Chapter 99.2

(Continued)

Dalbi flinched at the gentle voice that resonated in the room.

The voice belonged to Oh Baek-seo, who was in the kitchen ladling warm soup into a bowl before placing it on a tray and approaching Dalbi.

“Oh Baek-seo…?”

“Yes, I’m Baek-seo.”

“Could you not talk about yourself in the third person…? What’s going on? Why am I in a place like this?”

Dalbi looked confused.

Baek-seo placed the tray on a cabinet and sat down on the chair next to the bed.

“The Leader instructed me to.”

“The Leader? The Disciplinary Committee Leader of Ahsung High School?”

“Yes, Ahn Woo-jin.”

“Why would he…?”

“He said you saved him. And that you’re the one who gave me the peony flower, just like you did for him.”

“……?”

Baek-seo didn’t miss the puzzled look that appeared on Dalbi’s face.

“…Do you remember who the Leader is?”

Baek-seo recalled that Dalbi had completely forgotten the promise they made as children. In fact, she seemed to have lost all her small childhood memories.

It wasn’t like dementia—the memory loss felt unnatural, and there were no problems with Dalbi’s memory ability in general.

Baek-seo inferred that the root cause was the price of using her Unique Ability.

“Haha… I have no idea what’s going on right now.”

“Forget that. Do you remember Woo-jin?”

Dalbi thought for a moment before lowering her head.

“The guy I saw at the hospital earlier? The one with teal eyes filled with magic power….”

“I don’t know about the hospital, but yes, that’s him.”

“This is all so confusing.”

Dalbi gave Baek-seo a meaningful look and smiled faintly.

“Were we ever close enough to have these kinds of conversations?”

“…….”

A heavy silence settled between them.

Baek-seo scrutinized Dalbi.
There was a hint of wariness.

A readiness to fight at any moment.

Until recently, the two had been allies who fought together. This response was highly unnatural.

Could it be that Dalbi had lost her memories again?

“Hmm.”

Baek-seo had no reason to hide the truth, so she swallowed her unease and spoke up.

“Unless I’m mistaken… didn’t we agree to fight together?”

“We did?”

Dalbi clicked her tongue, her reaction one of disbelief.

Baek-seo quietly observed the changes in Dalbi’s expression.

“You definitely left me, didn’t you? And now you’re the Vice-Leader of Ahsung High’s Disciplinary Committee, and you even tried to kill me before…! Oh.”

Dalbi’s words suddenly came to a halt.

Her bandaged body.

Her depleted magic.

The pain coursing through her entire being.

Baek-seo tending to her.

Woo-jin, who had told her that she was someone he cared about.

And… the countless gaps in her memory.

With all these circumstances tangled together right before her, even a fool could deduce the truth.

Dalbi clutched her forehead and lowered her head. Her eyes spun in circles.

“I’ve forgotten something again, haven’t I…? What happened between us…?”

“Shh.”

Baek-seo placed her hand over Dalbi’s.

“Calm down. I’ll explain everything, step by step.”

“…….”

Dalbi slowly nodded.

Baek-seo took her time, recounting the events that had occurred between them.

The stories from their childhood.

The fights they had.

The misunderstandings they resolved and their decision to join forces.

Baek-seo’s gentle voice blended with the calm atmosphere.

By considering Dalbi’s intermittent responses, Baek-seo was able to infer where the gaps in her memory lay. She added more detailed and supplementary explanations for those parts.

“So it was a setup… A setup caused us to split apart….”

Was Baek-seo lying?

No.

If Baek-seo’s story wasn’t true, there was no reason for her to approach Dalbi as if she were on her side.

Baek-seo stood up and gently laid Dalbi back down.

“…For now, just rest and gather your thoughts.”

“Did we really reconcile?”

“I’m not sure if you’d call it reconciliation or clearing up a misunderstanding… but I’d like you to see it in a positive light.”

Baek-seo gave a warm smile to the lying Dalbi.

“I’ve taken it in a good way, at least.”

Dalbi stared blankly at Baek-seo.

Vrrrrr.

Suddenly, Baek-seo’s smartphone vibrated in her pocket. She answered the call.

“Yes, what is it?”

─ Vice-Leader! I’m not sure what mission you’re on, but the Leader…!

On the other end of the line, Park Minhyuk’s urgent voice rang out.

As Minhyuk explained that Woo-jin had been taken into custody by the police academy, Baek-seo’s eyes narrowed.

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