“What is your earliest memory, everyone?”
Will the people watching this video tomorrow recall something from when they were three or four years old?
Maybe it’s the memory of crying after being scolded by their parents, or perhaps getting lost in a crowded street.
The more shocking the memory, the higher the probability that it will be one of the earliest ones.
“My first memory was of the Game World. The game was called Legacy of Legends.”
Seol-ah kept me in her Private Room for nearly a year, running the game without a break every single day just to buy Mana Potions.
It probably didn’t start that way.
Not everyone could easily think about making money through titles.
Each capsule had a system for loaning a small amount of money against the value of a capsule, and I guess that amount didn’t exceed 1 million won.
Instead of food and water, life was prolonged with Mana Potions, while Seol-ah watched the timer of a bomb getting shorter and shorter.
What must have gone through the mind of a girl around that age? It must have been a terrifying experience. Really.
“My mother never logged back into Virtual Reality again, trying to save me, and I continued to play the game as she taught me.”
I played the game.
I earned titles.
I sold the titles.
I made money.
I bought Mana.
I played the game again.
That horrifyingly monotonous routine continued for a full seven years.
“In 2044, I played 3917 games, in 2045, 8392 games, in 2046, 8505 games, in 2047, 8469 games, in 2048, 8538 games, in 2049, 8150 games, and even in 2050, I played at least over 4000 games. It was my only way to survive.”
[Finally, I want to call your name.]
[I don’t know my name.]
[It’s okay. I’ll name you now.]
Did I instinctively sense that this was our last moment together?
[Na-me, that’s such a pretty name.]
Her warm words sent a chill up my spine.
[Please, Na-me, you must survive. Live tenaciously, even for Mom’s sake.]
What does it even mean to survive, why couldn’t Seol-ah stay together with me?
The confused Young Child kept gazing at Seol-ah.
[Please remember, your mom is only No Seol-ah. Our proud daughter, Na-me.]
“So my name is… the one my mother gave me just before she passed away. The nickname came first, and then the name.”
Yeah, what a ridiculous melodrama. After that, I was at a loss for words for a while.
Was there really no way for Seol-ah to survive?
If only I had come to my senses a little earlier,
If only I had recognized the situation faster,
Seol-ah wouldn’t have had to carry that burden alone…
“Na-me!”
“…?”
“Go for it!”
Suddenly, Seol-ah’s figure flashed across the camera tripod like a mirage.
She was smiling, clenching her fists as if to cheer me on for the finals tomorrow.
Yeah, I’m so glad to see her, even if it’s just a hallucination.
If we’re to talk about something miraculous, I think the brain is a step ahead of magic.
How can this feel so real?
When I lightly closed my eyes and opened them again, she was gone as if she had never been there.
‘I’ll come to see you this Sunday.’
I decided to refocus on filming again.
I felt sorry, but I avoided mentioning Sae-min and Ma Beom-il, who helped with the rescue, as much as possible.
It was to minimize any potential blowback since I didn’t know what might happen next.
However, there was something I definitely needed to clarify.
“I felt that this country was so cruel. Indifference and exclusion. Those words come to mind when I hear ‘Republic of Korea.’ I lived my insignificant life amidst your indifference, and until I was adopted by a kind person, I lived as a stateless person amidst your rejection.”
Is it true that a Young Child living in the Republic of Korea suffers no big loss as a stateless person?
Not at all.
How long did I have to wait to apply for earnings creation on Twish just to earn money for potions?
Unknown to many, there were negative perceptions towards stateless individuals and refugees in the Republic of Korea.
Above all, the children in the orphanage were so cunning that they knew everything, from who had parents and who didn’t, to how they were born.
The only one who stayed with me until the end was Ah-rin, and she played a huge role in me not developing misanthropy.
“I’m not sharing my story to boast about my misfortune. I hope that by doing this, you’ll pay a bit more attention to your neighbors, friends, or even parents and children.”
Yuna was bullied in the Academy because no one made any effort to understand her situation.
Kariri received harsh gazes because the public avoided facing the truth.
There was no malice.
I’ve always hated that phrase.
So what should we do?
There are no perpetrators, only victims left.
So does that mean the victim must wander alone in the pains of the past, carrying unhealed scars for a lifetime?
If you don’t want to be the perpetrator, I wish you would at least act as a bystander.
“Those of you watching this video are all smart people. You remember all those champions from Legacy of Legends, and you memorize the intricate swordsmanship and magic skills in the World of Arseria. So I think my upcoming requests will be really simple.”
Still, I had no choice but to believe in people once more.
After all, it’s people who will make this world a better place.
This was the last moment of the video.
[Recording ended 9:32]
Just under 10 minutes.
It’s really embarrassing to show the stories I’ve been keeping inside.
I didn’t want to think about anything anymore.
The rest will be taken care of by tomorrow’s me.
I don’t want to do anything.
I already do nothing, but I want to even more fervently and actively do nothing.
However, this horrible sense of lethargy wouldn’t leave me alone.
I got up from the Bed, washed my face, changed my clothes, and logged into Virtual Reality.
[Streaming starting: 0:01:31 – NoName]
“This morning, the weather was nice, so I filmed a vlog.”
Yeah, it was a little hot, but the weather today didn’t seem too bad.
*
The video ended.
There was some murmuring and commotion.
But considering the number of people filling the Stadium, the decibel level wasn’t that loud.
I had expected this kind of reaction, and I just needed to do my job.
I grabbed the Microphone and stepped a foot or two ahead of the caster.
“Please forget that I’m seven years old and help me with my request.”
I asked the caster for a moment’s grace.
Time was pressing as the interview time was coming to an end.
So I proceeded as simply and quickly as possible.
“I applied for a re-investigation of the Bongwha Bridge bombing incident, but it was ultimately rejected. So this time, I’m trying to approach it in a different way. I applied for a public proposal with my real name, ‘NoNaMe,’ and the proposal is a request for a re-investigation of the Valpurgis elimination operation. The time when my mother and I were trapped in the capsule and moved to an isolated Abandoned House was definitely before the Bongwha Bridge bombing incident.”
Persona Paishiro could clearly witness the chaos at the scene.
In the memories left by Adella’s main body, there were two capsules that had not synchronized with her, one of which belonged to Seol-ah, and the other was surely mine.
“So first, please clarify the timeline of the events. Was the Bongwha Bridge bombing incident really first, or was the rescue operation already underway before that? If it turns out to be the latter, the reason for hiding the truth and the responsible parties must come forward. For that, the audience’s continued attention is needed. So please, I ask you.”
I bowed at a 90-degree angle.
Maybe this was my first time doing such a greeting, so it felt really awkward.
I thought if I bowed my head a little longer, maybe one more person would be willing to listen.
But due to the time pressure, I couldn’t hold it for more than 10 seconds.
Okay, Na-me, you’re almost there. Hang in there.
The second request is really a simple and ordinary one.
“The second is… the treatment of our poor… mom at the Columbarium…”
Seol-ah is not someone who should be in such an old, crumbling Columbarium.
She is a greater person than anyone I’ve met so far.
“Improvements… uh… huff… please….”
I really tried not to use the expression “tears blind my eyes” since it’s so cliché…
But this totally undermines the point of having filmed the video in advance…
Yeah, tears didn’t fall, so I wasn’t crying, right?
I thought that and barely managed to conclude the interview with a barely audible voice.
“Thank you all for listening…”
“You did so well! Our Na-me is so brave!”
“…!”
The soft voice I faintly heard startled me, and I turned around, but there was no one there.
I was about to say how much I missed her when Seol-ah quickly disappeared again.
I wish she’d appear more often, but she only comes right before my birthday.
