Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Part 2 Episode 28
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Only in the morning did Yi Yu-hyun finally believe in her own existence.
She had been asleep when someone screamed and clapped a hand over her mouth—it turned out to be Yi Yu-hyun.
He panicked and started babbling nonsense, then left a message asking her to wait until he got off work before heading out to his job.
After Yi Yu-hyun left, Dun slept straight through for several more hours before waking up and heading toward where the Abyss kids hung out.
She tried to sneak a peek at them, but they had already gone to school.
Dun walked toward the room she used to use.
‘This feels weird.’
Dun touched the cold doorknob, then opened the door and stepped inside. Traces of her past self were still there, untouched.
“Whoa, this is that scent I used to love.”
Dun picked up the diffuser from her desk and took a big sniff. Perfumes were lined up on the shelf; she grabbed one she liked and spritzed it on her wrist.
The nostalgic scent really brought back that sensation of returning to the past.
Afterward, Dun lay down on the bed she used to sleep in. The worn-out blanket gave her a sense of comfort.
‘This feels really weird.’
Dun turned her head to look at Woo Ji-yoon’s bed. From exactly this angle, she had sprawled out, blankly waiting for the kids to return from the gate.
It had felt a little lonely back then.
Dun fidgeted on her old bed for a bit before pulling out a box she had stashed under it.
It was a box filled with photos and mementos from her orphanage days.
‘I suddenly lost this thing once, but it’s still here now.’
She remembered tearing apart the whole dorm searching for it when the memory box had vanished out of nowhere.
Luckily, she hadn’t lost it yet. She wanted to take it, but she probably shouldn’t.
“…….”
Dun was feeling regretful when she suddenly grinned.
‘I took it~! Sorry, self!’
She stored the memory box in her inventory and let out a hearty laugh. Her future self was a killer, a rascal.
But since that future self was her, it didn’t matter. Haha.
She hadn’t had a single photo of the kids, so she’d had to dig through her memories to relive them. At least now she had pictures.
Dun checked out Woo Ji-yoon’s desk. The wall was plastered with sticker photos and Polaroids of them together.
There were tons of cute ones where she half-covered her face with her hand. Dun peeled one off and tucked it into the memory box.
As she headed for the door, she spotted the disastrous test papers and an acoustic guitar on the desk.
She got a little excited thinking about strumming the guitar after so long, but gave up worrying the strings might snap.
She turned to look at the test paper.
『Korean: 6 points』
She’d launched her ambitions of topping the school to Andromeda and set a new record from the bottom. Dun clicked her tongue, picked up a pen.
『Screw studying, just give up』
After leaving that bold statement in writing, Dun set the pen down and rummaged through her closet.
She grabbed a cap, a hoodie, and a few comfy clothes before leaving the room.
* * *
A round of analog gaming at the PC bang after so long.
Wearing a loose-fitting hoodie from I Sae-byeok’s closet and a cap pulled low, Dun sipped her ordered barley tea while her fingers danced busily.
Trying not to smash the mouse or keyboard threw off her control. Dun grimaced, pouring all her focus into the screen.
“Hey!!! Fuck! I told you to go that way and deal damage!!!’
She was trying to concentrate when someone next to her started yelling profanities.
Her aim slipped.
Her random duo partner failed to finish off the enemy, and someone sniped the kill.
Fed up, Dun turned her head.
“Did you rent out the whole PC bang? Shut up.”
“Fuck, what the hell are you?! You shut up…?”
The guy who’d been about to explode froze, eyes widening at the light brown-haired girl in the next seat.
The red eyes peeking from under the cap were exactly like the ones from Nipin TV.
“Gahhh, fuck!”
Dun brushed off the curse she always heard when people spotted her here, raising a finger to her lips.
“Shh.”
“Uh, uh…….”
The yeller’s voice trailed off.
Dun cleaned up the lost game and started a new one.
She tried to game quietly again, but the guy kept staring obsessively. Not just him—the PC bang staff over there were staring too.
The barrage of stares soon turned into questions.
The noisy gamer next door wrapped up his game, dragged over his friends, and started firing off questions.
“Are those contacts, right?”
“You awakened as a hunter or something?”
“No one games after awakening.”
“Sis, that’s some cosplay or high-quality stuff.”
“This kid’s a huge Dun fan from Nipin too.”
“Sis, how old are you? Skipping school to hang here?”
She was trying to focus on the game, but they kept talking. In the end, she lightly smashed the mouse and panicked, tapping it frantically.
“Uh, uh! Another sniper’s coming!”
“Got it, fuck!”
“Uh, that looks dangerous.”
She got sprayed by the other sniper in the end. A gray defeat screen popped up in front of Dun’s face.
Grinding her teeth, Dun glared at the kids who’d distracted her. They looked young, probably fresh from school with bags slung over chairs.
“This ain’t working. Let’s dip. Head upstairs.”
Scowling, Dun requested a room change.
Right above the PC bang was an arcade.
Dun plopped down at the Tekken machine and threw down with the unfamiliar kids.
She’d killed time at arcades whenever bored, so she was pretty decent at classics.
On the way up, Dun adjusted her mana control to boost her utilization a bit.
“Cheap shot! Cheap shot!”
“Gahhh, what the! Dun doppelganger sis is OP!”
“Sung-chul’s the arcade ghost, and she’s still winning? Insane!”
They took turns excitedly, with Dun smashing a nose once in Tekken and wrapping up with a basketball showdown.
About to head out to compensate for the smashed mouse, she spotted one in the arcade prize machine.
It was the exact same model as the one she’d wrecked downstairs.
“Let’s do racing games! Racing!”
“Any of you pros at claw machines?”
When Dun asked, the kids replied excitedly.
“Sung-chul’s a claw master!”
“I’m good too!”
Dun sweet-talked the kids who wanted to keep playing into grabbing the mouse from the machine.
Feeling good about not having to pay for damages, she brushed off the whining kids and tried to leave the arcade.
That’s when a group of high schoolers piled in.
“I’ve never lost a punching machine bet once.”
“Ooo~ I Sae-byeok. Cocky much?”
Dun quickly ducked behind the instant photo sticker machine.
An all-too-familiar figure entered the arcade. Her past self.
Shoulders draped with his school shirt, swaggering toward the punching machine.
She’d seen I Sae-byeok on Nina Pin Ta before, but seeing her past self in this world felt fresh again.
School was out, so he’d brought friends. They often hit the arcade after classes like this.
“Hey, you’ve looked pale since earlier. You okay?”
Maybe because of her presence, I Sae-byeok’s complexion had soured.
“I’m fine.”
But in front of his new friends from Na-gil High, he had to keep up appearances, desperately holding back the nausea twisting his gut.
I Sae-byeok raised his fist, supported his wrist with his other hand for leverage, and slammed the machine.
KABOOM!
A massive sound, score rocketing up.
At the same time, I Sae-byeok burned out and collapsed.
“Uh, Sae-byeok???”
“Sae-byeok, you okay????”
“Hey! Hey!”
In stark contrast to the punch’s power, I Sae-byeok crumpled weakly.
Dun seized the moment to slip out from the sticker machine and head for the exit.
As soon as she left, I Sae-byeok recovered, shakily regaining balance and standing like nothing happened.
“That’s what they call an all-out one-shot.”
‘Fucking hell.’
Seeing herself objectively, it was a total mess.
It felt like around the time the Abyss kids got busier with gates, so she started hanging with regular kids. It had been fun in its own way.
“Number one again. Ugh, urp. Hack.”
I Sae-byeok clutched his trembling legs, clamped his mouth, then opened it casually.
Dun sneered once at the posturing I Sae-byeok and slipped out of the arcade.
Even in this world, it seemed best not to mess with her past self.
* * *
“…That’ll be 8,900 won total.”
The convenience store clerk rang up the ion drink and ice cream, staring blankly at the cap-wearing girl.
“You really look like Dun…”
“I get that a lot.”
Dun smiled as she bagged the items. She’d bought her nostalgic ice cream after ages.
Peeling back the wrapper and popping the cool ice cream in her mouth, the sweetness felt surprisingly fresh.
Every step on her past traces tickled her heart. Like wandering forbidden territory.
Especially when crossing paths with her past self and those around her.
Dun wanted to savor this feeling a bit more.
“Summon Parwindlin.”
Fwoosh!
A bird with flame feathers appeared in the air, flapping its wings and tousling Dun’s hair.
Originally a Low Riarin monster, but after mingling with Yoharaum ones, some developed fire attributes.
Parwindlin was the strongest among them, like a leader.
After a few flaps, it slowed and delicately perched on Dun’s finger, grooming its flame feathers obediently.
[Command me.]
Hanging with Yoharaum kids had tweaked its personality too. The haughty tone was odd.
Dun scratched under Parwindlin’s chin with her finger.
“I’ll be out for a while, so if anyone comes to the house, tell them I’m away for now. Tiarin will handle it if you pass the message.”
[Understood.]
Parwindlin cooed under her touch. When she reverse-summoned it, the bird on her finger vanished.
She felt the obsessive stares of passersby.
Ignoring the gazes, Dun hailed an empty cab.
There was one place she absolutely wanted to visit.
“Where to?”
“Near Dawon Orphanage.”
It was probably still there, but after all she’d been through, it felt like it might be gone.
Dun sat in the cab, taking in the passing scenery.
Everything—everything—was just as she remembered.
She’d crossed to another world, wandered exhausted searching for dead kids thinking Montgel was hell.
Then met Rihaowel and finally settled.
After all that chaos, she’d circled back to the place she’d longed for. Everything unchanged, straight from memory.
Her chest tightened for some reason. Relief, too.
Dozing off in the cab gazing blankly outside relaxed her mind, sleepiness washing over.
She heard the turn signal blink a few times, rain midway. Light shower, stopped soon.
“Miss, we’re here.”
Dun jolted awake after nodding off during the ride. She paid and got out.
“…….”
Dun stood blankly before the Dawon Orphanage, door shut tight, on the verge of collapse.