Memory Manipulation
Lee Si-a's mouth fell open.
"Y-you killed her?"
"Yeah."
"W-wait a second. Why? Did the person you loved betray you or something?"
Han Mir shook his head, a bitter look crossing his face.
"No. She was completely lucid right up until she died by my hand."
"Then why..."
"That's enough of this story."
"Ah... okay."
Lee Si-a was burning with questions, but the hollow, aching loneliness that filled Han Mir's face stopped her from asking anything more.
He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his usual mischievous expression had slipped back into place.
"Anyway, no matter how hard you try, I still can't forget her. You don't even register. I can tell you're planning to honey-trap me into the Management Bureau, but that's never going to work, so give it up."
She couldn't understand how someone could fail to forget a woman he'd killed with his own hands. All Lee Si-a could do was nod.
Han Mir let out a short laugh, clapped her on the shoulder, and stood up. Just before leaving the room, he muttered under his breath.
"Ah, good morning, Master!"
"Yeah."
The instant Han Mir opened his eyes, Mihang's face filled his vision. He shoved her aside with his palm. She slammed her head into the wall and let out a short groan, but quickly scrambled back up, rubbing her hands together and fawning.
"Breakfast today will be seaweed soup, fried eggs, stir-fried sausage, and k-kimchi!"
"Yeah."
Han Mir rubbed his sleepy eyes and stretched under the bright morning sun. He'd fallen asleep after eating ramen the night before, and his body felt slightly bloated and heavy. He sat down at the table Mihang had set and stared at the food.
A fried egg charred black as the abyss. Candy-sweet sausages slathered in corn syrup. Seaweed soup that was all seaweed and no broth. The only thing that looked remotely edible was the kimchi.
"What the hell is this."
"Y-yes? I-is there a problem? I-I followed the recipe on the internet..."
"Is that so?"
Han Mir beamed, grabbed Mihang by the horn, and shoved the fried egg and sausage into her mouth.
"Mmphmmphmmph!!!!"
She thrashed in agony, convulsing wildly, but Han Mir didn't let go until she'd swallowed every last bite.
"Bleeegh—!"
Mihang bolted for the bathroom. Han Mir made do with the relatively intact kimchi and seaweed soup. When she emerged, he said simply,
"If dinner looks like this too, I'll give you another round of mental reconditioning."
Mihang immediately dropped into a full prostration.
"Hiiiek! I-I will never do that again! I swear I'll satisfy Master's palate!"
"Yeah."
As Han Mir headed for the bathroom, Mihang fidgeted.
"M-Master. Shall I help you wash?"
"Now that you mention it, my stomach's been rumbling..."
Mihang doubted her own ears. Given the context, Han Mir was telling her to wipe his ass. She'd been mentally reconditioned through every torture imaginable — enough to make her pass out more than ten times — but her body violently rejected that particular filth. She swallowed hard and waited for his next words.
"Never mind. That's already spoken for. I'll wash myself, so get lost."
"Yes, sir!"
Mihang beamed and scurried off to the kitchen to do the dishes.
"Have a good day, Master!"
Han Mir headed to school with Mihang seeing him off. Under decent sunlight and a decent breeze, he stared at the world with empty eyes.
Why is it like this? I'd thought every day would be fun and exciting once I came back here. But even if it isn't as bad as my days as a Hero, annoying things keep happening, and I can't enjoy my daily life. Maybe I shouldn't have come back at all.
Han Mir slowly shook his head.
No. I could never give up the conveniences of modern civilization.
"Hey, Han Mir! Let's walk together!"
A familiar voice called from behind. Lee Si-a came running toward him with a bright smile. She clapped him on the shoulder, then tilted her head and grinned.
"What. I told you yesterday. Your honey trap isn't going to work."
"Oh, come on~ I know that. I'm trying a different approach."
Lee Si-a thought back to the night before. After hearing Han Mir's shocking confession that he'd murdered the woman he loved, she'd had no choice but to let him go. Just as he'd said, the honey trap was no longer an option. So she'd made a decision.
"Changed it how?"
"I'm gonna be your friend. Ta-da!"
Lee Si-a pulled a box of Pepero from her bag and held it out to him.
"It's not even Pepero Day. What's with the Pepero?"
"I just felt like eating some. From now on I'll be paying you friendship fees in all kinds of forms so we can get along. Once we're close, you'll grant me a favor someday, right?"
"Well, I won't turn down a gift, but I doubt the day will come when I grant you a favor before I die of old age."
"Whaaat!? Why not! You could at least hear me out, right?"
"You think I'd agree to get dragged off to the Management Bureau and used as a lab rat?"
"I-it doesn't have to be like that. You could just come in for one day, get a quick checkup..."
"No."
Han Mir crunched on the Pepero and ignored her, heading toward school. Lee Si-a still trotted after him like a puppy, stuffing various snacks into his mouth and clinging to him like a pest.
Han Mir marveled at the school, restored to its original state. They hadn't rebuilt it like a brand-new building — it looked exactly as it had before yesterday's incident. The Management Bureau's technology had even restored the tiniest scratches. It was astonishing. The classroom was the same. Kids who should have been suffering from broken joints and all kinds of injuries were perfectly fine.
Han Mir looked at Kim Gwang-cheol and his crew occupying his seat. Shin Ji-yoon sat on his desk with her legs crossed, while Kim Gwang-cheol and Lee Chi-myeol stared at him with greasy smirks.
"Hey, earthworm. Running a little late today? You got the friendship fee ready?"
"Yeah, yeah! You've been all cozy with Lee Si-a lately, so I bet your wallet's looking fat. Think we'll take double this time."
Han Mir tilted his head at their attitude, and Lee Si-a's whisper slipped into his ear.
"Looks like during the memory rewrite, everything that happened between you and Kim Gwang-cheol got erased. And I was rewritten as if I'd always been a member of this class."
"Ah, is that so?"
Han Mir smirked and stepped in front of Kim Gwang-cheol. His shadow fell over the other boy. The moment they faced each other, Kim Gwang-cheol's body started trembling and cold sweat poured down his face. He couldn't understand his own reaction.
It felt like being a rabbit before a predator. As if someone were wringing out his heart and packing his lungs full of ice — a terrible, freezing sensation. But worse than anything else was the impulse circling in his head: the urge to cut off his own hands.
He swallowed hard, his lips quivering. Even so, conscious of the eyes on him, he forced himself to sound casual.
"Wh-what? You got the friendship fee ready, right?"
"Move."
That wasn't Han Mir's voice. Lee Si-a stepped forward with a hard expression and glared at them. Shin Ji-yoon's lip curled in a sneer as she came out to meet her.
"Ha? Look at this. Lee Si-a, you little bitch, you got a death wish?"
SLAP!
The air froze solid. Shin Ji-yoon clutched her cheek, collapsed on the floor, and stared at Lee Si-a in stunned disbelief. Lee Si-a's voice was ice.
"Get the hell out if you don't want to die."
"Whoa, this girl's lost it. Fine. Guess this oppa's gonna have to personally straighten you out. Everybody make sure you get this on video."
Lee Chi-myeol sprang from his seat with a vile grin and lunged at Lee Si-a.
SLAP!
One slap sent Lee Chi-myeol sprawling. Conscious of the stares around him, he flushed red and pushed himself back up. But his legs were shaking badly.
"Th-that was a lucky hit. Ah, ah. You'd better start preparing yourself for real..."
Lee Si-a approached him and, with a smooth, elegant motion, cracked him across the face.
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
"S-stop...!"
Unable to even resist, Lee Chi-myeol's cheeks swelled up like balloons and he collapsed.
"Ha, look at this bitch."
Kim Gwang-cheol was the last to stand. Lee Si-a grinned and locked eyes with him. He clenched his fists, cracked his shoulders with a series of pops, and said,
"I was gonna move anyway."
"Oh, were you?"
Lee Si-a smiled brightly and called to Han Mir in a cheerful voice.
"Mir! I cleaned all the trash off your desk, so go ahead and sit!"
"Pfft. Yeah. Thanks."
Han Mir let out a light laugh. He hadn't even dealt with them himself — Lee Si-a had handled it — and yet he felt strangely refreshed.
Meanwhile, Kim Gwang-cheol left the dazed Shin Ji-yoon and the pufferfish-faced Lee Chi-myeol behind and tried to return to his seat.
A hand blocked his path.
Kim Gwang-cheol looked up with trembling eyes at the owner of that arm. Han Mir, wearing a wicked smile. The moment he saw that face, the strength drained from his legs and his knees went weak.
"Wh-what's up?"
"Gotta collect that friendship fee."
"H-huh? Y-you're actually gonna give it?"
Han Mir slung an arm around his shoulder and nodded.
"Of course, Gwang-cheol. Funny thing — my stomach's been rumbling. Shall we hit the bathroom first?"
Kim Gwang-cheol's face went deathly pale. Instinct told him that following Han Mir to the bathroom would mean crossing a river he could never come back from. He shook his head frantically.
"N-no! Friendship fees between friends? Haha! Ah, I don't need it anymore, so you don't have to pay! I'll just be going!"
Kim Gwang-cheol tried to leave in a hurry, but his legs wouldn't budge. It was like being pinned under a boulder — he couldn't escape Han Mir's arm around his shoulder. Han Mir flicked his tongue across his lips and grinned.
"Nah. You're definitely collecting that friendship fee."
Han Mir dragged Kim Gwang-cheol to the bathroom by force.