To the Illusion Tower
Thank goodness the building I demolished turned out to be a scheduled redevelopment site.
It was already slated for demolition anyway, and there was no owner to speak of.
Truly a stroke of luck.
If I'd had to pay for it, that Han River-view apartment would've been a pipe dream for the distant future.
"So this is the one..."
"Choi Su-ah. The boss's wife."
I gazed at Choi Su-ah lying on the bed in the Awakening Association's infirmary.
After everything wrapped up, I'd called on my phone, and they said they'd already been looking for her since she was late. The moment I explained the situation, the two teleported in and swiftly cleaned up the scene.
"She loses her memories every day, right?"
"Y-yeah..."
"Then calling it amnesia might not be accurate."
Jeong Chan-woo stroked his chin thoughtfully at Im Seung-hun's words, his eyes grave.
Im Seung-hun, who'd been dragged along during the cleanup, stood with his hands neatly clasped, eyes darting busily.
"......"
Seong Yu-mi hadn't said a word since entering the infirmary, just staring intently at Choi Su-ah with a serious expression.
After a long moment, she finally spoke.
"...This is magic."
"Pardon?"
"A magic-type skill is cast on her. I can't make out the details, but a faint spell is continuously erasing her memories."
"...!"
I stared at Seong Yu-mi, eyes wide.
Her red pupils were vertically slit, veins bulging. She looked like even the whites of her eyes had turned red from the strain. Finally, she closed them and pressed her hand to her eyelids.
I shouted urgently at her.
"Can you dispel it?"
"I think so, but... she won't recover her lost memories."
"Ah..."
"There are healing hunters who can reattach severed limbs, but none who can bring back memories that have already evaporated."
I clamped my mouth shut at Seong Yu-mi's words.
She wasn't wrong.
Healing hunters could only mend physical wounds.
Mental recovery was as impossible for them as it was for modern medicine.
"Then..."
"We can probably halt any further deterioration, but returning her to normal? That's unlikely."
"......"
So that's how it is.
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
Losing all her memories and starting from zero.
What the hell is that?
...But it'll be okay.
Don't think negatively—look on the bright side.
Losing memories doesn't change who she is at her core.
Sister-in-law is still sister-in-law. We can just make new memories.
"I'll take responsibility and try to dispel the magic, so don't worry."
"Please do."
I bowed deeply to her and let out a long sigh.
Magic, huh...
Im Seung-hun had mentioned someone dropping off the amnesiac Choi Su-ah, so I'd suspected as much.
But hearing it confirmed hit different.
Why the hell?
Why erase sister-in-law's memories?
Is this an extension of whatever wiped brother's records?
If so, what kind of mess was brother tangled in that they'd go that far?
Who the hell was that guy who brought her to Im Seung-hun?
Thoughts chased each other in circles.
No matter how hard I racked my brain, no answers came.
I scratched the back of my head furiously, sighed deeply, and looked up.
"Tch."
Just keep it simple.
The goal was to get famous enough that people who know me come looking. Mission accomplished, even if the details differ a bit.
That's enough.
No need to overcomplicate it.
We found missing sister-in-law, so finding brother isn't impossible.
That's plenty.
With a lighter heart, I turned and locked eyes with Im Seung-hun, who was fidgeting nearby.
"So, Seong Yu-mi Hunter. What about this guy?"
"Hm... Dunno."
Im Seung-hun flinched under our gazes—mine, Seong Yu-mi's, and Jeong Chan-woo's.
He looked ready to bolt for the door, but Elpinire stood firmly guarding it.
I snapped my fingers, watching Seong Yu-mi stroke her chin.
"Right. Let's take him and put him to work."
"Huh?"
She stared at me like I'd said something crazy.
I pointed at Im Seung-hun.
"He's an A-rank hunter. Valuable manpower, no?"
"True, but..."
"Your team's shorthanded and swamped. Use him like a slave."
"H-hold on, Heukryong bro. I got a shop to run."
"You got paid for it. Want me to confiscate that?"
"......"
"And who gave you permission to talk back? Wanna go to prison?"
I got why he'd cooperated—for the hair loss treatment.
But so what?
Plain and simple, Im Seung-hun was a kidnapper.
If he'd really been all about justice, he'd have called the cops first thing.
The moment he didn't, he was a criminal.
Im Seung-hun shut his mouth, unable to argue.
I clicked my tongue softly and added,
"To cure your baldness, you need to protect sister-in-law. And I have zero intention of handing her back to you."
"...I've already given up on treatment. I know what I did was wrong."
"Nah. No need to give up."
"What?"
"Protect her. Here."
I pointed at the floor with my index finger.
"Did that guy say to protect her while she's amnesiac?"
"......"
"No. Just protect her. So what's the problem?"
Im Seung-hun's eyes went wide, like the thought hadn't occurred to him.
I swallowed the words I couldn't say aloud.
I'm curious about that guy's face too—the one who brought sister-in-law.
He'd sought out reclusive Im Seung-hun specifically to entrust her to him.
If he didn't care if she died, he wouldn't have bothered.
But this was a former hunter who'd thrown himself in harm's way for a kid, a strong guy who'd vanished without a trace. And he'd gone out of his way to find Im Seung-hun and beg him to take Choi Su-ah.
The implication was clear.
Sooner or later, the man would come back for Choi Su-ah.
To prepare for that, we couldn't send Im Seung-hun to prison.
Better to keep him close and watch for visitors.
"......"
Im Seung-hun bowed his head and stared at his hands.
Hands too thick and clumsy for scissors.
Memories of cutting neighborhood grannies' and grandpas' hair as a kid, basking in their praise.
High school, first time wielding wax to style friends' hair, getting reamed by the teacher.
Those memories intertwined, forging his dream of becoming a stylist.
But he knew.
His talents suited hunting more than hairstyling.
He only felt truly alive throwing himself into danger for others.
"...Really? Ya reckon it's really okay?"
He'd run.
To chase his childhood dream of hairstyling.
As an excuse not to let his hair loss get out.
He'd vanished without a word.
Fled the mounting fame weighing him down.
Yet he hated the thought of tarnishing the 'Taesa-ja' name he'd built, so he told no one.
Pathetic actions, even by his own measure.
Did a guy like him deserve to return?
Im Seung-hun pleaded with desperate eyes, but the answer came in a bored drawl.
"Depends on how you perform."
"...Then I'll gladly do it. Put me to work."
I grinned at his words and turned to Seong Yu-mi.
"Hear that?"
"Heukryong..."
Ha.
Seong Yu-mi shook her head with a hollow laugh and eyed Im Seung-hun.
"Listen up, Taesa-ja. Our division ain't easy."
"Work me like a slave, I won't complain a bit."
Seong Yu-mi nodded at his confident grin.
"Heukryong joined, and now we've got another sturdy laborer. Right, Chan-woo?"
"Indeed."
"Laborer's covered—wanna take a trip abroad? Hawaii?"
"Too far. Pass."
Seong Yu-mi pouted at Jeong Chan-woo's firm refusal.
She chuckled and looked at me.
"Heukryong, you finally hit your goal on the last day."
"Yeah."
I nodded.
Seong Yu-mi punched my shoulder lightly in congratulations.
"Don't forget us, okay?"
"Won't. I'll swing by as soon as I can."
"...Right, yeah. The Association president grandpa even issued an official memo saying Heukryong can take all the leave he wants and stay an Association hunter."
Seong Yu-mi scratched her cheek, calling it the first case in Association history.
"President grandpa must really like you."
"Probably sees me becoming S-rank fast, just like you."
"Could be."
Heh heh.
Seong Yu-mi chuckled throatily and gazed at the sleeping Choi Su-ah.
"Dispelling the magic will take time. It's a new one for me, and even my eyes can barely make it out. Probably... a few weeks."
"Got it."
"I'll contact you when it's done. Till then, don't come to the Association. You know why, right?"
"Of course."
With Choi Su-ah at the Association, vanishing was my best move.
If I disappeared, they'd focus on the missing 'me,' not the Association.
Hiding her presence there? This was the play.
Promising hunters dropping off the map ain't that rare anyway.
I glanced at Im Seung-hun, standing blankly.
He'd faked death to vanish, but hunters took breaks all the time without dying or getting hurt.
Even Kim Taesung rested a month once.
Rumors said his skills skyrocketed after—probably secret guild training, not rest.
Anyway, I'd lay low till the magic lifted.
Draw eyes to the suddenly vanished 'me.'
Then Seong Yu-mi could work in peace.
"Bit early to clock out, but... wanna call it?"
"Sure."
I nodded without protest.
It wasn't just for me.
Jeong Chan-woo too—and even dopey Im Seung-hun.
Our presence would distract from dispelling sister-in-law's magic.
"Thanks for the month. I'll visit soon as I can."
"Yeah. You're on our team forever now."
"You misspoke."
"Did I?"
"What!? Wait, Chan-woo, say that again! You too, Heukryong!"
Jeong Chan-woo stayed behind with more business for Im Seung-hun, so I headed home.
Didn't feel like going straight in, so I sat on the park bench where the Sudden Gate popped up a month ago, exhaling misty breath and staring at the sky.
"Sun sets way too fast."
Only 5 PM, and the sunset already painted the sky.
March soon— this right?
Like back then, I nursed a canned drink, eyes fixed on the newly rebuilt playground.
"Thanks for coming after a whole month on such short notice, no reward or anything. Couldn't have found sister-in-law without you, Elpinire."
"I vowed to serve my master from the start. Month or year, call and I'll come running."
"Yeah?"
"Plus, you didn't summon me that month, so I fully restored the Evergreen forest. Thank you for that."
Elpinire sipped her soda.
The fizz didn't sit right; she scrunched her nose hard.
"Tomorrow's the day, finally?"
"Yep. Tomorrow."
After a month's wait, the Illusion Tower opens tomorrow.
"Heading straight in?"
"Gotta."
Nothing to do till Choi Su-ah's magic lifts anyway.
Hate wasting time—time for a tower.
"Wonder what the Illusion Tower's about."
"The place I was from—you called it Evergreen Tower."
"Right."
"So maybe illusions?"
"...That just confuses me more."
"Fair."
Illusions.
No clue, no matter how I turned it over.
I smacked my lips, crushed the empty can, and unlike before, nailed it into the trash from afar. Stood from the bench.
"Grab some chicken on the way?"
"Chicken?"
"Oh, you wouldn't know."
"Kyuuuk! Kkung kkung!"
Cheori burst from my pocket, twisting excitedly like she pitied Elpinire's ignorance.
Elpinire, clueless to Cheori's wriggling, just tilted her head.
I trudged toward the market.
Next morning.
I woke, bag at my side, and stared ahead.
Illusion Tower
Only those acknowledged by the Evergreen Tower may enter the Illusion Tower. Use the skill to enter.
Time until Illusion Tower opens: 0 hours
The Illusion Tower is now open.
Hoo.
Short deep breath. I slung the packed survival bag over my shoulder.
"Kkung!"
"Yeah. Let's go."
Grinned at Cheori peeking from my pocket and willed it.
Send me to the Illusion Tower now.
Illusion Tower
Shaaa—!
Light bloomed from my feet.
It swiftly engulfed my vision.
"......"
The room stood empty.