Dusk (BL Light Novel)

"Ah! No, we still have a few left!"
Not just the staffer who answered me—several others behind them also let out small sounds of realization, as if they'd completely forgotten about the plushies. They bustled around, flipping open boxes under the table looking for it, and the moment another staff member scampered over from the next table shouting they’d found it, I heard the crinkling of thick plastic bags.

And then, it appeared—a brand-new plushie: pure white, round, fluffy, big, and looking exactly like an Omoknuni.
It was the same Omoknuni I’d seen in that hidden dungeon—the one we struggled against because it could copy itself through mirrors after emerging from the Silver Spider. The gimmick was a little different here, but Omoknuni also showed up as a Phase 2 miniboss in regular dungeons.
When they said “white lifeform,” I had a rough idea. There was really nothing else it could be. Omoknuni was the only monster round and compact enough to deserve that name—and it was so cute that players who cleared the Mirror Maze kept mentioning it.

Characters that looked like a ball of fluff usually got halfway to success just from their appearance. The fact that it had been made into the priciest plushie here was proof that Omoknuni had really made it, at least for a miniboss.
I gestured to Uncle to hand me the card and offered it to the staff.
“Please open the bag and give me the plushie without the packaging.”

“Yes! Oh, and—uh, we have coupons we give for every 10,000 won spent. Would you like them included in the bag?”
“Please bundle them together in one spot so I can take them out easily later.”
Freed from its adhesive bag and settled into my arms, the Omoknuni plushie was so soft it practically melted under my palms. The white fur was luxuriously fine, and the tiny stubby wings and tail sticking out looked adorably useless.

Big, fluffy plushies weren’t really my thing, but there were good reasons for buying this one.
First: it helped push the total cost nicely.
Second: Gang Jaegyung seemed like the type to enjoy soft textures.
Third, and most importantly: I really wanted to see what he would look like holding something this absurdly cute.
Just in time, Gang Jaegyung appeared walking toward me, holding a simple Dusk-branded paper bag. I accepted the returned card with a calm face and casually stuffed the crumpled receipt into my pocket.
When he spotted me holding a bag packed with merch in one hand and a massive white plushie in the other, his eyes widened in shock.

“What the... I mean, you weren’t even interested when I offered to buy you something. Now look what you’ve gone and bought.”
Looking utterly defeated, he peered into the paper bag and started rattling off prices under his breath—fifty thousand, a hundred thousand, a hundred fifty thousand, three hundred ninety thousand... Watching the total climb up was unmistakably the face of someone mentally calculating the cost.
Before he could finish, I handed the paper bag off to Uncle. Then, I shoved the plushie in my left hand straight into Gang Jaegyung’s chest.

“…What’s this?”
Still wide-eyed, he lifted the huge plushie—easily three or four times the size of his own head—and turned it over curiously. When he spotted Omoknuni’s tiny wing, he carefully brushed the fur with his fingers.
In the short time we’d spent together, I'd gotten used to thinking of him as all black—yet here, under the bright white plush, he somehow looked just as pale. Maybe it was his unblemished, bloodless skin, unusual for someone who worked outdoors.

Either way—it was absolutely worth it.
“You like plushies? Any allergies to fur or dust?”
I asked, trying hard not to let my satisfaction show too much. Gang Jaegyung maintained a completely unreadable expression.
“No allergies… but wasn’t this plushie like 53,000 won? The stuff I bought for you was…”

“You don’t put a price on a gift.”
“…Is that so?”
From the very first time we met, Gang Jaegyung had disarmed people with that smiling face—but now, for the first time, he was staring at me dead serious, expressionless, like he was plotting something.

Right before I could say anything, he whipped his head toward the staff.
“Are there any plushies left?”
“Oh, yes!”

“Could I get one more?”
He was already pulling out his wallet to pay, so I hurriedly grabbed his arm.
He tried to extend his hand anyway, so I gripped tighter. Our arms strained in midair, locked in an even standoff.

Our eyes met. It was the second round of the staring contest.
“I gave it to you, so why are you buying another one?”
“I can buy one more if I want.”

“What would you even do with it?”
“If it’s alone, it might get lonely and die. I can’t let that happen.”
God, the bullshit never ends. I could already tell he planned to dump it back on me somehow.

“You can stay with it, Jaegyung-ssi.”
“I’m too busy working.”
“Then just take it with you when you work.”

“If I carry around the plushie you gave me and it gets torn or dirtied, I might actually cry.”
“Then quit your job.”
“…And you’ll support me, Go Yeong-ssi?”

That would be perfect, honestly.
“Maybe I will.”
“…Are you crazy?”

His voice, genuinely asking, left me feeling slightly wounded. I’m pretty serious, you know.
The struggle continued. Little by little, I felt his arm start to weaken. His nape flushed pink, the skin around his eyes grew redder, and his soft lips—lightly bitten—darkened into a deeper hue.
“Ha—seriously, how are you {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} this strong…”

It was obvious now. Despite his earlier bluster, he wasn’t physically stronger than me. Honestly, he was holding out pretty well against someone like me. It was impressive in its own right.
"Look at you, trembling like a leaf."
"God, I want to throw you over so bad…"

"You sure you even can?"
For a while, neither of us yielded—until, finally, Gang Jaegyung’s arms sagged, defeated.
He let out a shallow, exhausted breath.

“Don’t underestimate me. In judo, you use your opponent’s strength against them. If I wanted to, I could totally throw you.”
Which basically meant he was admitting I was physically stronger.
"Mm, sure, okay."

“…Why do you answer like that? Want me to prove it?”
“If you want your face plastered all over the news, be my guest.”
Of course, even if he did throw me, it wouldn't make the news. Scuffles like this were too minor to cause a stir—and if anything did leak, I'd have it buried immediately.

Despite his threats, Gang Jaegyung calmed himself down without going through with it. His face, flushed with heat and exertion, looked ridiculously beautiful.
He was gorgeous even when pale, like a porcelain doll—but now he looked a little more human. The way he pouted and got worked up over something so stupid made him seem all the more alive.
I made sure to tell the nearby staff, very firmly, “If this guy sneaks back and tries to buy another plushie, do not sell it to him.” Then bowed and thanked them properly.

Pushing Gang Jaegyung's sulking back, I herded him out of the merch shop. The hallway outside was completely empty—seemed like the few stragglers had all gone upstairs already.
Time for us to head up too. But first, there was something I had to take care of.
“Before we go up, Jaegyung-ssi, hand me your paper bag.”

“…Why?”
Gang Jaegyung, who had been mashing the plushie in his arms with both hands, looked at me like he wanted to kill me. Probably wondering, what now.
I wasn’t about to let him off lightly. Calling Uncle over, I took the paper bag, set it on a nearby bench, and started rummaging through it.

The bundle of coupons tied with a rubber band brushed against my fingers—but not yet. Dumping seventy 10,000-won coupons on him all at once would probably make him faint. That was for the grand finale.
Right now, I had to start smaller.
“This one, and this one. And this, too. Take them.”

I pulled out a folded box containing a mug and a tumbler from the Dopa tribe, easy enough to find, and shoved them into his eco-bag.
I wanted to throw in the giant Silver-Fox body pillow crammed into the paper bag too, but figured he’d already pitch a fit just from this.