Growth (Part 2)
[Death Loop Activated]
The Return by Death skill triggered.
I snapped back the instant I stepped off the Academy grounds. The fifteenth loop had begun.
Just like always, Elena tossed the gear at me.
“I’ll give you suitable equipment. You’ll feel much safer wearing it.”
She handed me the pathetic 2-star gear and headed straight for First City. Along the way, Yoo Dahui didn’t react at all. She didn’t say a single word to me and simply kept walking.
Was I that convincing? My carefully constructed settings had way too many holes. The biggest one of all was that Yoo Dahui could just regress and die. Then my other self would pop out, and the game would be over without me even touching her.
What exactly is she thinking?
I watched her back as we reached First City. We grabbed two mud huts.
In this loop, Yoo Dahui hadn’t chosen to hunt with me. She’d said she’d hunt alone.
“Dahui! Why are you in such a hurry? We can take it slow.”
Elisha was sweating buckets and frowning. She looked like she couldn’t understand what was going on as she tried to stop Yoo Dahui.
We’d been hunting for four straight hours. We hadn’t moved that fast even when harassing male beastkin.
Eloin and Elbaren, who’d been quietly observing from the sidelines, were both staring at Yoo Dahui with faces full of irritation.
Elisha, representing the elves, stepped in front of her.
“…You’re acting really out of it. Hoo-woo… I finally feel a bit better. My head’s clearing up too.”
After four hours of rolling around and puking, it seemed like her thoughts had finally sorted themselves out.
Whatever conclusion she’d reached, she was done with this.
“Let’s go back.”
We’d earned thirty thousand coins each and returned to the safe zone.
The sun was still up, but no one wanted to keep hunting anymore.
The elves began to drift away.
Elena kept glancing at me, clearly wanting to follow, but I waved her off with a generous smile.
Now it was just Yoo Dahui and me.
Among all the busy players moving around First City, the two of us standing quietly felt strangely out of place.
“…Hey.”
“What is it?”
I was staring blankly at the crowd when Yoo Dahui called my name.
My mouth opened and closed repeatedly like a fish. She was hesitating.
“No. It’s nothing. I shouldn’t say it right now.”
“What? Just say it.”
“I don’t want to.”
Yoo Dahui swallowed her words. If she was saying she shouldn’t say it now, she probably needed this weird atmosphere.
“Want to drink something?”
“It’s so bright out.”
“Who cares. No one will notice. We’re not just fooling around today.”
Yoo Dahui wanted an excuse to ask me questions. Asking while sober was too awkward, so she was using alcohol as a crutch.
The problem was, I could barely hold my liquor. Yoo Dahui drank like a fish; I was more like a guppy.
If I got drunk, I’d sloppily answer every question she threw at me, and we’d end up drinking together.
“…Fine. Let’s go.”
If I refused, I wouldn’t be Kim Jinwoo. That guy who thought things through before acting probably wouldn’t have gotten tangled up like this.
We walked into the tavern. Yoo Dahui raised her hand to call the bartender and blurted out the most ridiculous order.
“The usual.”
“…The usual? We’re on the first floor today?”
“Oh, right?”
Yoo Dahui gave a short laugh and lowered her arm. The sound of her eyes rolling echoed in my ears.
She was still watching and observing me. She thought she’d completely fooled me, but she was still suspicious.
One glass. Two. She kept downing them.
Empty bottles piled up on the table. One. Two. More.
“Yoo Dahui…?”
“Ahh. I’m feeling pretty drunk today.”
It was painfully awkward.
Yoo Dahui tilted her glass, pretending to be tipsy. Compared to my acting, hers was like a child versus a seasoned pro. If I’d been casting, I would’ve immediately rejected her and hit the FAIL button.
“…We’ve only had five bottles.”
We hadn’t even had that many. Yoo Dahui could’ve downed ten and not felt a thing. For us to be swaying like this was impossible.
She must be trying to say something. That was why she was forcing herself to drink.
“Krugh…!”
“Whoa, you’re holding it well.”
Yoo Dahui furrowed her brows and emptied her glass. She even shook the empty glass above her head.
I smiled and refilled it for her.
Watching what she was doing was so funny I could barely contain my laughter.
“Drink. Why are you only drinking?”
“Because you drink better. I’m balancing it out.”
“Just drink. We’re drinking to get drunk together.”
“No, I’ll be the only one drunk…”
I matched her pace and let myself get a little tipsy. I was giving off that hazy, relaxed feeling.
Yoo Dahui had been chatting and laughing with me, but suddenly her expression turned serious as she stared straight at me.
“…Jinwoo.”
“What?”
“Did you contract with that Pluto guy on the zero floor?”
I gave her a surprised look and quickly shook my head.
“Who’s that person?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know… I’m asking because I already know everything.”
Yoo Dahui looked genuinely disappointed as she stroked her hair. Her slender fingers slid through her black strands, revealing her fair forehead.
“Why did you contract with him? No, that’s not the point. What the hell is this about? Why are you doing this to me?”
Yoo Dahui narrowed her eyes and glared at me. Her gaze was ice-cold. A dagger stabbed straight into my chest.
“You’re still hiding something from me, aren’t you?”
“No. Nothing. I’m telling the truth.”
“Liar.”
Yoo Dahui’s eyes were pitch black. When I looked into them, they pulled me in with an endless force.
What was I supposed to say? I did feel guilty for lying to her, but I kept shoving that thought away. I knew that the longer I delayed, the harder it would be to come clean. Yoo Dahui’s mental strength wasn’t that strong. I planned to tell her at the right moment, but there were too many pieces scattered. Where should I even start?
“…So, you really do have secrets from me? I’m suffering because I can’t tell you anything. I’ve been thinking whether I should tell you what I realized today.”
“You’re saying even if I don’t have secrets, you’re still thinking about it.”
“All the way? You’re not going to tell me everything?”
Yoo Dahui poured more alcohol into her bottle like it was going out of style. I knew it wouldn’t affect her liver, but I still played along.
“Kim Jinwoo.”
“Why are you calling me that? I’m not drunk, so stop pretending. Dahui.”
“I’m still worrying. It changes depending on what you do. So just stop.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Give me a hint.”
“…A hint? You already know the answer, don’t you? But you need a hint?”
Yoo Dahui slid one bottle across the table. The bottle glowed green as it slid. Inside, the liquid sloshed like cheap alcohol.
Seeing her push it made my stomach churn with fear. Every time Yoo Dahui had me, it never ended well. I’d pass out, puke everything up, or something worse. My insides would flip over and over.
“I’ll drink slowly. You do the same.”
“No. I want to get drunk fast. I really can’t talk without being drunk.”
“What the hell are you trying to say…?”
“I warned you. The moment I say it out loud, you’re finished.”
“Haha, I’m looking forward to it.”
This was fear. I hadn’t chosen the horror genre, but a horror movie was playing out anyway.
Yoo Dahui’s eyes turned fierce as she downed her glass and refilled it. Since she was pouring her own drink, I snatched a bottle and poured for her instead.
She smiled mockingly and gulped it down.
It wasn’t a happy smile. It was the grin of someone who’d already won.
At this point, I should’ve realized I was nothing but a fly caught in her web. The more I struggled, the more I attracted her, and sooner or later she’d devour me.
“Drink slowly…”
“Slowly? If you don’t tell me what you’re hiding, I’ll stop drinking right here. I’ll forgive you. Even if I don’t understand why, I can accept it. I’m ready. Have you started thinking about what to say?”
“…Even if I don’t have anything to say…”
“Hah. Then stop making me drink alone. I’m the one who wants to drink, not you. Why are you causing such a fuss? You said you wanted to do what you felt like when you were drunk, right? Then why the drama?”
Her tone was getting harsher and harsher. Her instincts were louder than her reason.
One bottle. Two. Yoo Dahui kept pouring until the bottles were empty. Her fingers and toes were so numb she couldn’t even count them anymore.
Thanks to the alcohol, her eyes were glassy. She’d said she’d tell or break me, but she’d just gone limp.
“Dahui, let’s go back and rest.”
“Should I tell or not? You still haven’t decided to say anything yourself?”
“Again? We should leave after drinking.”
Outside, the sun was just setting. Other players were finishing their hunts and coming in for rest.
Everyone else was finishing their day. We were heading out drunk.
Yoo Dahui clasped her hands together, only her finger joints visible, and muttered.
“Not even this much? Not even this?”
Anyone could see she was trashed. I guessed she’d noticed how little I’d drunk.
I stood up and walked over to her seat. I planned to drag her out forcefully.
“Dahui.”
“I haven’t said what I wanted to. I haven’t even finished talking.”
“I told you I have nothing to say.”
I kept repeating it until the words finally came out clearly despite my slurred tongue.
I have nothing to say.
All my settings had been explained in the previous loop. This time I was just the clueless contract holder of Pluto.
But Yoo Dahui didn’t believe me at all and laughed mockingly.
Her wanton lips curled up. Blood rushed to my lower body, which was already numb from the alcohol.
Yoo Dahui slammed her hand on the chair next to her.
“And I’m not drunk. Do you really think I am?”
“Yeah. You’re definitely trashed.”
I quietly sat down next to her. Yoo Dahui looked at me and grinned. She lifted her glass, probably for the last one, and we drank together.
Clink!
Without even noticing her state, Yoo Dahui downed the last glass in one go.
“Aaah, it’s burning… My life is burning…”
Yoo Dahui squinted. I wanted to stroke her hair, but I barely managed to hold back.
“Your expression is weird.”
“How so?”
“You’re smiling strangely.”
“Yoo Dahui, you’re drunk, right?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re talking nonsense.”
“I’m not drunk. I’m not. Puu-woo…”
Yoo Dahui exhaled loudly. I thought she was going to puke and held out the bowl.
“I’m not drunk! I’m not puking!”
Yoo Dahui violently rejected the bowl I offered. The horror thriller had turned into a comedy.
Thank goodness.
As I refilled her empty glass, my stomach was filled with worry. I really thought she was going to do something terrible. What the hell did she know?
I was shaking from nerves. Not just one, but several things were bothering me.
“I’m not drunk. I’m not drunk… I’m not drunk…!”
In the novel, Yoo Dahui getting drunk was rare. Out of two thousand chapters, maybe five? Scenes where she was completely wasted were few and far between.
Yoo Dahui let out a small scream and started spewing words incoherently.
Her fidgeting was strangely cute.
“Jinwoo… If you tell me now, I’ll forgive you… No, no. Actually, you don’t have to tell me… It won’t change anything… Hic…”
“Huh? Are you crying?”
She suddenly burst into tears. People say emotions swing wildly when drunk, but I never imagined Yoo Dahui would cry like this.
I pulled a handkerchief from my inventory and handed it to her. Yoo Dahui wiped her eyes with my handkerchief.
“Thank you… Still, I feel a little sad that there are things I don’t know about you… I want to know everything about you…”
“……”
“It would be nice if you just told me… If you don’t want to, then there’s nothing I can do… Since you don’t want to rely on me, you probably don’t want to tell me…”
“I never thought about it that way.”
“…Then just tell me.”
Yoo Dahui’s eyes shone sharply. She said she wasn’t drunk. Not drunk at all. But she was pretending and even making me cry. Damn it.
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine. I’d thought I’d escaped her web for a moment, but I was still tangled in it.
“Jinwoo.”
“Why, why…?”
“I have one thing I’m worried about. Do you know what it is?”
I kept my mouth shut. If I opened it, I’d say I wasn’t curious.
───KAAAAAAAHHH! It hurts! It hurts so much!───
The shadow spirit suddenly burst out and cried out in agony.
At the same time, a small, delicate hand climbed up my pants and grabbed my junior.
“You’re lying, right? I’m thinking whether I should tell you or not.”
While my attention was on the shadow spirit, Yoo Dahui dropped the bomb.
When I looked back at her, her eyes were cold as ice as she glared at me.
“Y, Yoo Dahui…?”
Her small hand squeezed my junior like she was cracking an egg. In that split second, I realized my junior was being held hostage.
“…Answer my question properly. The moment even the slightest lie slips in…”
“───AAAAH! I’ll say it! I’ll say everything! I’ll tell you everything!”
Yoo Dahui tightened her grip. This was different from when she’d masked herself. Back then it was play. This time… was it real? If I gave the wrong answer, Kim Jinwoo from the fifteenth loop might never be able to produce children…