Dusk (BL Light Novel)

[Kang Jaegyung]
You awake? 02:39

It was Retaking. Seemed like he’d just finished work and was checking in.
I tapped the notification and entered the chat room directly.
[Me]
I’m lying down to sleep
You just got off work? 02:39

[Kang Jaegyung]
Just got home and showered
Exhausted... hehe 02:39
If he’s tired, he should just go to bed—why message me again? Is it stress from overwork, stacking up in layers, and he’s coming to me to vent 1 stack, 2 stacks at a time?
With a small lump of concern, I tapped away with my thumbs on the keyboard.

[Me]
Just go to sleep already
Don’t oversleep in the morning 02:39
Get to bed quick
What’ll you do if you’re late 02:40
[Kang Jaegyung]
ㅎㅎㅎ
I dunno, it just feels weird now that I can sleep... 02:40
[Me]
Your work’s been that hectic
that being able to sleep feels weird? ;; 02:40

His phrasing was funny, so I teased him by latching onto it. He must’ve been giggling to himself, because his reply came fast.
[Kang Jaegyung]
No
Sorry, I must’ve worded that weird cuz I’m sleepy 02:40
Guess he took it as a serious correction, not a joke.

[Me]
I was kidding; no need to apologize 02:40
[Kang Jaegyung]
Ahㅎ 02:40
Retaking mumbled that he was confused, then tapped out some consonants like a dopey laugh.

[Me]
Oh also
While we’re talking
Just putting it out there
I’m not a girl;
You better not pull a disappointed face when we meet 02:40
Since we were chatting anyway, I decided to shatter any potential delusions he might’ve had. My profile pic was just a cat plushie, so it’d be easy to assume I was a girl without anything else to go on.
Despite plenty of time to reply, the chat stayed silent. Maybe he really had been expecting something.

[Kang Jaegyung]
Ah
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
I don’t care 02:41
His reply came a few seconds slower than usual.
Really now? If he didn’t care, why the pause?
[Kang Jaegyung]
Honestly, saying I wasn’t curious at all would be a lie...
But I like you either way. 02:41

It was like he knew I was squinting skeptically at the “I don’t care” and added that last part on purpose.
Whether or not it was true, I decided to believe him.
[Me]
I see...
Now that I’ve actually heard you say it,
it feels both relieving and a bit weird 02:41

[Kang Jaegyung]
ㅋㅋㅋ Why’s that? 02:42
[Me]
Cuz I didn’t expect
to find out
that you don’t care if someone’s a guy or a girl
like this 02:42
[Kang Jaegyung]
? How’d we get there lololol
You’re the type to jump to conclusions from a single clue, huh… 02:42

[Me]
Call me someone
who sees one and understands ten
ㅎ 02:42
[Kang Jaegyung]
ㅎ
Sure^^
Though I feel like you probably miss the eight in between. 02:42
There he goes again, picking a fight. He never lets anything slide nicely. Only thing he ever acknowledges without nitpicking is my gameplay.

[Me]
What’re you even on aboutㅡㅡ
Go to bed already
If you show up to the event with max stress stacks 02:42
I’m knocking you out myself 02:43
[Kang Jaegyung]
I’m lying down already
I wanna talk more but I’m so sleepy...
I’ll go first. You sleep soon too, Bread. 02:43
[Me]
Singing a lullaby
in my heart
Sleep tight 02:43

[Kang Jaegyung]
ㅎㅎㅎ
So you’re not actually singing it for me...ㅎ.ㅠ
Good night, Bread 02:43
After tucking Retaking into bed, I figured I really should sleep too. I moved to hit the power button, but just as I did, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ another message popped up.
I was about to scold him for not sleeping yet—but then I read the message, and froze like something inside me short-circuited.

[Kang Jaegyung]
See you in a bit. 02:43
It hit me all over again: in just half a day, I’d be meeting Retaking face to face.
He dropped that little bomb and vanished off to bed, no follow-up.

I turned off my phone—but that one sudden surge of giddy anticipation kept me from closing my eyes for a long, long while.
***
I’d worried all night I wouldn’t sleep—but I did. Like a baby.

I didn’t crawl out of bed until 10 a.m., when my uncle woke me up, saying he’d be late. Well, “woke me up” is a stretch. He didn’t shake me or anything. He just started talking a mile a minute, excited like he was the one going out. It was so loud, I had no choice but to get up.
Even as I sat on the edge of the bed, my eyes kept drooping. My uncle practically dragged me to my feet, groaning, then shoved me toward the bathroom. Still half-asleep, I fumbled with the faucet, trying to turn on warm water—and ended up getting blasted with ice-cold water from the shower head.
When I came out after a quick wash, my uncle was already dressed to go, waiting with a grin plastered across his face.

“Yeongi, how many years has it been since you actually went out instead of just driving around in the car? Back in the day, I used to hate how you and my daughter both just stayed inside gaming all the time. But now, thanks to this offline event or guild meet excuse, I’m grateful just to see you step outside!”
“It hasn’t been years... I went to the offline event last year too.”
Grumbling, I plopped into a seat at the table. The housekeepers had set breakfast while I was showering, so I could dig in right away.

My uncle dragged a chair next to me, saying eating alone felt too lonely, then picked up where he left off.
“You came home sweating bullets after barely thirty minutes that time.”
“So it hasn’t been years, just a year.”

“Yeah, yeah, what an achievement.”
He sounded like he was scolding me, but he didn’t push further. He was just worried—an adult frustrated that his grown-up niece (or nephew, technically) stayed holed up inside gaming 24/7. I didn’t take it the wrong way. I just kept eating the mild side dishes quietly.
After brushing my teeth, I went into the dressing room. I hadn’t picked out anything to wear in advance—it wasn’t like I was going anywhere fancy. Comfort was king. I grabbed a neatly ironed white cotton tee, some light blue distressed jeans, and a sky-blue jersey jacket in case the AC was blasting.

Got dressed, picked out a modest-looking watch, fixed my hair in front of the mirror. My hair was naturally wavy, so even after washing, it was poofy and uncooperative. I didn’t waste time trying to tame it—just smoothed out the worst parts with my fingers.
Last step was jamming my self-defense knuckle weapon into my jacket pocket. With my phone in hand, I stepped into the living room, where one of the housekeepers told me my uncle had already gone down to the parking garage.
Of course. The man got way too excited whenever I left the house.

I said goodbye to the staff who were staying home and walked out.
The elevator was already waiting—probably sent up by my uncle. As I rode it down to the garage, I caught a blurry glimpse of my reflection in the steel door.
…Wait, where was I going again? Right, right. The offline event. What time was I supposed to be there? Was it today? Maybe I hadn’t woken up fully yet.

I was the only one in the elevator, but it felt weirdly chaotic.
Been feeling dazed for a while now. My body’s going through the motions, but nothing feels real. Like I’m floating.
And yet—somewhere along the line, my heart started pounding. While eating, washing, getting dressed, it all felt like a dream. But now that I was outside, the beat of my heart was shifting out of its usual rhythm.

Last time I went to the event, I felt nothing. This time, it was painfully obvious why I was like this.
Because Retaking would be there.
“B2 floor.”

I sighed at myself and stepped into the parking garage.
Yeah. When that arena exhibition invite came in the mail, I remember getting all hyped just thinking I might see him there. I’d clearly gotten ridiculously attached to him. Otherwise, there’s no way I’d be this much more nervous than I was for my first blind date, or my first guild meetup.
Heading to our usual parking spot, I saw my uncle already in the driver’s seat, engine on, AC blasting. I slipped naturally into the back seat, pulled the belt over me.

“Should take about thirty minutes. Try not to look at your phone too much. You’ll get carsick.”
“Yessir.”
And with that, I pulled out my phone.

My uncle gave me a look in the rearview and chuckled dryly before gently pressing the gas pedal and pulling us out of the garage.
When I opened my phone, I saw a bunch of KakaoTalk notifications.