The number of survivors rescued from the theme park, including Han Yuri, totaled 28. Among them, the Koreans numbered only 14; the rest were all foreigners. Their nationalities included India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and so on—a very diverse mix.
Naturally, communication with them was impossible. But Gim Yul had a decent command of English, so she was able to give the foreigners a rough explanation of the situation.
“Wait here, everyone. The Management Bureau will come to handle you.”
“H-handle?”
“It’s just measures to help you return to your daily lives, so don’t be afraid. Just sit quietly and pull yourselves together.”
Following her instructions, the survivors formed their own groups. Since they gathered only with those they could communicate with, the Korean group was the largest.
……
Ian sat on a rock far away from them, staring quietly before glancing at Yuna, who was sitting right beside him. She was wringing moisture out of her shirt and stamping her feet restlessly.
“How’s your body? You used a lot of blood this time, didn’t you?”
Ian asked. Yuna smiled faintly and tilted her head.
“W-well, I’m not exactly fine. I really used q-quite a bit of blood, just like you said. I took the medicine midway too……”
“The one made from ghoul blood?”
“Yeah. The ghoul supply’s been p-plentiful lately, so the medicine price has dropped a lot. That’s why I used it without burden.”
“Didn’t they say not to take two back then?”
“Th-that’s why I only took one. Thanks to that, I’m holding up okay now.”
“That’s a relief. Still, if you’re worn out, tell me. I’ll give you one of the recovery potions I brought.”
“O-okay. Thanks.”
Yuna straightened her crumpled shirt roughly, then fixed her gaze on Ian, her eyes curving like crescent moons. In her bright obsidian eyes, Ian’s wet face was clearly reflected.
The seawater that had covered his face was long gone, but his soaked hair and clothes remained.
The heavy black undershirt clung to his skin, faintly outlining his body, and his swept-back hair left his face fully exposed.
Sharp eyes and a high nose bridge. The drooping corners of his eyes and lips as if exhausted. Pale skin. No matter how you looked at him, his appearance was striking.
The unmistakable fatigue that seeped out wasn’t that much of a drawback either. No, maybe the exhaustion made him look even more perfect.
‘He really is handsome……’
Yuna swallowed hard as she stared at Ian’s profile while he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
Come to think of it, Ian was the first man she’d ever mentally labeled as handsome.
At their first meeting, she had no particular interest since he was just a stranger, but now, after continued exchanges, things were different. Specifically, when she had to act as his lover in front of her sister. That was the first time she’d felt something like a flutter toward a man.
Of course, she’d quickly forgotten it, and by now she barely paid it any mind. She’d dismissed it as a feeling born from coincidence piled upon coincidence, like the suspension bridge effect.
But what if it wasn’t? What if it wasn’t coincidence, but a perfectly natural phenomenon produced by hormones, her brain, her heart? What if that emotional fragment lodged in her mind wasn’t an illusion, but the truth?
Could that…… still be called a coincidence?
“Hwaeae……”
A sudden stray thought made Yuna blush and cover her face with her hands. Her legs, which had been swinging back and forth, moved even faster, and rough breaths puffed from her lips. She stared at her own palms, wrinkled from the moisture, and chewed on her lips.
Just then, Yuri approached cautiously and placed a hand on Yuna’s shoulder.
“Hey, Yuna—”
“Hieeeek!!”
“Kyaaack!”
At the unexpected touch, Yuna sprang up with a convulsive cry. Startled, Ian dropped his cigarette, and Yuri, not to be outdone by her sister, shrieked in sympathetic resonance with Yuna. Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned toward the two of them.
“Hieeee……! E-eek……”
Feeling all the gazes fixed on her, Yuna let her voice dwindle. Then she settled back down with a scrunched-up posture and hung her head low. Ian let out an empty laugh and picked up the fallen cigarette.
“What’s this? Did I somehow get hired as a theme park clown without knowing it?”
“Wh-why are you saying it like that? That’s hurtful……!”
“Hurtful, my foot. My ears are more hurt from being startled by your sudden scream.”
“Hiiiing……”
“More importantly, Ms. Yuri seems to have something to say. Would you mind stepping aside for a moment?”
Ian glanced at Han Yuri. Yuri waved both hands.
“Oh, no. You don’t have to go that far. It’s not really anything important……”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Thank you for your consideration.”
She bowed her head.
Yuri bent at the waist. Ian waved it off as if it were nothing, shifted slightly to the side, then lit his cigarette. A sweet fragrance filled his nasal passages.
“Yuna, um…… I didn’t know you were such a remarkable person. I thought you were just a jobless bum who lay around the house every day eating up food, playing games, and only reading romance novels……”
“Unni?”
“But still I……! I was glad you’re my little sister. When you brought home a huge sum of money I didn’t know where you’d earned, I secretly cried plenty thinking you’d finally gone into shady business, but anyway, I was really proud of you.”
“Uh, shady……?”
“But Yuna, what you showed today was a bit…… really unfamiliar. Were you always the type to enjoy watching people die like that……? That’s what I really wanted to ask……”
“Wha.”
Ian eavesdropped on the two’s odd comedy and blew smoke into the air. While he was at it, Gim Yul had approached unnoticed and settled behind him, leaning back to back. The heavy weight made Ian’s body lean slightly forward.
“Oof.”
“What’s that sound? Are you saying I’m heavy? Even a refined lady like me can get hurt feelings, you know.”
“You sound real refined. Never mind, did the Management Bureau contact you?”
“Yeah. They said they’ve almost arrived. The survivors will be taken to the Bureau first and dealt with.”
“Memory erasure?”
“That’ll probably come first, won’t it? They might also offer Bureau employment, but I don’t really see any talented ones among these survivors, so I doubt anyone will be hired.”
Gim Yul turned her body and hugged Ian from behind. Then she rested her chin on his shoulder.
“Newbie, do you happen to know how the memory erasure is done?”
“How is it done?”
“First, they administer some strange drug to reduce a person to an idiot state, then they use a monstrosity called a memory fish to pluck out the necessary memories. Isn’t it fascinating? There are almost no side effects, and they can even manipulate memories, so the Bureau likes to use it a lot.”
“I see.”
“What’s with that halfhearted reply? When someone explains so diligently, you should at least pretend to listen. Tsk, tsk.”
Gim Yul poked Ian’s side with her finger. Ian left her be and let out a long breath, gazing up at the sky.
A sky that hadn’t changed much from when they first entered the theme park. By feel, it seemed nearly half a day had passed, but in real time only a few hours had gone by at most.
The sense of temporal discrepancy he always felt when entering a spatial-type mystery.
Still, it was far better that reality’s time flowed slower than inside the mystery. Ian stubbed the fully burned cigarette into a portable ashtray and, glancing back at Gim Yul, asked:
“It looks like I’ll be having a housewarming party soon. Will you come?”
“I’ll come!”
An immediate reply. Ian gave a little laugh and bent his upper body forward.
Everything that needed doing at the theme park was finished.
Now it was time to head home.
*
The day after successfully completing the theme park elimination operation, Ian, looking disheveled, ate breakfast with Amelia while on the phone with the Management Bureau.
“So there are no new hires?”
[That’s right. The theme park itself, after all, didn’t fall into the category of ordinary mysteries. Perhaps because they saw too many brutal and grotesque things, not a single person accepted the employment offer.]
In contrast to Gim Iseo’s low, resonant voice, a bright and cheerful voice—Gim Bom’s—flowed through the phone. The rustle of papers could be heard between her words.
[It’s regrettable for us, but we can’t force anyone to join. They all safely completed memory erasure and were sent back to their daily lives.]
“That’s good.”
Ian replied halfheartedly and dipped a fried egg heavily in ketchup.
There was no need to worry about Yuna being discovered by the Bureau. She had slipped away before arriving at the Bureau, so the people the Bureau confirmed were Ian, Gim Yul, and the remaining survivors—that was all.
Personally, Ian wanted Yuna to cooperate with the Bureau as well, but since she herself didn’t want to, he couldn’t force it and just gave up.
“When will the money be deposited?”
Putting the fried egg on top of his rice bowl, Ian asked. Without any hesitation, Gim Bom answered crisply.
[It’ll be deposited before noon today. There are no separate fees, so you can receive it comfortably.]
“Okay, thanks.”
[We’re the ones who are more thankful. You worked hard. Get plenty of rest for the time being, and reach out if there’s another job. Personal contacts are always welcome too.]
“I don’t think we’re that close yet.”
[Such hurtful words.]
Ian exchanged a few more bits of conversation with Gim Bom before ending the call. Amelia, who had kept her mouth firmly shut, finally exhaled deeply and spoke.
“Hoo-ah……! Ugh, the call was too long! I wanted to ask if the side dishes I made suit your taste……!”
“Ah, this is pretty good? It’s delicious. The only flaw is that it’s mostly just vegetables.”
“Vegetables are healthier than meat!”
“I can’t agree with that theory. I don’t eat without meat. Even when I was little, if there were no meat side dishes, I’d flip the table right off. I self-taught my home education, so it couldn’t be helped……”
“……How am I supposed to react here?”
Amelia wore an expression of disbelief. Ian chuckled and placed a piece of ham on her side plate.
“It’s a rule that an acquired orphan can never beat a born orphan.”
“……”
“Anyway, just eat. After breakfast, let’s stop by the old owl shop for the first time in a while. We need to buy tools for your magic practice too.”
“Ah, then I’ll wash up right after eating. Can I go first?”
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
“Yes!”
Amelia continued her meal with a bright expression, kicking her legs. Ian moved his chopsticks idly, picking up some kimchi, when a sudden realization made him open his mouth with an “Ah.”
“Now that I think of it, did I tell you this? I’m probably having a housewarming soon.”
“……Housewarming?”
“I think I’ll invite all my acquaintances. Some might not be able to come due to circumstances, but I plan to mention it to everyone.”
“Acquaintances…… Could it be women?”
“There are more women than men, yeah. Why?”
Ian asked in a nonchalant voice.
Amelia pouted her lips in a sulky expression.
“No. It’s nothing.”
She scooped up a big spoonful of rice and stuffed it into her mouth.
“Womewn are gweat to have!”
“……? What are you saying? Finish eating first.”
“Hmph!”
Instead of answering Ian, Amelia puffed out her cheeks and stuck her tongue out. Watching that, Ian thought seriously.
‘What’s with her? Has the grimoire finally started affecting her mind?’
It was a thought that would likely make Amelia do a backflip and kick Ian in the face if she knew.