Chapter 780: Culprit (4)
“A Shard of Sinking Spring.”
A red point reflected in black eyes.
“It can erase up to one quarter of the target’s memories, chosen by the target. Hyung, you’ve lived thirty… no, thirty-one years now. If you go back eight years, you won’t have to suffer.”
The time when dungeons had appeared, Awakened people had emerged, and Yuhyun had left me.
If all my memories after that vanished, I would probably be able to live in peace.
“Only the user can set what the item erases.”
“Then I could erase just an hour or two. There is a horror movie I watched alone in the middle of the night that I wouldn’t mind deleting.”
I had watched it with Fear Resistance turned off, and it wasn’t exactly a memory I wanted to keep. More than anything, it had been gross.
“This item comes as a set of four.”
“…If I use all four, will all my memories disappear?”
“Yes. That’s why I want you to use only one. It will be better for you too.”
He was asking me to erase eight years of memories with my own hands. Pretending to erase them and fooling Yuhyun wouldn’t work.
“I already told you. I’m not going to cooperate.”
I gave Chief Song, who was forcing himself up, a small shake of my head, telling him not to overdo it. Even if Chief Song were in perfect condition, he wouldn’t be able to get me away from Yuhyun standing right in front of me. Liette was the same.
“You know this too, but I went through a lot. There are plenty of things I’d like to forget.”
I looked at my brother. So much had happened.
“But after all that time, I’m standing here. And you’re standing in front of me.”
I had lost him, and lost him again.
And yet, in the end, he was here within reach.
A smile came on its own.
“So I’m not throwing any of it away. Not a single thing.”
I opened my palm.
“Give me all four. Because I will never erase you myself.”
“…Hyung.”
I saw Yuhyun’s expression harden. It wasn’t as if I had no hesitation either.
‘A mental-type item. It’s consumable, so probably something you ingest. There’s a good chance Poison Resistance and Curse Resistance will block some of it.’
I didn’t know the item’s grade, but even five years from now, a consumable probably wouldn’t be L-rank. Of course, the best-case scenario would be Yuhyun backing down.
Before Yuhyun could say anything, I snatched the red bead from his palm. The item’s name appeared before my eyes.
[A Shard of Sinking Spring – SS-rank
One seed from the red fruit that carries the four seasons. Upon consumption, it allows the user to erase up to one quarter of their life’s memories as desired.]
SS-rank. I thought I could handle that much, but all four were a set. Once all four came together, the rank would jump. SSS-rank at minimum. Maybe L-rank.
I looked Yuhyun straight in the eyes and put the fruit in my mouth. When I bit down, a crisp sweetness spread over my tongue.
[Please select the memories to erase.]
“The memory of squeezing toothpaste with the cap still on the morning of August thirtieth and making it explode.”
I had been half-asleep and gotten hit by a toothpaste bomb. Once I said it out loud, even that felt a little regrettable, but there weren’t many memories I could pinpoint by exact time and afford to erase. Trivial memories made me wonder when that had even happened, and the vivid ones were things I didn’t want to lose. Especially memories involving other people.
To check the effect, I deliberately turned off Poison Resistance and Curse Resistance and accepted the item without resisting. I felt the fruit’s mana spread through me. I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them.
“…Works well.”
I couldn’t even remember what memory I had erased. I turned my resistance skills back on.
“Next is summer?”
I held out my hand. Yuhyun’s gaze fell to my palm.
“…Side effects will start from the second one.”
“Want to make a bet?”
I smiled and kept my voice as light as I could.
“I’m betting that I won’t forget you. If I win, you give up on erasing my memories.”
“…Hyung.”
“Are you betting that I will? If you win, well, I guess things go the way you wanted.”
It wasn’t as if I was certain I could keep my memories. But all those memories, all that time, were what made Han Yujin.
And at the center of them, too large to be separated from the rest, was Han Yuhyun.
I couldn’t back down, so I had to take the hit head-on.
Yuhyun hesitated. Even so, a crimson fruit appeared in his white hand. A Shard of Silent Summer.
“What should I erase this time? Sneaking out to the convenience store? You still haven’t caught me for that one, but when was it again? I don’t remember the date. Hmm. Maybe I’ll just erase looking at the ocean from the hotel terrace. That was around lunchtime on the day of the college entrance exam.”
I took out my phone and checked the date.
“Haeyeon was in charge of Busan and Gyeongnam, so we all went together. After I got the kids to sleep, I sat out on the terrace and watched the ocean. Hotel juice is insanely expensive. It was good, though.”
The sound of the waves came back to me. Yuhyun’s mouth twitched as if he were clenching his teeth.
“You said there were plenty of things you wanted to forget. So why?”
“Mm. I don’t want to touch anything from before the regression. Not a single bit of it. Those are the memories where you’re still there.”
It would be hard to bring the brother in front of me back to life. I understood that more and more, whether I wanted to or not, as I kept seeing him and clashing with him like this. I would hold on until the very end. I would find some way to bring him back with me.
But still, the end would come.
The moment would come when I could no longer build any more time with Yuhyun.
So even the painful memories felt precious.
“It’s not like nothing bad happened after I turned back time either. But it wasn’t all bad. You know, some son of a bitch broke my leg once?”
Yuhyun’s fingertips twitched.
“But Yuhyun cut that guy’s leg off too. If I erase the memory of my leg breaking, that memory loses its meaning too. Turns out bad things don’t always stay only bad. Besides, if I forget the shame of screwing up or the unfairness of being wronged, the same thing might happen again.”
You needed the memory of, I won’t do that next time, to take even one step forward.
“Looking at the ocean is a good memory, but I was alone, and it’s the kind of memory I can make again. Again and again, from now on. Not just by myself, but with other people. Maybe even with you, Yuhyun.”
I brought the fruit to my lips and said,
“Come see the ocean with me.”
Yuhyun did not answer. I ate the fruit. This time, I resisted the mana spreading through me. The sound of the waves blurred for an instant. Blue water, the horizon shining in the sun, flickered before my eyes.
I closed my eyes hard and opened them again. Yuhyun caught me when I swayed.
‘…It didn’t disappear completely.’
It was choppy and faded, like old film, but it was still there. I let out a long breath. As expected, up to SS-rank, my skills and mana could hold it back. But if I ate all four… that might be rough.
“Next is fall?”
“…Hyung!”
Clear hesitation showed on my brother’s face. Yuhyun wanted to protect me. My life came first to him, but he couldn’t possibly want to make me throw away the memories that made me who I was. That was why I kept talking about my memories. Those were me too.
“I won’t forget you.”
“If you eat all four…”
“Maybe I’ll forget in that moment. But when I open my eyes, I’ll see you again. Even if I don’t remember your name or anything else, I’ll end up liking you again.”
“…How, without your memories?”
“Because you’re looking at me with that face, Yuhyun.”
He already couldn’t hide what he was feeling. If I lost all my memories, what kind of face would he make then?
“I’m weak to people who love me.”
I had no intention of forgetting, but even if I did, if I saw him just once, I wouldn’t let my brother go.
I held out my hand. Yuhyun’s eyes trembled. I caught a glimpse of Chief Song treating his injuries. Liette had drawn her sword as well.
“…Even so, I…”
After a long silence, Yuhyun finally spoke. From the third one onward, it would start getting dangerous. I took a short breath. Still, if I could preserve as much of my memory as possible and not forget this situation, at least, then I could find a way to get the rest back.
Yuhyun hesitated, but he was about to take out the third fruit when—
“Huh?”
My phone started ringing. Who was it?
“Hold on, Yuhyun. Let hyung take this.”
The more time I bought, the better. Seong Hyunjae might wake up too. I quickly answered the call.
“Yes, this is Han Yujin, director of Dodam Monster Mount Breeding Facility.”
[Yujin! Are you okay?]
It was Moon Hyunah. I didn’t recognize the number. Had she gotten a new phone already?
“Hyunah! Are you okay? Sigma disappeared, and you were with him!”
[Yeah. I’m still with him.]
In the background, I heard a quiet voice say, Is that the C-rank? So Sigma was still awake, and that was why Seong Hyunjae was unconscious.
“Then, was the kidnapper…”
[That’s right. It was me.]
I had wondered, and sure enough. There was no way Hyunah would get kidnapped with Sigma that easily. I kept talking while watching Yuhyun’s reaction.
“What the hell happened? Did you do this to wake Sigma up?”
[Your brother’s next to you, right? The Gardener’s subordinate.]
“Uh, yes. He’s right in front of me.”
[I’m planning to hand Sigma over to the Gardener.]
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. Yuhyun’s expression shifted faintly too.
“W-wait, Hyunah.”
[Sigma agreed to it too.]
“What? No, I mean—”
My heart pounded hard, and my head spun. I knew Hyunah and I didn’t think the same way. I was the one clutching everyone close, refusing to let anyone go, while she was capable of making a decision. And I had thought that, to save the world, she might be able to hand over Seong Hyunjae and Sigma.
Even so, it was sudden. Disorienting.
Because I had trusted her. Trusted that, at the very least, she wouldn’t turn on me this abruptly.
“I— I’m against it! I don’t know why Sigma accepted, but Seong Hyunjae refused from the start! I’ll never—”
[I know. So don’t give up.]
“…What?”
[Han Yujin, push ahead with what you want.]
“But—”
[The same goes for Seong Hyunjae. Don’t give up until the very end. Take the path you want to take. You’re allowed to.]
Hyunah laughed.
[Because I’m going to do the same. At the very, very end, when there’s no other road left, I’ll go to the Gardener with Sigma.]
“…At the end.”
[Unlike you, Yujin, I’ll protect our world even if I have to give up part of it.]
Hyunah’s voice continued gently.
[So even if you have no answer and everything looks hopeless, just crash into it. It’s okay.]
It’s okay.
Those words clogged my throat.
Of course I was anxious. I knew better than anyone that saying I wouldn’t give up on anyone was selfish. A heavy stone had been pressing down inside my chest.
What if my stubbornness really led us somewhere terrible?
What if countless people, our whole world, got hurt?
With no proper plan in sight, wasn’t I just flailing around like a foolish, irresponsible idiot?
But then someone told me it was okay.
If it had come from someone walking the same road as me, it would have been nothing more than a small comfort. But Moon Hyunah had left me. Turned her back on me. Stood on the opposite side.
That made her words not comfort, but reality.
Only by turning away from each other could we stand back-to-back and lean.
“…Hyunah, I might stop you even at the very end. No. I definitely will.”
[Of course you should. And when that time comes, I’ll kick you aside like you’re the villain trying to stop me from saving the world.]
“…Okay.”
All kinds of emotions rose in me like the tide. One thing was certain: Moon Hyunah had left me and chosen another direction. Maybe I would have to clash with her. Maybe while I still thought there was hope, Moon Hyunah would see the end and try to bring the curtain down.
Even so—because of that—we could rely on each other. We could make up for each other.
Neither Hyunah nor I was perfect. If anything, we were full of ordinary flaws. You shouldn’t endanger the world for the sake of a few, but you shouldn’t sacrifice a few for the sake of the world either. Alone, though, you had to choose one side.
“I’m not giving up on anyone.”
[I’m going to protect our world.]
“You know I’m ridiculously stubborn, right?”
[You’re the one who won’t be able to do a thing. Yun Yun is on my side.]
…Wait a second. I’d had a feeling when she disappeared without a trace, but seriously?
“Yun Yun?”
[She’s a king. Of course she’ll help you too. But in the end, she’ll help me.]
“Th-that… makes sense. Yeah.”
[So hang in there. Make something happen.]
…If they had ultra-long-distance teleportation, and if they could use it without limits because this was a dream, then they really could run straight to the Gardener before I had a chance to stop them. I swallowed hard. Yun Yun didn’t have any particular attachment to Seong Hyunjae or Sigma, and her goblins mattered far more to her, so persuading her would be hard.
[Your brother’s listening too, right? Not exactly “young master” material, but still your brother. We can teleport freely over here. Even if Seong Hyunjae stays asleep, you can’t chase us. If we feel like it, we can cross to the other side of the planet in one jump.]
Yuhyun gave no answer. But I could sense that he was shaken.
“You heard her. Hyunah doesn’t agree with me. If anything, she’s closer to being on your side.”
I hung up and put my phone away. I could have used the message window, but I had deliberately stayed on the phone so Yuhyun would hear.
“So, Yuhyun.”
“…If it isn’t now, it’s meaningless. You’ll keep pushing yourself too far.”
Even as he said that, hesitation flashed through him. For now, the variable called Moon Hyunah had entered the picture, and completely erasing my memories would also put a strain on me. I stepped right up to my brother and opened both arms.
“Liette!”
I shouted as I threw my arms around Yuhyun. Liette, who had already been ready, swung her sword. Yuhyun couldn’t shove me away. A sword strike bearing down on him. The hyung he had to protect. A heart already thrown into chaos.
All of it made him reflexively hold me back instead and brace himself.
Just as I’d expected.
The melted swords shot up all at once, shielding Yuhyun’s back. The power to cut through everything drove into their midst.
Kagagagak—!
A thunderous sound rang out, and the full-force severance sliced through the swords. Yuhyun’s weapon was not defensive by nature. Worse, it hadn’t fully hardened after melting. Soon, the sword strike reached the shield. With a crushing crack, it shattered the shield, and the weakened force slammed hard into Yuhyun’s back.
Thud!
All of that happened in a single instant, with no time to dodge. The force had been reduced enough for his body to endure, so my brother took the impact head-on. Still holding me, he was flung into the air, butterflies scattering around us. He seemed ready to right himself midair, step on a butterfly, and counterattack, but—
“Here we are!”
Yun Yun appeared. A round portal opened exactly in the direction Yuhyun had been thrown.
[Sent her!]
Hyunah’s message blinked. I had ended the call, but we had kept in touch by text. Yuhyun and I passed through the portal in an instant.
On the other side—
“Uh, hello?”
Yerim said awkwardly. Blue water stretched out before us.
And then—
Kwaaaa!
The water surged upward.
–TL Notes–
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