Original Chapters (Manhwa): 57~59
14: the playful reader
.
.
Their height difference-
.
.
.
.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Haa, you know me, aren't I the strongest?"
"I know, it's just, I think I shouldn't have been so curious back then."
"Why not? Being curious is a sign that you're hungry for knowledge."
"But not when you're sacrificing so much!"
The smile on his lips stiffened when she glared at him through teary eyes.
"We could have just searched for a book, even if we didn't find any, instead of you sacrificing so many things! It's my fault for being so curious. It's my fault why you're suffering. It's my fault why you're losing so much when you could have lost nothing in the first place!"
"Didn't we talk about this," he placed a hand on each of her shoulders. "When I agreed to be your family, I told you that I'll do anything within my power to spoil you. And your curiosity was something I can satiate. My sister, my precious darling little sister, when I became your brother, I've already decided to give you everything. Even if I lose everything, that's alright. I've lived long enough anyway."
"You-!" She punched him right in the chest but he barely budged. "... I still don't know why you agreed to be my family. I was just joking with you back then but you took it so seriously. I've never asked, and I never had the intention to, but... who are you, really? Why are you willing to do so much for a sister you only knew for five years at the time?"
He paused at her words, and when she thought he wouldn't answer just like he always have, his pure smile stunned her.
"I've been lonely for many, many years. I had friends, made many in my lifetime, but they left me one by one until I was all alone again. When that time came, I told myself that I would never make friends again because losing them was like losing a piece of my heart. Then, you appeared. You barged into my cottage, stealing what little food I had left, but I caught you.
"You were so small that you didn't look like a ten-year-old at all. You were such a feisty little thing, even now. You arrived when my heart was ready to close off from the world. It sounds cheesy, maybe a bit cringey, but when you appeared, I thought you were a gift for me. I've been so alone that I thought disappearing was better than spending the rest of my life withering away.
"My darling little sister, I love you so much for giving me joy. If you can be happy, I'll do whatever it takes for that to happen. It doesn't matter if I forget you. You'll come running in to whack me on the head to make me remember, noh?"
"Idiot!" She furiously wiped her tears away while he patted her head. "Be glad this power belongs to me! Hmph. Remember what you said, I'll whack you on the head if you forget me!"
"Yes, yes."
"Hmph. Who's the greatest?"
"My darling sister is."
"... will you really forget everything?"
"I'm sorry."
"... I should be the one saying that."
.
.
.
.
"I'll definitely protect your friends, brother!"
"That's my good sister~"
Kim Dokja watched the siblings show affection for each other. He never knew that his sunbae, who had always been amiable yet out of reach in Mino Soft, could be such a siscon. It made him look more... human? The sunbae from before was like a fictional character no one should desire, after all. Deep in thought, the reader almost suffered from a heart attack when he made eye contact with a pair of smiling eyes.
"Dokja-shi," his sunbae approached with a blinding smile. "You seem to be staring at me quite frequently lately. I wonder if you've fallen for this face of mine~"
"..." To be honest, his sunbae truly was good-looking, even more than Yoo Junghyuk, the protagonist of TWSA. "Well, you are handsome." Dokja watched in satisfaction when his sunbae tripped over the words he wanted to say next. Next, the reader stepped forward until there was little distance between them. Dokja looked up, since his sunbae was taller. "I think I can fall for that face of yours, sunbae."
Critcal hit.
It was definitely a critical hit when his sunbae suddenly stepped backward, rushed to the nearest pillar, and slammed his forehead repeatedly against it.
I... might have gone too far teasing him like that.
"Dokja," Sangah called out beside him. "I think you should stop sunbae before he gets a concussion."
"... you're right. I'll get him while you gather everyone so we can get going."
Kim Dokja approached his sunbae, making sure there was a safe distance between them lest Eun-Byeol sunbae gets even weirder.
[The incarnation, Ahn Eun-Byeol, is too flustered to talk to you.]
My bad. "Sunbae."
"..."
"Sunbae, it's time to go."
"... m'kay."
He's so cute. An arrow struck Dokja right through the heart. The contrast of his sunbae's faces were too far apart that he couldn't help but find him adorable. "Let's go?"
"... alright, Dokja-shi."
...
"Brother-in-law, take care of my brother!"
Kim Dokja felt his ears tingle being called with that title. "Sunbae is much stronger than me. I think it would be him taking care of us instead."
"That's true," Ahn Binna tapped her chin while leaning against the scythe that her brother had gotten for her. "Brother, you must take good care of brother-in-law! There needs to be an official wedding!" The thought of preparing for her brother's wedding made Binna absolutely delighted.
"Binna-ah," Ahn Eun-Byeol's default smile was plastered on his face yet at the moment, anyone could tell that he was feeling embarrassed. "You must also take good care of everyone here, okay?"
The little girl puffed her chest in pride. "Of course! I'm the best so everyone will definitely be safe!"
"That's my good little sister~"
Watching them, everyone somehow felt at ease. Ahn Eun-Byeol might be a psycho who would shed blood as if he was picking fruits but his little sister was definitely an angel who looked out for everyone-
"I'll cut off their tongues if they insult us! I'll cut off their fingers if they rudely point at us! I'll cut off their dicks if they say something indecent!"
-or they so badly want to believe. Anyway, they were definitely siblings. The both of them were psychos!
The group finally left Chungmuro Station. Their destination was Gwanghwamun and one of their goals would be to search for items smilar to the ones Dokja got from the statue of the Great Monk Samyeong. Speaking of those items, Eun-Byeol's eyes shifted from the tracks to the clothes Dokja wore. The tux Binna brought was given to her brother, so Dokja was still wearing the gray robes he had given to Huiwon earlier.
Feeling an intense stare, Kim Dokja glanced at his sunbae. "What's up? Do you have anything you're confused about?"
"I do. Why are you still wearing Huiwon-shi's robe?"
[The incarnation, Ahn Eun-Byeol, is jealous and wants you to wear his clothes, too.]
"..." Eun-Byeol sunbae's jealousy really comes out of nowhere. "... you can pick my clothes later?"
Just like that, sunbae stopped giving him a look as they marched out of the tunnel. Dokja couldn't help but laugh to himself.
...
"Is this not the shrine of the deified general of the three kingdom period, Guan Yu?" Was the first thing Ahn Eun-Byeol asked as soon as Yoo Sangah lead them here. Kim Dokja perked up at those words, surprised that a shrine like this was so close from where they were.
"What do we do now?" Sangah asked as she looked around.
"How about showing our respect first?" Dokja thought that what he did to the Great Monk Samyeong's statue wouldn't work here.
[Constellation, Lord of the Beautiful Beard, has given you his blessing.]
[The blessing increases your stamina and strength by 5 for the next 24 hours.]
[The constellation, Spiders Are The Best, says she will give you a blessing if you strip.]
[The constellation, Lord Of The Watery Abyss, agrees with the constellation, Spiders Are The Best.]
[The constellation, Love Me Till Death, says you should watch what you type.]
[The constellation, Secretive Plotter, agrees with the constellation, Love Me Till Death.]
[The constellation, Demonic Judge of Fire, wants to join in on the fun.]
There's another one. Ahn Eun-Byeol's eye twitched when he saw the status windows popping up in front of him one after another. He already felt drained having four regular constellations being chatty around him. Now, there was an additional one. The beau could only hope that this constellation was not as crazy as the others.
Just as Eun-Byeol was lamenting his fate, his ears caught several footsteps approaching. At the same time, Lee Gilyoung exclaimed, "Dokja, Hyung...!"
"Isn't that Hwang Seungmin in the front? They look like they're actors."
"Who dares block the king's path?!"
Ahn Eun-Byeol almost exploded in laughter. Fortunately, the beau caught himself and cleared his throat instead, acting as if what he heard wasn't the most hilarious things he heard in a while.
The unamused Kim Dokja: "And you are?"
"That brown flag... are you a king as well?" Among the group that just arrived, a woman stepped out and asked.
"Isn't that... Min Jiwon?!" Lee Sungkook couldn't help but grow excited. "I am such a huge fan!"
Kim Dokja rolled his eyes at this fanboy before he used his skill to snap this idiot out of it. Out of curiosity, he also checked Min Jiwon's profile since she had the same name as the Min Jiwon of TWSA. However, much to his bewilderment, a status window of her character profile showed up.
It doesn't make sense. If she's a character from TWSA, how come Sungkook recognized her when he's not a character? "It's an honor to meet you, Ms. Min."
"Are you also a fan of mine?"
Before Dokja could even answer, his sunbae answered for him.
"With your pitiful level of acting, would Dokja-shi even watch your shows?" Ahn Eun-Byeol smiled, a smile so flawless that no one would have believed he said such words if they hadn't personally heard and seen them coming out of his mouth. "Oh, sorry, what kind of shows do you even star in? Why not help me refresh my mind and help me recall the names of the shows you played in?"
Min Jiwon, who had simply asked if they were her fan: "..."
Kim Dokja, who internally applaused for his sunbae: "..."
Ahn Eun-Byeol, who displayed a picture-perfect angelic smile: "..."
After being humiliated like that, Min Jiwon tried buying them over to her side. However, Kim Dokja simply made a counteroffer that left Min Jiwon and her group speechless. If they were trying to show their wealth, who else was richer than Kim Dokja?
As they walked away, Sangah voiced out her questions. "That woman though, is she a celebrity? You, sunbae, and Sungkook seemed to recognize her, but I've never seen her before."
"I don't know her either." Lee Gilyoung chirped in.
"Me as well," Eun-Byeol butted in. "Simply put, I despised her low level acting skills. Why prance in front of me like a peacock with her miserable skills? It's an insult."
For his sunbae to find Min Jiwon's acting skills as low-level, Dokja couldn't even refute. His sunbae's acting skill was levels beyond Min Jiwon, a supposed famous actress. But this also piqued Dokja's curiosity.
Sangah and Gilyoung, he could understand why they didn't know Min Jiwon.
But for his sunbae, a supposed character in TWSA, to not know her was simply outrageous. Min Jiwon really was a famous actress in the world of TWSA. There was no one who didn't know her. However vague, his sunbae should have at least heard Min Jiwon's name before but from the looks of it, Eun-Byeol sunbae hadn't.
Sunbae is both a character and not a character of TWSA. How does that even work? This was giving him a headache, dammit.
...
[Incarnation, Min Jiwon, is slightly attracted to you and the incarnation, Ahn Eun-Byeol.]
"..." I didn't even do anything remotely similar to what Yoo Junghyuk had done to her in what, his 11th regression? And sunbae, he just insulted her, right? He didn't even act rough with Jiwon! Kim Dokja felt dread wash over him. He had a very bad feeling about this. He could only hope that he was wrong.
Soon, they reached the museum, their destination. The group stayed hidden in one place while formulating a plan. Kim Dokja thought that it was best if his sunbae remained outside to keep watch and deter anyone from coming inside. He was, after all, the strongest at the moment. His sunbae could deal with most of the grunts who try to sneak in.
Amidst their planning, a certain dokkaebi appeared midair. This caused everyone to raise their gaze in surprise.
"My goodness, I'm glad that you've all gathered in once place. And all good children deserve a prize." The ground began to shake, cracks forming on the pavement. Rising from underground, a golden throne appeared.
...
[The main scenario has been updated!]
[MAIN SCENARIO #4 - The King's Qualification has begun.]
[MAIN SCENARIO #4 - The King's Qualification]
Category: Main
Difficulty: A
Clear Conditions: Occupy the Ruler's Throne on the main street of Gwanghwamun.
Time Limit: 8 hours
Reward: 10 000 coins
Penalty for Failure: -
*Only those who have completed the hidden scenario, The King's Path, can take part in the scenario.
*The king who occupies the King's Throne will be given absolute command over the other kings.
*Special additional clear conditions exist in this scenario.
...
"You seem flustered," the dokkaebi mused with a smirk. "Don't worry too much. You'll be able to take your time with this scenario. As you may have guessed already, the fourth scenario was put in place to elect the one true king who is worthy of that throne. Of course, not any king will be able to sit there. It is there exclusively for the one king wjo has proved him or herself worthy. I will now reveal the first qualification."
As soon as the first qualification was announced, chaos ensued among the many groups present in Gwanghwamun. Dokja and company, however, headed towards the museum entrance.
"We need to find something called a Ganpyeongui. Sunbae," Dokja faced the beau who looked back at him. "Can you prevent anyone from entering on your own?"
"No matter how long you need me to, I'll stop anyone from trespassing."
Kim Dokja stared at the beau with unblinking eyes. "You're not allowed to get hurt anymore."
"Is Dokja-shi worried about me? That makes me happy~ But don't worry too much," his sunbae's smile turned cold yet sharp, as if it belonged to a cold-hearted killer. "Only Yoo Junghyuk, that bastard, is my match."
Lee Gilyoung: "Be careful, hyung."
Yoo Sangah: "Take care of yourself, sunbae!"
Ahn Eun-Byeol waved a hand as his friends entered the museum. Once their figures disappeared inside, Eun-Byeol stretched his arms as a yawn slipped through his lips. "What a pain, really. It's people like you who don't use their brains all that much that give me a headache." Drawing Dainsleif from its sheath, the beau's eyes glowed a faint red as he slashed through a rain of arrows with a single move.
Broken arrows fell one by one.
Just like the beau's eyes, Dainsleif emitted a soft red glow, as if telling its owner that it wanted to shed blood as soon as possible. "Don't worry, ah. You'll get your fair share of blood~"
In response, the faint red around Dainsleif turned into a deeper shade of red.
How fun, Eun-Byeol's eyes narrowed in delight. I can kill to my heart's content with Dokja-shi not around~
.
.
.
.
LITTLE THEATER CORNER
Q1. How did you meet Byeol?
Dokja: It was when I made a mistake at work because I stayed up late reading a new update of Ways of Survival. I was supposed to get chewed out by the team leader but sunbae butted in and sweet-talked the team leader. Sunbae treated me to a cup of coffee after.
Q2. How popular is Byeol at work?
Dokja: Incredibly. He's popular among everyone other than among those high up in the social ladder. They pretty much hate sunbae, which I don't understand why. Sunbae is very nice... as long as you don't provoke him anyway.
Q3. How would you describe Byeol's appearance?
Dokja: Uh, well, that- sunbae is pretty. Undeniably so. Even the words used to describe Yoo Junghyuk in Ways of Survival wouldn't be enough to describe sunbae.
Q4. Why do you like teasing Byeol so much?
Dokja: For someone who flirts endlessly, he can't handle being flirted back. It's adorable.
Q5. Do you like Byeol?
Dokja: Well, I'm not sure yet. I like teasing him because sunbae is cute.
.
.
.
.
Yeah, "not sure yet" 🙄
When your introverted friend decides to socialize: