Chapter 179. Twins
"Unniii!"
"Mhm. Come here."
Because we spent so much time at the party hall, there wasn't really time to meet anyone.
So before heading back to the hospital, I stopped by the dorm.
It was to check on the condition of Liliana and Nam Daeun.
It felt weird having five people in the dorm.
Scarlett, Liliana, and I were watching Nam Dahee and Nam Daeun play.
The way Nam Dahee clung to her sister and the way Nam Daeun smiled back at her made them look close.
They both looked genuinely happy, which made me happy too.
Nam Dahee, despite being a middle schooler, clung to us like a little kid.
Probably because she hadn't received much love.
Nam Daeun must have known that too, so she tried her best to care for Nam Dahee.
"Dahee's so cheerful. I like that. Right, Scarlett?"
"That's right. I used to be that cheerful when I was little too."
Scarlett, sitting next to me, suddenly said something strange with a serious expression.
"Hey. Why are you suddenly trying to be funny?"
"... I'm serious."
"Nom nom."
"Liliana. What about you?"
"Nom... Huh?"
I spoke to Liliana, who was munching on something jelly-like.
"When you were little. What were you like? Did you just play games all the time?"
"Me? Well... yeah, kind of."
"... The whole time? You didn't just play games from birth until now, right?"
"Of course not! What do you take me for?"
Liliana shoved more jelly into her mouth, looking annoyed.
"So... what did you do? I'm curious about what you did in your hometown."
It was a simple curiosity.
Since Nam Daeun and Nam Dahee were in the living room, I referred to hell as her hometown.
"Hmm... Wait a sec. For 15 years after becoming an adult, I just played games. Then until I was 35... what did I do...?"
"Scarlett, you too... you're both throwing out lame jokes. If you don't remember, that's dementia."
"I'm not joking."
"... What was it again?"
Liliana furrowed her brows and began to think seriously.
What, she's not joking?
★ Heroine Status Window
[Liliana]
- [ Affection: 97 ] ( +1.4 )
- [ Lust: 76 ]
- [ Appetite: 42 ]
- [ Fatigue: 30 ]
Current Status: Before becoming an adult... Ugh. My head.
This is serious.
Seems like she's really not joking.
"Liliana. You really can't remember?"
"Y-yeah... I don't know. Maybe because it's been 15 years."
"... You wouldn't forget something like that just because 15 years passed."
I'm seriously suspecting dementia now.
What should I do? Should I take her to the hospital?
But she remembers everything else just fine... maybe it's something that happened during the transition from hell to here.
"No way? People forget stuff all the time. Do you remember what you were doing 15 years ago? Do you remember when you were five?"
"Wait, how is being five the same as being thirty-five?"
What kind of weird logic is that?
But Liliana seemed pretty satisfied with her own logic.
"Anyway, I don't remember. So I'm the same."
Mhm.
Liliana nodded to herself and seemed convinced.
That's such a weird thing to accept so easily...
But if she says she's fine, I guess it's fine?
Just then, I heard a mumble from nearby.
"... If Lady Liliana was 35 fifteen years ago, doesn't that mean she's 50 now?"
"Yup, that's right."
"...!"
Scarlett's eyes widened, apparently realizing Liliana's age for the first time.
And Nam Dahee, who had been listening the whole time, muttered quietly with her mouth agape.
"Gasp. Ajumma...."
"I'm not an ajumma!"
"Ajummmaaaa!"
Liliana started chasing the fleeing Nam Dahee.
Good thing this was a high-class academy dorm. If it were a normal house, the neighbors would've gathered at our front door by now.
"She's really fifty... That's incredible."
Scarlett genuinely seemed surprised.
She probably thought Liliana was younger than her. She definitely doesn't look fifty at all.
"In human years, she's five."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
Tsk. No point explaining.
Can't go into detail anyway with Nam Daeun and Nam Dahee around.
I'll just watch Liliana chase Nam Dahee until it's time to head back.
"Hoyeon. I mean, Lee Hoyeon?"
"Just call me casually. Daeun. Sound good?"
"Okay."
At that moment, Nam Daeun, who had been playing with Nam Dahee, came up to me.
She hadn't been this friendly before, but when Nam Dahee was around, we called each other by name to pretend we were close.
Now that we'd gotten a little closer, we decided to just use our names.
"Flowers... what kind do you like?"
"Huh?"
"Flowers. Pretty-colored ones."
Why's she suddenly asking about flowers?
Honestly, I've never really understood why people buy flowers.
Wouldn't it be better to buy a hearty rice soup with that money?
"... Something cost-effective?"
"Cost-effective..."
I said it half-jokingly, but Nam Daeun seemed satisfied with the answer.
She nodded to herself while making a thoughtful sound and then looked over at Nam Dahee.
'What the heck.'
Is she planning to bring some on her next hospital visit?
'By the way, she doesn't even care how old Liliana is, huh.'
She really is an odd one.
I didn't think too hard about it either and let it go.
*
The day after Lee Hoyeon met Park Mingyu.
Thursday.
With the investigation into the party hall terror complete and the guild's backlog cleared, Park Mingyu went on patrol.
"Thank you for your hard work, Guild Master!"
"Mhm. Thank you, everyone. Always stay safe."
"Yes! Thank you!"
Park Mingyu responded kindly to the regular guild members' greetings.
Some of the regular members didn't know just how dirty and vile the Bayer Guild was.
Only after years of service would they gradually be assigned to such tasks, and their pay would increase.
And since only trustworthy people could be assigned those tasks, the requirements were even stricter.
"Thanks to the Guild Master, the guild always has a bright atmosphere."
"Right? That's why I'm still here. It's a small place, but the vibe is nice."
'What the hell are these assholes talking about.'
Mingyu was annoyed by the regular members' voices.
He hated the ones who chatted instead of working.
"How's Dahee doing?"
"She's been playing quietly for a few days now, so I've just been giving her meals and leaving."
"Good, good. Don't talk to her unless absolutely necessary."
Park Mingyu forbade the guild members from speaking with Nam Dahee.
Instead, he tried to act even kinder so she'd rely on him.
Knock knock.
"Dahee, uncle's coming in."
Without waiting for a reply, Park Mingyu opened the door.
Nam Dahee was sitting blankly in the center of the room.
"Today, uncle..."
Park Mingyu's face froze as he started to speak with a friendly expression.
The room was filled with the scent of mana.
Traces of magic.
Park Mingyu immediately released his own mana.
Mana was leaking from a magic circle that had already lost its power.
"You fucking bastard...!"
Someone had clearly broken in.
Park Mingyu immediately dismantled the magic circle in the room.
Nam Dahee's figure vanished like smoke, revealing an empty room.
"W-what the hell is going on. Nam Dahee! Where is she!!!"
"Wh-what's wrong, Guild Master!"
"You crazy bastard! What kind of management is this!"
Hearing Park Mingyu's scream, the guild members rushed in and saw that Nam Dahee had vanished.
The magic circle had been leaking mana for days.
Meaning the caster hadn't recharged it.
That meant Nam Dahee had been gone for quite a while, and no one had noticed. The caster had to be incredibly skilled.
For someone like that to have a grudge against the Bayer Guild...
"Just who..."
Wait.
That's not what matters now.
Someone more important crossed Mingyu's mind. He turned to the manager who had entered upon hearing the commotion.
"Nam Daeun. Contact Nam Daeun now!"
"Well... she hasn't answered since she left for the party with you, Guild Master. We thought she was still with you..."
The manager had no info about Nam Daeun.
Because Park Mingyu had kept details about Nam Daeun and Nam Dahee hidden from the other members to keep them to himself.
With no communication so far, the manager assumed everything was fine and didn't act.
And this was the result.
Even more shocking was that Nam Daeun, who had obediently listened until now, suddenly cut contact.
"You stupid fucks, you call that an excuse?!"
"W-we're sorry!"
Park Mingyu's kind expression twisted in rage.
This can't be happening.
He had to find Nam Dahee, no matter what.
Everything he had built was on the verge of collapse.
"Find Nam Daeun and Nam Dahee right now. Use any means necessary!"
"Y-yes! I'll alert the informants!"
"Not just the informants. Put in a request with the intelligence guild too. Be discreet. Somewhere we won't be exposed. Got it?"
"Y-yes!"
At Mingyu's command, the manager broke into a sweat and rushed out to place the request. Mingyu clenched his teeth, watching him go.
'It can't end like this. Daeun. Dahee.'
He could almost see Nam Daeun's body flickering before his eyes.
A body that was about to become his.
He'd been staring at that body for over ten years.
No way he'd give up now.
Park Mingyu clenched his fists and walked off somewhere.