Chapter 577 – Everyone’s Interpretation (2), Memory Journey (1)
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 112
Current Location: Apartment 205, Sin-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul
Sage’s Advice: 2
—
– Han Kain
“Alright, let’s talk about the painting.”
The third piece of information from Ahri, the mysterious painting.
“Honestly, this part is probably the most important. The problem is—”
It’s the most crucial yet the hardest to interpret.
“—my memory isn’t reliable.”
Sure, there are folks out there with the ability to perfectly recall a scene and recreate it like a Servant Syndrome superhero, but that doesn’t apply to me.
It even hit me with some inexplicable force the moment I looked at the painting!
I was too busy running away to bother about capturing every detail!
Sanghyun lightly shook his head.
“As I mentioned before, the details of the painting probably aren’t important.”
“…”
“Your memory is exceptional, but remembering a painting as if you had a photographic memory after a quick glance isn’t something you can do.”
“That’s true.”
“Ahri knows you don’t possess such abilities. So, the details of the painting aren’t the key. The major objects and the overall composition suffice.”
In the first place, details I can’t even remember aren’t relevant.
“The background looks like a temple you’d find in Greek or Roman mythology. There’s a frame at the center, and inside it, another painting exists.”
“Right.”
“The painting features a ship sailing with its back to the sun.”
“And if I may add, the ‘reflection’ is emphasized remarkably. Is that hinting at a mirror?”
“Honestly, I thought that was your addition to the interpretation because—”
“Because you already knew mirrors exist?”
“Exactly. But now I agree with your interpretation.”
This part shows how even small differences in views emerge when discussing with comrades.
However, thanks to the advice, we’ve confirmed the mirror’s hint really did exist.
Soon enough, Sanghyun and I both fell silent.
“…”
“…”
The interpretation of the painting had garnered a lot of differing opinions, leaving us with little else to say.
We threw out various theories and wondered if they hit the mark with the advice we were given.
Did we throw out random ideas and casually nudge the owl’s responses? Only learned that getting normal answers is harder than it looks.
“Sun, Ark, Frame, Mirror, Temple.”
“…”
“But at least two things are clear. Up till here, they are ‘grounded hypotheses,’ and the owl acknowledged we’ve come close to the truth.”
“Are we talking about the sun and the mirror?”
“The sun refers to the main entity of Room 104 or something similar.”
“The mirror is essentially the same object we saw in Room 207.”
That was the conclusion we reached.
The other three still lacked meaningful interpretations.
— Tap!
Sanghyun lightly tapped the table to grab attention.
“Let’s put the past stories aside for now. Truthfully, don’t the main topics start from here?”
Exactly!
In reality, the information Ahri passed on is just a rerun of talks we’ve had among comrades for the past two months.
Today’s main focus is the ‘Memory Journey.’
“Right. Hyung, as I mentioned over the phone, I’m planning to go on a rather long trip starting tomorrow.”
“…”
“So, I’d like to ask you to look after Sunrise. I’ve been slowly pulling away from it, but I’m worried what might happen with Ikthus while I’m gone.”
Sanghyun nodded and placed a small name card on the table.
“Sunrise Corp.
Director: Kim Sanghyun”
Taking care of Sunrise while I’m away is another reason why Sanghyun came to Korea.
It’s kind of like his excuse for returning home.
If he just casually said he was moving back to Korea without reason after managing a hospital well in America, people would definitely raise their eyebrows.
At the very least, ‘his wife’ or ‘son’ would freak out!
He needed a solid reason that’d make regular folks nod, like being scouted by a Korean conglomerate for a high-paying director position.
“No need to worry about managing Sunrise. I’ve got experience under my belt, you know?”
“Experience?”
“I’ve handled management for the GAIN Guild even in Room 206…”
Thinking back, that point is valid.
“However, I’ve got one last opinion to give.”
“Yeah?”
“I hope you enjoy your remaining two months by dating either Elena or Miro. Just relax and take it easy.”
“W-why those two names—?”
“Are you really asking? If you don’t want that, I’d recommend just gaming all day in your room. These days, Jinsol is all about those shooting games.”
Sanghyun mentioned his wife and son, dreaming them up while they traveled together in Room 203.
Jinsol, his son, had become like family to him.
“A shooting game? Seungyub says his scores are higher than yours.”
“That just means Seungyub’s scores are low.”
“Wow~ So Jinsol’s gaming skills really surpass Seungyub’s!”
“Seungyub’s not the problem; his stubbornness and spamming the chat with endless messages are the real issues—hey, let’s not stray from the topic.”
What in the world? Has he really had so many experiences in the hotel and still fighting kids in League?
“Hyung, this trip is just leisure. Seungyub chats while gaming?”
“According to Jinsol, he mixes in curses between skills. By the way, this isn’t just a holiday. The trip is named ‘Memory Journey,’ you know?”
Skills mixed with curses?
Imagining Seungyub firing off messages like ‘Q, you idiot! W, don’t bite! E, I said! R!’ made me involuntarily gasp in amazement.
“I’m taking this time to reflect on how I lived…”
“Do you think traces of your life exist here? By this logic, you were created just four months ago.”
“…”
“After all, a journey to reflect on one’s life is for retired seniors organizing their ‘flashes of the past.’ It’s not for a young one like you—”
“Hyung, my age is probably older than any seniors you know.”
“…”
Sanghyun’s face said ‘Oops!’ At some point, it seems like I managed to win this argument, but it’s not something to feel happy about, considering I’m not a child.
“GAIN, this is no laughing matter.”
“…”
“Isn’t it because of what Ahri said that you’re going on this trip?”
According to that shocking statement from Ahri, some parts of my memory appear strange.
Even upon thinking it over myself, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was odd.
By visiting the places within my memories, I might jog something.
Although due to the loop, the locations I remember and the real places have diverged a lot, there should be some common aspect.
“Songi and Miro decided to come along.”
“…”
“The others are busy with their operations or businesses,”
Just like Sanghyun managing Sunrise in my absence.
At that point, he tilted his head in confusion.
“Aren’t both Songi and Miro still students?”
“That’s right.”
“…Isn’t it vacation time now? Oh, in Korea, the vacation schedule is—”
“There are still about two weeks until vacation starts. Seungyub is going to school.”
At those words, Sanghyun’s lips pursed like a goldfish.
He might have wanted to shout, “What kind of middle schooler or high schooler doesn’t go to school on a whim?”
But Songi and Miro didn’t bother about attendance days.
“Asking your comrades to join instead of going alone means you wish to make it feel like an ‘ordinary trip,’ right?”
“Hyung, stop adding complicated intentions. I’m just going to chill and do some small side activities.”
“Miro, in a sense, has changed to become ‘dual-personality.’ That dark Miro might lend a hand, I suppose.”
“Dark Miro… She’d probably enjoy that.”
“Anyway, since you seem resolved, I won’t stop you. I hope you find good results.”
As I watched Sanghyun turn to leave, thoughts brewed within me.
To people like Sanghyun and Eunsol who deeply immerse themselves in ‘reality’ and live ‘according to common sense,’ Songi or Miro might appear strange…
Conversely, to Songi or Miro, the rest of us could appear overly indulged in ‘role-playing’ fantasies.
To the two of them, reality is nothing more than one large playground.
So what meaning is there in whether or not they go to school in such a playground?
—
– Yu Songee
As I waited at the meeting point, I realized how cold the weather had suddenly turned.
The cold, dry air with sharp winds sneaking under my clothes.
It’s definitely winter now.
Was winter break starting next week? Or the week after?
Well, who cares?
My break has already begun.
“Ach! Ugh~ Why is Kain taking so long?!”
“Is it really that cold?”
“A little! Oh, Songi! Want some coffee?”
From next to me, Miro’s cheerful voice resonated.
I turned my head slightly and couldn’t help but admire her.
A girl with snow-white hair and red eyes that looked straight out of a cartoon.
She’s bundled up in cozy winter wear, complete with a bright red fuzzy hat!
Definitely, a fairy of the snow.
“Songi~! Let’s throw some snowballs as soon as Kain shows up!”
Even though she’s my comrade, she’s just too cute.
Sometimes, I feel like…
I kinda wanna give her a hug.
“It’s interesting to see the differences.”
“Hmm?”
“Never mind.”
She looks just like Ahri, but when you spend time together, you realize just how different they can be.
If it were Ahri, wouldn’t she start acting annoying?
Like, showing up last instead?!
“How’s it been with you, Miro?”
“Great!”
“…Seungyub said you weren’t going to school.”
“It’s boring. They keep making us study weird stuff.”
So she’s skipping school because she thinks studying is boring.
If an average middle schooler were to say this, wouldn’t they instantly be on some reality show?
“What a free spirit… What type of middle schooler has such a lack of awareness?”
“Wow, hearing that from you makes me hyper-critical!”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“You also live freely! Did you hear there’s a fan club for you at your school – oh, shut it!”
“W-what?!”
— Ah, she’s going to shut my mouth with her hand!
“Y-you idiot!”
“Idiot? Did you say it all?!”
“Okay, so you want me to call you a low-IQ middle schooler then?”
“High schooler addicted to cosmetic surgery!”
“…!”
Miro, you’ve crossed the line.
You silly brat!
Just as we were glaring at each other, preparing for round two…
“W-what’s going on here?”
The protagonist of our trip has finally shown up.
“W-what? Why are you two rolling around in the snow?”
“…”
“…”
Just like that, silence fell, making it all feel like a prank.
As I awkwardly met Miro’s eyes, I couldn’t help but think we looked really silly.
“Uh, um! We were just playing!”
“Oh, so that’s it! You two were having a snowball fight!”
“Yeah! Songi was definitely going to hit you too!”
Miro immediately snatched up some snow from the ground and hurled it at Kain.
Kain just nodded and dodged with a shake of his head.
“Snowball fights are fun, but first, let’s go over the travel itinerary.”
“…Okay.”
Soon, various papers with location names and pictures appeared from Kain’s hand.
“This is the address where I lived during high school. I looked it up on the web map and found a bizarre apartment complex now. Here, in the countryside is the place where my late great-grandfather’s house stood, and this one—”
Miro pointed at one of the photos with curiosity.
“What’s this? A school?”
“Sinbanpo High School. It’s the school I graduated from, unbelievably, there’s still a school with the same name.”
“Well, that’s because the name was chosen based on the geographic location, right?”
“That’s true. Anyway, we have to visit this place. Because…”
“Because…?”
“T-this is where I went with Gayoung…”
“Gayoung?”
Suddenly, Kain’s face turned slightly red.
What’s going on? I turned my eyes aside, and Miro was tilting her head with a puzzled expression.
“I-I’ll explain later. Ugh, it’s just a proud memory, you know?”
Gayoung?
A proud memory?
…Sounds suspicious.
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