150 – We all meet here (1)

A gloomy night sky.

The raindrops are pouring down.

While quietly walking in the rain, he realizes that a woman is staring at him. The man looks away. Their eyes meet. The man and the woman do not look away. They stare at each other for a moment.

“… … .”

“… … .”

A dull silence descended.

They were holding each other’s shoulders tightly.

“… … Brother.”

She was a woman who looked to be in her late twenties with light pink hair.

Perhaps because of the overcast weather, a dark shadow fell over the woman’s face.

The woman always had a bright and cheerful smile, but today, she had a sad face the whole time. Because something really sad had happened. She couldn’t even smile briefly, let alone laugh.

Corn.

The rain kept falling.

Her pink hair that reached down to her shoulder blades and her dark mourning clothes were soaking wet, but the woman paid no attention and just silently stared at the man.

“… … Do you know that?”

The man slowly moved his head to look at the woman’s face.

“When her brother broke off their relationship, Yerin cried all day.”

Boom!

Thunder struck.

The sound of thunder struck the ears of the man and woman.

But no matter whether the thunder rumbled or the rain poured down, the woman’s voice rang clearly in the man’s ears.

“I locked myself in my room for days, crying and blaming myself. I didn’t blame my brother. Foolishly.”

“… … .”

“I didn’t dare approach you because I was afraid you might hate me. All I could do was watch you from afar, feeling anxious. In fact, I helped you out a lot without you knowing. You didn’t know, did you?”

“… … .”

The woman began to tell an old story with an indifferent expression.

“Did you know that when my oppa came back and shamelessly asked me for help, Yerin grumbled on the outside, but in fact she was really happy?”

He muttered with a hazy but lonely expression.

“If I had hated you from the beginning, I wouldn’t have helped you. Of course, I don’t mean I don’t have any resentment. However, I think I had more feelings of love than hate. Should I call it love and hate?”

Although Yerin had only shown a cold face for several years, she smiled as if she was truly happy that day when she met that man again.

“That’s why Oppa asked Yerin for help. He must have known Yerin’s heart well.”

This is truly shameless.

“When my brother, who had cut ties with me and not contacted me for years… asked for my help, Yerin readily accepted. She knew he was only going to use me, but she told me it was okay.”

Raindrops dripped from the tips of the woman’s hair.

“Rather, I said that I was glad that I could help you… … .”

I glanced at the woman’s face and saw large tears welling up in her eyes.

“Yerin was really cold to other people… … but she was always sincere to her brother… … and she always put her brother first… … .”

Are those drops of water running down my cheeks tears or raindrops?

“My brother was always looking at other people. Yerin knew that too, but I wished he would turn around and look back at me even just once. But my brother just used me all the time… … .”

The woman bit her lower lip as if trying to suppress her emotions.

“… … In the end… … In the end.”

He soon bowed his head.

His shoulders trembled.

A short, sobbing sound was heard.

The woman, who had been trembling intermittently, soon raised her head.

“… …Why did you do that?”

She stabbed the man with a look of resentment and anger in her eyes.

“… … Why, why did you do that? You shouldn’t do that, oppa. You shouldn’t do that to Yerin.”

The woman gritted her teeth and took a step toward the man.

“It’s all your fault, oppa.”

“… … .”

“It’s all your fault, oppa.”

“… … .”

The man said nothing.

He just remained silent.

A face with no discernible emotions.

I really hate that expression and that face.

“Brother, brother… … With what face do you come here… … .”

The woman stretched out her hand roughly.

“What on earth were you thinking coming here for… …!”

The moment she tried to grab the man by the collar, the people around her quickly grabbed the woman’s arms.

“Tea, Team Leader! Calm down, please!”

“Are you crazy? What kind of person is that!”

“Minaya! Come on!”

“Ms. Jumina!”

There were several Sephiroth clan members and Black and White clan members.

I was oppressed by the unknown atmosphere and stayed still, but I had to stop Jumina before she could control her emotions and do something strange.

Because if I made a mistake, I could have lost Jumina.

They tried to calm Jumina down by holding her tightly, but Jumina only became more angry and shouted.

“It’s all your fault, oppa! You wanted to climb the tower so badly?! Then why didn’t you climb it alone! Why did you have to leave poor Yerin… …!”

“Minaya, please stop!”

People were sweating profusely. They didn’t want to provoke that man unnecessarily. There were many people who hated that man like Jumina, but they didn’t have the courage to say it out loud. They were afraid of what that man might do.

Jumina was the only one here who could raise her voice to that man. That was why she was even more afraid. Because she didn’t know what kind of disaster Jumina’s misdeeds would bring.

“Speak up! Why are you just sitting there?”

“… … .”

Jumina cried and shouted.

Continuing without stopping.

The man quietly watched the scene and then turned around.

There was nothing the man could say.

***

“It’s a dog dream again.”

I grimaced and scratched the back of my neck.

If I really did regress and lose my memories because of Edelin, then wouldn’t everything I saw in my dreams be real?

Of course, it was something I already knew, but it was exhausting in many ways to keep recalling lost memories in the form of dreams.

“I really need to get my memories back or something. Damn it.”

I pressed my temples hard, swearing.

I can’t forget Mina’s face, crying and shouting with resentful eyes.

It was as vivid as if it had just happened. She was staring at me with a mixture of sadness, resentment, anger, etc. Thinking about the usual Mina, it was really shocking.

“Really. This time, we can’t afford to lose anyone… … .’

A few days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The raid on the Catacomb Mausoleum is just around the corner.

Jihyun started to adjust her condition.

Even the training sessions that I had been doing whenever I had time were canceled.

It was the first time in my life that I saw Jihyun preparing so seriously.

As it was the top secret dungeon, it seemed like there was a lot to prepare for.

Of course, knowing the internal circumstances of the secret dungeon to some extent made it much easier to conquer it, but I couldn’t let my guard down.

I don’t fully know how to clear the secret dungeon.

It’s a bit unfortunate, but the information inside the secret dungeon is only partial.

It was partly because my memories in the dream were hazy, and partly because my future self didn’t personally conquer the dungeon. After all, it was the Sephiroth Clan who conquered this secret dungeon in the future.

‘… … Ah, I feel bad because of my dreams for no reason. Why do I have such unlucky dreams? You’re so mean.’

The dream I had this time was truly horrible.

Because things that we don’t even want to imagine actually happened.

It was such a fucking mess that I bit my lip and jumped out of my seat.

I felt a little dirty for no reason and wanted to go for a walk.

If you just stay home and do nothing, you’ll just keep having strange thoughts.

‘There are only a few days left until the dungeon raid. I’ll take a walk to change my mood.’

I changed into my outdoor clothes and went outside.

The weather was quite nice, although a cold wind brushed my skin.

On days like this, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to just take a walk without thinking.

– Right.

“Welcome, sir.”

“yes.”

“Are you one person?”

While I was taking a walk to change my mood.

Since I was out and about, I went into a suitable restaurant.

Let’s take a closer look inside the restaurant. I saw photos taken with celebrities.

Looking at it now, I realized that it was a pretty famous tonkatsu restaurant a few years ago.

It was introduced as a delicious restaurant on a TV program.

Reviews were given by famous celebrities and internet broadcasters.

Until a few years ago, you had to wait in line for an hour or two to get in and out, but now there are not many people, let alone lines.

‘Has it lost its popularity?’

It’s been several years since the show aired, so it can’t be helped that its popularity has died down a bit.

Besides, it’s not a time when there are many people.

Because it was between lunch and dinner.

‘Well, it’s okay if there aren’t many people.’

I fiddled with my hat and mask.

These days, because the name has become known, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people pretending to know the name.

Thanks to that, I often brought a mask and a hat with me when I went out alone.

… … I’m not a celebrity or anything, really.

“Miha~. Hello everyone.”

… … ?

A familiar voice was heard from somewhere.

It was a bright, cheerful, and attractive voice.

I unconsciously moved my head toward the source of the voice.

“Today, I’m going to review the Midon Cheese Donkatsu that was highly praised on the TV program Baek Jeong-won’s Alley Restaurant!”

There is a woman slightly away.

It was a place slightly separated from the people.

“Oh, that’s right. Everyone. I asked for the president’s permission to broadcast this in advance. But if I make too much noise, it might bother other people, so I’ll review it quietly today.”

The woman looked at the screen of her cell phone, which was fixed on a portable stand, and made a ‘shhh’ gesture with her finger.

“Well then… … Let’s take a look at the current status of Mapo-gu Cheese Donkatsu that you all mentioned in the comments. I wonder if the taste has changed compared to a few years ago.”

He seems like a professional streamer.

Are you planning to do a mukbang broadcast?

“The cheese cutlet is here, sir. Enjoy your meal.”

“Oh, thank you.”

A waiter came over and handed me a cheese donkatsu.

The woman smiled brightly and nodded.

“Hmm~. It smells really good.”

But that back view looks quite familiar.

First of all, there are few pink hairs.

… … No, no.

Just wait a minute.

You can tell it’s Mina just by looking at it, right?

‘You can see everything here.’

It seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.

Of course, I saw it in my dream a little while ago.

I feel strange for no reason.

Why did we have to meet like this today?

I smiled bitterly in my heart.

Mina’s voice, crying and yelling at me, lingered in my mind.

‘By the way, you’ve been working hard on your broadcasting work. You said you were a general streamer, but now you’re doing restaurant reviews too? It seems like you weren’t doing any broadcasting work in your dreams.’

I had a thought that seemed pointless.

‘How long has it been since you last met Mina? I think it’s the first time I’ve seen you since conquering the 4th floor.’

We talked about various things through KakaoTalk, but we haven’t seen each other in person because we’ve been busy.

“Wow~ Can you see how the cheese stretches? It stretches so much… … .”

Mina exclaimed in admiration, stretching the cheese with her chopsticks.

“It’s loaded with mozzarella cheese. The batter looks crispy. Of course, I can say that the visuals are passable.”

He laughs and picks up the cheese donkatsu with his chopsticks.

“The boss said he only uses Jeju pork. Can you believe this level of quality for 8,000 won?”

I moved my chopsticks a little closer to the camera.

“Okay, let’s try it.”

Mina took a bite of the cheese donkatsu and chewed it deliciously.

“The flavor of the cheese is superb. It’s crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, just like… … Huh? You’ve heard that a lot? Hehe. It seems like everyone’s taste evaluations are similar.”

He puts down the pork cutlet with an awkward smile.

“Oh, thank you for the 1,000 won, Minyang. Do you want me to shout ‘Cheese Donkatsu is delicious!’ while taking a bite of the Donkatsu? No, that’s a bit… … .”

Mina scratched her cheek with an embarrassed expression at the viewer’s mischievous prank.

“It’s a nuisance to other guests, it’s a nuisance.”

“… … .”

I stared at Mina’s back.

By the way, Mina used most of the money she had saved to buy some pretty good equipment a while ago… … .

I think I heard that he even used up all the money he earned from clearing the 4th floor secret dungeon.

On the other hand, the income I earned from the 4th level is still in my bank account.

In the past, I would have used it to buy good equipment like Mina, but thanks to them, there is no reason to buy equipment anymore.

Because they lent us good equipment for free.

And that’s not all.

Since they gave away expensive elixirs, top-of-the-line magic recipes, training, and equipment for free, there was really nowhere to spend money.

There is no one to meet outside, and these days, the clan just repeats the same old training over and over again.

Also, since most of the food and other things were taken care of at the clan cafeteria, the cost of meals was also fixed.

Moreover, Yerin secretly deposited half of the $95 million bounty she received for killing Kim Han-na into my bank account.

It may have been just pocket change to Yerin, but it was a lot of money to me.

… … Thanks to that, the total amount of money he has earned so far, including his parents’ inheritance, amounts to hundreds of billions.

Since both my parents were hunters, I was able to inherit quite a bit of wealth. I never spent a single penny of my parents’ inheritance since I was a porter. Thinking back now, it was a bit foolish. I was busy just trying to make ends meet every day.

I was so busy that I didn’t even have any hobbies.

Because I was so busy sleeping at home that I didn’t even have any hobbies.

“… … A hobby, a hobby. Hmm. Should I give it a try?”

Suddenly a good idea flashed through my mind.

I quickly took out my cell phone.

I accessed Mina’s channel, which I found out by asking Yerin.

Then, I went into a broadcast called ‘Check out the latest news on Midon Cheese Donkatsu!’ that was being broadcast live.

I could see Mina’s face streaming through the phone.

The comments section was flooded with comments like, ‘Tell me that the cheese donkatsu is delicious!’

I looked at my phone carefully and then sent the donation.

– Mr. HSHJ donates 10,000,000 won!

[While eating cheese donkatsu, shout out loud that it’s delicious! This is a deposit.]

“yes?”

When I donated ten million won, Mina’s face hardened.