Chapter 170

“…What is this place?”

Everything around was pitch black. I could clearly see my hands and feet, but nothing else was visible.

“Ha Yu-ri.”

There was no response from Ha Yu-ri. Only my voice echoed emptily.

‘Damn it. Did I get separated from her?’

…It seemed like I was separated from Ha Yu-ri.

‘Please tell me I’m not the only one who ended up in Ha Yul’s subconscious.’

I hoped not. If that were the case, everything would be a mess, and it would be a huge headache.

“Ha…”

A door began to appear before my eyes, as if by magic.

‘Am I supposed to open this?’

I was worried that opening the door might worsen the situation, but since there was nothing else I could do at the moment, I opened it.

‘What is this…’

It resembled the principles I had seen in the Library of Records.

From a third-person perspective, Ha Yul’s memories began to unfold as scenes.

From the time Ha Yu-ri and Ha Yul lived on Earth.

To the time they fell into Eras and formed a party to carry out activities.

Of course, there were some scenes that made me frown.

‘…They’ve been through a lot.’

Even back on Earth, I realized that having a pretty face didn’t necessarily mean everything was easy.

Especially right after they fell into Eras.

‘Honestly, before seeing these, I just thought it was what it was…’

I hoped that, at the very least, their ending would be somewhat better.

‘Well, if it’s not, there’s nothing I can do.’

A new door appeared, so I opened it and stepped through.

‘This is…’

A scene of Ha Yul being experimented on by Rekalux.

Ha Yul’s screams were so horrifying that my face automatically twisted.

If even I was making that face, others who saw this scene would probably react even more strongly.

‘He was a real lunatic.’

…Of course, I wasn’t one to talk, given my past, but I could confidently say Rekalux was even crazier than me.

The scene of him cutting open her abdomen without even anesthesia was enough to make an ordinary person faint.

Suddenly, I felt worried.

‘…Did Ha Yu-ri see this?’

If Ha Yu-ri saw this, I doubted she could stay sane. She was strong in martial arts, but her mental strength was weaker than one might think.

‘I need to find her as soon as possible.’

The paths were tangled like a maze.

I kept opening doors that appeared one after another, searching for either Ha Yu-ri or Ha Yul, but no one was in sight.

‘Damn it, where are you?’

Just when I started to think I might be the only one here, I saw a figure sitting far away.

“Ha Yu-ri!”

I shouted to her from a distance, but she remained seated, covering her ears.

‘Ugh… stupid girl.’

She was always a handful.

Tap.

“…Ha Yu-ri.”

“…Huh?”

Ha Yu-ri turned around, startled, and looked at me.

I was slightly taken aback because she was crying.

‘Did she see something about her sister?’

It seemed like she had suffered a mental shock and was emotionally broken.

I needed to restore her sanity first.

“…What are you doing sitting here? Snap out of it.”

“I… I…”

‘Has she lost her mind?’

Ha Yu-ri’s mental weakness was her Achilles’ heel, regardless of her martial arts skills.

“Sigh…”

“I’m… a sinner. I don’t deserve to live…”

Thwack!

“Ow! What are you doing?!”

I flicked her forehead because I couldn’t stand seeing her like that, and she seemed to come to her senses.

“Ha Yu-ri, snap out of it. Aren’t you going to save your sister?”

‘How many times do I have to tell her to get a grip?’

“…..”

“I don’t know what you saw here, no, honestly, I can guess, but what’s the point of staying like this?”

At my words, Ha Yu-ri hung her head low. She probably knew it too.

‘But she just couldn’t control herself.’

Human emotions are both controllable and uncontrollable.

“Get up already. How long are you going to sit here?”

“…O-okay.”

As we started walking, Ha Yu-ri spoke up.

“…Thank you.”

“What’s this all of a sudden?”

“Just… everything. From helping me get revenge to everything up until now…”

“…I’m just going to use you later. Don’t thank me.”

Ha Yu-ri chuckled at my words.

“You’re not as good at lying as I thought. Or maybe it’s just in this aspect…”

“…You’re free to delude yourself.”

“Seeing your reaction, it doesn’t seem like a delusion.”

“What are you talking about? Did you forget I turned you into a drug criminal? How can I be bad at lying?”

“…Well, back then, it felt like the world was ending… but now, it seems like it was for the best.”

“Did you… take some rat poison or something?”

I didn’t like the way Ha Yu-ri kept smiling at my words.

“Anyway, thank you. For everything.”

“…Hearing that makes me cringe. Just act like you usually do, Instructor Ha Yu-ri.”

“Alright. Since you seem embarrassed, I’ll stop.”

“…..”

After some time passed while talking with Ha Yu-ri, a door appeared before us.

‘She’s beyond this.’

Both Ha Yu-ri and I instinctively knew. Ha Yul was behind this door.

Our eyes met, but her pupils were trembling as if there had been an earthquake.

“…Calm down.”

“B-but…”

“No matter what state your sister is in, you need to stay calm to have any chance of helping her recover.”

“Okay…”

She swallowed hard and opened the door.

‘…Is that Ha Yul?’

In the distance, I saw a woman surrounded by dolls.

‘Where did the dolls come from?’

Even though this was a mental space, Ha Yul’s appearance was the same as in the real world.

But something felt off. Her appearance was that of someone over 20, but her behavior didn’t match.

“Hehe, ooh… when will big sister come…”

Hugging a teddy bear and playing with it, she seemed like a child.

“Yu, Yul-ah…!”

At Ha Yu-ri’s voice, Ha Yul noticed us.

“Huh… Yu-ri unni?”



“Yu, Yul… Yul-ah…”

“Wow! It’s my sister!”

Ha Yul ran over like a child and hugged Ha Yu-ri tightly.

At first, Ha Yu-ri was happy to see her sister approaching, but her expression soon stiffened.

She had noticed it too. Something was off about her sister’s condition.

“Sis! Why did you come so late? You said you’d play with me!”

“Yu, Yul-ah…?”

“Sis, play with me. Okay?”

‘…Did she regress due to mental shock?’

Ha Yu-ri was so shocked that she couldn’t respond to Ha Yul’s words.

Ha Yul glanced at my face and then reacted.

“…Huh? Ce, celebrity!”

‘Celebrity?’

“Ce, celebrity! Sis, it’s a celebrity! I saw them on TV…”

Looking at Ha Yu-ri with a puzzled expression, she opened her mouth.

“…I think Yul thinks you look like a celebrity she saw on TV.”

…Seems like there was a celebrity on the TV show Ha Yul watched who looked like me.

“So, so handsome…”

“…..”

I had no idea how to react in this situation.

‘At least the worst-case scenario was avoided.’

I had thought the worst-case scenario would be Ha Yul losing her sense of self or becoming hostile toward Ha Yu-ri.

While I was relieved it wasn’t either of those, regression was still a tricky situation.

“Um, excuse me… What’s your relationship with my sister?”

Her eyes sparkling, she asked me, still mistaking me for a celebrity from TV.

“…I’m not a celebrity, just a friend of your sister.”

“Oh… So, not a celebrity? Ah, an idol…”

“Yeah, no. I’m just someone who looks similar.”

At my answer, Ha Yul pouted for a moment but then perked up and spoke again.

“Hmm… That’s okay! You’re still handsome!”

‘Is she a fan or something…?’

“Yu, Yul-ah… What are you doing here? Let’s go out with me, okay?”

At Ha Yu-ri’s suggestion to leave, Ha Yul showed resistance.

“No… It’s scary outside.”

“What are you talking about… Why is it scary? Let’s go out together, okay?”

Despite Ha Yu-ri’s coaxing, Ha Yul remained pale and unmoving.

“…Yul-ah?”

“No… Sis, can’t you stay here with me? We can play here together…”

“Ah… That…”

“Sis, let’s stay here together, okay?”

“…Should we?”

…Seems like her judgment is clouded because her sister made a request.

Ha Yu-ri seemed almost entranced, so I had to snap her out of it.

Thud!

“Ha Yu-ri, what are you doing? What if you end up being persuaded instead?”

“Ah…”

She seemed to regain her senses at my words.

“Yul-ah… Why are you scared of the outside? Huh? I’ll be with you, so let’s go out.”

“No… I don’t want to…”

‘…Her resistance is pretty strong.’

“There’s a scary grandpa outside… We can’t go out.”

At the mention of a grandpa, Ha Yu-ri’s expression stiffened.

“A grandpa…?”

Of course, the grandpa Ha Yul was talking about had to be Rekalux.

I had expected it, but it seemed Rekalux was the decisive cause of Ha Yul’s regression.

“A weird grandpa… He keeps trying to hurt me… We can’t go out…”

As she spoke, Ha Yul trembled, and Ha Yu-ri’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Ah… Yul-ah…”

“Sis…?”

She seemed puzzled by Ha Yu-ri suddenly hugging her tightly.

“Sniff… Sis is sorry. Were you lonely, Yul-ah?”

“Hmm… No, it’s okay. Sis came for me.”

“…Let’s go out with me. I scolded that bad grandpa. He’s not outside anymore.”

“Huh… Really? Sis scolded that grandpa?”

“Yeah. So, can you trust me and come out with me?”

“…Who’s that guy?”

“…Huh?”

“…Is he your boyfriend?”

Seems like the kid’s making some weird assumptions.

Before I could deny it, Ha Yu-ri answered first.

“…Yeah.”

‘What?’

“No, wait… Why am I…”

Before I could finish, I met Ha Yu-ri’s gaze and shut my mouth.

“…..”

Well, she was making a pleading face.

Ha Yu-ri didn’t say it outright, but it was obvious she was asking me to just let it slide this once.

“Is that guy coming with us too?”

“Yeah… Let’s all go out together. Can you do that, Yul-ah?”

Ha Yul slowly nodded.

‘Well… At least it’s resolved for now.’

I don’t know if Ha Yul’s mental state will return to normal or stay like this, but that’s something to think about later.

For now, bringing her self-awareness back to the surface was the priority.

And so, the three of us opened the door to the dark room and stepped out.

******

‘Ah…’

It felt like I had just woken up from a long sleep.

‘Am I back?’

I slowly sat up in bed.

‘Ha Yu-ri…’

Looking to the side, Ha Yu-ri and Ha Yul were hugging each other.

‘…..’

“Yul-ah…”

“Sis…”

“It must’ve been hard for you… Sis is sorry…”

“…No, sis. Thank you for coming to save me.”

From the way she spoke, it seemed her mental age had thankfully returned to normal.

Ha Yu-ri was moved to tears by the fact that her sister had returned to her healthy state.

Ha Yul patted her sister’s back while holding her.

It felt like their roles had reversed, but it wasn’t a bad outcome.

I quietly stepped aside to give the two sisters space to have the conversation they needed.