Dusk (BL Light Novel)

“You’ve never once logged in on a Thursday morning, when you stream from the AM hours.”

“...That could’ve just been a regular workday.”
“And even on days you said on stream you came from work, you didn’t log in those nights either.”
“You really do keep up with my streams, huh?”

He seemed to be trying to steer the flow by poking at something I normally reacted to sharply. But when I didn’t respond and just stared silently, Gang Jaegyung’s smile faded faintly.
“...You’re not seriously suspecting that newbie is me, are you?”
“I think it’s reasonable to suspect.”

“Are you being serious?”
“You used to log in even during the day if it wasn’t a workday, but these past two weeks, it’s only ever been from the evening.”
“Wasn’t it you who didn’t start going out into the field until that time?”

...That was true. I’d usually wait until around 4 p.m. hoping Gonyanyanya would log in, and only after I was sure he wouldn’t, I’d head out—and that was usually when Retaking a Class showed up.
But that didn’t erase my conviction that Gang Jaegyung had to be Gonyanyanya. He had to be. I’ve dealt with this guy too long not to know.
When I went silent for a moment, Gang Jaegyung pressed the point again.
“And are you absolutely sure that the days that person didn’t log in line up exactly with my work days? It’s not like I announce every time I come from work on my stream.”

That was fair too. He didn’t always say he came from work.
But the only proof I had was Gang Jaegyung’s word.
“On the flip side, you could’ve been lying about working.”

Someone like Gang Jaegyung could definitely lie that smoothly if it meant not getting caught. He could’ve meticulously planned work days around Gonyanyanya’s login times…
“So you’re saying it’s all just circumstantial? You really think you can conclude I’m that newbie just from login dates? I could’ve logged in while you were off in a dungeon with him. It’s not like we’re friends on the game, so you wouldn’t even know when I’m online.”
I shut my mouth again. He was right—it was hard to prove Gonyanyanya and Retaking a Class were the same person just based on who was online and when.

While I racked my brain for a counter, Gang Jaegyung asked again.
“Or is there something else that makes you think that newbie is me?”
Same voice as before, but I could hear the hope in it. I suddenly realized—he probably thought I suspected him because of Gonyanyanya’s skill. Judging by his reaction, he must be thinking, "Did he figure it out from my gameplay?" My rash outburst might’ve just shaken all the groundwork I’d laid until now. That habit of charging into something the moment it gets stuck in my head—what a goddamn flaw.

Still, you think I’m gonna type GG and give up?
“I’ve been thinking it over since you said that.”
I just have to not acknowledge the skill. Besides, there were other overlaps between Gonyanyanya and Retaking a Class. Like the neat speech style and how he always refused to take things when offered. And then...

“His username.”
“...What?”
“His username is Gonyanyanya.”

Speech style alone wouldn’t cut it—there are plenty of people who talk like that. But how many use a name like Gonyanyanya?
Gang Jaegyung was still smiling, but his face had stiffened.
“You saw my Dusk ID during the event, remember? That it’s Gonyanyanya.”
He’s smart enough, and he even asked me outright once whether Gonyanyanya was me. There’s no way he can play the “I don’t remember” card now. And yet, that’s the only route left for him.

“I don’t remember. How long am I supposed to remember other people’s usernames...”
“Hey.”
I cut him off. At my voice, Gang Jaegyung shut his mouth.

“After the event, someone with the unusual name Gonyanyanya shows up and talks to me directly—and he just so happens to have the class ‘Support Troop.’ How common do you think that is?”
“...But the newbie was Gonyanyanya2. If someone’s already using Gonyanyanya, doesn’t that mean it’s not that rare a name?”
“Oh yeah?”

I pulled out my phone and opened the internet browser.
“Then let’s see how many people are using names with Gonyanyanya in them. That should give us an idea.”
I tapped through to the official Dusk homepage and searched for the character info lookup page. While it loaded, I glanced at Gang Jaegyung through the mirror. He was biting his lip, clearly fidgety. Looked like he wanted to stop me from searching right this second.

I typed “Gonyanyanya” into the character search bar and hit enter.
Search Results for ‘Gonyanyanya’: 2 results
[1st Position] – 1 result
Lv.24 | Warrior Destroyer | Gonyanyanya

[2nd Position] – 0 results
‘No character information found.’
[3rd Position] – 1 result
Lv.45 | Combat Medic Harmonizer | Gonyanyanya2
[4th Position] – 0 results
‘No character information found.’

[5th Position] – 0 results
‘No character information found.’
[6th Position] – 0 results
‘No character information found.’
“There are exactly two Gonyanyanyas in the entire server.”

“...”
“And the original Gonyanyanya hasn’t been claimed on Server 3.”
“...So it seems.”

“Then why the hell would someone add a 2 to the end if Gonyanyanya wasn’t even taken?”
What, was there some reason you couldn’t just use the name as-is?
At that, Gang Jaegyung kept up his weak smile while clenching his fist. He mumbled awkwardly.

“Putting a 2 on the end… makes it feel more approachable and cute…”
“Hey.”
At my call, Gang Jaegyung, who’d been staring down at the table, finally looked up and met my eyes. He wasn’t smiling anymore. He didn’t look like he felt falsely accused—just completely at a loss.

No way this guy could ever be an actor.
“Cut the bullshit.”
“...”

“It’s you, isn’t it.”
I scowled and glared at him as fiercely as I could. Gang Jaegyung opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then dropped his gaze and fiddled with his fingers. I could practically hear the gears turning—trying to come up with an excuse, a way out—but no words came.
“...So what if it is...?”

I could see the corners of his eyes turning red. Even the skin above the crew neck of his sweatshirt had flushed a deeper color. He looked like a kid about to cry. Was he really about to try crying to defuse this and guilt-trip me into dropping it?
“Just tell me yes or no.”
I cut him off before he could start another round of stalling. When I pushed, Gang Jaegyung clamped his lips shut again and nervously glanced at me, then finally mumbled in a voice so low it was almost a whimper.

“If I say yes… are you gonna leave...?”
That was as good as a confession that he was Gonyanyanya. I fought back a smile, congratulating myself silently.
I kept my expression stiff as I looked at him, and Gang Jaegyung hesitated, then carefully reached out to me. Like he was trying to confess and beg absolution by holding my hand tight.

But no way in hell.
I swatted his hand away irritably. Gang Jaegyung’s eyes went wide.
“Was it fun?”

I growled, low and full of spite, like I was about to explode. At that, Gang Jaegyung dropped the hesitation and rushed to explain himself.
“N-No! It’s not like I was having fun messing with you, Goyoung! I mean—it wasn’t not fun at first, but I didn’t enjoy it because I thought you were some idiot or anything like that. It was fun because… because I thought you’d be surprised! Not because I wanted to deceive you, I swear!”
He stammered, shoulders twitching like he was about to sob, and wrung his hands together like he really was confessing something. He didn’t even look at me—just kept his eyes down and kept talking.

“I didn’t think you’d hate this kind of thing. It’s my fault. When you asked me if I was Retaking a Class, I should’ve apologized right away. But I didn’t say anything because I thought you’d hate me if I told you. I really am sorry. I thought it would be fine if I just quit the Gonyanyanya character quietly and hid it without you ever finding out…”
His eyes were completely watery now. The way he choked out words in a rush, apologizing over and over, avoiding my gaze as his fingers fidgeted nervously—he looked exactly like I’d imagined he would last night. Like he was actually about to cry.
But even if he was, I said nothing. I just watched.

“I didn’t mean to trick you or make fun of you, Goyoung. I just… I just wanted to surprise you. I thought you’d obviously figure out it was me right away. I didn’t have any other motive, really. I just thought it’d be nice if you realized it was me and were surprised…”
His voice cracked more and more. That sweet, syrupy voice of his lost its usual calm and started sounding pitiful. And it wasn’t just his voice—his eyes were brimming with tears now, glinting in the café lighting like he had glitter stuck to ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) them like some celebrity.
I couldn’t help it—my mouth had been twitching into a smirk for a while. But since Gang Jaegyung wasn’t looking at me, I got to enjoy the scene without needing to hide it.

“I really didn’t try to change anything—my tone, my habits, I did everything the same as when I was Retaking a Class… But I thought if I played it too straight, you’d figure it out too fast, so I acted like a newbie. If that felt dishonest, I’m really sorry. The whole pretending not to know skills or dying on purpose, that too. Oh, and I’m also sorry for ignoring your help in the dungeon and going for solo heals just because I wanted to. But I was just trying to act like a real newbie. I really hoped you’d praise me or something… I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I swear…”
And just like that, a huge tear rolled down from his left eye. His soaked lashes shimmered every time he blinked. It was pitiful beyond words.