Virtual Reality (2)
"What's your name? I'm Seo Eunha."
"I'm… Soph. Just Soph."
"That's a pretty name."
Rule number one for dealing with ordinary people swept up in a gate: talk about ordinary things. Ease the tension. And of the ordinary things you could ask, nothing worked better than a name.
"How about it? If you want, I can get you out of here right now."
The moment life flickered back into those dead eyes, I made the offer. Hope was something you had to pour on thick the second it returned—that was how you brought someone back to themselves. Offering a hand to go with it was the finishing touch.
"…It's all right. Even if I wake up, it'll just be the lab. I'd rather stay here."
"…"
Right. Of course.
This place was virtual reality. Miss Soph was a victim—kidnapped five years ago and subjected to human experimentation. Waking up would only mean a cold laboratory waiting for her, with nothing warm in it at all. Wanting to stay here instead wasn't unreasonable.
But then—
"And there are other people trapped in here besides me, aren't there? You came to save them."
"Yes. That's right."
"I want to help too. I don't mean to brag, but I doubt anyone's been stuck in here longer than I have."
Miss Soph was strong. Even in a situation this hopeless, she still wanted to help people. It was nothing like me—the one who'd gotten so sick of gates and hunters and the Awakened that I'd run away from all of it.
"All right."
Which was exactly why I wanted to help her. I was a fan and a supporter of people who were heroes, after all.
"Thank you, Miss Eunha."
"You don't have to call me that… I'm really not someone who deserves the honorific."
I waved both hands in a flustered panic, and Miss Soph smiled—the first smile I'd seen from her since we started talking.
Yeah. That looks better.
Anyone looked better smiling than sunk in gloom. That much was always true.
Miss Soph took my hand and rose to her feet.
"Shall we go, then?"
"Yes."
A world of zeros and ones. I punched a tiny hole through it. I had no idea where the other side would lead, and I wasn't afraid. This ability had always guided me exactly where I needed to go.
"It's time to be a hero, Miss Soph."
And that guidance would make another hero yet—just as it had, once before.
"Eunha said that? Really?"
"Yeah. That's what she said."
Yu Haseong pressed a hand to his forehead. So while she was looking into that cult or whatever it was, she'd gotten tangled up in another incident…
She's always been like this. Eunha, I mean.
An ability that was completely useless in a fight—and yet she still managed to get herself dragged into every mess imaginable. The way she used to talk about dying every single day probably had something to do with that particular brand of bad luck.
Though she stuck her own head into plenty of those messes too.
And that was exactly why Yu Haseong liked Seo Eunha. If she'd only ever been a victim of circumstance, she would have been just another unlucky person. But Seo Eunha wasn't merely unlucky.
I want to help people.
That thought had always been buried deep in her heart.
"I think she's trapped inside the Trial of the Tower. There's been a rumor going around lately."
"What kind of rumor?"
"That there are people stuck in the Trial of the Tower who can't get out. More precisely—people who fell into a coma while playing it."
"Huh…"
Why hadn't a rumor like that ever gone public? Even Yu Haseong, who considered himself an old fossil, had at least heard of the Trial of the Tower.
A serious issue with a famous game—and if something like that had never reached the ears of South Korea's top hunter, then the upper levels of the government were almost certainly involved.
Eunha could be in danger.
If he moved personally, too many eyes would follow. Having made his decision, Yu Haseong looked at his daughter and spoke in a heavy voice.
"Eunseo."
"Yeah, Dad?"
"Can I ask you for one favor? Though… it might be dangerous."
"As many as you want. Not one—a hundred is fine."
She said it with both hands flung wide, palms open for him to see. Yu Haseong laughed softly at the sight of her.
It might be dangerous. It might not be. The words sounded different, but at their core they meant the same thing.
Please. Let nothing go wrong…
Seo Eunha's mind was inside the Trial of the Tower—inside virtual reality. So what about her body? If someone tried to harm it, would she even be able to resist?
"Until Eunha wakes up, I want you to protect her."
"I will. Absolutely."
Yu Eunseo clenched both fists. She might not be confident about taking someone down, but protecting someone? That, she could do. People joked about her swinging a sword around and making a spectacle of herself, but hunters existed to hunt the monsters that came through gates and keep people safe.
So she would protect her. No matter what. Without fail.
"And once this is over, let's report it to the Association."
"Huh? Report what?"
"That Hunter Yu Eunseo is ready to become an A-rank."
"…Ah."
Up through B-rank gates, most of the clear strategies were already well established. A-rank was different. Danger everywhere, and even cleared gates were full of too many variables.
Worried for his daughter, Yu Haseong had kept her at B-rank as long as he could—but it seemed the time had come to stop holding her back.
"I'll catch up to you soon, Dad."
"You've still got a long way to go, you little rascal."
He gave the top of her head a gentle knuckle-rap. Looking at his daughter with her eyes sparkling, he couldn't help but smile.
"You really want to surpass me that badly?"
"Yeah. You've protected me all this time. Now I want to protect you."
"Honestly…"
She had her eccentric corners, but she really was a kind-hearted girl. Ten years since the gates first opened. He'd barely been home, coming back injured day after day—and still, she'd grown up so well. Far better than a daughter of a father like him had any right to be.
"But not yet. So for now, protect Eunha first."
"Got it."
"Take care of yourself."
"I always do. Trying not to come home hurt the way you do."
"…I'm sorry."
"It's fine now."
Which also meant it hadn't been fine before. His daughter slipped the barb in so casually that Yu Haseong could only shake his head. Maybe he'd already lost this one. Then again—what parent ever truly beat their own child?
"If you need backup, tell me. I'll put the word out to some other hunters so they'll help if you ask."
"I'll say something if I need it. Ye-eun and I are going to guard her together, so we should be fine."
"Mm. With Hunter Kim Ye-eun there, it should be all right."
A hunter with real potential, in more ways than one. She was A-rank, but she was also one of the upper-tier fighters who could be pulled into an S-rank gate if one appeared. The problem was her fiery temper and a habit of saying and doing things that invited every possible misunderstanding…
But if she'd truly been a bad person, his daughter would have pushed her away long ago. Eunseo had always been very clear about who she liked and who she didn't.
"I'm heading out, Dad."
"Go on. When you're done, let's grab something good to eat."
"Okay. I'm getting something expensive, so you should dig out your emergency fund, Dad."
How did she even know about his emergency fund? He almost grabbed her, but she was already bolting for the door. Yu Haseong let out a long sigh at her retreating back.
How did she grow up this much of a handful…
Other people thought of Yu Eunseo as quiet and well-mannered, but there was no one on earth who bounced around quite like her. Around people she was close to, she was a particular kind of quiet chaos—and that was Yu Eunseo.
"Oh, for crying out loud…"
See? She'd barely left the house and she was already texting things like that.
Eunha's going to have her hands full.
Yu Eunseo latched onto Seo Eunha. Just picturing the scene was enough to make him laugh.
"Hmm…"
Come to think of it, she knew the address but not the passcode. Faced with an unexpected snag, Yu Haseong scratched his head. Nothing for it. He'd been trying not to use this too often, but…
"Yes, yes! Receiving your call!"
"Hey, it's Yu Haseong. You've got someone living at Mirae Apartment, right? I'm in a hurry—can you have them open the main door for Building 101?"
"I'll have it opened immediately! At your service!"
No matter how many times he thought about it, that kid was wound tight as a drum. One of the hunters who jumped the second Yu Haseong called, no matter how out of the blue. He felt bad about imposing, so he didn't reach out often—but when he did, it was always this one.
"Don't mention it."
An open lobby door and one awkward-looking hunter standing there. Apparently that was one of the hunters living at Mirae Apartment. He made a mental note of the face, thinking he should thank the man properly next time they met.
And just like that, his daughter had made it safely inside Eunha's apartment. All that was left was to protect her…
Suddenly Yu Eunseo had started reviewing the apartment. And she wasn't just texting—she was diligently taking photos and sending those too.
"Haha… good grief."
Seo Eunha lying on the bed in a headset, and next to her, Yu Eunseo taking a deadpan selfie with a peace sign. Looking at the photo, Yu Haseong could only laugh softly to himself.