Episode 570. The Past
The mood?
It couldn’t have been good.
From the moment the name that everyone was desperately ignoring came out.
At first, everyone tried to play it cool.
“Hey, Chang Woo, what are you talking about on this nice day?”
“Yeah, let’s not talk about people who aren’t here.”
“Yeah, are we at the age where we talk behind each other’s backs?”
But Choi Changwoo was persistent.
He was smiling.
In a way, it was almost eerie.
The corners of his mouth curving upward.
“Now what? You were talking about me anyway.”
…..
When he hits the nail on the head everyone flinches.
Only one person.
Except for Kim Hyunmin, who remained silent.
Maybe that’s why their eyes met.
“Oh, except for you, Hyunmin. I know you didn’t talk about me behind my back.”
Kim Hyunmin retorted.
“What do you know?”
“………!!”
Kim Hyunmin’s voice was full of edge.
…If this goes wrong, won’t we get into a fight?
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“Hey, aren’t you drunk already?”
Kim Hyunmin thought to himself, despite the murmurs around him.
‘Hoyeol is talking about what he knows.’
Why did Kim Hyunmin turn a blind eye when he heard Hoyeol’s name?
It’s simple. He didn’t deserve it. But Choi Changwoo, the most undeserving of all, the one who shouldn’t even remember the name, let alone speak it, was saying it.
“It’s different than before.”
Even though I was prepared, I ended up turning away.
“Hyunmin, don’t you think I don’t know you? You’ve always been quiet, always slumped over your desk, where did that personality go? Of course you stayed still when the kids were chewing me out for being late, right?”
“……Haha. What, right?”
“Look at this, it caught me right away. You guys got scared just because I was late, didn’t you?”
It was a flash.
Choi Changwoo broke the ice with a joke.
Like a ‘mediator’ trying to diffuse the situation.
Kim Hyunmin unwittingly loosened his grip under the table and in his hands.
Sreuk
*
Kim Hyunmin took a small, deep breath.
‘Anyone could see what just happened was an overreaction.’
The insignificant Choi Changwoo felt eerie.
That an ordinary story sounds like a story about Hoyeol.
The air suddenly felt colder.
Yeah, it’s all just the mood.
The only one who was sensitive in this place was himself.
The memories of the past were making Hyunmin feel guilty.
The awkwardness of the first moment was overcome by the ripeness of the moment.
“No, it’s real?”
“Oh, you’re bluffing again.”
“Oh, I don’t believe this.”
It was as if cold water had been thrown in.
Choi Changwoo led the atmosphere at the drinking party.
He was the same as he was in the classroom.
“This bastard, I thought all the bragging was real back then? He said he was really close with the neighborhood gangsters. That you’re going to use their pocket money to open a PC cafe in the neighborhood. Anyway, the fucking bluffing bullshit……. ”
It might have been an embarrassing story.
It seemed like everyone had grown up.
Choi Changwoo laughed it off as a joke.
“No. It was a joke then, but this time it’s real, right?”
“Ugh, I’m not even an employee, I’m an intern, and I’m not going to tell you what you’re missing. We’re not old enough to use threats like we did in middle school, are we?”
“That’s true.”
Choi Changwoo chuckled and added in a low voice.
“Well, if you don’t believe me, so be it.”
The atmosphere afterward wasn’t bad either.
Choi Changwoo’s arrival turned the place into a drinking spot.
Thanks to Choi Changwoo’s quick thinking.
A man with drunken cheeks asked.
“Is everyone free tomorrow?”
Choi Changwoo was the first to answer.
“I’m fine because I’m halfway to killing my assistant manager.”
“That’s still that shit, ew.”
“Changwoo, how come you don’t even look drunk?”
Still bluffing, he sticks his tongue out for a moment.
“Hyunmin, are you okay?”
Hyunmin checked the time.
[21:52]
If only it were the same.
It was time to leave the company dinner where Manager Park was present, but suddenly, what Manager Park said came to mind.
-“You have to put up with things you don’t like, because you’re an adult and a member of society.”
Hyunmin replied.
“I have nothing to do tomorrow.”
“Oh, isn’t Seongseon’s unity good?”
“So, where are we going for the second round?”
“Can’t we have some spicy soup?”
“This bastard is going to eat like that again and again.”
Needless to say, there was little unity of opinion.
It wasn’t the same as middle school, where we had a defined radius around our house, downtown, and school.
“Well, how about this?”
Once again, it was Choi Changwoo who set the tone.
“Do you remember the Chinese restaurant in front of Seongseon middle school?”
“Chinese restaurant ……? Oh, 3,000 won for a bowl of jajangmyeon, right?”
“The one that only accepted cash, and the uncle was so fucking unfriendly?”
“That’s right, this asshole ate all the service dumplings there by himself.”
Choi Changwoo nodded.
“I wonder if they’re still in business there? It’s not that far from here, let’s go check it out. After all, we had a hard time meeting, we should have something to remember.”
“Hey, Changwoo, you mean well…….”
“Doesn’t the Chinese restaurant in the hall usually close early?”
Kim Hyunmin, who had been silent, added.
“Besides, it’s far from here.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Thinking about it, it’s probably a 30-minute walk.”
Despite all the reasons not to go, Choi Changwoo was persistent.
“Thirty minutes? That’s a long time to walk. We’ll be thirty tomorrow. We should start watching our belly fat now. If the Chinese restaurant is closed, we can go to any restaurant nearby.”
“Aah, you persistent bastard.”
“If you like it so much, why didn’t you work harder when you were a student?”
I wonder if it was because of his persistence.
This time too, it was as Choi Changwoo wanted.
It was a moment when everyone was walking stiffly.
“……What?”
Someone opens their mouth.
“What? Wait, we’re already here?”
Suddenly, the landscape had changed.
“Did time pass faster because I got older, or are my legs longer than when I was in middle school? When I was in middle school, I had a hard time going to school because of the hill……?”
“Well, first of all, your legs are still pretty damn long.”
“What? You bastard?”
I wasn’t surprised up until that point. I must have had soju, I’m sure I was drunk, I’m sure I didn’t realize how much time I was spending on reminiscing, for about 30 minutes, it may have felt like a split second.
And then.
“When did we pass the Chinese restaurant?”
The Chinese restaurant was nowhere in sight.
In front of them was Seongseon Middle School and its main gate.
At that point, one by one, they began to feel uncomfortable.
“ …… No, isn’t this a hill?”
“I told you, I was out of breath coming up.”
“How did we get up there in these shoes, Uri?”
Instead of panicking, Kim Hyunmin checked his phone.
[21:57]
“……?”
It was definitely a 30-minute walk.
Only 5 minutes had passed.
Was I drunk and misreading the time?
‘No, I’m not drunk.’
Kim Hyunmin was usually so desensitized to alcohol that he was told he was wasting his drink, which meant everything that was about to happen was not an illusion.
“Wow, it’s a lot gloomier than I thought.”
“Gloomy? Seongseon Middle Shool?”
“Of course it’s gloomy because the lights are out.”
“I see~”
Choi Changwoo’s voice sounded excited.
“But let’s go back.”
“That’s right. I’m done selling memories.”
“No, where do you think you’re going~?”
I got goosebumps at the sound of his voice.
“If we go somewhere, of course, the second best place is the Chinese restaurant…….”
“No, that’s not the right answer.”
“……What?”
“The place you should go is here, Seongseon Middle School.”
“What were you talking about earlier, Choi Changwoo, you bastard……?!!”
His pupils were bloodshot.
“Fu, Fuck!!!”
By the time I realized what was going on, it was too late. The light of a 《curse》 that couldn’t be seen by the naked eye was emanating intensely from Seongseon Middle School.
Choi Changwoo.
No, Barbatos was having fun.
Indeed, he realized once again.
“After all, humans are weak.”
Holding on to the past, unable to overcome it, and entangled in it, which is but a fleeting moment to those who live in eternity.
Parrrrr
Ants scattered on the ground, their limbs trembling.
The ants were howling at the regurgitated past.
“…I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, Hoyeol.”
“I didn’t mean to do that. I didn’t mean it…….”
The only one of them who didn’t fall down.
Only one person.
It was Kim Hyunmin.
“Choi Changwoo, you asshole.”
Barbatos, who had just been laughing at the weakness of human existence.
His face contorted slightly.
It was inevitable.
Not an adventurer, not someone with the innate ability to manipulate magic like the humans in the Magic Tower, but a worthless ant resisting his curse.
When Barbatos looked back at Choi Changwoo’s memories. That man, Kim Hyunmin, had to be tormented by his regurgitated past more than anyone else. It was pure curiosity.
Barbatos asked.
“What is it that drives you?”
But there was no answer. Although he was trying desperately, the man was so crazy that he still thought of himself as a shell.
But.
“If you’re a human, you shouldn’t be talking about Hoyeol with your mouth.”
pulsseog.
The words barely escaped Kim Hyunmin’s lips as he collapsed.
It distracted Barbatos from his reason.
Barbatos thought.
‘I know it’s because of the absence of the Objective Eye.”
Over and over again, he thought.
‘I know I will regret this later.’
But.
“I cannot stand it as a seeker after true truth.”
Barbatos.
Choi Changwoo’s frightened body gradually floats into the air. No longer will he hide like a rat.
He rises higher and higher.
Thumping.
The humans, including Kim Hyunmin, who were lying on the floor following Barbatos also come to mind. As if revealing their presence. As if they were begging ‘someone’ to watch over them.
Barbatos opens his mouth.
“The new Ten Thrones.”
Yes, the new Ten Thrones, clearly human.
At this moment, the knowledge I have accumulated as a member of the Ten Thrones tells me. Since humans cannot escape the ghost of the past, you will also not be able to be free.
So I just want to make sure.
“I wonder if you can overcome even these ghosts of the past.”
Barbatos let out a pure laugh.
“Indeed, can you still call yourself human when you have overcome these?”
*
“A New Rift?”
The information was relayed to the Great Alliance via the AAU.
A new [Rift] had been detected in Seoul, the land of the anomalies.
However, it was different from the usual rift.
A photo taken from the ship Another Spaceship.
It was strangely different from the normal Rift.
If anything, it was similar.
Nam Cheolmin swallowed dryly.
“First of all, that’s not a rift, it’s a curse.”
”!!!”
Nam Taemin, Hisagi, Leonie, Jesse, and Camilla, who were beside him, exclaimed.
I dared to assure you.
cheolkeog.
Nam Taemin stood up and said.
“Barbatos, I’m pretty sure it’s him.”
The curse
……The eyes of those who could be said to be the executives of the Holy War Alliance widened.
They were familiar with the dangers of the demon’s unique skills on Jeju Island.
Thanks to Paimon, the Ten Thrones.
The guess was correct.
Hisagi nodded.
“There have been reports of sightings in the player community as well.”
“Where? Where?! ”
“Approximately eleven kilometers in distance. The exact location is …”
Hisagi trailed off.
“It’s Seongseon Middle School.”
“Seongseon Middle School? Do you know where that is?”
“Well, I don’t even know the name of the Seoul middle school.”
Of course, there was no need to worry. Jesse, who could manifest a portal, was here, and she’d already started to manifest without anyone telling her.
“Do you have the exact coordinates, Camilla?”
“Hold on, I’ll show you a picture.””
No one hesitated.
The reason was simple.
As if the Akshan Wolf wasn’t bad enough, he’d ordered a spirit of darkness to track Barbatos down.
They knew that the Commander in Chief was in hot pursuit of Barbatos.
Everyone had the same thought.
‘If we’re late, he’ll be alone this time…….’
But no one could step beyond the portal.
Yes, it was because the conditions were not met.
Leonie asked Hisagi.
“What, there’s a condition to enter?”
[Curse: Ghost of the Past]
[Collapse : 100%]
[Restricted : □□□ □0□0]
Leonie gritted her teeth.
“These crazy bastards are at it again.”
*
At this moment.
[Restricted: Grandfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo]
The reason for my anger was not because of the full name.
Seongseon Middle School.
My damn alma mater.
It was because of the unfamiliar faces floating in the air.
‘…Kim Hyunmin?’
I muttered.
“I will tear you to pieces, Barbatos.”
That was not Grandfell.
It was unmistakably me.
It was my voice, Lee Hoyeol.