Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: I'll Take Responsibility!
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The brothers looked over, and there stood Yoo Jihyun.
Yoo Jihyun approached Woojin with a grumpy expression.
"Why didn't you contact me!? You were going to make me wait like this? I was so worried that I came all the way to your house!"
Sangjin clamped his hand over his mouth and backed away.
"Oh my god…!"
He deliberately omitted the part about 'My brother! Bad boy!'
He was starting to regret not buying popcorn at the convenience store.
"Huh?"
If this were inside the game, there would be about twenty question marks floating over Woojin's head right now.
No, what kind of relationship do we even have?
"I even gave you my number and told you to call, and you ignore it?"
Woojin finally remembered.
But what was he supposed to say if he called?
"……."
Woojin was still frozen in place.
"You have something to say, but you're just going to leave me standing here?"
Maybe it was because she was the youngest daughter of a massive corporation, but she didn't hold back at all.
"The house… it's dirty…."
Yoo Jihyun smiled brightly.
"It has to be better than places where monster blood and guts are spilling everywhere. I spent ten years in spots like that, so I don't mind."
Ah, that was true.
"Then, if you'll excuse me. That's okay with you too, little brother?"
Sangjin was dumbfounded.
How could someone be this rude?
'What kind of woman is she?'
Sangjin's mind raced.
'There's no way my brother knows a pretty girl like this. This must be a connection from his time in that game world.'
Sangjin nailed the answer immediately.
'But why? Ah! Enhancement. She came because of his enhancement ability! But that's weird. She returned recently too—does she already have an item worth enhancing?'
The deductions continued.
'She must have brought something back from the game world!'
His brother's ability was enhancement.
It would have been pretty useful in that game world.
And that line about spending 'ten years' there.
She was likely a combatant who had survived alongside his brother for a decade.
Which meant this woman was far stronger than she appeared.
'She could be helpful to my brother.'
No matter how he looked at it, she didn't seem to have any malicious intent toward his brother.
Having reached that conclusion, Sangjin spoke to Yoo Jihyun.
"It's a mess, but come on in if you'd like."
Yoo Jihyun bobbed her head politely at Sangjin's words.
"Thank you. Then, if you'll excuse me."
Woojin was taken aback by Sangjin's sudden permission.
This wasn't like him.
"Hey? Kim Sangjin? Hey? Huh?"
Woojin followed the two into his own house in a daze.
The first thing that caught Yoo Jihyun's eye was the pile of chopsticks.
And she cheered inwardly.
'As expected!'
She was a survivor who had returned from Unriworld too.
Of course she had an eye for checking item stats.
The stats of the +2 iron chopsticks were imprinted clearly in her vision.
'But… were chopsticks something you could enhance?'
It felt a bit off, but confirming that Woojin could use enhancement ability was a huge gain.
Yoo Jihyun sat demurely in the cramped living room.
It was a little tight, so she nudged the chopsticks aside with her foot.
'First time in a place like this….'
If she were just a typical chaebol daughter, she might have thought people actually lived in spots like this, but having suffered plenty in Unriworld herself, she didn't let it show.
Woojin sat down awkwardly across from her.
Sangjin didn't sit—he leaned against the wall behind Yoo Jihyun's back.
With her in the house, even this stuffy place felt much brighter.
She looked one way, but she was the number one ranked player. Woojin found Yoo Jihyun intimidating.
"You have a guest, but you're not offering even a drink?"
"Don't have anything like that…."
Woojin glanced at the bag he was holding as he spoke.
"Beer maybe…?"
"Yes, please."
He couldn't offer whiskey.
Woojin handed Yoo Jihyun a can of beer.
Gulp, gulp—
"Puha! That's refreshing."
'What an unusual personality.'
Woojin wasn't an idiot.
He had a good guess why this woman was approaching him like this.
"You have some business, right? Something you want enhanced?"
Yoo Jihyun looked Woojin straight in the eye and nodded.
"Yes."
And then light flashed from Yoo Jihyun's hand as the Gale Roll appeared.
Paaat—!
Woojin jumped in surprise.
Sangjin was even more shocked.
'Oh, shit.'
"Th-this is?"
How could he forget this weapon?
The first +9 legendary weapon he had ever created.
Aaron's Sword of the Goddess had only reached +4, but this Gale Roll had succeeded all the way to +9.
In truth, Woojin had no idea that was the reason Yoo Jihyun had surpassed Aaron to claim first place in contributions.
"It reset. Please help."
Woojin made a troubled expression.
"This is a legendary item. Do you have the materials?"
Enhancing legendary items required special enhancement materials.
1-3: Blessing Stones.
4-6: Blessing Stones and Legendary Item Polish.
7-9: All of the above, plus 'Crystallized Light Fragments' since it was a light-attribute weapon.
Yoo Jihyun's shoulders slumped.
"Isn't there any way…? I'll pay whatever it costs. Even just to +3…."
That was when it happened.
Sangjin's mutter pierced Yoo Jihyun's ears.
"Yoo Jihyun, Yoo Jihyun… No way… DH Group's Yoo Daeho's youngest daughter, Yoo Jihyun?"
Woojin wasn't particularly surprised. He already knew.
"Ah… I wasn't planning to hide it."
She had appeared exactly once on the news alongside DH Group's chairman.
Her title as the chaebol heiress and her stunning looks had made her a hot topic for a while.
It had faded quickly from memory, but Sangjin remembered it perfectly.
And the calculator in his head started whirring.
'How much can we squeeze out of DH Group's youngest?'
Sangjin had no interest in Yoo Jihyun herself.
He was interested in her money.
The brothers had zero interest in women.
DH Group was a massive corporate conglomerate with immense influence in Korea's business world.
Having backing like that would make growing Woosang Shop much easier.
'We have to grab this! Seize the opportunity!'
Sangjin urgently gestured at Woojin.
'Negotiate! Say you'll negotiate!'
Woojin gestured back at Sangjin from behind Yoo Jihyun—silently conveying his intent without speaking.
Having caught on, Woojin spoke to Yoo Jihyun.
"Can I take a moment to think it over?"
"Why? You could just take a quick look…."
Yoo Jihyun was the impatient type too, so when Woojin said he'd think it over, she voiced her own opinion.
The moment Sangjin was about to speak up on his brother's behalf.
"This is something I need to be careful about. This isn't Unriworld anymore, Ms. Yoo."
A low, firm voice.
Yoo Jihyun and Sangjin were both startled.
"For ten years, all I thought about in that hellhole was getting back. And that's when I met my brother too. But this… this is a weapon for hunting monsters, isn't it?"
Woojin's words continued.
"If I enhance this Gale Roll for you, Ms. Yoo, you'll stand out while hunting monsters. People will say, 'Yoo Jihyun is impressive, but what's up with that weapon?'"
It was an obvious outcome.
"Even if you try to hide it, people who've been to Unriworld will be able to see the Gale Roll's stats. And they'll definitely notice the '+3' marked on it."
Sangjin was a little surprised.
It was amazing that his brother—who seemed to have no thoughts at all—was rattling this off so smoothly. And it was exactly what Sangjin himself had wanted to say.
"I know you'd gladly keep it a secret if I asked. But will everyone else?"
Yoo Jihyun was flustered.
She hadn't expected him to put it this way.
"Um… sorry…."
"I don't have any fighting ability. I'm a production class. So when I see someone like you, Ms. Yoo, I feel grateful and amazed. Back in Unriworld and now on Earth, you'll keep protecting people and fighting, right? But that's not me. I don't have some grand sense of duty like that. I was pissed when I got dragged to Unriworld, and I was annoyed when I heard monsters were showing up on the Earth I finally returned to."
Woojin looked Yoo Jihyun straight in the eye as he spoke.
"All I want is to live a normal, happy life with my brother. Why does everything keep getting in the way…? I've hardly had any happy moments in my life. It feels like a little light is finally entering this shithole of an existence, so do I really have to give that up just to enhance your Gale Roll, Ms. Yoo?"
Sangjin and Yoo Jihyun both fell silent.
"You've lived well without any shortages as a chaebol daughter. You've gotten everything you wanted, right? But not me. Whenever I tried to grab hold of something—anything—I had to roll like a madman. After you get what you want from me, Ms. Yoo, do you have any idea how much I'll have to suffer going forward?"
"B-but, it's such a shame to let that ability go to waste. For Earth… for humanity…."
"I know you're kind and upright, Ms. Yoo. Me? Even before joining the alliance army, I nearly died dozens of times. Because of my ability. How perfect a target do you think someone with enhancement powers makes? It'll be the same here. Unless you plan to protect me for life, don't even bring it up."
There was no denying Woojin's enhancement ability was exceptional.
Even in Unriworld, enhancement stones served as substitutes, but pushing legendary-or-higher items to high levels absolutely required an Enhancer.
No one but Woojin knew how many times his own kind—humans—had forced him to brush with death because of it.
"But… it's an ability that will get found out eventually even without me…."
Woojin cut her off casually.
"I can just say I can't enhance weapons. That I can only do everyday tools like chopsticks and spoons. People will lose interest eventually. I was planning to head to the Awakener Management Department tomorrow anyway."
Sangjin was impressed.
He was proud to see his brother had already figured out exactly how to hide his ability.
"That's…."
"So I can't enhance your spear, Ms. Yoo. If you understand, please head back. I don't want to take on the risk."
And with that, Woojin showed her out.
Yoo Jihyun couldn't refute his words. She trembled slightly, looking frustrated.
"I worked so hard in Unriworld… This is unfair…."
Woojin let out a sigh and spoke once more.
"…Thank you for that. Still, I'm sorry. Please go."
That was when it happened.
"…I'll take responsibility."
It was such a tiny voice that Woojin didn't quite catch Yoo Jihyun's words.
"Huh…?"
As he asked again, Yoo Jihyun yelled out with slightly bloodshot eyes.
"I'll take responsibility! I can just keep you by my side for life and take care of you!"
"!?"
"!?"
Question marks and exclamation points popped up over the brothers' heads at the same time.
"So please enhance my spear!"
'Crazy… this is so damn entertaining….'
Sangjin regretted not buying popcorn yet again.