Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 73

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (73)

Department Head Yoon Seo-jin

…When did it start?

At some point, Yoon Seo-jin had been constantly feeling an inexplicable emptiness. If she had to describe it, it was an emotion closer to a sense of loss. A feeling as if one side of her chest had been completely hollowed out.

Why?

There hadn’t been anything particularly worth feeling a loss over.

Yoon Seo-jin’s life had been smooth. She had successfully awakened from a young age, and it had taken her only three months to decide on her career path. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a path paved with success.

As such, she was far from loss. Her life was more familiar with gaining than losing.

Except for one single memory.

“…”

When she was a third-year student at Eterion.

The day of tragedy when all members of the ‘Ether Society’ except herself were brutally killed due to Pyo Jae-hwan’s twisted curiosity.

Only that horrific moment was the sole loss in Yoon Seo-jin’s life.

‘But…’

The emptiness that had been constantly tormenting Yoon Seo-jin was fundamentally different from that loss.

Not a loss that came from losing something she knew.

An emptiness of absence that came from having completely forgotten the very existence itself.

Of course, that didn’t mean she took the club members’ deaths lightly.

That horrific incident had left a great trauma on Yoon Seo-jin, and even the hysterical personality she had shown to others stemmed from that.

“…”

Yoon Seo-jin looked down at her wrist with a blank expression.

A cute bead bracelet with pure white beads closely connected together.

This bracelet was also a mysterious existence to her.

From the moment she felt that inexplicable emptiness, this bracelet had been on her wrist.

However, as if the part of her brain responsible for those memories had been washed away, all related memories had vanished without a trace.

Yes, it must have been like that.

“What on earth is this…”

What were these memories currently stirring up her mind?

It was the moment when Yoon Seo-jin, unable to overcome her confusion, put strength into the hand holding the bracelet.

“Have you finished checking?”

A low voice flowed from beside her. Choi Hyeok, a man whose purpose was now incomprehensible.

Yoon Seo-jin turned her head to look straight at him.

“What’s your identity?”

“What identity?”

“Why did you have this bracelet?”

“Are you angry right now?”

Yoon Seo-jin hesitated at the cold tone. She hadn’t intended to get angry. The situation itself was just too consecutive, and her voice had risen without her realizing it.

“I’m sorry if I misunderstood.”

“Well, it’s fine. I understand. And didn’t I already tell you about the bracelet? That I received a direct request.”

“Then the person who made that request, could it be Ryu…”

“It’s probably the person you’re thinking of.”

“…”

…Se-eun. That name lingered on her lips.

Most of the memories that had ransacked Yoon Seo-jin’s mind earlier were related to Ryu Se-eun.

From when she first met her and they became inseparable friends.

To the fact that in the final moment, she had sacrificed everything for her sake inside the rift.

“…I have one curious point about you.”

“Please tell me.”

“The memories that came into my mind just now. Did you do that?”

There was a reason she had to think so.

There’s no such thing as ‘coincidence’ in this world.

Everything is logically connected and follows reasonable causation. Though it wasn’t proven, at least that’s what Yoon Seo-jin, a magical engineer, thought.

And to her, who was such a magical engineer, this bracelet was definitely not a simple accessory either.

“An artifact. Right?”

Even with her heart pounding, Yoon Seo-jin continued speaking clearly.

“By coincidence. By pure coincidence, there’s no way I would suddenly recall memories I had forgotten just by seeing the bracelet. That doesn’t make sense. Right?”

“…”

“But that doesn’t mean this bracelet was an artifact from the beginning. Why? Because I was wearing the same thing too.”

But it had never shown any reaction until now.

“That means you did something to this bracelet. Whether it was modification or something else.”

“Is that so?”

Though she had said it while glaring, the other person just shrugged. Yoon Seo-jin took that reaction as silent affirmation.

“Why did you do it? For what purpose exactly?”

Just like before, she wasn’t getting angry.

The current situation was the most precious gift to Yoon Seo-jin. The existence of a precious friend she had almost forgotten forever. It was that man who had given it back to her.

She was just curious.

What was his intention? There’s no way he would have given such a gift without expecting anything in return, right?

“Of course, I’m curious about more things. How did you do what to this small bracelet, which was originally just a simple accessory made without any particular mana mechanism. How did you make it possible for such an enormous amount of memories to flow in? How delicately did you twist the circuits to make this possible? There are many more things I’m curious about besides this.”

Yoon Seo-jin paused for a moment.

“Setting all that aside. What do you want?”

This time, the other person also took a moment to breathe. Then he stared at Yoon Seo-jin for a few seconds, shook his head, and looked up at the sky.

“What I want. I don’t really have anything.”

“…Nothing?”

“Yes. I don’t hope for or want anything from Ms. Yoon Seo-jin.”

The sky was high. Blue and quiet, it was also silent as if before a great event.

“Still, if I had to say, there are two things.”

He smiled faintly.

“First, when Ms. Yoon Seo-jin received this bracelet. I was curious about what kind of reaction you would show.”

“What does that mean…?”

“Exactly what I said. I suddenly became curious whether Ms. Yoon Seo-jin’s sharp personality, famous among most people, might have originated from some past.”

“…”

“I apologize if you found it unpleasant. I’m quite curious by nature.”

“…It’s fine. Then what’s next?”

“The other one is similar curiosity. About the identity of that bracelet.”

He casually took the bracelet that was in Yoon Seo-jin’s hand.

“When Ryu Se-eun asked me to deliver this bracelet to Ms. Yoon Seo-jin, she said she would finally keep a promise she made long ago.”

“A promise.”

“Yes, a promise. But if I had just handed over the original bracelet, Ms. Yoon Seo-jin wouldn’t have even remembered who Ryu Se-eun was.”

“So you modified it? To revive my memories and hear what kind of promise Se-eun and I had made?”

“Exactly.”

“Hah…”

It was pure curiosity itself. Yoon Seo-jin pondered how to react, and in the meantime, the other person spoke first.

“Can you tell me now?”

The promise.

Of course she remembered it. If it weren’t for that person, she would have forgotten it forever, but now it was more vividly etched in her mind than anything else.

Then there was no reason she couldn’t tell him.

“…But it’s not as great a promise as you might think. Is that still okay?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Well then. There’s something Se-eun and I talked about when we got these bracelets together. They’re friendship bracelets, so as you can see, they’re identical.”

Yoon Seo-jin closed her eyes as if recalling that time. She felt a gentle gaze from beside her.

“Later, when we go out into society. When we graduate from Eterion and the time comes to achieve our respective dreams and we have to part ways.”

“….”

“So if the time comes when we have to be far apart. Let’s look at the initials on this bracelet and think of each other. And if we spend our days like that, and someday the day comes when we can meet again….”

A smile unconsciously formed beneath her closed eyes.

“…Let’s meet in person and put each other’s bracelets back on each other’s wrists. Let’s prove that we’ve achieved the dreams we’ve been pursuing.”

She opened her eyes that had been closed.

“It was just that kind of promise.”

“I see.”

“Yes. It’s nothing special compared to what I thought, right?”

“Do you think it’s nothing special, Ms. Yoon Seo-jin?”

Suddenly Yoon Seo-jin was at a loss for words. Did she think so too? Of course not. Now this had become more precious than any other promise.

Yet the reason she had said that was simply because she didn’t know what else to say.

The other person had given her a precious treasure incomparable to anything else.

But standing before them, explaining this kind of promise that any student would typically make as if it were something grand—how could she not feel embarrassed?

“Ms. Yoon Seo-jin.”

“…Yes.”

“So, did you keep the promise you made with Ryu Se-eun?”

Yoon Seo-jin, who had been avoiding his gaze, tilted her head.

“You said the time came to achieve your respective dreams and part ways. Of course, that’s not why Ryu Se-eun parted ways, but… I was wondering about you, Ms. Yoon Seo-jin.”

“So you’re asking if I achieved my dream?”

“Yes.”

What kind of question is this all of a sudden?

Yoon Seo-jin blinked. Whether she achieved her dream. Well, since the question was asked, thinking about it, she had achieved it to some extent.

Although it was difficult due to repeated overtime work, Termion Corporation’s First Research Department was a department she had wanted for a long time.

But was that her entire dream?

No.

“I don’t think I’ve completely… achieved it. I’m quite an ambitious person too.”

After saying that, she observed his reaction. She honestly expected him to be disappointed by her saying she hadn’t achieved her dream.

However, he actually chuckled as if satisfied.

“Then that’s fortunate.”

He returned the bracelet to Yoon Seo-jin.

“Ryu Se-eun said she felt like she could finally keep the promise now, but actually the promise wasn’t kept. As you said earlier, Ms. Yoon Seo-jin, she has to put it on your wrist directly.”

“…That’s true, but.”

“That’s why I said it’s fortunate. Since you haven’t achieved your dream yet, it means there’s more time left until you meet again.”

“Can it be interpreted that way?”

“Interpretation is up to each person. So what I’m saying is, the day will come when Ryu Se-eun can keep the promise directly. With her own hands, not mine.”

However, there was one wrong part in his words. Yoon Seo-jin, who thought of that, smiled bitterly.

“But I won’t be able to see Se-eun anymore. I’ll try to do something since I know she’s alive, but ultimately, as long as the Dean and that bastard Pyo Jae-hwan are there….”

“The Dean and Pyo Jae-hwan are the problem?”

“Yes. Not only that, but there’s also that black smoke that entered Se-eun’s body, and because of the mana seal, her life won’t be worth living.”

It’s all because of me anyway. As she muttered this and blamed herself, she heard a chuckling sound from beside her.

“…Are you mocking me?”

Even if that were the case, there was nothing she could say.

The debt she owed him was already beyond any measurable value.

But a completely unexpected answer came back.

“You’ll be able to meet her soon, Ryu Se-eun.”

“…?”

“The mana seal will naturally be gone, and the ether… I mean, the black smoke, I’m not sure about that. Anyway, there won’t be any problems.”

He slowly got up. The fallen leaves he had been sitting on rustled and fell.

“And Pyo Jae-hwan and the Dean will be dealt with soon too.”

“S-soon?”

“Probably tomorrow. You’ll know when you see it directly.”

“…?!”

Yoon Seo-jin, who had been staring blankly, also got up. He was already walking away without looking back. He said quietly.

“So until then, please continue living diligently. I don’t know exactly what your dream is, but you’ll need to achieve it quickly to keep your promise.”

“….”

“Then I’ll see you again tomorrow. Department Manager Yoon Seo-jin.”

He had already moved far away and now completely disappeared from view.

Department Manager Yoon Seo-jin.

At those last words, Yoon Seo-jin remained frozen in place for a long time.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————