Chapter 27
***
“Why is he acting like that?”
After changing into comfortable clothes, she headed to Seo-yeol’s room. He had greeted her warmly at first, but soon seemed puzzled by the sight of Seo Do-gyeom trailing behind her at a distance.
“You don’t have to worry about it. He doesn’t even want to be family with me, so he probably hates getting too close.”
She glanced back, and whether he’d heard her or not, Seo Do-gyeom frowned as if he felt deeply wronged. His expression seemed to say, “How can you talk like that when you told me not to follow and I can’t even get close?” But she couldn’t care less.
‘I can get angry too, you know. Now, it’s not like Uncle or Yeol have to tiptoe around me anymore!’
The thought that she had someone on her side made her shoulders puff up a bit with pride. Unaware of her inner thoughts, Seo-yeol tilted his head in confusion.
Then, after glancing back and forth between the two of them, he soon stopped paying attention and suddenly grabbed her wrist. After all, what mattered to him right now wasn’t their little fight.
He knew that Seo Do-gyeom would usually go along with whatever Baek I-hae wanted, so he wasn’t particularly concerned.
“Yeah, I’ll just ignore him, so come on in, sis! I’ve already got everything ready!”
To Seo-yeol, the only thing that truly mattered was his promise with Baek I-hae. It was the first time they’d agreed to do something just the two of them!
As soon as they entered Seo-yeol’s room, he slammed the door shut with a loud bang. For a split second before it closed, she thought she caught a glimpse of Seo Do-gyeom’s flustered expression, but it didn’t matter.
Seo-yeol handed her a blanket to wrap herself in, his face beaming with excitement. He’d prepared snacks and even turned on the game—it was clear he’d been eagerly waiting for this moment.
“I heard this one’s pretty scary. Are you sure you’re okay with it? You said it’s your first time playing a horror game.”
“Yeah! Dad said the scariest thing isn’t ghosts like this, but people. Besides, it’s not real—it’s just a game.”
Well, that was true enough.
Baek I-hae nodded as she looked at the rather eerie game login screen. Even in her previous life, she hadn’t been fazed by horror stuff like this, so she had no reservations.
Watching Seo-yeol grip the mouse, she plopped down on his bed. She crossed her legs, draped the blanket over herself, and picked up the bowl of fried chicken.
‘This is paradise on earth.’
Screams echoed from the computer. Savoring the realistically immersive sound effects, Baek I-hae thoroughly enjoyed the current situation.
“S-Sis, this is pretty realistic. If it’s too scary, just say so! We can turn it off anytime. I can always play it alone later!”
She was so absorbed that she didn’t even notice how pale Seo-yeol’s face had turned as he spoke.
Of course, while she was enjoying the moment, there was another reason she wasn’t paying much attention to Seo-yeol.
[Baby Gangster, Seo Do-gyeom is pacing in front of the door, unable to leave. He sighs at Baek I-hae’s poor memory for disregarding her father’s warning to be cautious of outsider men.]
‘He’s not an outsider man—he’s your little brother. And what kind of thoughts could I possibly have with such a young kid?’
Even as she popped a piece of fried chicken into her mouth, the status window flashed noisily. Seo Do-gyeom was the type who was quiet yet somehow loud at the same time.
Should she be glad about his consistency, or not?
She could see the screen where Seo-yeol, frowning and moving the mouse diligently, was exploring an abandoned house.
Then, when something appeared, he screamed and clung to Baek I-hae’s arm.
“Sis, sis! Over there, a gh-ghost!”
“It’s a horror game, so of course there are ghosts. More importantly, if you hold my arm like this, I can’t eat my fried chicken, Yeol.”
[Baby Gangster, Seo Do-gyeom reacts very sensitively to the skinship happening inside the room.]
Skinship, my foot.
If you looked closely, Seo-yeol was clinging pathetically, tears and snot streaming down his face.
Every time a ghost popped out, he’d react so dramatically that the fried chicken she was holding even fell to the floor. When she tried to pull her arm away to pick it up, he’d cling even more noisily.
“I-hae sis! There was a dead person just now! The corpse is walking around and talking!”
“Wow, really.”
Baek I-hae gazed wistfully at the fallen fried chicken. Smelling it with her nose was one thing, but not being able to taste it with her tongue made it a truly tragic missed connection.
“Ghost! Another ghost! It has no color at all!”
“Yeah, since it’s dead, that makes sense, doesn’t it?”
Baek I-hae seriously wondered if he might even ask why ghosts don’t have a pulse at this rate.
She hadn’t forced him to study because he hated it, but this seemed like a lack of basic common sense. Of course, she kept her mouth shut, not wanting to hurt Seo-yeol’s feelings.
“Why did you suggest playing a horror game if you’re this scared? Do you watch horror movies?”
Sighing, she patted the back of Seo-yeol, who was now hugging her neck and couldn’t even look at the computer screen.
He’d grown a bit taller, but he was still smaller than her. Maybe that’s why he felt so much younger, and this kind of physical contact didn’t feel uncomfortable.
“I can handle ghost stories just fine…! When I heard about the red tissue, yellow tissue thing, Old Man Oh even said I was brave for going to the bathroom alone!”
“It’s not Old Man Oh—it’s Uncle Old Man Oh.”
And wasn’t it blue tissue, not yellow?
Baek I-hae was at a loss for where to start correcting him. She never imagined he’d jump into a horror game so fearlessly just because he wasn’t scared of a simple ghost story like that.
“If it’s too scary, I’ll turn off the game, so let go for a second? You have to move away so I can shut it down or turn off the screen.”
“No! Don’t leave me. Can’t you just hold me like this? Don’t abandon me. Okay?”
“I’m not going to abandon you over something like this, so don’t worry.”
[Seo-yeol’s trust level increases by 10.]
[Baby Gangster, Seo Do-gyeom’s obsession level increases by 5.]
‘Wait, why is his suddenly shooting up like that? His favorability barely budges, but now his obsession is already at 20!’
Seo Do-gyeom’s favorability was now at 20, and he’d already hit 20 in obsession too.
Baek I-hae’s eyes widened in shock just as the closed door burst open. It was possible because it hadn’t been locked.
There, as expected, stood Seo Do-gyeom with a blank expression.
“Bro?”
At Seo-yeol’s puzzled voice, Seo Do-gyeom’s gaze turned toward the two of them. Or rather, it was more accurate to say his gaze had been fixed squarely on them from the start.
His eyebrows twitched ever so slightly. Right now, Seo-yeol had his arms wrapped around Baek I-hae’s neck, clinging to her.
“Baek I-hae.”
“I didn’t do anything. If you’re going to spout nonsense about outsider men or whatever, I’m not listening.”
Faced with Baek I-hae’s firm glare, Seo Do-gyeom clamped his mouth shut. Then, his gaze shifted to Seo-yeol.
Without hesitation, he grabbed his little brother by the scruff of the neck, like handling a beast. Seo-yeol, as if used to it, quickly wrapped his arms around Seo Do-gyeom’s neck instead.
‘He’s pretty heavy now, but he’s lifting him with one hand.’
It wasn’t as effortless as picking up a small animal, but still, having his feet dangling in the air was impressive.
Come to think of it, despite his relatively lean build, Seo Do-gyeom seemed to have superhuman strength. She’d vaguely noticed his good athleticism when he taught her self-defense.
“You’re grown up now, so I told you to refrain from skinship with Baek I-hae.”
This was news to Baek I-hae. When had he said something like that to Seo-yeol without her knowing?
Even so, Seo-yeol flinched, clearly still scared of his brother, then slumped his shoulders and said,
“But… it was just because the ghost was so scary. I got startled, that’s all, bro.”
“Ghost?”
“Yeah. Sis and I were playing a horror game.”
To be precise, it was a horror game they hadn’t even properly started. Baek I-hae considered correcting him but exercised her right to remain silent for the sake of Seo-yeol’s fragile pride.
“That’s what happens when you do pointless stuff. Just turn it off.”
“Yeah!”
Seo-yeol’s eyes sparkled. His face clearly showed pure admiration, as if thinking his brother truly feared nothing.
Baek I-hae stared at the scene in disbelief, then moved to clean up the food spilled on the floor. It was when Seo Do-gyeom reached for the mouse that he flinched.
It was such a subtle reaction that it was hard to notice. His gaze was fixed on the game screen, where, at that exact moment, a blood-soaked ghost appeared with its mouth torn open.
[Baby Gangster, Seo Do-gyeom senses a threat to his life!]
‘They’re brothers alright…’
Feeling a life threat just from seeing a ghost on the screen.
If it weren’t for the status window, she wouldn’t have noticed at all, since his expression remained completely neutral.
Baek I-hae let out a deep sigh. It was the first time she truly empathized with the nickname “Baby Gangster.”
