He Is That Guy

Neither Chae Yu-jeong nor the woman beside him—Kang Ji-ye—had noticed that I was standing right behind them.
“Stop pushing me! You think I came here because I wanted to?”
Kang Ji-ye snapped, face twisted in irritation as she shouted, parked right next to the road.
“Kyung-seok told me to drop by since it’s your birthday. That’s the only reason I came.”
“If you were coming, you could’ve at least called first. Why the hell did you ignore all my messages and just show up uninvited?”
“If you’d just picked up your damn phone, I could’ve handed you the cake and gone straight home.”
Breathing sharply through her teeth, Kang Ji-ye exhaled an angry sigh.
“Chae Yu-jeong. Why didn’t you explain why you’ve been in contact with Yu Ji-han?”
My name came up so naturally in their conversation that I flinched on reflex and turned to watch Chae Yu-jeong’s face.
His eyes narrowed as he glared at her. His voice came out cold.
“Why the hell should I have to explain that to you? And don’t call him by his name so casually. What makes you think you’re close enough to throw around ‘Yu Ji-han’ like that?”
“Is that really what matters right now?”
“What if it is?”
“If you were bold enough to show up at the guild meetup to pick him up, shouldn’t you have told me beforehand? You knew damn well I’d be there too. How could you just—”
Kang Ji-ye pressed her fingers to her temple as if she had a headache.
“Do you know what he and I talked about before you came? I asked whether he was still in contact with Yu Chae. He said no.”
“……”
“He said you’d cut ties. So why are you the one showing up to pick him up? Do you know how shocked I was to see you?”
A cold sensation flooded through me, numbing my veins. I closed my eyes, then opened them again.
My fist clenched on its own, crushing the handle of the cake box I was holding until it bent out of shape.
“I met him for something unrelated. I’m quitting Xenorise entirely. I’m not going to play as Yu Chae anymore, so it doesn’t really matter, does it?”
“…Wait a second, Chae Yu-jeong.”
Something clicked in Kang Ji-ye’s expression as she spoke again.
“Don’t tell me—Yu Ji-han doesn’t know that you’re Yu Chae, does he? So right now, you’re—”
Before she could finish, my phone gave a bright ding.
The notification sound echoed in {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the air—loud enough for the two of them, barely ten paces away, to hear.
They both froze and turned.
The shock widened both of their eyes; Chae Yu-jeong went pale in an instant.
I stared at his bloodless face, then lowered my gaze to check my phone.
Pathetically, the alert was just a text from the dessert shop thanking me for my purchase.
Reading it made the cake box in my other hand feel unbearably heavy.
“Hyung…”
“Hello.”
I ignored Chae Yu-jeong’s voice and smiled faintly at Kang Ji-ye instead.
“Ah, um… you—how are you here…?”
“Sorry, but could you step aside for a moment?” I slid my phone into my coat pocket, cutting her off mid-sentence.
“I need to talk to Chae Yu-jeong alone.”

“……”
No matter how hard I tried to stay calm, my voice came out cold.
Kang Ji-ye looked between the two of us, clearly unsure, then finally nodded.
“Fine. I was leaving anyway. It’s not my place.”
She sighed and added one last line to Chae Yu-jeong.
“When you’ve cooled off, call Kyung-seok, okay? I’m going.”
Then she got in her car and drove away.
I watched the taillights fade from sight before turning back toward him.
Chae Yu-jeong’s face looked like all the blood had drained out of it.
His lips trembled; he couldn’t even bring himself to speak.
“Chae Yu-jeong.”
At the sound of his name, his shoulders jerked.
“Say it yourself. Answer me straight.”
“……”
“Are you Yu Chae?”
His pupils shook violently before he shut his eyes tight. Cold sweat gathered at his temples.
“…Yeah.”
The voice that came out was rough, sandpaper against the air.
I’d expected it, but hearing it still hit like a knife to the chest. The pain spread from my ribs outward. I swallowed down the lump clawing up my throat.
“Alright.”
“Hyung—”
“Take this.”
I didn’t want to look at him anymore. I lowered my head and shoved the cake box into his hands.
“You said you liked this. Take it. Eat it.”
“W-wait, hyung—”
“I’m going.”
I turned my back without once meeting his eyes and walked away toward the narrow alley beside the complex.
He stood frozen for a moment, still holding the cake box, before running after me.
“Hy-hyung! Wait! Please—!”
Heat surged up from somewhere deep in my chest. It wasn’t just anger at being lied to—it was heavier, messier, something I couldn’t even name.
My head spun. My stomach twisted. I wasn’t normal right now.
So I ignored his shouting and kept walking.
“Hyung! Don’t go! Please don’t go like this! I’ll explain everything, I swear! Please!”
His footsteps came faster and faster. I bit down hard on my lip and lengthened my stride.
Don’t touch me. Don’t grab me. Just let me go.
I can’t have a rational conversation right now. If you have any sense, just—
“Hyung…!”
A sudden grip clamped around my arm. The fragile thread of control snapped, and the emotion I’d been holding back broke loose all at once.
Grinding my teeth, I tore his hand off and grabbed his collar instead, slamming him against the wall. Thud. The impact rattled the air; the cake box hit the pavement with a dull thump.
“Explain? You’re going to explain?”
When his terrified eyes met mine, something inside me surged up, raw and overwhelming.
Of all the things I felt, the one that cut deepest was betrayal.
“You kept lying even when you knew how confused I was—now you want to explain?”
“Hyung…”
“I asked you, over and over. What did you say each time?”
“……”
“You said no. You said you didn’t know. Fucking liar. Now you want to explain?”
I hated him for it—hated Chae Yu-jeong for deceiving me, hated this miserable situation that forced me to find out like this.
If you were going to lie, you should’ve done it perfectly.
You should’ve let me smile and hand you that cake, none the wiser.
“Was it fun?”
My chest felt like it was being shredded apart. It hurt so damn much.
“You must’ve laughed a lot, watching me play along, clueless.”
“No! No, I didn’t!”
Tears burst from his eyes. He shook his head desperately, voice breaking.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I never thought of you like that, never laughed at you. I just— I just—”
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
“……”
“How the hell am I supposed to believe you…”
The one who wanted to cry was me.
But looking at him—at the tears running down his face—only left me hollow.
The cake box, smeared with grime, rolled at my feet. The cake inside was probably crushed beyond recognition.
It looked exactly how I felt.
The realization drained me. I released his collar slowly.
“…Let’s stop.”
I pressed a hand against my aching eyes and took a step back.
He caught my sleeve instantly.
“No! Don’t—don’t say that. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”
“Let go.”
“I’ll explain. I’ll tell you everything, just don’t go!”
His fingers trembled violently around the fabric. His hands were ice-cold. I pried them off one by one.
“Later. We’ll talk later. Not like this.”
“Hyung…”
“Don’t grab me.”
There was no point forcing words now. Nothing rational could come out of either of us.
Realizing how exhausted I sounded, he broke down again, tears spilling.
That he genuinely liked me—there was no doubt about that. He had his reasons, his own circumstances. His plea wasn’t just an excuse. I knew that.
But even so… I was hurt.
Too hurt to face him right now without losing control.
If I stayed, I’d end up saying something I could never take back.
The happiness I’d felt just hours ago—before coming here—melted away like snow, leaving nothing behind.