Chapter 85

Because I noticed that fact, I couldn’t say anything.

She was really in a terminal condition, just like she said.

“That’s, that.”

Nae-ki also knew this fact and pursed her lips before finally closing her mouth.

*Clap!*

As the atmosphere settled in an instant, Eva unnie clapped once.

She looked at us and gave a lazy smile.

“I told you, right? I accepted it a long time ago. Nae-ki, Domi, don’t feel sorry. If I stay like this, I’ll feel bad and won’t be able to stay here.”

Damn, okay, she’s saying it herself.

If we, as outsiders, can’t even follow her words, what’s the point?

“Nae-ki, raise your glass. Eva unnie, it’s okay to drink, right?”

“Of course. Even if it’s terminal, it’s different from a normal illness.”

She immediately raised her glass at my words.

That sight bothered me even more, but I shook my head and brushed off the thought.

“Ugh, fine. If Eva unnie says so! Alright! Let’s eat and die today!”

“You only have one day left, huh?”

“Please don’t make such scary jokes!”

“Hehe, okay. Come on, let’s cheers.”

The glasses of the three of us clinked together, making a sound.

I downed the soju in one shot, put the glass down, and then put a piece of meat in my mouth.

The strong taste of soju felt even more bitter today.

“So, what’s the deal with Eva hyung?”

After swallowing the meat, I got back to the main point.

I had already vaguely guessed what she wanted to talk about.

“You two probably know, but my oppa is looking for a way to save me now. No, actually, he’s been looking for a way all this time.”

In fact, Ediknorjeva’s game access time was much longer on Eva hyung’s side than Eva unnie’s.

So, I thought maybe Eva hyung had been logging into the game all this time to level up his character so his younger sister could enjoy the game a little more.

“There are things that family can’t give up on, even if the person themselves has.”

So, I understood Eva hyung’s situation.

Eva unnie seemed to have accepted her life long ago, but to her oppa, it must have been something he couldn’t just let go of.

Just like how I’m struggling to find my unnie.

“Right. So that idiot, I mean, oppa, has been getting worse lately.”

She, who has a bit of a sharp tongue, coughed awkwardly to cover up her curse.

She probably couldn’t hold back after her younger sister was diagnosed as terminal.

“The problem is, he still hasn’t let go of trying to save me by doing bad things. Even if I tell him to stop, he doesn’t listen to my opinion.”

She sighed while filling her soju glass.

“……I’d rather he just stay with me.”

I understood both Eva unnie’s and Eva hyung’s feelings.

Eva hyung doesn’t want to give up on his sister, and Eva unnie doesn’t want her oppa to suffer because of her.

“It’s hard to take either side.”

Nae-ki also knew the situation and made an ambiguous expression.

“In times like this, you just have to take Eva unnie’s side.”

“As expected of Domi, you’re quick on the uptake in these things.”

She smiled, seemingly satisfied with my words, and then let out a sigh mixed with regret.

“In the end, we fought and he left. He keeps saying he’ll save me no matter what, even if it means doing bad things. No matter how much I try to stop him, he won’t listen. At this rate, I’ll die of frustration before anything else.”

She vented up to this point.

Both Eva hyung and unnie are stubborn, so it seems they couldn’t compromise.

Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to compromise either.

“So, I came to see you two to vent a bit.”

“That was a great choice. Domi’s the kind of guy who’ll listen to anything.”

“Ahaha, alright. I’ll vent as much as I want today.”

Eva unnie, seemingly in high spirits, started talking while clinking glasses.

Thanks to that, the two of us also started pouring out our stories, and the three of us lost track of time chatting away.

“Hic, sob, so that damn oppa of mine, he doesn’t listen to a word I say. Hic.”

And then Eva unnie got completely drunk.

Her speech completely loosened, and thick curses kept flowing from her mouth.

Even spirits get drunk, huh.

“Ahaha, I think unnie is the cutest when she curses!”

“I’m not cute! Nae-ki, you’re cuter.”

“Huh, unnie, do you really think I’m cute? Then should we date? Let’s have a love of the century.”

“Hic, I, I like men.”

“Puhaha, too bad! I like men too!”

What kind of conversation is this?

Nae-ki must have had quite a bit to drink too, as her energy level skyrocketed compared to before.

Seeing the two of them like that, I also felt a bit tipsy, so I rubbed my slightly reddened face.

I knew I could shake off the drunkenness by circulating my aura, but I didn’t feel like doing that.

The two of them must be enjoying the buzz for the same reason.

But still, we shouldn’t drink any more.

Or else we’ll end up spending all our coins again like last time.

Ugh—

At that moment, I felt my phone vibrate.

After briefly excusing myself from the two, I took my phone and walked outside.

“Hello?”

[ Domi oppa! How’s the meetup? Fun? ]

It was none other than Ayu.

It seemed she had finished her work over there.

“It’s fun. You would’ve had fun too if you came. Eva unnie and Nae-ki are completely drunk and causing a scene.”

[ You didn’t do anything perverted to them, did you? ]

“Do I look like the kind of person who’d do that?”

[ Hehe, you can do it to me! ]

“I won’t.”

Feeling the slightly chilly autumn breeze, I continued.

“So, how’s things on your end?”

[ It’s mostly sorted out. But the most important guy turned out not to be here, so it’s a bit annoying. ]

“Important guy?”

[ Asura, the guy Mari unnie took last time. ]

“Since when did Mari become your unnie?”

[ Well, Domi oppa, you proposed to me last time, right? We’re married, aren’t we? So your unnie is my unnie too. ]

I recalled the joke I made to Ayu back at the academy.

This girl really knows how to use that.

Her wit has improved.

“Ayu, you.”

I was about to say something, having noticed recently that she likes me, but I stopped.

Ayu hasn’t confessed to me yet, and this is the kind of joke we always make, so there’s nothing to say.

‘It’s not hard to put up walls with others.’

But it wasn’t easy with Ayu.

Maybe because we’ve been playing games together for so long.

Honestly, I didn’t want to put up walls and distance myself from Ayu.

Because Ayu is also one of the most important people to me.

Even if our relationship was formed through games, Ayu was precious to me.

[ Huh? What did you say? ]

“No, nothing. It’s getting cold lately, so dress warmly.”

[ Do you think I’d catch a cold or something? Hehehe, but thanks for worrying. I’ll be up soon, so see you at home. Love you. Mwah♥ ]

Ayu, who had the audacity to say that, hung up after a kissing sound.

She hung up faster than usual, so she must be busy.

“Haa.”

If it were winter, my breath might have been visible.

Even though it’s not winter, the breath that escaped my mouth carried various emotions.

Emotions always make people feel complicated.

‘It’s autumn.’

Spouting nonsense like the beginning of a novel, I shook my head at myself and went back inside the bar.

As I returned to where the two were sitting, my body froze.

A dark-skinned man was crouching next to Eva unnie.

Nae-ki had fallen asleep with her head resting on Eva unnie, probably passed out from drinking.

“Wait, who are you!”

“Huh?”

When I shouted, his yellowish eyes turned to me.

“Who are you?”

His massive body reminded me of a tiger, and his hair was a mix of white and black.

As our eyes met for a moment, I tilted my head, trying to remember where I’d seen him before.

“Oh, you, you’re that guy? The one who gave me bread before.”

I remembered.

He was the guy who gave me food when I was starving and collapsed in the park.

The guy who gave me a card with “Beom” written on it.

“Damn it, why is that bastard here again!”

At that moment, Baeksan, who had just entered the bar, shouted when he saw him.

A bad premonition flashed through my mind.

Because Baeksan’s reactions like this have never led to anything good.

“It’s Asura. That guy!”

And as soon as those words came out, my body froze.

A member of Giraseong and an S-class Returner.

The man Ayu and Seolhyang are chasing after the most.

Asura

Song Hyuk-seo

He was right in front of me.

“Damn it, Kang Ha-chan! I don’t know what’s going on, but that guy is dangerous! Pretend you don’t know anything!”

I’m already struggling to keep my expression in check.

Even though I can fire a thunderbolt strong enough to take out a Returner thanks to Baeksan, my opponent is an S-class Returner.

S-class Returners are on a whole different level.

He could easily dismember me in the time it takes me to load a thunderbolt.

“Why are you here?”

“That’s what I want to ask, but the person you’re holding is my companion.”

“Huh?”

Song Hyuk-seo’s face twisted as he looked back and forth between me and the drunk Eva unnie.

She was so drunk she couldn’t even hold herself up.

“Ugh.”

At that moment, Eva unnie slowly raised her head and locked eyes with Song Hyuk-seo.

Then, she slowly opened her eyes wide and reached out to pinch his cheek.

“You idiot oppa!”

“Ahhh?! Are you crazy?!”

She suddenly shouted and started pinching Song Hyuk-seo’s cheek, making him scream.

As I stared blankly at the scene, I slowly opened my eyes wide when I heard her call him “oppa.”

“……Eva hyung?”

The moment I called that name, Song Hyuk-seo’s body froze.

After prying Eva unnie off, he laid her down on the chair and looked at me.

“You’re Domi?”

“If Domi is Doremipasolo, then yes. It’s me.”

“Ha, haha, what! The guy who gave me bread is Domi? I had a weird feeling back then, but what kind of coincidence is this!”

When I answered, he burst into hearty laughter.

Seeing him laugh like that, I had to force a smile too.

Yeah, what are the odds of this happening?

‘The oppa who’s doing bad things to save Eva unnie.’

Is Asura, a member of Giraseong.

And that Asura is the Eva hyung I know.

This level of coincidence is seriously crazy.

Under my gaze, he looked at Eva unnie and gave an awkward smile.

“Ah, I didn’t expect to meet like this. Sorry. My sister didn’t say anything weird, did she?”

“She said a lot of things.”

I was internally debating how to handle this situation.

Ayu and Seolhyang are really troubled by Asura Song Hyuk-seo.

Normally, I would’ve informed them somehow, but now that I know why he’s working for Giraseong, I can’t just do that.

After all, he’s someone I’ve been close to for a while.

‘If he were a complete stranger, maybe.’

But I’m not heartless enough to ignore the situation of someone I know.

Of course, I don’t plan to keep it a secret from Seolhyang or Ayu about meeting him.

‘I want to talk to him first.’

Giraseong has been after Si-ho.

And now I know why Song Hyuk-seo joined Giraseong.

‘Eva unnie said her body was consumed by a dimensional rift.’

Si-ho is a spatial ability user with skills far beyond the norm.

Maybe she could help with that.

And Song Hyuk-seo, knowing that, cooperated with Giraseong to kidnap Si-ho.

‘Then this situation.’

Maybe it can really be resolved through conversation.