Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Brotherly Interference
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"So, what do you do for a living?"
"Ah, me? I'm just..."
"Oh, right. I should've introduced myself first. I'm Haneul Lee, assistant manager in the marketing division at Deer Electronics. Noeul here calls me 'oppa'."
What the hell was he doing?
My brother, who had looked ready to leave any second, came back into the room and started exchanging names with Haon Park.
And the way Haneul particularly emphasized the word 'oppa' gave me chills.
"Ah, so... you're Noeul's oppa...? Got it."
"That's right. Spot on."
"Ah, I'm Haon Park. I do personal broadcasts."
Haon Park bowed his head politely as he spoke. Sometime in the last few seconds, my brother had slipped him his business card.
Before I could marvel at when that had happened, my brother's hand landed on my head again.
"Our Noeul relies on her real brother a lot."
Why was this guy acting like this all of a sudden?
I tried to brush off his hand, ignoring the goosebumps, but it wouldn't budge.
The more I twisted my head and struggled, the tighter his grip got.
It was starting to actually hurt now.
"As her real brother, it bothers me seeing some guy show up at my little sister's place when she's living alone. It's late, too."
But he didn't care. His eyes stayed fixed on Haon Park as he ruffled my hair for real.
Now it genuinely hurt.
I had no idea why he was suddenly like this.
Truth be told, this was the first time I'd seen his overprotective side today, so how could he say it so casually?
"Could you tell me what your relationship is with our Noeul?"
Ugh, 'our Noeul' again.
I'd heard it from him plenty of times, but hearing it in front of someone else made my skin crawl.
Haon Park, hit with the sudden interrogation, rolled his eyes around like he was deep in thought.
Yeah, it was a hard relationship to put into words.
Too vague for 'friends', and 'streamer and viewer' wouldn't make sense to my brother.
Not quite strangers either, since we had those little interactions pretty often...
The best word that came to mind was landlord and tenant?
Even so, I was a little curious what Haon Park thought of me. I waited with my brother for his answer.
After agonizing over it for a while, Haon Park finally spoke.
"Hmm... How about 'people who share secrets with each other'?"
"...Hm, 'secrets', huh. Interesting."
One thing I knew for sure: that answer was a total flop.
Seeing my brother smile with that sharp edge, I quickly wedged myself between them.
"Ah, no! That's not how you say it, Haon!"
"...Huh?"
"Bro, he's in the same boat as me! And he's the landlord!"
...Technically second-generation, but whatever!
I left that part out.
At my words, my brother looked back and forth between me and Haon Park.
"Same boat?"
I nodded vigorously. A strong show of agreement.
"Hm..."
He twitched his thick eyebrows for a moment, then finally lifted his hand gently from my head.
"Sorry. Looks like I misunderstood."
"..."
"No one's ever approached my sister nicely since she was little, so I got a bit..."
"Bro, you don't need to say that."
Totally unnecessary info.
It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't something to brag about in front of others either, so I cut him off.
A sidelong glance at Haon Park showed he didn't seem to mind, thankfully.
Though his expression was a little odd.
"Your oppa must think about you a lot, Noeul."
"...He's my brother."
"...Right. Your 'brother' must think about you a lot. But out of everything else, 'landlord' feels a bit..."
"..."
At least we cleared up the stupid misunderstanding.
I swallowed those words and avoided Haon Park's gaze for no reason.
『Gahhh! What is this?!』
- Hey now! You gotta say 'kyaaah!' there~
- Went full man but still flat as a board?
- Fastest escapist in the game lololol
The support money I'd gotten as collateral from my brother was more than enough to put out the immediate fire, and life got back on track.
Haon Park resumed streaming without much fuss after what folks online called his 'bald outing', and I dove back into making a living.
Today's concept: miner and herbalist.
Every time my character swung the pickaxe, my bag got heavier, and it felt satisfying.
'Sell all this and I'll pull in about 30,000 gold.'
Hard-earned rewards proportional to time and effort!
Looking at my inventory stuffed with herbs and ores, I couldn't help but smile.
『Wanna see how strong I've gotten? Ruins farming is a breeze now~』
- So confident, she's about to die like a dog
- That line lmao
- Someone make her get a mount already pls
Everyday life: picking herbs to the voice of Apple—who was now a guy—while chatting. Peaceful days had returned.
Hunt on weekdays, gather herbs when tired.
Thursdays: burn raid party dungeon tickets, cash in efforts for real money whenever trade site alerts popped.
Looking back, it wasn't much. Life hadn't changed drastically.
Except...
『...Huh?』
- loololololol
- Lol this is 'his' turf lol
Something felt subtly off.
I snapped out of it at the voice through my headphones. Right in front of my character stood Apple's character, looking awkward.
Haon Park's character twitching while I dug herbs with my shovel.
How did this guy keep showing up in front of me so often?
Even if it was coincidence, at this rate—like he said himself—it was time to question who the real stalker was.
'He's not doing it on purpose... right?'
As I pondered, Haon Park's urgent voice came over the stream.
『Hold on, lemme try talking him down!』
- lmao good luck
- After all those hits, his judgment's probably shot lol
- Rock to the head? Yeah, clear thinking's out lolol
[Apple (Archer) / Suppressor of the Twin Forge Masters]: Hi there! ^^;
His character—bow as big as himself—spoke up.
Was that his idea of 'talking him down'? I couldn't help a silly laugh.
Still, I played along with the absurdity.
『...S-See? It works!』
- ???
- What
- Evading duty;
- Fulfill your duty, 'designated bully'!
- Neglect of duty evading;
I didn't kill 'Apple'—aka Haon Park.
After seeing each other's faces and spilling our secrets, 'communication' just felt off.
Not just because we were neighborly.
Maybe because he occasionally brought side dishes. Gratitude and all that.
Yeah, things had started feeling subtly off.
"We've known each other for about two years now, right?"
Every Thursday. One of Gurugi Raid's key events: tackling Blazing Iron Mountain.
After beating the third named boss, Factory Chief Karun, and before the fourth, we gathered in small groups around the campfire when Rat Mouse suddenly spoke up.
"Hm. Has it been that long already?"
"Whoa, I'm mid-20s already! Time flies."
"Isn't 27 late-20s?"
"...No?"
"27 is late-20s. We're mid."
"It's just a one-year difference!"
His random comment sparked a chorus of agreement.
Two years already. It hit different.
I joined in as they bantered about ages.
"Come to think of it, I first saw our dongsaeng when she was 20, right?"
"Look how fresh-faced our Dori is."
"The baby of the raid feeling the passage of time?"
"Hm."
Everyone reacted great. Even Dokgo, the oldest, was the most chill.
It could've been noisy, but this cozy chat had its charm. With the campfire, it felt like camping.
'This must be what camping with friends is like.'
Never done it, no friends to go with, but if I did, it'd feel like this.
As that lonely thought crept in, Rat Mouse—who started it—wrapped it up.
"Anyway, reason I brought it up! We've known each other two years, but we still don't know faces or numbers!"
"Sharp point."
"Huh, now that you mention it."
He wasn't wrong. We chatted in open group chat off-game, and by the time I hopped on Discord, everyone was already there.
We only knew names and ages—a relationship that unintentionally turned super business-like.
"Yeah, we know the bare minimum."
"Right? Hey, Firefly, didn't you go to some college in Gyeonggi?"
"He remembers that? Kinda touched."
"Suweon for you, Dokgo-hyung said Yangpyeong last time, Na Hani unnie and dongsaeng in Seoul."
Ah, living spots too.
Impressive he remembered all those scraps. I nodded unconsciously, though no one could see.
That's when Rat Mouse shouted.
"We gotta do an offline meet! Saturday, Seoul!"
My body stiffened for a second.
'Meet IRL?'
Things were good online. Did we need to?
No one's seen photos even.
It'd be awkward for sure. My answer was set. And others would feel the same.
Or so I thought. Not what happened.
"Good idea."
Huh? Dokgo-hyung?
"But some might have plans?"
Yes, our raid leader. Knew my heart.
Beating around the bush like that instead of outright no...
"No shifts for me this week. No objections? Approved."
...Wasn't he on my side?
Stunned by Dokgo's sudden flip, the topic snowballed.
"OK, commander's in. Rest of you? Weekends are free anyway!"
"Unfortunately accurate."
"Me too!"
"Firefly, Na Hani unnie confirmed! Dongsaeng?"
Weekends were for gathering and settling up.
'...aka super busy.'
I was typing that when...
"Dori's coming, right?!"
"Dori's always online weekends—default yes."
"Yeah. Maknae has to come."
Na Hani kicked it off, and everyone piled on. Couldn't type my real thought in chat.