Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: That Difficult Item Pocket Called Dun
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“The more I look at him, the more my item pocket Dun seems like a total pain in the ass.”
Jessica scratched her short silver hair.
She’d brought a gift, so why wouldn’t he take it? Why did her affinity drop? What had she done wrong this time? What did she need to do to win him over?
She watched Dun disappear back into his room with longing eyes before finally giving up and heading outside.
“You keep calling Dun your ‘item pocket,’ so your affinity with him has never gone above zero. Oh, now it’s in the negatives?”
“Still, it feels like he kinda likes the real me, without any pretense. Like he accepts me as I am. Last time I straight-up insulted him, and his affinity didn’t drop.”
“Maybe he just gave up?”
Jessica and Eleina exchanged glances.
“The fake you can’t be better than the honest me, right? My affinity’s at zero, but it’s a pure zero.”
“You’re the fake one? You saw my remodeled room recently—it can’t be fake. And call me sis.”
“Nope~ Don’t wanna.”
“Your speech is pure chuunibyou.”
“What do you expect from a middle schooler?”
Since Eleina and Jessica were siblings living under one roof, they both knew exactly how the other’s room had changed.
Eleina had recently remodeled her room, filling it entirely with homemade Dun merchandise.
“Honestly, I want a little brother like Dun instead of you.”
“Same here. If I had a little sister like Dun, I’d even share my PlayStation. We’d play FIFA together.”
Eleina furrowed her brow. Taking Dun to play that boring soccer game?
“……You’re not even fifteen yet, but you’re playing games illegally by faking your age. I’m reporting you.”
“Fuck! I told you to wait until my birthday! Oh, right. And the new mini mode came out recently, so it’s fine now.”
So the reporting bit didn’t work anymore. Jessica crossed her arms and snorted.
Eleina didn’t like how Jessica was acting all high and mighty just because she’d hit NinaPinta age.
“Just quit NinaPinta already and hang out with her, your…… only friend. What’s her name again? Yi Saebyeok or something?”
“Oh, that kid? She’s not a friend—she’s my sidekick.”
“Weren’t you begging her to play just one game together last time and got beat up? She packs a real punch.”
Eleina recalled the little kid Jessica had been hanging around with lately. The girl had come over to their house and exclaimed, “Whoa! This place is loaded!” which had stuck with her.
Yi Saebyeok was just two years older than Dun. The scars all over her body had been a bit concerning.
So she’d loaded her up with medicine and snacks.
“Hanging out with Yi Saebyeok is tough. Can’t even chat properly—she won’t say where she lives or what she does. She’s mysterious to the bone. Ugh, she’s scary and sneaky, so no friendship. Ptooey.”
Jessica pouted and grumbled.
Yi Saebyeok was the kind of kid who’d show up at PC bangs or arcades at night, staring silently at the other kids playing before leaving. Otherwise, she’d be sprawled out on the grass along the walking paths.
She had the strong scent of a wanderer for a child, which was why striking up a conversation had sparked their bond, turning them into something like friends now.
The constant new scars on her body were worrying in all sorts of ways.
So Jessica would bring her home often, teach her games like Marc, FIFA, and more, and feed her tasty stuff. Though she always ended up puking it up, which was even more concerning.
“Yi Saebyeok?”
Eleina and Jessica were chatting when suddenly Dun popped up beside them and spoke.
“Dun!!! Did you come looking for us?”
“Yeah.”
He’d been heading back to his room when he suddenly remembered how awesome the vendor cart Jessica had brought looked, so he came back down. But hearing Yi Saebyeok mentioned out of nowhere had shocked him.
For a split second, he wondered if it was just a coincidence in names, but since ranker Mochibol was tied to his past life, the odds were high that the Yi Saebyeok these two knew was him too.
He’d always wondered if Yi Saebyeok existed in that other world now that he was here. Maybe this was the key to answering that question.
To learn more about Yi Saebyeok, Dun leaned casually against the vendor cart Jessica and Eleina had brought and asked,
“By the way, who’s this Yi Saebyeok?”
Eleina’s eyes lit up at Dun suddenly taking an interest in their personal lives. She was thrilled he cared.
“She’s JessicaIllinoisChicago’s friend from outside the game.”
Her friend?
Dun looked at JessicaIllinoisChicago. She had short-cropped silver hair and black eyes.
The unfamiliar vibe suggested she’d heavily customized her appearance using the game capsule.
“But why are you suddenly caring about my sidekick? Jealous? Thought I only chased after you?”
JessicaIllinoisChicago raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms.
“Sidekick…… It rings a bell, kinda.”
Dun stroked his chin, trying to recall events from decades ago.
He’d always buried memories of his past life because they weighed heavy on him, but with everything from Lee Joo-hyun to Joo-ho (Mochibol) connecting like this, he had no choice but to remember.
“What are your real names? Not your adventurer names—your actual ones.”
“!!!!”
Jessica and Eleina flinched at the probing question, hesitated, then spoke.
Maybe because Dun was a game character who hopped the fourth wall effortlessly, their lips loosened easily.
“Yoo Hee-min.”
JessicaIllinoisChicago followed up.
“I’m Yoo Hee-ah! But why are you suddenly asking our names?”
Dun’s eyes widened at the names.
[Dun’s affinity has risen sharply!]
So the nosy Black Card siblings were you!
He’d completely forgotten.
Way back, they’d caught his eye on Seo Do-yoon’s NinaPinta ranker list, and he’d coincidentally run into the little brother at an arcade and hit it off.
When they’d told him to call them boss or big bro, he’d thought, *What kind of lame-ass is this?* But she’d been the simplest, most innocent of the people he’d met back then, fun to tease, so he’d hung out with her a bit.
They hadn’t met much after she grew up, but he had vague good memories of their time together.
This proved he’d lived in that other world.
“???”
“????”
Eleina and Jessica’s eyes went wide seeing the affinity jump by a full 2.
“Why do you like us all of a sudden?”
Eleina stared blankly at the affinity window. It was like manna from heaven, but way too sudden.
“You know how it goes. You like people more when you learn about them.”
As soon as Dun finished, Eleina’s eyes sparkled as she grabbed his hand.
“Our house is at XX-dong, XX-gu, XX-XX. Passcode’s 3452. We’re from the Yoo family of the Willow clan. Dad’s the president of a huge media company, so we’ve got money. My MBTI’s ENFJ, and my dream is to max out your affinity to 10!”
“Whatever. But this is for me?”
Dun touched the vendor cart Jessica and Eleina had brought.
It had built-in wheels and a fold-out chair covered in fluffy fur—pretty comfy.
It even smelled nice, pre-sprayed with air freshener. Dun sat in the chair and draped himself over the cart.
The front part was a normal desk, but padded super soft so he could nap draped over it anytime.
The item display cases were glass enclosures—visible but untouchable.
“What do you think, Dun?”
“Not bad.”
“Not bad? Comfy? In the real world, I could’ve made it flashier, but it was hard finding craftsmen in-game.”
Eleina smiled and stroked Dun’s hair. He didn’t pull away, just stayed still.
“W-what.”
He seemed more lenient today, so she’d boldly petted him, and not only did he not dodge, he even seemed to like it.
Dun glanced sideways at Eleina while draped over.
[Dun’s affinity has risen.]
“Gasp!”
“Why’re you freaking out?”
“What’s going on? Why do you like us now? Spill the reason.”
Jessica and Eleina looked at Dun anxiously.
“Dumbass, you gave me a gift, so I like you.”
“You gave me a gift last time and my affinity dropped!!!!”
“That’s how I feel, what can you do. Anyway, thanks—I’ll use it. Don’t act like you know me when I’m selling stuff.”
Dun grabbed the vendor cart’s handle and pulled.
“Where you selling?”
“Figure it out yourselves.”
Dun fiddled with the loaded-up cart and spotted a button nearby.
Pressing it folded the cart into a suitcase.
“Whoa…….”
Dun gave a thumbs-up with a gasp of admiration.
Eleina pressed a hand to her chest, beaming proudly with teary eyes.
* * *
Smooth sailing from the start.
Just one day in, Dun had sponsors and a vendor cart. He stocked it up and headed to the Land of Wind, Lowliarin.
Lowliarin was popular among skilled players for its mix of low- and high-level monsters, perfect for handling variables.
Last time he’d picked a crowded spot and suffered, so this time he chose somewhere quieter.
He laid out his wares and sat in the cart’s chair. The fluffiness felt great, but lying down was better.
As he squirmed for a comfy position, he spotted a memo in the corner of the cart.
『Press this button if you wanna lie down!♥』
Eleina, huh?
He’d been close with Hee-ah, but Hee-min had kept more distance, as far as he remembered. Reborn and reconnecting like this felt a bit surreal.
Every time he dug into people’s backgrounds, another blast from the past popped up.
“This the button?”
Following the arrow on the memo led to a small button. Pressing it extended the chair into a simple bed.
“How the hell did they even make this?”
Dun lay on the new bed and dozed off.
* * *
Lowliarin, where wind and sand whipped through.
Twinkle, an adventurer who’d been farming nearby hunting grounds hard, with only 10 HP left and life hanging by a thread.
“I’m dying…… Got lost too……. Is no one around……? No NPCs or villages…….”
He absolutely couldn’t die now. He’d rolled hard in the hunting grounds and scored a really good item.
No trustworthy players nearby either, so if he died, no one to recover and return his stuff.
[HP draining from sandstorm.]
“Nooooo!!!! I’m at 10!!!”
HP 9. Twinkle clutched his head and wailed. He’d finally nabbed an auction-worthy item, only to die pointlessly like this……!
“Huh, wh-what’s that?”
Then he spotted a nameplate in the distance.
[NPC Dun]
A little kid had set up a vendor cart with a bed and was curled up sleeping.
NPC Dun……
The snot-nosed kid from the starter village……
“Why’re you out here?”
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