Chapter 10
But a little while later—
I began to regret that choice.
Not for any serious reason.
It was simply because this Korean food was far better than I’d expected.
…“Quite good” might actually be underselling it.
To be completely honest, it was extremely delicious. Truly. So good that I didn’t even care about those guys fawning over Mata Olfail and Matthew Olfail.
“What is this called?” I asked.
“Korean food.”
“No, I mean the name.”
“Oh. Right. Something like gukbap.”
“Gukbap…”
Gukbap…
I looked down at the clear broth, the thinly sliced pork laid on top, and the grains of rice scattered throughout. You could simply scoop it up with a spoon. On the cafeteria tray, there was a soup bowl and small portions of side dishes neatly arranged.
It was really good.
Come to think of it, I’d never been to a Korean restaurant when I was in Eastern Europe. Back then, a Korean hacker I knew once fed me something he claimed was kimchi—a spicy cabbage salad. Honestly, I never wanted to believe that was real kimchi.
So this is real Korean food.
“It’s really delicious,” I muttered in admiration.
That was when Keith suddenly spoke up.
“Eat up, Kyle. Seeing you enjoy Korean food makes me happy.”
“…….”
Way to ruin my appetite.
Watching Keith act as if he’d prepared this meal just for me, I subtly frowned and relaxed my brow again. Did he really think I couldn’t tell he was just sucking up to Mata Olfail?
He was a first-rate nuisance.
At this rate, I wasn’t sure I’d even manage a proper conversation with Mata Olfail by the end of the meal, let alone raise her favorability. And the bigger problem was—there wasn’t just one nuisance.
“Isn’t it amazing?”
Ian—no, Nuisance No. 2—said brightly with an obviously forced smile.
“The fact that my brother bought a patent for a groundbreaking new drug that could even cure dementia is really impressive. I mean—”
I quietly cut in.
“It’s not a new drug. It’s a new drug candidate.”
“What?”
“A candidate. You can’t call it a new drug yet. What I bought was a substance with potential, and a roadmap explaining how that substance could become a drug. It’s at least ten years too early for a patent.”
At my correction, Ian rolled his eyes. I could bet my right wrist that he couldn’t even memorize the script his secretary had prepared for him.
A brief silence fell.
Then Ian spoke again, his face carefully arranged into fake calm.
“What? Then why make such a fuss? It’s nothing.”
“That’s—”
Nothing, he says…
Before continuing, I glanced at the Olfails’ expressions. To varying degrees, they looked just as momentarily embarrassed as I felt.
Soon after, Matthew stepped in with an awkward smile.
“I don’t know why you’re so worked up, Ian. The licensing-out Kyle negotiated today is still very important technology. It newly identifies dementia mechanisms in the brain—”
“You already know how many of those exist, Father. Even someone like me who switched to materials science knows that much. Pharmaceutical companies just collect every possible idea license to prevent patent overlap during new development. That’s all.”
He was really pushing it.
I let out a hollow laugh. This idiot knew one thing and assumed that was everything.
To be fair, his words weren’t entirely wrong.
But only partially.
Major pharmaceutical companies like Olfail often shopped for patents under the concept of clearing out theories that might interfere with their future research—especially with diseases humanity had never fully conquered, like degenerative immune disorders. Alzheimer’s disease, in particular, fit that pattern. It was like continuously buying lottery tickets for a jackpot that had never yet been won.
But the System had told me to find Kang In-ha.
And since I’d decided to trust what the System said, I believed Kang In-ha’s research had a high chance of being real.
This was a winning lottery ticket.
“……”
Of course, I had no intention of explaining any of that.
Besides, according to Youngseo’s memories, Ian was genuinely bad at studying. Keith seemed reasonably smart—just not as good as Youngseo—but Ian was simply stupid.
And yet, Mata Olfail and Matthew Olfail never scolded or pressured Ian. They had even supported his fashion-related studies from early on.
I understood why immediately.
They’d never had expectations for him to begin with.
Explaining anything would be pointless.
That was when—
“So?” Ian lifted his chin at me.
He looked genuinely convinced that he’d proven my achievements weren’t impressive. What was even the point of dealing with someone like this?
I nodded at him.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re right.”
“What?”
“Just eat. Eat a lot. Have seconds.”
I replied half-heartedly and avoided his gaze, looking down at my plate. I’d expected dinner to be uncomfortable, yet half my gukbap was already gone.
Guess I’m more thick-skinned than I thought. Even in an awkward atmosphere, I could still eat well. And like I said earlier—this gukbap was absurdly delicious. It warmed my stomach.
Just as I scooped up another spoonful of broth—
Ian Olfail’s face suddenly twisted.
“Eat a lot? What, are you cursing me to gain weight or something?”
“What?”
“This is so annoying. You know how seriously I take dieting and exercise, and you say this? Seriously. Just because someone praised you a little, you think you’re all that now?”
“…Me?”
“Wow, the more I look at you—”
I asked back in confusion, unable to hide it. But for some reason, my reaction only made Ian angrier. He suddenly bared his teeth and snapped at me.
“You think I don’t know? You’re so scared of meeting people that you tried to kill yourself in the bathroom the day before negotiations, then made up some story about murder and intruders because you were embarrassed. Bastard, I never wanted to eat with you in the first place. Family dinner? Since when were you and I family?”
“Ian!”
Even Mata Olfail cried out in shock. Without exaggeration, everyone at the table except Ian gasped.
What the hell is wrong with him?
He wasn’t just going off the rails—he looked ready to break through the stratosphere. Honestly, it was almost entertaining now. I wasn’t even angry. I’d already realized this morning that I didn’t count as an older brother in his eyes.
But…
I couldn’t ignore this anymore.
I set down my spoon and dabbed my mouth with a napkin.
“Hey.”
“…Huh?”
“You’re… seriously rude.”
Maybe I didn’t need to say it out loud.
But the words slipped out anyway.
This was the guy who bullied my precious younger sibling? “Rude” wasn’t strong enough. He was downright ill-mannered. I’d forgotten most of my Korean, but one word remained crystal clear.
싸가지.
At the unfamiliar word, Ian frowned.
“Sa—‘ssagaji’?”
“It means you’ve got no manners. You knew I almost died—couldn’t you at least behave today?”
“What?”
I slowly asked back and locked eyes with him.
The moment our gazes met—
Ian took an involuntary step back.
“…Huh?”
I raised one corner of my mouth.
It was a reflexive sneer.
Pathetic.
All I did was meet his eyes, and he backed away. He’d deny it to the end, but I was certain now—Ian was utterly insignificant. He retreated just because my expression changed slightly. He couldn’t even measure another person.
Compared to the countless criminals I’d faced, this kid was nothing.
And maybe—just maybe—Ian already knew it.
That he was far beneath me.
That I’d already placed him below myself.
Knowing that, he barked desperately like a chihuahua.
Weak ones are always the loudest.
…This was what tormented Youngseo.
I spoke again, my face filled with open contempt.
“What are you doing? Seriously.”
As I spoke, my gaze fixed on his foot—specifically, the one stepping back.
“…Th-That’s—”
Ian seemed to realize only now that he’d retreated unconsciously. His eyes reddened slightly when he noticed where I was looking.
Then, after hesitating, he clenched his resolve and snapped again.
“You bastard. Have you completely lost your mind? You die and come back, and now you can’t tell up from down?”
“What did you say?”
The words were even harsher than before. When I stared at him in disbelief—
His next words froze the blood in my veins.
“If you were going to die, you should’ve died properly. How can you mess up even dying?”
“Ian!”
At that moment, I heard something thick snap inside my head.
The thread holding my sanity—snap.
I decided then.
I couldn’t let this ill-mannered bastard off anymore. He’d even crossed the line of insulting someone while they were eating.
“Hey.”
I murmured softly.
I didn’t miss the way Ian’s shoulders flinched.
“W-What.”
“Seriously. You.”
I stared at him.
To scare someone, you never break eye contact. You don’t even need to look into their eyes—just fix your gaze on the part of their face you want to smash the most.
In this case, the philtrum. Slightly above the upper jaw, just below the bridge of the nose. A cluster of fragile bones—easy to destroy. Break it properly, and someone could suffocate to death.
If you stare long enough, they’ll shrink on their own.
“Want to try dying?”
“Eek!”
…Just like now.
Ian’s shoulders jerked violently. Fear flashed through his eyes before vanishing. I’d glared with everything I had earlier—seeing him flinch like that meant he still had some learning ability.
“O-Okay, and then what?”
…Nope. He was stupid and incapable of learning.
“……”
I looked at Ian for a moment, then shook my head. I really wanted to hit him—but I couldn’t. Right now, I was better off emphasizing that I was injured.
I let out a deep sigh and turned my head to face Mata Olfail directly. She was already watching me, so our eyes met easily.
The moment our gazes locked, I spoke.
“Mother, I honestly don’t know what kind of life I’ve been living.”
“W-What?”
Confusion crossed Ian’s eyes, but I ignored him and continued looking at Mata.
“I even died and came back to life—so why does Ian treat me like this?”
“What? Kyle.”
“I don’t understand why I deserve this just for answering a question. Why does Ian feel so entitled to humiliate me?”
