262 – HGL 262

“What?”

“Pfft!”

Honeybee covered her mouth and turned her head. J’s shoulders were also trembling slightly. Or not? But. Jung-bin picked up the papers that had fallen on the floor and muttered.

“I thought you came because someone got caught up in excessive suppression, or you took care of something annoying while dealing with a Mutant… Wasn’t that the issue?”

“…No.”

Sa-young gritted his teeth and replied. Honeybee was laughing so hard she was almost crying. At this point, Jung-bin was also embarrassed. If it wasn’t such a big deal.

“Otherwise, there’s no way the three of you would come to see me all at once…”

…Right? The words, ‘Really, is that not it?’ almost burst out of his throat. But if he said that, Lee Sa-young would likely take it out on him, so Jung-bin cleared his throat and clasped his hands together.

“I apologize for the suspicion. Then… what brings you here?”

“Um… there’s a bit of a problem?”

Honeybee rolled her eyes. Honeybee runs around here and there, but Lee Sa-young, who wouldn’t bother to meet Jung-bin unless necessary, and J, who often rests due to his poor health, even came along, so it must be a really big deal. Jung-bin’s expression became serious. He leaned his upper body forward slightly.

“I’m ready. What’s the problem?”

“Sa-young.”

As soon as Eui-jae opened his mouth, attention focused on him. He firmly grabbed Sa-young’s arm, who was trying to step back.

“Sa-young’s memory is a bit…”

“Yes?”

Jung-bin tilted his head. Honeybee on the other side also firmly grabbed Sa-young’s remaining arm. They looked like prison guards restraining a prisoner. Honeybee wiped the tears from her eyes with her fingers and said.

“Well, his memory kind of flew away? He’s become incredibly nice.”

“Y-yes?”

Jung-bin opened his eyes wide and looked at Sa-young. Haaa. Sa-young, letting out a long sigh, was staring at the ceiling with a deeply furrowed face.

A little while ago, in the wasteland. Honeybee, who was walking ahead, suddenly opened her mouth.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“If it’s useless thoughts, keep them to yourself.”

“Shut up. Now that it’s come to this, let’s go with the amnesia tactic, okay?”

“Not even worth listening to.”

Sa-young scoffed and crossed his arms. Honeybee turned around and burst out in anger.

“Ah, why! We need to get information. If we suddenly ask them to explain the situation here, they’ll think it’s weird, right?”

“Honeybee-ssi means, we’ve replaced ourselves in this world?”

“Probably. This is a Destroyed world, and if there are people we know, we must exist too. But two of the same person can’t exist at the same time, right?”

It was similar to what ‘Hong Ye-seong’ had said. He had borrowed Cluck’s body to avoid a situation where two Hong Ye-seongs existed. Honeybee raised her index finger.

“That person earlier also recognized me as Honeybee. But wouldn’t it be strange if Honeybee suddenly asked, ‘What year and day is it?’ And…”

Honeybee glanced at the empty air. A pure white System Window appeared. From the moment traces of cities sparsely rising beyond the horizon began to appear.

[Blend in without causing a sense of incongruity.]

Could it be the clear condition of the Dungeon? But it was very different from the usual composition. There was no Dungeon name, no explanation, just a single sentence in a commanding tone. Moreover, it was too difficult a task for the conspicuous trio. Hunters fighting on the front lines of Doomsday, ‘Excuse me, but how far has Doomsday progressed?’

‘Who died and who lived?’

‘Is this place ruined?’

If they went around asking that?

‘Are you crazy?’

They’d be treated like crazy people. Everyone seemed to be thinking similarly. Sa-young, who had been spouting out opposing opinions, shrugged as if to say, ‘Do whatever you want.’ Is it my turn to step up? Eui-jae, who was more confident in amnesia (physical) than anyone else, clenched his fist and asked.

“Then who will get amnesia?”

“What’s with that fist? You’re not going to hit someone, are you?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“Let’s just act, just act. I can’t do it. I’m not confident in acting.”

“Is it because you can’t run wild with amnesia?”

Honeybee flew like a bee and kicked. If I go… Eui-jae’s lips twitched. I guess there’s no choice. Lee Sa-young doesn’t seem like he’d act, so I, who’s good at acting, have to step up here. The moment he raised his hand.

“I’ll d―”

“No choice. I’ll do it.”

Sa-young interrupted. Eui-jae looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. Hey, what acting are you going to do? But perhaps because of the mask, his bewilderment didn’t get across. Sa-young was instead looking at Eui-jae with a subtle gaze. He clicked his tongue as if to be heard.

“What acting is someone who can’t even lie going to do…”

“What are you talking about? Have you not seen my acting skills? I would have been an actor if I hadn’t become a Hunter, me.”

“Uh-huh, okay. Let’s assume you’re acting… But.”

Sa-young tilted his head and twisted his lips into a smile. It was almost a sneer.

“Didn’t incidents happen every time after that?”

“……”

Eui-jae, recalling his memories, lowered his head solemnly. Objectively, his acting skills were excellent, but it was true that he ended up resolving everything with his fists every time. Sa-young put his hand on his cheek and sighed loudly as if to be heard.

“Sorry, but I don’t have Seo Min-gi to clean up after me here, nor do I have my subordinates…”

Damn it!

“Well, if it’s Lee Sa-young, no one will suspect it.”

Even Honeybee sided with Sa-young. This is betrayal. Eui-jae turned his head sharply to look at Honeybee. She put her finger to her lips and said brightly.

“They won’t think it’s weird even if you keep your mouth shut!”

It was a painful truth, though without malice.

Lee Sa-young had a problem with his memory.

Jung-bin immediately dragged the three of them to Nam Woo-jin. The Master of the Seowon Guild was holed up in a basement room. Countless books and papers filled the room. The dim reddish-brown light of the lamp flickered, illuminating the shadows of the books. Just as a rustling sound seemed to be heard, a man in a white coat appeared. His white hair, tied down, swayed.

“What is it? I told you not to disturb me unless it’s important…”

Thank goodness. He doesn’t look like a mummy yet. Eui-jae was relieved inwardly. Nam Woo-jin looked a little thin, but he seemed fine. So far. Jung-bin pointed to Sa-young, who was standing behind him.

“Hunter Lee Sa-young seems to have a problem with his memory.”

“Memory?”

Nam Woo-jin frowned slightly. And he nodded as if demanding an explanation. Jung-bin asked.

“I didn’t get a chance to ask because we came in a hurry, but was it caused by a Monster?”

“Don’t know. Don’t remember.”

Sa-young replied with a sulky face. Amnesia was a more convenient tool than he thought. Because he could insist he didn’t remember anything, whatever it was. Eui-jae secretly gave Honeybee a thumbs up. Nam Woo-jin scratched his head irritably and looked at Eui-jae.

“J, what brings you here again? Weren’t you supposed to be resting?”

“Ah, I heard Sa-young had a problem, so I came along.”

“How’s your health?”

Jung-bin also looked at Eui-jae with a worried gaze. Strangely, his mouth moved on its own to reply.

“I’m a bit better now. Thank you for your concern.”

“You seem to be. Still, get a check-up while you’re here. It’ll be a disaster if you collapse again. What about Honeybee?”

“Huh? Ah, I found Lee Sa-young… I contacted J too.”

“I received a report that you went to a restricted area. Did you find him there?”

“Ah, yeah. That’s right.”

“Why did you go there?”

“Thaaaat…”

Perhaps it wasn’t a lie that she couldn’t act, Honeybee’s words started to get longer and longer even though they had rehearsed beforehand. She glanced at Eui-jae. He quickly interjected.

“I asked her. There’s something I want to find, but it’s hard for me to move around myself.”

“Can’t you tell me what it is?”

“No, not now. I’ll tell you when it’s more certain.”

“…I understand. So, did he lose his memory to a Monster…”

Jung-bin put his hand to his chin with a troubled expression and pondered. Nam Woo-jin crossed his arms and asked.

“Is all of his memory gone, or just specific memories?”

“It seems like only specific memories are gone. He remembers me, Honeybee, and Jung-bin… but he seems to have forgotten all the recent events.”

While Eui-jae was babbling as if he had oiled his tongue, Sa-young was still looking at the ceiling. His displeasure was evident. Honeybee stiffly pointed to Jung-bin and Nam Woo-jin.

“It’s good for us to explain, but there’s an expert here? We brought him along?”

“Expert? Instead of you guys explaining directly.”

“I’m not confident in explaining!”

“I’m not good at those explanations either.”

It seemed so. They were the kind of people who would throw a punch first if something happened.

Nam Woo-jin let out a long sigh and waved his hand as if to say, ‘Follow me.’ Alright, it worked. Jung-bin said with a gentle smile.

“I’m sorry, but I have something else to do, so I’ll be going.”

“Do so. You guys, follow me…”

Nam Woo-jin dragged his old Crox along the long corridor. A surly voice was heard from his swaying back.

“I’ll say it first. This world has met its Doomsday and is being Destroyed.”

Ah, so he’s getting straight to the point like this?