Chapter 848: The Path of Memory (1)
I took one step forward. The familiar pavement settled beneath my foot. It was time. Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to release the keyword right away. The cityscape reflected in my eyes. …
I was afraid I might never come back here again. I hesitated to leave behind the people precious to me.
If I went a little farther in this direction, I would reach Dodam’s Breeding Facility. My home was waiting there. For a moment, I thought about going to see it one last time, but I couldn’t move my feet anymore. If I saw it, I would waver. I would end up thinking, Maybe I should just go back like this.
‘…Even if I ran away, everyone would tell me it was okay.’
There was no one who would blame me. A bitter smile came on its own. That was exactly why I couldn’t back down. Because they were all far too good to me.
To shake off the lingering attachment, I drew in a deep breath. A system window appeared before my eyes. Targets whose influence was complete. Han Yuhyun’s name sat at the very top. I remembered the moment right after I had regressed.
“I love you. This keyword was probably decided from the start too, wasn’t it.”
I’d thought it had become that because I told my brother I loved him, but maybe it had been set from the beginning. Then if I hadn’t told Yuhyun I loved him, would I have failed to receive the Perfect Nurturer title too?
“Well, it’s not like there was any chance I wouldn’t have said it.”
Back then, I had thought it had all been erased. That was why I’d felt so awkward around my twenty-year-old brother. Everything that had piled up in my chest over eight years was still there, yet I had returned to five years earlier. Of course it felt strained. I hadn’t been able to get my footing. I hadn’t known how to treat him.
And yet the words I loved you had come so easily because, in that moment, the one thing I had never gotten to say to my twenty-five-year-old brother was still lingering in my mouth. The instant I saw my brother’s face, it had been so vivid that I couldn’t bear not to say it.
Slowly, I lifted my hand and placed it against Han Yuhyun’s name in the system window. There was no need to say it aloud, but I opened my mouth as if performing a rite.
“Keyword OFF.”
If I returned again, then this time, not to anyone else, but to you at twenty-one. The second OFF slipped from my lips. A faint light spilled from the system window. The seven letters of Targets Fully Influenced blurred and bled outward.
▒▒hyun(S)
The names began disappearing from the top. Yuhyun.
‘Hyung.’
Han Yuhyun’s memories began flowing into me. Han Yuhyun’s gaze had always been turned toward Han Yujin. All kinds of versions of me appeared, and Han Yujin smiled without thinking, as if he had no choice. Han Yuhyun laughed, got angry, felt sad, and felt sorry. Every single one of those countless emotions passed through Han Yujin, through me. No matter how many times I faced him, he was the same brother he had always been.
‘I’ll wait only for hyung.’
Recent memories rose up too. The heart that looked toward one person forever flowed into me just as it was.
“Yeah.”
I quietly nodded, fully accepting that heart of my brother’s, the one I had once worried over and wondered whether I ought to fix. I gave him an answer that would never reach him.
‘Honestly, Mister is weird too.’
Next came Yerim’s voice. She had her arms folded and was stiffening her expression, pretending to be grown-up as she looked seriously at me and Yuhyun.
‘You can’t just blame Han Yuhyun.’
At first, Han Yuhyun had seemed the weirdest, and he had been unpleasant and awkward to deal with. But then Yerim’s eyes turned elsewhere. Seong Hyunjae and Chief Song Taewon came into view.
‘To be hooonest, those Misters are weird too.’
At Yerim’s words, Kang Soyeong nodded gravely. But unni, you’re kind of unusual too, Yerim said. Soyeong laughed and said she did hear that every now and then.
“Yerim, honestly.”
I felt a young heart slowly expanding among people who were far from ordinary. Between those pieces of her, loneliness she hadn’t been able to hide had seeped in too. After Sanho was born, that loneliness eased by a great deal, and I let out a breath of relief. It really was fortunate.
“Still, I’ll be back soon.”
Yerim’s birthday wasn’t far off either. Could I make it back before then? I had to celebrate it for her.
‘Yujin.’
Myungwoo called me. It seemed the keyword release itself still applied even though he was outside this world. I saw Myungwoo from before he obtained the Golden Forge skill, waking up after failing to sleep. He stood in the dark hallway, quietly staring at the door to my bedroom.
“I really was worried back then.”
He had been carrying far more worries than I’d realized. A pang of sympathy rose in me naturally, but only for a moment. Yu Myungwoo soon came to believe in himself. He gained a certainty about himself that was no less than Seong Hyunjae’s. He had become far sturdier than I was.
‘Because Yujin was so disgusted by it.’
A newcomer promoting tentacles appeared, along with Myungwoo looking troubled. Myungwoo’s eyes shone as he looked at the system. They were full of curiosity.
“I’m glad it’s not just about helping me.”
Staying on as the system administrator was also part of the future Myungwoo wanted. Since he was short on fingers, should I have told him one or two tentacles might be all right? But I really didn’t want Myungwoo having anything like that attached to him.
‘He shouldn’t overdo it.’
It was Kim Seonghan’s voice. What he was holding was… my physical records? When had he measured that? He examined my records with a serious expression, then entered the guildmaster’s office. At the mention of an oriental medicine clinic famous for being good among the elders back home, Yuhyun listened too.
“That stuff really tasted awful.”
Because that brat Yuhyun counted every packet of herbal medicine and watched me, I’d had no choice but to take them properly. Seonghan’s feelings toward me naturally faded.
‘As expected of the guildmaster’s older brother.’
Kim Seonghan muttered while watching the Chatterbox Party on TV. The emotion of seeing me as his grandfather disappeared, but the heart that acknowledged and accepted me remained. In fact, it only grew stronger. Even respect…
mixed in.
“I didn’t know Seonghan thought that highly of me.”
When a guild member said, But he’s still F-rank, Seonghan sternly scolded him and said that what mattered wasn’t rank. Well, I had done well. It was a little embarrassing, but facts were facts.
‘Dad!’
Peace bounced up and down. His fluffy tail swished behind him. I picked up Peace in his juvenile form.
‘Peace missed Dad!’
‘Yeah!’
Peace’s memories were passed to me exactly as they were, and I could understand the Flame Horned Lion’s words. Peace listened closely to me. His pointed ears flicked adorably.
“…My Peace, you understood everything Dad said.”
Only, to Peace, Dad didn’t mean his biological parent creature. He called me that because I called myself his dad. To Peace, Dad was the being who held him, played with him, gave him food, and brought other young creatures into his embrace.
In front of Blue in the rooftop garden, Peace spread his wings as if to show them off. Blue flapped her own wings and delighted in them. Then Peace glared at Noah too. My Peace had been jealous. Peace wanted to keep acting spoiled. But he also wanted to be useful to me. The Flame Horned Lion gained the juvenile form skill and acquired wings.
‘When is Dad coming.’
Peace sat in front of the entrance. Dad had left and come back again so many times. So this time would be the same. He stared quietly beyond the inner door, then stood up. After turning once in a circle, he headed toward the living room. A few strands of golden-red fur remained in front of the entrance. The place where Peace had been sitting…
Was he still waiting like that even now? My fist clenched tight with heartache.
“Peace, Dad will definitely come back.”
I wanted to hold Peace tightly in my arms this instant. Peace’s form blurred before my eyes.
‘Fun!’
Kyaaau, the Golden Griffin cried out powerfully. Blue flew through the sky with delight. When she deliberately landed near the Hunter training center by the Gyeonggi-do breeding grounds, Hunters swarmed over, praising her and saying she was cool. Blue preened and gave rides to the Hunters she liked.
“That Blue really has been living well.”
I’d heard that she got close to unfamiliar Hunters right away, but she enjoyed the attention itself, didn’t she? A smile formed on my lips. I felt relieved, thinking she would probably continue to be like that.
‘Sometimes he makes me feel bad for him. Sometimes I worry about him. Yeah.’
The memory changed again. When had this been? Moon Hyunah was looking down at me while I slept as she spoke.
‘He says he’s thirty, so older than me, but still. He makes me nervous.’
“To be honest, Hyunah, you’ve always felt more mature than me.”
If I had to pick one person I could trust and leave things to, wouldn’t Hyunah be the first person I named? To me, Moon Hyunah was that kind of person. Not precious family, not a friend, not my ideal type. Something different from all those things. Someone I could trust even if we were standing on diverging paths.
‘Hyung-nim trusts me too much.’
I felt Hyunah’s unease. She wasn’t always unshakable. Even as she walked toward what she believed was right, there was a part of her that couldn’t trust herself. She was also an ordinary person who wavered and agonized again and again. Over Han Yujin, over Sigma, she had struggled countless times. Yet she always stood straight.
“That’s why I trust you even more.”
Because she was someone who would always think about the better path and do her best. I could trust her at any time and leave my back to her.
‘Boss Kim Seobang!’
Something white sprang up. It startled me, and I reflexively backed up half a step. Since the memories were being transmitted directly, Fear Resistance seemed useless. Yun Yun, you succeeded this time.
“So she doesn’t think of me as her grandmother after all.”
At first, when the keyword took effect, she had seen me that way, but not anymore. To Yun Yun, I was a trustworthy boss.
‘It’s okay, Boss Kim Seobang is rich! Eat all you want! Eat more!’
At Yun Yun’s boast, the goblins cheered. It’s fine if we cause a little trouble, Boss Kim Seobang will handle it somehow! Even S-ranks go weak when Boss Kim Seobang says something! Boss Kim Seobang is the boss of the humans!
“…Hey, isn’t that too much faith in me?”
A little flustered, I scratched my cheek. Come on, even if my wealth had shot up thanks to Chatterbox, it wasn’t like I had a goblin club. Yun Yun seemed to think I could do anything. Would she also believe that even if I died, I would come back alive?
‘So pretty!’
It was Kang Soyeong’s voice. Comet shook her head broadly as she said,
‘Pretty!’
Comet’s memories of me had faded considerably. I had taken care of her, and she still liked me, but Comet’s companion was Soyeong. Her new family, with whom she ate, slept, flew, and hunted.
Beside the black wyvern, a golden dragon spread his wings. Together with Kang Soyeong, Comet happily greeted Noah. Noah’s wings were still membranes then. Those membranes became covered in feathers.
‘I can’t understand my sister.’
Noah complained to me. Liette blurred over Han Yujin’s figure.
‘If only my sister had been like Yujin.’
I gently stroked the dragon’s head. Noah closed his eyes. He had tried to place himself in the Breeding Facility. There had been a time when he resolved to forget the past and start over here. But in the end, Noah faced Liette.
“That was what Noah really wanted.”
As I watched Noah’s memories, a pleased smile came to me. It had been difficult, and it hadn’t been easy. He had nearly lost Liette forever too. Even so, Noah, the two of them, had been able to stand side by side. Noah would be able to fly the way he wished.
‘Dad!’
‘Daaad!’
Baby monsters came running. Most of them thought my name was Dad. Among them, a deep voice mixed in.
‘…Mother.’
“Oh, for crying out loud…”
A groan escaped me on its own. What the hell was that? Shishio was looking down at my photo with tears in his eyes. Was this when I’d been kidnapped to China?
“Everyone else escaped the keyword’s influence, though.”
‘My wonderful mother!’
“Aaaagh…”
Don’t. Don’t do that! I appreciated the way he thought of me, but seeing a large grown man act like that couldn’t help but send a shiver down my spine.
‘I will forever hold Mother in my heart…’
“Ah! Is there no way to skip this memory?”
Because it was flowing directly into me, covering my ears was useless. Fortunately, the memories of the monsters I’d brought from China soon pushed aside Shishio’s mother nonsense. If not for that one thing, he was a good person.
After the young monsters, new memories kept appearing. They were full of memories of Han Yujin, who had risen to become the star of the Chatterbox Party. I could feel the S-rank Hunters’ acknowledgment of me directly.
“…I am proud.”
No matter how many times I felt it, it was a good feeling. I still hadn’t reached the point where I could say I didn’t care at all what others thought of me. Of course it mattered to me. I wanted to be worthy of being the Haeyeon Guildmaster’s older brother. I wanted to be worthy of being Park Yerim’s guardian. I wanted to be Dodam Breeding Facility’s independent director. I wanted to be the Sesung Guildmaster’s equal partner. I wanted the kids to see me as an adult they could believe in and rely on.
I was greedier than I thought.
‘Yujin hyuuung!’
Park Hayul whined. He was glued to his computer, touching up a photo of me…
“What are you doing, you little…”
Park Hayul opened the packaging for a cushion printed with my photo that had just been delivered. Mari looked at him like he was pathetic.
‘At least use a photo of Seong Hyunjae-nim.’
‘You’re just too young to understand! Yujin hyung is the best!’
‘Or the head of Korea’s Awakener Management Office.’
‘You really have no eye for quality.’
“…No, I think Mari’s standards are way higher.”
Every time I saw that Hayul, he really was living his best life. The names on the system window were almost all gone. The twenty-six-year-old Yuhyun had already left, so… Park Hayul was last. The final name disappeared too.
Now.
‘Dad!’
“…Gyeol?”
It was Hangyeol’s voice. Gyeol shouldn’t have been registered under the keyword. They had said it would influence our world itself, but still…
‘I like Dad.’
It was Byeol. I could feel Seol’s memories too.
‘I don’t hate him.’
‘It’s our home.’
‘Let’s do it again! Bang bang!’
‘I’m glad Dad is Gyeol’s dad.’
It was Dream Gyeol. I looked up at the sky. This world was a dream Park Hayul had shaped from reality, with himself as its pillar. And twice the effect of Park Hayul’s ability had been applied to me. Was it because I was influencing everyone’s dreams?
‘Thanks to the Lord, I can do everything I ever wanted~.’
“…Do Hamin?”
Hamin smiled as he wiped a ceramic hamster ornament. No, even if Park Hayul’s ability was involved, this was the release of the nurturer keyword, wasn’t it? I had no memory of raising Do Hamin.
‘There’s so much work! But I’m happy! Long live the Lord!’
Seok Hayan’s voice came next. Then.
‘I am still not certain. But Han Yujin-ssi is…’
It was Chloe. With a grave expression, she corrected her earlier hasty judgment of me. She still believed one should act for the sake of the greater number of people, but she had changed, if only a little.
“…Even Chloe.”
‘I suppose it is because… I began to want to live too.’
Chief Song. He, who had not been influenced by the keyword, spoke quietly. I saw bright yellow flowers. The me that Chief Song looked at, the world around me, was spring. And Chief Song, too, had taken one step closer to me.
Little by little… I felt like I was beginning to understand.
‘If Han Yujin-nim hadn’t rushed into that wedding that day!’
Mari laughed. She looked happy. I saw others too. Among the faces I knew were faces I didn’t.
‘You never know what might happen just because someone’s a lower-rank Hunter!’
‘Honestly, Han Yujin is special, but still, you never know.’
‘This is the special skill research group, right? My skill is weird, but I thought it was useless. What do you think? Is there a way to apply it?’
There were countless unfamiliar Hunters. There were unawakened people too.
‘About Han Yujin, why does it feel like he went through so much? It hasn’t even been a year since he Awakened. Anyway, it must have been hard for him to make it all the way there.’
‘Let’s try a little longer after all. At the very least, maybe I’ll get a related skill when I Awaken.’
‘I protected S-rank Awakeners too!’
‘I played a part in saving the world.’
‘I helped SF. I caught monsters too.’
It wasn’t every person in the world. It was the people I had influenced. People who had received something from me, whether large or small, that helped them move forward.
“…A nurturer.”
Wasn’t limited to the people I had applied a keyword to. No, in the first place, influencing people with a keyword had been part of a system-bound skill. If I set aside that system and looked purely at the title of nurturer, then a nurturer was…
The dreams connected to me poured down. Before them, a white baby bird appeared.
– Chirp!
–TL Notes–
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