Second Member (4): Bed Monopoly and Channel Launch
“Why, why is it night already?!”
Baek Ji-an’s flustered voice echoed from the bedroom. She’s finally up, huh.
I closed my laptop with a thud and counted down silently. Three. Two. One.
Bang!
“Hey, Kang Jinseong! Why didn’t you wake me?!”
Baek Ji-an emerged from the bedroom, still wearing nothing but my dress shirt, her face a mask of utter panic as she stared at me. It was a bit ridiculous that she was blaming me, but I had my own side to the story.
“I did try to wake you, but you wouldn’t budge.”
I’d put in real effort to rouse her—calling her name, shaking her shoulders, even stretching those soft cheeks side to side like dough. Yet through it all, she’d slept like the dead.
“S-still, you should’ve kept trying until I got up!”
“After the hellish three months you’ve had, I figured you needed the rest more than anything.”
Even normally, once Baek Ji-an crashed at my place, she slept so deeply no one could wake her—not even if you carried her out on your back. But even accounting for that, this was next-level. It was like she was making up for every lost minute of sleep over the past three months.
“And after drooling all over my pillow like that, you’ve got the nerve to get pissy about it?”
“Eek!?”
She flinched at my words, touching her cheek. Then she jumped back in shock and bolted to the bedroom like her life depended on it. The sound of running water soon followed—she was washing her face.
While she’d been out cold, I’d already washed and dried her clothes, so I left them in the bedroom and called out.
“Your clothes are clean and ready. Change and come out when you’re done.”
About three minutes after the bedroom door shut...
Bang!
She burst out, dressed in her own clothes, clutching my pillow under her arm, cheeks flushed bright red.
“...Why’d you bring my pillow?”
“I’ll buy you a new one, so forget this one ever existed.”
“What the—?”
“It’s got my drool on it! You wanna sleep on a pillow soaked in my drool?!”
She screamed, her face beet red. I thought it over for a second, then replied.
“Eh, doesn’t bother me.”
With a washer and dryer right here, a drool-soaked pillow was nothing—a quick three-hour cycle and it’d be good as new. So yeah, no big deal. But apparently...
“I-it bothers me! Anyway, I’m taking the pillow, so deal with it! Use the guest pillows for the next few days. I’ll send you a new one soon!”
To her, this wasn’t something she could just shrug off. She looked so tough on the outside, but damn, Ji-an was surprisingly delicate. From childhood to now, she’d always been high-maintenance in her own way.
“Fine, whatever.”
“Ugh, I was supposed to grab some chicken and beer with you today, chat about everything... and we didn’t get to any of it. I was really looking forward to it...”
Baek Ji-an’s face soured, like the whole day had gone off the rails from her plan. If she went home like this, she’d remember it as a frustrating waste.
I didn’t want my childhood friend—the hero who’d just conquered an S-rank dungeon—to end the day on that note.
“Here.”
I spread my arms wide toward the pouting girl.
“Wh-what’s this?”
“Free hug. Healing Body service for my precious member. I’ll gift you some peace of mind. Come on in.”
“...W-well, if it’s a service...”
Her eyes went wide, then she put on a show of reluctant acceptance and toddled over. Poof.
I wrapped my arms lightly around the girl who fit perfectly in my embrace. Youngest S-rank hunter, Dragonling Division Leader, once-in-a-generation genius monster—titles galore. But to me, she’d always be the same pint-sized childhood friend who nestled right into my chest.
“Ji-an, you got some solid sleep for once, heard all about my last three months, and I even loosened up that stiff neck and shoulders with a Healing Massage. Right?”
“......Yeah.”
“See? Today wasn’t all bad for you.”
I held her close, reminding her that the day had its ups. Looking down, I met those mysterious red eyes—still captivating after fifteen years—and grinned.
“Whatever we didn’t get to, we can do next time you come over. No need to stay mad. Think about the good parts instead. How you see the day is up to you.”
“......”
Her eyes trembled at my words. Clearly, my profound, life-changing wisdom—delivered with such kindness—had melted away her anger like snow, planting a fresh revelation in her heart. Damn, that was smooth. Even I had to admit it was badass. No wonder she was speechless.
As I basked in self-admiration...
“Kang Jinseong.”
Her lips parted.
“Did you pull this same crap with Yoo Seo-ah?”
“...Huh?”
I’d been expecting something like, “Ugh, hate to admit it, but you’re right, Jinseong.” Instead, Seo-ah’s name dropped out of nowhere.
“Hugging her all ‘service this, service that,’ sweet-talking her into a daze?”
A chill laced her voice, sending shivers down my spine. One wrong word, and those arms around my waist would crush me in a bear hug—my spine snapping like twigs. I could already hear myself yelling, “Nurse! I shit myself!!!”
“...Well, Seo-ah probably didn’t fall for it like you did.”
No way to lie, so I stuck to the truth.
“......”
“......”
Silence stretched for about ten seconds. Felt like an hour to me.
Finally, she spoke.
“Kang Jinseong.”
“Y-yeah?”
“From now on, no more girls sleeping in your bed. Or else.”
“Huh?”
“Your bed’s mine exclusively. Got it? Nod.”
Her red eyes stared up, now dull and lightless. Her arms tightened around my waist. Shake my head? Instant spinal annihilation.
But...
“That’s blackmail!”
Squeeze!
Give in too easy, and she’d walk all over me. I jabbed my thumbs into her lower back.
“Eek?!”
Her back arched like a bow as my thumbs dug into her lumbar. I’d learned during the massage earlier: even an S-rank hunter melted under Healing Massage.
Now that it had started, I held the reins. I wasn’t some D-rank logistics scrub anymore.
Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
“St-stop!! Just—just a bit! Eek! D-don’t mash my back like that! S-sorry! I’m sorry!!”
Ten seconds into the lower back acupressure, apologies spilled out. But as her friend of fifteen years, I knew better. Fake apology to escape. Her will hadn’t broken...
Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
“Hyaack!”
So I kept at it for three more minutes. Ji-an went limp in my arms, utterly spent. Loosening the mighty Dragonling Leader’s legs with just my thumbs? Growth, baby!
Pride swelling, I addressed the trembling, red-faced girl.
“Alright, message received. Guess it is weird having guests in my bed anyway.”
“Hah, hah... Y-yeah?”
“I’ll do as you say.”
She blinked up at me from my chest.
“...Heh.”
A satisfied smile curved her lips. If I’d said, “Nah, gonna keep banging girls in my bed. Me and Seo-ah are sleeping together nonstop,” she’d have gone nuclear. I’d punished her enough; time to concede. That’s how you survive with an amazing childhood friend.
Mission accomplished, she released my waist and stepped back. At the door, she slipped on her shoes and reminded me.
“Like you said, stay right here. Don’t go anywhere. Got it?”
“Yeah, got it.”
“...Do the usual.”
She fidgeted, pillow under her arm.
The usual. Three months apart, but fifteen years strong—it slipped out naturally.
“See you later, Ji-an.”
“Yeah, see you, Jinseong.”
Our farewell, promising more. Fifteen-year tradition.
Only then did she open the door and leave. The house felt suddenly empty, a hollow ache brushing past.
Too big for one person, huh. Fine while she snored away, but alone? Echoey void.
“Once I start the guild, maybe turn this into the guild house.”
Musing that, I sat at the living room table and reopened my laptop to check the status window again.
Temporary Member Registration Authority (EX-rank)
• Grant temporary membership tickets to Safe House visitors.
• Claim compensation from temporary members for services received.
• Activate Forced Collection on temporary members who don't pay compensation.
• No service evaluation incentives for temporary members.
‘Temporary Member Registration Authority’—the new Safe House feature unlocked when I added Baek Ji-an as my second member. Exactly what I needed to build fame and start a guild.
“Checked Man-gae-hwaprojectile power, reviewed the footage... and now I’ve got this temporary registration ability I needed most.”
The long prep was finally over. Time to charge toward the goal.
I moved the mouse and clicked the NewTube channel creation button.
Click.
“Kang Jinseong Growth Story. Let’s make it real.”
Guardian Channel. The name embodied my vow: I’d rescue and protect every one of my members.
This was my starting line.