Chapter 17
“What?! You said it was good!”
“It wasn’t. Honestly, you didn’t think it was good either. No matter how much anchovies and chili flakes you throw in, that’s not kimchi. That’s just cabbage salad mixed with anchovies and chili powder.”
“T-that can’t be true. Then why did you force yourself to eat it with that personality of yours? If it was bad, you would’ve thrown it away!”
“Because if I said it was good, you’d grit your teeth and force yourself to say it was good too. I wanted to see you finish a whole bowl of something disgusting.”
“Are you a crazy bastard— no, wait.”
Lee Seok-hyeong frowned and stared at me.
“This trash-tier personality… yeah, that’s definitely our Belcheke hyung, Yoon Eun-han.”
“Why are you so sure of that— ah.”
<System: You receive a penalty of −1 year for disclosing confidential user information.>
I flinched at the message that popped up again. Now that I thought about it, it seemed neither I nor the person I was talking to was allowed to openly say my name, “Eun-han.”
“Wow… is it really you, Eun-han hyung?”
<System: You receive a penalty of −1 year for disclosing confidential user information.>
“Shut up.”
“What?”
“Don’t say my name.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You were the one who went on and on earlier saying you were Yoon Eun-han—”
<System: You receive a penalty of −1 year for disclosing confidential user information.>
“Shut up!”
I snapped at him on the spot.
“No matter how I think about it… it really does seem like you’re hyung. That shitty temper is definitely his. There can’t be two people in this world with personalities that filthy.”
Lee Seok-hyeong muttered. Even after putting his gun away and after I’d saved him from the minefield, he still couldn’t stop grumbling.
“But why do you look completely different?”
“Well… there are circumstances.”
“Oh, yeah? What circumstances. Fine. Let’s hear them. I’m only keeping you alive just in case, got it? I’m still suspicious as hell. And remember—I really am the type to pull the trigger when I decide to.”
What was I supposed to tell him…? I hesitated. First of all, when explaining things, I couldn’t let myself be called Yoon Eun-han anymore. And going further—there was no way I could talk about seeing quests or how I’d been pulled into this body on my own. Then… did that mean I couldn’t even say my younger brother was dead?
Probably not. This system clearly wanted me to deny Yoon Eun-han and affirm Yoon Youngseo—Kyle Olfail instead.
At the very least… it seemed I couldn’t say with my own mouth that “Kyle Olfail doesn’t exist” or “Kyle Olfail is dead.” I wanted to test things one by one, but I really didn’t want to see another −1 pop up.
So what I chose to say was—
“…Revenge.”
Damn it. Having forbidden keywords made talking ridiculously hard. I frowned and continued.
“I came here for revenge.”
I waited for a moment after speaking, but no penalty message appeared. Thank god. Apparently this was allowed.
Lee Seok-hyeong frowned at the unfamiliar word.
“Revenge?”
“Yeah. Revenge for my younger brother.”
“……”
He blinked. Even as I spoke, I was tense—afraid that if he didn’t believe me and casually called me “Yoon Eun-han,” another penalty would flash.
“I saw the news.”
Huh?
The news?
I widened my eyes slightly at the unexpected remark. Lee Seok-hyeong paused for effect, then continued.
“The guy I got the contact info for—the one who looked exactly like you—he died, right? That guy was your brother, wasn’t he? But then later that afternoon, they said it was a false report. Turns out he was actually alive, and the coma report was wrong.”
He tilted his head, then went on.
“So that’s when it switched? Your brother really died… and now it’s you.”
Ah. Right. I’d forgotten, but this guy was pretty sharp too. He pieced it together frighteningly fast. Good thing he talked fast.
“Yeah.”
I slowly nodded. After hesitating for a moment, he muttered,
“Then it makes sense. No—actually, that’s more believable than some MI6 skin-walker nonsense. But still… is that why you wrecked your body like this? You’ve got no muscle at all. What did you do?”
“Wreck my body? What kind of crap way of putting it is that—”
“I’m holding a gun.”
“Anyway. My brother only ever sat and studied. I needed to look similar.”
As Lee Seok-hyeong adjusted his grip on the gun, I brushed it off bluntly. He’d really grown up. Back in the day, he couldn’t even figure out a safety catch—I had to explain every single one to him.
“……”
At my answer, his gaze darkened.
“No, I still don’t get it. You’re saying you really went in pretending to be your brother? Why? How are you planning to get revenge?”
How was I supposed to explain this too? I hesitated again. I was the one who’d come all the way to the edge of Argentina to pull him onto my side—but now I couldn’t even say who I was, let alone mention quests.
Would he believe me again if I just told him the goal?
“I’ll skip everything and just give you the conclusion.”
“……”
“I’m going to become the CEO of Olfail Pharmaceuticals—using my brother’s name.”
“What?”
“And then… once the company is in my brother’s name, I’m going to tear it apart completely. Kang In-ha is an essential piece for that.”
“What did you just say?”
Lee Seok-hyeong’s mouth hung open, unable to close. He stared at me as if trying to confirm he’d heard correctly.
“A pharmaceutical company? You? You never even went to school.”
“…What are you talking about? I still had higher education.”
“I mean degrees! You never went to college! Is that even possible? Aren’t the people there all from insane universities and grad schools? Are you actually crazy?”
“No. What’s crazy is your cabbage kimchi.”
“Seriously…”
Lee Seok-hyeong roughly scratched his head.
“Alright, let’s say—just hypothetically—that you really had reasons like that and came all the way here looking like this. Sorry, but I don’t want to drag In-ha hyung into this. He looks peaceful. Do you really have to pull him back into that industry? He hated it so much he wanted to run away from the world—you know that. Even I know the pharmaceutical industry is nastier than people think. How bad must it have been for that gentle guy to come begging me for help?”
He was right. This guy genuinely respected Kang In-ha. It was strange—despite how dense he looked, Lee Seok-hyeong was a seasoned hacker who’d survived countless dangerous jobs. He didn’t follow people easily, but for Kang In-ha, he was unusually soft.
Somehow, I understood that feeling. Still… I had something to rely on.
“But Kang In-ha said he’d help.”
“What? When?”
“When I dropped him off on that island.”
“What?”
The gun barrel lowered. Lee Seok-hyeong tilted his head in disbelief.
“Seriously?”
As he asked again, he clicked the safety on. Still, I couldn’t relax—safeties could be flicked off with a finger. I nodded without lowering my hands.
“Yeah.”
“…Damn, I can’t even verify that. I don’t have his contact info either—I only see him every two weeks when I deliver supplies. Wait. You’re not lying on purpose, are you?”
“Hey. You said you knew it was me. Cut it out and let’s go see Kang In-ha. I’m really pressed for time.”
I’d given Oliver a one-week condition, but honestly, the sooner I got back, the better.
At my shameless insistence, Lee Seok-hyeong’s face hardened in resolve.
“Fine. You brought a boat, right? Follow me.”
He barked irritably and waved me over—telling me to get on the boat. Perfect. I dashed toward him.
“There’s just one thing I’m worried about.”
Lee Seok-hyeong spoke casually over the radio inside the boat.
I followed him, steering slowly. The Beagle Channel had more shallow spots than expected, so we had to navigate carefully. Where we were headed wasn’t very deep, and there were lots of rocks.
“What is it?”
As I watched the radar, he continued.
“Do you remember the first thing you said to Kang In-ha when you were planning his escape?”
“What?”
“‘This is optional, but if you pay an extra hundred thousand dollars, I’ll make sure no one ever chases you again.’ That’s what you said.”
“Yeah.”
“That method—was it asking various acquaintances, not just me, to bodyguard the location where Kang In-ha was hiding?”
“Yeah. The best security wall I could think of.”
“You put the western side in the hands of Red Mafia Sergei, the north with Medea, the southern drug lord—and the south was me, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then what about the east?”
“That side’s inaccessible. Too many reefs—the sea route was abandoned.”
“…No wonder you charged a hundred grand. That really is secure. Back then I thought you were just money-crazed. You even blocked yourself out.”
“Yeah. I put some thought into it—wait.”
I cut myself off mid-sentence. My blood ran cold.
“…I never told you who I assigned to guard each direction.”
“Right? Curious how I know that?”
“Yeah.”
At that moment, Lee Seok-hyeong chuckled. It sent chills down my spine.
“Would you believe me if I said each of those people came looking for me… asking, ‘Where’s hyung?’”
“What?”
I almost killed the engine on the spot.
