Chapter 29: Younger Sibling (3)
Chapter 29: Younger Sibling (3)
The first quest appeared in Yuri’s vision. Though it likely differed from mine, the core principle wouldn't be much different.
This was especially true because Yuri was a clever girl.
Most people see one thing and know one thing, but the clever ones see one thing and perceive the hidden depths behind it.
It was happening now. Beyond the translucent quest window, I saw a glimmer of understanding light up Yuri’s expression. It wasn't hard for me to guess what was crossing her mind.
The way Kang Yu-min and I had grown remarkably close over the past two months. Eldest Noona’s peculiar behavior.
Furthermore, my own strange conduct and my suddenly ballooning wealth.
The fact that I could provide more than enough capital for Eldest Noona’s business and even book a luxury cruise trip like this? Yuri would have synthesized all of that and reached a single conclusion.
A conclusion that I had no choice but to fear.
How would Yuri react? Would she be disgusted? Would she find it repulsive?
Or perhaps…
As I watched Yuri with a heavy heart, she looked back at me. The quest window closed automatically.
“…What is this?”
Yuri was more than just clever; she was a kind child. As if reading my inner turmoil, she chose to hear my explanation first.
I struggled even to think of an answer.
I was hesitant to be honest. I couldn't tell her that I’d had a relationship with Eldest Noona—even if it was inside a game—or that the game had led to a real-life physical relationship with Kang Yu-min.
I couldn't say it. Fortunately, there was one part I could use.
It was the quest reward that had appeared as if to prove my earnings thus far.
5 million. A reward that felt more than generous—it felt excessive—just for hitting a heart rate of 130.
After a moment of deliberation, I opened my mouth.
“I want to hear what you’re thinking first.”
Normally, this might look like I was dodging the question or looking for an excuse, but Yuri wasn't the type to judge so hastily.
Instead, she was cautious. She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and spoke.
“I was thinking… that you might have earned money by doing things like this with the unnies.”
Her gaze flickered toward the corner. I wasn't sure if her quest was similar to mine, but I spoke before she could say more.
“I don’t know what quest popped up for you. Even when cooperative quests appear, the conditions for each person are often different.”
“…Huh?”
“For me, it says I have to raise Yuri’s heart rate to 130.”
It was a lie. I hid the condition, and I hid the target. The heart rate was likely my own, and the condition was definitely skinship, whether intense or not.
But there was no way for Yuri to know that. My quest window belonged to me alone.
Well, unless she looked at my smartphone, but that was an exception.
Even then, I had a fitting excuse ready.
I took advantage of the moment while Yuri was ‘flustered by seeing something unexpected.’ If I didn't lie to her now, she wouldn't fall for it later.
I felt a sharp pang of guilt in my chest, but still.
“So… where should I start? I’m part of the QA team for this Family-Friendly Game.”
“QA… as in Quality Assurance?”
“Yeah, that’s right. You really are smart, Yuri.”
Perhaps pleased by the sudden compliment, Yuri smiled. I saw her shoulders, which had been stiff with tension, relax.
“The quests are fully automated. So, if any strange quests occur, I report them. Other than that, I fill my work quota by performing as many diverse quests as possible.”
“But isn't the reward a bit too much…?”
“They’ve managed to implement virtual reality at this level without any cumbersome connection gear. It means they have a lot of capital.”
“I see… That makes sense.”
Yuri was a smart girl. And smart people are often easily bound by common sense.
Even I had thought that way when I first started digging into this game, so there was no reason the intelligent Yuri wouldn't do the same.
“The quests are given by an embedded AI that reads the customer’s perceptions even without an internet connection. It uses mental imagery analysis.”
Yuri flinched visibly at those words. Her eyes trembled slightly as they met mine before darting away.
Right, of course. I would have reacted the same way. I spoke up to reassure her.
“I don’t know why the heart rate is the criteria, but there are bugs sometimes… I don’t know what quest you got, but it’s probably a bug, just like mine.”
“Y-yeah. Right. It definitely seems like a bug….”
Yuri’s forced smile was thick with fluster.
Not only that, but it was obvious to anyone that she was lying.
Yuri clearly believed that the quest she received was indeed a reflection of her own mental imagery.
…Just what on earth popped up for her?
I had only said it to cover my tracks, but now I suspected her quest really was different.
Maybe not, but now wasn't the time to press her.
I knew what I had to do.
“But you don’t have to do the quest. If you turn the game off and on again… or if you don’t perform the quest for a certain amount of time, it’ll give you a different one. If something weird came up, you don’t have to do it.”
This part was the honest truth. It was something I had verified while playing with Kang Yu-min.
It varied by quest and by game, but generally, if you didn't show any intent to perform the quest for a few minutes, it would automatically be treated as a failure and a new quest would be issued.
It was the same this time.
If she didn't want to do it, she didn't have to. Even though the quest had tried to screw me over, I could screw the quest over in return.
I expected Yuri to agree, but….
“No, let’s try it.”
Yuri firmly insisted on proceeding with the quest.
“It says it’ll give us 5 million. If this is all it takes for a little heart racing, I think I’m okay with it.”
It was an amount worth considering. It wasn't just a few pennies; it was 5 million.
And that wasn't all.
“My quest is to raise my heart rate to 130 through skinship with Oppa. I don’t think it’ll be that hard. There are ways to work around it.”
Yuri had even come up with her own methods.
“Or… do you hate it, Oppa? Doing skinship with me…?”
She even knew my weakness. How could I refuse those eyes looking up at me with such a sorrowful expression?
“…No, no. It’s just… I was worried you’d hate it, Yuri.”
“Hate it? You know how much I like you, Oppa!”
“Right, right. Then… let’s do it while we play the game. Let’s start by looking around.”
“Okay!”
Of course, I wasn't without worry.
Even when I did it with Noona, things were fine… well, maybe not fine.
Anyway, it had escalated from a massage to a creampie.
The worry that the same might happen this time was growing rapidly.
But I could turn it off at any time. I’d already made my excuses.
And so, I left the room without any further concern.
*
Kang Yuri.
The youngest of the Kang siblings and the family’s darling had a long-standing secret.
It was a thought she kept only as a private worry, having given up on it because there was no hope of it becoming reality.
To be precise, it was a certain emotion she held in her heart. An emotion that had been faintly budding since she was old enough to understand the world.
However, it was something she had internally judged would never happen, blocked by taboos. An emotion she could bury forever once her brother eventually found his own partner.
There was no specific catalyst. Though she was often praised for being quick-witted and socially adept, unlike her two sisters, she didn't have a single defining moment.
She simply liked her brother—who was older, handsome, and led and cared for her without ever using a harsh word or a rough gesture.
Who was she kidding? She had a slight streak of narcissism, and for someone like her, the only faces she liked as much as her own were those of her family.
She internally believed that if a man existed, he should at least be on her brother’s level.
Whether her brother knew this or not, he had been acting heart-flutteringly charming lately.
That didn't matter. He had always been like that. However…
Recently, the aura her brother gave off was unusual. He seemed more relaxed, and he exuded a vibe of being very familiar with women.
This was extremely bothersome to her. Had he found a girlfriend? Or was there someone he had his eye on?
That was why she had gone shopping with him. And why she had secretly called her friends to that spot. She wanted to see how familiar he was with women.
Fortunately, her brother was exactly as she knew him. Unfamiliar with women, clumsy like an innocent fool, but that only made him cuter.
Of course, she did feel a nasty sensation, like something sinking in her gut, when her friends clung to him.
But that was fine. She could rest easy knowing he didn't have a girlfriend.
However.
She already knew several facts, and she possessed the intelligence to make deductions based on them.
Her brother lying that Yu-min Unnie hadn't returned, even though her shoes were out.
The way they frequently disappeared together.
The shoes that remained behind nonetheless.
The way they were often in the bathroom together.
The vocalizations and behaviors that were different from usual.
Everything was suspicious. With a heart that was growing cold, she found the final piece of the puzzle.
The faint scent of sweat that filled her brother’s room. It was almost gone because the room was well-ventilated, but she could smell it.
That wasn't all.
The convenience store bag that should have held much more, the bathroom with clear signs of use, and the food and snacks that filled the bag but were barely touched.
Something had happened at night. But really? She pushed her brother out of the room, recalling the possibility she had internally dismissed as impossible.
To be precise, she made it so he had no choice but to leave. When her brother suggested they split up to find useful items since it was a survival game, she agreed and stayed in the room.
This was definitely a game. But…
She thought about the room, which had barely changed since entering the game. If it was in this room, it would surely be in reality as well.
That was her prediction.
Kang Yuri’s hand reached out. She rummaged past the snack bags piled on top as a distraction and reached into the small trash can.
The trash can had been emptied recently, so there wasn't much inside. She easily reached the bottom.
She felt something squishy. Something small.
It felt like a balloon before it was blown up, covered in something slippery. It had dried so much that there was hardly any stickiness left.
But there was liquid trapped inside. Kang Yuri’s eyes trembled slightly as she pulled her hand out of the trash can. In her hand were two unfamiliar objects.
“…Heh.”
A disinterested sound escaped her. Conversely, her heart rate quickened.
Her face flushed red as she stared at the vivid texture as if possessed.
At the same time, a cold, murky emotion sank from deep in her chest, through her gut, down to her core. Vivid jealousy.
Kang Yuri stared at the filled condom and the empty condom box with cold eyes before letting out a soft laugh.
“Really, Oppa. Honestly.”
She wrapped the used condom in a tissue and tucked it into her handbag.
“You’re so careless.”
She decided on the birthday present she would receive for her upcoming birthday.