Chapter 81: New Face
Chapter 81: New Face
As expected, the Users who opened the inn door were Jung Hayeon and Shin Sangyong. When I turned to look at them, it was clear they weren't in the best shape. Shin Sangyong seemed fine, but Jung Hayeon's face was gaunt, likely from the immense stress she’d been under. Still, her eyes were clear and full of life, suggesting her spirit wasn't broken.
Jung Hayeon was a User with a strangely compelling presence. I was not referring only to her appearance. My ten years of experience in the Hall Plain and my eye for people told me that this woman was the real thing. It was a complicated feeling that could only be described as the urge to recruit her at any cost.
But I couldn't just reveal my true intentions. Maintaining as nonchalant an expression as possible, I stood up and greeted them.
“I heard you came by this afternoon.”
“Yes. But we were told you had gone out of the city with your party.”
“It wasn't for an expedition, just a short trip to get some combat experience. In any case, it seems I made you come all this way for nothing. I apologize.”
“Not at all. If you put it that way, we're the ones who should be sorry.”
How polite. She humbled herself without losing her dignity. I nodded at her graceful response. The quick-witted Yoojung was already pulling over two more chairs. We exchanged brief greetings with Jung Hayeon and Shin Sangyong before sitting down.
For a moment, Jung Hayeon and Vivian looked at each other, but Vivian was the first to look away. An awkward atmosphere settled in, so I quickly offered them some food, but they politely declined, saying they had already eaten.
“Have you had some time to sort out your feelings?”
“To be honest, no. It's not easy to simply move on from my own sister's death. Even now, I'm filled with grief, sorrow, and rage.”
At Jung Hayeon's candid answer, the others all gasped. Vivian, in particular, hung her head low.
I pursed my lips at Jung Hayeon's blunt response. But a response like this wasn't bad. If she had lied to hide her sorrow, I might have been disappointed. I saw Shin Sangyong nudge her robe from the side, and Jung Hayeon continued, a faint smile on her lips.
“After we parted ways with you all, I went back to the inn where my sister and I had last stayed. I hugged the robe Jiyeon had worn and just sobbed. I think I cried for almost the entire day.”
But now, Jung Hayeon's face was perfectly calm and composed. It was hard to believe she had been crying at all. The others were looking at her with sympathy, but I wasn't. Inwardly, a strange chill ran down my spine.
I, too, had lost my own brother in the first run. At the time, I had turned into a rampaging madman—no, a murderous beast—for a full week. Only after slaughtering countless enemy Users, rampaging until rivers of blood flowed, was I barely able to quell my rage. And it was because I still couldn't forget my brother Yoohyun and Han Soyoung that I was standing here again now.
Her attitude was a stark contrast to my own. If her current demeanor was just an act, then she was truly a terrifying talent. However, I had activated Third Eye from the moment they arrived, and it was telling me that her feelings were genuine.
I stared at Jung Hayeon for a moment with a blank expression. The urge to ask, “How on earth can you control your emotions like that?” rose in my throat, but I managed to swallow the words. She quietly met my gaze before turning her head to look at Vivian.
“I… We killed your subordinates, and we killed your children. And you killed my sister and my companions.”
“…Yes.”
“I won't apologize for killing your children and subordinates. And I don't feel sorry for it. That's just what humans are like. But I want you to admit that you did a terrible thing to my companions—no, at the very least, to my sister—and offer a sincere apology.”
“……”
“I still can’t accept it. But if the kindness you have shown us and the things you have said are true, Soohyun-ssi… and if you have truly regained a human heart rather than a monster’s, then please prove it to me now, sincerely.”
Jung Hayeon spoke with a solemn expression. Beside her, Shin Sangyong fidgeted, looking anxiously between Hayeon’s face and mine. Caught in the quiet charisma that instantly filled the room, I found a slight smile forming on my lips.
And then… compared to Jung Hayeon's resolve, Vivian bowed her head all too easily.
“I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry.”
“……?”
“I know and remember everything I did when I was a monster. And my own will was a part of it. But if I had been human, if I had retained my human intellect, I never would have done such things. I don't hold it against you for entering my dungeon and killing my subordinates back then. I don't even think of them as subordinates anymore. But what I did to your companions and your sister… I don't know how I can possibly ask for forgiveness. I sincerely apologize. I know these words alone are not enough, but I hope you can understand my true feelings.”
Vivian's expression was different from usual. Instead of her typical dazed look, she wore an attitude of genuine repentance. Even Yoojung, who always picked on Vivian, was staring at her with her mouth agape. I, too, was inwardly impressed by this side of her I'd never seen before, and I turned my gaze back to Jung Hayeon.
“……”
Jung Hayeon said nothing. She opened her lips, then closed them. Opened them again, then closed them again. It seemed she wanted to speak, but the words were caught in her throat. Finally, she closed her eyes. It seemed she was trying hard to control the storm of emotions within her.
An awkward silence lingered for a moment, but it didn't last long. Jung Hayeon soon opened her eyes and spoke in a dry voice. Vivian still had her head bowed.
“Raise your head.”
“I'm sorry. I'm sorry.”
“I don’t know what is truly in your heart. But as far as your outward conduct goes, I have nothing more to say. Raise your head. And Soohyun-ssi, I’m sorry for treating your companion so harshly. However…”
I raised a hand to stop her. Seeing my signal, Jung Hayeon quietly closed her mouth.
“You don't have to say any more. It's fine. While I may be protecting Vivian now, I don't look favorably on what she did. I also fully understand and sympathize with your feelings, User Jung Hayeon.”
“…Thank you.”
After she finished speaking, Jung Hayeon didn't even look at Vivian. Instead, she gave me a polite bow and let out a deep sigh.
*
After settling that matter, we all went up to the room Ahn Hyun and I were using. We had moved to a private room because the things we needed to discuss could be misunderstood by other Users. As I opened the door, records scattered about and a map densely covered in writing came into view. Both Jung Hayeon and Shin Sangyong's eyes widened as they followed my lead into the room.
After asking my permission, she began examining the records and map I had been studying. I watched with an inward smile while Jung Hayeon and Shin Sangyong looked through them with interest. The map recorded exactly how I had discovered Ancient Alchemist Vivian’s Dungeon and how I was now searching for the Ruined Laboratory.
If they were as sharp as I thought, this would serve as a benchmark for them to gauge my abilities in exploration.
“N-No way. Is this how you found Ancient Alchemist Vivian’s Dungeon?”
“The basic method was similar to this, yes. Of course, a certain amount of luck was involved.”
“W-wow. This is incredible! To get this close with n-nothing but these records, without any clues or information… Wow.”
Shin Sangyong was making a fuss, exclaiming in constant admiration. He seemed to be the type who was usually a bit introverted, awkward with people, and prone to stuttering, but showed great passion for subjects that interested him.
Jung Hayeon also looked at the map with a lively expression before turning to me in admiration.
“This is amazing. Did you really research all of this by yourself?”
“It's a fool's errand.”
“That's one way to put it. Don't downplay your own abilities. This is the kind of method that's easy to think of but difficult to actually execute.”
“Unni. Was what Soohyun-oppa did really that amazing?”
Yoojung shamelessly sidled up to Jung Hayeon. She had been itching to talk to her and had finally found her chance to jump in. Come to think of it, this was the first time I'd seen Yoojung act so friendly with someone right from the start. Jung Hayeon looked at Yoojung, a little flustered, but soon smiled brightly and continued.
“Many Users would call this method plucking a star from the sky, finding a needle in a haystack, or winning the lottery. But the method Soohyun used raised the odds to the level of finding a pebble on a sandy beach or winning a regular scratch-off ticket.”
What a subtle compliment. But Yoojung looked at me with newfound respect and her mouth fell open.
“Heeh….”
“You asked if it was amazing. Yes. It is. Soohyun must be working very hard.”
Jung Hayeon's last words had a hidden barb. She gazed at my party for a moment before turning her eyes to me. The way she looked at them… In that moment, I felt I could see a glimpse of Jung Hayeon's inner self. I'd felt a strange sense of familiarity, and I realized it was because she bore a striking resemblance to Kim Hanbyul.
Of course, she wasn't a carbon copy of Kim Hanbyul, and their personalities had their differences. But they were similar. The main difference was that Jung Hayeon had experienced the world earlier and, as a result, knew how to swallow her pride. In other words, if Kim Hanbyul experienced more of the world, she could very well become like Jung Hayeon. Though, that was just my opinion.
After looking over my records for a while, the two of them eventually joined us, and we all sat in a circle on the floor. It was a slightly ridiculous sight, but this wasn't a very good inn, so there weren't enough chairs. And we couldn't very well sit on the beds.
Jung Hayeon and Shin Sangyong glanced at each other and nodded, then turned to me and began to speak.
“We came today partly because of Vivian, but we actually have a favor to ask of you, Soohyun-ssi.”
“Yes.”
Jung Hayeon fell silent. I wondered why she had suddenly stopped, but then I saw Shin Sangyong push up his glasses. It seemed he, not Jung Hayeon, would be the one to speak from now on.
“W-we are greatly indebted to you, User Kim Soohyun. Y-you saved our lives, and… uh. That is….”
Jung Hayeon gave a bitter smile as she watched Shin Sangyong sweat profusely and stumble over his words. I maintained a calm expression and spoke in a gentle tone.
“Please, speak comfortably. And anyone would have done the same in that situation.”
“Ah. Th-thank you. Phew. I have a habit of stuttering when I get nervous. It's something I've had since birth, so it's n-not easy to fix. Hahaha. And.”
Shin Sangyong cleared his throat for a moment.
“You may not know this because you’re still a Year 0 User, Soohyun-ssi, but not everyone behaves the same way in such situations. Um… they might spare your life, but some Users use it as an excuse to make rather humiliating demands… And taking all acquired items as their own spoils is considered natural. It may sound strange, but that is how things work in the Hall Plain. S-so, we are truly grateful for what you did for us.”
Of course. They were grateful because I had not said anything like, “If you don’t want to die, be grateful I saved you and get lost,” or, “Hmm? The woman’s pretty. Hey, wake this bitch up. Let’s have a taste. We’ll let her live if she gives us a piece of that ass.” I had done none of those things.
If I had been the person I was during my first run, or if I had been alone, I would have stripped them of everything they wore and never returned it. That was simply how things worked. If the others had not been watching, and if I had not taken an interest in Jung Hayeon and planned to recruit her, I might have abandoned them out of annoyance rather than even bother collecting their items.
I liked Shin Sangyong as well. It would have been insincere to pretend otherwise. The two of them were useful people, and I had acted with recruitment in mind. Their gratitude was welcome, but it was not something I could accept without reservation.