Crack in the Peace (4)

“Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get this?”

The title: No Affiliation with Any Organization. The acquisition condition itself isn’t actually that difficult. As long as you have no ties to any organization, you get it. The problem was that it was difficult for me.

“I was this tall three years ago. Back then, the Murim Alliance offered me a spot.”

“The M-Murim Alliance?” Eris asked, visibly flustered. She had every reason to be. The Murim Alliance was widely regarded as the strongest of the three major syndicates.

“Yes. The Murim Alliance. But I turned them down. Want to know why?”

“W-Why…?”

“Because I have someone I need to protect.”

“What does that even mean? If you joined the Murim Alliance and learned how to use internal energy, you could actually protect them.”

I knew she wouldn’t understand. Even if her organization was in ruins, she was still part of one, so of course she wouldn’t get it. Still, I had a perfect example this time—one even Eris would have to understand.

“That’s not real protection. The best thing is for danger never to arise in the first place. Do you have any idea how terrified I was last night because of Choon-sik?”

“Ah…” Eris let out a sigh the moment she heard the name. Of course she did. It was because of her that some lunatic had nearly turned the PC bang upside down.

“I-I’m sorry. I caused you so much trouble.”

“If you really understand, then stop talking nonsense and leave. I don’t want anything to do with any organization.”

If I got involved with any syndicate, I had no idea what might happen to the mother I loved. I wanted to live in peace, but more than that, I never wanted to see her in danger.

Eris lowered her head deeply, as if she finally understood.

“I’m really sorry. After everything that happened because of me, I still had the nerve to ask for help… I must have been out of my mind.”

Her voice was weak. Seeing her—someone who always seemed overflowing with energy despite her frail body—looking so dejected made my chest ache for some reason. But feeling sorry didn’t mean I could help her. Half-heartedly offering assistance would just be hypocrisy, and that wasn’t right either.

So I said nothing as she trudged away toward her house. I didn’t stop her.

And back then, I didn’t know. I didn’t know that Eris would never return to the PC bang after that, or that this damned hologram window would appear once a day from then on.

“This shit again. Fuck.”

I sighed and closed the hologram window.

A month had passed since Eris left the PC bang. And this damned hologram window had appeared every single day without fail.

Eris herself had apologized and walked away, so why the hell was the system still doing this?

“Son, why do you look so upset? Are you sick?”

Mom looked at me with worried eyes. My face was twisted with anger, yet she was worried I might be ill. That was Mom for you.

“No. I’m not sick.”

“That’s a relief… You can’t get sick today. It’s the day we go visit your birth mother and father.”

Right. It was night now. Normally I would be working, but Mom had given me the day off tomorrow.

“Yeah. I can’t get sick.”

Tomorrow was the death anniversary of the original body’s birth parents. From my perspective, they had already passed away the moment I possessed this body, and officially I was supposed to have lost my memories, so I felt no real sadness. Still, every year on this day, Mom sent me to the columbarium. It meant I was supposed to spend the entire ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠day with my birth parents.

Since I had no memories, going there would just be a waste of time, but I couldn’t refuse when Mom was genuinely worried about me.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow night, Mom.”

“Alright. They say it’ll rain tomorrow, so don’t forget your umbrella.”

Just as she said, it had been clear when I left, but by the time I reached the columbarium, rain had started falling. It was coming down harder than expected; even with an umbrella, my clothes were getting soaked. Still, I was glad I’d listened to Mom and brought one.

Shhhhhh…

Standing in front of the columbarium with my umbrella open against the pouring rain, I looked at the smiling photos of my birth mother and father. There was something strange about seeing them beam so brightly, completely unaware that death was coming for them.

I felt guilty admitting it, but looking at those photos stirred nothing in me. After all, I hadn’t actually lost my memories. If I had to put it into words… well, I was possessing this body, so maybe that explained it. To me, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the photos of my birth parents were just images of characters I had zero interest in. Why would I feel anything about the life or death of people I didn’t even know?

Authors work tirelessly to plant characters in readers’ hearts, building them up carefully. That’s called buildup. Characters without it leave no impression even when they die. At most, you might think, “Poor thing.” That was exactly how I felt about my birth parents and the original owner of this body.

Just… poor things.

Maybe that was why this world I was living in never felt like the real world. This wasn’t the real world, and everyone I met here was nothing more than a creation of someone else’s imagination.

Maybe that sense of detachment was why I had been indifferent when my friend disappeared after getting involved with a syndicate. And why I had ignored the desperate look in Eris’s eyes when she begged for help.

“Are you perhaps Woo Hyun-woo? It’s been a while. Three years since you rejected my third visit, if I’m not mistaken?”

I had been thinking about leaving early because of the heavy rain when a voice called out. It was a voice I had heard until I was sick of it. I turned my head slightly.

And there was the face of the woman I had seen until I was sick of her.

“You seem even bigger than before. It’s a shame—you get more handsome every time I see you.”

She was a woman who looked as if she had been covered in snow, standing alone in the June rain. Her hair, eyes, and even her skin were pure white. The striking red martial robe she wore made her look like a blood flower blooming in a snowfield—beautiful, yet eerie.

But the most eerie thing was the title floating above her head.

—The Five Great Sects?

The description had changed from three years ago. Back then, it had said “Outer Murim,” not one of the Five Great Sects.

“Yes. Hello. It’s been a while.”

I greeted her stiffly, pretending to know nothing. No one knew that I could see other people’s titles.

“Indeed. Even after all this time, your businesslike attitude hasn’t changed. My circumstances have changed as well. Even if you asked me to take you in now, I wouldn’t.”

Hmm. Maybe it was because the North Sea Ice Palace had been promoted from Outer Murim to one of the Five Great Sects at the center of the Murim Alliance. There was a huge difference between being at the core and being on the outside. She was probably saying she no longer needed to recruit clueless people like me.

“I see.”

“You really are no fun. Well then, since we happened to meet, I thought I’d come to exchange eternal farewells.”

I knew exactly what kind of reaction she wanted, but did she really think I’d give it to her? If I had joined the North Sea Ice Palace back when it was still Outer Murim, I could have bragged about being part of one of the Murim Alliance’s Five Great Sects now. Unfortunately, I wanted nothing to do with any organization.

“Is that so. Then have a safe trip back.”

“…Well, I suppose that reaction is only natural. I did torment you quite a bit. I do feel sorry about that.”

She at least seemed to know what she had done wrong. Thinking about how Hwa Seol-hwa—the woman with snow-white eyes—had stalked me in her attempt to recruit me made my blood boil. I had been terrified that I might end up with a title connected to the Murim Alliance.

“Palace Master, are you done chatting?”

Hwa Seol-hwa stepped away from me and joined a group. Every title floating above their heads symbolized the Murim Alliance. Among them, the woman who had called Hwa Seol-hwa “Palace Master” had plain black hair and eyes, and wore a black martial robe. Her hair was tied back in a simple ponytail. But the sharp eyes and the cross-shaped scar on her cheek gave her an imposing presence.

Whatever. The title above her head was the most striking thing anyway.

So that was Murim Alliance Leader Namgung Cho-pung. She rarely appeared on TV, so this was my first time seeing her face. She looked ordinary, but the aura radiating from her was anything but.

“Yes, we’re finished, Alliance Leader.”

“Then let us pray together for the War God’s return.”

War God? I didn’t know what that was, but it sounded important. I had no desire to get caught up in whatever the terrifying Murim Alliance was doing. My clothes were already soaked from the rain. Time to head back.

I turned to leave the columbarium. I hadn’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠taken more than a few steps when my phone rang. I answered with my free hand.

It was Mom. Why?

“Yes, Mom? What’s wrong? You never call on the death anniversary.”

She never called on this day because she didn’t want to disturb me. So this was strange.

“Ah, son… Could you come home quickly?”

Mom’s voice was trembling with fear. I had never heard her sound like this before. A chill ran down my spine.

“Someone named Choon-sik came and asked me to make ramen, so I did, but he said it tasted bad…”

Choon-sik. The moment I heard that name, my head spun. Why the hell was that bastard here? I had assumed he would show up at night if he was going to cause trouble. Most gangsters did their dirty work after dark.

“…Ah.”

Right. I had been sorely mistaken. That guy was a madman even the other gangsters acknowledged. I shouldn’t have assumed he would only appear at night.

“He’s holding a gun right now, saying he’s going to kill everyone. He said if I don’t bring the ramen from last time, he’ll kill the customers… I think you need to come quickly and make the ramen…”

Mom’s words were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cut off.

Bang.

The sound of rain was loud, so the noise wasn’t very clear over the phone, but I heard it distinctly.

A gunshot.

─────!!!

Mom’s scream pierced my ears. My head rang with tinnitus, but my mind stayed coldly focused.

Mom wasn’t dead yet. The dead were just creations. I couldn’t panic. If I panicked, it would be too late. So stay calm. And hurry.

I threw my umbrella aside and ran like a madman. If I was even a little late, Mom would be shot too.

And when I burst into the PC bang, out of breath—

“What the hell? Why’re you so late? It’s pourin’ rain and I wanna eat a whole bowl o’ ramen.”

There was the bastard, handcuffed by the police and laughing, and Mom staring blankly at the corpses. The smell of blood filled the air on this rainy summer day.