A chilly night breeze grazed my cheek, the cold seeping into my skin and sending shivers down my spine.

Led by Baek Ahrin, I stepped out into the park beyond the banquet hall.

The sun had already hidden its tracks, leaving a dusky ambiance. The only sources of light nearby were the street lamps and glowing stones embedded along the walkways.

‘It’s already night.’

Time had slipped away unnoticed while I was being dragged around. How many hours had passed?

My initial plan to say hello and leave lay in ruins.

Baek Ahrin held onto my sleeve as we walked along the park’s paths. It was the same park we had crossed upon entering.

“Ah, this is refreshing. Now I can finally breathe.”

While I shivered from the cold, Baek Ahrin seemed to revel in it, spreading her arms wide and murmuring contentedly.

“The heating was turned up too high inside. I almost sweated through my clothes. Weren’t you hot, Hayul? My head was spinning from the heat.”

Eventually, she fanned herself in complaint of the warmth.

For a moment, her behavior shocked me, but then it made sense, considering her constitution.

Truthfully, the inside of the banquet hall was just as warm. Unaware until now, my body had been toasty all over.

Now that I was outside, catching the cold air, it dawned on me just how warm I had been.

Personally, I prefer warmer conditions, so it wasn’t a problem, but Baek Ahrin wasn’t the same.

She’s optimized for receiving Water Qi and Chill Qi due to her manifestation of Changhae.

The stuffy indoors, like a boiler room, must have been uncomfortable for her in many ways.

Baek Ahrin, grumbling, sat me down on a bench prepared along the walkway and then plopped down next to me.

The lamppost beside the bench illuminated the darkness. The soft glow lent a certain charm to the scene, reminiscent of the emotional pictures that circulate on the internet.

‘Sigh…’

We hadn’t been outside for long. Perhaps ten minutes at most.

Although it was a brief time, I believed it was enough to cool my warm body with the night air. However, Baek Ahrin still fanned her clothes as if the chill hadn’t affected her yet.

[Are you that hot?]

“Yes. I feel like I’m melting with all this built-up heat…”

Baek Ahrin rarely sounded so feeble as she reclined on the bench’s backrest.

Was it really that hot inside? I mean, it was warm enough to make my body toasty, but I was unsure if it was to the extent that Baek Ahrin, who harbored Chill Qi, would be affected so.

I’ve never possessed Changhae, so I couldn’t know. Perhaps the closest thing I could relate to was Gop-hwa.

Gop-hwa specializes in Fire Qi, so users tend to feel warm to the touch.

Thus, Hong Yeon-hwa’s embrace was always unusually warm… Why do I keep thinking about this lately?

Suddenly, my mind wandered to strange places, and I hastily shook off the thoughts.

Despite my head spinning, I managed to cut off the bizarre train of thought.

I patted my cheeks and operated the smartwatch. An earlier question I’d forgotten resurfaced.

[Where did Hong Yeon-hwa go?]

“Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t attend because she’s managing the strain from Gop-hwa. It looks like it might take a few days.”

[Ah.]

The side effect of Gop-hwa. I had seen Hong Yeon-hwa suffering since the last day in the tower and was aware of it.

I nodded at Baek Ahrin’s answer, pondering inwardly.

‘Is the side effect that severe?’

I recalled the memories of the original work.

From the first to the twelfth iteration.

In the early loops, the butterfly effect a player could cause wasn’t significant. At most, they planted seeds that would later grow into massive storms.

The first entry into the tower, especially being in the early stages, made it difficult for a player to cause any significant events.

As a consequence, the early parts tended to flow similarly, and Hong Yeon-hwa underwent changes in Gop-hwa in each loop.

It wasn’t a major event.

Apart from the already powerful Gop-hwa becoming even more unbearable, there wasn’t much else noteworthy.

‘…Will she be alright?’

As I thought about it, worry crept in.

I kept asking Hong Yeon-hwa in the tower if she was alright, but she only replied that there was no problem.

I agreed since it seemed like her condition was simply a bit off… But could the side effect have worsened to the point where she couldn’t even attend the after-party?

I didn’t know for sure how Hong Yeon-hwa overcame the side effects in the original story.

It was simply summarized that whenever I met Hong Yeon-hwa after the first entry, her Gop-hwa had transformed, making her stronger.

The difficulty of that process was unknown.

[Is Hong Yeon-hwa alright?]

“She says she’s fine, but… this side effect seems particularly severe; she wasn’t looking too good.”

Baek Ahrin leaned back on the bench and shook her head in response.

Her words made my already growing concern peak.

Suddenly, I remembered an entry from the eleventh loop.

In the eleventh loop, when I rummaged through the records of the Gop-hwa clan, there were mentions of users dying from side effects.

That knowledge fueled my anxiety.

“Don’t worry too much. Yeon-hwa knows her limits, and if it really becomes dangerous, she’ll call someone from her clan to deal with it.”

Baek Ahrin, observing my expression, added her explanation as if to ease my worries.

However, her words didn’t fully dispel my concern. Baek Ahrin smiled wryly and continued.

“If you’re that worried, why don’t you visit her? She’ll surely appreciate… that…”

Her sentence suddenly crumbled and scattered into thin air. Baek Ahrin blinked, unable to finish.

“Um… Hmm?”

‘?’

Then she made a strange nasal sound as if pondering over something.

I waited patiently, wondering what was on her mind.

After a while, Baek Ahrin broke into a mischievous smile filled with playfulness.

“Hayul.”

[Yes?]

She called out to me.

I gave a nod, and she continued with that playful smile.

“Shall we take a picture together?”

It sounded like an important conversation, even though there was no one else around us, she whispered as if sharing a secret.

‘Suddenly?’

The request was out of the blue, but I nodded anyway. It seemed she had some thought behind it, interrupted mid-sentence.

.
.
.

[Why do we have to pose for the picture?]

“Just taking a picture is bland, so we have to pose when we take one.”

A breath tickled my ear, causing my shoulders to shiver. Even with my senses attuned, I reacted.

If my senses had been amplified as in the tower, I would have jumped on the spot.

Through spatial perception, I perceived the information: Baek Ahrin and I, sitting on the bench.

Baek Ahrin had snuggled up close to me, draping an arm over my shoulder.

She had answered my earlier question about why we needed to take a picture like this.

– Send it to Hong Yeon-hwa.

That was the explanation.

Since Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t join the after-party due to her condition, she had asked Baek Ahrin to keep an eye on me.

Understood the backstory, I nodded inwardly.

Baek Ahrin seemed oddly attentive towards me since my arrival, and knowing this, it made sense.

While feeling a strange response to Hong Yeon-hwa’s concern for me even when she herself was unwell…

I nodded at Baek Ahrin’s suggestion to send a photo to show I was being well looked after, which was the situation just moments ago.

“Okay, now I’m taking the picture~”

At Baek Ahrin’s sign, I straightened up.

– Click!

Baek Ahrin’s smartwatch activated a hologram.

The distinctive camera shutter sounded, and a hologram captured the image of Baek Ahrin and me.

“Done!”

Baek Ahrin manipulated her smartwatch, apparently sending the photo to Hong Yeon-hwa.

– Ding!

Shortly after, an alarm sounded. It seems the photo was sent successfully.

‘Maybe it’s time to leave.’

The photo was taken, and my body’s warmth had subsided significantly. My head was cooling down, making it easier to think.

Feeling better now, I was about to get up when…

– Ding!

– Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Baek Ahrin’s smartwatch erupted into incessant alarms. The sudden barrage startled me, and I turned my head.

“Ahahaha!”

Unconcerned, Baek Ahrin burst into clear laughter. It was a loud, joyful sound that spread in all directions.

[Baek Ahrin?]

“Hehe, ah… Yes, it’s nothing. Yeon-hwa says thank you for the photo.”

Baek Ahrin, wiping tears from her eyes, chuckled.

I wondered if a thank you typically involved sending so many messages, but since she said so, I had nothing more to say.

I could have checked the message history if I wanted, but I pressed down my curiosity for the sake of privacy.

I nodded with a perplexed look.

‘What’s that about…’

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but Baek Ahrin seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself. She was still cackling at the hologram.

This behavior was rarely seen from the typically gentle Baek Ahrin.

People are complex. They can’t always show the same face or be easily categorized.

Humans aren’t NPCs with predefined settings.

Baek Ahrin who stood by the player’s side until the end in the doomed world of the first loop.

Baek Ahrin who stabbed the player in the back in the eighth loop.

Baek Ahrin who disliked the heat and had an affinity for peculiar old candies.

Just game knowledge. A world that aligns with the knowledge of a game.

Me, with abilities written like a game character.

‘……’

Perhaps it was the night, but various thoughts were crossing my mind. This must be what they call late-night musings.

My emotions were a complicated mix.