CHAPTER 88…………………………………………
An unfaithful partner—what a somewhat inappropriate metaphor to apply to a brother.
“No. When has Kang Gwonhoo ever used a normal metaphor?”
It wasn’t exactly shocking, since it wasn’t the first time he had said something strange. But maybe because Baek Sohyeok’s reaction was stronger than I expected, I found myself surprised as well.
“Stop provoking him and just go. Look—seeing that car lingering in the alley without leaving, it seems like you still have things to say to Kang Gwonhoo.”
I had been glaring at the car awkwardly hesitating in the alley since earlier. Kang Gwonhoo furrowed his brows slightly and then nodded.
“Then contact me when you wake up tomorrow.”
He probably meant to talk about plans for tomorrow, but it sounded like something a boyfriend would say.
‘He really knows how to talk in a sly way. If it were someone else, they’d probably think he has feelings for me.’
Instead of replying, I drew a circle with my finger to signal that I understood.
“You’re making a call?”
Baek Sohyeok grabbed my hand and lowered it. Then, standing in front of me protectively, he glared at Kang Gwonhoo’s car with all his strength until it disappeared from view. Darkness fell over the alley, leaving only the two of us. A quiet peace settled in belatedly.
“Let’s go inside first.”
Once the tension eased, every part of my body ached. The urge to lie down on the bed and rest completely took over. As if anticipating this, Baek Sohyeok opened the door for me.
“When is the next raid? One of the guild members got hurt today, so you probably can’t go immediately. He had giant-class skills… Ji-ah, was it?”
He seemed to already know who got injured. Just how much does he actually know?
‘Well, he eavesdropped, so I guess he knows most of the context.’
I suppressed my urge to rush into the room and grabbed Baek Sohyeok’s solid forearm. He blinked wide-eyed, as if surprised by my sudden action despite his imposing frame.
“There’s something we need to go over.”
I was concerned about Baek Sohyeok’s trauma, yes, but his private life was still private. Honestly, leaving things unchecked out of concern that he might attach surveillance cameras for me was also a little scary.
“You? For me?”
He asked with a bright expression, seemingly unable to imagine what topic I was bringing up. His demeanor was like a large dog waiting for its owner’s command, and I had to restrain my expression from softening.
“I’ll let the surveillance pass since it’s because you’re overly worried. I can accept that—you’re concerned I might do something reckless. But why eavesdrop?”
His expression shifted, realizing something. He probably thought I wouldn’t care about eavesdropping because he’d been so confident with Kang Gwonhoo, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.
“It might seem a bit excessive, but I don’t want to learn too late if you’re in danger. Ji-ah was assigned to guard you, but there could always be a moment she can’t handle. In those cases, I need a way to know immediately.”
Just as Kang Gwonhoo had attached a piercing to me, Baek Sohyeok had assigned Ji-ah to me. My head was pounding.
“Sohyeok, even among family, privacy should be respected.”
“I said I’d treat you as a human, not just family.”
And there it was again—a nonsensical answer. Isn’t it even weirder to put surveillance on someone you don’t consider family?
“Isn’t it strange to do this even as ‘human to human’? Usually, even when people worry, they don’t go this far with surveillance.”
I tried to reason with him as logically as possible.
“Perhaps. I’ve long since ceased to fall under the category of normal.”
Yet I had no counterargument to his reply. How do you convince someone who admits they’re abnormal? Baek Sohyeok had consistently walked an extraordinary path since awakening, so his thinking differed naturally from ordinary people.
‘In that case, I should step back.’
Quickly admitting defeat in our verbal sparring, I considered several alternatives and chose the familiar route.
“Just give me a device I can call you with if it’s dangerous. I could accept if you were just listening to me, but it makes other guild members uncomfortable…”
Especially with Kang Gwonhoo, who I didn’t get along with, I felt extra self-conscious. Given Baek Sohyeok’s meticulous nature and his ability to notice eavesdropping faster than I could, he wouldn’t carelessly reveal information. Come to think of it, Ji-ah probably wasn’t put in the car intentionally to avoid leaking information.
‘Or, worse, false information could be fed, causing problems on Baek Sohyeok’s side.’
Either way, I didn’t want to witness more conflict caused by his eavesdropping. Honestly, I was already exhausted enough.
“Brother, what I’m most anxious about…”
Baek Sohyeok came dangerously close, almost touching me. My back hit the wall as I tried to step back, but there was no room left.
“You let Kang Gwonhoo, someone who pays significant attention to you, sit so close, and yet the good brother just leaves it alone. It’s fine if you didn’t know he’s dangerous, but you do. You’re letting him sit there thinking, ‘It’s fine, it won’t happen to me.’”
It was true, but being faced with it made me feel utterly helpless. I have my own circumstances too.
“If you’re confident you’d call me in a truly necessary moment, fine. But seeing you lately, trying to handle everything yourself, I don’t think you’d even have the time to call me. You’ve lost your sense of danger compared to before. That’s my biggest worry.”
It might have sounded like overthinking, but it was precise. If my life were in danger, I could ask for help, but if I could handle it alone, I wanted to try. Yet as soon as I opened my mouth to deny it, the cursed status effect flared up again.
“You mean I’m supposed to rely on help for the rest of my life? Don’t underestimate me just because I’m sick of this.”
Frustration surged. Which part of the conversation triggered my wounded pride? Baek Sohyeok gazed steadily and sighed heavily.
‘Who’s the one sighing here?’
Still pressed against the wall, my hands were soaked with sweat.
“I’ll compromise. Ji-ah will deliver a communication device to you for emergencies. The moment you press it, I can move immediately.”
‘We can’t exactly say that our guild members already made this, right?’
I had enough sense for that.
“Do as you see fit.”
Satisfied, Baek Sohyeok stepped back.
“You must be tired. Go inside and rest. I’ll let you know when the next raid is set. I’ll coordinate to join then too.”
Meow.
Annoyed from being cooped up at home, Yaong ran at full speed and headbutted my leg. Even standing still, the small, piglet-sized cat made me stumble.
“Alright. Next time, I’ll take you even if I need you.”
After appeasing him with treats, I could finally begin my research.
“Guilds that passed the first floor on day one: Chaos, Dohwawon, Chronos, Jupiter…”
Jupiter was a guild created by Seo Gogeol. I hadn’t seen his face today, but that guild clearly passed. A prickle of unease jabbed at my chest.
“Why, leading a decent guild, did he seem so insignificant when facing Azazel?”
I decided to review the material I got from the bar. Initially, it seemed trivial, but I had kept it just in case.
“Ugh. Heavy, Yaong.”
Yaong, thinking he was still small, jumped onto my lap with no intention of leaving. Ignoring the weight, I flipped through the material again.
“The only notable guild member here is Deputy Guild Master Kim Mihyun.”
In the game, he was the only significant character. Even he had worked like a mercenary without being attached to a guild.
‘Why didn’t he continue as a mercenary and instead stay by Seo Gogeol’s side? Strange, looking back.’
Another suspicious point was that the guild started growing only after I entered the ‘two choices’ scenario.
“Shall I watch the攻略 video too?”
The A-rank dungeon strategy videos were rather dull. No one had standout skills, but Guild Leader Seo Gogeol directed efficiently.
There was no problem in itself.
‘The strange thing isn’t Seo Gogeol himself.’
Paradoxically, I felt that I was the strange one.
‘He looks exactly like my brother, yet why doesn’t it feel real?’
