"I didn't realize it when I first saw her, but she really is pretty. I get why Dokja kept saying she was."
The first thing I felt when my brother said that to Yoo Joonghyuk was jealousy.
It had always been like that.
Whenever he talked to another woman, my chest tightened for some reason.
There were always women swarming around him.
And yet, Yoo Joonghyuk was the only one he had ever called pretty so directly.
I had heard it from him plenty of times too, but "pretty" from a family member couldn't be trusted.
"I'd rather get incinerated by Gong Pildu's turret than date this gorilla."
After hearing that, what I felt wasn't relief. It was an even greater anxiety.
Because she looked exactly like a heroine snapping and acting prickly to hide the fact that she liked him.
People always say you grow close by fighting.
You share emotions while clashing, and in the process of understanding those emotions, you come to understand each other.
Even if she meant those words right now, if they kept fighting like this, feelings that hadn't existed before might start to grow.
That was why I was uneasy.
What if those feelings became greater than what he felt for me, and he left me behind?
Could I even keep living in a world without him?
"Why? Does your neck hurt from having to look up at me because you're so short?"
"You only noticed that now? With that amazing ability of yours, you're awfully quick on the uptake."
This time, what I felt was pure shock.
I had told him everything about Ways of Survival.
And yet, someone who knew Yoo Joonghyuk that well was openly mocking and provoking her.
The scene that followed made me hold my breath.
He claimed he'd seen Yoo Joonghyuk's attack before, blocked it, countered, and sent her flying.
I hadn't known my brother was that strong.
After that one hit, he couldn't land another proper blow and only kept collecting scratches, but even that alone was incredible.
"Crazy... he can actually brawl with Master like that?"
The people of Chungmuro Station would know Yoo Joonghyuk's strength well.
She had already swept through the place once.
That was why they knew.
That the attacks of the monster called Yoo Joonghyuk were not something you could dismiss as mere scratches.
Even in a moment where it was obvious my brother was being pushed back, he was showing everyone that it wasn't because he was weak.
But what about me?
In a situation where he was being driven back, all I could do was watch...
[Exclusive Skill, 'Character List', has been activated!]
[There is far too much information related to this character. 'Character List' is being converted to 'Summary List'.]
The full version. Hurry!
[Converting the character information for 'Yoo Joonghyuk' to the 'full version.']
<Character List>
Name: Yoo Joonghyuk
Age: 28
Sponsor: ???
Exclusive Attributes: Regressor [3rd Regression] (Myth), Pro Gamer (Rare)
Exclusive Skills: [Sage's Eye Lv.8], [Close Combat Lv.8], [Advanced Weapon Handling Lv.5], [Self-Defense Technique Lv.5], [Mental Barrier Lv.5], [Crowd Control Lv.5], [Reasoning Lv.5], [Lie Detection Lv.4], [Cooking Lv.10] ...omitted...
Stigma: [Regression Lv.3]
Overall Stats: [Stamina Lv.24], [Strength Lv.24], [Agility Lv.25], [Magic Power Lv.23]
Overall Evaluation: (This character's overall evaluation is too long to load.)
Against a monster like that?
Even so... my brother squeezed out the last of his strength and succeeded in landing another solid hit on Yoo Joonghyuk.
Please, don't get back up.
If she stands up, she will definitely kill him.
That would be the worst possible outcome.
And just as I expected... Yoo Joonghyuk walked back out of the smoke.
That blow must have hit hard, because she looked like she was having trouble keeping herself upright.
I thought everything was over now.
I had no doubt that the worst thing I had only imagined was about to happen.
But the words that came out of Yoo Joonghyuk's mouth were worse than anything I had imagined.
"Come with me."
Even my brother looked dumbfounded when he heard that.
Why hadn't I thought of that?
From Yoo Joonghyuk's point of view, my brother was an extremely attractive companion.
She had experienced his most important asset firsthand: strength great enough to fight her head-on.
Potential for growth?
He had shown enough talent to counterattack after seeing her move only once.
He had never told me about any skill related to that, so it had to be his own pure talent rather than a skill.
Though Yoo Joonghyuk probably didn't know that yet.
On top of that, for Yoo Joonghyuk, who had already been screwed over by Constellations more than once, his attitude that almost seemed hostile toward them would only be another plus.
Then what about me, his weakness? Would that make him less appealing?
No.
If anything, the fact that I was his weakness would make it easier for her to manipulate him.
Of course, if she pushed that too far it would become poison, but the current Yoo Joonghyuk didn't seem like someone incapable of controlling that...
To sum it up, my brother was an attractive companion to Yoo Joonghyuk: bold, strong, talented, and someone she could handle as she pleased.
And from my brother's side too, going with Yoo Joonghyuk would probably seem fairly tempting.
It would be better than suffering every time he worried I might get hurt.
Even so... if he really left my side, I wouldn't even know how to describe that feeling.
Because I wasn't used to losing something that had always been beside me.
***
"So... what you're saying is, become your companion?"
"That's right."
"Did it never occur to you how absurd it is to tell me to leave my little sister and become your companion?"
Dokja could probably survive as the devoted reader and sole reader of Ways of Survival.
I still didn't know much about Dokja's abilities, but if it was her, I believed she could use them to get through any situation.
The problem was that in the process, she'd go through hell and suffer injuries bad enough to kill her.
That's why I'm here. To take that in her place.
I had not the slightest intention of going with Yoo Joonghyuk.
"Shouldn't you at least get stronger before saying things like that?"
"What?"
"I'm asking if someone that weak can really protect his little sister."
She wasn't wrong.
What kind of people had I beaten so far?
They had all just been trash weaker than me.
Against a true powerhouse like Yoo Joonghyuk, I couldn't properly reach her at all.
"The reason you raised your stats was probably because of your lack of experience and because skills are hard to obtain in the early Scenarios."
"Get to the point."
"I won't keep insisting that you stay with me forever. If you want to go back later, I'll send you back. Of course, I'll take the item back. But come with me."
"..."
Those were remarkably generous terms.
For the Yoo Joonghyuk I knew, they were terms she would never offer.
Confidence that if I went with her, she could make sure I would never want to leave.
It seemed Yoo Joonghyuk had judged me to be someone she absolutely had to recruit.
Maybe because Lee Hyunsung followed Dokja, she had chosen me as a substitute.
I had taken turret fire and stayed fine, endured against her to some extent, and I could fight well enough.
And on top of that, I had openly shown not just dislike for the Constellations but outright disgust, so for Yoo Joonghyuk, who hated the Constellations just as much, that must have counted in my favor.
"...I'm fine. Whatever choice you make, I'll respect it."
"Choose quickly."
I had seen that expression on Kim Dokja's face once before.
In the emergency room that became the backdrop of the Illusion Prison.
I had gotten off work early, and Dokja had made an extreme attempt. I had to call an ambulance. The whole place had turned upside down.
The things Dokja said to me while she was in the emergency room receiving treatment.
That was the only trauma the Illusion Prison had shown me, and the only day she had worn that expression.
The guilt of believing she was a burden on her family.
And anger toward me, who couldn't stay with her then, or maybe wouldn't be able to stay with her in the future either.
That expression held both of those emotions.
Come to think of it, that might have been around the time Ways of Survival started serialization.
Honestly, the answer was already decided.
"Unfortunately, we're a set."
"...What a foolish siscon."
"I already made a promise with someone to 'grow stronger together.'"
After that day, I swore to always make time to be with Dokja.
And after the world fell apart, I promised we'd grow stronger together.
I had no intention of breaking the oath I made to myself or the promise I made to Dokja.
"You should know better than anyone, shouldn't you? That alone, you can't do anything. That's why you gather companions, isn't it?"
If she still hadn't realized even that, and only gathered people as stepping stones for herself, then no matter how many times she repeated it, nothing would ever change.
"Nonsense."
"No, the real nonsense is this. It's two against one now. Next time, I'll beat you."
And I'll prove it to you.
That by staying at Dokja's side, I can become stronger than you.
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