ETVC C18

Chapter 18

‘I’m hungry. When will the delivery arrive?’

To conserve even the slightest bit of energy, I didn’t move at all and focused on a TV program introducing popular restaurants.

Beep, beep.

The front door opened, and Baek Soohyuk came in. A wave of regret hit me, thinking I should have quietly waited in my room until the food arrived. He glanced at me, then immediately opened the refrigerator.

‘Is he checking if I’ve eaten? I haven’t, you bastard.’

Well, it made sense. Someone who hadn’t eaten a meal at home suddenly rummaging through the fridge and cooking with things he bought—if it were me, I’d be both amazed and bewildered.

Ding-dong.

The bell rang perfectly on time.

• Delivery.

Baek Soohyuk glanced between me and the intercom, sighed, and slammed the fridge door shut.

‘Could it be he also wanted to eat but didn’t want to eat at the same table? I’m fine eating in my room.’

Still, he wasn’t dumb enough to tell me to eat at the table. I didn’t want to imagine what rude words a considerate remark might turn into.

‘Silence is golden. Yeah.’

Moving as quietly as possible while minimizing footsteps, I quickly went to the front door and took the food. The delivery person handed over the food swiftly and disappeared. Somewhere on my shoulder, the cat—Meow—sniffed the fish smell and excitedly tapped my back with its tail.

“Is it okay for you to follow me out here like this?”

Meow ignored my question and rummaged through the bag containing the food.

‘Looks like Baek Soohyuk already went into his room. Can I really mend my relationship with him? Maybe I should have given him the letter sooner.’

My worries were cut short by my growling stomach.

‘Besides the letter, there has to be some way to convey I’m not thinking badly of you.’

After checking that the fish wasn’t salted, I put some fish in a bowl in front of Meow. Afterwards, I ate so busily that when I finished and looked at the clock, only 15 minutes had passed.

“I’m full.”

I cleaned up after eating, neatly arranged the food Baek Soohyuk bought, and knocked on the door.

‘No one dislikes people who prepare food, right? Of course, he bought all the food.’

Despite my big-hearted knock, there was no response from inside. Rather than calling out loud, I knocked again a few times.

“What?”

Finally, Baek Soohyuk answered gruffly, towel wrapped on his head, and shirtless. His perfectly sculpted muscles approached me without warning, and I closed my eyes involuntarily.

‘He’s confident about his body, but is it really okay to walk around like this in front of others?’

Formal brother or not, we weren’t really siblings. Moreover, he had declared he would treat me like a stranger. Shouldn’t he stop this? I was deep in thought.

“Why call me but say nothing?”

Annoyance tinted his voice. I snapped out of it and gestured toward the kitchen.

“What?”

Following my gesture, Baek Soohyuk came out, then abruptly walked into my room. I thought he glanced back at the dining table, but I suspected I’d be unable to keep my mouth shut if I stayed any longer.

‘What if he hates the food I prepared and throws it all away?’

Despite the brief worry, I heard the sound of chopsticks touching bowls from outside.

‘Well, Baek Soohyuk isn’t as unpleasant as Baek Woojin.’

He was strict but sensible. Feeling more at ease than before, I lay on the bed and petted Meow. The cat purred atop my stomach.

‘This is how we become closer, step by step.’

But that optimism shattered the moment I opened the status window.

[System Quest: “Create my own harmonious guild!” completed.]

[Reward: 1,000 Diamonds.]

So far, so good.

[(New!) Special Quest: Survive the 1st Guild War Event!]

The next status window was quite troublesome.

[Difficulty: C
Clear Condition: Participate in the 1st Guild War event starting tomorrow and protect your guild.
Time Limit: Until the 1st Guild War event ends.
Success Reward: 5,000 Diamonds, Item Draw Ticket.
Failure Penalty: Death.]

I stared resentfully at the status window until I fell asleep.

At 10 AM the next day, a notification arrived for the event foreshadowed by the quest.

1st place guild rewards:

1. Legendary Item (L)

2. Guild’s Blessing: Guild members gain 10% magic power increase.

• Members joined in multiple guilds may only participate in war with one guild.

• If the guild master accepts, members will receive automatic participation prompts. Members can choose one guild and are not obligated if no conflicts occur.]

[Do you want to participate in the 1st Guild War as the Guild Master of “Chronos”?]

Unlike other guild masters, I had no choice. I grabbed my hair in frustration and moved my hand to press ‘Yes.’

‘Our guild has no guidelines or contract obligations.’

That was one reason I had so readily accepted Kang Gwonhoo.

‘Guild War will happen within our guild. Even if someone from our guild participates in an important event later, they’ll end up back with our guild.’

The upcoming faction selection is done by guild units, and those joined to multiple guilds must choose one.

‘Unless Kang Gwonhoo lost his mind, he won’t choose our guild.’

My trembling finger hovered over ‘Yes’ but pulled away. The status window gave no time to reconsider and displayed ‘Accepted.’

‘Whether it’s the system or some other entity issuing this special quest, I’d better follow it and watch the situation.’

While Kang Gwonhoo thinks something of me, it seems unlikely I’d be left to die by others, and Ryu Jisoo will stay by my side as long as she’s grateful for the potions.

As the saying goes, speak of the devil, Ryu Jisoo called.

“Hello?”

• Um… I just got the quest window. Should I join here? It says the guild master has joined.

I guess the members have been contacted now.

“If you don’t want to fight, you don’t have to join. I have my reasons for joining.”

The phrasing sounded dodgy. I knew Ryu Jisoo, who’s thankful to me, wouldn’t say “I don’t want to!”

‘We’re trying to live together, so please let it pass this once. Ryu Jisoo will become one of the strongest characters.’

• I’m okay with it. You’re not trying to do anything bad, are you?

“We won’t attack other guilds first. But if you join, we’ll have to stick together for a while.”

• Okay.

The call ended, and the message “Guild member accepted event participation” appeared. Two more notifications rang successively.

‘Wait, two more? So Kang Gwonhoo also joined?’

The impossible happened.

[All guild members have joined the quest.]