Chapter 18: 18 Extra Stocked Sadist

The group finally arrived at the National Weapons Museum after switching their buses three times. Hajin stepped off the bus, feeling exhausted already. The museum loomed before them, a grand structure filled with historical artifacts that showcased the evolution of weaponry.

Inside, the museum displayed an array of artifacts, each telling a story of its own. Rather than merely highlighting the long history of humanity and Korea, the exhibits focused on the unique might of each weapon. Hajin wandered through the halls, dazed by the sheer number of items on display, lost in thought as he grappled with the internal debate about the unexpected pairing for this particular event.

“Kim Hajin-ssi? Are you okay?” Chae Nayun asked, her voice laced with concern. The worry in her tone unnerved him, stirring an odd feeling in his chest.

"Do you even know me?" Hajin thought, feeling the weight of his dual existence as the author and the character. He knew her well, but she only knew him as a classmate. It perplexed him why Chae Nayun was so receptive to him. Did she know Kim Chundong, perhaps? The thought seemed unlikely, but he couldn't shake the curiosity about her friendliness.

He tried to tilt his head away, feeling her presence too close for comfort. “Personal space, woman… Please go away…” he muttered under his breath. Scarily, it seemed that Hyon Hyung’s bluntness was starting to rub off on him.

Chae Nayun took a step back, though the concerned expression remained on her face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to crowd you. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You looked a bit lost.”

Hajin sighed, the initial irritation melting away. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about the exhibits,” he replied, gesturing vaguely at the displays around them. In the end, he settled on the conclusion that her natural friendliness was the reason for her concern. It was just Chae Nayun being her usual self—warm and approachable.

Hajin stood amidst the exhibits, a feeling of unease settling in as he observed the displays of historical weaponry. This was wrong. From the very beginning, everything had felt off, and the focal point of that feeling was Chae Nayun's unexpected transformation.

When he had seen her on the stage at the Agent Military Academy’s graduation, standing second to Kim Suho, changing her weapon to a sword far earlier than in his novel, he realized just how different this world was from the one he had meticulously crafted in his mind.

No. That was too much to grasp. Kim Hajin wasn't even the creator of this world. Despite possessing the gift of Observation and Reading, he couldn’t claim to understand everything about this reality. It felt like he was trapped in a twisted game orchestrated by a mad entity, a puppet in a reenactment of his own narrative.

Bitterness crept into his thoughts as he recalled a particular message from the co-author—the entity responsible for his predicament. It had come as a jarring jolt to his sanity.

“If you are reading this, then I am already dead… Please save the world… Sincerely, the Co-Author.”

If not for the faint glimmer of sanity he clung to, he might have seriously considered ending it all to escape this waking nightmare.

“Miss Chae Nayun… What is your motivation for picking up the sword?” he asked, glancing sideways at her as they walked through the museum. Hajin's attention flitted between her and the exhibits lining the walls.

Nayun paused, tilting her head in thought. “It’s complicated… At first, it was because of a certain someone, so that I could become stronger. So that I could protect the people I love. But then tragedy struck, and I realized I had to do it for revenge. And then more complicated stuff followed… Honestly, I kind of forget why I’m even picking up the sword.”

Hajin felt a rush of confusion. What was she talking about? “I mean… Didn’t you use a bow back at the Agent Military Academy?”

“Ah~ That…” Nayun's eyes brightened as if a lightbulb had flicked on. “Well, someone told me I suck at using the bow.” Her face twisted in wonder, a mix of embarrassment and clarity washing over her. “Sorry for the rather philosophical answer... I can be an idiot sometimes..."

“Eh?” Hajin's brows knitted together in profound bewilderment.

Someone told her she sucked at using the bow, so she changed her weapon? Hajin knew how skilled Nayun was with a bow. The thought left him baffled, and an avalanche of questions tumbled through his mind.

While Hajin was caught in a web of paranoia and self-doubt, Chae Nayun was reveling in the moment. She felt a rush of happiness being in the company of someone she liked—someone she didn’t quite hate yet. It was a fleeting moment she wished could last forever, despite knowing that nothing ever truly did. Still, she enjoyed the bewilderment that played across Hajin’s face.

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Yet beneath her happiness lingered a shadow of shame. The truth was, she had picked up the sword not to protect but because she felt powerless to protect anyone.

Unbeknownst to Nayun, Hajin was wrestling with his own turmoil. Who was it? Who had told her she was bad with the bow? The irony of the situation was almost laughable.

His imagination ran wild, conjuring scenarios. If there was a Queen of Misunderstandings, he might soon claim the title of King. It was out of character for him to get lost in unfounded assumptions; he was typically a mature individual who didn’t indulge in unverified information.

But right at that moment, a flicker of fear struck him. What if the co-author was right there with him? A voyeur, enjoying the play of his life from the front row, pulling the strings while he danced to an unseen tune.

At first, his sense of powerlessness had forced him to comply with the entity responsible for his current plight. He had no choice but to stick to the main story to survive and, hopefully, find a way back home. But what if—what if this was all just a sick game? What if someone was deriving entertainment from his struggles?

“Hajin-ssi? Are you alright?” Chae Nayun’s voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he blinked in surprise as he found himself standing in the middle of a pathway, nearly bumping into a small child.

“I… I dozed off. I’m sorry, kid…” He helped the little boy to his feet, scanning the area for the child’s parents. “Where is your dad? Or mom?” he gently inquired.

“I… I…” The boy’s eyes glistened with the threat of tears. Hajin quickly shifted tactics.

“Hey, what’s that?” He pointed to a display, hoping to distract the child.

“Huh?” The boy looked where Hajin was pointing.

In a simple exhibit stood a sword of peculiar shape, branches extending from its main body.

“That is the famous Seven-Branched Sword. The king of Baekje, the ruler of the most powerful kingdom before Korea’s unification, bestowed this iron sword upon the Japanese emperor. It’s a historical weapon found only in the final room of the Wiryeseong Dungeon.” Hajin narrated, his voice rich with enthusiasm and knowledge, impressing those nearby.

Chae Nayun smiled at the sight, her heart warming. These were glimpses of the real Hajin—the intelligent, passionate individual she had come to admire.

***

“Oh, my— what the fu—”

Ouch. Just ouch. What kind of rotten luck was this?

“Stop kicking the back of my calf, woman!”

I cried pitifully to her, but she was hearing none of it. Yoo Yeonha continued to attack me. Of all people, why should I pair with her? This was just the worst! I had to find Nayun or Suho… If the crisis occurred just like in the novel, then my life might be in danger. I was defenseless! I mean, I had become stronger, but I wasn’t confident enough to live and tell the tale if a Djinn set its eyes upon me. I’d be dead!

And then again, I might even die much earlier than I imagined.

“Oi~! Stop stomping on my foot! Are you a sadist!?”

Yoo Yeonha became more and more aggressive in her attacks until finally, she managed to blow off all her steam. “You bastard! I cannot give you my stock! I will just pay you with money!”

"What? Stockings? I am not a pervert..."

"You!? It is the stocks! Even 1%, I will not give it to you!"

“So stingy. Why?” I ridiculously tried fighting back. Definitely, the weakness of a Mountain Tyrant should be enough to buy me Essence of the Strait Guild’s stocks. “Are you cheating on me?” I provoked her sensually.

“You crazy bastard! Cheating on you? This is sexual harassment!”

"Do you know what is sexual harassment? Stepping on my foot—your foot fetish is getting too out of hand."

I definitely wasn’t saying it that way on purpose, so that gossipers and onlookers would watch in interest at what appeared to be a lover’s spat. Wait… I could capitalize on it.

“D-darling… You are making a commotion…” Strangely enough, I stuttered, but that was enough to elicit a weak male persona.

Yeonha was speechless but exploded after a microsecond of internal turmoil. “How shameless can you get? I cannot give you any of my stocks because I am just starting with the Guild. I don’t want to ruin myself. I cannot also buy the stocks of others. The Guild needs its investors while our worth is still going on an upward trend… I don’t really see you as a reliable investor…”

I had to admit, Yeonha’s attitude was very uncharacteristic of her compared to how I remembered the Yoo Yeonha of The Novel’s Extra. It seemed this change would only continue to get worse. Well, her opportunistic but dignified principles were still the same, but since when did she become so violent?

Speaking of getting worse, Kim Suho’s change in mentality, while not obvious, was also starting to bother me. As a self-proclaimed best friend of the main cast, I should be able to tell that much. I felt guilty. Perhaps my presence was ruining them?

“Sigh…” My sigh was for a different reason, but Yeonha immediately reacted to it.

“I am a person with dignity, so I won’t cheat you. Your information is at least worth billions of won, so I will pay you. If you choose to make a dissertation out of it and apply for intellectual property, then you can make more money. Sucks to be you. But thanks to you, the Guild has one more passive income…”

I was not one second regretful for selling her that information. I wasn’t smart enough to write a dissertation. Heck, I wasn’t Kim Hajin, who had the benefit of seeing through the essence of the world.

“Fine,” I told her. “I am going to use that money to buy your Guild’s stock though…”

Yeonha frowned at my words. “Don’t you dare interfere with my Guild’s operations… And no one is going to be willing to sell, so give up...”

“Nah,” I immediately cut her off. “I won’t use my voting rights whether I make it big in your Guild or not as an investor. Just think of me as a secret investor or something…”

— BOOM!

All too abruptly, a thunderous sound reverberated around us. Everyone grew deadly silent. Whatever that was, it triggered the alarms from the museum. The color red flickered as the alarm blared noisily, and reinforced mechanical gates shut off in partitions within the museum.

“Oh bonkers,” I muttered. It was already happening. “Uuh… Milady, Yoo Yeonha… Can you please protect me?”