Chapter 103: An Unexpected Return

The spring break was just around the corner.

Ban Eun-hyeol had gone to the United States for a trip, just as he had mentioned before, and I was sitting across from Yeon Ha-yeon, planning out our spring break schedule.

Planning spring break activities on a sunny weekend afternoon—somehow, today especially, I felt like going out and having fun.

Then, suddenly, Ban Eun-hyeol came to mind.

‘Why am I thinking about him all of a sudden?!’

Startled, I quickly shook off the thought.

Maybe it was because I was shaking my head left and right, but Yeon Ha-yeon, who had been looking at me strangely, raised one eyebrow and said,

“You’ve been acting weird lately.”

“Me? Nah, what’s weird about me?”

“Everything’s weird. You seem different these days.”

“How exactly am I different…?”

Yeon Ha-yeon narrowed her eyes and scanned me up and down before dropping a shocking remark.

“You totally seem like you’re in love. Is there someone you keep thinking about and want to see?”

‘A tutor?’

No, she got the second part right, but the first part was wrong.

It’s definitely not because I like Ban Eun-hyeol that he keeps popping into my thoughts. I’m just grateful that he figured out who I really am early on and has been helping me all along.

“Love? Who am I supposed to be in love with?”

I waved my hands dismissively, not wanting to deny it too strongly lest she take it as confirmation, so I said it flatly instead.

Yeon Ha-yeon tilted her head, muttering to herself, “Seems about right.”

“Anyway, so you’re saying you’re going to cut back on work starting this spring break?”

“Now that I’m a senior in high school, I have to start preparing. If I want to get into my target university.”

As she said that, Yeon Ha-yeon suddenly grabbed my hand tightly with a bright look in her eyes.

“So, Dana, you should study hard and get into the same university as me.”

“Huh?”

Does she really think that’s possible?

Yeon Ha-yeon’s target university is the top university in the country—one you can never dream of attending with just average grades, and I’m terrible at studying.

Despite seeing how I’ve avoided studying and my pathetic grades all this time, did she actually think it was possible for me to get into the same university?

“If you study hard for a year, you can do it. I really want to go to the same university as you.”

“I’ll look for a university near where you’re studying. That one’s impossible.”

In the first place, the chances of me attending university in Seoul at all were slim, but calming Yeon Ha-yeon down was more important.

‘Getting into a good university after a short cram session is something only protagonists of those inspirational novels can do.’

The memories of various inspirational novels I had read flashed through my mind.

Those protagonists who spent their days skipping classes on the rooftop, dedicating themselves to band activities and seemingly avoiding studying altogether…

And yet, in the end, they somehow effortlessly got accepted into the top university in the country, which used to leave me dumbfounded.

‘Is getting into university without studying a special privilege of protagonists?’

Looking at Ban Eun-hyeol, I thought maybe that was somewhat true.

But Yeon Ha-yeon really studied hard. I guess there are exceptions sometimes.

Pouting as if upset by my words, Yeon Ha-yeon thought for a moment and then clapped her hands.

“Oh! You can ask Ban Eun-hyeol to tutor you.”

“Rejected. Absolutely rejected.”

I quickly shut her mouth before she could cheerfully blurt it out.

I remembered the Spartan-style lessons I’d taken from Ban Eun-hyeol to try to improve my grades during finals.

Just thinking about it still gave me a headache.

I felt like my brain was about to explode from studying so hard.

Even if a lower-middle ranker gets intense one-on-one tutoring, maybe they can just barely reach the mid-tier, but producing the kind of top-tier grades Yeon Ha-yeon has was no easy feat.

“I’d rather close a lot of Gates…”

No matter how much she tried to get me to take on more work, it was completely ineffective.

“No, Gates appear suddenly and could disappear just as fast. We always need a backup plan.”

“You sound just like my parents.”

When my parents said the same thing, I wondered if students who study hard like Yeon Ha-yeon thought similarly—and sure enough, they did.

The conversation shifted from spring break plans to university admissions and didn’t change easily.

As Yeon Ha-yeon lectured me at length about the advantages of going to the same university, I gazed out at the sky outside the window.

‘Won’t a plane fly by?’

I hoped Ban Eun-hyeol would come back soon.

Once Ban Eun-hyeol returned to Korea, I planned to sit down and have a serious talk about this matter.

***

“The public opinion on Nada is improving, but her identity remains a complete mystery.”

The Director of the Dungeon Management Bureau swept the sparse hair near the crown of his head irritably and spoke.

“Since she started making a full appearance and actively engaging, we still can’t identify even her appearance or distinguishing features.”

“Why is that?”

Ihwan had no answer. He was just as curious as anyone.

There were many witnesses, but none could recognize her face, body shape, or any identifying trait.

At first, he didn’t believe their testimonies.

But as more people said the same thing, he had no choice but to accept it.

They guessed she must have some skill or item that conceals her identity, but beyond that was beyond his knowledge.

“Her body shape is known except for her face, and now we can’t even identify that? Are we just going to leave it like this? We have to find out who she is to support her or hold her accountable for opening Gates!”

The Director lost his temper and shouted.

Ihwan stood there with an expressionless face.

Seeing that, the Director’s anger only grew as he turned to Sagong Arin, who was standing beside Ihwan.

“Got any special ideas? The last con job we tried won’t work again.”

Though he was sixth in rank, Ihwan worked diligently as a civil servant, so the Director couldn’t shout at him anymore.

Instead, he shifted his focus to Sagong Arin.

Watching Ihwan get scolded silently, Sagong Arin scratched her cheek and said,

“Well, I’ve looked into some overseas cases.”

“What? What overseas cases?”

The Director almost jumped out of his chair, leaning forward anxiously.

Sagong Arin recalled the cases she had researched and explained slowly.

“There are people called Tamers who raise monsters like pets and use them at full power.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of that.”

“Recently, overseas, there was a case where a Tamer used hallucination-type monsters to extract a confession from a criminal.”

“Is that really possible? Maybe the criminal was just scared by the hallucination.”

“They said the hallucinations can be controlled. For that criminal, they showed a hallucination where he was found not guilty and released.”

Sagong Arin and the Director looked at each other with anxious eyes, both lost in their own world.

“Afterward, they staged a situation where he was living well, and the hallucination’s ‘friend’ asked him to talk about the crime—like telling a heroic story.”

“So he confessed?”

“Yes. He excitedly told everything without realizing it. Of course, it couldn’t be used as evidence, but based on what he said, the investigation gathered proof and convicted the criminal.”

“Wow… that kind of ability would be really useful. Are there any people with that ability domestically?”

“No.”

The Director’s expression stiffened instantly.

After enthusiastically talking about overseas cases, now he confidently said there was no such person here.

The look on his face said it all.

“Then…”

Unable to continue in his disbelief, the Director trailed off.

Sagong Arin smiled slyly.

“But the Tamer who led that case reportedly arrived in the country this morning.”

“You mean Mark, the number one ranked in the U.S.?”

Ihwan, who had been quietly listening, asked in surprise.

He had faintly heard of that case.

But controlling hallucinations was no easy feat, and normally, no one had such an ability—except for one person.

“Yes. He entered the country with Ban Eun-hyeol.”

Hearing this, the Director jumped up from his seat.

“We have to meet this Mark immediately! Where is he now, the airport?”

“He must have left the airport by now. First, let’s plan and then approach Mark.”

Sagong Arin’s eyes shone brightly.

With the power of a number one ranked in another country, maybe this time they could finally uncover Nada’s true identity.

Leaving Ihwan, who looked uneasy about the plan, behind, Sagong Arin and the Director huddled together and began strategizing.

***

At that moment, Ban Eun-hyeol was thoroughly annoyed at having to come back to Korea with an annoying tag-along.

“Wow, this is my first time in Korea! So this is the country where dimensional outsiders exist?”

Mark, who had been trailing Ban Eun-hyeol since the U.S., bounced around like a puppy smitten with him.

Ban Eun-hyeol tried to lose Mark and get into the car waiting in front of the airport.

“No no, don’t ditch me. Please take good care of me while we’re in Korea, friend?”

“Just go away, please.”

“Huh? I can’t speak Korean.”

It was a mistake to start talking in English.

I should have ignored Mark when he first tried to speak.

Mark had been so annoying while they were in the U.S.

I wanted to just shake him off completely, but one of his lines had gotten to Ban Eun-hyeol, and now he had ended up coming all the way to Korea with him.

“Where do we have to go to see Nada? Since we’re in Korea, I want to see Nada in person and buy tons of merch.”

Yes.

Mark was Nada’s devoted fan.