Chapter 10
After various twists and turns, I, Dojin, and a nameless person arrived at a deserted area away from the crowded streets, facing off without any tension. Yes, without ANY tension whatsoever.
“Is this really Seoul?”
“Of course it’s Seoul. We walked here, didn’t we?”
I couldn’t believe there could be vacant land in this prime location. It seemed impossible. Thinking about the profit one could make by building just one building here, I remembered this was a fictional world, and everything made sense. Fiction was exactly the kind of setting where you could find a fighting spot just a short walk away.
“These guys are ignoring me again!”
“So, friend, what was your name again?”
“…Fuck.”
“Your name is Fuck?”
“No!”
I asked for your name and you said ‘fuck.’
While conversing with the person from behind Dojin’s back, they shouted again, and I hid my face against Dojin’s back. Maybe because the person looked somewhat intimidating, when they shouted like that, I was honestly scared.
“Baek Han!”
“Baek Han?”
“Yes! This is the third time I’m saying it, so memorize it already!”
“Sorry, somehow it just doesn’t stick in my head.”
“No need to memorize it, Habin. Why bother?”
Dojin, who had been listening quietly, tilted his head slightly and interrupted. With that subtle movement, our eye contact, which had barely been maintained, was naturally blocked. I didn’t see the need to move to make eye contact again, so I stayed put.
“By the way, what’s his rank?”
“Him? …What rank was it again?”
I gasped at Dojin’s puzzled voice. Seeing that he didn’t know, it seemed the person wasn’t highly ranked.
“I knew this would happen! I’m Rank 5, Baek Han!”
I was wrong. His rank was actually really high.
Despite it being a rank where I shouldn’t have been acting cocky, I had been doing exactly that earlier, distracted by the workbook. Now that reality was finally hitting me, I fidgeted nervously, and Dojin turned his head to look at me again.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Won’t he retaliate against me?”
“Him? Why?”
“I acted cocky with him.”
“So you’re aware of it.”
Unlike Dojin, who laughed softly, I was dead serious. Excited about seeing workbooks after so long, I had done something I wouldn’t normally do. I shouldn’t have! Just as I was about to run my hands through my hair in distress, Dojin grabbed my arm and gently stopped me. Then he stroked my hair a couple of times.
“I’ll protect you. Don’t worry.”
Despite nodding at Dojin’s reassuring words, I pulled his hand down. Stop messing with my fragile hair. Because of Dojin, it kept getting tangled, making me want to cry every time I tried to untangle it.
“Hey!”
“Ah, right.”
I had completely forgotten about Baek Han. If he hadn’t shouted, I would have forgotten him forever. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I deliberately cleared my throat and looked at Baek Han, who was staring at us with a deeply furrowed brow.
“What’s with this distance anyway?”
Baek Han gestured back and forth between himself and us. In response to his gesturing at the distance separating us, I shrugged.
“Fight prevention?”
“What?”
Despite his incredulous question, I remained confident. Honestly, when high-ranked individuals come to a deserted place, what else would they do but fight? However, I was an ordinary citizen who didn’t know how to fight, so I didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire of a whale battle.
I’d heard rumors about an unwritten rule that those not in the ranking system shouldn’t be messed with, but I’d never seen a fictional character who actually respected that rule.
“Habin is scared, what can I do? So please maintain your distance.”
Dojin burst into laughter again and took my side. Feeling quite secure with the powerful Rank 2 behind me, I looked boldly at Baek Han, who pounded his chest as if dying of frustration.
“So what did you want?”
“Yeah, what could it be?”
Neither Dojin nor I paid any attention to Baek Han’s distress. We had essentially been intruded upon without warning. In response to my question, asked because I wanted to end this uncomfortable situation quickly, Dojin echoed it back as if he’d just become curious. At this point, I wondered if he’d really been curious at all.
“At tomorrow’s rank reorganization, I’m going to defeat you and take the number two spot…”
“What? There’s a rank reorganization tomorrow?”
“Is there?”
Our attention was naturally drawn to something other than his weakened declaration. Baek Han, seemingly having given up already, crouched down and heaved deep sighs. Once again ignoring Baek Han, I placed my hands on Dojin’s shoulders and looked up at him with a serious expression.
“Should you be out on the streets at such a crucial time?”
Again, as someone who doesn’t know how to fight, if I got caught up in a ranking battle with Dojin, I would just be a burden. In terms of common fiction tropes, I’d be something like a hostage.
To be absolutely honest, I’m worried about myself becoming a hostage. Dojin would handle himself just fine, being Rank 2 and all—what do I know? He’s not someone an ordinary citizen like me should worry about.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Isn’t this a sensitive time for you?”
“Well, it might be for others.”
Despite my genuine concern, his carefree attitude, as if it had nothing to do with him, made my expression twist involuntarily. What kind of person is he?
“And you?”
When I asked with the implication that if others were affected, shouldn’t he be too, Dojin snickered. He laughed as if he’d heard something cute, which made me a little upset, but I was distracted by his hand brushing through my hair. What’s with this guy constantly touching other people’s bodies? Especially, does he have some grudge against my hair?
“Do I look like someone who would fall for petty tricks?”
“Ah, yes.”
You’re so great, really.
I gave a casual response to his confident question. With Dojin acting like this, all tension had dissipated. Then, suddenly remembering the forgotten Baek Han, I turned my gaze to him. At this point, I honestly felt a little sorry for him.
“Hey.”
“What.”
Baek Han responded curtly, but I could handle that much. How frustrated must he be? He’d waited and followed us all this way, only to be continuously ignored.
“Did you really come all the way here just to say that?”
“Yes! I came all this way just to say that! Why am I in this situation in the first place? You told me to wait!”
“Well, I genuinely thought you were picking a fight or something.”
I flinched slightly at Baek Han’s sharp exclamation, shrinking my shoulders. Having thoroughly misunderstood the situation and dragged it to this point, I couldn’t argue even if I had ten mouths.
Still, if I had to defend myself, I’d say that I thought a fight was about to break out, as is typical in fiction, given his aggressive call-out.
Why else would I have been so determined to avoid going to the arcade? Wasn’t it all about desperately trying to avoid a fight? Still, the fact remains that I made an unnecessary misunderstanding, so I scratched my cheek apologetically.
“By the way, why specifically aim for Rank 2? Since you’re aiming high, why not go for Rank 1 instead? Wouldn’t that be more stylish?”
“Are you saying that in front of me, the number two ranker, Habin?”
Completely ignoring Dojin’s voice from behind, I took a step closer to Baek Han. Baek Han, who had been crouching, perhaps because his legs hurt, plopped down on the ground.
As the other person became disarmed, I let go of all tension and was able to get even closer to Baek Han.
“You don’t know much about Rank 1, Ji Haecheon, do you?”
“No, I don’t know much.”
“That’s why you say things like that.”
With his elbow on his thigh and his chin propped up, Baek Han blurted out this statement. Watching him quietly, I thought to myself: He really knows how to pose. As expected, Rank 5 is different.
“He’s a monster.”
“Huh?”
“A monster, that’s what Ji Haecheon is.”
What the hell is he talking about?
I looked at Baek Han with cold eyes as he seriously spouted this nonsense. Ignoring my gaze, Baek Han added that if you don’t want to die at Ji Haecheon’s hands, you shouldn’t recklessly challenge him. And that’s why Dojin, behind me, continues to remain at Rank 2.
When Baek Han mentioned Dojin, I naturally turned around to look at him. Still standing in the same place, watching Baek Han and me, Dojin reflexively smiled when our eyes met, but his eyes were cold.
Looking into those eyes, I realized anew:
‘Wow, this world really is fiction,’ I thought.
In other words, it’s incredibly cringeworthy! My hands! My feet! The secondhand embarrassment!
I flailed internally in agony, feeling like I might die from the cringe while the other two remained deadly serious.
“By the way, you who are always behind Dojin, what’s your name?”
“I’m in front of Dojin right now, though?”
“Don’t play with words.”
I felt a bit intimidated by his annoyed expression as he raised his eyebrows. I don’t understand why his face looks so fierce; when expressionless, he actually has quite a handsome face.
“I don’t think you need to know that.”
While I was hesitating, not wanting to reveal my name, a figure suddenly blocked my view, and I blinked quietly.
“Kwon Dojin, who do you think you are?”
At some point, Baek Han had also gotten up from his sitting position and was now facing off with Dojin. With only one corner of his mouth raised, his sneering appearance was quite sharp.
“As a friend, I’d prefer if he didn’t exchange names with a bad person, something like that.”
“Ha. Someone just like me acting all high and mighty.”
Exactly. Both of you are cut from the same cloth, excluding me.
As the atmosphere grew increasingly hostile, I quietly stepped back. From every angle, it seemed like they were about to start throwing punches.
But thinking about it, isn’t this a bit absurd? What’s so special about my name that it’s suddenly causing this?
Looking back and forth between Baek Han, who had slightly lowered his body in preparation to throw a punch at any moment, and Dojin, who appeared relaxed but didn’t take his eyes off Baek Han, I carefully parted my lips.
“It’s Lee Habin.”
“What?”
“…Habin.”
Avoiding Dojin’s eyes as he called my name with a grinding tone, I told Baek Han my name again in response to his question.
“Lee Habin, that’s my name.”
Isn’t it better to just tell him my name to avoid getting caught in the crossfire?
That’s what I thought, simply and honestly. That’s all.
