Chapter 7

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The long afternoon sunlight fell across the empty classroom. Seo Jae Hee’s expressionless face was pale under the sunlight.

A pairing was a promise to share one’s life with their partners. If one died while being in a pair, then the other died as well.

Pairing’s only advantage was that one could continue to give their partner strategic protection. Usually, the durability of the strategic protection given by others was short. This was because it was recognized as a kind of attack and created resistance. But when you were paired up, it was a different story. The pairing partner was recognized as another you, and when the strategic protection was put on one’s partner, it lasted for at least several hours and up to several days. Of course, the strategic protection was not invincible. Depending on the skill of the person who cast the strategic protection, the defence was vastly different.

Yoo Eun Woo had never actually seen a pair, and she even thought she would never see them in the future. In the military, pairs were an implicit taboo. Each of them had perfect fighting power, and there was no reason for their lives to be tied up with a soldier who was frequently exposed to extreme danger.

Sometimes, I heard that elementary school students who were supposed to be too young to date were testing their trust by forming a pair. Of course, if you broke up, you could cancel the pair by agreement on the same day, but if one of you died in an accident before then, the other would die too. It’s not something to joke around with, since it is so dangerous. There was this disturbing article that was published just a few months ago. They made a pair while dating, and when one side wanted to break up and asked for the pair to be cancelled, the other person who was disheartened by the break up committed suicide and both of them died. Since then, there had been arguments that the pairing should be banned by law and the opinions that free will should be respected were fiercely confronted for a moment.

I’m not saying that forming a pair was romantically madness for nothing. Strategic protection is something that you need to put on by yourself when needed. There was no need to take a big risk of life and accept it from someone else.

But Yoo Eun Woo was different.

With a terrible case of strategic dyslexia, she had never succeeded in designing a protection for herself. In the military, with Kim Seo Hyuk as the person behind her, her life was spared but now Yoo Eun Woo could not trust anyone.

“I will give it to you. Strategic protection.”

However now, Seo Jae Hee, who was perfectly fine and lacked nothing, would share his life with her. Why? Yoo Eun Woo felt the heat in the corners of her eyes getting cold.

“I thought it was strange that they threw away a trophy of the tuning rate 100, while no one in the military was able to reach the same tuning rate. They did not even give you the human rights to act on your own and now they sent you to the school.”

Seo Jae Hee said slowly. He seemed to be trying to organize his thoughts as he spoke, while at the same time looking at Yoo Eun Woo’s reaction.

“To make matters worse, I looked at your documents and they did not fit. The sum of damage and the strategic point was out of sync, the numbers were exaggerated, and there was a common emptiness in between. It was a fabricated record. If so, there was only one reason. You had a fatal weakness and a team member would have to make up for it. You could not get over it, so they threw you away at the school, and I can only guess that it was strategic dyslexia. Am I wrong?”

Yoo Eun Woo did not answer. The fact that Yoo Eun Woo had strategic dyslexia was treated as a top secret in the military under Kim Seo Hyuk’s strict order. The data that Seo Jae Hee saw was the same data that Kim Seo Hyuk had distributed to the media countless times. Seo Jae Hee just glanced at the data that no one had suspected even once in two years, and was convinced that Yoo Eun Woo had strategic dyslexia.

“Strategic dyslexia with a tuning rate of 100. What an unusual case. There are many types of dyslexia. Regardless of the type, they usually have already been thrown out of the basic school. What factors have prevented you from getting kicked out of the school?”

Seo Jae Hee was evaluating the value of Yoo Eun Woo. At the similar gaze, Yoo Eun Woo clenched her teeth and straightened her back. Concerning Yoo Eun Woo, who still had no answer, Seo Jae Hee said lightly.

“You made an effort to overcome it by reading, but it didn’t seem to work at all.”

Yoo Eun Woo was genuinely surprised this time. Kim Seo Hyuk had revised Yoo Eun Woo’s record overall. Since it was designed to be easily understood by anyone, she did not expect for Seo Jae Hee to be able to point out Yoo Eun Woo’s strategic dyslexia so skillfully. Yoo Eun Woo began to doubt whether Seo Jae Hee had not actually interpreted her records or obtained the information from the military somewhere.

“You’ve only seen only gifted individuals in the military, so all the students here might look ridiculous, but you’d better be careful. If a powerful person is immature, nothing is more dangerous than that. Four people have already died this semester. The carefree news reports of accidents and disappearances can’t be trusted.”

Yoo Eun Woo was still holding her gun. She hadn’t pulled out her hand from the holster yet.

“Kim Seo Hyuk has a lot of enemies. The enemies’ children go to this school. As it has always been, if they decide to kill you, they can kill you without a word. Now, I’m also…”

Seo Jae Hee made a gun shape with his hands and pretended to shoot with a bang sound. It was pointing exactly to the middle of Yoo Eun Woo’s forehead.

“……If I put a confusing strategy on you and attack you with it, you won’t be able to get away and make a hit, right?”

Seeing Yoo Eun Woo holding a gun, Seo Jae Hee was not wary at all. It was understandable. Knowing that Yoo Eun Woo had strategic dyslexia, the one with the upper hand in this battle was Seo Jae Hee.

Not being able to make a strategy meant that you had no choice but to use your power as it is. It was only possible to make a single hit. Pure and simple. From the most basic strategies, such as spreading a thin film-like protective shield, to more difficult designs such as restricting human movement and driving machinery, Yoo Eun Woo could not do anything regarding refining her ability.

The only thing Yoo Eun Woo could do was a simple blow. Her tuning rate might have reached 100, but it was not controllable by strategy, so the destructive power was so grand that it became a fatal weakness. If Yoo Eun Woo fired a gun at Seo Jae Hee here, the whole school could be blown away. Both of them could die, the same for everyone. It was meaningless.

When someone in the military came up with the strategy, Yoo Eun Woo only stepped on it and hit it hard. But, now, it was different. She was alone now. In the military, it was common that CCTVs were installed all over the place but now they were nowhere to be seen at this school. If someone really attacked Yoo Eun Woo in the hallway, she could not actually fight back. And for her to even try to handle it alone, Yoo Eun Woo’s tuning rate was too high,

“In the test tomorrow, every student will know that you have strategic dyslexia. How long can you hold on by yourself? Think about all the trouble you’ve been through. Wouldn’t it be simpler?”

Seo Jae Hee said it monotonously as if he was just saying, ‘the weather is really nice today.’

“You’ve been talking to the second graders like that while having strategic dyslexia. I saw the penalty score earlier, it said that you’ve been getting in trouble for almost a week. What were you gonna do if they really attacked you? Are you here to die?”

That was it. Although she acted bravely all the time, she was actually sweating inside. She was glad that she was still alive. Especially when she spilt the bucket of blood earlier, the second-year student surprisingly aimed his gun at her. If the student president or the dispatch manager were not there, Yoo Eun Woo would have had to run away. Nevertheless, there was a reason why Yoo Eun Woo reacted to the minor harassment.

Yoo Eun Woo faced Seo Jae Hee and opened her mouth for the first time.

“The kids won’t be able to see it easily. Everyone thought that they would lose if they were against me, that was why they scribbled on my books. I saw some gaps. Otherwise, I might have been attacked right away.”

“You have guts.”

Seo Jae Hee stared at Yoo Eun Woo. It seemed like a smile had just lingered by.

“You know that even that fancy bravery of yours can no longer be used after the test tomorrow, right? If you pair with me, I’ll guarantee your safety. Your reputation will also go up. Just by pairing with me,”

What great confidence. How did he get the trust of so many students? Popularity came with envy and jealousy. However, the attitude of the students when talking about Seo Jae Hee was almost purely respect. One might have a doubt that he brought in and spread a pseudo-religion from somewhere.

“What do you want?”

Seo Jae Hee looked deeply at Yoo Eun Woo. Yoo Eun Woo felt his gaze stabbing into her pupils.

“Your Memory.”

“………Pardon?”

“The memories of being captured by the rebels and going through the process of becoming a murder weapon. Reveal to me everything.”

“My memory is…..”

I don’t have anything to give. Yoo Eun Woo did not remember anything from that time. The first thing the military did after rescuing Yoo Eun Woo was to search through her memory. She was also under erosion treatment for long 3 years. How did the rebels turn Yoo Eun Woo into a murder weapon? Everyone was curious. Even if she did not remember anything, the best experts that were meticulously selected from the military were clinging on to her, saying that it must be somewhere in the bottom of her subconsciousness. Still, In the end, they could not find it. Yoo Eun Woo was quite suspicious that her brain had a problem at that time, but the military only said that the strategic dyslexia was congenital.

However. If she said that she had no memories, Seo Jae Hee would lose his interest in Yoo Eun Woo. After tomorrow’s test, Yoo Eun Woo would become a real target for killing. Now, instead of just ripping Yoo Eun Woo’s uniform, the students would try to rip Yoo Eun Woo’s neck. Yoo Eun Woo needed Seo Jae Hee. Seo Jae Hee also had to make Yoo Eun Woo feel that it was necessary to pair with him.

She pulled herself together. She carefully chose the words. As If the military said it. As if she was not sure either.

“The military has already taken away that memory.”

“Did the military say that, or did they make you say that? Took it away? You must be mistaken. It was impossible to manipulate memories. It was only possible to go in and see, so definitely there must be something left.”

Fortunately, Seo Jae Hee did not give up.

“It’s all stored in your subconsciousness. You do not have to do anything. Do not even try to remember. I’ll go in and search for it myself.”

He was saying the same thing as the damn army. Yoo Eun Woo put her hands down from her gun and crossed her arms. She lowered her head as she was struggling.

It was illegal to cast a strategy related to memory without permission from the City Federation. It was a human rights violation that went beyond the invasion of one’s privacy. Penalties were even similar to organ trading. Seo Jae Hee’s search for Yoo Eun Woo’s memory was to see everything about Yoo Eun Woo. The only memory besides the erosion treatment and rolling around in the military for the past two years was her following the strategies designed by others and hitting them tiringly. Oh, there were also days when she vomited while studying strategy in the library. It took her a while to consider not divulging military secrets but avoiding the critical life and death situation was also important.

It was a business that was worth a loss. She made a pair with Seo Jae Hee on the condition that she would need to give him, the memories that she did not even have.

Yoo Eun Woo raised her head. Seo Jae Hee was staring straight at her. If she accepted it right away, he might be suspicious. Memory was after all a sensitive subject.

“It is illegal to search other people’s memories by casting the ability of a strategy.”

“You have no human rights. It is also legal to go through your memories in the military. And if we don’t get caught, that’s it. After all, I don’t have the skills to extract other people’s memories. I will do something else.”

“What else?”

“Ondidim.”

Yoo Eun Woo stared at Seo Jae Hee.

“Ondidim should have been seized by the City Federation. Did you steal it?”

“Stole it, and then used it – that was me. It doesn’t have to matter to you. If I go through your memory with a gun, there’ll be a record and I can get caught right away, but the Ondidim works accurately without a trace.”

The more Seo Jae Hee explained, the more confused Yoo Eun Woo became. All the words Seo Jae Hee spit out were unfamiliar to her.

This is not how Yoo Eun Woo discovered her memory of her suffering in the military. There were these huge, precise machines and numerous researchers.

Fear crept in her that she might be harmed more seriously than being kicked out of school. There was a reason why the City Federation confiscated Ondidim and banned all citizens from using it. Ondidim was quite tricky and dangerous. If you used it, you would see blood at the end. If you dealt with it on your own, you had to risk having either big or small wounds, and if you were dealing with others, you had to risk your life.

“Are there any other conditions?”

Seo Jae Hee wrinkled his brow. Since they started talking in the classroom, For the first time he showed some emotions. It was annoying.

“What else do you have for me?”

That was true. Seo Jae Hee had everything. I did not know why someone who had everything was trying to sweep out her memories. Was he trying to make a murder weapon himself? It was none of her business anyway. Yoo Eun Woo decided that it was actually the right time to bow down and surrender. It was a hundred times better to be hurt than to die.

“If that’s the case, I don’t remember it well, so you will have to find out by yourself.”

“Let’s make a pair. With conditions.”

Seo Jae Hee approached her striding towards her. He smoothly stood face to face with Yoo Eun Woo, just a few feet away. Seo Jae Hee inclined his head at an angle. Yoo Eun Woo felt Seo Jae Hee’s shallow breath on her forehead.

“I’ll create the pair system. You just need to sign at the end.”

After confirming it Yoo Eun Woo nodded, Seo Jae Hee pulled the gun out of his holster. The tuning rate had risen. Instead of waiting to reach his maximum, Seo Jae Hee aimed at the floor.

Kang! His gun went off.

Just like a ripple in the lake on a rainy day, a thin white circle appeared on the floor of the lecture room and resonated. Then Seo Jae Hee drew his hand which was holding the gun as quickly as if he was painting. As a result, sharp straight lines ran irregularly over the circle. The pattern which was now bursting out and disappearing like a flame, Yoo Eun Woo recalled numerous strategies that she had read dozens of times or even tried to implement while enduring her nausea. Even if the pair-system was something that lower graders in the elementary school would be able to do without difficulty, Yoo Eun Woo could not do it herself, so Seo Jae Hee was drawing it for her.

Seo Jae Hee said in a clear voice.

“Seo Jae Hee and Yoo Eun Woo are a pair from this point on. Until both parties agree and say that it was the end. While the pair is maintained, Seo Jae Hee takes full responsibility for Yoo Eun Woo’s safety. And, Yoo Eun Woo shall reveal all her memories to Seo Jae Hee.”

Seo Jae Hee’s words were dispersed and engraved somewhere in the system, then melted away. Yoo Eun Woo pulled out the gun from her holster. Seo Jae Hee aimed his gun first at the centre of the system and fired it. Seo Jae Hee’s signature was beautifully engraved on the design.

Yoo Eun Woo pulled out her gun and did the same. As soon as Yoo Eun Woo’s signature was engraved, the system disappeared like a TV being turned off.

Pair formed.

Seo Jae Hee immediately took a few steps back from Yoo Eun Woo. Yoo Eun Woo activated the IF on her left wrist. On the screen that had been empty since she left the military, Seo Jae Hee’s name was flashing in golden.

Yoo Eun Woo lifted her head as she felt Seo Jae Hee moving. Seo Jae Hee was pointing a gun at Yoo Eun Woo. As soon as their eyes met, Seo Jae Hee pulled the trigger. Bang. Yoo Eun Woo felt a dull shock in the pit of her stomach. Something like a blue, clean glass curtain wrapped around her whole body and then disappeared.

Taking a deep breath, Yoo Eun Woo checked her IF again. Under Seo Jae Hee’s name, a line, “third-stage protection strategy in operation” was added.

Yoo Eun Woo was a little surprised. The third level of protection was quite high. Yoo Eun Woo knew that the stronger the protection strategy was, the better, but Seo Jae Hee, who was maintaining it, was using up his own physical strength. It could be interpreted as Seo Jae Hee being concerned about other students attacking her. When Yoo Eun Woo looked alternating between Seo Jae Hee and her IF, Seo Jae Hee continued his words.

“My life is important too, so don’t fall down the stairs and break your neck.”

“Senior too.”

Seo Jae Hee held out his hand to Yoo Eun Woo. His neat face was expressionless. It was as if he had just washed his face.

“I look forward to the cooperation, please take care of me.”

Yoo Eun Woo also reached out and shook hands with Seo Jae Hee. The protective system was given to her in exchange for selling her missing memories, however, the greetings seemed to come out smoothly.

“Please take good care of me.”

Seo Jae Hee’s hands, who were smiling like it was trained to everyone, were cold and dry like a lifeless body.

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This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.

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