CHAPTER 69………………………..
“It’s not like we’re kids, that kind of thing is embarrassing.”
Still, Baek Sohyeok, who definitely liked to be certain about things, seemed to want to leave some trace of reconciliation.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Baek Sohyeok stopped and turned to look at me. Even as he offered words of reconciliation, his face was full of embarrassment, as if he couldn’t imagine hearing a good response.
‘Good thing yesterday’s late-onset middle school angst has finally eased.’
Otherwise, even this simple sentence would have come out all wrong. The look of surprise on Baek Sohyeok’s face soon softened, like a gentle spring breeze. Since the game mostly involved brutal scenes, I hadn’t known he could smile so easily. Having struggled a bit, I secretly felt satisfied seeing him like this, thinking it was a reward for the effort.
“Living long enough, you end up hearing thanks from me again, huh?”
A rare sense of stability quietly accumulated between Baek Sohyeok and me. Having lived with tension all this time, the peace felt all the sweeter.
Beep-beep-beep.
But the peace didn’t last long, thanks to the glaringly bright status window.
[System Quest: Choose a Faction]
It seemed this game had no intention of letting me relax. Baek Sohyeok frowned as if he saw the same thing. I knew a new quest was coming, but the timing was terrible.
‘Still, I have to get it done.’
Like a salaried worker who received weekend work, I weakly moved my fingers to open the window. Naturally, I thought Baek Sohyeok would do the same, but suddenly, a hand shot out from beside me and gripped mine tightly.
“What’s wrong?”
Not stopping there, he intertwined our fingers and pulled me toward him. Even when I made a confused expression, his hand didn’t budge.
“Let go of this.”
This time, my words moved freely thanks to the remaining status effect—inferiority complex. I tried to twist my hand away to match my dialogue, but Baek Sohyeok was strong enough to overpower me at any moment, so my small struggles didn’t move him.
‘His strength is absurdly overwhelming.’
I wasn’t Baek Woojin, who hated Baek Sohyeok, so though the situation felt embarrassing, it wasn’t unpleasant. Out of laziness, I stopped futilely resisting and obediently gave him my hand.
“Let’s focus on the time we’re together now. Check the quest later at home.”
The word we from Baek Sohyeok felt like it rolled over our intertwined hands, tickling me. I tensed my body, like someone holding back laughter.
“Fine.”
I moved along as he pulled me. The path beside the sandy beach was narrow, barely wide enough for two average adults to walk side by side. But with two large men, it was cramped, and the shoulders of the one holding hands kept bumping. I wanted to suggest letting go and walking in a straight line, but I shook my head internally.
‘Let’s not ruin this peaceful mood over something trivial.’
When the late-onset middle school angst and inferiority complex acted together, I just had to be careful with my words. But right now, it was unclear where the line was. I could only guess that past Baek Woojin’s words might turn harsh if they touched his insecurities.
‘But even if my guess is correct, I can’t avoid saying anything that might trigger the status effect.’
Everyone’s insecurities were different, and I didn’t fully understand Baek Woojin, so I never knew when the button might be pressed. Even though I had seen him die a hundred times in the game, there was a barrier between that and real life.
‘No. Complete understanding between people is impossible anyway. I don’t even fully understand myself.’
I obediently followed Baek Sohyeok, enduring slight discomfort. Maybe I felt so at ease because the sea breeze brushed my face.
“Aren’t you going to ask where we’re going?”
It didn’t suit the person dragging someone along without telling them the destination.
“Do you think I’m going to sell you out? Although, who knows if I tried, maybe I could.”
“Why wouldn’t you sell me?”
Baek Sohyeok reacted, jumping in shock at my ridiculous remark.
‘Shouldn’t the objection “I wouldn’t sell you” come first in context?’
I looked at him, dumbfounded, only to see him seriously frowning, which made me laugh.
“Hey, are you seriously asking me to sell you? Saying you’re useless?”
“Exactly. Why would I sell you, and why are you useless?”
Finally, the assurance that he wouldn’t sell me came, and I relaxed and resumed walking. Baek Sohyeok followed without criticizing me for moving ahead without knowing the destination.
“Just a little further. We’re going there.”
At the tip of his hand was a traditional-looking restaurant, which could also be mistaken for a hanok or a ship. I had suspected his subtle hobby of finding good restaurants ever since he would bring back delicious food.
“How did you know about a place like this that isn’t even nearby? I wonder who you’ve been out with while busy managing a big guild.”
I asked myself whether it was possible to travel at least once a year even if busy—but it didn’t help.
“When I last came here with my family, it was under construction. We said we’d come next time together.”
I didn’t know that story, so I just stayed silent, staring at the restaurant. Baek Sohyeok seemed to think I was reminiscing and gave me time to look around. A slightly unwelcome courtesy.
‘Does Baek Sohyeok want to turn our sibling relationship back to the past?’
His occasional actions made me think that. Hiring a chef who cooked like Baek Woojin’s mother, reminiscing, and trying to get closer—all suggested it.
‘Unfortunately, that chance is already gone.’
Even if it wasn’t my fault, the creeping guilt was inevitable.
“Why are you just standing there? Come in and eat.”
I shook off the feeling and exaggeratedly moved my limbs to open the restaurant door.
“Welcome.”
A staff member standing at the entrance greeted politely. The restaurant was so quiet that there was almost no noise beyond the careful movements of the staff. It was odd that in such a large restaurant, there wasn’t a single sound from customers.
Even if the rooms were soundproofed, it made no sense that the hallways and tables were empty. No matter the weekday, such a fine restaurant couldn’t be completely vacant. I looked at Baek Sohyeok, silently asking “Really?”
“Let’s go in.”
Baek Sohyeok didn’t give a clear answer, but the more we went inside, the more certain I became.
‘He must have rented the entire place.’
I wondered if, like Kang Kwonhoo, he didn’t want to eat with others. But from what I’d seen, he wasn’t that type. He often brought food in and ate comfortably in his guild.
‘Come to think of it, yesterday, when we went for meat, Kang Kwonhoo stayed silent the whole time.’
It was amusing that someone who cooked for fear of poison would eat food prepared by others.
“What are you thinking?”
Baek Sohyeok, noticing my distraction like a ghost, spoke and brought me back.
“Did you rent all of this?”
“Thought it’d be more comfortable.”
“Yeah. Might seem like a waste of money, but it’s definitely convenient.”
I wouldn’t have spent that much just for comfort, but Baek Sohyeok had money, so I didn’t dwell on it.
We took a seat by the window, where sunlight bathed the waves outside. The waves surged powerfully, as if to cover the land, only to collapse gently at the sandy shore. The sea, long unseen, held a mesmerizing power.
“You still like the sea, huh?”
“Huh?”
Startled, I almost fell from the window.
“You always sit and watch whenever we come to the sea. I used to sit next to you, wondering what you were looking at.”
Maybe Baek Woojin just couldn’t swim. I wasn’t talented at swimming either, so watching quietly was fine.
“Why do you keep bringing up old stories? You didn’t rent such a fine restaurant just to talk about that, right?”
Though I disliked his tone, I wanted to hear the main point. If the conversation wandered into the past I didn’t know, he might suspect me of amnesia.
‘He might think my slightly changed personality is due to lost memories. Easier to believe than saying someone else is in Baek Woojin’s body.’
I didn’t want to be found out as not being Baek Woojin, but I didn’t want to pretend to have amnesia either. I preferred to avoid giving him any excuse, so I wanted to steer the conversation back.
“There isn’t really a main point. I just wanted to come somewhere nice, talk, eat good food, and so on. Strange?”
It was strange. For Baek Sohyeok to postpone a quest and do something he wanted, this felt too trivial. We could have eaten at home, and there were plenty of good restaurants nearby.
“We haven’t been this close recently, I think.”
Almost entirely my fault, though.
“Then let’s become close from now on. People used to say we were stepbrothers who got along well, right? Forget that. I just want us to get close as people, not labels.”
