Chapter 66: A Proper Vacation
"...Go out with me?"
"...Hmm."
No wonder all hell broke loose when they saw us in the engine room.
I recall the moments right after the incident was over.
I remember the two people's reactions when they first found me and Jang Chae-yeon.
Song A-rin, sighing as she slapped her forehead, and Yu Daon, her eyes wide with shock.
After that, we were very meticulously taken to the infirmary, had our bandages and splints applied, and then came out.
"...First of all, I've adjusted the memories of everyone who isn't from the Management Bureau."
"You can do something like that?"
"I almost died trying."
In my room, Song A-rin glared at me, grumbling, then let out a deep sigh and sat on the bed.
"Most of them will probably think they just had so much fun or drank so much that they got amnesia. Of course, this is just a temporary measure, so the Management Bureau will take additional action when we disembark."
"Wait, so you've made contact with the Management Bureau?"
"Not exactly, but they have an uncanny knack for noticing when something goes wrong, so they'll come."
Song A-rin sighed, looked at me, and then explained the situation.
She said that when the incident was resolved, surprisingly, the physical changes in people had disappeared.
Those who had completely transformed didn't return, and she said the Management Bureau employees on board had worked together to 'handle' such people.
Tweaking those minor memories also became Song A-rin's role, and the others were busy assisting her.
So, while Jang Chae-yeon and I were groaning and recovering from our wounds, they worked hard, and as a result...
"..."
"..."
Silence fell between the two of us.
I stared intently at Yu Daon.
Her jet-black hair was scattering in the wind, her eyes that should have sparkled in the sunlight were turned away from me, filled with an unreadable emotion, and her hands, clasped together over her solar plexus as if uneasy, were just fidgeting.
At times like this, I wish my eyes could see people's emotions.
It's perfect for people I've just met, but the more I get to know someone, the more useless my eyes become.
In the brief silence, Yu Daon was gauging my reaction, and I, noticing that she was gauging mine, opened my mouth and answered.
"No."
"No?"
"Yes."
At my words, Yu Daon rolled her eyes around.
She opened and closed her mouth several times, then closed it again and nodded.
"...Yes. I understand."
"We're too busy trying to survive today and tomorrow, where would I find the time to date someone?"
Honestly, it's not a wrong statement, is it?
Just look at this place; people came here to have a romantic time, and one of them is about to leave as a fish. It could actually happen.
"Then... just one?"
"Huh?"
I asked again because Yu Daon had muttered so softly, but she flinched slightly, then smiled and shook her head.
"Right. How is your body?"
Such a sudden change of subject.
"I'm fine."
"Are you really fine?"
"Yes."
"Jae-heon, you're like that too, and others don't heal quickly, so I always seem to be worried."
"...I am a bit jealous of how quickly wounds heal."
Of course, considering the pain she's been through, it's not an easy thing to say, but I can't exactly say, 'Oh, you're cursed,' either.
"...It's not like that either."
At my words, Yu Daon answered in a calm voice.
I had heard that voice before.
Her voice, when she said she was happy before going to the XX Room.
Without realizing it, my gaze turned to her, and she was smiling as if nothing had happened.
"May I ask you just one thing, Jae-heon?"
"Yes, go ahead."
"Jae-heon... are you happy right now?"
"Happy...?"
Of course I'm not happy.
My finger got messed up on the cruise, my arm was injured; if I were happy about that, I wouldn't be human.
But the 'happiness' Yu Daon was talking about probably wasn't just about the current situation.
After briefly pondering what to say, I nodded.
"Yes, I'm happy. I guess."
Getting caught up in incidents isn't enjoyable, but having trivial conversations with someone, sometimes talking heart-to-heart...
Isn't that what happiness is?
"That's right! The Jae-heon I know would be like that!"
"...Huh?"
Yu Daon answered with a smile.
It was no different from her usual bright, smiling expression, but the moment I felt an inexplicable emotion from that smile and sensed a dissonance,
"What are you doing?"
A nonchalant voice was heard. I turned around.
Song A-rin was walking over, brushing her purple bangs back carelessly with her hands in her pockets.
"Talking."
"What kind of talk makes someone look like a corpse?"
"Corpse?"
She was just smiling.
I look at Yu Daon for a moment.
She was smiling brightly, as always.
"...Let's not talk about it."
Looking at Yu Daon like that, Song A-rin sighed, leaned her arms on the railing, and looked out at the sea.
Then, Yu Daon clapped her hands together clap and looked at the two of us.
"I think me being here will make you both uncomfortable, so I'll be in the dining room!"
"There's no need—"
"No! I'll go!"
And then Yu Daon quickly ran off.
Song A-rin watched her go, made a displeased face, clicked her tongue, then turned her body, leaned her arms on the railing, and looked at me.
"Are you alright?"
"What did I do? I just went to the engine room with her and almost died."
"What happened?"
"Running hard and then getting swallowed by seawater. Do the two of us even have the ability to fight? We were done in in the blink of an eye."
"Still, it's something that you didn't die."
At my words, Song A-rin narrowed her eyes and looked at me.
"Was that meant to be a consolation now?"
"Good work."
"If you know, then buy me a meal."
Song A-rin waved her hand, then glanced at my left arm.
"How's that?"
"My arm hurts, and my finger hurts too."
"Well, of course. ...Seeing how cleanly it was broken, it wasn't you who broke it, was it?"
"Chae-yeon broke it."
"...She's certainly neat when it comes to using force."
That bitch, Song A-rin muttered under her breath.
Now that I think of it,
"Song A-rin."
"What."
"What's your relationship with Chae-yeon?"
"..."
Song A-rin closed her mouth.
"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."
"It's not that I don't want to talk about it... ...but when you say that, it feels like I have to."
Song A-rin looked up at the sky and sighed.
The sunlight poured down onto the blue sky, brightly illuminating her hair. She hesitated a few times before opening her mouth.
"We're colleagues."
"Is that all?"
"If it were just that, I would have treated her like a friend."
"..."
"There was a bad incident."
"I see."
"Aren't you going to ask?"
"Asking that far feels like an invasion of privacy."
"Then you shouldn't have asked in the first place."
Zing, a headache throbbed at my temple.
"..."
"Just kidding. You're someone who doesn't even get hypnotized anyway."
Song A-rin chuckled, waved her hand, and got up from her spot.
Ah, right. Why was I bewitched by the song?
"There was one thing I wanted to ask you."
"It's not about me, is it?"
"No. Actually..."
I told her about how I was bewitched by the song, and as she listened to my question, her expression grew increasingly serious.
"...See. That's strange. If it was definitely a mental attack, you should have been fine."
"That's what I'm saying."
"...I can't think of anything specific right now. But I'll ask the guy [Sunglasses Man] about it when we get back and look into what other things happened around you."
"Thank you."
At my thanks, she raised one hand as if to say, whatever.
"It's because you don't get hypnotized that I'm giving you this gift."
"What does that mean?"
Song A-rin, who had been staring at the sky, looked at me quietly.
After a brief exchange of glances, she chuckled and shook her head.
"If you don't know, then you don't know."
"Is making riddles a hobby for the women in the HR team?"
"Guess the white-haired one [Yu Hye-in] isn't a woman then~"
Song A-rin waved her hand and started walking down the stairs.
"See you at mealtime."
"Where are you going?"
"To the theater, then the dining room."
"Did you find something?"
"I'm going because I didn't find it."
As she finished speaking and her body was about to disappear around the corner,
A head of white hair shone brightly as it passed her, and the two people walked past each other without saying a word.
Jang Chae-yeon was walking towards me.
"...Are you okay?"
"No, why is the deck like a meeting place?"
She tilted her head with a puzzled expression, then pointed at my arm again.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. How about you, Chae-yeon?"
"I was lying down until just now."
"Did you recover some stamina?"
"Strong now."
She nodded and lifted both her arms.
"Still, it's a relief you're not injured."
"It's thanks to you."
Jang Chae-yeon looked at me.
"Me?"
"You have good judgment."
"Well..."
I think it's just that I can see more than others, so I think faster, but I didn't bother saying it out loud.
"And you have decisiveness."
"...No, why are you saying such embarrassing things?"
"I'm serious."
Jang Chae-yeon stared straight at me, linking her arms across her chest, and my gaze naturally had to go to one place.
I didn't think anything while carrying that and running.
"Thanks to you, everyone can survive like this. If it were just the Isolation Team, everyone would have died."
"Please don't say something that could get me in big trouble."
I might get dragged off to the Isolation Team for that.
While I was frantically waving my hands, she looked at me with a gentle smile.
"Honestly, when I'm with you, accidents tend to happen."
"..."
Yeah. About that part, I had nothing to retort either.
"But."
Jang Chae-yeon smiled with her eyes.
"I think that's good too."
Having said only that, she turned her back.
"Where are you going?"
"To eat."
"Ah."
"Want to come together?"
"...Yes, well. Sure."
I stood next to Jang Chae-yeon and started walking.
In the dining room, Yu Daon and Song A-rin were sitting, and the two of us took seats next to them, eating and chatting.
In conclusion, it was a cruise that started out pretty shitty, but had a good ending.
*
As soon as we disembarked, everyone except the Management Bureau people were immediately taken somewhere under the pretext of an infectious disease check.
The Sunglasses Man didn't come looking for us, and surprisingly, no one paid much attention to us.
The next day, when we went to work feeling good, we were greeted by our Team Leader, who was sprawled out on a sofa we didn't even know existed, playing a mobile game.
"...Aren't you going to work?"
"You guys went off to have fun, so why should I work?"
"...Aww... Team Leader..."
"Hey, don't talk to me."
"Team Leader... We really had a hard time..."
It took a full day to placate our sulking Team Leader.
In the midst of the hot summer approaching, a broadcast played from the radio our Team Leader always liked to listen to.
[A new theme park opening in Gangbuk! Sora Land is newly opened! Fun for all ages, men and women-]
Sora Land? I've never heard of it. Should we all go, including the Team Leader?
No, maybe I shouldn't go. If I go, I feel like something will happen again.
Also, even though he said that, the Team Leader had apparently already finished all the paperwork.