Ch.62Someone’s Memory (I)++

# 62. Someone’s Memory (I)++

“Mulchi!!”

“Captain!”

The moment I was slapped by the physical therapist, my raid members rushed over. The physical therapist gave a hollow laugh at the sight, and I hid my bitter feelings as I motioned them back.

“Talk to me instead. It was my choice.”

“Subin. Step back.”

“From your way of speaking, I can tell you’re Yebeop without even looking. Did you predict things would turn out like this?”

“No. Even I couldn’t have predicted this far.”

“Really?”

“Really. So please calm down first and listen to my explanation—”

*Slap-!*

This time it was the other cheek. As expected of our main healer, the raid’s bastion, the raid’s mother—even in her fury, she showed consideration by not hitting the same spot twice… bull crap. My heart hurt more than my face.

“Mulchi!”

“Hey!!”

“What? The raid leader is staying quiet, but you’re all making a fuss. Why? Are you all in this together?”

“I was trying to be respectful since you’re older than Subin unni, but you’re being rude from the first meeting? Hey. Were you the only one dragged here? Were you the only one? Oppa was also harmed—”

“Step back. All of you.”

“But oppa, we should at least hear her explanation.”

“I said step back.”

Saeaeks was fuming, and Yebeop-Nojeong bit her lip. Keutjukyeora was fidgeting nervously on one side.

It wasn’t a good look.

Regardless of our circumstances, we were the perpetrators.

In situations like this, we had to apologize unconditionally first. Until the victim calmed down enough to regain rationality and become capable of conversation, we had to endure whatever came—whether it was getting slapped, having our hair pulled, or being doused with water.

But I was actually grateful to the physical therapist.

If this had never happened, I might have established what we’d been through as normal. There was a difference between dulling one’s common sense and conscience due to circumstances and necessity, and fundamentally changing them.

“Wow. Your charisma still seems good. I can see that… hmm, yes, that must be Saeaeks. Seeing how Saeaeks and Yebeop-Nojeong are standing up for you like that. But you know what? Have you ever once thought about the position of those left behind?”

“I have, but it might as well be the same as not having done so. If I had truly considered it, I wouldn’t have called you here.”

“Ha. So I see you’re calling people one by one, which suggests there are some conditions, but I don’t need to know that now. If those conditions are met, were you planning to bring the other two as well? Muldabal and Dwitmun, who must be worried sick right now.”

“Yes.”

Was my answer too direct? Did I seem too confident for someone who was in the wrong?

The physical therapist’s expression momentarily went blank.

Of course, it wasn’t confidence on my part, but rather my belief that I should be honest even if it was difficult and painful to hear. That was the minimum, the basics. And only then could there be a next step.

It was purely our circumstances, but we were always risking our lives climbing the tower. Even if our first meeting was terrible, I didn’t want to cover it up with deception. It was the same as when I summoned Yebeop-Nojeong.

“You… how worried do you think I was? And how scared?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Without any consideration for my feelings or wishes, just because… just because you needed a healer… right?”

“Yes.”

*Thump- Thump-*

The physical therapist slumped down again and hit my legs. Her fists lacked the strength from before. It was closer to a formality, something she felt she had to do.

“You know what’s even scarier? I have to get along with the people who forcibly brought me here. We may have known each other in the game for over a year, but we’re strangers in real life, and I’m supposed to laugh and chat like before. Why? Because there’s no other choice!”

“I’m sorry.”

“If it had been a meetup, I could have managed. I don’t dislike meeting people, and I could have grown close to you all. But… ha. Haha. I still can’t believe it. Is this a dream? It doesn’t make sense. The raid members who went missing were in the game, and they called me, so now I’m missing too? Right? Right.”

I had nothing to say. I just listened silently and continued to apologize.

Gradually, the physical therapist’s voice of lament and complaint grew quieter.

“Am I the bad person for not understanding and accepting this?”

“No. I’m the bad one.”

“Then why am I the one being careful around you all while you’re so confident? Why?”

“I’ll pay for my sins for the rest of my life. And I’ll take responsibility. It’s a groundless hope, but we believe we can return if we reach the top floor, so we’re doing our best to climb up. What I can promise is that we’ll somehow safely reach the top floor. Even if I could turn back time, I would probably call Mulchi again. With this mindset, I couldn’t hesitate or act defensively after calling you here.”

“If I couldn’t even speak… really… aah….”

With those words, the physical therapist fell silent for a while. The fist that had been hitting my legs stopped.

During that time, the raid members who had stepped back quietly approached. They looked at me and the physical therapist alternately for a moment, then knelt beside me in a row.

Sensing multiple presences at once, the physical therapist raised her head again.

“Don’t do this. It makes it impossible for me to stay angry.”

“Feel free to be angry anytime, as much as you want. We’ll simply accept it.”

“There’s no way to go back, is there?”

“Not now, no.”

“If I could get angry, cry and throw a fit, and then be told it was all just a bad dream, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

There was resignation in the physical therapist’s tone. She seemed quick to grasp the situation, despite her emotions.

“You’ve been honest so far, so be honest with me now too.”

“Yes.”

“If there’s no way to return even after reaching the top floor, how do you plan to take responsibility?”

That was something I had pondered many times.

For Keutjukyeora, Saeaeks, and Yebeop-Nojeong, this wasn’t a pressing concern since they either preferred it here or had little attachment to their previous lives.

But for the physical therapist, who seemed different from those three, this question would sound important.

However, there was no clear answer to this dilemma.

“This will sound incredibly irresponsible… but all I can say is that I’ll take responsibility to the end, somehow.”

“How, exactly?”

“Somehow. To the end.”

“Wow.”

Haha. Hahaha. Hahahaha-

The physical therapist let out a hollow laugh for a while, then fully stood up.

“That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard recently. If this were a romance novel, drama, or movie, the female lead would have swooned with hearts shooting from her eyes.”

Hahaha….

But.

It’s not.

“I understand why it sounds that way, but I’m not joking.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Pardon?”

“There’s only one choice here too, right? Yes. You need a healer. You need one, so you called me first among the three. Right? I’ll do whatever you want because I have nowhere else to go. But in exchange.”

I saw the physical therapist’s white feet in my downcast view.

“Guarantee me the right of refusal. Whether it’s personal or professional. The right to refuse whenever I don’t want to do something.”

“Mulchi. I don’t know about personal matters, but refusing the raid leader’s orders in professional situations—”

“Be quiet. I’m talking to the raid leader right now.”

The right of refusal.

As Yebeop-Nojeong said, being able to refuse the raid leader’s orders during a raid was a significant issue and a huge variable.

“If there’s a limit to the number of times, then yes. I’ll guarantee it.”

“Hey, Ban Seonhyeon!”

“Later.”

Right now, acceptance was the priority. Details could be changed later. I cut off Yebeop-Nojeong’s whisper and focused back on the physical therapist.

“A hundred times a day.”

“I’m sorry. That’s too many.”

“Ninety-nine times.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ninety-eight times.”

“I’m sorry.”

The negotiation with the physical therapist, which started from a hundred times, continued mechanically. Had she been serious about a hundred times, or was she testing my attitude?

“Fifty times.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Were you going to refuse fifty times? Just give up.”

“Two times a day. I’ll guarantee two refusals per day.”

“From fifty straight to two per day? This isn’t negotiation or bargaining. Just say you don’t want to guarantee it.”

She was right. I didn’t want to guarantee it. It was impossible. Not just me, but other raid leaders would feel the same.

Two times was a lot.

No, even one time was a lot.

Bluntly speaking, if she decided to slack off and not heal, plans that relied on the healer would instantly fall apart.

But saying that would make it impossible to repair our relationship. A healer like the physical therapist couldn’t be found anywhere else. She was someone who would grab even a person submerged up to their head in the Jordan River by the hair and pull them out, as long as they weren’t instantly dead.

Moreover, I brought her here. It was my responsibility to take her all the way.

In that sense, two times was my bottom line.

My plan was to set it at two for now, and as we climbed the tower together, rebuild our relationship so that she wouldn’t feel the need to use her right of refusal.

“In exchange, I’ll give you one command right.”

“Command right?”

“Within my capabilities, I’ll grant whatever Mulchi wants.”

At my words, it wasn’t the physical therapist but the three kneeling beside me who gasped. My instinct screamed that I’d said something troublesome, but I deliberately ignored it for now.

“…The raid leader seems to specialize in blank checks. What do you think I’ll want that you’d say such a thing? You must know how dangerous it is to say you’ll do anything.”

“An intangible fence of responsibility. An intangible shield of refusal. An intangible sword of command. This is all I can offer you right now.”

And it’s everything too.

“We destroyed your life for our safety and desires, so in return—though it’s inadequate—I’m placing my life on the other side of the scale. Since I’m responsible for the other raid members too, it’s not all of it, just a part.”

If I could recruit Mulchi without further deterioration of our relationship, this price was not insignificant, but…

It is insignificant.

Because it’s Mulchi.

“Mulchi. I know how shameless this sounds after dragging you here, but I’ll say it once more.”

“‘If you join Veritas, I’ll make sure you never regret it. You absolutely won’t regret it. Because we’ll be the strongest raid team befitting the strongest healer like Mulchi-nim. The strongest buffer and commander. The strongest magic dealer. The strongest melee dealer. And even the strongest tank. These are people who will make you feel truly rewarded for healing and protecting them.'”

“Please become the bastion of Veritas.”

“‘Please become the bastion of Veritas.'”

“Only Mulchi-nim can complete Veritas.”

“‘Only Mulchi-nim can complete Veritas.'”

The recruitment pitch filled with humility to recruit Mulchi, who was rumored to be somewhat prickly and haughty at the time.

As I recited it again, the physical therapist started repeating my words exactly from the middle. She remembered it too.

“Instead of a versatile, strongest spirit summoner, now it’s the strongest melee dealer and the strongest tank.”

“Yes. Keutjukyeora and Saeaeks are doing really well here too. Though there have been many dangerous moments.”

I had disclosed everything I could at this point.

I anxiously waited for Mulchi’s next response.

A minute that felt like an hour passed….

“‘Anyone can claim to be the strongest.'”

“!!”

“‘But since no one has been this persistent before, I’ll experience it firsthand. Prove it to me. I’ll also give my full value.'”

I raised my head sharply at the response indicating a green light.

The physical therapist’s expression as she overlapped with her answer from back then was close to expressionless, making it difficult to gauge her emotions.

“Don’t call me Mulchi. I didn’t notice in chat, but hearing it repeatedly in person makes me sound like a fish.”

“Ah.”

“In Soyu.”

She was extending her hand to me.

“Call me Soyu from now on.”