Chapter 26

When it came to Do Yehyun’s sense of money, I was fully prepared to cooperate—as long as he didn’t pull dumb shit like buying a flip phone again or asking if he should put ₩130,000 on a twelve-month installment plan.

Still, once he wore them, even nineteen-thousand-won pants looked different. With the right model, they actually looked more like twenty-nine thousand won.

In the room he stayed quiet, but once food was in front of him he came alive, chatting away about this and that. Humans really do need to eat to function. If they don’t, you never know when the inner “fuck you” is going to come bursting out.

“Hyungnim, have you eaten this kind of thing a lot before?”

“Sometimes. But with you around I guess I’ll have to come more often.”

Meanwhile, my phone had been ringing like crazy.

“...You’re not gonna answer that?”

“Nah. Spam.”

I had a pretty good idea who it was. Unknown number, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) but the timing was too coincidental. Answering was a different matter. If I picked up now, I’d have no idea what lie to feed them.

'Wait until I’ve got a repertoire.'

One more call and I’d just flag it as spam.

After dinner, heading back up to the room, I ignored the missed calls and checked the texts. One from Joo Seowon, one from Neo Core’s Sung Eunha.

'Yo, you get home safe?'

Well, if he was sending texts like that, at least he hadn’t dozed off at the wheel and died.

ㅇ

The moment I replied, he hit me back.

'You rude fuck.'

Thinking about it over dinner with Yehyun reminded me—tomorrow was moving day. I’d grabbed the earliest available date, so there was no helping the rush. No way I was paying hotel rates month after month.

By now Seowon should’ve cleared out all his shit too. If he hadn’t after a week plus three extra days, I was ready to haul him out and toss it all in a truck.

I brushed off Seowon’s curses and checked the other message.

Thankfully, Sung Eunha’s was far more satisfying.

Hello. This is Sung Eunha from Neo Core.

I wanted to talk again about what you mentioned last time—would you have time?

Good. She hadn’t dragged her feet. I wasn’t exactly patient. Smiling, I typed back a cheerful reply.

Welcome. *^^*

***

The next day, Yehyun and I packed up the hotel room and moved into the new place. The kitchen appliances were built-ins, and I’d already had the big essentials—bed, washer, fridge—delivered, so there wasn’t much left. Just sorting bedding and putting clothes in the wardrobe.

The days after the move were slammed. I shoved Seowon into the house by force, filed the required paperwork, handled residency registration, checked taxes. Even simple documents took a stupid amount of time. Oh, and I bought a car.

Most importantly, I finally took care of the thing I’d been putting off:

My personal records.

I didn’t just pull a family registry and resident copy. I also checked my old high school to confirm classmates, and even contacted the university to verify my student status.

That’s when things became clear. The “Seo Jehyun” of this world was similar, yet different. Most importantly, no classmates remembered me. They knew the name Seo Jehyun, but when they saw my face, they frowned and asked if we’d ever even been in the same class.

The university record was worse. Dropped out right after first year. But the military service record was there. And yet no one in college or the army remembered me either.

To be honest, it didn’t make sense.

The family registry was different too. My real-world “father” and “mother” were no longer listed as family. But the money in my account had a clear origin: inheritance. Which... yeah. Felt pretty shitty.

'How did Lim Sungyeon know?'

The original novel never mentioned this, so maybe it had nothing to do with him. Which meant someone beyond the Status Window was adjusting the world this way. That was a thought I didn’t like.

In the end, the conclusion was obvious. Everyone connected to the previous “Seo Jehyun” had been erased. So clean it practically screamed intent.

Realizing it left me with a weird feeling. On the one hand, having no ties would make it easier to move forward. On the other, it felt like I was being toyed with.

'Whatever. Time to move on to the next step.'

No point clinging to it.

For the record, the cohabitation life wasn’t bad.

Yehyun did his best to act like he wasn’t adapting, but he clearly was. Even Seowon, who had screamed at first about sharing a house with me, gave in after a light beating and now strutted around like it was his place.

Honestly, I was probably the one having the hardest time. It had been ages since I’d lived with anyone, and the little things—like wanting peace and quiet but hearing noise from the next room—threw me off.

Still, all that just needed time.

***

A few days later, I met Sung Eunha at Neo Core’s lab.

“The real charm of magi-engineering is how it layers fantasy over things science alone can’t solve. It outright violates physical laws. For example... you know the three components of combustion, right?”

“Fuel, ignition temperature, and oxygen. I know what you mean. Even if one’s missing, mana can supplement it. It’s... absurd, honestly.”

“You said you looked at my paper back then. Did you also read the part where I presented mana interacting with gravity?”

“Of course. I read it every day!”

Seeing a student full of passion, Eunha’s hostility all but melted. She still didn’t bring up my request to take me on as an assistant, but that was only a matter of time. Worst case, I’d build a separate lab and consult her on the side.

But this much, she could handle.

When she paused, I spoke up like I was hesitating.

“Um, could I ask one small favor? Nothing major. I want to modify an item—shrink it significantly. Nowhere else can handle it. I’ll pay whatever you ask, just... is it possible?”

“Oh, don’t mention pay. If it’s your request, it might help my research too.”

“Still, if you ever do need compensation, please say so. I’d like to use magic stones, but I need the size reduced.”

“How small?”

I already had the form in mind. Smiling, I said:

“Accessory-sized. Would that work?”

Eunha carefully reviewed the specs and sketches I’d brought, then agreed without hesitation. Her hands were fast too—two revisions, and the entire process was finished in a single day.

I went home humming with the finished device in hand.

What I’d asked Eunha to make was a combined communication and tracking item using a magic stone, crafted in accessory form—one each for Seowon, Yehyun, and myself.

Naturally, Seowon and Yehyun couldn’t contact each other. Only I could check their locations.

'Because that’s what I need.'

Obvious, right?

When I got home, Seowon was on the couch watching TV. The same guy who had thrown a fit about not moving in was now living more comfortably than I was.

“You’re back, sir~”

He offered a fake-polite greeting while crunching on potato chips. What the hell was he watching?

For the record, Seowon chain-smoked, drank like a fish, and blew past the recommended daily sodium intake every damn day.

I gave him a pitying look.

“Seowon... you’re gonna die young.”

“Why the hell’s the first thing out of your mouth a curse?”

Not a curse. Concern.

I walked over to the couch and set two small shopping bags on the table.

“What’s this?”

“Gift.”

“What for? You actually bought this?”

“Put in a lot of effort.”

Bought and modified, in fact. I smirked, and his face soured in real time. Why was he looking like that when I brought him a present?

“...Why does you buying me a gift make me feel so fucking uneasy.”

Unbelievable.

“That’s your problem.”

“No. It’s always been your problem. Always.”

I ignored his whining and pulled out a little accessory case. Even seeing the box, Seowon went silent.

“No reaction to a gift?”

“What is it...?”

A gift. I flipped it open. Ah—this one was Yehyun’s. The boxes looked the same, I mixed them up.

But Seowon had seen what was inside. His face went pale as he looked at me.

“Why the... fuck. Hold up. What the hell are you doing?”

“This one’s not yours. It’s Yehyun’s.”

“What? Why’s that his? No, fuck that—why the hell are you giving Do Yehyun a ring?”

By now, his tantrums didn’t faze me. Smiling, I calmly opened the other box. Yehyun’s was a ring, Seowon’s wasn’t.

“...And that one?”

“Yours.”

When I opened it, his face stiffened even further.

“...A jewel?”

“Magic stone craft. Worth more than most gems, so don’t lose it.”

“...And why are you giving me this? What’s it for?”

“Lose it... and I’ll kill you.”

“......”

Not literally kill. Just beat the shit out of him.

Seowon shut his mouth and studied the box. He hadn’t realized what it was yet. His item was a piercing. Yehyun got a ring, Seowon a piercing.

When I lifted it up, he figured it out and bolted backward.

“Hey, hey—I don’t have my ears pierced!”

“I know.”

That’s why I’d even brought alcohol swabs. Even a B-rank hunter could suffer from infection. Sometimes I amaze myself with how considerate I am. Honestly, he wouldn’t die from it anyway—I could’ve just shoved it through.

Seowon was so moved by my kindness he went speechless.

'They say in today’s world, being nice just makes you a sucker. Guess I’d better keep my head on straight.'

I smiled at him lightly and asked:

“So?”