Chapter 132: Vortex Key (2)

The conversation between Yoo Dahee and Mr. Kang Bada lasted about two hours.

I sat a bit far away, looking at my phone, but there wasn't anything particularly interesting.

At times like this, checking the status window is the best.

『Welcome to the Level 3 Shop.

Our shop sells various items to help in battles against heroes.』

『Raising the shop's level will add products and apply discounts.

Shop Level 3 (MAX)』

Trait Drawing Ticket - 80P

Capsule Drawing Ticket - 80P

Unlock Locked Item - 80P

Should I draw some traits for myself after a while? I had 《Trait Enhancement》 too, so any trait I drew would be beneficial.

Ding-!

Soon, something like a roulette wheel that often appears when doing various draws in games came up and started spinning. It felt like a "spin the wheel" game.

"Please be something good...!"

Whirr-click.

It stopped!

Where the arrow on the roulette machine pointed, it said.

『《Owl Eyes》. You can see better in dark places』

Oh. That's good, isn't it?

If I had known there was something like this, I should have drawn traits earlier. Since we're on the topic, should I do one more?

After thinking for a while, I decided against it.

I shouldn't use points carelessly. Should I say that having at least 1000P always gives me peace of mind? It's been even more so since I changed my clock to 《Sloppy Clock》.

Swish-

Just then, I saw Yoo Dahee getting up from her seat.

Was the conversation over?

Mr. Kang Bada was still sitting, but Yoo Dahee came towards me.

"Young-won. Let's go."

"Huh? Did the talk go well?"

"Yeah."

Was the problem between them really resolved well?

I looked at Yoo Dahee and Mr. Kang Bada again. I had no way of knowing whether the conversation had really gone well or not.

"I told Dad. That I would never give up being with you, Young-won. This is the cross and crown I have to bear."

Gasp!

I was surprised and touched by Yoo Dahee's words. To think Dahee was this passionate about our pirate crew's affairs.

It was a moment when a corner of my heart felt reassured. At the same time, I felt embarrassed.

"What, is that a confession?"

I asked, trying to brush it off awkwardly.

Then Dahee said.

"It's more than that. Let's go."

Dahee grabbed my hand and pulled me.

I was concerned about Mr. Kang Bada sitting in the cafe, but a girl's hand had considerable magic, so I couldn't resist being pulled out.

I decided to take Yoo Dahee to the park where the driver was waiting.

We walked together on a summer night, and walking alone with a girl was still an awkward and unfamiliar experience for me. Fortunately, unlike her image, Dahee was quite chatty.

"He told me about my mom. Mom was older than Dad. And when Mom had me, she was over twenty, and Dad was 17."

Yoo Dahee was a high school girl with a father in his mid-thirties.

Mr. Kang Bada's face looked older due to various reasons, but he was the same age as my mom. It meant he was too young to be a father with a high school daughter.

"Young-won, thanks to you, I learned about what kind of person my mom was and who my dad is."

"Really?"

That's good.

It was a moment when I realized that it's better to solve problems head-on rather than just suffering through them.

I think I've been overthinking a lot of things until now.

Maybe because of my less-than-honest personality, I've been complicating even things that could be easily solved.

Was it the magic of the summer night? Or have I grown through experiencing various things?

I decided to ask Dahee something I would never have been able to ask normally.

"Dahee. I have something to tell you about my dad. I want to ask about what happened between you and my dad."

"I thought you'd hate talking about that time?"

"I did. But I can't just sit still, you know. I saw that summer warehouse on the third floor. If I see such a scene again, I'll break down. It's my trauma."

Everyone crossing the corridor was facing their fears directly.

Yang Juhee, Jung-seok, Yoo Dahee, even Bong Ji-yeon was overcoming her fear to find her sister's head.

But I, who was driving them into danger, was running away from the past. I thought that might trip me up someday, and I wanted to know the truth.

Whether my father was really a criminal or not.

I decided to accept whatever the result might be.

As I was thinking that, Dahee took a slow breath and began to speak.

"It was a summer like now back then too."

***

I remember too.

A summer when the cicadas were unusually noisy. A summer when sweat would pour down even if you just stood still.

"The memories are hazy, like a dream. Back then, I suddenly got sick and kept going to hospitals and doctors, but my condition wouldn't improve."

Yoo Dahee explained her experience as if she was talking about someone else. Was it because it was so long ago that her memory wasn't complete?

"Then, the housekeeper working at our house... not Mrs. Danvers who's there now. The previous housekeeper sent me to Seoul, saying she'd cure me."

Mom! It was my mom.

Mom sent Dahee, who had suddenly fallen ill, to Seoul. Mom, who was staying at the mansion after going to the past through the elevator, sent Dahee to Dad.

"After that... honestly, I don't remember. I only remember being terribly scared and in pain. And a boy's voice from outside... I begged the boy to save me. To rescue me..."

"......"

"In the end, the boy outside opened the door, and I survived. That's what I remember. That's all I can tell you about myself."

...It's different from my memory. It's true that there was a 'girl' locked in the warehouse.

But I still had to lean towards thinking that 'girl' was a completely different person from the current Yoo Dahee.

It was Dahee, but it wasn't Dahee. It was closer to a beast than a human, something like Satan trying to lure me.

Until now, I wondered if that was possible, but Kwon Suho's case was the answer. Yoo Dahee must have been switched like Kwon Suho when two quirks stacked up.

How did she come back?

There must have been a reason Mom sent Yoo Dahee to Dad. Did Dad know how to bring back someone who had been switched due to two quirks?

"Young-won, I ruined your family. I stole your life. If it weren't for me, your family would have been happy."

Slump-

Yoo Dahee, sitting in the park, drooped her shoulders.

I was surprised that Dahee had such thoughts about me. And I could vaguely understand Mom's words, "Mom's sorry. Just... suddenly felt that way."

Mom, who had disappeared into the past through the elevator, knew how we had lived after Dad went to prison.

Yet she chose to send Yoo Dahee to our house, and she seemed to feel sorry for me for the things that happened because of it.

Is it others' fault that my life got messed up?

It was. At least until a certain day. But now, the one really messing up my life was none other than me.

"Opening the warehouse door where you were was my choice. Opening the old school building door was me too. Opening the second floor door was me, and opening the third floor door was me too."

The one I couldn't forgive the most was actually not Dad, but myself.

I only realized belatedly that many things could crumble and shake because of my choices.

It's the same now. I was always someone who regretted things only after I'd done them and they became irreversible.

As Mr. Kang Bada said, I was someone who only cared about myself and could drive others into danger to achieve my goals. My friends might really die in the process.

"In exchange, I'll definitely make your dreams come true. I will. I'll make your dreams come true by any means necessary. So keep dying for me in the future too."

This was the most selfish request one person could make.

Yoo Dahee silently hugged me. We were like broken glass shards, our gaps fitting well with each other.

The reason my friends and I got along well was because they were all broken and damaged somewhere.

Only those who lack something have intense desires. Maybe I was attracting people with such desires.

"Young-won... I'll tell only you."

Yoo Dahee, who had been hugging me, whispered something in my ear.

I was shocked to hear it.

Swish-

Yoo Dahee pulled away from me. She smiled softly under the moonlight.

Blood trickled down from both of Yoo Dahee's eyes.

"Today, I heard about how much my mom loved my dad. If I were in the same situation... I think I would have done the same. So only you should know this. Without even me knowing... Because... I'll end up doing this..."

Yoo Dahee, collapsed under the moonlight, bloomed like a red flower.

"This... is all I can do..."

Slip-

In Yoo Dahee's limp hand was a familiar pouch. It smelled of lily of the valley.

"......"

Yoo Dahee had killed herself.

Meeting her father, which I had arranged, must have caused some change in her state of mind.

I realized that if Yoo Dahee and Kang Bada met, this same thing would happen many times in the future. Yoo Dahee would die for me without hesitation. 

Kang Bada and Yoo Dahee shouldn't have met.

I closed my eyes and wound the clock.

The blood that had embroidered the summer was rewinding, until all that had happened remained only in my memory.

The conversations we had faded like cicada shells, and all vows and promises disappeared meaninglessly into eternity.

When I opened my eyes, everyone was looking at me in front of the old school building entrance.

It was the day we decided to explore Buldan Temple, at lunchtime when everyone took a photo in front of the school.

"Guys, Buldan Temple is on the third floor. And if we want to know about this place, they say we need to find a person named Ji Dong-seok."

"You rewound time."

The smart Jung-seok understood the situation after hearing my words.