Chapter 170
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Ha Yul (6)
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"...What is this place?"
All around was pitch black. I could clearly see my hands and feet, but nothing else.
"Ha Yuri."
No response from Ha Yuri either. Only my voice echoed emptily.
I'm gonna lose it. Did we get separated?
...It looked like I'd ended up apart from Ha Yuri.
What if I'm the only one who got pulled into Ha Yul's subconscious?
I didn't want to believe that. If it were true, everything would be ruined, and it'd be a massive headache.
"Ha..."
A door appeared out of nowhere in front of me, like magic.
Am I supposed to open this?
I worried that opening it might make things worse, but with nothing else to do, I turned the handle.
What the...?
It was like the principle I'd seen in the Library of Records.
Suddenly, from a third-person view, scenes from Ha Yul's memories began playing out before me.
Starting from the days Ha Yuri and Ha Yul spent together on Earth.
Up to when they fell into Eras, formed a party, and started adventuring.
Of course, some scenes made me grimace as I watched.
...They really went through hell.
I'd sensed it back on Earth, but being pretty didn't mean only good things came your way as a woman.
Especially not right after dropping into Eras.
Honestly, before seeing this, I just shrugged it off, but...
I hoped these two could get at least a slightly better ending.
Well, if not, no helping it.
A new door appeared, so I opened it and stepped through.
This is...
Ha Yul being experimented on by Recarux.
Her screams were so horrific that my face twisted involuntarily.
If even I was grimacing, anyone else seeing this would react even worse.
What a complete psycho.
...Of course, with my own history from the first timeline, I wasn't one to talk, but Recarux was on another level of madness.
The scene of him slicing open her abdomen without anesthesia would've made a normal person faint.
A sudden worry hit me.
...Did Ha Yuri see this?
If she had, I doubted she'd stay sane. She was strong in combat, but her mental fortitude was weaker than you'd think.
Need to find her fast.
Paths twisted like a maze.
I kept opening the doors that popped up, searching for Ha Yuri or Ha Yul, but no one was there.
Damn it, where the hell are they?
Just as I started thinking maybe I really was alone, I spotted a figure slumped far ahead.
"Ha Yuri!"
I shouted from a distance, but she stayed huddled, hands over her ears.
Whew... idiot.
She was always so high-maintenance.
Chin.
"...Ha Yuri."
"...Huh?"
She whipped around, startled, staring at me.
I was a bit flustered too—tears were streaming down her face.
She must've seen something about her sister.
Looked like the mental shock had broken her.
I needed to pull her together first.
"...What are you doing, sitting there like an idiot? Snap out of it."
"I... I'm..."
Has she lost it?
Ha Yuri's mental fragility was her weakness, combat prowess aside.
"Ha..."
"I'm... a criminal. I don't deserve to live..."
Snap!
"Kyaa! W-What was that?!"
I flicked her forehead because I couldn't stand seeing her wallow alone, and it seemed to jolt her back.
"Ha Yuri, get it together. You gonna save your sister or not?"
How many times do I have to tell her to snap out of it?
"....."
"I don't know what you saw here—actually, I can guess—but sitting around like this changes nothing."
She hung her head at my words. Of course she knew that too.
She just can't control herself right now.
Human emotions are controllable yet not, all at once.
"Get up already. How long you gonna sit there?"
"...O-Okay."
As we started walking, Ha Yuri spoke up.
"...Thanks."
"For what?"
"Just... everything. Helping with the revenge, up to now..."
"...I'll use you just as much later. Don't thank me."
Ha Yuri giggled at that.
"You're worse at lying than I thought. Or is it just about this stuff...?"
"...Delude yourself all you want."
"Your reaction says it's not delusion."
"What? Forgot I turned you into a drug offender? As if I can't lie."
"...Yeah, that crushed my world back then... but now it kinda feels good."
"What...? You eat rat poison or something?"
Her nonstop smiling bugged me.
"Anyway, thanks. For everything."
"...Hearing that makes my skin crawl. Just go back to calling me Instructor Ha Yuri."
"Okay, okay. Can't tease you when you're embarrassed."
"....."
Some time passed as we chatted and walked, then a door appeared ahead.
She's beyond this.
Ha Yuri and I instinctively knew—Ha Yul was behind that door.
Our eyes met, but hers were shaking like there was an earthquake.
"...Calm down."
"B-But..."
"No matter what state your sister's in, you need to stay cool for any chance of fixing her."
"Yes..."
She swallowed hard and opened the door.
...Is that Ha Yul?
Close by, a woman sat with what looked like dolls.
Where'd the dolls come from?
This was subconscious space, but Ha Yul's appearance matched what I'd seen outside.
Still, something felt off. Her body was over twenty, but her behavior wasn't.
"Hehe, unng... When's sis coming...?"
Clutching a teddy bear and playing with it, she seemed like a little kid.
"Y-Yul...!"
Ha Yul noticed us at Ha Yuri's voice.
"Eh...? Yuri sis?"
"Y-Yul... Yul-ah..."
"Yay! Sis!"
Ha Yul came running like an excited child and threw herself into Ha Yuri's arms.
Ha Yuri lit up at first, but her face soon hardened.
She'd realized it too—something was wrong with her sister.
"Sis! Why'd you take so long? You said you'd play with me!"
"Y-Yul-ah...?"
"Sis, play with me. Pleeease?"
...Regressed from mental trauma?
Ha Yuri was too shocked to respond properly.
Ha Yul glanced at me and reacted.
"...Huh? C-Celebrity!"
Celebrity?
"C-Celebrity! Sis, it's a celebrity! I saw him on TV..."
I gave Ha Yuri a puzzled look, and she explained.
"...Yul thinks you look like someone from TV."
...Guess I resembled some celeb in the shows Ha Yul watched.
"He's so handsome..."
"....."
I had no clue how to react to this.
At least it's not the worst case.
I'd braced for her ego being gone or her hostile to Ha Yuri.
Relieved it wasn't that, but regression was awkward too.
"U-Um... what's your deal with my sis?"
Her eyes sparkling as she asked—she still thought I was a TV star.
"...I'm not a celebrity, bro. Just friends with your sis."
"Eh...? N-Not a celebrity? Oh, idol..."
"Nope. Just look like one."
Ha Yul pouted briefly, then perked up.
"Unng... That's okay! Bro's handsome anyway!"
Damn kid...
"Y-Yul-ah... What're you doing here? Let's go out with sis, okay?"
Ha Yuri tried to coax her out, but Ha Yul resisted.
"N-No... Outside's scary."
"What? Why's outside scary? Come with sis."
Even as Ha Yuri coaxed, Ha Yul went pale and didn't budge.
"...Yul-ah?"
"No... Sis, stay here with me? We can play here..."
"Ah... Well..."
"Sis, stay here with me, pleeease?"
"...Sh-Should I?"
...Seemed her judgment was slipping because it was her sister's request.
Ha Yuri looked entranced, so I had to snap her out of it.
Smack!
"Ha Yuri, what're you doing? You gonna let her convince you instead?"
"Ah..."
She came to at my words.
"Yul-ah... Why's outside scary? Sis'll be with you, so let's go."
"No... Don't wanna..."
...Strong resistance.
"There's a scary grandpa outside... Can't go out."
Ha Yuri's face stiffened at "grandpa."
"Grandpa...?"
Obviously, the grandpa was Recarux.
I'd expected it, but he seemed the key to her regression.
"Weird grandpa... keeps trying to hurt me... Can't go outside..."
Ha Yul trembled as she spoke, and Ha Yuri's eyes welled up.
"Aah... Yul-ah..."
"Sis...?"
She looked puzzled at Ha Yuri's sudden tight hug.
"Hic... Sis is sorry. You must've been so lonely."
"Unng... No, it's okay. Sis came."
"...Let's go out with sis. Sis beat up that bad grandpa. He's gone now."
"Eh...? For real? Sis beat the grandpa?"
"Yeah. So trust sis and come out with us?"
"...Who's that bro?"
"...Huh?"
"...Sis's boyfriend?"
The kid was getting weird ideas.
Before I could deny it, Ha Yuri beat me to it.
"...Yeah."
What?
"No, wait... Why am I—"
Our eyes met mid-sentence, and I shut up.
"....."
She had that desperate look.
She hadn't said it outright, but I got the message: just go with it this once.
"Bro coming out too?"
"Yeah... All three of us. You can do it, right Yul-ah?"
Ha Yul nodded slowly.
Well... it's resolved for now.
No idea if she'd revert fully or stay like this, but that was for later.
First, get her ego back to the surface.
With that, the three of us opened the door and left the dark room.
Aah...
Felt like I'd slept a long time.
Back?
I slowly sat up in bed.
Ha Yuri...
Next to me, Ha Yuri and Ha Yul were hugging tightly.
.....
"Yul-ah..."
"Sis..."
"You had it rough, huh? Sis is sorry..."
"...No, sis. Thanks for coming to save me."
From their talk, her mental age seemed back to normal—thank goodness.
Ha Yuri was tearing up, overjoyed her sister was healthy again.
Ha Yul patted her back while holding her.
The roles felt reversed, but it wasn't a bad outcome.
I quietly slipped away, giving the sisters space for their long-overdue talk.