The Deadly Game

Im a coward, through and through, but the System tasked me with drugging my older brother.

I didn't have the guts. So instead, I handed him a glass of hot water.

My brother took a sip, a flush creeping up his neck. What did you put in this? It's hot.

My knees went weak with fear. Corbin, I swear, it's just hot water.

At my words, he leaned in, pressing me against the wall. "Such a naughty girl," he murmured, his voice low and dangerous. "Weren't you supposed to drug me?"

Im just a cannon fodder side character, but my brother, Corbin, is the main villain.

He finally saw the female lead, Isabelle, when he showed up for my parent-teacher conference. Corbin narrowed his eyes in their direction, a predatory gleam he didn't bother to hide. Thats when the System in my head finally came online.

[Host, welcome. Your current mission is to eliminate the villain.]

I nearly gasped out loud.

"Are you insane?" I hissed under my breath. "Corbin could kill me with one finger."

As I argued with the System, I glanced at Corbins hand on my exam paper. His fingers were long and pale, tapping impatiently on the page. He turned his head and smiled at me.

I immediately clamped my hand over my mouth, terrified he might have heard me.

"What is it, brother?"

He chuckled softly, and one of those elegant fingers pointed to a name Id scribbled on my scratch paper.

"Asher. Who's that?"

My heart stuttered. That was the male lead, a name the System had given me earlier. Id just jotted it down without thinking. For some reason, even though Corbin was smiling, he didn't look happy at all.

I swallowed hard. "He's our class president. Uh, he's a nice guy."

My brother just nodded, saying nothing.

The teacher announced that this was our last parent-teacher conference, with the college entrance exams just two weeks away. Corbin told me to study hard. Then his gaze drifted past me to Isabelle and Asher.

"But it doesn't matter if you do poorly," he murmured, his voice dropping low. "I'll just send you abroad."

His warm breath ghosted over my skin, and a fresh wave of fear washed over me. Corbin never spoke to me this closely. And that wasnt the reassuring tone of a brother offering a safety net.

It was a warning.

If I didn't study, he would send me away. Cut me off from everyone here.

My legs felt like jelly. The System had to mentally prop me up.

[What are you scared of? You're a cannon fodder character with the all-powerful System backing you up!]

The moment it finished, Corbin turned back, his gaze sharp. "Your scratch paper. I'm confiscating it."

Under his direct, unnerving stare, both the System and I felt our courage crumble.

[Why do I get the feeling he can see right through us?] the System muttered.

Only when Corbin was a good distance away did the System find its voice again. [How dare he snatch our girl's scratch paper! That villain! He's got what's coming to him! Pull yourself together, Lily! From this day forward, he's going to start targeting the main characters.]

I wiped a bead of cold sweat from my brow.

I'd seen what Corbin was capable of.

Once, I'd made plans with a friend to go on a trip to the coast. Corbin had forbidden it. I went anyway, sneaking out behind his back. But the moment I stepped onto the deck of the boat, he was there, one step behind me. In the end, not a single captain in the harbor would take me.

I trailed home behind him like a scolded puppy. He didn't yell. He even bought me a new dress and asked what I wanted for dinner.

But the next day, he had me transferred to a new school.

I always thought it was because our adoptive parents had been so harsh on him growing up, giving him a strange need to control me. If hed set his sights on Isabelle today, I couldn't imagine what he would do to get her.

The System, sensing my thoughts, also broke into a sweat.

[Come on, Lils, chin up!] It patted my shoulder. [Ace this mission, and I'll get you a first-class, happily-ever-after ending.]

Id have to be alive to enjoy it.

After the transfer, Corbin wouldn't let me live in the dorms. But the suburban mansion was too far from the new school. His perfect solution? He bought me an apartment right next to campus.

Bodyguards followed me home after class every day. A hot meal was always waiting for me. Each time I walked through the door, my heart pounded. The first thing I always did was check for a pair of men's dress shoes by the entrance.

Today, there were none.

The System and I both breathed a massive sigh of relief.

I hummed a little tune as I ate.

"Honestly," I chattered to the System, "I'm just a throwaway character. How am I supposed to eliminate him?"

"You're so tough, why don't you do it yourself? Admit it, System, you're scared of him too, aren't you?"

"It's not that I'm not trying. I'm just terrified."

[Once your exams are over,] the System declared, [I have a death-and-destruction trio planned for him.]

It said it with such grim, villainous certainty that I dropped my chicken wing.

I turned to grab a napkin and found myself staring into a pair of dark, bottomless eyes.

Corbin had just stepped out of the bathroom, a single towel knotted around his waist.

His torso was lean and powerful, and droplets of water clung to his skin.

Like the chicken wing, I felt my world spin.

My mouth opened and closed, but I couldn't figure out how to explain my nonsensical rambling.

In the end, Corbin spoke first. "Is the chicken good?"

I nodded dumbly.

He walked past me, grabbed his phone from the counter, and headed upstairs.

"Don't eat the one that fell on the floor," was all he said.

[Aaaaaah!] the System shrieked in my ear.

[How is he so hot even when he's half-naked?!]

I was a complete mess, my nerves shot.

[No, really, I don't want him to die! This villain's character design is my absolute favorite.]

The System was still swooning.

It poked me mentally. [Hello? Earth to Lily? Did he scare you speechless?]

I burst into tears, clinging to the System for comfort. "Boohoo, do you think he heard me?"

The System rubbed its hands together. [Probably not. Besides, all of Corbin's attention is on the female lead right now. He won't notice a minor character like you.]

After the exams, Isabelle planned to get a part-time job. Coincidentally, the hotel she applied to was owned by Corbin's company.

The System told me to follow her, observe Corbin's every move, and stop him from carrying out his "evil plans."

What? Me?

Who was I? I was supposed to spy on Corbin? And stop him?

The System explained that in the original plot, Corbin gets drunk and drags Isabelle into a hotel room.

What a trashy, tasteless plot point.

Isabelle got the front desk job, while I was still at home doing nothing. Finally, after the System threatened to self-destruct, I went to Corbin.

"Brother, I want to get a job."

Corbin was reading. He set down his gold-rimmed glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What's wrong? Is your allowance not enough?"

His features were sharp, and when he looked at me, I couldn't tell if it was me or the System that was shaking more.

The System, which had been cheering me on moments ago, had already logged off in a panic.

"Brother," I stammered, "I want to gain some experience. I could even work at one of your companies. Please, brother."

I felt like I was about to drop to my knees.

Corbin didn't speak. He just lifted his gaze and watched me, a lazy, calculating look in his eyes. I couldn't meet his stare, so I just bowed my head and repeated, "Please, brother."

The System popped back up. [I think the villain likes it when you call him 'brother.' Try it a few more times, maybe he'll agree.]

I bit my lip and forced myself to look him in the eye.

"Can I? Corbin brother."

A sudden cough escaped him, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Finally, he grunted a quiet "mm."

Back in my room, the System and I clung to each other for support. We both agreed that the look in Corbin's eyes could have devoured a person whole. Silent, direct, and unnervingly dark.

In the end, Corbin arranged a position for me as an assistant lobby manager at the hotel. Isabelle was working the front desk. I felt a little awkward about my cushy job, so I often helped out at the desk, always on high alert for the moment Corbin would appear and drag someone away.

That plot point was just so awful.

But to be fair, Corbin really was going after the male lead's family business. He'd been swamped lately. The recent harbor acquisition that was all over the news was a power struggle between him and Asher's family.

Isabelle, meanwhile, was living her peaceful life at the front desk.

Both Corbin and I were so busy that we hadn't seen each other in two weeks.

Today was the weekend, and I was off. But Isabelle had to work. I was sound asleep when Asher called me. It was Isabelle's birthday. He wanted to surprise her.

And he wanted me to cover her shift?

I almost laughed in his face. I told him no.

But the System kicked me out of bed, insisting that today was a crucial plot point.

I was so done. Did the main characters' key moments always have to ruin our sleep? And to top it off, as fate would have it, my birthday was the same day as hers.

Fine, fine. What's a cannon fodder's birthday compared to the female lead's?

I propped my chin in my hand, covering Isabelle's shift late into the night.

Seriously, I was the assistant manager.

The front door slid open, and a tall, slender figure cast a long shadow.

Without looking up, I called out in a tired voice, "Welcome, how can I help you?"

A smirk played on Corbin's lips. "I need a room."

Huh? After a moment of silence, the long-unseen Corbin repeated, his voice serious this time. "I said, I need a room."

But I could hear the rasp in his voice, the tell-tale sign of too much alcohol.

I tilted my head and looked behind him. No one.

I handed him the keycard and said softly, "Brother? Did you come all this way just to sleep?"

He ignored me.

His eyes were hazy, his breathing shallow, and he swayed as he walked. I escorted him to the elevator. He stood silently behind me, his gaze fixed on me.

Like a predator watching its prey.

The System wasn't with me. It had gone off to "join the fun," to watch Asher's big confession to Isabelle.

Great. My cowardly advisor was gone.

At the hotel room door, I held out my hand. "Mr. Reed, this is your room. I'll just be"

Before I could finish, a wave of warmth washed over the back of my neck.

Corbin yanked me into the room.

His large hand closed around my throat.

I was scared to death. "Brother! It's me," I squeaked.

He just shook his head. "That's the wrong name for me. We're not brother and sister."

While I was still processing that, he fastened a magnificent necklace around my neck.

"I gave you a gift," he said, his voice deep. "What are you going to give me in return?"

Corbin's dark eyes swept over the desk: the bottled water, the tea bags, and the condoms.

It suddenly hit me. This matched the plot the System had told me about.

Corbin had mistaken me for Isabelle.

His intense presence was overwhelming, our faces so close I could feel his breath on my lips.

"Brother!"

I yelped in terror. "I'm Lily! Don't do anything stupid!

"You've got the wrong person!"

Corbin blinked, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

Then he smiled.

"If you're not Lily, then who are you? I'm thirsty. Be a good girl and make your brother a cup of tea."

He loosened his tie, his Adam's apple bobbing as he glanced at me one last time before sauntering toward the bed.

So that's what he wanted. Tea.

I was a horrible person. How could I have thought that?

My face burned. I risked a peek at Corbin.

And caught him just as he was shrugging into a silk robe.

The System had been right. This character design was a masterpiece. The most skilled sculptor must have spent a lifetime carving the exquisite lines of his body, a perfect blend of beauty and raw, worldly desire.

As if sensing my gaze, Corbin leaned against the wall, his arms crossed.

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you like what you see?"

The alcohol seemed to have softened his sharp edges, replacing them with something much harder to define.

I stammered, "Mr. Reed, your tea is ready."

Corbin took the cup and made a "tsk" sound.

"What's wrong?" I asked timidly. "Is it too hot?"

He grunted. "This doesn't make sense."

I was lost. "What doesn't make sense?"

Corbin: "Why is it that I came all this way to celebrate Miss Lily's birthday, and she won't even call me 'brother' once?"

He came to celebrate my birthday? Not for Isabelle? Or did he come for Isabelle, find her gone, and decide to celebrate with me instead?

My face, betraying me, flushed again. I mumbled a quiet "brother."

Corbin's smile widened, his voice a husky, intimate drawl. "Good girl."

For a moment, I thought, maybe a person like this wasn't the irredeemable villain the System made him out to be.

Just then, the System's voice shrieked in my ear. [Aaaaaah! Corbin killed someone!]