CHAPTER 34: [VIRAL]

"Oh my fucking God," Eli breathed, eyes wide as he continued scrolling through video after video.

There were dozens—no, hundreds—and they weren’t just raw footage either. Some had music edits, slow-motion clips, and dramatic overlays with captions that varied wildly:

"Who is this mystery beauty???"

"Kairo’s mystery partner 😳🔥"

"Did you SEE how he held him?! Twilight Guild new member??"

Eli blinked in disbelief.

"Kairo’s fans are going wild," he muttered under his breath, stunned.

And honestly? It was understandable.

If he, as Lucien Kim, had seen something like this—a random stranger fighting beside Kairo, being carried like some tragic prince—he would’ve lost his damn mind too.

Because Kairo wasn’t the kind of man to touch people. Not unless necessary.

And certainly not hold them in his arms.

That alone was enough fuel for a million fan edits.

Eli kept scrolling, mesmerized and horrified at the same time. Occasionally, he tapped into the comments—each one louder and more frenzied than the last.

Then, one caption practically leapt out at him:

"THE BOY KAIRO WAS CARRYING IS ELIONE AHN! HE’S A BEAUTY VLOGGER I FOLLOW!! OMGGGG!!!"

"What...?" Eli blinked rapidly and clicked into the comment section, his thumb skimming down the screen as he read:

LittleMushroom21: YES, YES I’VE BEEN COMMENTING THIS IN EVERY VIDEO IT’S @ElioneAhn !!!

2

Abelielle: @ElioneAhn !!!!!!!!

2

Zkndmmy: HOLY SHIT THAT’S WHY I’VE BEEN WONDERING WHY THE GUY LOOKED SO FAMILIAR!!!! @ElioneAhn

Kairosnumber1wife: WHO IS THIS ELIONE?!?!!? I WANNA KNOW

GojosLeftToe90: @ElioneAhn explain yourselffffff

Eli stared at the screen, dumbfounded.

"So no wonder this account has a lot of notifications..." he muttered, running a hand through his already-mussed hair. "What am I going to do with this?"

He had thought dungeon raids were rarely recorded. If anything, only official guild-run raids would be uploaded for highlight reels or training references.

He hadn’t even noticed the cameras—or drones, or whatever it was filming them out there.

But then again... his danger sense had been going crazy. He barely had time to think, let alone scan the sky for floating recorders.

And then the system had forced him to leave.

Wait.

Eli’s eyes narrowed. Something didn’t add up.

He quickly tossed the phone aside and sat up straighter. "System!" he called out, voice sharp.

With a soft chime, the familiar transparent blue interface shimmered into existence in front of him.

"There was a drone—or something—recording the whole battlefield," Eli said quickly, eyes narrowing. "Did they not see me disappear suddenly?"

The system didn’t respond right away.

It just hovered there—silent, unmoving, as though contemplating how best to answer.

Then—

Ding.

[SYSTEM RESPONSE] No

Eli’s brow twitched.

"...That’s it? Just no?" he asked, tone incredulous. "How do you even know it didn’t catch me disappearing?"

There was another beat of silence. The interface flickered—then:

Ding.

[SYSTEM RESPONSE]

Drone interference was triggered upon player extraction.

A temporary visual distortion was deployed to cause a glitch in the footage during your exit.

Result:

Player disappearance marked as camera error.

No suspicion detected.

No evidence traceable to the System.

Eli blinked, slowly processing the message. "...You glitched the drone?"

Ding.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Player’s anonymity and safety are prioritized.

3

Basic misdirection protocols are in place to prevent unnecessary attention.

"...Thanks, I guess," Eli muttered, rubbing his forehead.

As frustrating and shady as the system was, at least it did have its moments. Subtle manipulation of camera data? That was impressive—creepy, but impressive.

He sank back into the couch, exhaling slowly.

"At least I’m not on some government watchlist now..."

He looked down at his hands, fingers loosely laced together. "...Is this good? This is good...right? It brings me closer to at least one of the targets."

Closer to Kairo, at least. That was something.

Their interaction at the battlefield—no matter how brief—was already causing a stir online. It might open up a chance for them to cross paths again. Maybe.

Or not...

Honestly, Eli didn’t know what he was doing.

He’d been tossed into a stranger’s body, slapped with a half-baked seduction mission, nearly killed by ogres, and now the internet had turned him into some kind of mysterious battle babe.

He didn’t know the first thing about seduction.

And if the first mission was any indication... it wasn’t going to be romantic at all.

What truly worried him now was Caelen.

Unlike Kairo—who, despite his cold front, at least saved him—Caelen wasn’t just a stranger. He was a rival. An enemy

who despised Kairo.

And now Eli’s face was plastered all over social media next to Kairo. Carried in his arms. Held like they were familiar.

How the hell was he supposed to approach Caelen now?

How was he going to seduce that guy?

He dragged a hand down his face, sighing. "Well... that’s your problem," he muttered at the system. "Figure it out."

Because honestly?

Eli had no clue what the hell he was doing anymore.

Speaking of the system’s problems...

Eli narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze upward.

"Do I have any new tasks today?" he asked the floating interface.

The system hovered in front of him—still, silent.

No dings. No messages. No glowing text boxes.

And then—

It vanished.

Just blinked out of existence, like it hadn’t even been there.

Eli blinked. "I guess not."

He let out a long, tired sigh, ruffling his already messy hair as he stood from the bed. His body still ached slightly from the previous day’s chaos, but compared to before, it was tolerable.

"If nothing’s going on, I guess I can take a bath and..."

His words trailed off.

He didn’t know what he’d do.

There was no agenda. No goal. No new mission to complete. Just silence... and time.

Eli turned on his heel and headed toward the bathroom.

Honestly? At the moment, all he wanted—really wanted—was a long, hot bath. Something to rinse off the tension, the ache in his limbs, and maybe the sheer absurdity of everything that had happened so far.

Eli padded across the marble floor, barefoot, his steps echoing lightly in the otherwise quiet penthouse.

As he walked, he finally allowed himself to really look—to take in the space that had been too much of a blur yesterday.

The hallway alone was wide and gleaming, lined with sleek modern art and high-end minimalist decor that probably cost more than his family’s entire monthly rent.

One wall had a full vanity setup built into it—massive mirror framed with adjustable lighting, shelves stacked with luxury makeup brands he’d only ever heard about in passing.

There were open ring lights of varying sizes, softboxes angled toward a plush cream couch, even a DSLR camera mounted on a stabilizer rig.

’This guy... really was a vlogger.’

Eli stepped closer to the vanity, catching his reflection in the mirror for a second.

The faint bags under his eyes were finally starting to fade. His hair was tousled but clean, framing a face that still didn’t feel like his.

’This face is unfair. So unfair.’

He glanced to the side and saw framed pictures sitting on a floating shelf.

Most were selfies—Elione posing in various angles, sometimes smiling brightly, sometimes pouting, sometimes mid-laugh.

A few were with others—models, maybe? Other influencers? One of them had a caption scrawled in cursive that read

"grwm ft. Halcy 🖤 #collab"

Eli raised a brow. "He really lived a different life, huh..."

Then he remembered where he was headed and turned toward the bathroom.

The moment he opened the door, his mouth dropped open.

"...You’ve gotta be kidding me."

The bathroom was the size of their old apartment.

Not just the living room. Not just the bedroom.

The whole thing.

Floor-to-ceiling windows let in golden morning light, illuminating gleaming tiles that sparkled like polished pearl.

The bathtub looked more like a jacuzzi—round, sunken into the floor, with rose gold fixtures and a digital control panel mounted to the side.

The walk-in shower had three rainfall heads and walls of frosted glass. There were heated towel racks, potted plants, scented candles already pre-arranged, and—

"Is that a fucking TV on the wall?"

Eli just stood there, stunned.

The mirror was the biggest one he’d ever seen—framed in soft LED lighting, completely spotless, and smart-touch enabled.

It was like walking into one of those "My Dream Skincare Routine" videos his female coworkers at the dungeon cleaning agency used to stream on their breaks.

"...This is insane," he muttered, stepping closer. "This whole place could fit our old apartment—probably twice."

He ran a hand over the edge of the tub, marveling at how smooth the surface felt. It didn’t even creak.

The water was already preset to warm. Probably automatic.

His heart thudded a little faster, not in fear this time, but excitement.

’My first real bath, and in a real bathtub!’

He almost smiled.

Almost.

Until he reached for the hem of his shirt.

It was only when he tugged it off—rising over his ribs—that he realized something horrifying.

’Wait...’

He stared into the mirror. The shirt dropped to the floor.

’Oh my God. I haven’t seen Elione fully naked yet.’

He’d only ever seen this body half-naked—when the hospital workers dressed or inspected him.

He had never had to change his own underwear before, had never had to bathe.

He looked down, suddenly frozen.

"Fuck."