DB Vol 1 Part 6

Life is finite, and no one can escape the end of life. Moreover, death’s visit is always so sudden and cruel. Left alone, Won-woo desperately accepted this truth, but in return, his soul wore away and flew off like dust.

He believed his soul had shriveled to nothing but a shell. But then, something unbelievable happened, and that empty shell quickly filled up with emotions. When Won-woo regained consciousness in an unfamiliar world and saw Sang-cheon before him, he choked up again. Seeing the emotion in Won-woo’s eyes, Sang-cheon cautiously asked.

“Um, I’m sorry, but I don’t remember you at all. Have we met before?”

His words were filled with concern, which made Won-woo even more emotional. Ah, he’s still the same. This person is still so kind. That’s why he couldn’t tell the truth. Even the kindest person would be wary if a stranger said they came from another world. They might even think he was crazy and contact a hospital. So instead of nodding, Won-woo wiped his tears and smiled.

“I’m not sure.”

Sang-cheon, who had been staring blankly at Won-woo’s smiling face, snapped back to reality as soon as he heard the answer.

“If you’re not sure, why did you greet me like someone who knows me well, hugging me and all that, ahem?”

“…You just reminded me of someone I know.”

That’s not it. Your reaction was too intense for that. There must be a reason you cried enough to faint.

Sang-cheon swallowed the words of rebuttal. Although he seemed quite calm after waking up, Sang-cheon was still suspicious of his mental state.

Now that he knew Won-woo was a Guide who had escaped from the Monster Farm. If he survived that terrifying place, it would be strange if he were in his right mind.

[This bastard is good at bullshitting too.]

While spouting nonsense in front, a savage voice whispered in his ear. Sang-cheon ignored the rogue’s voice and swallowed a sigh. Now that Won-woo was awake, he wanted to send him away quickly. If he were just a crazy person, it would be one thing, but being from that family…

He had heard rumors that the Ji family was arrogant, wielding power by controlling Guides. It was already troublesome enough being involved with a debtor, and he didn’t want to add more headaches. The problem was elsewhere.

“Anyway, you mistook me for someone else, right? If so, I’m sorry, but I’d like you to leave now…”

[No.]

“What?”

Sang-cheon unconsciously responded to the rogue and then glanced at Won-woo’s expression.

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t directed at you…”

[Keep him here. We can’t just let a Ji bastard go.]

“What do you expect me to do if I don’t let him go?”

[If you have to listen to his nonsense, you should at least tear his mouth apart]

“It’s alright.”

Hearing Won-woo’s response, Sang-cheon tried to keep his expression neutral. How could this rogue, confined as he is, talk about ripping the mouth of someone far away? Whose mouth would be ripped? The possibility that he’d order Sang-cheon to do it was very high. Sang-cheon shuddered at the thought. The reason to quickly send Ji Won-woo away grew stronger. If things kept going this way, Sang-cheon would end up suffering alone. Unaware of Sang-cheon’s urgency, Won-woo bowed his head politely and apologized.

“I must have startled you with my sudden strange words, but thank you for not kicking me out and instead taking care of me.”

“No, it’s not something to be thanked for…”

[Considering he’s from the Ji family, he’s surprisingly reasonable. Shit, how annoying.]

Is that really something to be mad about? Sang-cheon forced a smile and looked at Won-woo.

“Do I really resemble someone you know that much?”

Won-woo looked around for a moment. It was like an old warehouse full of parts for all kinds of devices, but Won-woo looked at it as if he had come to a comfortable resort.

“That person was good at repairing machines too. He was very talented. He even did AI research, although it wasn’t his main job.”

AI research? Sang-cheon tilted his head in wonder. Because of his love for all sorts of miscellaneous technologies, he too had one foot in AI. Of course, there were very few people actually researching AI, so there weren’t many to collaborate with.

All human research was prioritized according to survival-related laws established by Espers. This meant that technologies for the convenience of ordinary people were difficult to develop. Naturally, AI, which wasn’t essential for survival, received no support. Many people were unfamiliar with the term AI.

[AI?]

See, even he doesn’t know about it. Sang-cheon was curious about the word AI coming from Won-woo’s mouth.

“Who is this person you know? As far as I know, there aren’t many people researching AI. Since data is important, we share it with each other, so I know almost everyone in the field.”

“You wouldn’t know him because you’ve never met. He passed away a year ago.”

Won-woo’s voice choked up again at the last word. Sang-cheon nodded with an “Ah,” but still suspected the other might be lying. Then he heard Won-woo add:

“I heard the early AI model he was researching was named after a colleague’s pet dog. They hoped the AI would love humans just as that dog did. I think the name was Mandu.”

Uh… Mandu? Sang-cheon swallowed hard, frozen without being able to respond. One of the researchers he collaborated with had suggested naming an AI model after a pet dog. Sang-cheon had initially criticized the idea, asking why they would use a food name, but had quickly become somber when he learned it was the name of a deceased pet.

But in the end, Mandu wasn’t used. There were few developers to begin with, and they couldn’t even create a proper algorithm. Research done in spare time couldn’t produce proper results. So these days, it was more like a social gathering than a research meeting.

What gave Sang-cheon chills was the fact that the name Mandu had come up in conversation just a few days ago as a joke. Could it be just a coincidence? Was someone eavesdropping on his calls? No, it couldn’t be. He was confident that, at least in terms of security, nothing could breach his defenses.

“What was this person’s main job?”

“Security.”

Huh? That’s really similar to him. The bewildered Sang-cheon soon began to take the commonalities seriously. Won-woo added more explanation about the person he knew.

“Even though he hated fighting, he even researched weapons. Weapons that would allow ordinary people to fight monsters and protect themselves.”

“…No matter how good a weapon an ordinary person has, they can’t defeat monsters. They can’t withstand the power and speed of monsters.”

“Then we just need to make even better weapons, right?”

“…”

[That’s the nonsense the old man used to say.]

Right. That’s what Sang-cheon used to say. If they make better weapons, wouldn’t ordinary people gain the power to face monsters like Espers? It had been Sang-cheon’s long-standing wish. Even if it was disregarded and unrecognized in a society dominated by Espers, he couldn’t give up this wish. But why was this madman, who appeared out of nowhere, speaking his thoughts aloud?

“But it would be difficult in a society dominated by Espers.”

“Are you saying there are societies not dominated by Espers?”

He replied gruffly, trying to hide his shaken emotions, but Won-woo smiled silently again. Sang-cheon couldn’t take his eyes off that face. Gosh, that smile is really…

[Why?]

Sang-cheon flinched at the rogue’s question and turned his gaze away. He absolutely couldn’t explain that he was entranced by Ji Won-woo’s smiling face. Ahem, Sang-cheon cleared his throat and muttered barely audibly.

“It’s nothing.”

[But why does your breathing sound like a pervert’s?]

“Who’s a pervert?!”

Ah, damn it. Sang-cheon waved his hand at Won-woo again, denying it.

“I wasn’t talking to you. And for the record, I’m not a pervert either.”

“It’s okay. You’re not nearly as strange as I am.”

So he knows he’s strange. But looking at him like this, he seems normal, which is confusing.

“But it looks like you came from the hospital. Shouldn’t you go back?”

“It’ll be fine. If I were an important person, they would have found me by now, even mobilizing Espers.”

Sang-cheon frowned at the words evaluating himself as if he were a third party.

“So why are you wearing patient clothes? At least change clothes, or leave after being discharged. Besides, I’m not even the one you looking for… Hey, you’re not crying, are you?”

“I’m not.”

He answered that way, but Won-woo’s eyes were moist. He looked straight at Sang-cheon, managing not to let the tears fall.

“Mr. Hwang, I’ve developed some memory problems. Everything feels unfamiliar as if I’ve fallen into a strange place. Everything around me, and in this world.”

It felt ominous. It was like the prelude to asking for help. Sang-cheon naturally intended to refuse even before the words came out. But there was an interferer.

[Help him.]

Ah, this bastard. Sang-cheon inwardly cursed and just frowned again. Sure enough, while he hesitated, Won-woo directly asked for help. But there was a condition attached.

“I need your help, sir. If you help me, I’ll help you too.”

“I don’t have the ability to help you. And besides, I don’t need your help. If you don’t remember anything, how exactly do you plan to help me?”

“I’ll assist you with your weapons research. I can test them in actual combat.”

Sang-cheon hesitated. For a moment he was tempted, but Sang-cheon forcibly shook his head.

“Why would I entrust such dangerous work to a stranger? You too. Do you know how fast and powerful monsters are? That’s basically saying you want to die.”

“I’m confident I can survive well.”

“Forget it. I have no intention of giving you weapons…”

“Even if they’re weapons, you made them for defense, right? To buy time to escape. That’s why you improved a shotgun by using seeds as an explosive medium. With its long range, it wouldn’t be too dangerous for me to test it.”

“How… how do you know that?!”

Sang-cheon jumped up from his seat, too shocked to even breathe. This was truly unbelievable. He had thought about using seeds in a shotgun, but the idea had been scrapped at the design stage. Of course, the concept was flawed. Using such valuable seeds with every shot was absurd.

Besides, it wasn’t even effective enough to deal a fatal blow to a monster. The inefficiency was one thing, but the Seed Management Bureau would never allow seeds to be used in that way. So he hadn’t told anyone. But how did this person know about it? While Sang-cheon’s eyes wavered in astonishment, Won-woo calmly met his gaze.