episode_0085

26. The person I met at Seoul Station (4)

Choi Young-wol, who had a gangster-like attitude and atmosphere.

His mood changed in an instant. He asked me and Hyun-seok with a sinister smile and a murderous spirit that was so strong that I could feel his anger at the loss of his beloved subordinates due to his own poor judgment.

” Hurry up and tell me what you know. ”

Hyun-seok swallows his saliva, crushed to the point where a ‘gulp’ sound can be heard.

I opened my mouth on his behalf.

” First of all… would you please give me the life? ”

” Hoo, the boyfriend is a little lacking, but the girl is quite different? ”

As he said that, he put back the murderous aura he had been exuding and looked at us with the same sly smile he had been showing us since we first met.

I didn’t like his attitude, as if he was testing us, but I could tell he was pretty strong.

Exuding life energy is something that anyone who is familiar with energy can do.

If you look around, you will see other people enjoying themselves, eating, drinking, or talking loudly with each other.

That is, it is quite difficult for me and Hyunseok to aim for only one and let out our anger.

As I was glaring at him, he raised both his hands

” Ha, okay. I’m sorry. But I’m pretty serious, too, right? ”

” So why did you test us? ”

” Hoo, hey, boyfriend. Did you say Kang Hyun-seok? It must be pretty hard, right? ”

” Haha… ”

” Okay, hurry up…! ”

” Got it! In the future… we might clash with forces similar to those guys. So I can’t help but survive like my subordinates who left first.

So, I thought it should be enough to sustain my life. Will this be the answer? ”

” Next time… don’t do this. ”

” Okay, I got it. So this time, you have to answer my question. What the hell happened? ”

After looking around, I took out a box of pills from my bosom and handed it to him.

He looked at the object I was carefully handing him and opened it slightly as if he had figured it out, then looked at me again and asked.

” Is this… the rumored item? ”

” Yes, it’s something I got from Han Jin-oh. ”

” Indeed… So what about that guy? ”

” We solved it. But, management still hasn’t gotten a clue about this? ”

When I spoke to him directly, he laughed and picked up a piece of meat placed in front of him and continued talking.

” Hey, how could that be? Even so, the management department. They did get one of these. It was probably… ‘liquid in a glass bottle’. ”

” Liquid, huh…? ”

Hyunseok asked him as if he had heard something unexpected.

” Yeah, on our side… it’s something we call a ‘potion’… and there was a bit of an accident. ”

” Accident? What the… are you talking about? Did someone steal it? ”

” Oh, it’s not lost. That’s not it… Haa, what should I call this? ”

He banged on the table as if he was embarrassed.

” It wasn’t me who first discovered that thing, it was our captain. ”

” Captain? ”

” Yeah, you know Yuji Sung, right? ”

Yujiseong… That name… was definitely a name I knew.

Maybe… the person who was my brother when I was a man.

The name of the person who was known through the fragments of memory left by Patruna appeared again.

” Mr. Doosik said… that he was the first person to conquer the tower… ”

” That’s right, he’s really great. Thinking of conquering the tower… ”

Choi Young-wol muttered the name with eyes full of respect.

” Anyway, our leader heard that a strange group had appeared around the Blue House two months ago and rushed there.

I followed along a little late because I was working on something else.

Those guys… well, as you all know by now, they were human but not human. ”

” Are you saying that you’ve been transformed into a demon? ”

Following his words, Hyunseok quickly asked.

The look of surprise on our face was that the person we had seen as a demon had already appeared a long time ago.

” No, it wasn’t a demon. It’s… I think it’s better to think of it as a ‘hybrid’ between a demon and a human. ”

” Hybrid… ”

” Yeah, what you saw was something that you could be sure was a complete transformation into a demon, right? ”

” Yes. ”

I was just quietly listening to their conversation and organizing my thoughts.

Two months ago… The timing was so similar.

The time when the thing that turns people into demons appeared and the time when I returned here.

Indeed, while I was pondering what that meant, I felt eyes on me.

” Charlotte? ”

” Huh… Huh? Why? ”

” Why? The girl was acting strange, so I kept calling her, and she answered just now, so that’s why. ”

” What’s going on? ”

” No. It’s just that I can’t believe the story right now. It’s a little creepy to think that this thing appeared before we even knew about it. ”

Hyunseok looked at me with a worried expression, then pulled my shoulder and said it was okay.

It was only when I touched his shoulder that I realized I was shaking.

I don’t know why I was shaking, but I felt his warmth on my shoulder.

Just as I had stopped shaking by holding his hand, this time he stopped my body from shaking…

” Ahem, anyway, after clearing out those guys, I arrived at where the captain was, and there was a guy wearing a strange robe facing the captain. ”

” Is that a weird robe? Does it have a top shape or something? ”

” Oh? How did you know? Just like the girl said, there was a tower embroidered on the back. I knocked that guy down and got the item from his arms. ”

” So, what does that have to do with disappearing? ”

” Oh, you’re rushing me. So, um… wait a minute… ”

I felt frustrated at the sight of him suddenly closing his mouth and closing his eyes as if thinking about something while talking.

‘No, why did you stop talking and start talking about something else…’

I glared at him with that thought in mind, but when I couldn’t stand it anymore and was about to open my mouth, he opened his mouth first.

” Come to think of it, let’s talk about this next time… ”

” Stop talking nonsense and speak quickly. ”

” Okay. Don’t go around telling anyone. It’s a pretty… sensitive topic. ”

He, who had never paid attention to his surroundings until now, looked around this time and spoke in a small voice.

” I took back the potion I got from defeating the robed man. As I was about to leave the place, the guy who had fallen was now behind the captain.

The guy saw the potion the captain was holding in his hand and then squeezed the captain’s hand hard.

Yeah, with the potion. ”

” You crushed my hand? ”

” Yeah, that was… the problem. The captain quickly blasted the guy away, but his left hand was already… with the potion.

The bottle containing the potion broke, wounding the captain’s hand and allowing the potion to seep into the wound.

Then suddenly the captain fell down, clutching his left hand, and we transported him to the Blue House… ”

I was scared by Choi Young-wol’s gloomy expression as she spoke.

Now, I only remember him as a small fragment of memory, but Yu Ji-seong, he is my precious family member.

I was worried that he might have made a mistake, so I grabbed him by the collar and asked.

” So? What happened to him now?! ”

” Charlotte! Calm down!! ”

” How can I calm down!! ”

I was pushed away from Choi Young-wol by Hyun-seok, who pulled my hand away from my collar and pulled me back.

People started looking towards us because of the commotion that had just happened, and when they saw Mr. Doosik running towards them, asking what was going on

It was only then that I realized what I had done.

” Ah… That… So… ”

” Haha! Sorry, sorry, did I push too hard? ”

As Choi Young-wol said that, she started to clean up the surroundings, and the people said, “Well, that’s okay,” and went back to their seats.

Except for Mr. Dosik, who has a serious expression on his face.

” Hoo, Yeongwol… You go back to your room. ”

” Yes, I understand. ”

Choi Young-wol, who was walking past Mr. Du-sik and going to her room, winked at me and Hyun-seok and made a mouth sign that said they would talk again later before leaving.

” Charlotte, are you okay? ”

” I’m sorry. Just now… it was my fault. That person did nothing wrong. ”

As he said that, Mr. Dosik’s serious expression disappeared.

” I see… Can you tell me why you were yelling like that? ”

” That’s… ”

I thought I should tell you, but I just couldn’t open my mouth.

Why would you do that? Just say Yuji Sung, he’s my family.

As I hesitated and lowered my head, the old man patted my head, saying that he understood, and then told Hyunseok to go in first before returning to where the people were.

Perhaps he was trying to deal with the aftermath of my actions.

While being led by Hyunseok’s hand and heading towards the tent, I shook off his hand and walked onto the road.

I could hear his voice calling me… but I wanted to be alone right now.

I sat alone on a bench on the sidewalk next to the road and looked at the moon floating in the sky.

Why couldn’t you just tell the old man earlier, ‘He’s my family’?

I kept thinking about why, and I think I know why.

Because Hyunseok was… next to me.

Yuji Sung, if he is my family… Uncle Doosik would definitely know that he had two younger siblings.

That I have one younger brother and one younger sister.

Surely, before the world came crashing down like this, I would have met him many times as a regular.

Then, he might have met his younger siblings as well.

If so… you probably know that Yu Ji-seong has a younger brother who has disappeared.

If Mr. Doosik knew that I was a returnee, he would realize that I was his missing younger brother.

I think that’s probably why I couldn’t tell the old man.

If I told you that, the old man would have been surprised and told you that story right then and there when he realized I was a man…

Of course, Hyunseok, who was next to me, must have heard it.

Now I have almost no memories, and what I have left are fragments of memories that Patruna left behind.

And all I can think about is that I was a man.

Now, I am aware that I am a woman, but I cannot let go of the fact that I was a man.

If I throw it away… I’ll really lose the ‘me’ before ‘Charlotte’.