They Actually Have That?
There was a place like this?
The destination Licia and I arrived at was the luxury floor of a department store.
The moment we stepped off the escalator, the air itself felt different — that vague but unmistakable feeling of it. A subtle, expensive perfume hung in the space, and the marble floor gleamed like polished ice. The shops had been arranged like museum exhibits, and the clothes on display each carried a price tag starting in the tens of millions of won.
"However I look at it, this seems like a bit much."
Licia shot a glance past the display window and sniffed dismissively.
"Hyunwoo, you are an officially registered A-rank Hunter with the Association. You're the public face of the organization, saving people in broad daylight — if you go around wearing thrift-store hand-me-downs, what does that do to the Association's image? As your manager, I'd appreciate it if you considered my dignity as well."
"That's fair, but still. It feels excessive, is all I'm saying."
"It is excessive, honestly."
And with that, Licia strode straight into the flagship boutique.
"Welcome, honored customer."
The clerks, impeccably dressed in tailored suits, bowed at the waist. Their gazes snagged for a moment on Licia's overwhelming beauty, silver hair streaming behind her, before flicking briefly over my unkempt, bed-headed self.
Licia didn't spare a single glance for the lavish dresses, the jewelry, or the limited-edition luxury bags lining the store.
Honestly, it surprised me. A young woman — a young woman with that face, no less — should have had her eyes rolling back as she made a beeline for the bags and accessories. But Licia's attitude was utterly dry, clinical.
"This one, this one, and that charcoal coat hanging over there — bring them all out. Sizes tailored to that person, top to bottom."
"Of course, madam. Right away."
The staff snapped into motion, ferrying garments to and fro. By the time I'd been poked and prodded through lecture after lecture about shoulder lines and silhouette, I was dead on my feet — and Licia set an oversized suit jacket and a sleek leather watch down on the payment counter with a decisive little thump.
One glance at the price tag and my eyeballs nearly popped out of my skull.
Fifteen million won...!
That was three-quarters of the price of my life! Wait, since when did Licia have that kind of money?
I was shuffling along in a daze when I finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Have you perhaps lost your mind?"
Licia stopped mid-stride and looked up at me, unhurried. Something strange shimmered in those blue eyes.
"Hyunwoo."
"Yes?"
"This isn't free, you know."
"Oh... now I'm impressed. Depending on what comes out of your mouth next, I may have to cut you down right here."
Licia declared, with the confidence of a queen addressing her court:
"You do remember my birthday is November 4th, don't you?"
"I mean, yes."
"I just spent fifteen million won today. So call it two million won or so? That's all you need to give me as a birthday present. On my birthday."
"Ha. Look at you, absolutely shameless."
Chew-the-scenery-and-bill-you-for-it woman, in the flesh.
"Fine, let's hear it. Why exactly do I owe you this?"
At my words, Licia turned her gaze away and stared off into empty space. Between strands of silver hair drifting in the air conditioning, a faint trace of loneliness bled through — a far cry from her usual aloof poise.
"It's just... something like that happened."
"Like what?"
"When I was young, you know, I had quite a few romantic notions about jewels and glittering luxuries like this. Of course, now that I'm a grown adult with a fully developed brain, I'm well aware that material things like these mean absolutely nothing."
Licia continued evenly.
"But... there's something someone once said to me, back when I was that young. That's why."
"Said what?"
"I was a kid in middle school, you see."
A faint smile touched the corner of her mouth.
"That boy told me — that when we grew up, he'd buy me all the things I loved. Typical childish bluster, of course."
"..."
"So, hmm. I thought... maybe if I did this, I could feel even a little of that flutter, that excitement I felt back then... don't you think?"
There was something wistful in Licia's matter-of-fact confession.
And I couldn't help but furrow my brow.
"You set the mood and deliver it all solemn like that, and sure, it sounds vaguely convincing. But aren't you just bragging about your ex-boyfriend to my face? Because I genuinely don't know how I'm supposed to take this."
Licia's shoulders flinched. Her eyes went wide with panic, and she cleared her throat, darting her gaze every which way.
"N-no, I wasn't? He's not an ex-boyfriend...?"
"No matter how I listen, that's an ex-boyfriend."
"So what you're saying is, it only sounds like an ex-boyfriend."
"Yes."
"Then he is an ex-boyfriend."
"???"
Suddenly, Licia's mood turned radiant.
"And it wasn't even a mere ex-boyfriend relationship — we were, in fact, engaged!"
"Oof..."
"Granted, there was never a formal confession where we asked each other out? But we were, for all intents and purposes, a couple promised in marriage!"
My jaw dropped at the shocking revelation. So the ice queen Licia had such a fresh-faced, innocent romantic history buried in her past!
"So romantic feelings do exist inside you, Licia. Because I still vividly remember the time an S-rank showed up with a bouquet to confess to you, and you spat 'Get lost, you make me sick' right to his face like you were hocking a loogie."
Licia lifted her chin with prim hauteur.
"For the record, I intend to remain untouched until marriage. Thanks to a certain promise I made with that boy, not so much as a fingertip of mine has ever been given to another soul. Do remember that."
"Ah... yes, ma'am."
And THAT person drank from my coffee like that?
Something about it felt off. An inexplicable, indescribably complicated feeling.
"Now then — shall we get to business?"
She was even humming to herself. Along with my sister, apparently Licia had a textbook case of bipolar disorder too.
Our next stop was a movie theater. For the record, we'd grabbed popcorn from a convenience store on the way.
And something was off. There wasn't a single soul besides us.
We walked down a corridor wrapped in dead silence and pushed open the door to the screening room — and I zoned out all over again.
In a theater with hundreds of seats, only two had their lights on.
"Licia? What exactly is this place?"
"A movie theater, as you can see."
"Then why are we the only two people in it?"
"It would be problematic if business talk reached other people's ears. So I rented out this entire screening room. For privacy protection purposes."
First fifteen million won of shopping, now a full private theater rental.
But what came next was the true pièce de résistance.
The moment I flopped into my seat, reclined it back, and settled in, the lights dimmed smoothly and the screen lit up.
What poured out of the colossal speakers was the last thing I expected.
"HAAH! Miracle Heart Beam...!"
"Pyo-ro-rooong~♪"
"With the power of looove~!"
Against a rainbow-splashed pink backdrop, a girl whose eyes took up half her face twirled a magic wand in a frilly dress. An anime, in other words.
A classic magical girl theatrical feature — the kind of thing a TV anime channel would have aired a decade or so ago, back when I was in elementary or middle school.
On screen, the girl was chanting some childish incantation and purifying villains.
"Licia."
"Yes?"
"Why did you pick this?"
I asked flatly, watching a pink beam of magic light streak across the screen.
"I prepared it to suit your tastes, Hyunwoo."
Licia replied just as flatly, eyes glued to the screen.
"Right. Business. Let's talk business."
I shoveled popcorn into my mouth with the magical girl's transformation sequence blaring as our BGM. But, like... the more I watched? Wasn't this? Kind of? Entertaining? Actually?
Be that as it may, Licia slipped a slim tablet PC out of her bag and lit up the screen.
"Don't worry about the contract renewal. Rescuing that hat made quite a splash in the media, you see? Which is why the Association is scrambling to hold on to you."
"I'll trust you on that."
"And..."
Licia's voice cut off abruptly. Washed in the pale glow of the screen, her eyes sank deep.
"I told you, didn't I. About the information on the memory artifact."
I stopped mid-chew. Then turned straight to her tablet.
"I've secured a lead."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. A special Gate in the form of an ancient civilization ruin. Among the artifacts enshrined in its boss room, there is — with over ninety percent confidence — a sacred relic said to be capable of restoring a user's soul and memories."
Licia swiped through the screen, showing me maps and Gate measurement data. An undulating blue waveform of mana pulsed erratically — abnormal at even a glance.
Her lips trembled slightly as she continued. And then she said it.
"But Hyunwoo... personally? If it were purely my own selfish wish, I'd rather you didn't join this Gate raid at all."
"Because it's dangerous?"
"That's part of it. But the real reason is — do you really... need to find your memories?"
"..."
"I think you're living quite happily right now, even as you are. So why go searching for memories... at all? Couldn't you just... go on living the way you are now?"
I drew a breath.
"Licia."
"Yes..."
"You know as well as I do how much memories matter."
Memories are the self that makes a person who they are. What more was there to say?
"I know. I know..."
With her complicated sigh, the conversation came to a close.
In the silence, the two of us stared up at the screen without a word. On it, the magical girl was still cheerfully routing villains, her exploits rolling on and on.
We both just ate popcorn with blank expressions, watching the screen until the runtime ran out.
When the film ended and the end-credits music began to flow, we rose from our seats and headed out.
Stepping from the dark theater into the lobby, a merchandise stand tucked into one corner caught my eye — classic anime goods and souvenirs. Inside a clear glass case, figures of the magical girl we'd just watched, toy magic wands, and character goods were arranged in adorable little rows.
And among them, one item in particular seized my gaze and refused to let go.
A pink magical headband, with big ribbons on either side and a sparkling plastic jewel set in the center.
The signature item the show's protagonist, the magical girl herself, wore on her head every time she transformed.
That thing...
I slyly turned my head toward Licia standing beside me. Silver hair cascading to her waist, beguiling and elegant. Cold, piercing blue eyes. A sharp jawline and the aura of a city woman who could out-shine any runway model.
If I put that pink ribbon headband on that face...?
God, it would look catastrophically bad.
But then, isn't the human animal a creature that revels in the comedy of incongruity? Because for some reason, I found myself genuinely wanting to plop that childish ribbon onto that imperious head.
Licia came up beside me, followed my gaze downward, and spoke up out of nowhere.
"That? I actually own one."
"I'm sorry, what?"
I whipped my head around at the completely unforeseen bombshell.
"You're telling me you have that?"
"Yes. I received one a long time ago. A gift from a boy, you see. I still keep it carefully stored at home, even now."
No, hold on. How does that make any sense? There's a guy out there who gave a gift like that?
Sounded like that so-called ex-boyfriend. What kind of person even was he?
"Thinking about it now, I still can't figure out what was going through his head when he gave me something like this... Well, since we're here anyway, why don't I indulge the old feelings and try it on?"
"No, that's — that's not really okay, is it?"
"Why not? Don't tell me you think it wouldn't suit me? Ha! Someone with my looks can pull off anything, you know! Even something like that!"
"That's not the point. It's store merchandise. If you just walk off with it, isn't that a crime?"
"...Ah."
Licia and I stared blankly at each other, and I suddenly remembered what I'd forgotten.
Oh. I never texted her.
Come to think of it, I hadn't sent my sister a single message.