Chapter 235

But if I set aside the weird nuance in what they’d said, I was honestly curious.

“Yeah, I’m curious.”

“Hm.... Right, you said you were curious earlier too, Jehyun.”

“Yes.”

Before I’d gotten a peek at Im Haekyung’s fear, it was just mild curiosity. Now it was something a lot more solid than that.

‘Didn’t think they’d show it that specifically.’

And if the fear I’d felt was some kind of unconscious domain, then maybe I could get a better handle on those “deleted” memories too.

Of course, the biggest reason was simply that I was curious.

I relaxed the corners of my mouth into a loose smile and looked Im Haekyung in the eye.

Im Haekyung didn’t seem to know I’d glimpsed their “fear.” If they knew, they wouldn’t have missed the chance to poke at me.

‘And if you think about it... the only reason I could even see it was probably that Skill they used without realizing.’

I’d almost overlooked it because they looked so unfazed, but Im Haekyung was someone who hadn’t been in their right mind until just a second ago. No matter what they said, I needed to filter it.

Im Haekyung turned their gaze to empty space and spoke like they were thinking something over.

“Then I have a plan that might work.”

“What is it?”

When I asked while watching them, Im Haekyung didn’t answer. They just stared at me quietly again.

***

I split up with Im Haekyung and moved fast. What I had to do from here was simple. One: stall for time. Two: survive.

Sure, there were other individual quests too, but.

As I walked, I replayed the conversation I’d just had with Im Haekyung.

In the first place, there were two main reasons they’d failed to clear this Dungeon.

‘One of them I know. You said the compatibility matched too well, right?’

‘That’s right.’

‘What’s the other one?’

‘There were too many people.’

In other words, there were too many obstacles in the way of using wide-range mental control.

‘Then why not just mentally control the Hunters and siphon off their Skills? That would lessen the compatibility problem too.’

‘That’s a good idea.’

‘Yeah.’

‘It’s also a great idea for bringing human rights issues to the surface.’

I’d already used that method a few times. Now you’re saying that?

When I stared at them blankly, Im Haekyung added more with a sigh.

‘There are a lot of A-rank Hunters whose consciousness is still awake.’

‘Then just put them all to sleep.’

‘Mm. I actually tried that and failed. Because someone stopped me.’

‘Who?’

‘Guild Master Song.’

It was a simple, clear answer.

It wasn’t hard to accept. Song Hwayoung had been wary of Im Haekyung’s mental-type Skills from the start.

‘Did they say you messed with their memory?’

I dug up information Joo Seowon had brought me a long time ago and nodded. Im Haekyung had lightly touched the minds of people around them, and Song Hwayoung was included in that. And then they deleted even Song Hwayoung’s memory and...... well. I think Seowon said their relationship got completely fucked.

‘If Guild Master Song hates it that much, what do you do....’

As they said that, Im Haekyung put on a disgusting smile. It wasn’t funny at all.

‘You’re pretty good at doing things Guild Master Song hates.’

‘Me?’

Im Haekyung looked at me like I was talking bullshit, then let out a short, dissatisfied laugh.

‘Well... I know you have people do background checks and follow others around, Jehyun, but information you can learn from the outside is always limited.’

‘Even if it’s information you learned through Guild Master Song?’

I said it half to provoke them. I was curious how Im Haekyung would react.

Im Haekyung held my gaze for a moment, then spoke with a vague smile.

‘Then it’s even more limited.’

‘Because you touched their memory?’

‘Jehyun, sometimes the better choice is for a memory to disappear. The blessing of forgetting... you don’t know it?’

‘Sure, but isn’t the point that you’re not supposed to know the memory disappeared? The moment you realize your memory got wiped, it feels like it stops meaning anything.’

I said that far and met Im Haekyung’s eyes head-on.

‘Honestly, I’m not that interested in the Guild Master’s personal life. Usually I pay attention because personal history tends to become a weakness, but... you don’t expose personal history that could be used as a weakness, so there’s nothing. Right now there isn’t even anything I could get by blackmailing you.’

‘Keep going.’

‘So... right now I’m genuinely curious without any particular intent. What kind of relationship do you have with Guild Master Song?’

‘Weren’t you already aware? That’s what I thought.’

‘What I know is that you were adopted into the same household and were siblings for a short time, and then the adoption got annulled at the Guild Master’s request.’

Im Haekyung listened to me, then wiped their expression clean and—still in a voice close to their usual one—opened their mouth as casually as ever.

‘If I answer, can I ask you one thing too?’

I quickly sorted through what kind of question Im Haekyung might ask. Either way, it’d be the same kind of thing.

‘Yes.’

When I answered without hesitation, Im Haekyung crooked their mouth and stared at me for a while.

‘To put it simply, I’ve known Guild Master Song for a long time. Since before the adoption. We’re from the same orphanage.’

“An orphanage?”

‘From back then, I basically thought of us as siblings. Then we actually became siblings. I really didn’t expect someone to adopt two teenagers side by side, though.’

‘The people who adopted you were famous.’

‘You even know that? That’s a pretty thorough investigation. Seowon, right?’

“.......”

‘I’m not going to steal him away. Don’t worry.... Anyway, yes. A business owner and an actor couple adopted us. They deliberately adopted teenagers. It’s not annoying, it doesn’t take much time to raise them.... And if the two of us look a little alike, it’s nice because we’ll really look like siblings.’

Do Song Hwayoung and Im Haekyung look alike? I tried matching their faces in my head for a moment, then tilted my head.

‘You two don’t look alike.’

‘Back then, maybe we looked alike because we were two clean-looking kids around the same age.’

Im Haekyung answered like it wasn’t important and continued with a faint smile.

‘They wanted an ideal family. More precisely, the father did. The father’s a self-made businessman, and he only had his mother and older brother. But the older brother is... apparently a mess in every way. Alcoholism, gambling—classic. And the mother lost her mind taking care of that older brother.’

‘So they needed a “show” family?’

‘I think so. But it went a little too far... it felt kind of fetishized.’

As they said that, Im Haekyung knit their brows slightly. It didn’t look like genuine disgust—more like an expression meant to keep the mood light. They didn’t seem particularly bothered, either.

‘A fetish? Ah.... Like they built a family that looked too perfect on the outside?’

Well, if their spouse was a celebrity, and they picked two kids based on looks too, then yeah—sounds like a lunatic.

‘They had rules for the ideal family they had in their head. Like we absolutely had to eat together, housework was all on the mother’s side, there were roles the son and the daughter had to perform.... It was just a huge role-play.’

‘And violence came with it?’

‘Of course. That was the core. They beat and raised a black-haired beast.’

‘But, Guild Master, your hair isn’t black.’

‘Which is why they failed at “child education,” I guess....’

With a soft chuckle, Im Haekyung returned to that strange expression and played with their hair. What must have originally been light hair was dyed black, faintly gleaming.

After that, Im Haekyung’s story was simpler than I expected.

They didn’t particularly want whatever benefits they might get later.

‘They were too healthy for me to endure it just for an inheritance.’

That made sense, so I nodded.

Anyway, they tried to persuade Song Hwayoung to leave that house together, but it got shot down fast. Because Song Hwayoung didn’t want it.

‘Maybe they cared about the mother who would be left behind, or maybe just having a family was better.... Who knows? I don’t really know that far. Either way, the commotion reached the father’s ears, and after that the annulment was pretty easy. I mean, a son who talks about annulment doesn’t really fit a “perfect” family anyway.’

But this wasn’t what I wanted to know. I listened through Im Haekyung’s long annulment story, then asked what I was actually curious about.

‘So why did you two grow apart?’

Im Haekyung smiled and stared at me quietly.

‘For me, I still... have attachment. We spent a long time together, right? It’s hard not to. And even after that, we stayed in contact.’

‘.......’

‘So... if possible, I wanted the Guild Master to carry only good memories. I have the ability, so... couldn’t I help a little?’

The way they trailed off made their smile curl a little higher.

‘Ah.’

So...... in other words, they’d manipulated not only Song Hwayoung’s memories but even the previous parents’ memories too, so everything would be “good memories.” Like that was all there had been.

‘When memories change, personality changes a little too. That was new. Just changing the memories of someone violent, and planting a little trauma—who knew they’d become docile.’

‘Talking about the father?’

This time too, Im Haekyung didn’t give a clear answer. They just smiled vaguely. I watched that and slowly nodded.

So was Song Hwayoung angry because of that?

‘When you find out the household you ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ believed was happy was actually all manufactured... do you feel betrayed?’

I’d never experienced anything like it, so I couldn’t be sure.

When Im Haekyung got that far, they asked me for my thoughts.

‘How is it, hearing it?’

‘Who knows.’

New information acquired?

When I didn’t say much, Im Haekyung laughed softly like they’d expected it.

‘That reaction is so exactly what I expected that it’s funny.’

‘.......’

‘Then can I ask my question now?’

‘Yes.’

Im Haekyung dropped their smile, looked me straight in the eye, and asked,

‘In this Dungeon... are you sure Guild Master Song is going to die?’

I was silent for a very brief moment at their words, then answered honestly.

‘Yes.’