By Zephyria 
6
Even looking at the names saved on the phone, An Ga-hyeon couldn’t distinguish who was who, making it difficult to use. He made the excuse of memory loss, but he didn’t want to leave any room for suspicion.
‘More than anything, An Ga-hyeon doesn’t like the fact that he’s in someone else’s body.’
Instead of the hunger he used as an excuse, his questions about the situation only grew. As he pondered his curiosity, he heard Potato’s voice.
[That thing you’re curious about, I can explain it to you!]
“……?”
An Ga-hyeon quickly turned his head towards the direction of the sound, and Potato popped his head out from among the few belongings.
[So don’t try to kill me! I’m really the embodiment of your ability!]
“Huh…….”
“Huh? What’s wrong, Yujin?”
“Ah, it’s nothing, Manager.”
“Really? Are you very hungry? Eat this first.”
Kim Hyun-soo handed An Ga-hyeon a well-peeled apple. The apple, neatly placed on the plate, was shaped like a rabbit. The shape was consistent and uniform, showing great skill.
‘The skill of a professional housewife.’
“Manager.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you married? Your skills are so excellent, I was wondering if you have a family…….”
At An Ga-hyeon’s question, Kim Hyun-soo smiled bitterly.
“Yujin, Hyung is a lifelong solo…….”
“Ah.”
Damn it. An Ga-hyeon shouldn’t have asked.
“I learned it from my mom. I was the one who packed your team’s lunch boxes in the beginning. You really have lost all your memories.”
Watching Kim Hyun-soo laugh, An Ga-hyeon carefully took a bite of the apple.
It was crisp and cool, and very delicious.
“That’s an ice honey-soaked apple. It’s good, right?”
“…Yes.”
It’s delicious. Very.
One of the foods that was hard to find on the front lines, constantly fighting monsters pouring out of the Dungeon Gate, was fruit.
As people’s lives were destroyed by the continuous Dungeon Break, the distribution network was cut off, and the only special food they could find was dried fruit.
‘I’m enjoying such luxury only after death.’
Chewing on a crisp apple and lying in a comfortable bed where An Ga-hyeon didn’t have to worry about enemy attacks.
These were all things An Ga-hyeon had desperately wanted while fighting monsters so desperately.
A piece of apple quickly disappeared down his throat.
Grumble.
As soon as something entered his empty stomach, a loud noise rang out. Kim Hyun-soo smiled kindly at An Ga-hyeon, who was hiding his red ears.
“Do you want more? There’s a lot peeled here.”
“T, thank you.”
Perhaps because the tension was relieved, hunger rushed to the top of his head. Watching An Ga-hyeon stuff the apple into his cheeks, Kim Hyun-soo opened a cloth wrapper and took out a thermal lunch box from inside.
“You’ll choke if you eat like that. Eat slowly.”
“Cough… Yes. I’ll be careful.”
Taking out warm chicken porridge from the thermal lunch box, Kim Hyun-soo looked puzzled.
“Is it because you lost your memory? It’s like you’re a different person, Yujin, speaking so politely with honorifics.”
“Keck, Ke-heck!”
An apple got stuck in his throat. What a damn mess.
Kim Hyun-soo patted An Ga-hyeon’s back hard as he coughed.
“Are you okay?”
“Keck, cough. I’m… I’m okay.”
Kim Hyun-soo brought him a glass of water, and after drinking it, An Ga-hyeon no longer choked.
“Are you very hungry? Fruit won’t be enough to fill you up, so eat this instead.”
“…Did you make this yourself, Manager?”
“Yeah. I haven’t done it in a while, so I can’t guarantee the taste. Eat it quickly, before it gets cold.”
The chicken porridge, with finely chopped carrots, potatoes, and green onions, smelled savory.
“I also brought braised beef, kimchi, and rolled omelet as side dishes. Do you want to eat them?”
“I want to eat them.”
The answer came out immediately.
A simple and warm meal set on the table.
‘How long has it been…….’
Slurp. As An Ga-hyeon took a spoonful of the warm porridge, his stomach tingled all over. It was delicious.
“Manager. It’s so delicious.”
An Ga-hyeon ate it with other side dishes, and it was heavenly.
‘Should Kim Hyun-soo open a side dish store instead of being a manager?’
Kim Hyun-soo’s lunch box was so delicious that An Ga-hyeon couldn’t help but think that. An Ga-hyeon devoured the lunch box like a ravenous beggar.
For the duration of the meal, An Ga-hyeon didn’t have any other thoughts.
“Y, Yujin. Are you crying?”
“No?”
“But water is streaming from your eyes and nose…….When An Ga-hyeon wiped his face with the tissue that Kim Hyun-soo handed him, moisture indeed came off.
“It’s sweat and snot.”
An Ga-hyeon sniffled, but insisted anyway.
“I’m not crying.”
“O… Okay. Eat a lot.”
Receiving Kim Hyun-soo’s pat, An Ga-hyeon ate up even the dessert cleanly.
Since becoming Yeon Yu-jin, this first meal was warm.
After filling his stomach, An Ga-hyeon sent Manager Hyung out of the hospital room.
Kim Hyun-soo asked if he should stay by his side because he was worried, but because the confrontation with Potato remained, An Ga-hyeon reluctantly pushed him to go home.
The hospital room door that An Ga-hyeon returned to was locked just in case.
Turning on the dim hospital room light, An Ga-hyeon saw Potato, with his arms crossed, waiting inside the luggage.
“Hey, Potato.”
[I told you not to call me Potato.]
“If I see a sprouted potato, what else am I supposed to call it?”
[Hey!]
“Judging by your reaction, you don’t even have a name, do you?”
As if hit right on the mark, Potato shut his mouth tightly.
“If you’re really the embodiment of my ability, then I’ll have to give you a name.”
An Ga-hyeon doesn’t know why Potato looks like that, though.
At An Ga-hyeon’s words, Potato meekly muttered.
[…That’s right.]
“You look like a potato, so I’ll name you Potato.”
[Hey!!!]
“Shut your mouth. I hate noisy things.”
[To think that such a guy is my master.]
Whether Potato was upset or not, An Ga-hyeon wanted to resolve his own questions first.
Sitting on the hospital bed, An Ga-hyeon placed Potato on his palm and asked.
“You said you could answer what I’m curious about.”
[Y, yeah.]
“Then let me ask. Why did I, An Ga-hyeon, who died in front of the Gate over 20 years ago, possess the body of a complete stranger?”
If Potato doesn’t answer properly, An Ga-hyeon will boil him and eat him with salt.
Seeing the obvious sign, Potato flinched.
[As I said, I’m a case where your special ability has materialized.]
“Yeah…. Self-healing. Did that bounce out when I died?”
[That’s right. Strictly speaking, An Ga-hyeon, your special ability was closer to ‘Resurrection’ than ‘Self-healing’.]
“Resurrection, you say……?”
[Every time you were severely injured in battle, you miraculously survived because you thought it was thanks to the characteristics of Self-healing, but……. No, that’s wrong. The reason you were able to recover quickly even after suffering fatal injuries was because your trait was ‘Resurrection’.]
“But the higher-ups never said anything about that.”
They only said that the test results showed that An Ga-hyeon had an additional ability.
“And if I really have the ability of ‘Resurrection’… then why did I die?”
An Ga-hyeon’s cause of death was a penetrating wound. A large hole was pierced in his upper body, and he died from excessive bleeding.
But far from Resurrection, An Ga-hyeon has only now come back to life by borrowing someone else’s body, after 20 years.
“How can you explain this situation?”
Sprouted Potato continued the conversation.
[While trying to Self-heal with the power of ‘Resurrection’, someone tried to take away my… that is, your power, intentionally.]
“What?”
[That’s why you suffered a fatal injury and died on the spot. Because they had taken measures in advance to prevent the ‘Resurrection’ ability from working properly. Whether it was a drug or something.]
It was absurd. An Ga-hyeon clearly formed a team with Jae-ha to close the Dungeon Gate that had suddenly burst open.
“I’ve never heard of anyone trying to steal the power of an Esper or Guide.”
[That’s right. The ones who tried to take your power planned it secretly. If I hadn’t succeeded in materializing and escaping, it’s a truth you would never have known.]
“…Are you saying the higher-ups were involved in this? That they intentionally tried to kill me?”
[I don’t know that far. But it’s certain that there was someone who tried to kill you.]
At Potato’s words, An Ga-hyeon’s heart pounded.
The memory of the day he died was vivid.
The S-class Dungeon was one of the common problems that often occurred at that time. Among the Espers and Guides deployed on the front lines, An Ga-hyeon and Hyeon Jae-ha were the most outstanding, so they didn’t have any particular reluctance to lead the hastily formed team and participate in the battle.
It was a very ordinary and familiar thing for them.
However, the Dungeon Gate they encountered that day showed a difficulty that far exceeded expectations.
The monsters that popped out from inside were close to the boss level of most Dungeons, and the monsters they saw for the first time poured out, making it difficult to attack.
‘In the end… the Dragon, the boss monster of that Dungeon, even popped out, and I took the attack instead of Jae-ha and died.’
To be honest, An Ga-hyeon was overconfident in his abilities.
Since he had the ‘Self-healing’ ability, he wouldn’t die. It would hurt enough to die, but he thought he would shake it off as usual and get up and fight with Jae-ha again.
But the injury of having his heart blown away was unavoidable, and he thought he had died as a result…….
“My death… you mean it wasn’t a coincidence?”