M E M O R I Z E (MEMORIZE)

The moment I raised my head to look at Vivian with a lust-filled gaze, I suddenly recalled a memory. The recollection was so sudden, it left me completely started. The shock made me realize what I was feeling, so I tried to pull myself together.

This is… no. This isn’t what I want to be feeling right now.

I turned away from Vivian and repressed the sexual urges that threatened to overwhelm me. Even if it was just lust, if I let it overwhelm me, I’d turn into an insatiable beast. Although I had brought Vivian to this quiet spot, so that I could enjoy some alone time with her, It now seemed like the wrong thing to do. I took a deep breath to calm myself.

I wasn’t gay, neither was I someone who didn’t like women. I am a healthy young man with a healthy interest in women. But, right now, I have a different view on embracing Vivian here. I’m not an ugly animal who takes advantage of every female that it sees, just because it wants to. I never saw myself as someone like that, neither would I act in that manner.

First, take a deep breath.

Such a situation, I was able to analyze it this thoroughly. I really had become more thoughtful these days, and I was behaving pretty well. Without realizing it, I had recovered my lost humanity, but the sharpness of the blade I once was was gradually fading.

But, naturally, that didn’t mean I thought that having a girl was bad.  Even now, I was confident that I’d been able to take Vivian right here. But, I had decided to curb my self-desire and abstain from any amorous activities. Do I really have a girl all to myself, today? Thinking about it made me feel embarrassed. If I brought a girl back, I may too ashamed to look at Seraph again in the future.

“Su Hyun? What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“……..”

I calmed my thoughts and opened my eyes. Vivian looked worried. When I didn’t reply her question, Vivian grew cautious and voiced her thoughts.

“No. It’s just a feeling. I felt like I was looking at someone else…”

“… Yes?”

“Hmm. Don’t make that face again. It gave me the creeps…eh”

Vivian wrapped her arms around me again, but I quickly took them off me with a soft smile. She chuckled and stood beside me. I held her hands and walked to the inn. I heard a voice say “Heyiing” from behind, but I paid it no mind.

“Su Hyun. Su Hyun.”

“What?”

Vivian, who was walking in ahead of me, suddenly stopped, causing me to bump into her. She turned to gaze at me with glowing eyes, but I responded with an indifferent look. I saw her pout her lips at my response.

“So, I’ll work together with you guys in the future, right?”

“That’s what it seems.”

“Oh ho. So, I have a problem… Ahk!”

Vivian tried to take a step back, lost her footing, and fell backward. As she fell, her robe slipped open, exposing her body in the process. Vivian rubbed the back of her head and quickly closed her robe, and her face turned ashen.

“Pervert.”

“Why am I a pervert…”

“Don’t lie. You saw.”

“I did see, but I haven’t lied about anything. It’s not like I intended to do so in the first place. Are you telling that your body got exposed because you knocked yourself over? I don’t think you’re a disciplined person.”

I said matter-of-factly, in a calm tone. Vivian averted her eyes, hiding her panicked expression, and nodded swiftly.

“Oh, huh? Yes, sorry. But you didn’t have to say it like that.”

Upon seeing Vivian admit her wrongdoing innocently, I warned, “Be careful from now on. Sometimes, you tend to be too careless.” She took my outstretched hand and got up. When she got up, I asked:

“Anyway, what were those concerns just then?”

“Hmm… anyway, we’ll be together in the future.”

“That’s what I said. It’s a big deal.”

“Yoo-Jung and An Sol… they don’t seem to like me very much.”

“Hmm. That’s right.”

When I nodded immediately, Vivian sighed. It was true that the kids hated Vivian. It was better if she was aware of the situation, that way she would be mindful of her attitude in the future and not flip out.

“But, these kids have a good nature. As long as you remain yourself, and put some effort to look a little better, you’ll do better around them.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I also talk to the kids separately, so don’t worry too much about it.”

“Thank you, but I have another concern…”

Just when I thought I would speak, Vivian quickly added in a small voice, after hesitating for a few moments.

“My clothes…”

Jung Ji Yeon’s robe was extremely small. Upon seeing Vivian tugging the robe down and rubbing her thighs together, I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer and rushed to a store without delay.

*

After we had stopped at the store and bought some mage robes, we went to the old inn. When I returned to the Mule, there was so much work just waiting to be done. Most of them were related to the kids, so I didn’t want to rush them. I had to get some rest first; that would be much better for me.

As soon as we reached the wooden door of the inn, it opened. As the night went on, there seemed to be more people on the streets, discussing amongst themselves. As I had been out doing a lot, I needed to rest and came back to the inn. Just when we were close to it, both I and Vivian heard the door open.

“Hello, Player Kim Su Hyun. You’ve arrived much later than the other kids did.”

She gracefully greeted me with a warm smile. I responded in kind and asked her if the kids were up yet. Instead of answering me, she pointed towards a corner of the in. The kids were at that corner, with sullen faces. In front of them were stacks of food, and the kids already had their chopsticks in their hands.

“I suddenly felt the urge to spit, but the smile never left Go Yeon-Ju’s face as she looked at the kids with a peculiar gaze.

“It seems like they were waiting for you, Mr. Su Hyun. This is a scene that is so rare to witness these days.

“Hmm. Thank you.”

“No, thank you. I’m getting paid. But, I see you’re with someone whom I haven’t seen before…”

Go Yeon-Ju’s big eyes gazed at Vivian who stood beside me. I pulled her forward and introduced her to Go Yeon-Ju.

“This person has just joined the party.”

“Based on her looks, she seems to be a wizard, and an effective one, too.”

“Well… I guess you’re busy.”

“Ah. Don’t mind me. See you later.”

Although Go Yeon-Ju seemed like wanted to talk with me a little more, I had already introduced Vivian as a resident and spoke with a tone of finality, so she understood my intentions and stepped back, but she still slyly implied with a “See you later” that we’d be talking again in the future. Since it was included in the recruiting target, there was no reason to reject her, that’s if I am not busy when the time comes.

The kids also waved at me with bright faces as they found me. I quickly moved to the seat where the children sat and then sat in the chair and I opened my mouth. When the kids saw me, they waved at me with happy expressions. I quickly moved to where the kids were and sat with them.

“You all should have eaten first, before going to rest. There was no need to wait.”

“Hyung, you went out alone with Vivian and that had us worried.”

“Yes. Anyways, let’s eat. The food would have gotten cold already.”

An Hyun said with a smile. If I had decided to have sex with Vivian when we had the chance, the kids would have had to wait longer than they did. I wasn’t comfortable with the kids waiting this long, so I asked them to eat. As the sound of cutlery echoed around, Vivian stared at the table; she was unfamiliar with the cutlery on the table.

“You guys ordered a lot.”

“We were hungry. Hehe. Oppa, sorry. I ordered a lot.”

I found Yoo-Jung’s honesty charming, and I liked her attitude.

“Well, although money’s no problem, it wouldn’t be good to waste too much of it. But, this much is okay.”

“Yep. But is the job done?”

“Ah… Come to think of it… Hyung, the shrine…”

An Hyun was more hungry than tired. An Sol ate her food with the cutlery, and Vivian ate voraciously, as though she hadn’t eaten anything for a long time. I also tore out some bread, dipped the piece into the sauce and stuffed it into my mouth. It tasted delicious and made my mouth feel warm.

“I went to the shrine first and stopped by the shop later on; Vivian needed new clothes.”

“I also felt embarrassed when I saw her clothes, so it’s good that you bought a dress. However, didn’t you go to the shrine because you needed to submit a report about the expedition?”

“It was a respectable affair. However, these days, they are quite busy, so they don’t receive any expedition reports. I cured Vivian and made a contract with her. It was nothing much.”

“Contract?”

Filled with curiosity, the kids all looked at me; their faces stuffed with food. I briefly narrated what happened and showed them the contract. Vivian gazed at me, and I felt the need to say a little more.

“As you can see, Vivian is now one of us. She will help us, and she won’t be hostile towards us. Naturally, I’d like to say more, but there are a lot of uninvited eyes and ears who are trying to listen in on us…”

I paused and looked around. Some players currently in the inn kept sneakily gazing at us. They were sneaking glances at An Sol, Yoo-Jung, and Vivian. It was also easy to guess the thoughts hidden behind their gazes.

Once they looked away, I continued talking.

“So, we’re going to be working together in the future. She’s a pretty talented wizard. I’ll tell you more about this tomorrow. I know what you guys think, but I don’t want you guys to sell her short and see her only as a bad person. After all, she has turned back into a human… do you understand me?”

An Hyun nodded. It seemed like what he experienced in the dungeon was still on his mind. An Sol pouted her lips for a bit and reluctantly nodded. Naturally, it did seem like it would take a little more time for her to accept Vivian. After thinking about that for a few moments, I turned toward Yoo-Jung. She had a sinister smile on her face.

“Hohoho. So, she won’t be hostile and help us… you say? Hohoho.”

She poured over the contract with a sinister expression. Soon, she returned the contract to me and glanced at Vivian, her eyes shining. Vivian laughed awkwardly. After watching Yoo-Jung’s reaction silently, An Hyun assured me with a whisper:

“Hyung, don’t worry about it too much. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

“… okay. Thank you.”

“Don’t you have anything to ask us?”

An Hyun still managed to stuff a piece of meat into his mouth, even after eating so much already. I knew what he was implying and inquired the question that was in line with his expectation.

“Yes… No… I need to ask. How are the players that we brought back?”

“They are still unconscious. I’m sure the man’s still alive because he’s still breathing. I moved him to Hyung’s room, and the woman was taken to Sol’s room. The rooms are now a little bigger than they used to be.”

“Well done.”

“What are we going to do?”

I pondered for a while. They both had good stats, and I didn’t see anything wrong in their information. We would have to discuss with them when they wake up. However, everyone knew that Vivian, who we had just taken in, was a Dungeon Master.

Even if we made offers, would the players accept them? **I opened my mouth after  hit the table as habit.** Everytime I solved an issue, another one cropped up instantly.

“Wait until tomorrow. If nothing happens,  we’ll stop by the shrine again. We can’t wait any longer.”

“Yes, Hyung.”

When An Hyun had said his bit, he turned his attention back to his plate. The food was delicious and of good quality. I could have eaten more, but the raw meat on my plate was a turn off; however; since it was the only thing available, I stuffed 2 spoonfuls of it into my mouth. Sol looked relieved when she saw the large amount of meat that I was eating.

“Oppa, you don’t look so good. You need to get a lot of rest”

I was surprised to see Sol looking at me with a bright glow in her eyes when she heard me drop my spoon. I finally felt relaxed when I came back to the city. It felt good to loosen up. I turned and looked out the window of the inn.

At this time, the sun had completely set, and the duck sat on the ground. One day, I’ll get to sleep all through without a single worry.