Passing Time to Recover My Memories (2)
"Aaah..."
Lost in the fun of my Cheonsu trait, I completely forgot why I'd wanted to meet Choi Ina in the first place. For what felt like a solid half-day, I kept testing the limits—how many hands I could summon at maximum, what else I could do with them beyond just fighting enemies, and so on. By the time I came to my senses and exited the gate, the sun had already completely set.
"In the end, I hardly gained any clues about my memories."
"Right! Still, you reawakened the most important means to protect your body, so it wasn't a complete waste of time, was it?"
"...I didn't think it was a waste of time from the start."
The meaning behind those words that had slipped out unconsciously didn't take long for either of us to fully grasp.
Her face flushed bright red as she covered both cheeks with her hands.
"C-crazy... Sihyeok's habit must be engraved in his soul itself, not his memories!"
Choi Ina fanned her flushed cheeks repeatedly with both hands, as if trying to cool them down.
But it seemed far more embarrassing than I'd anticipated—truly, intensely so. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to look at me again. Instead, she stared somewhere into the sky and exaggeratedly cleared her throat.
"Ahem, ahem! Anyway! It's already gotten this late."
She shoved both hands into the pockets of her white lab coat, kicking at the dirt with her toes and showing her regret without any filter.
"Honestly, I want to spend a little more time together. While I'm at it, I'd even like to sleep together... but since you've lost your memories, your mind and body must be fragile right now."
Choi Ina muttered in a voice so soft it was barely audible, then let out a heavy sigh.
"If I push any harder here, I'll just stack up a ton of dislike points, won't I? Strategically, the right move is to back off obediently for today. Yeah, let's hold back."
Having finished sorting her thoughts, she suddenly lifted her head. She flashed an overly bright smile that was painfully obvious in its fakeness.
"Then I'll head out now! Rest well and see you tomorrow, byeee!"
The moment she finished speaking, Choi Ina waved her hand vigorously. Then, as if shaking off any lingering attachment, she turned on her heel with determination and started walking away.
I stood there quietly for a while, watching the back of that white lab coat disappear down the darkening street.
It was late at night, with streetlights flickering on one by one.
She might be an S-class hunter, even if non-combat, so there shouldn't be any problems... but sending a girl who bounced around like that home alone somehow didn't sit right with me.
Above all, hadn't she spent the entire day calling me her escort knight and taking care of me in every possible way?
'Yeah. No matter what, I'm her escort knight for now, right?'
After a brief moment of hesitation, I raised my voice toward her retreating figure.
"Excuse me, just a moment."
Choi Ina whipped her head around in surprise at my sudden call.
"You called?"
"Well... if I'm an escort knight, shouldn't securing my employer's safety to the very end be the top priority? I'll guard you all the way to the lab."
Before I could even finish speaking, Choi Ina's eyes widened in disbelief. She blinked rapidly, then her lips began to twitch uncontrollably.
"R-right! Sihyeok is my one and only escort knight!"
The serious contemplation about strategic retreats and dislike points from just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
Without a second's hesitation, Choi Ina trotted right over, linked her arm with mine, and burst into a brilliantly sunny laugh.
"As expected of my escort knight! You're so cool!"
Two days passed after that.
During that time, I didn't reach out to any of the other women at all—except for Choi Ina, with whom I'd coincidentally cleared a gate on the first night.
It wasn't because of some major reason or anything like that....
I simply wanted to devote every moment to recovering my lost memories before heading to the Academy.
Unfortunately, the results were a complete failure.
I searched my name online, rummaged through every drawer in the dorm room, and even wandered aimlessly around the Academy campus.
Yet my hollow mind refused to offer up even a single fragment.
The records were also far too clean, almost as if someone had deliberately sanitized them. Whatever the case, I couldn't find any meaningful results, whether internally or externally.
"Haa... This is driving me crazy."
With that frustration, I rolled around on the bed before letting out a small sigh.
I absentmindedly scrolled through various hunter-related videos on NewTube, which I'd left playing.
On the screen, famous hunters cleared gates or demonstrated practical applications of special skills in an endless stream.
It was a faint hope that seeing a familiar monster or combat style might spark something in my brain cells somewhere.
"More than that, it's honestly amazing. Not just lightning—they can create flames, wind, ice, and all sorts of things."
I was staring blankly at a video where brilliant flame magic engulfed the screen when it happened.
"Whoa."
The completely unexpected name nearly made my finger slip, almost dropping the smartphone onto my nose.
It was the sky-blue-haired assassin who had suddenly appeared in the dorm, tossed down a document envelope, and vanished.
A sudden call from her of all people. For some reason, I felt reluctant to answer.
I spent about five seconds debating whether to press the call button.
In the end, after a brief hesitation, I tapped the green button.
What if I upset her and she comes to chop me in half....
"H-hello?"
"Yeah, Sihyeok. What were you up to?"
That characteristic languid voice flowed through the receiver, sticky and clinging to my ears.
It really was fascinating. How could such a unique tone come from a person's mouth?
"I was just... watching some hunter battle videos on NewTube."
"Really? Sounds like you were spending time pretty boringly. The timing's perfect then. Want to try something fun with me?"
"Something fun?"
When I echoed her words, Yeon Harang let out a soft laugh.
"Yeah. A pretty ingenious idea just popped into my head. It's a surefire way to draw out at least a bit of those lost memories of yours. Interested in giving it a try?"
Her voice carried absolute confidence.
Of course, whether that confidence was about actually recovering my memories or something else entirely was a little ambiguous.
She's explaining it so flatly that it's confusing....
For that reason, I couldn't answer right away and paused to think.
Honestly, it wasn't a very appealing suggestion.
The other party was essentially the head of Amwol, a legal assassination organization that held the power of life and death over the back alleys of not just Korea but the entire world.
It was only natural to feel reluctant about readily accepting a secretive invitation from someone like that.
I even felt a creeping anxiety that her so-called "ingenious idea" might involve some extreme shock therapy—driving a person to the brink of death to forcibly trigger a life-flashing-before-your-eyes moment.
But what finally made me speak was simple, realistic impatience.
'Groaning in my room for two straight days hasn't changed a single thing.'
There wasn't any other clear solution anyway.
Besides, this was the same arrogant woman who had acted so leisurely, saying I'd eventually realize she was my real employer with time. If she was contacting me first and showing this much confidence, she had to have something solid to back it up.
"......Understood. Where should I go?"
The moment my positive reply left my lips, a satisfied little huff came through the receiver.
"Good. I'll send you an address, so don't be late. I'll be waiting."
Click.
The call ended abruptly without any proper goodbye.
Soon after, a message notification sounded, and an unfamiliar address I'd never seen before arrived.
I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the smartphone screen for a moment, then stood up with a light stretch.
I opened the closet, grabbed the first black coat my hand touched, and threw it on roughly.
For someone heading to meet the successor of a world-class assassin guild, the outfit was far too casual—like stepping out for a neighborhood walk.
Oddly enough, I didn't mind.
'I have this baseless conviction that she'll like me no matter what I wear.'
At the front door, I shoved my heels into my sneakers and grabbed the doorknob.
"Let's go."
Whether what waited at the end was a real clue to my memories or the start of another headache-inducing incident, I had no idea... but there was nothing to do but charge ahead.
The place I reached by taxi was at the end of a quiet residential alley in Seoul's Seongbuk District.
In front of an old two-story Western-style house with ivy thickly covering its walls.
I alternated between checking the address on my smartphone and the worn nameplate in front of me, then carefully pushed open the rusty iron gate.
Creeeeak—!
With the sound of unoiled metal, the gate opened to reveal a clean, spacious inner garden that looked nothing like the shabby exterior.
And in the middle of the garden, beneath a parasol, Yeon Harang sat on a pure white chair and beckoned me over with a very leisurely gesture.
Dressed in a loose, thin shirt and short pants, she looked more like an ordinary college student enjoying a relaxed weekend than the successor of an assassination guild.
"You came. Didn't get lost?"
"No, well... the taxi driver knew the way."
I smiled awkwardly and stepped into the garden.
Yeon Harang watched me for a moment before shifting her gaze toward the mansion.
"This used to be our Amwol's old Seoul branch. Now it's a private resting place that only I use. No need to worry about prying eyes, and it's pretty cozy, right?"
"...I see."
As she said, unlike its outward appearance, the interior was completely shielded from outside view by high walls and landscaping trees.
The window arrangements and building layout surrounding the garden also looked extremely difficult for anyone to approach unnoticed.
It really did seem like a former assassin guild branch.
But I hadn't come all this way to tour someone else's secret hideout, so even when she gestured for me to sit across from her, I kept my back straight and went straight to the point.
"So... what exactly is this method that can help me recall even a fragment of my memories?"
"......"
At my question, Yeon Harang's hand froze as she lifted her teacup to her lips.
She looked me up and down with half-lidded eyes, then let out a small, amused chuckle.
"Straight to business? Well, our Sihyeok has always been like that."
Yeon Harang set down her teacup, rested her chin on her hand, and looked up at me.
"Always indifferently focused only on protection, a little curt. No interest in anything that wasn't your concern. That's why you ended up giving the other girls unnecessary openings."
She clicked her tongue lightly, as if recalling my past personality.
Of course, with no memories, I had no way of knowing whether I'd truly been that rigid or if she was simply making up a backstory to justify her claim over me.
But the strange obsession lurking in those eyes staring at me didn't seem all that different from the other women I'd seen at the hospital.
...No, this isn't the time to be analyzing that.
"So what is the method?"
When I asked again, Yeon Harang lowered the hand under her chin and straightened up from the chair's backrest.
Then she patted her round thigh with her palm.
"Yeah. Let's do a lap pillow."
"......Pardon?"
"Lie down and put your head here. That's my brilliant idea."
Haa... What on earth is this woman saying now?