Original Chapters (Manhwa): 13~20
3: the pitiful beau
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Kim Dokja was sure of it.
Eun-Byeol sunbae appeared at the bridge, holding a bloody baseball bat. But how?
There were no characters with the name Ahn Eun-Byeol nor any characters that had the same physical characteristics as his sunbae. Dokja was also certain that Eun-Byeol sunbae never read TWSA because he had no interest in webnovels.
So, how did he survive? The only reason he managed to get this far, and why there were additional survivors in cabin 3807 was because Dokja knew what would happen. Wait, sunbae was never normal to begin with! If that was so, even if Eun-Byeol survived, wouldn't he be in a different place?!
Before he left Mino Soft, he met Eun-Byeol who was on his way to the underground parking lot. By the time he reached the train station, Eun-Byeol should have already been on his way. Then, how come he saw sunbae at the bridge?!
Plus, Jonghyuk was still there.
Even if sunbae was not normal, he was not a match for Yoo Jonghyuk, The Regressor. Even if he was not close to Eun-Byeol, Dokja felt uneasy leaving sunbae behind with that bastard. After all, although Eun-Byeol became an infamous figure in the company and despite how he 'manipulated' his team members, Eun-Byeol sunbae genuinely looked after the people who were nice to him.
There was also a time when Dokja made a crucial mistake at work and it was Eun-Byeol who helped him get out of the mess.
For all his manipulative personality and ruthless behaviour, Ahn Eun-Byeol was not a bad person. He clearly distinguished between the bad and kind people. So, even though Eun-Byeol sunbae had an infamous reputation, to workers like Dokja, their sunbae was the best—though, he was still scary.
But that sunbae might suddenly die in that bastard's hands!
He needed to get out of here!
...
Kim Dokja had just finished dealing with the thugs from Cheoldu Group and reached the station where survivors gathered. He managed to reunite with his group and there, Eun-Byeol sunbae welcomed him back with a smile.
"Dokja-shi, it seems you're not as hopeless as I thought you would be."
A fake chuckle escaped him. "Sunbae, you're kidding me. I'm just lucky." Kim Dokja caught Lee Gilyoung who embraced him tightly around the waist. Dokja caught up with everything after Sangah and Hyunsung filled him in on what happened after they got separated.
It turned out Eun-Byeol sunbae had been looking after everyone without so much a word from him.
"Everyone out of the way!"
A group of people arrived holding steel pipes, bats, and other weapons. They surrounded Dokja and company. However, among the people who arrived, there was also Han Myungoh who screeched in terror at the sight of Dokja.
"K, Kim Dokja! Get him out of here! He's the worst! Downright evil, in fact! He shouldn't be here!"
Kim Dokja: "..." How nice. I haven't even paid you back yet for abandoning me, jerk!
"Han Myungoh," a shaky voice suddenly replied, stunning everyone. All eyes turned towards who spoke and found a teary-eyed Eun-Byeol.
Kim Dokja's jaw almost dropped to the ground.
"Han Myungoh ah, how could you be so cruel. It was Dokja-shi who saved you. How could you betray your saviour?!" Like a damsel in distress, like a righteous heroine in a novel, Ahn Eun-Byeol cried at the injustice. The surrounding people grew sympathetic and began shooting hostile glances at Han Myungoh who grew flustered.
"Dokja-shi's kindness, how could you take it so lightly? After he saved your life and almost lost his, you're calling him evil? How could you?!"
Kim Dokja: "..."
Yoo Sangah, who was swept away by Eun-Byeol's acting: "That's right! You should be grateful, Han Myungoh-shi!"
Lee Hyunsung, who grew the courage to speak back thanks to Eun-Byeol's acting: "If it wasn't for Dokja, you wouldn't even have survived the first main scenario!"
Eun-Byeol kept up his act. Tears kept falling, making him so pitiful that other people's hearts hurt. "I never knew you were like this, Han Myungoh. I always thought that you were kind. It seems like, like I was wrong."
"My goodness, how could someone be so cruel?"
"He bit the hand that saved him. Tsk. Tsk."
"He betrayed his own savior, would he betray us, too?"
"We can't allow such a person to stay here!"
The crowd grew more and more unrest, and Han Myungoh felt scared.
On the other hand, Dokja gave his sunbae a hidden thumbs up. He also took this time to check if he could see Eun-Byeol sunbae's status window. If he could, that meant sunbae really was a character from TWSA, although he never made an official appearance.
[Character Profile]
Name: Ahn Eun-Byeol
Age: 29
Supporting Constellation: None (Three constellations are interested in this individual.)
Personal Attribute: Beau (Rare), Actor (Rare)
Personal Skills:
[Attraction Lv. 6]
[Seduction Lv. 6]
[Mental Manipulation Lv. 8]
[Weapons Proficiency Lv. 4]
[Close Combat Lv. 3]
[Acting Lv. 8]
Overall Stats:
[Stamina Lv. 10]
[Strength Lv. 9]
[Agility Lv. 8]
[Mana Lv. 17]
General Evaluation: A man who only needed to smile to seduce even the strong. It's best to get on his good side. You never know when his admirers might kill you.
... what the fuck? Dokja was already cheating at this point, knowing how future events would unfold. Yet, his sunbae had higher overall stats than him? Furthermore, what was up with his personal attributes?!
Attraction?
Seduction?
Ah, well...
Looking at Eun-Byeol sunbae's face, Dokja felt his scalp go numb.
Yeah, those attributes shouldn't be a surprise to him. One of the reasons why the higher-ups picked on sunbae was because of his face. But the level of his personal attributes were actually shocking. The highest was already level eight and the second main scenario hadn't even arrived yet.
Still, who would have thought that sunbae was actually a character in TWSA?
But... I've known sunbae for a couple of months already. How could he be a character from Ways of Survival?
"Dokja-shi, don't worry!" A pair of arms suddenly pulled Dokja into an embrace, startling him out of his deep thinking. When Dokja looked around, he found everyone looking at him in sympathy. But... why was sunbae suddenly hugging him?!
Eun-Byeol sunbae caressed his head, as if Dokja needed someone's comfort. "Dokja-shi, we're not like Han Myungoh. We'll always be on your side, no matter what! So, don't be sad, okay? My heart hurts seeing you look so down."
Kim Dokja, who couldn't keep up with what was happening: "Huh? Oh, okay. Thank you, sunbae." What's happening? Things are suddenly happening so fast that I don't understand what's going on.
"Alright, come on, Han. You shouldn't be like that just because you're stressed out." The newly arrived person butted in, causing the uneasiness running rampant among the crowd to dissipate a bit. "Pleased to meet you. You must be the new guy. Mind telling me your name? I'm Cheon Inho."
Kim Dokja struggled in Eun-Byeol's embrace. It took him a while before he freed one arm. "Kim Dokja." And shook hands with Cheon Inho.
"The others who came with you told me... that you fought monsters and saved my men."
... what?
"Everyone, gather around! This brave new member here has gathered food for us!" Cheon Inho smiled. "Welcome to Geumho Station, Kim Dokja."
... this bastard.
Meanwhile, Eun-Byeol whose face still retained the traces of a pitiful heroine, stared at Cheon Inho behind his bangs. His eyes remained hidden from view. If one were to see how they looked, they would notice how chilling they appeared.
I don't like how he's using the same trick as I do.
[The constellation Love Me Till Death is annoyed with the newcomer.]
[The constellation Spiders Are The Best is jealous and wants a hug.]
[The constellation Secretive Plotter is watching you.]
...
Hyunsung explained the situation at the station to Kim Dokja.
"How about you, Hyunsung, sunbae? I'm sure they invited you to join the major group." After all, the two of them were quite strong. Although it wasn't obvious with Eun-Byeol at first glance.
"I don't know much about ethics or morality, but something doesn't feel right about the major group but I guess I'm a hypocrite for worrying about right and wrong after everything that's already happened." Dokja couldn't help but smile a bit at Hyunsung. As expected, this character was as righteous as ever.
"It's better to worry about right and wrong as a hypocrite than not at all. Don't ever forget that."
Hyunsung grew teary-eyed. In fact, he even wept like a child while wiping the tears away.
On the other hand, Eun-Byeol answered next, "Why would I join a bunch of wannabe manipulators? I'd die of frustration if I spent time with them for more than a minute." A hint of annoyance laced his voice, and it made Kim Dokja nervously chuckle.
Ah, this was the sunbae he knew.
Later, Cheon Inho arrived to invite him to their group. Of course, Dokja refused. He disliked Cheon Inho as a whole. Plus, he didn't want to be standing on the other side of Eun-Byeol sunbae.
For sunbae to survive after meeting with that bastard, Yoo Jonghyuk, says something about how powerful Eun-Byeol sunbae could be.
After taking a seat to rest, Dokja glanced at Eun-Byeol and asked a question that had been bothering him for quite a while. "Sunbae, you, did that bastard, I mean, Yoo Jonghyuk... try to kill you or something?" Based on what he knew of the protagonist, he would have tried to eliminate Eun-Byeol sunbae as soon as he made an appearance.
Yet sunbae was still alive, much to Dokja's relief.
"Yoo Jonghyuk? Oh, that guy. Well, he did try to shove me towards the monsters. Tsk. What a bastard he was. Dokja-shi," Ahn Eun-Byeol started. "I'm only telling you this just because I still have some use for you—"
Sunbae is so honest.
"—but try not to agitate that guy, shall we? With your... current strength, one flick of his finger might knock your head off your shoulders."
Can we not talk about this?!
Kim Dokja thought in exasperation. As they talked, Dokja began distributing the food he collected to his group when a crowd approached them out of nowhere.
"Hey!"
"Is it true you're monopolizing the food?"
"You're just going to monopolize the food for yourselves when you should be sharing with others?!"
"I heard other people went with you to get the food!"
"Yeah, why would you take it for yourselves?!"
"Let Inho be in charge of the food. And you get your share just like everyone else!"
Ahn Eun-Byeol felt his heart throb with frustration. The crowd's complaints grated his nerves, their selfish words fuelling his intent to kill. When Eun-Byeol caught sight of Cheon Inho through the crowd, who was too busy pressuring Kim Dokja into agreeing to join the major group, Eun-Byeol stared at him as if he was a dead man.
How noisy.
How annoying.
That scum should just mind his own business.
Can I kill him right now?
[You have entered the second scenario area. Find and move to the location where the scenario will be activated.]
...
[An additional penalty has been added to the scenario.]
[The category, Survival Fee, has been added.]
[100 coins will be withdrawn daily at midnight as a Survival Fee. You will die if you have insufficient funds to pay the Survival Fee.]
[The Survival Fee will be collected until the second main scenario is cleared.]
Eun-Byeol read the new update. How many coins do I have again?
[Coins Possessed
3, 700C]
"..." The main contributors are Love Me Till Death and Spiders Are The Best. I guess I'll have to thank the face I was born with?
Dokja later suggested they go monster hunting instead of scavenging for food outside. The group agreed, though a bit hesitantly, and Cheon Inho pushed Han Myungoh to go with them. Said man kept flinching whenever Eun-Byeol glanced at him.
Thanks to Gilyoung's skill, their journey down the train tracks had gone smoothly. They passed by human corpses and then monster corpses. It was at this time that a window popped in front of them.
[A new sub scenario has arrived]
[Sub Scenario - Hunting For Food]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: E
Clear Conditions: Hunt and cook a monster that you can consume as food.
Time Limit: None
Rewards: 500 coins
Penalty for Failure: ???
Soon, the group encountered live monsters deep into the tunnel. Each one of them began hunting on their own. While most of them were still trying to get a hang of it, Dokja and Eun-Byeol handled the monsters quite well.
It was especially so for Eun-Byeol. One hit with the bat was all it took to kill one Ground Rat. Dokja couldn't even believe his eyes. Sunbae... is really abnormal. Almost like he's the protagonist of his own story.
In the end, Eun-Byeol got the most kills with a staggering number of ten kills.
Dokja felt like his investment in his stats was a waste when compared to his sunbae.
[The constellation Spiders Are The Best is swooned by your strength.]
[The constellation Love Me Till Death is cheering for you.]
[The eyes of the constellation Secretive Plotter rolls at you.]
Eun-Byeol narrowed his eyes at the last window. Rolls eyes at me? What's with the show of attitude?
After dealing with the group of Ground Rats, the one that managed to slip by their watch snatched Han Myungoh. Eun-Byeol, who was the nearest, observed this from the corner of his eyes. He simply smiled when Han Myungoh looked at him for help.
Don't. Wanna. Eun-Byeol mouthed those words. He would be a fool if he didn't know who messed with the tires of his car. Han Myungoh deserved to become food for the monsters.
In the end, Sangah, who tried to help the fool, got dragged away with Han Myungoh.
Seriously, that girl doesn't need to be that kind. Anyway, I wonder how Binna's doing. The least my little sister could do is remain as clean as possible until I find her.
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bb byeol supremacy 💅
[Character Profile]
Name: Ahn Eun-Byeol
Age: 29
Supporting Constellation: None (Three constellations are interested in this individual.)
Personal Attribute: Beau (Rare), Actor (Rare)
Personal Skills:
[Attraction Lv. 6]
- a passive skill that increases the user's ability to attract others.
[Seduction Lv. 6]
- a skill that automatically activates when the user has interest towards an individual.
- the user may also manually activate this skill.
[Mental Manipulation Lv. 8]
- a skill that allows the user to control the target's mind and make temporary changes in their memories.
- it also allows the user to plant commands in the target's mind. The commands may be activated instantly or may be timed.
[Weapons Proficiency Lv. 4]
[Close Combat Lv. 3]
[Acting Lv. 8]
Overall Stats:
[Stamina Lv. 10]
[Strength Lv. 9]
[Agility Lv. 8]
[Mana Lv. 17]
General Evaluation: A man who only needed to smile to seduce even the strong. It's best to get on his good side. You never know when his admirers might kill you.