Absolute Dweller-Chapter 187

"Ah."

Waking from her dream, Kim Hye-na instantly recalled the series of drunken disasters she had caused last night.

Leaning on Kim Myeong-hwan’s shoulder under the pretense of being tipsy.Clinging to him, whining that he should stay with her.Ending up piggybacked all the way to his house.And finally, meeting his mother—while still completely wasted.

Realizing how completely ruined her first impression was, Kim Hye-na buried her face into the pillow in pure agony.

"Aaaarrghhh!"

If only she had forgotten everything, it might have been a small mercy.

But unfortunately, no matter how much she drank, she always remembered everything in painstaking detail.

She knew that Kim Myeong-hwan lived with his mother.

But she had assumed that his mom wouldn’t be home that night.

I mean, seriously—

Who would expect their mom to be there when a guy brings a drunk girl home?

"Of all the ways to meet my future mother-in-law..."

Thinking about how utterly trashed her image must be, she let out a deep sigh.

"Haaa..."

There was only one person to blame—

Her drunk self.

"If I drink again, I swear I’ll change my last name."

It wasn’t like she had always been a heavy drinker.

Back then, just three shots of soju would knock her out cold.

But ever since her level had increased, things had changed.

Now, even if she practically funneled an entire bottle of soju straight into her stomach, she wouldn’t pass out.

She’d just get a little tipsy, feel good, and have fun.

Not only that—she never got hangovers.

In a way, she had unlocked the true joy of drinking.

"You idiot. You absolute moron..."

Still half-buried in her blankets, she kicked her legs in frustration before instinctively reaching into her inventory and pulling out her phone.

Although the community forums had only recently been established, their influence had grown massively—

Because they were now the only way to access the internet.

Naturally, she clicked into the ‘Kim Ga-young Gallery’, where she immediately noticed a new post—‘Today’s Ga-young Noona’.

"Whoa, jackpot."

It was a fresh set of photos of Kim Ga-young.

From the looks of it, she had been snapped while jogging, dressed in leggings and a casual sports tee.

"Seriously, who is this person?"

Unlike the usual ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) stalker shots taken from afar, this uploader was the only one who managed to get clear, direct photos.

Since the quality was always so high, they were worshipped by the forum users.

Leaving a quick comment, she scrolled through more posts until—

Clack.

The door opened.

"If you're awake, come out. Time to eat."

"...Yes, senpai."

Still wearing his oversized training clothes, Kim Hye-na hesitantly stepped out, glancing around nervously.

Scanning for any signs of his mother, she cautiously made her way to the dining table.

"Umm... Where’s your mom?"

"She stepped out for a bit."

"Oh, phew..."

Feeling a wave of relief, she turned her attention to the breakfast spread on the table.

"Whoa. Did you make all this?"

"Of course not. My mom did. She even made bean sprout soup for you since you looked super drunk."

"Oh... Your mom did...?"

Her shoulders slumped, guilt washing over her.

She carefully scooped up a spoonful of the bean sprout soup and took a sip.

"Mmm—! It’s delicious!"

It was way tastier than she expected.

"Yeah?"

"Totally! The seasoning is perfect, it's refreshing, and there’s this deep umami flavor!"

"Glad you like it."

"Hehe. Thanks for the meal! Oh, right—Senpai, didn’t you say you had a dungeon raid today?"

"Yeah."

As the meal continued, they chatted casually, but Kim Hye-na’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.

Why did he bring her home, knowing his mom was there?Did he just see her as a little sister?That... would be kind of disappointing.

She wanted to ask what he thought of her, but she was too afraid to hear the answer.

If she messed up, their current relationship might crumble.

‘Maybe... this is fine as it is.’

Being his close little sister figure wasn’t so bad.

She could stay over at his place.

Wear his clothes.

Sleep in his bed.

Aside from his actual family, wasn’t she the closest person to him?

That was... enough.

Confessing?

Impossible.

She hadn’t even managed to do it while drunk.

There was no way she could pull it off sober.

Just as she was chewing on that thought—

"Hye-na."

Until now, Kim Myeong-hwan had been responding mechanically to her chatter.

But this time, he looked directly into her eyes.

It was a completely random moment, but—

Somehow, she felt like he was about to confess.

And then—

Beep, beep, beep— Ding-dong!

The front door lock chimed, signaling someone was entering.

Kim Hye-na immediately jumped up, preparing to greet his mother.

But the person who walked in wasn’t his mom.

Instead—

A woman who bore a slight resemblance to him, yet looked far more refined.

"Hello."

"Ah, a-aah?!"

Kim Ga-young had arrived.

***

"N-Nice to meet you! My name is Kim Hye-na!"

"Nice to meet you too. I’m Kim Ga-young, Myeong-hwan’s older sister."

Kim Ga-young studied Hye-na with interest.

It was the first time her younger brother had ever brought a girl home.

"Y-Yes! Of course, I know you! I’m a fan, unnie!"

"...A fan?"

"Yes! Can we take a picture together? Please?"

The unexpected turn of events caught Ga-young off guard, but she awkwardly nodded and posed for a friendly photo with Hye-na.

"Hehe, thank you so much!"

Seeing Hye-na grinning at her phone, genuinely thrilled, Ga-young couldn’t help but ask.

"I’m curious—how did you become my fan? We’ve never even met before."

It was a reasonable question.

She wasn’t a celebrity or an influencer, so the idea of having fans was strange to her.

Sure, there were people she had saved, and maybe some stories had spread—but not enough to make someone she’d never met an actual fan.

There had to be something else.

"I found you through Kim Ga-young Gallery! Among all the vassals, you’re my number one pick!"

"...?"

"Oh, wait. You don’t know? You’re super popular these days..."

Hye-na looked genuinely baffled by Ga-young’s lack of awareness.

"Hold on."

She quickly navigated her phone, opened a certain app, and shoved the screen toward Ga-young.

"Look! Here!"

On the screen was a real-time community forum, with a large header at the top:

[Kim Ga-young Gallery]

The top post immediately caught Ga-young’s eye.

[Big News! A Picture with Ga-young Unnie!]

The timestamp showed it was posted just seconds ago.

When she clicked on it—

There it was.

A freshly uploaded photo of herself and Hye-na.

"...Hehe."

Hye-na laughed sheepishly, scratching her cheek.

"Sorry, but... can I borrow your phone for a second?"

"Of course!"

Ga-young, who hadn’t even known such a community existed, took the phone and browsed through the gallery.

[Today’s Ga-young Noona]

She’s absolutely stunning.

She clicked the post—and was met with a giant photo of herself.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

It was taken that morning, while she was out jogging.

"...So this was what they meant by ‘promotional material’?"

She had assumed that when the administration sent people to take photos, it was for official documents or reports.

Turns out, they were just posting them here.

The comment section was even worse.

-HN7737: Unnie, you’re so pretty!

(...The same username that posted the picture with her earlier—Hye-na.)

-ddong: Seriously, Ha Dong-gun should be paying triple the taxes.

┗ EnvyMaster: Only triple? Make it ten times.

┗ bee1203: What taxes? We don’t even have taxes anymore. Just make him pay 10x the marketplace fee.

Beyond just pictures, the gallery was filled with posts about her.

Survivors sharing their experiences of being rescued by her.Clips of her using Light Arrows to hunt monsters.Discussions about her combat style, personality, and even her fashion choices.

And it was all being updated in real-time.

"Wait... Are there pages like this for other people too?"

"Of course!"

The galleries existed for all major vassals—

Ha Dong-gun, Moon Byung-ho, Kim Da-jeong, Oh Won-joo, Seo Ye-jin, and more.

Their stories, actions, and accomplishments were constantly being shared and discussed.

It was a full-blown vassal fan club network.

The mastermind behind it?

Kim Da-bin.

She had orchestrated this as a “Hero Creation Project”—

To ease public fears and increase the vassals' recognition and influence.

And it worked.

Plenty of volunteers had come forward, eager to become vassals themselves.

Some even successfully joined.

"I had no idea this existed..."

Ga-young was now an unintentional influencer.

"No wonder people have been recognizing me lately."

No one had approached her directly yet, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time before people started asking for pictures on the street.

Seeing that some posts had over a thousand views, she realized—

This community was much bigger than she thought.

"...This is going to be a pain."

Still, it wasn’t entirely bad.

Having actual fans—people who admired and appreciated her work—

Didn’t feel so bad.

Breakfast with a Fan

"I haven’t eaten yet. Mind if I join you?"

"Of course!"

Since the side dishes were already set, she just had to grab a bowl of rice and soup.

Sitting at the table, she smiled playfully at Hye-na.

"So, how did you two meet?"

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"Ah, well... We met back when we were hunting goblins. It was a dangerous situation, but senpai saved me. He’s... my lifesaver."

"Oh my. So you fell for him at first sight?"

"W-What?!"

"I mean, you’re adorable and pretty, so I was wondering why you’d pick my brother. But if it’s because he saved your life... That makes sense."

Hye-na turned beet red, fumbling for words.

"T-That’s not it! We’re not like that...!"

Oh, sure.

"So it’s just ‘not yet,’ huh?"

"N-No, that’s not—!"

Both of them were blushing furiously.

Myeong-hwan, who had been red-faced this whole time, stayed completely silent.

"Oh, really? Then what exactly is your relationship?"

"Well... I’m the leader of his hunting team."

"A team leader? Then why do you call him ‘senpai’?"

"I just... got used to it. That’s what I called him when we first met."

She said they weren’t dating—but looking at them, it was only a matter of time.

So—

"I’ll leave my brother in your hands, Team Leader."

"Y-Y-Yes! Of course!"

If things kept progressing, they’d eventually get married, right?

Probably.

As his older sister, she knew his personality well.

He wasn’t the type to bring a girl home lightly.

"If he brought her here, it means he’s serious."

A small smile formed on her lips.

"If they do get married..."

But then—

She suddenly felt a pang in her heart.

Her excitement faded, replaced by a hollow ache.

Because unlike her brother’s future wedding—

Her own wedding... would be different.

Even though wedding venues were now back in operation, and people were getting married—

Her wedding would have a gaping absence.

"...Dad."

She pictured the last time she saw him, back at Busan Station.

Back then, just thinking of him made her cry.

But now...

Her chest ached, but no tears fell.

Had time dulled the pain?

She used to cry every night.

But lately, she had been so busy—so caught up in surviving—

That she barely had time to think about him.

It had been so long since she even let herself remember him.

And that realization hurt the most.

"...I miss you."

For the first time in a long while, she longed to hear her father’s voice.