Breathing Life into Real Dolls

The D-Mart simultaneous raid that occurred at dawn was safely concluded.

As it turned out, Shin Jiha had invaded from the rooftop, killing enemies from above and working her way down.

Then, after cleaning up the 2nd and 3rd floors, she ran into me, mistook me for a powerful individual aligned with Choi Cheolnam, and attacked me.

Although she was eventually subdued by Serena, it was a truly breathtaking moment when I thought back on it.

Upon learning the full story of the incident, Shin Jiha came to apologize, crying profusely.

“Mr. Kim Doha…!”

“Ah, Ms. Shin Jiha? I heard about it from Jihun.”

Surprisingly, I now refer to Baek Jihun, the genius pro gamer and South Korea’s national first-born son, as ‘Jihun.’

“I… I’m really sorry…! Not only did you defeat Choi Cheolnam, but you also heroically challenged 20 powered individuals with just two people to rescue the people in the shelter. And I attacked you without knowing any of that…!”

“….”

It sounded somewhat sarcastic as she had praised me too much. Was I becoming cynical?

However, she seemed to be entirely sincere.

Her long, purple hair swayed noticeably as she repeatedly bowed her tear-streaked face.

Her hair color wasn’t a result of dyeing; it had changed abruptly after her power awakened. It was a deep purple, emanating a sort of mystical aura.

“I should’ve known that someone like me could never harm you, Mr. Doha, but if an accident had happened…! I apologize over and over again, Mr. Doha. I’m really sorry…!!”

“Ah, ah. It’s okay. Please, stop crying.”

As I accepted her apology, Shin Jiha carefully raised her head.

Only now, looking at her properly, did I see that her face was as pretty as Baek Seona’s. If Baek Seona was pretty in an innocent way, then she gave off a cute vibe?

She had a very small face, and her thin, well-defined features were closely set, making her look like a doll. Ah, I didn’t mean a Real Doll.

Shin Jiha opened her doll-like mouth, gauging my reaction.

“Um, is there… something I could help with? Please feel free to tell me anything… It doesn’t have to be right now, anytime…”

“Oh, well… could you show me your Status Window? I’m curious about your ability. I heard it’s D-Class.”

“Ah, yes. It’s nothing compared to Ms. Rena… Status Window.”

She opened her Status Window and made a few touches in the air.

Then a message appeared in front of me.

['Shin Jiha' has shared her Status Window.]

[Accept / Reject]

I immediately touched Accept.

Ding!

[Status Window]

Name: Shin Jiha

Age: 20

Height: 161cm

Weight: 42kg

Strength: D+

Endurance: E-

Stamina: E

Mana: D+

Overall Ability Evaluation: D-

Traits: [Agile Movements: E+]

Special Ability: [Shadow Walking: D]

[Agile Movements]

Trait Evaluation: E+

With a flexible and light body and excellent motor skills, you can show more agile movements than usual in emergencies. Your Strength and Stamina receive modified ability points, increasing your attack speed and movement speed.

※ The modified ability points obtained through Traits are not reflected numerically in the Status Window.

[Shadow Walking]

Trait Evaluation: D

You can hide in shadows (spaces relatively darker than their surroundings). While using Shadow Walking, all traces of the user disappear to the limit, and the user blends into the shadows, becoming invisible. The darker the shadow with no light, the stronger the effect of Shadow Walking.

“Wow… Jiha, your ability is incredible, isn’t it?”

“Ah, no…”

“Yes, it is. You would be invincible at night.”

Saying that felt somewhat inappropriate.

“Well, I was caught by Ms. Rena right away…”

“Oh.”

Shin Jiha bowed her head, fiddling with her fingers. She looked downcast.

I ended up sounding thoughtless.

“Don’t worry about Rena. She’s exceptionally strong, so there’s no need to feel down about losing.”

“Um, okay, okay…”

“…”

It was awkward.

There wasn’t anything else to say. Shin Jiha didn’t seem very sociable either.

I reached out my hand as if to shake hers.

“We’ll be living in the same shelter from now on. Nice to meet you, Jiha.”

“Oh, yes! Nice to meet you too, Kim Doha!”

Shin Jiha politely accepted my right hand with both of hers.

“Just call me Doha comfortably. Or Doha oppa.”

“Oh… then, Doha…”

I nodded my head.

She didn’t seem to dislike me, but she was really shy.

Was that why she awakened an ability related to shadows?

Well… there would be more opportunities to get closer in the future.

“Hey, Jihun.”

It’s been 7 days since I cleared out the ability users who ruled the mart.

Seven days ago, after greeting Baek Jihun, he was the one who suggested we get along as brothers.

Naturally, I nodded, and ever since, whenever I met Jihun, I would wave my hand like this.

‘Hey, Jihun.’

What a nice ring to it!

I, who was forever stuck in the diamond tier (rank tier in Legend Arena), became the older brother of the world’s top genius pro gamer!

Although it was regrettable that our current situation didn’t allow for gaming.

“Ah, hyung-nim! Have you arrived?”

Jihun greeted me with a bright smile, waving his hand.

Look at that handsome face. If you were wondering why Baek Jihun had so many female fans, just look at his face. His face was logic itself.

Even though he might find my greetings annoying, Jihun always responded with a pure smile. He was truly a good guy!

“How’s cleaning, not too tough?”

“Eh, I’m just playing around compared to you risking your life to kill zombies. How can cleaning be tough?”

Baek Jihun answered with a grin, despite sweating profusely.

He looked pretty strained.

Seven days ago, the mart became a mess due to the large fire on the first floor and the sprinklers.

So, as soon as morning came, the shelter’s residents started cleaning first, starting from the 5th floor under the guidance of Baek Seona.

The mart was quickly tidied up thanks to nearly 1000 people working hard.

And today, on the 7th day, the cleaning of the first floor was almost finished.

“I’ve been watching you, and you’re always the first out and the last one cleaning. Take a break, Jihun. You’ll collapse.”

“Hahaha. If my stamina is so weak that I’d collapse from this, I’d better endure more to build it up! I’m okay, hyung-nim.”

“If you insist… If you do collapse, I’ll take care of you. But in exchange, you have to tell me about how you won the World Championship while lying down.”

“Huh? Puhahahaha! Hyung-nim, really……!”

While I was laughing and chatting with Baek Jihun, Baek Seona popped out from the side.

“What are you two doing? It seems really fun. Let me join, Jihun.”

Swish.

Baek Seona hooked her arm into mine. My elbow got wedged between her soft breasts, which looked about C-cup size.

“……!?”

What was she doing in front of her younger brother……!?

I quickly scrutinized Baek Jihun’s expression, but he was still smiling without a wrinkle.

Even though he clearly saw Baek Seona overtly making physical contact, he didn’t seem to care.

‘Did I get approved, brother-in-law……?’

Instead, he scolded his sister.

“Seona, let Hyung-nim rest comfortably. Don’t bother him when he’s working.”

“What? What did I do!? ……Do I bother you, Doha oppa?”

Baek Seona looked up at me with eyes that seemed afraid of being rejected.

“…Haha, of course not.”

This was serious. It was not that she was bothersome, but I was afraid I might get aroused.

Recently, Baek Seona had become more affectionate, so she would find me when I was resting and act cute like this.

Was she doing this because she liked it or because she felt obligated for my role in getting her family saved? I honestly wanted to tell her she didn’t have to if it was the latter.

I already had Serena. It wouldn’t hurt to have another woman, but it was not necessary either.

As I was thinking about this and desperately tried to suppress my arousal, I heard the voice of another woman calling me from behind.

“Captain.”

“Hmm?”

“Ah……”

Hearing that voice, Baek Seona carefully released my arm.

Phew. I managed to stop in a semi-aroused state. It would have been a real disaster if my 20cm member pitched a tent.

“All seven suppression team members have finished preparing for the afternoon hunt. We’re ready to leave at any time.”

The woman who reported to me was Lee Jinah.

She was one of the eight superhuman raid members who raided the D-Mart with Baek Jihun.

Even though I told her she didn’t have to, she volunteered to be my deputy.

So she had been reporting to me on matters related to the superhumans, as I had taken on the role of their leader.

Honestly, it was convenient having Lee Jinah.

“Ah, is that so? We’ll leave in 10 minutes. The meeting place is the main entrance of the Mart.”

“Yes. I’ll relay it to the other members.”

Lee Jinah bowed her head and withdrew.

“……Take care, Doha oppa. Be careful not to get hurt.”

“Hyung-nim. As always, thank you. We can clean without worrying about zombies, thanks to you and the suppression team. Have a hard day today!”

“Yeah, I’ll be back, Seona. Jihun, you also work hard. But don’t clean until you really collapse!”

“……”

Baek Jihun just smiled without answering.

I slowly walked towards the main entrance of the mart.

For the past seven days, while people were cleaning the mart, Serena, I, and the seven female superhumans formed a team and eradicated the zombies around the mart.

It was a task to protect ordinary people from the threat of zombies and also a battle practice to gain strength to protect ourselves.

“Doha!”

“Eh!”

On the way to the main entrance.

Serena ran up and jumped slightly to put her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. As I stroked her head, she rubbed her body that was stuck to me.

“Serena. People are watching……”

“Hehe.”

Serena laughed regretfully and let go.

The seven team members had already gathered at the main entrance of the mart, which was visible over there.

It was time to depart for the afternoon hunt.