Chapter 177

Chapter 177. Small World (2)

“As you can see. How have you been, hyung? You mentioned you moved to a new party, right?”

When I responded more amicably than expected, An Kijun’s face brightened.

“Ah, this is your first time seeing them, isn’t it? Want to say hello?”

It seemed he calculated that introducing me to his party members would be something I would accept. I followed An Kijun willingly, indeed intending to give a nod of acknowledgment.

After exchanging introductions with unfamiliar people, I didn’t forget to leave a word acting all friendly with An Kijun.

“Please take care of him.”

Of course, I didn’t say this out of genuine concern for An Kijun.

‘I was just paying him back.’

An Kijun had always sent me items from Earth without complaint whenever I asked.

He probably knew I was watching him, but he never showed discomfort.

He had repeatedly proven that he had no intention of escaping my supervision.

Despite knowing I had his home address, he didn’t try to pull any unnecessary tricks like moving.

‘He must have calculated that being connected to me even in this way is more advantageous.’

It was clear he intended to pull me into his network.

‘As long as he stays within my control, I’m fine with this much.’

Ensuring perfect control over any loose threads potentially leading to Jonghun was a small price to pay.

However, I had no plans to foster overly close relationships.

‘It would be a problem if he suddenly thought he could join my party.’

Having dealt appropriately with An Kijun, I returned to my party members.

Then, Kim Yul, who had been looking in our direction with a dazed expression, spoke up first.

“…… Were you close with Yokai hyung?”

“Just somewhat in touch. I ask for things from Earth sometimes.”

“…… With me and Taeho ahjussi around, why ask Yokai hyung? Why?”

“Simply because it’s convenient.”

I couldn’t bother to explain I was monitoring and managing An Kijun.

“…… I didn’t know you’d become friendly with Yokai hyung.”

“There’s no reason I have to tell you that.”

Thus, I just let the conversation fade.

At that moment, a bright light burst out from the direction of the relocation magic circle at the forward base.

Ahel emerged, looking around as if searching for us.

‘Timing is good.’

With no need to wait any longer, I intended to head directly to the corrupted area.

As I raised my hand towards Ahel’s direction.

“Ha.”

A sudden, dry laugh echoed.

Turning to the source, I saw Kim Yul displaying a vacant expression.

As soon as my gaze landed on him, he quickly lowered his head, but I had already seen enough of his face.

‘Why is he acting like this?’

As soon as the feeling of puzzlement arose, Kim Yul, who was staring at the ground, suddenly turned away and mumbled.

“I’m going to rest today.”

“What?”

I frowned at Kim Yul’s unexpected withdrawal.

Today was the day we were supposed to complete a four-star mission in one day.

If things fell through, we would miss out on absorbing mana worth tens of thousands, possibly a hundred thousand.

‘Does he not realize how crucial this hunting schedule is?’

Especially when it was a group hunting schedule coordinated by all the party members?

The occurrence of such an absence was not within my script.

I quickly moved to stop the already receding figure.

However, I wasn’t the one who ended up stopping Kim Yul.

“What will you say if you follow him? Don’t; just let him be today.”

Blocking my path, Yang Taeho intervened.

“I was going to stay quiet, but seeing this is just frustrating. Can’t you stop now?”

Bewildered by his sudden words, I looked up at Yang Taeho.

“What are you trying to say?”

In response, Yang Taeho, with a peculiar expression, asked me.

“You don’t really not know, do you?”

About what exactly? Although I didn’t voice the question, my expression apparently conveyed my thoughts well enough.

“Geez, clueless smart guy.”

Judging from Yang Taeho muttering and shaking his head, I probably was a clueless smart guy.

Running a hand through his short hair, he turned around.

Kim Yul, at that moment, encountered Ahel who was approaching us.

“Kim Yul-kun?”

Ahel greeted Kim Yul, but instead of stopping, Kim Yul brushed past him.

Upon reaching the location of the teleportation circle, Kim Yul left the forward base.

Only then did Yang Taeho speak up again.

“Being cold-hearted to a kid who’s struggling for your recognition maybe a bit much, don’t you think?”

Undeniably, not once had this thought crossed my mind.

‘Recognition?’

As I merely gazed at him, Yang Taeho gestured towards himself and Ahel, who was approaching us, and continued.

“Considering it already felt like his place wasn’t fully secure, having new party members coming in must’ve made him insecure.”

“…….”

“And with you trying to see if you’re more familiar with somebody else, does that help his mentality hold up?”

This time, Yang Taeho even pointed towards where An Kijun had been.

“While we’re discussing this, I noticed you particularly behave stringently towards Yul. Why’s that?”

Yang Taeho seemingly intending to unload everything that had piled up continued speaking.

“Knowing your personality, I suspect you’re not going to change your ways, but accepting someone into your party means you plan to keep going together, right?”

“…….”

“Then rather than constantly evaluating and scoring, maybe try to be a bit more approachable?”

Yang Taeho’s voice raised in intensity.

“If it’s not hard, why keep staring at him with a look that says ‘Let’s see how capable you are’?”

As I silently continued to listen, Yang Taeho sighed deeply.

Then, he spoke in a somewhat subdued voice.

“You too were once at that age, right?”

At merely seventeen, how was I back then, it wasn’t hard to remember.

Those days when I perceived my world validated more through friends at school than family at home, where proving my place in that small world seemed more critical than anything.

“Especially being unable to attend school and having a hard time here, occasionally having someone look out for you can be really good. No matter how perfect you are, nobody can live alone. We live by looking after each other. We should act like the adults we are, who are much older than him, and at least do that much, don’t you think?”

There was only one answer I could give.

“Why the atmosphere? Why is Kim Yul just leaving? Are we not doing the purification today?”

Swallowing a shallow sigh, I turned to Ahel who had arrived just in time and spoke.

* * *

Having returned to Habon from Villea Castle’s front base via a relocation magic circle and portal, Kim Yul headed straight to the temple entrance.

As he reached the sacred representation of the World Tree, where the gate was, he found himself stopping instinctively.

Summoning the last vestige of his pride, he tried to withstand, but eventually looked back.

Behind him were unfamiliar players with whom he had no acquaintance.

K and Yang Taeho were nowhere in sight.

‘Yeah, they wouldn’t follow me.’

It didn’t disappoint him since it was something he already knew.

They must’ve devised a new hunting plan accounting for his absence.

K was the type who always had three or four different contingency plans prepared.

When his thoughts reached that point, his mouth became dry.

“Damn it……”

Seeing how K seemed to be getting much closer to An Kijun, he impulsively made a mistake.

He was aware that feeling jealous over such a thing was shameful, yet…

‘But this is just too much.’

Despite being the one accommodating this and that from the sidelines all along, the one who got closer ended up being An Kijun.

“Damn it!”

Grabbing his now rather long hair, Kim Yul stomped his feet in frustration.

He made an impulsive error and now found himself bewildered by how to handle the aftermath.

Caught up in a mix of emotions in front of the sacred representation of the World Tree, seemingly like a madman for quite some time.

Once a bit settled, he exhaled a long sigh and lifted his gaze.

Looking ahead, biharin who had grown accustomed to Outsiders and various players were busily on their ways.

Like them, Kim Yul was present in that same space but…

‘Where should I go……?’

Unlike them, he felt as if he had nowhere to go.

Going back to Earth was awkward due to the discomfort caused by military figures from the NIS frequently stationed there.

They constantly tried to pry details about K whenever they encountered him.

Yet grabbing a room at an inn felt like a point of no return.

Escaping K’s view in such a manner might potentially lead to being officially expelled from the party, a fear that gripped him.

‘I guess I’ll head to the dormitory.’

Determined to head for lodging, Kim Yul exited the temple.

It might not feel awkward to go there on his own, but at least for today or tomorrow, no one would come by.

‘It’ll take them a bit more time to wrap up the 4-star mission without me.’

During that time, he intended to adjust his feelings and casually return as if nothing had happened…

‘That character wouldn’t easily sweep things under the rug.’

Imagining K’s response upon returning from the hunt, a sigh inadvertently escaped from him again.

“Damn it, this wasn’t what I intended.”

Stopping at a wooden post on the street, he ruffled his hair in frustration.

His mind plagued with other thoughts he couldn’t shake.

‘He hates when plans get messed up,’ going by his observations of K who had a strong penchant for perfection.

K highly disliked variables that disrupted his plans.

Of course, he managed to achieve his goals within those situations due to his many contingency plans, but…

‘The dislike for variables was clear.’

And then he bolted messing up the hunting schedule planned a week in advance.

Would K take him back again?

‘Should I go back and apologize now?’

But was the wrong really that significant?

Kim Yul vacillated in the street, switching his gaze between the direction back to the temple and towards the lodging.

Then a sudden rush of emotions overwhelmed him leading to an outburst.

“Damn it! K, why’d you have to act all friendly with Kijun hyung back there?”

Afterward, feeling frustrated, he rubbed his face harshly, running hands repeatedly through his hair.

‘I’ll find a place to bunker down at the dorm for now.’

Any way he thought about it, heading back to apologize was out of the question.

‘I have my pride, you know?’

If this incident led to being kicked out of the party…

‘I’ll camp out a second time at the orphanage in Loborre.’

As K tended to show a softer side towards children, maybe showing him spending time playing with the kids at the orphanage…

‘Since he’d been regularly visiting during personal rest time, meeting him won’t be difficult, right?’

Surely, showing this much dedication might earn him another chance.

Upon reaching a conclusion, Kim Yul turned towards the lodging.

Trudging along with heavy feet, he couldn’t help feeling a sense of existential despair over the situation.

Initially, it was simple curiosity.

Seeing the lines K had drawn, he wondered what it would be like inside, and what kind of treatment one might receive.

Thus, he made the effort to gain K’s recognition, becoming slightly more sincere over time, which led to increased effort.

Yet, it certainly wasn’t easy to cross those strangely drawn lines K maintained.

‘Maybe I’ve been marked from the beginning.’

The cold, unwavering gaze that seemed capable of discarding him without hesitation.

It seemed as though his every action was assessed, determining whether to keep or abandon him.

Experiencing that constantly made him subtly feel as though he might never fully break through those lines set by K.

So seeing K develop a closer relationship with An Kijun spun his head right around at that moment.

Kim Yul chided himself for making such a rash decision based on a fleeting emotion.

‘It’s not like I wasn’t aware of his temperament.’

His extreme human distrust had been evident from initially encountering K.

He knew that it took a long time to gain trust.

Nonetheless, being on the outside, constantly under evaluation, proved more tiresome than anticipated…

Returning to his lodging, Kim Yul slammed the front door shut and headed upstairs.

Stamping his feet harshly, one after another, only made his emotions rise even more aggressively.

“Dictator bastard.”

Profane words slipped out impulsively, unable to suppress the turbulent feelings.

“How he wasn’t even surprised upon seeing that pile of corpses back then, is he a psychopathic machine devoid of emotions?”

Commanding this or that, always insisting training…

“If it were just that, I wouldn’t even feel so wronged.”

Whenever finding the routine and training overwhelming, trying to negotiate, he’d always receive an unpleasant remark back.

– You can’t do this? Why not?

– Instead of saying you can’t do it, just do it. If it won’t work, make it work.

Recollecting those words from K never failed to rile him up.

‘Is it normal for me to worry about my blood pressure at this youthful age!?’

He had been so worn by K’s Spartan philosophy that ordinary tough training no longer felt exhausting.

Yet K continued to treat him as though he were an outsider.

With clenched teeth, Kim Yul, gripped with irritation, stomped even harder.

‘If you didn’t mean to give hope, then don’t do it.’

Recently, that dictator began thinking about party members’ physical condition while arranging the schedule.

Thus, he somewhat hoped he might’ve entered inside that line, but…

– There’s no need for me to discuss such things with you.

Today, he felt utterly slapped in the face.

With a muddled heart, Kim Yul continued cursing K uninhibitedly.

Thinking that K would never hear him boosted the audacity and intensity of his rant.

Upon forcefully opening the door to his room, he stood petrified just as abruptly as he had opened his mouth.

“Sorry to disappoint being a dictator bastard.”

K, having returned earlier via Ahel’s magic, was sitting inside his room.

Damned System