Memorize - Episode 22
22 The City of Traps
After a brief reunion, everyone including myself gathered and sat in the central living room. Ahn Sol wasn't visible, but faint breathing sounds coming from the next room suggested she was still unconscious.
An inexplicable, uneasy atmosphere hung heavily in the living room where everyone was gathered. It felt like the calm before a storm. It seemed I had entered at a rather inopportune moment.
While I hadn't expected an emotional reunion, I felt somewhat uncomfortable that it was happening in this atmosphere. Ahn Hyun's face looked awkward, and Lee Yoo-jung and Kim Han-byeol were glaring at each other, suggesting a conflict had erupted between them due to differences of opinion. I had vaguely heard Kim Han-byeol shouting at the end, but I planned to find out the details later.
After a period of awkward silence, Ahn Hyun, with a weary face, was the first to speak.
"Su-hyun hyung. I'm not sure what to say first. I'm truly grateful that we were able to leave the forest thanks to you. And I sincerely apologize for leaving without waiting for you. I know any excuse will sound like a mere pretext, but I really wanted to say this."
As I watched Ahn Hyun bow his head towards me, I inwardly smiled with satisfaction. He was assertive when needed, but also knew when to humble himself. Given his neutral and moderate personality, I had been somewhat concerned, but fortunately, he didn't seem to be an utterly inconsiderate person. In response to Ahn Hyun's sincere apology, I shook my head and spoke in a gentle, soothing voice.
"When I couldn't see you all... I was a bit taken aback at first."
"I'm sorry. I have no words to excuse ourselves."
"You can stop apologizing now. I'm sure you all had your reasons. But I don't see your sister?"
"Ah... about that..."
"Hey, Ahn Hyun. Wait a moment. Let me explain that. Is that okay, oppa?"
Just as Ahn Hyun was about to speak, Lee Yoo-jung quickly cut in. I noticed she had already started speaking to me informally, and I thought she was quite sociable. I would have preferred to hear from the calm Kim Han-byeol, but seeing her furrowed brow, indicating she was in a bad mood, I silently nodded.
"So, after oppa lured those things into the forest..."
After confirming Ahn Hyun's agreement, Lee Yoo-jung glared briefly at Kim Han-byeol before starting her explanation. Her account, while lacking in some areas, was concise and clear. Since I had already guessed the general situation, there wasn't much need for additional explanation. However...
"You say ghost-like things appeared in mid-air?"
"Yes. But thinking about it now, it's a bit ambiguous to call them ghosts. It's more like they weren't perfectly transparent? We could somewhat see their form, which seemed to have wings. We could also see their movement path. But no matter how much Hyun slashed with his sword, they just wouldn't fall."
Feeling the need to hear more details about this part, I turned my head, and Ahn Hyun closed his eyes. He seemed to be recalling that moment. After tilting his head for a moment, he slowly began to speak.
"It's similar to what Yoo-jung said. I slashed with all my might, but it felt like I was just cutting through air."
Cutting through air. Only the form visible, not perfectly transparent. They had wings. Synthesizing these three conditions, a memory flashed through my mind.
Wraiths. Upon hearing about the not-quite-transparent invisible beings with wings, I immediately thought of Wraiths. Wraiths are monsters that can't be harmed by physical attacks. They inflict pain on the mind while passing through human bodies. Since Ahn Hyun had endured their attacks more than a dozen times, it seemed they had been somewhat adjusted for the Trial of Passage.
As I listened, one question arose. The group currently had no conventional way to catch Wraiths. So how did they manage to escape them? I decided to bring up Ahn Sol as well.
"So, was your sister injured because of those things?"
In response to my question, Ahn Hyun slowly shook his head. And as his story continued, I couldn't hide my astonishment. The Wraiths, seeing Ahn Hyun's most fierce resistance, had focused their attacks on him. Naturally, Ahn Hyun suffered, and eventually, unable to withstand the pain, he dropped his sword and shield. In this critical moment, it was Ahn Sol who saved him from danger.
When I asked for more details, even Ahn Hyun couldn't explain it well. Lee Yoo-jung and Kim Han-byeol also shook their heads. The entirety of the explanation was that Ahn Sol had been screaming, and then suddenly, a white light flashed from her entire body, and all the things attacking them disappeared. Immediately after that, Ahn Sol lost consciousness and collapsed. And she hasn't woken up since then.
After hearing everything they had to say, I nodded. Ahn Hyun remained silent for a moment, then spoke to me with an anxious face.
"Hyung... Sol will be okay, right? She'll wake up again, won't she?"
"How's her physical condition?"
"Her breathing is steady. Her pulse is normal too. But sometimes her face contorts as if something hurts. She occasionally lets out groans."
Magic overdrive. Could it be that Ahn Sol had already manifested her magic? It was unbelievable, but I soon thought it might be possible. When I first started, I had a really hard time because of my low magic score. Also, it took some time for me to draw out sword energy after entering the Hollow Plane following the Trial of Passage.
But Ahn Sol started with a magic score of 75, so things could be different for her. The world of the unconscious was an area where research couldn't be done, so there might be something I didn't know. However, one thing was certain: her untrained body would have had difficulty handling 75 points of magic. While the degree might vary, if she hadn't overexerted herself too much, I should be able to help her sufficiently.
"I'd need to see her to know for sure, but I don't think there's any major problem. Don't worry too much."
"Th-then, can we now..."
Just as I was thinking how impatient Ahn Hyun was and was about to stand up, a gentle hand firmly grasped my wrist. Feeling the soft touch on my left wrist, I turned my head to see Lee Yoo-jung looking at me with a pout.
"Hey, Ahn Hyun. Is that what you say to oppa who just got back? Oppa, aren't you hungry?"
"Huh? I can hold out... Let's check on Ahn Sol first..."
"We've all taken turns checking on her already. Unless you're a doctor, it can wait. We've heard our story, now let's hear yours. I'll go make some snacks, and you can tell us while eating. Okay?"
I wondered why she was acting like this today. Her proactive attitude, different from before, was a bit strange, but I didn't dislike being taken care of. At Lee Yoo-jung's words, even Ahn Hyun seemed to relax a bit, giving a slightly embarrassed smile and nodding.
"Here, drink this water. I saved some from earlier when I was drinking."
"Huh? Ah, thank you."
As Kim Han-byeol took out water from her pocket and handed it to me, I reached out without thinking. At that moment, Lee Yoo-jung swatted the water Kim Han-byeol was handing over and returned it to her. While I was dumbfounded by this sudden action, Kim Han-byeol's sharp voice was heard.
"What are you doing?"
"Are you giving him something you've been drinking? I'll give oppa a new one. You drink that."
"What are you two..."
Before I could finish speaking, Lee Yoo-jung quickly stood up and walked to the kitchen.
Soon, I could hear her rummaging around and then the clattering sound of something being made. Turning my head back with a disgruntled feeling, I saw Ahn Hyun with an awkward face and Kim Han-byeol with a cold face, both staring at the floor. It was an unexpected situation, but I decided to quickly change the subject after clearing my throat.
"Have the others all eaten?"
"...Yes, hyung. We ate first. We were too hungry... Haha."
"No, that's good. It's not like I told you when I'd be back... It would have been foolish to just keep waiting."
As I responded to Ahn Hyun, who was scratching his head with an apologetic face, a new water bottle was placed in front of me with a thud. Lee Yoo-jung had already whipped something up and was gently placing a plate in front of me, making me wonder if this was really the Lee Yoo-jung I knew. On the plate was what looked like tuna crackers, with canned tuna spread on biscuits similar to crackers. It was clear she had tried to make it look pretty. Lee Yoo-jung even opened the water bottle for me and spoke in a forced cheerful voice.
"Ta-da~! Presenting Lee Yoo-jung's special crackers!"
"Oh, looks delicious. Let me have a bite... Ouch!"
As Ahn Hyun, swallowing his saliva, quickly reached out his hand, Lee Yoo-jung stopped him with lightning-fast movements. Ahn Hyun rubbed his reddened hand with a disgruntled face, but at Lee Yoo-jung's fierce glare, he withdrew his hand, grumbling softly.
"That's mean. Why be like this over food?"
"I made this for oppa, why are you trying to eat it? And where did you learn to reach for food before oppa, who hasn't eaten yet?"
"Tch."
"Oppa, try it. I guarantee the taste."
"Uh, okay? Thanks. I'll enjoy it."
Seeing Ahn Hyun still grumbling and Lee Yoo-jung turning her head with a "hmph," I just laughed it off. I picked up a cracker and swallowed it, feeling the taste of cheap tuna and biscuit spread in my mouth. It wasn't exactly a delicacy, but it was edible enough. Of course, this wasn't the time to be picky, and it tasted decent in its own way, so I chewed thoroughly.
Fortunately, the atmosphere seemed much more relaxed than at the beginning. As I was about to reach for another cracker, the gazes on me became too burdensome, and I felt I should say something quickly. Of course, I couldn't tell them that I had taken out all twenty-plus Deadmen, so I planned to embellish the story appropriately. After complimenting Lee Yoo-jung on the taste, I immediately began to tell them how I had lured the creatures in the forest.
"Hyung, so you almost got bitten then?"
"I was zigzagging between the trees, trying to escape. I didn't expect one to jump out right next to me as I was passing a tree. If my left hand had been just a bit more to the side, I'm sure I would have been bitten. I still shudder thinking about that moment."
"Wow... So we really almost lost our oppa."
"Hehe. Hyung, you should have seen it. Yoo-jung was going crazy until you arrived. She suddenly grabbed a sword and was all worked up, saying we needed to go rescue you quickly, that you might still be waiting. She was absolutely frantic."
"You want to die? I wasn't that over the top."
"See, you're admitting it. You did do it after all."
"You little...!"
Watching Ahn Hyun and Lee Yoo-jung bicker and giggle, I felt inwardly relieved. Just as I was about to let out a sigh of relief at the gentle atmosphere, I noticed Kim Han-byeol's coldly set face. Her icy gaze, different from before, as she stared at us, made me feel a chill creeping into a corner of my heart.
I had thought it was probably nothing, but I had an unspoken intuition that I shouldn't take lightly the words Kim Han-byeol had shouted at the end. I decided to talk to Ahn Hyun separately as soon as this gathering was over.