow bangs. He was dressed like a back-alley thug with a leather jacket visible from afar, a sleeveless t-shirt, and a loose necklace, but all of these fit him surprisingly well as if they were parts of his body. His rebellious and fiercely shining eyes softened considerably the moment they turned to Mu-heon, creating a completely different atmosphere from before.

"Yeah, I'm... Jeon Ju-yeol."

Mu-heon knew very well why the three in front of him had frozen as soon as they saw him. He couldn't help but know, as the gazes falling on his leg and cane said everything. So he decided to explain that first.

"First... you're probably surprised, but as you can see, I have a bit of... difficulty with one leg."

Everyone's faces sank again.

"So, I don't know if you've heard, but I've been playing the game with a custom-made capsule that can be ordered from Saturn."

"...You mean that expensive thing? So it really existed."

Palton, or Seon Jeong-woo, took a swig of the beer in front of him and looked interested. He looked even more like someone involved in dangerous work than in the game, perhaps due to his enormous height and solid body, and the edge of a huge tattoo peeking out between his shoulder and chest, but on the other hand, his well-defined features and lion's mane-like hair exuded a wild charm. Mu-heon chuckled.

"Yes, it really exists. And that's just it... nothing special."

"So that's why... you told us not to be surprised when you gave us your contact information?"

Kion, or Jeon Ju-yeol, asked with an indescribably regretful and strange expression while looking at Mu-heon's leg.

"Yeah. Seems it was useless though..."

As Mu-heon spoke a bit bitterly and picked up the beer mug in front of him, Kran, or Jung Min-hoo, lowered his head.

"I'm sorry..."

"For what? It's okay. If you say that, I'll think I came here for nothing."

"Yeah... That's right. Then I'm not sorry."

Min-hoo joked lightly and laughed, then looked at Mu-heon clearly up and down.

"But seeing you in person, you're really more..."

"More? What?"

As Mu-heon asked while gulping down his beer, Min-hoo flashed a smile full of mischief.

"More sexy?"

"..."

Mu-heon remained silent at Min-hoo's low, resonant voice that seemed like it would be used when deliberately trying to seduce someone. The heavy atmosphere was completely lifted by that one comment from Min-hoo.

"Pfft! Hahaha! Actually... I wanted to say that too from earlier. Doesn't it feel more vivid somehow? I can't believe it. To think that Kar and I are really sitting face to face drinking beer like this... Tsk, this is why the real thing is good."

As Ju-yeol made an inappropriate comparison with sparkling eyes, everyone except Mu-heon agreed.

"Indeed, reality is the best."

"That's right."

"Hyung. Should I leave?"

When Mu-heon raised his eyes coldly and spoke in a low voice, pretending to be angry, the three men closed their mouths again. But soon, when Mu-heon slumped his shoulders and said, "Why is the atmosphere like this? Can't I joke?", they couldn't hold back their laughter and burst out completely.

"Puhahaha!"

"Kekekeke!"

"This is the best, the best."

In the midst of that cauldron of laughter, Mu-heon could feel that the three had completely understood him without saying much. Somehow, it felt unbelievably enjoyable, making him laugh even louder.

Unaware that people at nearby tables were curiously stealing glances at them, Mu-heon raised his glass and toasted with the three.

It was a pleasant Friday night.

[To be continued in the next volume.]