By Zephyria 
〈Wow. You beat up a ninth grader? That’s impressive.〉
It was spring, twenty-one years ago, the year Tae-un and Pi Min-hyeong entered middle school. Not long after enrollment, Pi Min-hyeong got into a fight with a ninth-grade bully who had picked a quarrel. The brawl, to which he had brought only Tae-un, ended in victory for the two of them. It was a pyrrhic victory, leaving them with enough injuries to require a few days of hospitalization, but a win was a win.
After hearing the story from a flabbergasted Kim Si-baek, Detective Park laughed heartily and took the boys to a meat restaurant as a discharge gift. Although Tae-un tended to avoid and fear adult men because of Tae Cheol-hun, he made an exception for people introduced by Kim Si-baek.
Kim Si-baek sighed as Pi Min-hyeong excitedly recounted his heroic tale while eating meat.
〈Do you know how worried the sister and priest were? Since your brother is a detective, they said it’s not right for the younger brother to be fighting, and your brother even got scolded by the teacher. Do you guys go to school to fight?〉
Freshmen in middle school are practically elementary students. The matter was settled relatively well because the bullies, unwilling to admit they had been beaten by elementary-aged kids, insisted until the end that they had been injured while fighting among themselves.
Pi Min-hyeong pouted at Kim Si-baek’s reprimand.
〈Those bastards kept bullying Yura-nuna because she lives in the orphanage, saying she’s filthy. How could I just stand by and watch while they bully her?〉
Yang Yura was a resident of the Somang Orphanage, two years older than the boys. Kim Si-baek was speechless at the reason finally revealed after Pi Min-hyeong had kept his mouth shut when asked why he fought.
〈Fighting is a bad thing, but sometimes there are times when you have to fight to protect others.〉
Detective Park joked around as he served meat onto Pi Min-hyeong’s plate.
With bullies initiating the harassment, one couldn’t simply say that fighting was unconditionally bad. While pondering how difficult it was to educate children, Kim Si-baek wrapped a lettuce wrap filled with plenty of meat and popped it into Tae-un’s mouth. Seeing the cute sight of him munching on the wrap until his cheeks puffed out washed away the complicated thoughts and felt like healing. He wanted to kiss those chubby cheeks, but he restrained himself, reminding himself that the boy was fourteen, not five.
Sitting opposite Detective Park, Pi Min-hyeong raised his hand high.
〈Hyung! Me too, me too! Min-hyeong wants a wrap too!〉
Unaware that Tae-un was glaring at him for mimicking, Kim Si-baek fed a lettuce wrap to Pi Min-hyeong as well. Pi Min-hyeong also chewed the meat deliciously with his small mouth. It was healing. How could they be so cute and lovely? Even if they were punks who had been in a school brawl a few days ago…
Another sigh escaped. Even if he told them not to fight, they weren’t the type to listen. Pi Min-hyeong would openly grumble, and Tae-un would listen well to his face, but the moment someone picked a fight, his fists would fly immediately.
Since they were going to fight anyway, perhaps he should teach them how to get hurt less. Kim Si-baek looked back at the children.
〈If you end up fighting kids bigger than you, or if the other side brings too many lackeys and it feels overwhelming, go to the leader among them and…〉
Kim Si-baek’s finger tapped Tae-un’s forehead.
〈Slam your head into the bridge of their nose. The skull is very hard, so if you hit them, their nose will bleed nine times out of ten. Once you do that, just grab that one person and keep hitting them.〉
In children’s fights, the side that bleeds first usually gets scared and loses momentum. Since both sides are usually stubborn and won’t back down, seeing one person get focusedly beaten will likely discourage the others.
He thought it was rational and serious advice, but Detective Park clutched his stomach and laughed.
〈You really did the right thing by becoming a detective. Even if you had taken another path, I think we would have ended up meeting at the police station anyway.〉
〈You’re not insulting me, are you, Senior?〉
〈Kid, it’s a compliment. A compliment. And you two, don’t try to shoulder everything yourselves. It’s not good for kids to mature too early. You have adults you can lean on, like Si-baek or the sisters. Right?〉
Tae-un’s cheeks flushed red, and he answered softly in a shy voice.
〈I know. Hyung will always protect and help me.〉
“…Detective Park?”
As a fragment of an old memory resurfaced, the name escaped his lips unconsciously, and the man looked back. The man, who had been his partner and senior detective, had now reached a dignified age, embracing the passage of time.
“Who might you be…”
The puzzled gaze of someone looking at a stranger scratched at his chest with a swelling ache. Kim Si-baek habitually composed his expression and greeted him.
“I owe you a favor from a long time ago.”
“Oh, did I? If it were a dashing young man like you, there’s no way I’d forget.”
Deep wrinkles that weren’t there before were etched into his face, and his hair had turned greyish-white, but his kind impression remained. Senior, you survived in this harsh era too. A faint longing left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“It was a trivial matter, so you probably don’t remember. You bought me a meal when I was young.”
Kim Si-baek gave a forced, light laugh.
“Along with some nagging.”
Before transferring to the Violent Crimes Unit, Detective Park had been in the Women and Juvenile Division and frequently encountered delinquent students. Among them, he would comfort children who had a story or showed remorse by buying them a warm bowl of gukbap.
Since he spoke with the nuance that he had been one of those children, Detective Park’s expression softened considerably.
“Haha, is that so? Which school was it?”
“It was Ilmun High School. Thanks to you, I came to my senses, didn’t go astray, and have now become an adult who fulfills his role.”
[Death and Beauty point out that you are not a grandfather who fulfills his role.]
Unlike the divine utterance mixed with jokes, Biyendwe remained quietly cradled, disguised as a doll.
“If you aren’t too busy, how about a meal together? I’d like to treat you this time.”
The two moved to a soft tofu restaurant outside the prison. Detective Park, who was nearing retirement age, had become the chief of a small rural police substation and said he had visited the prison because there was an inmate he was personally concerned about. At Kim Si-baek’s request to be treated comfortably, Detective Park awkwardly dropped his formal speech.
“Was your leg injured badly?”
“Aigo, it was nothing.”
Detective Park waved his hand.
“I got bitten slightly by a magical beast in Seoul a long time ago, just slightly. I was unlucky and became a refugee who couldn’t get out of Seoul in time.”
Given his personality, it was highly likely he had missed the timing while helping others evacuate first.
The two exchanged stories over an early dinner. Although he didn’t remember, Detective Park looked pleased to know that a student he had helped had grown up to be a decent person, and Kim Si-baek felt guilt. Was it okay to momentarily hold onto an old connection even by lying? Should he have just let it flow away, forgotten?
However, Detective Park was a senior who had provided various forms of help before Kim Si-baek was appointed to the Violent Crimes Unit. Before his reason could judge, he had called out to him.
‘Let’s stop here.’
He had confirmed that the man was still a good person and was safe, so that was enough. It was right to end this fleeting connection here and let it scatter and be forgotten in time once more.
“I’ve just been talking about my boring self this whole time.”
Detective Park laughed heartily, scooping up a generous amount of white soft tofu.
“But how old are you? Most of the students I met were before the Great Cataclysm…”
“Ah, I’m older than I look.”
This time, it was Kim Si-baek’s turn to share. He spoke not of a past that could only be told through lies, but of the present. When he mentioned that he was registered with the 7777 Guild as a hunter, Detective Park was genuinely happy for him, as if it were his own achievement.
“Guild Master Tae-un is an incredible person despite his young age. You’ll have a lot to learn if you work with him.”
Detective Park’s words implied that he had no personal acquaintance with Tae-un. As if he had never met the young Tae-un before the Great Cataclysm.
‘…I wasn’t replaced for the Senior; I was erased. Since I don’t exist, the events of meeting Un or Min-hyeong must have become as if they never happened.’
So far, the only replaced memory was Tae Cheol-hun. Wondering what the difference was, Kim Si-baek suddenly recalled Tae-un’s words.
〈But fortunately, I met Detective Park, who was Hyung’s partner, but he didn’t remember me.〉
It was strange. Since it wasn’t something he could ask through someone else, Tae-un must have met Detective Park in person to ask about him.
“Detective, by any chance, have you ever seen our Guild Master in Seoul?”