The Taste of Nuclear-Fire Tteokbokki

I found Seo Arin beside the warehouse, but I didn't rush straight over.

Observation first.

"Ngh… a-aaagh…!"

A scream, barely endured, as she writhed against pain she couldn't contain.

With the curse now fully kicking in, the dark-red haze shimmering around Seo Arin's body had grown thicker still — and so had that delicious smell drifting off her.

Sluuurp.

A fatally appetizing scent, the kind that made my mouth water no matter how many times I breathed it in.

Whoops. Focus, me.

Why else would I be hiding here like this? To observe the curse, watch for an opening, and absorb it. No matter how tasty the smell, I couldn't let my attention wander forever.

I studied the haze rising around Seo Arin in closer detail — and with a cheerful ding♪, a system window popped up before my eyes.

Oh!

I skimmed through the explanation, conveniently laid out for easy reading.

The sensation of burning in hellfire. I couldn't even imagine how much that hurt — the only thing certain was that it was pain even climber-rankers could barely endure.

"Haah…! Hnngh…!"

And yet that apparently hadn't even been the curse at full output — the haze rising from her body blazed fiercer than before.

My conscience was starting to prick at just standing there watching, and the hunger gnawing at me was growing worse by the second, so I decided to make my move.

Thud, thud—

I made no attempt to muffle my footsteps as I approached, and even mid-groan, Seo Arin's gaze swung toward me. At first her eyes were wary — but the moment she confirmed that the figure walking closer was me, they softened into relief.

For someone whose well-hidden secret had just been discovered, she was remarkably unfazed. Maybe she figured she could shut one little girl's mouth easily enough?

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than her body, hidden away in the shadowy corner, shimmered and blurred.

Ah-ha. So she has a stealth ability.

Unfortunately for her, though, thanks to that dark-red haze I could see every last bit of her.

I walked in a straight line toward Seo Arin — who was probably, even as she writhed in pain, quietly congratulating herself on a job well done hiding — and the instant I touched the dark-red haze:

Hold that thought.

Believe me, I was itching to absorb it right then and there — but there was something I had to do first.

"Hello there?"

"……"

"You don't have to answer. I can see you either way."

"…You can see me?"

"Not exactly see, but I can tell roughly where you are."

Seo Arin sidled a step to the side. Since I already knew she was at the center of the curse, I simply shifted my gaze to follow her — and seemingly realizing I really could track her, she dropped the stealth.

Hair damp with sweat, lips chewed raw against the pain — beads of blood welling up along the cracks.

"You're no ordinary kid. Who sent you? Black Star? Talmang?"

"Wrong. Black Star, Talmang — I have no idea what you're talking about, but it's none of them."

"Then tell me who did send you."

Fwoooosh!

"Ngh…"

A beast-like aura surged up around her, with her at its heart. Even while suffering under a curse, she radiated this much pressure?

At this rate, I'd collapse before I even got a word in. I hurried to speak.

"N-nobody sent me! Never mind that — that curse. Don't you want it gone?!"

"What?"

"The curse. If it were me, I could undo it for you."

"…Really? No — wait, why would I believe a word you say?"

"Ugh, so suspicious."

Well, I mean… as one of a major guild's core executives, sure, paranoia came with the job — but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠jumping straight to scary threats seemed a bit much, no?

I checked the system window that had been flashing like mad in the corner of my vision.

So absorbing only part of it is an option?

Then absorb just enough to deactivate the curse.

Vuuuum—

The dark-red haze that had been blazing madly around Seo Arin — and a portion of it came streaming into my body.

"Urk?!"

My first-ever curse absorption. I'd wondered what it would feel like, and…

It's SPICY?!

Whether this was what curses were like in general, or Seo Arin's curse was just special, I couldn't say — but the moment I absorbed it, that distinctive flavor hit me.

This was… the taste of nuclear-fire tteokbokki! Delicious, but way too spicy.

"Ugh, ugh…!"

"Wait, that's enough! I believe you, okay, so stop right there!"

Seo Arin shot upright and rushed over, grabbing hold of me. The woman who'd been bearing down on me with that beast-like aura mere moments ago was nowhere to be found — the Seo Arin before me now wore the guilt-ridden eyes of an adult who'd just done something terrible to a child.

"Aaahh."

"…The curse stopped?"

W-water! No — milk, I need milk!

Heat flooded my face from a spice level that had tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. I suppressed the urge to sprint into the orphanage and ransack the fridge right that second, and spoke.

"S-so now you believe me, right?"

"Yeah. So don't do anything that reckless again."

"Reckless?"

"Taking on my curse in my place."

Ah. So that's how it looked to her. It wasn't exactly wrong, but carrying a burden and absorbing it were two different things.

Still held in Seo Arin's arms, I checked my body's condition. Spicy mouth aside, I felt better than I'd felt in — well, ever, honestly. So this was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the power of curse absorption.

"Promise me, sweetie. Promise you'll never do something like that again."

"…Sweetie?"

"Ah, was that too familiar?"

"No, it's fine. But I don't think I can promise that."

"Why not?"

Hmm. I couldn't exactly tell her the truth here. What to do… After a moment's deliberation, I answered calmly.

"What I did wasn't taking it on for you."

"Then what was it?"

"Rather than carrying it in your place, I absorbed the curse you were holding."

"How is that different from taking it on?"

"It's different. The curse I absorbed won't flare up and hurt you the way it did before."

I had no intention of telling her everything. Just the truth — but not all of it. I told her I could absorb curses and that it did me no harm, but I left out the part where the absorbed curse served as fuel for my growth.

Seo Arin's expression turned complicated — no, wait. Arin-unni's expression. It was a puzzled look that seemed to ask, This is really it? Having told no lies, I met it with my chin held high.

"…Fine. I'll believe you."

"Good."

"But when you absorb the curse, you feel its effects too, don't you? Otherwise what just happened doesn't add up."

"…Yes, that's right. But if I push through it for a little while, I can absorb all of it."

"Even so, I can't put you through agony just to lift my own…!"

"Then let's do this."

I slipped free of her arms and puffed out my chest with all the confidence I could muster.

"You and me, Arin-unni. Let's make a deal."

"A deal?"

"Yep. I absorb your curses, and in exchange, you agree to the terms I set."

"Hold on. So in the end, you're still the one absorbing the curses."

"You don't like it?"

"Of course I don't."

"Hmph. Fine then, I'll just go find someone other than you to deal with."

After all, there was no shortage of climbers afflicted with curses. Even if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠healers with purification abilities could lift them, there were limits to how many curses they could break in a day — and if I went around offering deals to climbers who were stuck waiting their turn in agony, they'd accept in a heartbeat.

And Arin-unni, who understood that better than anyone, seized my shoulder in a firm grip.

"Are you insane?! The moment word of your ability gets out, you'll be priority target number one for abduction!"

"Ow! That hurts. W-well then, doesn't that just mean you should be the one making a deal with me? My terms include protecting me, after all."

"Ha…!"

This shameless little brat. Her face practically said it out loud.

Arin-unni reacted like she'd just been squarely checkmated, mulled it over for a moment, then let out a long, deep sigh.

"Haah, fine. Let's hear what these terms of yours are first. Just so you know, even from me, anything too outrageous is off the table."

"Don't worry. The terms I'm offering aren't nearly that hard for you, Arin-unni."

I laid out the conditions I'd prepared in advance, one by one. And by the time I'd finished, listening intently from start to finish, Arin-unni's expression had gone deeply, delicately conflicted.

She looked at me as if to say, Seriously, that's it? — and I simply nodded. Yes, really.

Given time to hear the terms and decide, it didn't take her long; in the end, Arin-unni accepted every single condition I'd laid out.

To commemorate the deal being struck, I shook Arin-unni's hand and absorbed a little more of the curse. The deliciously spicy tteokbokki flavor brought tears to my eyes, but thanks to it, the Purgatory curse inside her body wouldn't be flaring up again for quite some time.

Of course, Arin-unni recoiled in horror at the sight of me suddenly absorbing a curse — but in the end, declaring there was no reining me in, she carried me on her back and brought me inside the orphanage.

And the moment we stepped through the door, Arin-unni awkwardly addressed the director, who'd happened to run into us first.

"Um, Director?"

"Ah, Ms. Arin! Did you get some good rest?"

"Yes, thanks to this little one here."

"A-ha, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠little Yuryeong was with you. Quite the admirable child, looking after the others even at her age."

The director patted my head affectionately as I peeked out from behind Arin-unni, gratitude written all over her face.

"Yes, that's how she seems to me too, but…"

"Did something happen?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just — would it be possible…"

"Possible?"

"For me to adopt Ha Yuryeong?"

"…I'm sorry — what?"

The director's mouth and mine fell open at the exact same moment, at words neither of us had ever imagined hearing.