Episode 68

Unable to stand the atmosphere, I looked around in a hurry for something to divert Gang Jegyeong's attention and spotted the bag of cookies I'd brought earlier. Rustling it open, I held out a blueberry cookie shaped like a Mana Potion to Gang Jegyeong. It was something of an apology.

Gang Jegyeong stared blankly at the cookie with blue jam spread on it that was offered to him, then let out a humph and took it, popping it straight into his mouth. Then he opened his own bag of cookies, took out a Health Potion cookie, and thrust it into my mouth.

……Why?

Since I had a guilty conscience, I decided to quietly accept whatever he gave me. But Gang Jegyeong, for whatever reason he was fixated on, kept selecting red-jam cookies and stuffing them into my mouth. Before long, perhaps because he had exhausted all the Health Potion cookies from his own bag, he rummaged around a bit, then picked cookies from my bag and stuffed them into my mouth again.

His expression remained the same, but for some reason, the furrow between his brows seemed to have smoothed over, as if his mood had lifted slightly. Eventually, once all the red cookies were gone, he even pushed Mana Potion cookies into my mouth.

I didn't even have time to tell him to stop before cookies were being forced on me one after another, and I ended up having to eat every last one that remained. Gang Jegyeong watched me suffer as I accepted all the cookies he gave me, and only then did he seem to be in a better mood, returning to his usual self with a smirk. It was a display worrisome enough to make me wonder if a screw had come loose somewhere and was rolling around on the floor.

The cookies Gang Jegyeong had fed me boasted a soft, moist texture, but after chewing and swallowing more than a dozen of them, my mouth was parched. And I hadn't even brought any water……. Complaining inwardly, I brushed my lips to check if any crumbs remained, then smacked my lips.

Perhaps having said everything he wanted to say, Gang Jegyeong finally turned his attention to the Arena. He pointed at the screen and said something. I responded dutifully and was starting to focus on the Arena myself, looking straight ahead, when at that moment my phone vibrated in my pocket.

Was it Mun Seonhwa? Maybe she'd already been caught by her parents for not being home and was asking me to tell them she was at a friend's house. I begged Gang Jegyeong's pardon as he approached again, then took out my phone and lit up the screen.

Contrary to my expectations, it was a text from my uncle.

[I think it would be good to leave the living things in the car, but would it be alright for me to go and come back? It's not inconvenient, so if you can't stand it, just stay here]

It was asking whether it'd be alright for him to go to the parking lot alone for a moment. Though it looked like nothing significant, to me—who would fall into an extreme state of tension without a bodyguard nearby—it was an extremely important matter. Already feeling my stuffy mouth starting to go dry, I looked around my surroundings.

It was an enclosed space with many people, silent except for voices speaking into microphones…… I thought it might be okay. But that was only because my uncle had been watching over me the whole time; I couldn't guarantee whether I could endure being alone while he was gone.

Even though it was a perfectly ordinary question that anyone else would have answered with an easygoing "okay," I couldn't readily reply "sure." Rationally, I knew no one would try to kidnap me in a place like this, but fear was a separate issue. The parking lot wasn't far, so I wanted to tell him to hurry and come back, but if the anxiety of my uncle being gone triggered a panic attack…….

"Did you get a message?"

I'd been so focused on the text that I hadn't noticed Gang Jegyeong looking at me. I turned off the phone screen as naturally as I could. Gang Jegyeong's gaze brushed past the darkened display.

"You got bored of me already and started talking to someone else?"

While I was agonizing over what to say, he cracked a joke in a tone overflowing with playfulness. Thanks to that, the breath that had grown heavy with tension for a moment felt like it could flow a little easier, as if a lighter atmosphere had settled over us.

"It's an important message. I'm not distracted by someone else, so don't worry."

"Then make it so I don't worry."

"Isn't it a bodyguard's job to put people at ease, Mr. Jegyeong?"

"No, I protect the worried person so they can keep worrying."

"Oh……. That actually makes some sense."

"Is there something you're worried about too, Mr. Go Yeong?"

He suddenly struck home. Gang Jegyeong had simply asked casually, as if making conversation, but I—who actually had something to worry about—was flustered, feeling pierced by the question.

If I showed any reaction, he'd surely realize I was anxious, so I acted as nonchalant as possible and deliberately retorted in a joking manner.

"I am a bit worried that the doll I gave you might get old or break, and that you'd be upset, Mr. Jegyeong. I was thinking maybe I should buy a few more just in case……."

"Ah, come on. Stop giving me those."

The moment I brought up the doll, Gang Jegyeong shuddered. This from the guy who had been bragging about receiving a gift from Lord Haksal, and now he acts like this with me.

After scolding me as if to tell me off, he firmly declared he wouldn't accept anything else I gave him and turned his head toward the screen as if sulking. I listened to Gang Jegyeong's admonishments with one ear and out the other, but satisfied that he was still hugging the doll tightly, I took out my phone again.

Even as I exchanged words with Gang Jegyeong, I worried in between. Could I really endure alone while my uncle was away? I thought about it over and over, but the answer kept tilting to one side.

I glanced at Gang Jegyeong. He was already engrossed in the Arena, which he hadn't properly paid attention to before, his eyes darting busily this way and that.

If I had to nitpick, he was a bodyguard too, and I recalled how Gang Jegyeong had walked ahead earlier, wagging an invisible tail after leaving me with the words that there would be two bodyguards today. Maybe having Gang Jegyeong by my side would unexpectedly allow me to endure. He talked so much that I might completely forget my uncle wasn't there.

— "Player Jjin Tanker has seized the opportunity, seized it properly! He lands a stun and buys time in groggy, then goes back into the combo! His shield is gone and his HP is dropping fast!"

— "In the end, Player Kwakma couldn't endure and goes down! Player Kwakma enters respawn, and Player Jjin Tanker rushes to the nearby Churo! It's 5 points, so if he just takes that and holds out, he wins for sure!"

Reaching its climax, the stadium was a coexistence of commotion and silence.

I brought my fingers to my lips, then realizing my own movement, grabbed my phone again. I turned the screen back on and sent a text to my uncle.

[I don't think I can]

Only after receiving a reply from my uncle saying he understood did I set my phone down.

Gang Jegyeong was indeed a bodyguard, but he wasn't one of my people.

* * *

[Haksal/27]

Whoa, going into the Arena soon

*shaking*　16:21

[Jihwi/26]

It's Haksal-nim　16:21

[Musosigihesosick/4]

Oh

Haksal-nim hihi　16:21

[Haksal/27]

Hihi~~　16:21

[Gopchang (Guild Master)/27]

Oh, it's Haksal-nim

Haksal-nim, win and come back

(emoticon)

(emoticon)　16:21

[Makchang (Vice Guild Master)/29]

You know you'll be kicked from the guild if you lose lmao　16:21

[Gopchang (Guild Master)/27]

Why would you kick out our meal ticket

(emoticon)　16:22

[Haksal/27]

Will you take me back laterㅠ

(emoticon)　16:22

[Musosigihesosick/4]

Yeah, but you'll have to retake the interview lol　16:22

[Haksal/27]

Hmm

Where should I go lol　16:22

[Makchang (Vice Guild Master)/29]

Think about winning, you crazy bastard　16:22

[Tongdaechang/21]

Is Jaesugang-nim also next to you, Haksal-nim????　16:22

[Jihwi/26]

Ah right, I'm super curious too, is Sugang there?　16:22

[Gopchang (Guild Master)/27]

Can we ask what he looks like..?

(emoticon)　16:22

[Haksal/27]

If you watch the broadcast

You'll fall over in surprise hahahahaha　16:22

[Munsin/24]

Insane, I'm so curious　16:22

[Tongdaechang/21]

Insane x7

I want to pluck out Haksal-nim's eyes to see through them and give them back　16:22

[Haksal/27]

Shudder　16:22

[Tongdaechang/21]

Is Kkulppang-nim there too???　16:22

[Haksal/27]

Yeah, both of them are together

Totally pink-tinted...

Hahaha...

I wanted to talk to Kkulppang-nim for a bit

But I couldn't butt in

They were just dating;;　16:22

[Tongdaechang/21]

????,　16:22

[Makchang (Vice Guild Master)/29]

So he's going down that path too　16:22

[Haksal/27]

No; for real

The two of them were fighting and making a huge fuss

I was so awkward sitting next to them

I really want to show you in person

Especially Jaesugang-nim　16:22

If he had a tail, his tailbone would already be shattered　16:23

[Jihwi/26]

Please switch souls with me

(emoticon)　16:23

[Gopchang (Guild Master)/27]

I'll just look at his face and give him back..h

(emoticon)　16:23

[Haksal/27]

;;;　16:23

[Tongdaechang/21]

Hey, are you using that soul alone　16:23

[Haksal/27]

But he's mine thoughㅠㅠ?　16:23