Chapter 184 : Chapter 184

Chapter 184 - The Past (2)

“But, let’s ask one thing first.”

I spoke up while we were moving in the car.

The target was Yoo Ho-jun, who was gripping the steering wheel in the front.

“...No, before that, let me ask one thing too.”

“Hm?”

“Why am I naturally the one at the steering wheel and you’re in the back seat like a chairman?”

“...”

You call that a question?

Of course, with all the things I’ve proven so far, I deserve to enjoy at least this much.

But, well.

Conversely, the fact that he could toss a question like this without hesitation also meant that there was no sense of distance between us.

“Well, be that as it may.”

As if he hadn't been serious either, Yoo Ho-jun spoke while smoothly turning the steering wheel.

“What was it you wanted to ask?”

“No, you said you knew I had dated before.”

“Yeah. So what about it?”

“Who was the person I dated?”

“...”

A deep contemplation of whether this was a sentence that could come out of a human's mouth appeared on Yoo Ho-jun's face.

Regardless, seeing him answer faithfully made me think that a best friend is a best friend after all.

“That... was it Sojin-ssi. With glasses, black hair...”

“Right. That’s enough.”

“...? What is it?”

Yoo Ho-jun tilted his head and said so, but I didn't answer and just watched the scenery that rushed past the window.

We passed through the downtown area and entered an alley. The shiny exterior materials and neatly finished buildings gradually disappeared, and soon, crumbling shacks covered in dust and grime slowly revealed themselves.

The slums. Hell.

A place that could be called anything finally loomed before us.

“So. I came as you asked. But why have we come back here?”

“You seem dissatisfied about something.”

“Of course I’m dissatisfied. What good memories do we have here?”

“...That’s true.”

I got out of the car with a smirk.

As he said, it was impossible for either ‘me before I crossed over’ or the ‘game character Kim Gyu-sik’ to have good memories of this place.

Nevertheless, if you ask why I specifically came here.

“...It’s just as I remember.”

As confirmed by Yoo Ho-jun’s words just now.

The scene unfolding before my eyes right now is not the one from the ‘game data’.

It’s the exact image of the hellish shantytown where I was born and raised in my childhood.

“...”

In other words.

What I will encounter from here on is not the past of the ‘game character Kim Gyu-sik’, but the history of ‘me’ before transmigration.

I don’t really know what happened, but it’s certain that ‘my past’ is mixed into the background of this character, Kim Gyu-sik.

Otherwise, there’s no way Yoo Ho-jun would know the name ‘Sojin’.

“...Hoo.”

As I sighed and set my foot down, the splashing filthy water stained my shoes.

Ah, this place is steeped in such nostalgic days.

Days so intense that they stick clammily to the bottom of my brain, no matter how much I push them away, not wanting to recall them even in my sleep.

[ 2nd Awakening Quest ]

[ Have you forgotten your past? ]

And as soon as I set foot at the entrance, a cynical laugh escaped me as I saw the much clearer text.

Well, right.

I think I have a rough idea of what this thing wants now.

“Where are you going?”

Yoo Ho-jun’s question came from behind me.

What I should answer is already decided.

“Home.”

I continued with a smirk.

“There’s someone I need to send my regards to after a long time.”

***

“Th-this is, such a dishonorable act for a knight...”

“I-I really think so. Ah-in. Is this really a good idea...?”

“I feel... so sorry to Mr. Kim Gyu-sik...”

As such murmurs came endlessly from behind, Seo Ah-in, who was walking at the forefront, smiled brightly and turned around.

“Then go. I’ll be the only one to follow.”

“...”

“Anyone would think I forced you to come. Weren’t you all just curious about Mr. Kim Gyu-sik’s love life and followed along?”

“...”

Everyone had no choice but to quietly shut their mouths.

What she was saying was the truth, but it was also difficult to say anything readily when looking at Seo Ah-in's face, which had a tick-tack-toe board practically engraved on her forehead.

“...Right. So if you’re all not going back, could you please be quiet? It’s hard enough erasing the presence of all five of us...”

Lee Si-yeong, who was circulating her mana to the maximum at the front, took over with a sigh.

Seeing the light in her Spirit Seal, it was clear that she was pushing her abilities to their absolute limit to weave the spell.

One might say it was an over-investment just to tail one person, but everyone present looked as if they wouldn’t feel at ease unless it was to that extent.

“Because he’s... that person. Right?”

“If possible, I was of a mind to even raid the Association for an EX-rank artifact...”

“Ah, if you submit a request for removal from the Hunting Alliance, it can be approved. Shall I contact them and execute it now?”

“Right. A similar item can be brought from the Round Table. If he is the opponent, we must utilize every means available...”

“...”

In the bewildering situation where unconventional words were pouring out in real time, Meirin, who had a relatively normal sense, was the only one clutching her head.

Ah, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik.

Right now, everyone seems to be leaving him alone because there are urgent matters to attend to, but if a situation arises where ‘everyone can aim for him’ seriously after everything is resolved.

She couldn’t even imagine what kind of battlefield she would have to go through then.

“Wait a minute. Everyone, be quiet. I think he’s arrived somewhere.”

As Seo Ah-in spoke, everyone froze.

Indeed, Kim Gyu-sik, caught at the edge of their vision, was stroking his chin and had stopped in the middle of a certain house.

“...It’s very, how should I put it...”

Evangeline started to speak and then trailed off, but it was certain that everyone there was having similar thoughts.

It was a crumbling house.

Of course, most of the houses in the shantytown gave off that impression, but the house where Kim Gyu-sik had stopped was a house that felt even more precarious than that.

A structure that would normally be embarrassing to even call a ‘house’, with only its frame barely remaining, and a feeling that it was only standing thanks to someone’s painstaking efforts over a very long period.

“Did Mr. Kim Gyu-sik... make it all? I somehow get that feeling.”

As Seo Hye-in said that, an angry voice cut in from somewhere.

“Right, that doesn't matter.”

Seo Ah-in nodded and pointed a finger at a spot in the nearby yard.

Her expression was practically blooming with killing intent.

Wondering what on earth could provoke such a reaction, they followed her gaze, and there, they saw Kim Gyu-sik, who had entered one side of the house, staring blankly at something.

A wooden plank nailed to the wall. On it, crookedly carved letters.

[ Sojin ♡ Gyu-sik ]

“Oh my. How pure. It’s cute.”

Meirin said with a warm smile, but in proportion to that, the killing intent in Seo Ah-in’s eyes grew deeper and deeper.

“Why didn’t you respond at all when I did something similar...!”

“...”

“...”

Isn't the problem the fact that you did something similar at that age?

Such an expression appeared on the faces of everyone present.

But Seo Ah-in's expression, which moved everyone there by completely ignoring such reactions, only grew more and more serious.

As if the house held so many cherished memories, he would glance at the weeds in the front yard as he passed by, stroke the fence once, and stand for a long time in front of the moss on the doorframe.

The longer they watched such a Kim Gyu-sik, the more their frustration seemed to explode with greater force.

“Just... go on...! Be as lovey-dovey... as you want...!”

“...Um, shouldn’t we stop your younger sister soon?”

“From what I've seen in the past, when Ah-in enters that state, even if our mother and father rushed in together, they couldn't handle her...”

“...”

Indeed, as Seo Hye-in said that, Seo Ah-in's rampage was so monstrous that everyone present nodded reluctantly.

So much so that when Kim Gyu-sik entered the house with sorrowful eyes, she was on the verge of jumping out of Lee Si-yeong’s concealment barrier.

“Why-! Why won’t you do that for me-! Just why-!”

“...”

“...”

Seo Ah-in, screaming like a monster, chased after Kim Gyu-sik, and a startled Lee Si-yeong followed to stop her.

The remaining women could only face each other with reluctant expressions.

And after some time had passed.

The sound of Seo Ah-in's monstrous screams was instantly cut off.

“...Huh?”

“Looks like something happened inside.”

At this, everyone tilted their heads and cautiously began to approach the entrance of the house.

Perhaps they had been discovered by that man.

With such thoughts, everyone reached the entrance.

And immediately after, they realized why Seo Ah-in had fallen silent.

“...”

Seo Ah-in was silently bowing her head.

Her face was full of shame and embarrassment.

“...I’m sorry...”

What was caught at the edge of Seo Ah-in’s teary-eyed gaze as she muttered so was.

“I, I really, something like this... I didn’t know at all... I’m sorry... I’m sorry...”

A wheelchair that had clearly been used by someone for a long time.

Tire tracks left all over the floor from someone pushing it around.

Furniture that was overall set much ‘lower’ than what an ordinary person would use.

Unquestionably.

A living space created for a certain ‘human’ who couldn’t even stand properly and had to live in a wheelchair all day, a space into which someone had poured their heart and soul without bottom.

“...What the. When did you all get here.”

And in a nonchalant voice, from the wide-open backyard.

A man was wiping the dust off a tombstone inscribed with ‘Kim Sojin’.

Unless one was a fool, they would know very well what that meant.

“...”

Amidst everyone being at a loss for words.

Only the rustling of Kim Gyu-sik’s hand, silently wiping the top of the tombstone, was falling softly upon the silence.

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