Having unconsciously called out his name the moment I saw a face far too familiar, I stood there with the front door flung wide open and gave myself a split second to think.
Should I slam it shut right now.
Should I laugh it off and pretend it was nothing.
Or should I go on the offensive and demand what he was staring at.
But what I chose was none of the three.
“Wow, it’s really Jeong Euijin….”
I let out a dazed, starstruck sound — playing the part of someone stunned to see a celebrity.
It must have come across as natural enough, because Heo Yunji, who had come along with Jeong Euijin, let out a quiet laugh.
“Jeong Euijin is fairly well-known, I suppose. Still, you recognized him the moment you saw him?”
“I heard he was a ridiculously good-looking man who carries two longswords. A Player I ran into by chance once even showed me a photo someone took of Jeong Euijin from a distance.”
The latter was, of course, a lie. I’d only thrown it in because I’d heard that some Players sold photos of notable figures from each zone taken with a Polaroid camera item.
“You have a sharp eye.”
“Thank you. But what brings you here——”
I couldn’t finish the sentence.
The look Jeong Euijin was fixing on me was ferociously intense. His mouth was pressed shut, yet his eyes were pouring out a thousand things — and those eyes alone were enough to make me instinctively retreat behind the front door.
What is this? Why is he looking at me like that? Did the mention of the candid photo bother him? Or maybe Alt scratched him with his claws on the way out——
I was still turning it over in my head when the front door I was hiding behind was wrenched wide open in one swift motion. The force of it sent my center of gravity lurching forward — straight toward Jeong Euijin.
Just as I was about to tumble right into his arms —
a hand from behind grabbed me firmly by the waist and pulled me back.
Seo Wonil.
“You okay?”
Seo Wonil, who had caught me from behind, glanced between Jeong Euijin and Heo Yunji at the entrance. His face was laced with cold, sharp wariness.
“What’s the matter?”
“Ah, we just came to briefly——”
“Kyaoo! Kya! Gyao!”
“Grrrr, kheung! Grrr…”
“Just to say hello——”
“Gyeh— Gyagyak! Gyaa—!”
“Sniff sniff, krrk! Krreuu!”
“……”
“Gyaooo—!”
“Grrrrrr—!”
The strange, ongoing exchange between the two dragons brought Heo Yunji to a stop mid-sentence. She scratched her cheek with a look caught between mild irritation and mild embarrassment.
“Well, the hello is part of it — but apparently Jeong Euijin’s dragon and Lee Jaea’s pet are siblings.”
Heo Yunji’s words surprised not just Seo Wonil but me as well. All our eyes went to the window in the corridor, where the two dragons were circling each other in the air in a curious, spiraling dance.
There was a sibling setting?
Since they were all different colors, I’d assumed they were simply different themed Pet Eggs — but apparently the dragon eggs did come with a sibling relationship built in. Jeong Euijin was the owner of the black one that had been sold at the Special Supply Station, and that Black Dragon, who looked considerably larger than Alt, must have been hatched from there.
Unlike Alt, who looks as soft and gentle as silken tofu, that one looks terrifyingly fierce.
Just look at those blazing red eyes.
I guess that’s what you’d expect from Jeong Euijin’s pet — how do they both manage to have the exact same eyes like…that……
Shifting my gaze to Jeong Euijin for comparison, I belatedly realized that he and Seo Wonil were locked in a staring contest. Neither of them was even properly blinking as they glared at each other with matching, barely concealed ferocity.
What is wrong with these people?
The rest of our group, watching the situation unfold from inside, and even Heo Yunji were visibly flustered. She poked Jeong Euijin in the side a couple of times, but nothing changed.
“I’m fine, so let go now.”
I pushed Seo Wonil’s arm aside to defuse the situation. That firm arm, boasting impressively high strength, gave way with surprising ease.
“I didn’t know my pet had a sibling. It’s a bit of a shock, but it’s good that we met.”
“Right? Now that I look at it, your pet is much smaller than Roks. Was he born recently?”
Heo Yunji’s eyes sparkled and her words began to spill faster.
“Roks was born just over two weeks ago…. Oh — Roks is the name of Jeong Euijin’s pet. Apparently it came from ‘Ferox’s Egg,’ so he named it Roks. Funny naming sense, right? Ahaha.”
I couldn’t bring myself to laugh at that. My own naming sense was no better than Jeong Euijin’s.
“And Roks is——!”
“Lee Jaea.”
Cutting through Heo Yunji’s words with cold precision, Jeong Euijin called my name. Those pitch-black eyes, unreadable as ever, were fixed on me with quiet, steady intensity.
“Could you spare me a moment?”
A chill ran down my spine. The weight of his presence pressed down on my shoulders with enough force to drain my face of color — and would have, had it not been for Trait: Mental Stability.
At that moment, Seo Wonil stepped in front of me like a shield. Kim Seokju, who had been watching from inside, had also materialized behind me at some point, and asked Jeong Euijin with careful restraint:
“What is this about? We’d appreciate a proper explanation.”
“I was speaking to Lee Jaea.”
“I understand. But Jaea has a very frail constitution. If you speak in that threatening a tone, the kid might actually collapse.”
No matter how much I’d constructed a sickly cover story as part of my skill explanation, it was absolutely nowhere near that level.
And just like that, I was swiftly branded as a young man of legendary fragility.
Perhaps that did something, because Jeong Euijin’s voice — partially obscured behind Seo Wonil — eased down a fraction.
“…I wanted to speak with Lee Jaea ahead of tomorrow’s raid. I’d like to go over a detailed map of the expedition route together and discuss a few things — some of it may be a little sensitive.”
“Is that truly all?”
“Yes.”
Even with Jeong Euijin’s answer, Seo Wonil and Kim Seokju remained visibly tense.
I’d heard that Players sometimes came to blows over the most trivial things — and wasn’t this ominous atmosphere exactly the kind of sign that preceded something like that?
I decided to simply comply and follow Jeong Euijin, if only to escape the suffocating tension.
“I’m fine, so stop being so on guard. I’ll be right back.”
I patted Kim Seokju and Seo Wonil each on the back and stepped voluntarily toward the door. Once I moved on my own, neither of them tried to stop or shield me any further.
As I stepped out the door, Jeong Euijin tilted his chin toward the two pets outside the window and addressed Heo Yunji.
“Keep an eye on them and sort it out when the time comes.”
“Will do. But——”
Heo Yunji, who had been about to say something while looking at me, pulled back with a subtly complicated expression.
“No — never mind.”
Swallowing what seemed like an inexplicable sigh, Heo Yunji leaned close and murmured in my ear.
“He’s not as scary as he looks, so don’t be nervous. See you later.”
“Sure. When it’s time, just toss my pet back into the room with the others.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll play with it just a little before I do.”
She let that last line trail off with unmistakable ulterior motives, and I turned to follow Jeong Euijin, who was already walking ahead.
We passed the people in the third floor corridor watching the two of us with keen interest.
As we did, I was turning over in my mind what Jeong Euijin had said about the raid.
He must have already mapped out the expedition route. Is he thinking about where to place me within it? I assumed a low-level Player with a passive skill wouldn’t exactly have options, but maybe it won’t be so bad?
If so, I’d want to be placed somewhere with as few monsters as possible. Or maybe it would be better to focus entirely on a single boss monster while the other Players dealt with the rest……
Lost in those thoughts, I found we had reached the staircase to the fourth floor.
Starting from the fourth floor, I’d been told, were the Eclipse members’ rooms and the interview room where alliance applicants had been seen.
The moment I set my foot on the stair —
Jeong Euijin abruptly grabbed my hand.
It was careful, almost gentle in a way that belied his enormous strength stat — and yet utterly firm, like a grip that would never let go.
Without a word, he climbed the stairs, pulling me along.
There was urgency in his pace — and yet I could tell he was keeping careful track of me so I wouldn’t fall behind or stumble.
Before I could say anything at all, I was swept up to the fourth floor in what felt like an instant. Jeong Euijin flung open the door directly in front of the staircase, pushed me against the wall beside the entryway without so much as turning on the light —
Thud —
The sound of the door swinging shut echoed exactly like my startled heartbeat.
In the darkness, I let my eyes adjust and caught my breath. It was only one floor, climbed in a rush — but whether from nerves or from Jeong Euijin’s razor-sharp presence, I was slightly winded.
“Excuse me — Jeong Euijin?”
“You had… a name.”
Jeong Euijin, who had me trapped between both arms, asked in a voice that had dropped dangerously low.
“Why did you say you didn’t?”
“I’m not sure what——”
“Lee Jaea.”
In the darkness, his eyes burned with unsettling clarity as he said my name, cool and deliberate, and met my gaze directly.
“Do you really think I still don’t recognize you?”
