Chapter 3 - Night's Rotation 3
Night's Rotation 3
Episode 3
A soldier answered immediately.
"They didn't each make it out on their own. A woman showed them the exit and led them out. We need to interrogate her further, but she claims she's not a developer and hasn't played the game."
"The woman?"
At that word, Kim Do-woon strode toward me. He grabbed the back of my neck and dragged me toward his superior, then roughly threw me to the ground.
I didn't dare lift my head. A pair of military boots with a different design were right in front of my nose.
"Why did you do it?"
The voice was so calm it sounded like a soliloquy. I took a breath to answer, but no sound came out, so I swallowed.
I tried not to tremble. I was about to open my mouth when the voice crashed down again. This time it was much clearer.
"Tell me why you saved others when it was hard enough to survive on your own."
"...I thought my friend would do the same."
"What's your friend's name?"
It was an unexpected question. Tears threatened to spill instantly.
Since Baek Yi-hyun died, I hadn't spoken his name aloud in front of anyone else. My chest ached as if it were being crushed. I couldn't tell if it was from the pain of being bumped and trampled, or from losing my friend.
I swallowed the rising sob. I barely managed to answer.
"Baek Yi-hyun."
Silence fell. Only the faint sound of insects chirping and my own racing breath filled with tension.
In the strange silence, I held my breath and slightly raised my head. The pair of military boots in front of me remained motionless.
Slowly, I lifted my eyes. A sharply creased uniform, a black cloak draped over it like night. Countless insignias embroidered on his chest, and rank insignia that looked intimidating at a glance.
And the moment our eyes met, I gasped.
It's Baek Yi-hyun.
I couldn't believe it. Before I knew it, I staggered to my feet, only to be immediately subdued by Kim Do-woon, who was standing nearby. I was slammed back to the ground without even having time to resist, but I didn't even feel the pain.
It didn't feel real. Waking up in a strange place, facing monsters, all of it felt less like a dream than seeing Baek Yi-hyun in front of me now.
Why is Baek Yi-hyun here?
I tried to lift my upper body, supporting myself on the ground with both hands. I had to check again.
But before I could even fully raise my head, Kim Do-woon stepped on my back again. This time it was so rough that a short scream escaped my lips.
Without realizing it, I twisted my upper body and reached my right hand behind my back. I quickly grabbed the military boot pressing down on my back, pulled it, and leaned my body to the side.
Kim Do-woon gasped and lost his balance. Not missing the opportunity, I pushed him away with all my might and stood up straight.
The limited view I had while stuck to the ground widened, and the moment I faced the person I had been looking up at, I realized.
There was no way I could not know. Those exceptionally elegant features. The sleek lines that fell gracefully and ended firmly. The strangely cool, dry pupils, and the imposing atmosphere that made him seem like a stranger when his expressions rarely disappeared.
It was Baek Yi-hyun.
"Yi-hyun...!"
I couldn't even finish the name before I was forced back to my knees. I twisted my body, but this time it wasn't just one soldier holding me down.
I was subdued by three or four people, and as I tried to break free and was caught again, I couldn't take my eyes off Baek Yi-hyun. Baek Yi-hyun's face appeared and disappeared over Kim Do-woon's shoulder, who was blocking my path.
No matter how I looked, it was definitely Baek Yi-hyun. One of the soldiers holding me urgently said.
"Commander, we'll take care of this. Leave the scene to us and return to the warship..."
The soldier stopped talking. Baek Yi-hyun lowered the hand he had raised.
He took a step toward me. I tried to catch my breath, craning my neck from side to side to see Baek Yi-hyun.
Through my teary vision, Baek Yi-hyun's face blurred and sharpened repeatedly.
"Do you know me?"
Baek Yi-hyun asked. Even his deep voice was the same. The voice that used to call my name, Yeon-ah, several times a day. I couldn't believe I hadn't recognized it until now.
"Answer me. Do you know me?"
I was afraid I would burst into tears if I opened my mouth, so I barely managed to nod. Baek Yi-hyun looked at me with an impassive face and asked.
"How many Gate openings have there been this year?"
Someone answered immediately.
"Four times in total, including this one."
"Survivors?"
"Thirty-four in total."
"Thirty-two of them are from this group."
"That's correct."
"Did this woman do it alone?"
"That's what she claims. We're still interrogating her about the details..."
"I'll do it. Let her go and step back."
For a moment, no one answered. Even I didn't immediately understand Baek Yi-hyun's instructions. The arms of the soldiers holding me from behind tightened. He refused quietly.
"It's dangerous."
"She's good at using her body. If she was going to fight back, she would have done it already."
The soldiers reluctantly let go of me. But they didn't retreat completely.
I frantically wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, trying to catch my breath. My face was wet with tears. I didn't even know when I had started crying.
I wiped away the moisture and lifted my head, and Baek Yi-hyun became clearer. He was still staring at me.
His eyes shone with a firm light, like a well-grown tree. My vision blurred again.
"How do you know me?"
I exhaled. Fear gripped me.
"We're friends."
"Friends?"
"Like family... We lived in the same house."
"Friends who lived in the same house?"
"Well... Don't you know me?"
As the conversation became more disjointed, the tears in my eyes slowly dried up.
His appearance and voice were clearly Baek Yi-hyun. But the look in his eyes was different. There was no emotion, so empty, a look I never thought I would receive from Baek Yi-hyun.
With the face I had missed so much, wearing a strange expression, Baek Yi-hyun opened his mouth.
"We've never met."
My heart sank coldly.
"Can you prove it?"
At the end of his sentence, Baek Yi-hyun tilted his head slightly. His eyes, darker and deeper than others, stared at me without blinking.
I know when Baek Yi-hyun makes that expression. When he doesn't understand something at all.
"Everyone knows my name. It's also a known fact that I have no memories from before I joined the military. You're not the first one to approach me like this. Pretending to be an Outlander who just came out of the Gate is a new twist, though."
Is this not the Baek Yi-hyun I know?
Is he just a namesake who looks exactly like Baek Yi-hyun?
But...
I stared at Baek Yi-hyun blankly.
A namesake is impossible. His appearance and voice were exactly the same without a single error. I couldn't believe he was someone else.
Besides, the Baek Yi-hyun in front of me mentioned that he had lost his memories. Maybe he forgot the time when we lived together as he crossed over to this world after his death...
Wait. I rubbed my face roughly. I wasn't sure if I was seeing the situation objectively.
After Baek Yi-hyun died, I became unable to judge him rationally. I kept thinking in the direction I wanted.
Maybe I'm doing that now too. As I calmed my breathing, Baek Yi-hyun's voice flew into my ear.
"Besides crying while calling my name, do you have anything to prove it?"
Proof. It didn't come to mind easily.
Even if I presented memories with Baek Yi-hyun, it would be useless if the other person didn't remember. I had to say something very personal that applied to Baek Yi-hyun not in the past, but in the present, something only he would know.
The problem was that there was nothing suitable.
First of all, Baek Yi-hyun was healthy. He never had any minor illnesses, and he never even got injured during exercise.
However...
I lifted my head, which had been lowered. Baek Yi-hyun's left hand came into view. There was a habit he had been trying hard to overcome.
If the Baek Yi-hyun in front of me was the Baek Yi-hyun I knew, then that reaction would probably remain the same. Habits ingrained in the body are not the kind that disappear when you lose your memory.
But I couldn't say it here. It was a weakness that Baek Yi-hyun, who once aspired to be a national athlete, had tried to fix, and the current Baek Yi-hyun was a soldier.
Moreover, he seemed to be not just a soldier, but a commander. It wasn't good to mention a habit that could be a fatal weakness in combat to someone like him.
I lifted my eyes. Our eyes met. I answered briefly.
"No."