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CHAPTER 171 — IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE
“Hyung! Over here!”
The younger brother who’d been waiting in the alley waved with a bright, happy face the moment he spotted Ryu Min.
“You’re here, Ryu Min-ssi?”
Yamtti sent a wink behind the kid’s back, but Ryu Min clicked his tongue inwardly and turned his head away.
“Are you okay, Won-ah? You’re not hurt anywhere?”
“I got hit on the cheek a little, but I’m fine.”
“Doesn’t look like ‘a little.’ Come here.”
When Ryu Min placed a hand over the reddened cheek, a warm light flowed out.
“Huh? It doesn’t hurt anymore, I think. What did you do?”
“It’s a simple healing skill.”
“Whoa. You don’t even need to go to the hospital. That works great.”
“Let’s go home now.”
“Hyung.”
Ryu Min, who had been about to move, turned his head at his brother calling him.
“What?”
“Why aren’t you saying anything to me? Like, you could’ve said, ‘See? What did I tell you?’ or ‘If you’d stayed home, this wouldn’t have happened,’ or ‘Do you get how dangerous Players are now?’ You could totally lecture me. But why aren’t you saying anything?”
“You already know, so what’s the point of me saying it?”
“What?”
“You felt it too, didn’t you? Why it’s dangerous out there. How scary Players are.”
Ryu Won quietly nodded.
This time, he’d felt it for sure.
It was still a world too dangerous to be wandering around in.
“Because you know that, I didn’t say anything more. If I say it, it’s just nagging.”
“……”
“Just the fact that you’re safe is enough for me. If something had happened to you…”
As if he didn’t even want to imagine it, Ryu Min turned his head away.
Swallowing the rest of the words inside his chest.
“Let’s go. Home.”
“Yeah.”
As he followed along, Ryu Won glanced at Yamtti.
She only gave a small nod, like she was telling him to go on ahead.
“Hyung, why isn’t Yamtti-nim coming with us?”
“Her place is in the opposite direction. She’ll go on her own.”
“Yes, young mas… no, Ryu Won-ssi. You go first.”
Yamtti waved, but in Ryu Won’s eyes, she kept sticking in his mind.
“Hyung. Can’t we invite Yamtti-nim to our place too?”
“Why?”
“Well… not just you, but she saved my life too. She helped me, so we can’t just part ways like this. I feel like it’s only right to repay her with something…”
To be fair, the one who directly saved Ryu Won was Yamtti.
It was easy to understand wanting to treat your lifesaver well.
“But even if we invite her, it’s not like we’ve got anything to serve.”
“I know how to cook. I’ve had a lot of time lately, so I’ve been watching YouTube and practicing. I already bought all the ingredients and stocked them at home too.”
“You’re saying you’ll cook dinner yourself?”
“Yeah. Yamtti-nim, what do you think? Would you like to have dinner at our place? I’m still clumsy, but I can cook at least to some extent.”
“Ah… really?”
She was moved, but Yamtti rolled her eyes as she checked Ryu Min’s reaction.
She wanted to go so badly it was almost painful, but she needed her owner’s permission first.
Ryu Min secretly let out a sigh, then spoke in a flat, matter-of-fact voice.
“Sure. Yamtti, my brother wants it—why don’t you have dinner at our place before you go?”
The moment permission was granted, Yamtti’s face lit up.
“Okay!”
Beep beep beep— brrring—
Returning home, Seo Arin let out a sigh and sank into the sofa.
Her head was a mess.
Because a face she’d been forcing herself to forget had resurfaced.
‘Hwang Yong-min. That bastard… I never thought I’d see him there….’
The last time she’d seen him was Death Round 4.
Since then, she hadn’t seen him, and she hadn’t even thought about him.
Because she wanted to forget.
Because she was afraid to remember.
But she’d never imagined she’d run into him in the real world by chance.
‘His build’s different here, but his face was exactly the same as in the other world.’
It was short, but if you called it a bad relationship, it was a bad relationship.
From the looks of it, he seemed to have recognized her too.
‘Well, my appearance is the same in the other world and in reality, so….’
She’d even recently filmed a CPF unit public service ad, and she was a celebrity—there was no way he wouldn’t recognize her.
‘Why did he come to the Reaper Church? Didn’t he get absolutely wrecked by Black Scythe-nim back then?’
Wrecked?
That wasn’t the half of it.
Hwang Yong-min had both arms cut off, and even after that, he’d suffered constant harassment.
Of course, Seo Arin had no way of knowing exactly how he’d been harassed.
‘There’s no way that punk came to the Reaper Church for a good reason. He definitely came to get revenge on Black Scythe-nim.’
He probably sniffed around to see if Black Scythe was there, ended up picking a fight with some man he had a grudge against, then ran when he noticed people watching.
Given the circumstances, that was the only way she could interpret it.
‘I can’t let him cause trouble for Black Scythe-nim. I have to eliminate him.’
It was surprising he’d survived until Round 10, but what mattered was that he might become a stumbling block going forward.
‘I have to kill him.’
Black Scythe had spared him, sure, but if she considered the possibility he’d interfere later, it was better to kill him.
She was confident.
‘Because the me back then and the me now are completely different people.’
After being stabbed in the back by fellow actors she’d trusted, after hearing Black Scythe’s advice not to trust people, Seo Arin had been reborn.
She wouldn’t just sit there and take it anymore.
She’d strike first, before she got struck.
She lay on the sofa staring at the ceiling with those thoughts—when suddenly a face popped into view.
It was An Sang-cheol.
“Ah! You scared me!”
“Did I startle you?”
“Of course you did! Who wouldn’t be startled?!”
Irritated, Seo Arin pushed herself upright.
It had been so quiet she’d assumed no one was there, but it seemed he’d come in on his own.
“You didn’t know I was here? You could’ve told from my shoes.”
“I didn’t have time to check something like that.”
“Why not? Did something happen?”
At An Sang-cheol’s question, Seo Arin hesitated for a moment before answering.
‘Can I trust the bodyguard?’
Because since getting Black Scythe’s advice, she’d become wary.
‘Representative Ma could abandon me at any time. And as for the bodyguard—he’s Representative Ma’s hands and feet, so that goes without saying.’
Ma Kyung-rok and An Sang-cheol had to be treated as a set.
People you couldn’t trust, all the same.
“What is it? Why are you dragging it out?”
“……”
She didn’t want to give information, but in the end, Seo Arin decided to open her mouth.
After all, wasn’t he someone who’d survived life-and-death moments together with her?
“Do you remember Hwang Yong-min?”
“Hwang Yong-min… you mean the one who chased us in the forest in Round 2?”
“Yes. I ran into him by chance today.”
“That bastard was still alive?”
Since he hadn’t seen him during missions and hadn’t paid attention, An Sang-cheol hadn’t known either.
“He was alive.”
“Persistent bastard. I thought someone like that would’ve been eliminated before Round 10.”
“His personality was absolute trash back then and it’s the same now. He was beating a disabled man like he meant to kill him.”
“……”
An Sang-cheol looked shocked, but what shocked him wasn’t the story—it was Seo Arin’s gaze.
‘What is that? Killing intent?’
Unlike her pretty face, there was a coldness in her eyes.
“We have to kill him.”
“……”
“That guy—if we keep letting him be, he’ll only get in the way. We have to kill Hwang Yong-min.”
At those cold words, An Sang-cheol could only blink with wide eyes.
‘Is this really the Seo Arin I knew?’
Back in Round 2, she’d been the one asking if they really had to kill him.
She’d been the one who, even after nearly being assaulted, forgot that fact and worried like a saint over whether the attacker lived or died.
‘And she changed this much?’
He’d known she’d been through all kinds of hardship, but this was the first time he’d seen such a visible change.
‘Was there some kind of trigger?’
The betrayal by her fellow actors was something only Black Scythe and Seo Arin knew.
So it was only natural An Sang-cheol found it strange.
“Sure. Like you said, killing him would be clean and simple.”
“Right?”
“But the one who spared Hwang Yong-min back then was Black Scythe-nim. And Prophet-nim made it crystal clear that we were not to pursue Hwang Yong-min anymore.”
“Prophet-nim…?”
Seo Arin asked, puzzled.
“Why?”
“He told Representative Ma that if we touched Hwang Yong-min, we’d suffer a huge disaster.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes. He said he couldn’t reveal the details.”
“……”
It was something Seo Arin hadn’t known.
‘Why would Prophet-nim protect Hwang Yong-min?’
It was suspicious, but there was nothing she could do.
‘If Prophet-nim said it, there must be a reason. I’ll have to drop it.’
Seo Arin decided to stop pursuing revenge.
“It can’t be helped. I guess we just have to hope he won’t interfere later.”
“Don’t worry. He’s probably only lasted this far by luck, but someone like that won’t live much longer.”
“I’m more worried that he’ll try to get revenge on Black Scythe-nim and it’ll cause damage.”
‘Would you look at that?’
An Sang-cheol’s eyes shifted.
He’d already noticed she had feelings for Black Scythe, but to worry this openly…
A strange jealousy rose up, but An Sang-cheol smiled coolly and said,
“Did you know? The most pointless worry in the world is worrying about Black Scythe.”
“Bodyguard-nim. Are you saying I’m not even allowed to worry? Black Scythe-nim is a person too. He could be in danger at any time.”
“……”
He’d meant it as a joke, but she came at him like it was life or death.
An Sang-cheol was speechless for a while.
Then Seo Arin stared at empty air, tilting her head.
From the looks of it, she was reading a message.
“What is it, Arin-ssi?”
“I searched ‘Tracking’ for Hwang Yong-min just in case, and something feels off.”
“What feels off?”
“It says he’s a person who doesn’t exist.”
“Pardon?”
‘Tracking’ was a skill you could use in the real world too, as long as you knew the face and name.
If the conditions were met, there was no reason it wouldn’t work.
“Arin-ssi, are you sure the person you saw was Hwang Yong-min?”
“Of course.”
“You didn’t mistake him for someone else?”
“No way. Do I look like I have that bad of a memory? It was definitely him—Hwang Yong-min.”
“Then maybe his name isn’t Hwang Yong-min?”
“If it was a fake name, it should say the face and name don’t match. But it says he doesn’t exist at all, so…”
“Hm. You’re right, that is strange.”
Even to An Sang-cheol, it was clearly weird.
“Wait. I’ll try someone else.”
With a ‘just in case’ feeling, Seo Arin tried searching for Hong Seon-a.
And then she realized.
[This person does not exist.]
“Ah.”
The message wasn’t lying.
“What is it, Arin-ssi?”
“I tried Tracking a dead person’s name just in case, and it says they don’t exist.”
“Really? Then that means Hwang Yong-min is already dead.”
“Uh…? Th-that’s… yeah.”
“Then who on earth did you see? Did you see a ghost or something?”
“……”
A chill crawled up her spine, and Seo Arin couldn’t continue.
‘Wh-what did I see…?’
Thinking of it as a ghost made goosebumps prickle along her arms.
“I-I’ll search someone else. I-it could be broken.”
That the system was broken.
It was ridiculous, but if she didn’t do this, it meant she’d really seen a ghost.
‘Who should I try? Ah—Prophet-nim. I should try Prophet-nim.’
Seo Arin pictured Ryu Min’s face and spoke his name.
[Face and name match. Tracking the target’s location.]
[Target ‘Ryu Min’ has been located.]
[Currently at a distance of 125m.]
[To track the target, follow the arrow visible ahead.]
“I pictured Prophet-nim and he’s trackable. He’s pretty close.”
“Ah, really?”
“The distance is shrinking, so he must be coming home.”
“Then should we ask Prophet-nim while we have the chance? Whether Hwang Yong-min is really dead?”
“Would Prophet-nim know that?”
“He’s the one who told us not to touch Hwang Yong-min in the first place, so he might even know whether he’s alive or dead.”
“Okay.”
The two of them went outside and used the stairs to go down to the lower floor.
If they waited in front of Ryu Min’s place, he would arrive.
Ding—
When the elevator doors opened, the two of them met Ryu Min, just as expected.
“Hello, Ryu Min-ssi.”
“Hm? Actress Seo? Manager An?”
They could also see his younger brother, Ryu Won.
But between them was a woman neither of them had seen before.
Seo Arin narrowed her eyes at Yamtti.
‘She looks weirdly familiar… Where have I seen her?’
As she thought hard, Seo Arin suddenly remembered.
“Y-you are…”
She was that woman who’d been introduced as Black Scythe’s real-world acquaintance.