ETVHC 97

CHAPTER 97…………………………………

The words were so cynical it felt like my own heart was dropping as I heard them. Baek So-hyeok seemed flustered by a question that couldn’t be answered with either a “yes” or “no,” unable to find a response.

〈You can keep your distance from me if you want, but I can’t do the same? That’s quite a selfish way of thinking.〉

Baek Woo-jin snapped without waiting for an answer. In previous memories, he had been a little awkward but kind—now he was full of venom.

‘In the past I saw, whether in dreams or curses, Baek Woo-jin wasn’t like this.’

Maybe that’s why, even though his current appearance was the closest to the Baek Woo-jin I had seen in the game, it still felt awkward.

〈This isn’t the time for that. If you dislike me, just say so. Why do you keep twisting things? Do you know the rumors about you in the Hunter community lately?〉

Baek So-hyeok’s shout was desperate, urgent—so sincere that you could feel his worry physically.

〈Even if I get famous for having a bad reputation, what good would it do? No matter what I mess up, you’d still be way ahead of me.〉

But that earnestness didn’t reach Baek Woo-jin. On the contrary, he grew sharper, seemingly irritated by something.

“You’re going to regret this. Why do you act like a completely different person?”

I spoke to him like a moviegoer giving advice while watching a film.

“I at least have the excuse that I might be affected by a status condition. What’s your excuse?”

If Baek Woo-jin had said he was cursed, I might have understood.

〈Hyung, if you’re doing this because of me, please stop.〉

〈Good taste you have. You still call me hyung. Your parents are gone, and you still want to pretend we’re family?〉

Baek So-hyeok gritted his teeth, his jaw muscles trembling. That small movement showed how much anger and sorrow he was holding back.

〈Pretending to be family? You said our family was precious. I thought you knew how hard I tried to protect that.〉

〈That used to be true. But now, I’m sick of the word family. I don’t even know why I obsessed over it, when we’re not even truly connected by blood.〉

A crack ran along the glass between them, as if signaling a relationship falling apart in real time.

‘Maybe because this is Baek So-hyeok’s memory…’

I found myself more absorbed in Baek So-hyeok than in Baek Woo-jin, even though they looked identical.

〈Then what do you want, hyung? You don’t want to keep hurting others and taking dangerous risks like this, right? If you want something from me, just say it. I’ll do anything.〉

〈What could I possibly want from you now? Well… there’s one thing. Just stop caring about me.〉

The more Baek Woo-jin spoke, the paler Baek So-hyeok’s face became—almost pitifully so.

‘He was still so young back then.’

I recalled Baek So-hyeok, who had always remained expressionless no matter what I said. The original Baek Woo-jin had said so many things to him that he had built up a tolerance.

〈How could I stop caring about you?〉

〈Why can’t you? We just have to go back to when nothing mattered.〉

Baek Woo-jin muttered as if he couldn’t understand.

〈When nothing mattered…? That’s easy for you to say, isn’t it?〉

〈I don’t know.〉

It was a fight with no winners. Both looked utterly exhausted.

The floor collapsed again. After this phenomenon repeated several times, I felt like a wanderer drifting aimlessly through Baek So-hyeok’s memories.

‘How long will this illusion keep going?’

I was now curious about the next scene. The initial guilt at feeling like I was stealing someone else’s memories had faded, replaced by a desire to know what had happened between the two. Though, truly, that wasn’t exactly what I wanted to know.

‘How would Baek So-hyeok react if he realized the Baek Woo-jin he loved and hated had disappeared?’

This curiosity was now closer to fear. Every time I felt that his kindness wasn’t directed at me, my anxiety grew.

‘Why did I have to end up in Baek Woo-jin’s body, with all its complicated relationships?’

The villain I thought I understood so well turned out to have more layers than expected. Of course, I still didn’t know everything about him.

‘Baek Woo-jin… why are you so twisted?’

Losing his parents hadn’t been unique to Baek So-hyeok, but he had grown up straight. So there might be a specific reason that had caused the usually gentle Baek Woo-jin to become so distorted. That didn’t mean I understood him, though.

‘You liked Baek So-hyeok too, didn’t you? What happened that made you go off like this?’

Though it seemed pointless to ask someone who wasn’t there, I couldn’t help it. Why had they become so mismatched?

A headache that had subsided before returned. I was about to throw myself onto the collapsing floor to escape the unpleasant pain.

〈Hyung…! Hyung, wake up. Baek Woo-jin, Woo-jin, snap out of it!〉

I felt warmth touch my hand as the voice called me. It matched perfectly with the voice from the vision, though it sounded more urgent.

‘If I follow that voice, can I get out of here?’

Somehow, it felt possible, but I lacked the will to act. I doubted anything good would come of leaving here.

‘I’m tired.’

Perhaps Baek Woo-jin’s exhaustion had transferred to me. I just wanted to rest. After all, since entering this game, I had been living far too busily.

〈Woo-jin, to get out of a vision, you need your own will. You have to break free from the illusion of comfort. Think of things that are precious to you—things that aren’t in someone else’s memory.〉

The voice was calmer and gentler this time. Though it couldn’t hide a subtle anxiety, it was relatively rational.

‘Have I felt comfortable here?’

Apparently, I had, since I wanted to rest.

‘Maybe that’s why I didn’t feel the obligation to escape, even knowing it’s a vision.’

Those words made me more aware that I needed to return to reality.

‘What do I consider precious…?’

I needed something tangible to solidify my budding sense of reality.

〈Woo-jin hyung!〉

Ah, it was Kim Jun’s voice. Almost trembling, calling for me, and I could picture his face. He was clinging to me, worried though I wasn’t hurt.

〈Why is it only you who got hit?〉

I must have been the only one attacked by the Plannaryant. Whether to be glad others were unharmed or pity myself was hard to decide.

‘Well, technically, since I’m seeing Baek So-hyeok’s memories, he got hit too.’

In this situation, it wasn’t all that important.

‘Hearing him call me like that… I should start opening my eyes.’

Gang Kwon-hoo, Baek So-hyeok, Kim Jun, Ryu Ji-soo—they were all waiting for me. Nothing was more important than that.

‘When did these people become the most precious to me?’

I laughed softly to myself. There’s a big difference between knowing subconsciously and realizing consciously.

〈Woo-jin, wake up and show your eyes.〉

Gang Kwon-hoo whispered. My hearing had returned slightly from the freedom within the vision, but the hallucination persisted. This wasn’t a memory of Baek So-hyeok or me, just a long corridor I was aimlessly walking through. Likely a dungeon Baek So-hyeok had experienced.

“Should I try using a skill here?”

I stood up, having been crouched. Showing any willingness might allow me to escape the vision.

[A+ Grade Item: Summoned a spear-sword wreathed in blue lightning.]

〈Woo-jin, did you just draw your weapon? You’re not trying to attack us, are you?〉

Ryu Ji-soo asked nervously. Since I was seeing the vision, it seemed I was walking like a sleepwalker rather than collapsing asleep.

‘They didn’t hear my muttering, right?’

I had said some embarrassing things and hoped no one overheard.

‘No, let’s think about that later.’

I shook my head, deciding it didn’t matter. Staying here had no benefit.

I formed a circle with my sword, signaling them to back off.

〈Stay away from Baek Woo-jin. This is my attempt to erase the vision.〉

〈What if you step back from him and get hurt!〉