Memorize - Episode 29
29 Why Are You Doing This?
'Just in case, I'm asking, are you also heading to the warp gate in the very center?'
'You won't be able to go.'
'This isn't just idle talk. Don't go. We were able to get close to the warp gate just two days ago. But we failed. With just 300 meters left.'
'Why, you ask? We just paced back and forth and finally decided to retreat. If we had made that decision a little faster... Jin-tae...'
'You know the survival conditions, right? It's better to just endure for 7 days. Especially that thing, you absolutely can't face it. If it wasn't for Jin-tae back then, we all would have died helplessly to that monster. Even though we were quite far away, that monster stared directly at where we were.'
'That monster...'
The conditions for a boss monster to appear are not to stay at designated point locations for the specified period. There's also a random appearance condition, but this is unpredictable. Honestly, I was more surprised by the fact that Woo Jeongmin's group had reached the warp gate in just 3 days than by the appearance of a boss monster near the warp gate.
Well, it wasn't completely incomprehensible given that Woo Jeongmin and Seon Yu-un, who would later make their names resound in the Hollow Plane, were there. Suddenly, the face of the wailing Won Hye-su came to mind. She cursed at me, but it didn't particularly bother me.
I knew all too well the sense of loss from losing someone precious. I was like that back then too. After losing my brother and her, I went mad for a while. If you purely collected all the blood on my hands from that time, you could probably make several puddles.
"Ahn Hyun."
As we were walking well, I heard Lee Yoo-jung calling Ahn Hyun. When Ahn Hyun raised his head, she spoke in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"...Thank you for saving me earlier."
Ahn Hyun tilted his head, then seemed to remember and went "Ah" while nodding.
"Your temper is the problem, as always. Try to control your anger a bit. It's fortunate that I was wary of that guy from the start, otherwise you would have had a dagger in your forehead without mercy."
"He was speaking so infuriatingly!"
"Even so. Try treating other people with half the consideration you show Su-hyun hyung. Or try to emulate half of Han-byeol's personality. What's the use of just having a pretty face if your personality is terrible?"
"P-pretty? Really...? Ah... H-hmph! It's because Su-hyun oppa goes through a lot for us. Anyway, I just don't like what I don't like."
Yoo-jung, blushing at Ahn Hyun's comment about her being pretty, turned her head with an audible sound. Seeing Yoo-jung show an unexpectedly girlish(?) behavior, Ahn Hyun's eyes widened. This much was already great progress. I had worried they might start arguing again, but fortunately it seemed to have passed well.
That's when it happened. As Ahn Sol, who had been listening to the two's conversation, tightly gripped Ahn Hyun's collar, he automatically reached out and gently stroked her head. Seeing Ahn Sol's grinning face, Lee Yoo-jung's eyes sharpened. Only the dense Ahn Hyun was oblivious to the subtle power struggle surrounding him, diligently surveying the surroundings as he moved forward. Why are popular guys always so dense? Tsk tsk.
After walking diligently for a while, we were able to find a Save Point as the sun was setting. And we hadn't encountered a single monster on the way. The group was happy, saying luck was on our side, but it wasn't entirely a cause for celebration.
Since leaving the forest, except for the brief time in the city, we had always been plagued by monster attacks. It was so bad that even Ahn Sol didn't scream when she saw the Manki corpses. Of course, I had deliberately led us to encounter monsters, but anyway, the group was being rewarded for their hardships so far.
The area surrounding the warp gate is populated by monsters with some level of intelligence. This was evident from the fact that we had defeated five Mankis, which were among the top-tier monsters in the Trial of Passage. They would know that numerous monsters had been killed by our group. Their keen sense of smell would pick up the pungent blood scent on us.
I had certainly thought so. But after talking with Woo Jeongmin, I changed my mind. If a boss monster had appeared and was roaming around the warp gate, there wouldn't be any monsters brave enough to operate near the boss monster that reigned at the top of the food chain.
In other words, if we don't encounter any monsters tomorrow as we go, it means we have a high probability of encountering a boss monster just before the warp gate, just like Woo Jeongmin's group. It was an ironic situation. We had left the city deliberately to avoid the boss monster, but now we were in danger of facing a boss monster again.
Of course, there was a difference between the two situations. If we had stayed in the city, we would have encountered it 100%, but now if we go, the probability was unpredictable.
After thinking for a while, I came across a question. There are definitely conditions for the appearance of boss monsters. And there are several survivors of the Trial of Passage, not just us. Then, there must be cases where multiple groups meet the conditions for boss monster appearances simultaneously. What happens in such cases? Adding the assumption that there's a high probability of a boss monster appearing when approaching the warp gate made the situation even more complex.
Suddenly, I realized that I knew almost nothing about the Trial of Passage. I had researched most things during my 10 years in the Hollow Plane, but not the Trial of Passage. I only had fragmentary memories of casual stories I had heard from users. It wasn't enough to make my chest tight, but I couldn't shake off an uneasy feeling.
How much time had passed? After walking for a while, we were finally able to find a point.
"It's a yellow roof. But it looks like a hut."
"Fortunately, we found one today too. Then, although it's a bit early, let's rest here for today. Hyung, is that okay?"
"Don't stay for more than a day. The warning sign is here too. Anyway, it seems better than last time. Right, oppa?"
"I want to go in first. I want to wash up quickly. And change clothes too. Hehe."
"..."
"Hyung?"
"Oppa?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Let's do that."
When I hurriedly nodded, everyone looked at me with strange faces. I shook my head to indicate it was nothing.
Watching the group chattering again after briefly looking at my face, I inwardly sighed. Thoughtless kids. This is why group action is inconvenient. If I had moved alone, I would have already entered the Hollow Plane by now. Anyway, even if I worried now, no brilliant idea was coming to mind, so I decided to put the thought aside for now. As I did so, I felt that I had considerably mellowed out.
In the past, when I knew nothing, if a problem directly related to survival arose, I couldn't sit still for even a moment and tried desperately to come up with a solution. But not now. A deep recognition was already ingrained in a corner of my mind that if things went wrong, I would cut down anything.
"Oppa. What are you doing? We're going in first!"
"...I'm coming now."
I calmly moved my feet, watching Yoo-jung waving at me with a bright smile. For now, I wanted to think about tomorrow's matters tomorrow.
The night had deepened. I was sitting on the stairs leading up to the entrance of the hut, keeping watch. No longer did just Ahn Hyun and I keep watch. Now, the four of us - myself, Ahn Hyun, Kim Han-byeol, and Lee Yoo-jung - took turns. We couldn't keep exact shifts, but we changed when it felt like enough time had passed.
Yoo-jung was first, then me. Han-byeol was third, and Ahn Hyun last. Each person watched for about 2 hours, but clearly not even an hour had passed (by my feeling) when Yoo-jung insisted on changing shifts. The way she kept glancing at my face while speaking suggested she knew she was doing something embarrassing.
Habitually putting my hand in my pocket, I felt a chocolate bar. I was about to go out, deciding to just give in, when Yoo-jung, probably feeling sorry, stuffed it into my chest. She must have stashed it away secretly. I didn't say anything particular since we weren't short on food or drinks. Anyway, it was almost time to change shifts with Han-byeol, so it seemed better to just chew on a chocolate bar and go in.
Just as I was about to open a package, a coffee drink was suddenly thrust towards my right cheek. Turning my head, I saw Kim Han-byeol bent at the waist, staring at me.
"You're hiding things and eating them alone."
"...Yoo-jung gave it to me."
"That unni doesn't share sweets, especially chocolate."
"She didn't keep her watch time. She probably felt bad about throwing a tantrum and gave it to me."
At my words, Kim Han-byeol smiled bitterly and sat down beside me. I broke the chocolate bar in half and handed it to her, which she accepted readily.
"I'll eat it well."
"I'll drink this well too."
Kim Han-byeol was also treating me much more comfortably than at first. She wasn't as bubbly as Lee Yoo-jung, and there was still some distance, but it felt like it had decreased a bit. However, among the group, only we two were still maintaining formal speech. It had been that way from the start, so now it felt like an unspoken agreement to keep using formal speech with each other.
"What deep thoughts are you having that your expression is so bad? You didn't even notice me coming."
I knew you were there. I just pretended not to notice. I said inwardly, but didn't express it outwardly. I took a sip of coffee before speaking.
"Haha, I must have zoned out for a moment. But you say my expression looks bad?"
"Yes. You seem to have hardened a bit after talking with that man this afternoon. Am I wrong...?"
Is that so. I thought I had maintained a calm expression always. Unconsciously rubbing my face, Kim Han-byeol calmly added.
"So what did he say then?"
"...It's nothing."
"It's not just me who felt that way. Hyun oppa, Yoo-jung unni, Sol, they're all subtly anxious. You've hardly spoken since then, right?"
"I was just thinking about various things. Everything will work out well. I'm sure of that. Even if something happens, it will be resolved well. Don't worry too much."
With these final words, I downed the remaining chocolate bar and coffee in one go. Somehow, the more I talked with her, the stronger her memory was coming back to me. I wanted to quickly get away. So I said to take care of the watch well and was about to turn and climb the stairs when.
"Wait a moment. I still have something I want to ask."
In novels, comics, or dramas, in situations like this, the male protagonist is usually just cleanly sent away. Why isn't she doing that? Feeling like Kim Han-byeol's tackle was about to start again, I inwardly screamed. Originally, Ahn Hyun was supposed to be next after me, but I had a strange premonition when Kim Han-byeol insisted on taking the shift. I opened my mouth with the most gentle face I could muster.
"I'm a bit tired. If it's not rude, could we do this tomorrow? I want to go in and sleep soon."
"I want to hear it now."
"I'm not going to run away anywhere."
I tried to joke to lighten the increasingly serious atmosphere, but it didn't work at all. Kim Han-byeol was now looking at me with her initial cold face. Again, her face overlapped with that woman's face in my mind. I unconsciously averted my gaze.
"I feel like if it's not today, I won't be able to ask again."
"Ah, about what I said then? It's really nothing. It's just that..."
"Oppa."
I instantly closed my mouth. Was it just because I heard her say 'oppa'? No. I'm not a pervert who gets happy just from being called 'oppa'.
"Su-hyun oppa. That's not what I want to ask about."
Kim Han-byeol's face was still cold and calm, but it gave off a different impression than usual. She was angry now. Exuding an aura that said don't run away, stay here right now, she was looking at me straight on. I realized that she was serious now. Accordingly, my expression also sank, and I exchanged gazes with Kim Han-byeol with calm eyes. And only then did she begin to speak.