Chapter 187. An Unexpected Change of Pace (2) (2/2)

Phi Sora shot her eyes open and shouted defiantly.

“Miss Phi Sora.”

Seol Jihu furrowed his brows.

“Do you not want to talk to me?”

“You call this talking? It’s a one-sided command!”

“What—”

“I was going to hold it in, but I just can’t bear to hear it anymore.”

Pew! Phi Sora spat out a sigh before starting her engine.

“Those kids, they should be thankful all they had to do was walk on eggshells. Well, since you’re on their side, I’m sure you want to go ‘ooh~ my babies~’. But will you be able to act the same way if they’re complete strangers? I mean, have you ever thought about the matter from my perspective?”

The reason Seol Jihu wasn’t saying anything back…

[You’re praising her unceasingly. But can you say the same if you hadn’t known her?]

…was because of what Jang Maldong had said to him in the past.

“You said you understand why I acted that way? No, not at all. You don’t know a thing.”

Seol Jihu reined in his own temper and crossed his arms.

“Then what’s the reason?”

“Reasonsss. There are too many to count.”

Phi Sora took a short breath, crossed her arms just like Seol Jihu, then tilted her chin up arrogantly.

“First of all, I didn’t like the fact that they were brought in by that Bok bastard.”

“The girl could have come alone, but she insisted on bringing her younger brother along and made us use twice the necessary amount of contribution points.”

“And, becoming a Level 2 in just three months? Aigooo~ With how much Bok Jungsik invested in her as White Rose’s future, only a retard wouldn’t reach Level 2 within that time.”

“And when I merely commented about how we were putting too much of our resources into just one person, he forced an Archer who was under my care into leaving the guild. Don’t you think that’s unfair? Discord inside the guild? That’s not even funny.”

Phi Sora spat out one word after the other as though she had been waiting for this moment, and Seol Jihu only smacked his lips on the side.

He was familiar with how much of a mess White Rose was in. From what Phi Sora was saying, it seemed Bok Jungsik used Yi Seol-Ah to pressure Phi Sora and her group, which was the reason Phi Sora didn’t like Yi Seol-Ah.

“I can’t really say those are Seol-Ah’s faults.”

“See, I knew you would say that. Listen here. I’m not trying to say who’s right and who’s wrong. I’m just explaining why I don’t like her.”

She continued immediately.

“Also, you think that is it?”

The fuming Phi Sora collected her breath for a bit, then opened her mouth again.

“I wouldn’t have cared if she was some flawless goddess, but she’s not. And I criticized her for her flaws. I mean, she should have at least tried to act like she was putting in some effort. She cries every time she receives even a little bit of criticism, then ends up showing people her forced fake smiles.”

“You’re saying Seol-Ah didn’t put in any effort?”

“I’m sure she thinks she did, but in my eyes? No way in hell. You should know by now. That Paradise isn’t such an easygoing place.”

Phi Sora stared at Seol Jihu fixedly.

“Want me to tell you something funny?”

The corner of her mouth twisted up.

“Do you remember the transfer negotiation? That Bok bastard was actually willing to let those siblings transfer if you were willing to cough up a few items from the Banquet.”

“That’s not what I heard.”

“One of my kids heard it directly from the man’s mouth. And that bastard, he’s an expert in changing his tune. I’m sure he would have said something like repaying his debts to Grandpa or hoping you’d take care of his precious Seol-Ah and Sungjin to try to rope you into joining his pitfall expedition.”

Seol Jihu’s face stiffened.

“It’s understandable. It’s not like those siblings didn’t have any allies at White Rose. But consoling and comforting them once or twice is all I can really take. Every time something comes up, that girl would say it was like this in the Tutorial~, it was like this in the Neutral Zone~, Seol Orabeo-nim this~, Seol Orabeo-nim that, like geez, do they think they’re on a picnic?”

Phi Sora spat on the ground, then roughly slicked her hair back.

“Alright, fine, let’s forget about all this for a moment. So, did I beat them or something? Or did I curse them out by calling them a son of a bitch and a motherfucker?”

“….”

“I complied with Bok Jungsik bringing them in because that was the guild’s rule, but as the person who gave up her own growth and invested the most amount of contribution points, and as a senior member of the guild, is it such a damning, get-on-my-knees-and-atone kind of sin to chastise them to work harder?”

There was a saying, what goes around, comes around.

Assuming Phi Sora was telling the truth, how would the Golden Commandment have treated the siblings if Seol Jihu was in Phi Sora’s shoes?

What if they constantly said, ‘Sang-Ah Unni this~ Sangmin Oppa that~’ or ‘At White Rose~’?

Seol Jihu closed his eyes.

“Alright, now’s the time you wave your sympathy stick. Oh, they had it rough growing up. Be nice~”

“….”

“What? You think I’m going too far? My life has been just as bad as theirs, if not worse. I’ll stay up all night and tell you all about it. Will you have some sympathy for me then?”

Phi Sora laughed as if she found what she was saying to be funny.

“Well, there’s no reason to talk about the past. I’m already having it hard as it is. My guild’s gone, I’m dirt poor, I’m alone without a place to go, I almost died in the last war.”

However, Phi Sora never once asked for any sympathy.

She persevered on her own.

Because she accepted the fact that she arrived here because of her own choices and also the mistakes she made in the past.

It was the same when it came to Yi Seol-Ah. She was saying she had no reason to apologize because Yi Seol-Ah had the wrong attitude.

“Not to mention, my close friend ended up committing suicide recently and I had to go to her funeral—”

In the next moment, Phi Sora hurriedly closed her mouth, and Seol Jihu turned his head toward her.

“Come again?”

Phi Sora didn’t say anything and averted her gaze. Her eyes slightly reddened as she stared at the wall. She shut her eyes, and her throat drew a huge gulp.

After a few minutes of silence…

“…Anyways.”

Phi Sora sniffled a bit, then opened her eyes feebly.

“Why can’t I just apologize…? Please don’t talk like that.”

Her voice was trembling as well.

“That’s how I lived, not only there, but here too.”

It wasn’t as if she had an inferiority complex or a desire to get stronger to fight unfairness.

Just like Seol Jihu, Phi Sora had decided on her own way of living in Paradise. And with this rule, she couldn’t understand Yi Seol-Ah’s attitude.

“That’s how I lived…!”

After muttering begrudgingly, she grabbed the soju bottle and chugged it down.

‘A way of living….’

Seol Jihu became speechless and stared at the red-faced Phi Sora.

If it had been the old days, he might have called Phi Sora crazy, calling her explanations bullshit before stomping out.

But after experiencing different things in Paradise, Seol Jihu’s way of thinking had changed significantly compared to that of the past.

There was something called the underdog effect. It referred to the phenomenon, in which people supported the party they believed to be more disadvantaged and weak.

But this didn’t mean that the strong were always evil and that the weak were always kind.

That was what he learned at the Banquet.

And thinking about it this way, he got curious.

Why did Bok Jungsik, who supposedly adored the Yi siblings so much, suddenly use them as throwaways? Could he be sure that the Yi siblings weren’t at any fault?

As it was difficult to decide who was right or wrong, the matter suddenly felt a lot more complicated.

Nibbling on his lower lip, Seol Jihu finally grabbed his soju bottle. Then, he chugged it down just like Phi Sora.

**

Sunlight knocked on his eyes. Seol Jihu’s eyebrows wiggled as he slowly opened his eyes and groaned.

Before he could even think what the hell happened, an intense hangover swept through his head.

He rolled around in agony for a long time before opening his eyes again when the dizziness subsided. Through his blurry vision, he could see a long, pillow-like thing.

He remembered a silent drinking competition breaking out at the end of the night, but his memories stopped after a certain point.

“Keu….”

Another headache swept over him, making him hug his pillow reflexively.

‘Whatever.’

He burrowed his face deep into the pillow, thinking to himself, ‘Let’s just sleep.’

Perhaps because of his body temperature, the pillow was strangely warm and soft. Just as he let out a pleased moan in response to the squishy touch…

“Ah….”

A sleep-drunk, but clearly annoyed voice flowed into his ears.

“This guy’s at it again….”

Seol Jihu’s eyes shot open.