A Being of Love and Hate (2)
Clunk—Number One, Lee Eunhye. President Lee Junwook's wife, Madam Choi Kanghee. The only married one among the four siblings.
"Arang. You need to say, 'Hello, Uncle Hoyeol~'"
"Hello, Uncle Hoyeol!!"
My eldest sister gripped her daughter Arang's hand tightly and opened the door to my studio apartment.
Number Two, Lee Jiyun. Trailing behind, she said to me,
"Hoyeol, your dye job is insane. You look like a total idol. Idol."
Number Three, Lee Yerim. That nemesis of mine flashed a rotten smile at me.
"Idol my ass. Mom would faint if she saw you. After all the crap she went through. Already gone white as a ghost. 'Your son went gray before his dad.'"
Four women bursting through the front door. In the old days, I would've panicked. It was basically getting caught with my secret exposed.
But now? I was utterly shameless.
"It's been too long since I've seen your faces. I hope you've all been well, sisters."
I bowed my head and even bent at the waist in a formal greeting. Sincerity born from decorum.
My sisters, on the other hand, looked even more serious at my words.
Number Two poked the nemesis's side. "......Hey, this isn't his concept anymore."
"Yeah, right? Where'd our rude little Hoyeol go?"
"I was half-doubting when he called me 'sister' on the phone......"
I'd explained most of it over the call. That I'd become a player recently. That my speech and appearance had changed because of it. That I'd quit my job due to those unavoidable circumstances. And finally, that the Lee Hoyeol from the news was indeed me.
So they'd rushed over in a heartbeat. They couldn't believe it without seeing it with their own eyes.
Of course, I had no right to refuse.
......Not when I had sins to atone for.
Even without sins, getting surrounded by Numbers One, Two, and Three and battered by their sharp tongues would somehow make their fiery personalities my fault too.
In short, an inescapable predator-prey relationship.
But as I said, I'd changed. I could act shameless even in front of my predators.
"The wind is chilly. What would you like for tea?"
They exchanged glances at my words.
"......Who are you?"
"Did our Hoyeol get a girlfriend?"
"It's sweet and all, but why? Hoyeol, big sis wants coffee~ Arang wants something warm too, right? Uncle~ Gimme some for Arang~"
I deftly pulled out teacups and prepared the tea.
Number Two and the nemesis, scanning the place, whispered.
"He definitely got a girlfriend. No way a single guy keeps a place this clean. And look at those teacups. So delicate......"
"Even so, the place is too spotless? Not a single hair anywhere."
"Check the fridge. You're busted, Lee Hoyeol."
The nemesis pulled out some lettuce. Number Two grabbed chicken breast.
"Fridge full of just this stuff? Girlfriend's on a diet, huh? Be honest with your sisters. What does she do? How old? Pretty?"
......Looks like there were a lot of misunderstandings to clear up.
After that, we sat down and talked calmly. Most of the misconceptions got sorted out. There was solid evidence, after all.
"......Lettuce and chicken breast are what you eat?"
"Your body's looking good, so yeah, makes sense."
"Does it? Cooking solo in a studio is such a pain!"
"Lee Yerim, don't judge the world by your standards. You freaked out and made me think our baby bro had a girlfriend too."
"So he picked those teacups himself? Nice eye~"
Good thing I'd prepared treats with decorum. Maybe because they were warm and sweet—the reactions softened even more.
Except for the nemesis, who looked oddly aggrieved.
But there was one unavoidable topic. My eldest sister asked,
"So, how is it? Manageable?"
A short question. But I knew the depth behind it. Player activities were dangerous—that was common knowledge.
That's why I couldn't bring it up first. Couldn't say something dangerous was safe. Couldn't lie, either.
The nemesis warned, "Look us straight in the eye when you answer."
......No wonder they were predators. They'd sniffed out my lies since we were kids.
But right now, there wasn't a shred of deceit in me.
"It suits me."
Not to spare my family worry. Pure confidence.
In the Ascura Viscount raid, I'd realized my potential and limits. Knowing my vessel meant I could say without hesitation: Demon hunting was truly my calling.
"......Doesn't sound like a lie."
"Lee Yerim, it's you again. I told you, he's not like you. He's handled himself since he was little. That's why he's all over the news."
"Really? Hearing it from you eases my mind a bit, little bro."
......Easier than expected. Probably my overflowing confidence.
Anyway, I asked my eldest sister, "Do Father and Mother know?"
"Dad and Mom? They're busy making dumplings since dawn, so no. But with you all over the news, they'll find out soon. Hair color, build—changed as you are, they won't miss it."
"Me too! I recognized Uncle Hoyeol!"
I stroked Arang's head gently. "I'll have to tell Father and Mother the truth myself."
"Nah, we'll handle it."
......You will? The nemesis continued, looking at me. "Mom and Dad are different from us. They worry even if we say we're traveling. If you tell them bluntly like you did us, imagine the stress."
So they'd take care of it for me.
......Yeah, that worked better for me too. I nodded—and suddenly, snickers erupted.
"Brings back memories, doesn't it? Father, Mother, sisters."
"Totally. Not just me, huh?"
"......?"
"About ten years ago? Lee Hoyeol hit peak middle school syndrome. Suddenly using formal speech with us. Even said he'd greet Mom and Dad properly."
"......!"
"It was cute back then. Face was cute. Now he's uglied up...... Wait, looking now, it's like that face again?"
"Right? Remember when Hoyeol threw a fit to dye his hair silver?"
My black history spilled out one after another!
......Predators, no doubt. Worse than demons for a demon hunter.
......
I carefully handed over the sleeping Arang from my arms.
Whispers—
"We're off. Call ya."
"Wanted to nag a bit, but nothing to say. Tsk."
"Bye."
I bowed politely. As I went to close the door—thud. The nemesis wedged her foot in.
"One last nag from your big sis."
"......?"
"Quit if it gets tough. That's why we came."
The sisters seemed to hold back more, but I got the meaning without explanation.
I nodded, and she added, "And really last one. Save while you can. No guarantors, ever. Got it?"
That jogged a memory. Right, no cosigning. Why'd we have those red eviction stickers otherwise......
......Wait, that's not it.
Rift clear rewards!
I had to claim what was mine—clean and honest.
*
Rift clear rewards. Players' main income source.
The amount was set by the rift's appropriate level, distributed based on contribution.
Nations provided them too. Rifts were ticking time bombs that could spark global disasters. Paying players to clear them was only right.
But national rewards were stingy as hell.
"We get the budget limits, but......"
"Still, bump it up a bit?"
"This won't even cover living expenses."
So who shelled out massive rewards to players?
Arcana's developer, Cosmo.
Well, hard to call it Cosmo now. Everyone but one quit and jumped to the AAU.
That one? Cosmo's CEO, Raymon Sean.
As if he'd known Arcana would become reality. The homepage evolved with the cataclysm.
Ranking overhauls. New update notices. Rift clear statuses.
The cataclysm. The world turning game-like stayed stable thanks to that homepage.
It even sparked reevaluations of Raymon Sean everywhere.
"Say he's the cataclysm's culprit. Why keep the site running? Thanks to it, humanity's progressed beyond pre-cataclysm."
Valid point. The site maintained social order. Arcana's civilization invading reality. Mutual exchange actually advanced the world.
"Can't deny that, but...... Before reevaluation, we need to confirm: Is he running it for the cataclysm, or just to sway opinion now?"
Opinions wouldn't bridge easily.
But players had to defend him. Those rift rewards from Cosmo—Raymon—were insane.
"......The stabbing pain's gone. Heh."
"Yeah. Financial therapy."
"Can't quit playing because of this."
Where'd the money come from? Arcana continent's brutal subscription fees. Tens of thousands a month. Plus millions for exclusive connectors.
Cosmo raked in astronomical sums. Enough to pay players for decades without touching principal.
So hype for new rift rewards was natural. Appropriate level screamed record-breaker.
Guild, Berserker.
Leoni's shaggy crimson bob twitched. She counted the numbers on screen, muttering,
"......What the hell?"
"What's up? Too big to read, sis?"
"Shut it. Recounting."
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand...... Leoni swallowed in shock.
......What? Why so much? For real?!
Guild, Gaon.
Nam Taemin and Nam Cheolmin flinched too.
"Even for the level, it's nuts."
"......Makes sense. Think about it—that rift was brutal. Even Gaon and Inazuma barely escaped the viscount's domain."
"True? First time seeing units like this......"
Jessie got bombarded too.
"Jessie, just the first digits?"
"No."
"C'mon~ We got this much—how much you?"
Reasons varied. Berserker: first clear of new rift. Gaon: toughest trap rift. Jessie: killed Ascura Viscount.
Naturally, curiosity peaked for Hoyeol, involved in it all.
What unit reward for him?
One thing certain.
"......"
His face gave nothing away.
......
I tallied the numbers.
"......"
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million, billion, ten billion, hundred billion......
Before that astronomical figure, I opened my mouth shamelessly.
"This, too, is utterly natural."