Chapter 47…
Yesterday, just the meat bill alone came out to over 300,000 won.
Isn’t that insane?
It wasn’t even beef — who eats 300,000 won worth of pork belly in one sitting?
And the main culprit was…
“Kids, breakfast is ready.”
“Meat. Meat. Meat.”
“…Hey, if you’re going to complain about the food, you can eat outside.”
In the end, she even followed me home.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
If I’m going to teach her, what else can I do?
‘Still… is this really the right thing to do?’
Letting a so-called enemy of mankind stay under my roof didn’t exactly feel like a wise decision. But I decided to think positively.
After all, she’s a wizard without a single resource to her name — like a bun with no filling.
‘Though honestly, I could subdue her anytime even if that weren’t the case.’
Now that I’ve fully recovered, even if she regains her strength, I could end it in five seconds.
I’ve grown that much.
‘And the necklace I gave Mom is still working…’
The relic — Necklace of Good Fortune.
It still shimmered brightly around her neck.
Since she never took it off, saying it was her son’s first gift, I didn’t have to worry about anything bad happening to her.
‘Ugh, unfilial son, crying again… Now that I’ve got some money, I’ll have to buy her something else soon.’
Anyway, when I brought Rebecca home yesterday without warning,
Mom accepted her much more calmly than I’d expected.
She didn’t even ask for an explanation — just offered the small spare room.
That actually threw me off even more.
‘Does she trust me too much? Then again… well, I am kind of reliable, right?’
Just look at my achievements since awakening.
Calling me a “self-made man” wouldn’t even be enough.
‘I mean, I’m basically a needle that can’t stay hidden in a pocket.’
Double-talented. Holder of the Record’s Vessel. Rank #1.
The first player to clear the White Gate!
A super rookie courted by countless guilds!
That’s me — Kang Si-woo—
Smack!
Mom flicked my forehead.
“Ah! Ow—! Why’d you hit me?!”
“My son, I don’t know what you were imagining to make that dumb face, but eat your breakfast already.”
“Dumb face.”
As they say, it’s not the mother-in-law who hits you that’s worst — it’s the sister-in-law who joins in.
Rebecca’s little comment made my blood boil.
“Hey, you— you got your memory back—”
“Ahem!”
“Yes, ma’am…”
But still…
You don’t act up in front of an apex predator.
Otherwise, the food on the table changes real quick.
Sluurp—
Then, as Mom lifted a spoonful of soup, she said casually,
“…You know today’s your father’s death anniversary, right?”
I rubbed my sore forehead and glanced at her.
“…”
A blank expression.
But I could feel the emotion hidden beneath it.
“Of course. I’ve kept the whole day free.”
“Good. Let’s eat up and go before it gets too late.”
“Yes.”
“And one more thing.”
She kept talking as she ate.
“This time, make sure you properly pay your respects.”
“What, do I look like someone who doesn’t—”
“Si-woo.”
“…”
Freeze.
I stopped moving my chopsticks.
Because I knew exactly what she meant.
“You’re grown up now. It’s time you accepted things. I understand the resentment, but you can’t keep holding on to it forever.”
“…Okay.”
“Good. I’ll trust you.”
Clink—
And with that, we quietly finished breakfast.
* * *
Outside of Seoul, in a quiet part of Gyeonggi-do, stood the columbarium.
I smoothly parked our recently bought sedan in the lot.
‘It’s been so long…’
Before my regression, when Mom passed away, I’d placed her ashes right next to Dad’s — then dove straight into the Tower.
I’d wanted to come back during tough times… but I never did.
‘Because I knew I’d lose my resolve if I did.’
So it had been about eleven years since I’d last come here.
Though technically, this version of me had visited last year.
“Wow, I like this place. It’s nice.”
“Be quiet.”
“Don’t be too harsh on the kid.”
“Sigh… okay.”
Yeah, Rebecca came along too.
I had nowhere to leave her, and when I told her where we were going—
‘A place where memories are buried? I want to go too.’
—she insisted until I gave in.
Naturally, Mom voted yes, I voted no.
You can guess who won that argument.
“I have a reservation for today.”
“Name, please?”
“Park Mi-kyung, wife of Kang Jin-ho.”
“Yes, confirmed. Please go ahead.”
Dad’s ashes were kept in a room tucked in the far corner of the first floor.
We stood in silence before his urn.
“…”
“…”
After a long pause, Mom spoke softly.
“We’re here… You wouldn’t believe it — Si-woo became a Player. A really famous one, too. Even more than you were. The car we drove here, this pearl necklace — all gifts from him.”
She showed off the necklace toward Dad’s photo, her voice trembling.
“If only you’d held on a little longer, you could’ve enjoyed some of the good life he’s providing now. You were always so impatient… No, all three of you were. Maybe that’s why — why I’m the only one who never awakened.”
Her head bowed, and silence followed.
Tears she didn’t shed fell in spirit, dampening the marble floor beneath us.
After a while, she spoke again, voice heavy with emotion.
“…You remember our promise?”
“Yes.”
We then turned to stand before the two urns placed right next to Dad’s.
“Kids, I finally convinced him. Si-woo’s ready to accept you both now… Si-woo, go on, say hello.”
“…”
I stared at the two urns.
No names, no inscriptions.
Surrounding them were photo frames — each holding pictures of four people together.
Two faces, however, were always blurred out.
The other two…
‘Dad and Mom…’
I’d heard the stories.
The four of them had been childhood friends, inseparable even into adulthood.
And me…
“I was told you were the ones who brought me into this world. I don’t know your faces or names, but I’m always grateful.”
I bowed deeply.
From the heart.
The “adoption story” I’d once told to Magun-woo was only half-true — a convenient lie hiding reality.
Telling strangers everything about my family wasn’t exactly easy.
Nor were those memories I wanted to relive.
Before regression, I’d chosen to forget.
‘But does it even matter now?’
For some reason, they’d abandoned me as a newborn.
Then the Towers appeared, and the Gates.
In a world where survival was a daily struggle, who could afford to mourn the parents who’d left them?
‘Still…’
Because Mom — the one who raised me with love — wanted it, I gave a sincere bow.
Mom smiled, eyes drifting toward the photos — no, as if traveling through them, back in time.
Her twenty-something self spoke softly to her old friends:
“…Hey, he’s my son now too, okay? So don’t you dare take him with you like Jin-ho. Got it?”
Then, still staring at the picture, she spoke again — this time, to me.
“Those three always dragged me along wherever they went… Back then, even non-awakened people could enter the Tower.”
Huh?
I’d never heard this story before.
She must’ve died before ever telling me in the previous timeline.
I stayed silent, not wanting to miss a single word.
“Still, it hurt, you know? I could only watch from a few steps behind. When we were kids, we did everything together, the four of us…”
Thankfully, Rebecca stayed quiet too — though she seemed dazed ever since we entered the columbarium.
“But that day — the day it rained so hard…”
Mom clenched her fist.
“That was the one time they didn’t take me. Then, later that day… my husband showed up, covered in blood, holding you. Alone.”
“…!?”
“He said, ‘This child is our son now.’ That was all. I didn’t ask anything else. That was the entire conversation.”
“…”
I said nothing.
It wasn’t raining, yet my cheeks felt wet.
Mom’s gaze remained fixed on the photo.
“You know the rest… After that, your father followed them soon after, leaving me and you behind. Said he’d protect us forever, but… he was weak.”
In my memories, Dad was always in a wheelchair, frail until the end.
So when people called him a “Player,” I’d just assumed it was an exaggeration.
“Si-woo, you wouldn’t know this — no one does — but those three… they were famous Players in the Tower. Their names and faces may be gone now, but once…”
Then, suddenly, Rebecca spoke — eyes sharper than before.
“Erasing existence is easy. Just delete the memories of everyone else.”
“…Erasing existence?”
“That’s the price of uncovering the Tower’s secret.”
“…?!”
Back then, I’d thought Mom’s stories about “being forgotten” were just nostalgic exaggerations — old folks reminiscing.
But now…
‘The Tower’s secret? Erased existence? So there is something even I don’t know?’
Even I — who’d nearly reached the top — had missed something?
“…”
I looked at Mom.
She stared back quietly.
And from her expression, I knew it was true.
“…So everything you used to say — it was all real?”
“It’s natural you couldn’t believe it. You’re tied to me, so you can remember a little. But others… they forget the moment they turn away.”
This wasn’t something I could ignore.
Even Mom didn’t seem to know the full picture — she had neither the strength nor the means to find out.
“Hey, Rebecca. What is the Tower’s secret?”
“…”
She stayed silent.
“Then who delivers that punishment?”
“…”
“Hey! Snap out of it and answer me!”
I grabbed her shoulders and shook her, but her sharp gaze faded — returning to the usual blank stare.
“Uwaaah— huh? Meat?”
“…”
Damn it.
That could’ve been the key to breaking the Tower…
I muttered to myself, then noticed Mom’s eyes on me.
“Ah. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I always wanted to know too… but I didn’t have the power. I wasn’t awakened.”
“…”
“But now my son is. So I’m asking you, Si-woo… Find out the truth. Bring back their names and faces — your real parents’ — to this world.”
“…I will. I promise.”
Yeah.
Now I had one more reason to return to the Tower.
I looked again at the two nameless urns.
It hurt — not even knowing their names.
But curiosity burned within me too.
What truth had they discovered that made even their existence vanish?
Whether Rebecca’s words were true or nonsense — I couldn’t tell yet.
‘But something’s definitely there…’
Until now, I’d only climbed the Tower to destroy it.
But now, a new goal flickered faintly before me.
“Meat.”
Just then, Rebecca tugged my sleeve.
“Meat. Let’s eat meat.”
“Haa…”
I sighed.
Typical mood-breaker.
Or maybe… mood lightener.
“Mom, it’s been a heavy day — how about we eat out? Grill some meat?”
“Oh my, eating out?”
“If we go straight home, the mood’ll just sink. Let’s go eat outside. My treat — and today, beef!”
I proudly pulled out my card.
What’s the point of ten billion won sitting in the bank, anyway?
Might as well use it.
“Wow, beef! Is it tastier than pork belly?”
“…You’re eating rice only.”
“Beef! Beef! Beef!”
“…”
Crap.
How much would she eat this time?
Whatever.
It’s been a heavy day — spending some money might be the best way to shake it off.
“Allow me to escort you, ma’am.”
“Oh my, thank you, chauffeur Kang. Let’s go.”
“Me too! Me too!”
And so, we left the columbarium behind.
As I stepped out, I glanced back.
The two nameless urns remained there — silently watching us go.
