"You must be Seo Elena. I've heard quite a bit about you from Hunter Han Jinhyuk."
The woman smiled as she continued, "I'm actually here on official business regarding the recent spike in dungeon appearances. For some reason, he insisted that we meet here."
I couldn't quite understand why she was telling me all of this. If she's here to discuss something with Jinhyuk, then why was she explaining her business to me?
"I see... Um, what would you like to order?"
"Hmm. Anything is fine." She glanced at me up and down. "More importantly, I can see why that man has fallen for you. You're quite the beauty."
"Pardon? I'm sorry, I don't think I understand."
"I'm saying that I can see why—"
She suddenly stopped mid-sentence, and I wondered why, only to realize when Han Jinhyuk stepped inside this cafe.
He immediately approached the counter as everyone's eyes followed him.
It was hard not to notice the difference in how people regarded him. Some looked at him with admiration, others with envy, while a small few seemed rather displeased by his very presence.
The woman standing in front of me appeared to belong to the latter group.
"Miss Jiyeon, this is Seo Elena."
Jinhyuk stopped beside the counter, introducing us.
"Oh, I'm already aware of who she is," Jiyeon replied with a knowing smile. She then gestured toward the two women who had accompanied her.
"These are my close aides, Chiyeon and Hyein. If you ever need anything from the Baekhwa Guild, don't hesitate to contact us."
The two other girls gave me curt nods in which I returned. They didn't say much, they just stood behind Jiyeon and kept their eyes on me.
She then slipped a business card into my hand and gave me a playful wink.
"I look forward to the coffee. Jinhyuk-ssi, I'll find us a seat."
With that, she turned and headed for an empty table, her two aides following closely behind.
Meanwhile, Han Jinhyuk stood beside me. "What would you like to order?" I asked.
"Yena, wait for me today. I have something important to discuss with you."
My heart jumped a beat from the way he called me. It was as if all the worries I had today washed away.
Besides that, why was he calling me so intimately? Just like how he used to in the memory we saw in the dungeon..
Was he perhaps influenced? Do I play along or correct him?
"Okay." I nodded my head obediently. I wasn't really in any position to refuse, besides I was curious what important thing we had to talk about.
It must be about the dungeon right?
"And I'll order an Americano."
·•—–٠✤٠—–•·
"You're going on another date with that kid, aren't you?"
Diana suddenly appeared behind me, carrying a tray of empty glasses.
"Unnie, I'm starting to think you're treating my life like some kind of TV show. What about you? Any progress between you and Theus Oppa?"
"What are you talking about? There's nothing going on between us."
She said it without the slightest hesitation, but the tips of her ears had turned red.
I guess Diana unnie really couldn't be honest about her own feelings.
Before long, seven in the evening rolled around. Diana practically ushered me out of the café, leaving me with little choice but to head toward the entrance where Han Jinhyuk was waiting.
The moment I stepped outside, I noticed a few hunters lingering nearby. Their gazes kept shifting between Jinhyuk and me, and some weren't particularly subtle about sneaking glances at us. A couple even pulled out their phones, seemingly hoping to capture a picture.
"Does it bother you?" Jinhyuk asked.
I glanced at the hunters before shaking my head.
"Not really."
He gave a small nod, and we made our way toward the elevator. Once inside, he pressed the button for the highest floor.
We were heading to his place at the top floor.
Once we made it inside, he guided me toward the couch and offered me a glass of warm water.
I accepted it, but I didn't take a sip. I was too nervous about what he wanted to tell me. Instead, I sat quietly, watching him as he settled down across from me.
"Yena," he began. "It's been a while."
"Oh, um... Yes. I was actually wondering what happened after the dungeon. You must've been busy, right?"
"No, Yena. There's something I need to tell you."
His expression grew serious.
"After that dungeon, I realized something was wrong with our memories." He paused, seemingly choosing his next words carefully.
"At first, I thought they might have belonged to our past lives. But there were too many coincidences. Too many things that connected those memories to our lives now for me to dismiss them as nothing more than fragments of a previous life."
"I-I don't follow, Jinhyuk-ssi. What are you talking about?"
He gave me a faint, almost sad smile before getting up.
"Come with me."
He extended his hand toward me. After a moment's hesitation, I placed my hand in his.
We walked down the hallway until we reached a closed door. When he opened it, I found myself staring at a narrow flight of concrete stairs leading underground.
Beyond them was a dim passage, its concrete walls stretching into the darkness.
What on earth was this room supposed to be?
"It's a dungeon," he said, as if the question was hanging on my head.
I turned to look at him.
"Do you feel anything now that you've stepped inside?"
My body instinctively shuddered as I looked down the passage. I could barely make out the surroundings, but there was just enough light from the mosses to see where I was going.
"No..."
"Don't worry. There's no monsters to worry about here. This is my own personal dungeon."
"What? How is that even possible?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he led me further inside.
At the end of the passage, we came across a small pond that emitted a soft, otherworldly glow, and a pedestal stood in its center.
Strangely enough, I wasn't particularly frightened anymore.
Now that I'd seen there were no monsters lurking around, the place actually felt rather peaceful. A little cold, perhaps, and I wasn't particularly fond of the damp, earthy smell, but it wasn't as unpleasant as I'd expected.
"Do you still not remember anything?"
I turned to look at Han Jinhyuk, trying to understand what he was getting at.
Come to think of it... I'd been here before. Inside the Nightmare Dungeon in one of my memories.
I remembered walking through a cave that looked exactly like this one. The same stairs leading underground. The same narrow passage, barely illuminated by the faint light from the mosses.
It was almost, if not, identical.
Was that why he'd brought me here?
Did he really believe those memories were real? Was that why he'd been acting so strangely toward me?
"Tell me what's really going on, Jinhyuk-ssi."
He seemed to notice the seriousness in my voice. After a brief silence, he let out a sigh and began walking back toward the stairs.
"Do you remember the Nightmare Dungeon? The other version of you... the one who had abilities?"
I nodded.
It was strange enough seeing another version of myself, let alone one who could fight monsters and wield abilities. I had never once imagined myself living that kind of dangerous life.
"I have those powers now," he continued. "The ability to make almost anything possible, as long as I understand how it works."
"Anything?"
I tilted my head, still struggling to wrap my mind around it. Jinhyuk glanced up at the empty space around us, a bitter smile touching his lips.
"The System."
I stared at him in surprise.
"Yes. I used it to recover the memories I'd lost. Everything I could possibly retrieve."
My fingers tightened slightly around his hand. He had recovered his memories? Then...
"Can you restore mine, too?"
The question slipped out before I could think twice. Jinhyuk didn't answer right away. He studied me for a moment before lowering his gaze.
"I can't."
I tilted my head. "Is it that difficult?"
"It is." He gave me a gentle smile. "But... If you had the chance to recover them, would you want to remember?"
I took a moment to consider his question.
Truthfully, I wasn't sure I would. I had been living a perfectly good life until now. If I recovered those memories, would I awaken and be forced to become a hunter? What would happen to my café?
The more I thought about it, the less appealing the idea became. Honestly, it sounded more like a nightmare than anything else.
"I'm happy as I am."
Jinhyuk looked at me for a moment before giving a small nod.
"Okay."
Then, as if we hadn't just been discussing something that could change my entire life, he asked, "Should we have dinner?"
He led me to the dining room, where a feast was already waiting for us. I stopped in my tracks, staring at the table in disbelief. There were enough dishes to feed a small family, and every single one of them was still steaming hot.
But how?
We had been talking for nearly half an hour. Had someone come in and prepared all this while we were occupied?
I glanced around the room, half expecting to find a hidden housekeeper or some secret nanny, but the place was as empty as ever.
"Was that your ability?" I asked curiously.
Jinhyuk nodded as he pulled out a chair for me.
"Can you make money out of thin air, too?"
He paused, then looked at me.
"Would you like to see?"
Before I could answer, he raised one hand. A faint shimmer appeared above his palm, and a moment later, a neat stack of bills materialized out of nowhere.
My eyes widened.
"That's real money?"
He picked up one of the bills and handed it to me. I examined it carefully, turning it over and checking the details. It looked perfectly normal.
"Can you make more?"
"How much do you need?"
I looked at him, then at the money in my hand.
...Was this what it meant to have the power to make almost anything possible?
For a brief moment, I considered all the possibilities. I didn't need to worry about ingredient costs, or checking the café's monthly expenses. I could even renovate the entire place!
Then I caught myself and slowly put the bill back on the table.
No. I shouldn't get carried away.
"Just curious," I said, pretending I hadn't already started planning my café's expansion.
Jinhyuk watched me with an amused expression but didn't say anything. He simply pulled out the chair beside mine and sat down.
"Eat before it gets cold."
I nodded and reached for the nearest dish. Whatever else his abilities could do, I was certainly grateful they could make dinner appear out of nowhere.
Especially when it was this delicious.