Chapter Text
Daniel Park was working his usual night shift at the convenience store.
There weren't any customers at the moment, so he lazily scrolled through his phone.
He was so busy doing absolutely nothing that he didn't notice someone entering the store.
"Ooh~ Daniel has a girlfriend?"
Daniel nearly dropped his phone as he turned around.
Standing behind him was Zoe Park, his old classmate from J-High.
He quickly locked his phone and sighed.
"No..."
"Ugh, you're so stubborn," Zoe muttered. "If you wanted one, you could easily get a girlfriend."
Daniel awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
"Daniel, what do you even do now besides working here?" she asked, leaning over the counter with her chin resting on her palm.
"Well... I hang out with friends?"
"Mhm... that's true." She narrowed her eyes. "But that can't be the only thing. Don't you have hobbies?"
"I work out."
"Well, that's valid."
Daniel let out a nervous laugh and turned around to pretend he was organizing shelves.
It would be way too embarrassing to tell her the truth.
Because Daniel Park was obsessed with gaming.
Lately, he'd been getting bored of all his usual games.
So he downloaded a new one. He leveled up much faster than expected.
Now he was wandering around the main lobby when a pop-up appeared.
Join a guild?
Daniel blinked and opened the guild list.
One caught his eye immediately.
It looked active enough, and the guild emblem looked cool.
So naturally he joined. Which turned out to be a terrible idea.
Not even thirty seconds later, one of the highest-ranked members approached him.
Shiro0ni1: Why are you so bad at this game?
Daniel stared at the message.
Excuse him?
Another message popped up.
Shiro0ni1: And did you not read the guild requirements?
Confused, Daniel opened the guild profile.
Level requirement: 200+
Oh.
Well.
That was awkward.
KingDanny: Can't you make an exception? I got to level 50 in a few hours.
KingDanny: Give me one day and I'll be level 200.
There was a pause.
Shiro0ni1: No.
Shiro0ni1: Damn noob lol.
Daniel's eye twitched.
Before he could type a response, his screen flashed red. His character collapsed, he had been killed.
By Shiro0ni1.
And he lost rare items, Daniel stared at his screen in disbelief.
"...That bastard."
The next day, Daniel logged in again. Hopefully, he wouldn't run into that asshole.
Instead, his inbox was flooded with messages.
They were all from guild members. Most of them were apologizing on behalf of Shiro0ni1.
Daniel snorted while reading them.
Apparently, Shiro0ni1 had already built a reputation for being an asshole.
One message was especially long.
Goddog: Please don't leave the guild because of him. He's horrible to everyone equally. But he's just like that, he doesn't mean any harm.
Daniel laughed out loud.
Feeling a little bad for the guild members, he accepted their apologies.
He added everyone as friends.
Everyone except Shiro0ni1.
A notification popped up immediately.
[Shiro0ni1 sent you a friend request.]
Accept / Decline
Daniel hit decline.
Another request popped up.
He declined again.
Another one and another one.
"What is wrong with this guy?!"
Daniel aggressively pressed decline.
Finally, he messaged him.
KingDanny: Leave me alone.
Shiro0ni1: So you added everyone except me?
Shiro0ni1: How rude.
KingDanny: Yeah, because I don't want to be friends with an asshole.
A few seconds later, Daniel's inventory started filling up.
All kinds of rare stuff started pouring in.
Daniel blinked.
"...What?"
He immediately sold everything.
The next day, Daniel was outside trying to find a nearby supermarket.
Unfortunately, his navigation app kept glitching.
He groaned in frustration before noticing a man standing nearby.
The man was wearing a black suit while smoking a cigarette.
He looked like he might know the area.
Daniel hesitated but then approached him.
That turned out to be a horrible mistake. Up close, the man looked terrifying.
He had a scar across his face, sharp eyes, and an aura that screamed run away immediately.
No turning back now.
"Um... excuse me?"
The man looked up from his phone.
Daniel immediately regretted everything.
"Do you know where the nearest supermarket is?"
The man stared at him, then slowly exhaled smoke.
"You're talking to me?"
Daniel laughed nervously.
"Actually, never mind—"
"Follow me."
"...What?"
"The supermarket."
The man began walking, a little too fast.
Daniel scrambled after him.
If he kidnaps me, I'm kicking his balls and running.
After a few minutes, they arrived at the supermarket.
Daniel blinked.
"Oh."
He turned to thank the man but he was already gone.
That night, Daniel logged back into the game. Several guild members were online.
Including Shiro0ni1.
Everyone greeted him.
Then someone invited him to join a quest.
Daniel agreed.
And to his horror Shiro0ni1 joined too.
KingDanny: Why are you here?
Shiro0ni1: Because unlike you, I'm useful.
KingDanny: I hate you.
Shiro0ni1: Don't worry, the feeling is mutual<3
"Weirdo..."
It was surprisingly going well, they cleared some dungeons with each other. And the guild members were very nice and fun to interact with.
Weirdly enough he wasn't all that bothered by Shiro0ni1.
The next morning, Daniel regretted staying up until three in the morning grinding levels.
His eyes felt heavy as he stepped into the apartment elevator holding a grocery basket full of instant ramen and snacks.
The doors were just about to close when a hand suddenly stopped them.
Daniel blinked, a man stepped inside. He was wearing a sweater and some sweats.
And he had that scar on his face.
Cigarette smell lingering faintly on his clothes.
Daniel stiffened immediately. It was the strange man from yesterday, the terrifying supermarket guy.
The man glanced at him once before pressing a button, but it didn't have a purpose because Daniel already clicked that button.
Silence filled the elevator.
Daniel awkwardly adjusted the bag in his arms.
Should he say something or would that be weird? He probably didn't even remember him.
"...Thanks again for yesterday," Daniel finally said.
The man looked at him. "For what?"
"The supermarket?"
"Oh."
"You walked me there yesterday," Daniel said, trying not to sound offended.
Silence again.
The elevator suddenly felt way too small.
The man's gaze slowly dropped toward Daniel's basket.
Instant ramen.
Energy drinks.
Just all unhealthy junk and instant food.
"...You eat like that often?"
Daniel looked down in embarrassment.
"I was busy."
"With what?"
Daniel froze for half a second, why was he so curious?
Gaming.
Obviously he couldn't say gaming.
"Stuff."
The man hummed.
For some reason, it felt judgmental.
Then the elevator stopped. The man stepped out first. Daniel let out a relieved sigh.
Oh but this was also Daniel's floor...
And as he walked, the man got inside the apartment right next to his...
Daniel had officially decided two things.
First: his neighbor was terrifying.
Second: he was going to avoid him at all costs.
Unfortunately, avoiding someone became difficult when they lived directly next door.
Daniel had already seen the man three times that day.
Once in the hallway.
Once near the mailboxes.
And once standing on the balcony smoking while staring at his phone with an unreadable expression.
So instead of thinking about his strange neighbor, Daniel logged into his game.
Immediately, guild chat exploded.
Uncle49: KINGDANNY FINALLY LOGGED ON
Bigmama: took you long enough
KingDanny: Some of us have jobs.
Uncle49: wow okay...
Shiro0ni1: Impossible.
Daniel rolled his eyes.
KingDanny: Don't you have anything better to do than annoy me?
Shiro0ni1: No.
A notification suddenly popped up.
[Shiro0ni1 invited you to a private chat.]
Daniel hesitated before accepting.
A message appeared almost instantly.
Shiro0ni1: Download Vox.
Daniel blinked.
Vox was a voice chat app most players used during online gaming.
KingDanny: Why?
Shiro0ni1: Guild raids are easier with voice chat.
KingDanny: Then call the others.
Shiro0ni1: I am.
KingDanny: Then why do I need it?
There was a short pause.
Shiro0ni1: Because you're bad at listening.
Daniel gasped dramatically at the screen.
KingDanny: You're actually so annoying.
Shiro0ni1: Download the app.
KingDanny: Bossy.
A few minutes later, Daniel sat at his desk staring nervously at the voice chat invitation.
Why was he nervous?
It was literally just a voice call.
It wasn't a big deal.
Still...
Talking to people online always felt awkward at first.
Especially when one of them was Shiro0ni1.
Daniel clicked join before he could overthink it.
For a few seconds, all he heard was quiet keyboard clicking.
Then someone spoke.
"...You finally joined."
The voice was low and smooth.
Way calmer than Daniel expected.
Daniel blinked in surprise before quickly speaking.
"You sound less annoying than I imagined."
A soft chuckle came through the headset. "You sound exactly how I imagined."
Daniel frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You complain a lot."
"I don't..."
"You're complaining right now."
Daniel opened his mouth, then immediately closed it.
"Wow. I hate that you're right..."
Another quiet laugh.
For some reason, hearing Shiro0ni1 laugh felt strange.
Not unpleasant but just strange... Then the other man suddenly spoke again.
"You have a nice voice."
Daniel froze.
"What?"
"You sound nice," Shiro0ni1 repeated casually, like he hadn't just said something insane.
Daniel stared at his screen with wide eyes.
No one online had ever randomly said that to him before.
What was he even supposed to say to that?
"You're weird."
"Probably."
Daniel could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
Daniel was practically blushing because of a man he met online telling him his voice was... nice?
Embarrassing...
Daniel cleared his throat awkwardly and adjusted his headset.
"Well... I have to go."
A short pause followed.
"Where?" Shiro0ni1 asked.
Daniel blinked.
Why did that sound weirdly personal?
"Work?"
"At this hour?"
"Some people have responsibilities," Daniel said proudly.
"Hm."
Daniel narrowed his eyes at the screen.
"What does that mean?"
"You don't sound responsible."
Daniel gasped dramatically.
"That's actually offensive."
A quiet chuckle echoed through the headset again.
Daniel frowned.
Why did this guy suddenly sound so normal on voice chat?
It was unsettling.
"Well, anyway," Daniel muttered while standing up from his chair, "I have a night shift, so bye."
"Unfortunate."
Daniel scoffed.
"Go to work, KingDanny."
The way he said his username sounded strangely smooth. Why did he have to choose such a cringe username?
Daniel hated it.
"Bye."
"Mm."
Daniel quickly disconnected from the call before the conversation could get any weirder.
Then he buried his face in his hands.
Why was talking to him actually kind of fun?
The call disconnected.
Gun stared at the screen for a moment before clicking his tongue softly.
The game suddenly felt boring.
Usually, he preferred silence.
But somehow, KingDanny's constant talking didn't irritate him as much as it should have.
Strange.
Gun shut off the game and grabbed his coat.
Maybe nicotine would help.
A few minutes later, Gun entered the convenience store near the apartment building.
The bell above the door chimed quietly.
Gun walked toward the counter before stopping.
His neighbor was standing there.
Dark hair and a slightly messy appearance.
Cute...
Gun's gaze lowered briefly toward the name tag pinned onto the uniform.
Daniel Park.
So that was his name.
Daniel looked up and immediately stiffened upon recognizing him.
"Oh."
Gun stared at him for a second before speaking.
"Cigarettes."
Daniel blinked before quickly turning around to grab them from behind the counter.
Gun watched him quietly while Daniel scanned the package.
Up close, he looked exhausted.
Probably from staying up late again.
Daniel pushed the cigarettes toward him.
"That'll be 4,500 won."
Gun handed him the money.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Then Daniel awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Night walk?"
"Hm?"
"You came out late."
Gun took the cigarette pack from the counter.
"Could ask you the same thing."
Daniel looked mildly offended.
"I'm working."
Gun hummed quietly.
Cute voice.
Daniel looked away first.
Gun almost smiled at that before turning toward the exit.
"Goodnight, Daniel Park."
Daniel visibly froze at hearing his full name.
Then Gun walked out of the store before the other man could respond.
Daniel slightly shivered feeling a little but uncomfortable but also realising maybe he might get along with his neighbour?
Right?