Choi In-Young wanted to plant Bomber's Time Bomb on Choi Yu-Seong. However, she was concerned about Choi Mi-Na's reaction and even more concerned about catching Choi Woo-Jae’s eyes, which were already focused on her due to the past kidnapping incident. Thus, instead of carrying out her own plans, she had called on Choi Byung-Chan, her sixth younger brother and the one right below her in the hierarchy.

However, Choi Byung-Chan was not a fool either. He did not want to directly bother with Choi Yu-Seong, who had Woo-Jae’s attention at this time, and be exposed to unnecessary threats. Because of that, he had decided to call Choi Min-Seok in turn.

It had started as Choi In-Young’s plan, but had been then handed over to Choi Byung-Chan, who in turn had passed the task over to Choi Min-Seok.

Truthfully, Choi Min-Seok also did not want to encounter Yu-Seong these days, but since he was the weakest in the family now, he could not refuse Byung-Chan’s order when Byung-Chan was the only one supporting him.

Feeling desperate, Min-Seok had thrown out Kim Do-Jin’s name at Yu-Seong, but even that had not worked. Min-Seok’s mind went blank as fear instantly overwhelmed him.

‘What will happen to me if even Byung-Chan hyung-nim abandons me?’

Min-Seok suddenly remembered the gazes of contempt and disgust Yu-Seong had always gotten from their siblings. He remembered how much he himself had looked down on Yu-Seong, mocking him that he could not even lift his head up in front of his siblings. But, could he be different from Yu-Seong? No, there was no way Choi Byung-Chan would just leave Min-Seok be if he became useless.

‘I-, I know too much about Byung-Chan hyung-nim's secrets.’ 

As someone easily frightened, it never occurred to Choi Min-Seok to use Byung-Chan’s secrets against him. That was why he was running to grab Yu-Seong’s shoulder before he could get into the car.

Min-Seok shouted urgently, "Oh, come on, come with me!"

Practically at the same time, Min-Seok's view spun around in a blur. It all happened so quickly that only after his back had painfully hit the ground did he realize what happened.

"Ahhhhhhhhh-!"

"This is your final warning. Do not touch me,” Yu-Seong said as Min-Seok rolled on the ground screaming. He lightly dusted his shoulder, then added, "Next time, if you dare even touch my sleeve, I will break your arm.”

After Yu-Seong got back in the car and sat down, the car drove away from Min-Seok. Only its loud exhaust sound lingered for a while. Looking at the back of the moving car, Min-Seok raised his voice with fear and anger. "Ahh, ahhhhhh!"

So many things were falling apart.

***

Yu-Seong returned home and had dinner. Then, he took some lollipops and headed into the room. He called Ping Pong and handed the candies over to him for free before sitting on the sofa alone.

‘Bernard Yoo, Kim Do-Jin, and Choi Min-Seok.’

Things that hadn’t happened in the original story were happening one after another in less than half a year. There was nothing he could do to stop it, but as the number of variables increased, the number of things he had to prepare for also increased. Yu-Seong felt a bit of a headache.

Yu-Seong went on to open his cell phone notepad to look over the records of the original novel.

After eating the last lollipop, Ping Pong approached Yu-Seong and said, "Choi Yu-Seong, you have a worried face today."

"Well, there are a lot of things that bother me these days..." said Yu-Seong.

"I've heard that most of the worries of humans are useless and random," said Ping Pong.

"That’s not wrong," replied Yu-Seong.

Those were the kind of words that could appear in any book.

Yu-Seong took his eyes off the notepad and looked at Ping Pong. As always, Ping Pong had an arrogant expression on his cute face as he stood with his arms crossed, but for some reason, Yu-Seong could feel his worries fading.

“You may find this hard to believe, but I’ve lived a lot longer than the lifespan of a normal human. I may not have any great wisdom, because I’m from a different race and think differently, but I am open to hearing your stories. So, if you have any concerns, speak frankly. I’ll listen to the end, even if some parts of your concerns are completely useless,” offered Ping Pong. After that, he stretched both legs and fell down to the ground, crushing his cotton candy like tail.

Yu-Seong was in a strange mood when he saw Ping Pong.

'His words were pretty cool, but he is so...' 

All Yu-Seong could think of was Ping Pong’s cuteness. Of course, it wasn’t as if there were no advantages to that. Before he knew it, a smile was tugging at the ends of his lips. He said, "Thanks to you, I think I've already found the answer. Thank you, Mr. Ping Pong."

"Huh?"

“I shouldn’t cry over spilled milk and worry so much. It's not something that I can do anything about, anyway.”

This was the right thing to do.

Thinking so much was Yu-Seong’s strength but it was also his flaw. Could there be anything more ridiculous than worrying about something that hadn't even happened yet? Did he have to worry about it just in case?

'You don’t even know what's going to happen. Having no idea about what would happen even a second into the future is just… being human.' 

Of course, it was possible to make a prediction. But unless Yu-Seong was a true prophet, he couldn’t possibly know which one of the massive range of possibilities would happen until it actually happened.

He had pretended to be calm, but after his life had come under control of the novel, he had gone through so many crises that it was possible he had become a bit scared without realizing it. He had to be careful not to be overwhelmed by thoughts of ‘what-ifs.’

"I just have to do my best to prepare. And if I come across a situation where nothing works then…all I can do is try my best to escape. I don't want to die, you know?” said Yu-Seong.

Looking at Yu-Seong smiling, Ping Pong, who was sitting on the ground, changed his expression. It was hard to tell whether he was relieved or annoyed.

Ping Pong said, “Tsk… How boring.”

Then, he jumped up from his seat and opened the pink dimensional door back to his planet.

"Are you going?" asked Yu-Seong.

"I ate all the lollipops, so I don't have anything to do here. Or do you have anything to buy?"

"If I had something to buy, I would have bought it already."

"Then I will go now. Oh, and that promise, you must keep it. Choi Yu-Seong."

"What?"

"Don’t ever die. You're the first and only contractor of this body. If you really think you're going to die, then I would rather you look for me as soon as possible."

"What if I find you?" asked Yu-Seong with a smirk.

Placing his small paw on top of his chest, "Even if I may suffer a loss, I will protect you at least once. This is a promise that I, Ping Pong, the Lion Bear Clan’s great prince, make with my honor on the line, so you can believe it."

"...Great Prince of the Lion Bear clan?"

Wasn’t Ping Pong just a lion-bear-shaped doll?

“Ha! You are the first and only human to know this secret of mine. You should be honored. Bye for now."

As if unaware of Yu-Seong’s thoughts, Ping Pong toddled through the pink door. His tail puffed up as it always did when he was in a good mood.

Yu-Seong was now left alone In the room.

"Anyway, I really do feel better, thanks to him."

Ping Pong’s oath was cool in its own way, but it didn’t give Yu-Seong any big expectations. Still, it had indeed helped ease Yu-Seong’s worries quite a bit, and it made him smile. Who knew that he would have been comforted and helped by a dimensional merchant? This was another thing that had never happened in the original novel.

‘It’s a variable that happened because of the future that I’ve changed.’

In other words, the butterfly effect did not necessarily lead to a bad conclusion.

With many thoughts occupying his mind once more, Yu-Seong got up from his seat to wash up before lying down on his bed. At that moment, his cell phone rang. Choi Yu-Seong frowned as he saw the name on the screen.

‘Choi Byung-Chan?’

Min-Seok, whom he had encountered on his way home, flashed into Yu-Seong's mind.

'Aha, I was wondering why Min-Seok was so desperate. So he’s carrying out your orders.’

Choi Min-Seok and Choi Byung-Chan had a long-lasting bond even in the original novel. Yu-Seong was getting a vague idea of what was going on. It was Choi Byung-Chan, not Choi Min-Seok, who wanted to see him. But why?

In fact, Yu-Seong wanted to ignore this thought and organize his thoughts more, but this was not an easy feat.

‘Choi Byung-Chan, A-rank, level 70 Physical type hunter with a specialty in boxing. And his personality is pretty fiery.’ 

The last part was important. If put positively, Choi Byung-Chan had a fiery personality. If put negatively, he was insane. In fact, there were other words that clearly described his personality. In fact, there was another word that definitely suited him.

‘Choi Byung-Chan the villain.’

That was what Kim Do-Jin said in the novel as he cut Choi Byung-Chan's neck when the latter had attacked him without fear. Also, when Choi Mi-Na had said some siblings wouldn’t be fooled by her wild distractions, Choi Byung-Chan had been the first name that had come to Yu-Seong’s mind.

‘Yeah. With that personality of his, even if he was concerned about Mi-Na noonim, he wouldn’t be able to sit still and do nothing.’

If Choi Yu-Seong was a rascal with good qualifications but a sense of inferiority, Choi Byung-Chan was a villain…

'And a piece of trash full of pride and excessive confidence in himself.' 

Under such circumstances, why was an arrogant person like Byung-Chan bothering with someone like Yu-Seong who was still a D-rank player? There had to be some external pressure.

‘No way... Did Choi In-Young already start moving?’

When Yu-Seong remembered Choi In-Young, the woman who could be seen as the Comet Group’s true witch in the original novel, his thoughts naturally led to the second-rank dungeon and the kidnapping in the Noll's cave.

At the time, Choi Woo-Jae said that the culprit of the incident was one of Yu-Seong’s siblings. Yu-Seong had wondered who it was, but he hadn’t expected that he would be able to find the answer this way.

Was it mere coincidence that In-Young’s name came to mind after Choi Byung-Chan's unexpected move?

‘No way.’

Now, he knew with certainty who in his own family were his enemies.

He quietly pressed the call button and said, "Yes, Choi Yu-Seong speaking."

- Why did you take so long to answer?

"I was about to take a shower."

- Are you home?

One-sided statements and questions. There was no reason for Yu-Seong to lie.

"Yes."

- I sent a car. Get in.

“...” Choi Yu-Seong remained silent for a moment. It was obvious that it was a trap and that something would be waiting for him. The fact that he had to enter a tiger’s den knowing that it was dangerous didn’t make him happy.

- I think you're not aware of this, but just because I’m cautious of Mi-Na noonim doesn’t mean I can’t do anything to you. If you don't want to die, stop playing tricks and get in the car.

Choi Byung-Chan instantly read Yu-Seong's thoughts and threatened him, like the mighty villain that he was.

Yu-Seong had no choice. He muttered, "...I'll see you there."

Choi Byung-Chan ended the call.

Yu-Seong, who was about to get some rest, had to leave the house with a deep sigh. He was a little worried, but surprisingly, he didn’t feel too heavy-hearted.

'I can think of the possible scenarios and the contingency plan... And if I can't help it, it's not something that I can stop from happening.' 

Yu-Seong had never imagined that an unpredictable disaster would come from this meeting.