Seonwoo Eun.
Ia sedang mengenang kembali masa-masa sekitar 6 tahun lalu.
Usia 14 tahun.
Kelas satu sekolah menengah pertama.
Hari-hari tanpa satu pun teman karena harus terus berpindah tempat tinggal akibat keadaan keluarga yang sulit.
Terlebih lagi, itu adalah tahun di mana adik perempuannya, Seonwoo Hye, harus dirawat di rumah sakit karena sakit, menjadikannya periode yang jauh lebih suram dalam ingatannya.
Adiknya yang dirawat di rumah sakit selalu menangis karena takut menjalani operasi.
'Aku tidak mau operasi, Unnie. Aku sangat takut.'
Seonwoo Eun memeluk adiknya erat-erat dan berkata:
'Orang yang menahan hal-hal menakutkan dan berani menghadapi tantangan itu keren. Unnie juga selalu menghadapi tantangan secara langsung setiap kali hal menakutkan terjadi, kan?'
'Benarkah?'
Tentu saja. Impian Unnie adalah menjadi penyanyi, kan? Jadi, bahkan ketika aku takut berdiri di depan banyak orang, aku selalu dengan berani mengambil tantangan. Kamu juga bisa melakukannya!'
Seonwoo Eun tidak memiliki harga diri yang tinggi pada waktu itu.
Saat itu adalah masa ketika para kerabat memandangnya rendah karena bercita-cita menjadi idola meskipun miskin, dan sekolah baru yang asing tanpa satu pun teman untuk diajak curhat membebani pikirannya.
Kendati demikian, Seonwoo Eun berjanji kepada adiknya:
'Saat kamu dioperasi, Unnie akan menyemangatimu dari atas panggung.'
'Dari panggung? Bagaimana caranya?'
'Aku akan tampil di panggung festival di sekolah tempatku pindah. Aku akan menyemangati agar operasimu berjalan lancar dari sana. Jadi, ayo jalani operasinya, ya?'
'Benarkah? Unnie, kamu akan bernyanyi di festival?'
'Ya. Sudah kubilang, kan? Unnie bilang mengambil tantangan itu sama sekali tidak menakutkan.'
'Wah—Seperti yang kuduga! Unnie paling keren saat bernyanyi di atas panggung!'
'Benar, nanti akan kutunjukkan lewat panggilan video. Jadi, kamu pasti mau operasi, kan?'
'Ya!'
Seonwoo Eun memutuskan untuk tampil di panggung festival sekolah guna memberikan kepercayaan diri kepada adiknya yang takut dioperasi.
Ia berencana menunjukkan kepada adiknya melalui tarian dan nyanyian di depan banyak orang.
Bahwa orang-orang yang dengan berani menghadapi tantangan akan dikelilingi oleh banyak orang serta menerima sorak-sorai dan dukungan.
Karena toh tidak ada orang lain yang benar-benar ingin berpartisipasi dalam pertunjukan bakat festival tersebut, Seonwoo Eun mendaftar dan langsung mulai berlatih.
......Namun:
'Eh? Apaan? Sejak kapan hadiah pertunjukan bakat festivalnya berubah?'
'Wah, asyik banget! Mereka bagi-bagi sertifikat hadiah! Ayo kita ikut juga!'
'Tapi kan sudah ada yang daftar duluan?'
'Biarin aja. Singkirkan mereka~ Singkirkan mereka~'
'Kita kan anak hits~'
Ketika hadiah pertunjukan bakat berubah dari sekadar buku catatan dan pensil warna menjadi sertifikat hadiah budaya, beberapa siswi mulai menunjukkan ketertarikan.
Mereka punya banyak teman dan memiliki pengaruh di dalam kelas.
'Guru! Kami ingin ikut kompetisi itu juga~'
'Tidak. Hanya satu tim per kelas yang boleh ikut pertunjukan bakat. Itu peraturannya. Kalau kalian mau ikut, seharusnya kalian datang lebih awal. Sudah diputuskan.'
'Ah, kan tidak bilang kalau siapa cepat dia dapat! Kita bisa putuskan ulang!'
Menanggapi protes dari siswi-siswi lain, wali kelas mengibaskan tangannya seolah merasa terganggu.
'Kalau begitu, putuskan lewat pemungutan suara. Lakukan pertunjukan bakat sekali di depan anak-anak sekelas, dan siapa pun yang mendapat suara terbanyak boleh ikut. Bagus, kan?'
Guru tersebut memanggil Seonwoo Eun ke depan kelas dengan ekspresi jengkel.
Ia juga memanggil lima siswi lainnya ke sisi Seonwoo Eun.
Tanpa memberi Seonwoo Eun waktu untuk merespons, sang guru berkata di hadapan para siswa:
'Kedua tim lakukan pertunjukan bakat sekali. Teman sekelas kalian yang akan memutuskan siapa yang tampil lebih adil, kan?'
Pertunjukan bakat pun langsung dimulai.
Kelima siswi itu maju ke depan dengan sikap enggan.
Lalu mereka memutar musik yang sudah disiapkan dan mulai menari.
'Pilihan lagunya bagus, kan? Kelas kita pasti bakal bikin suasana festival meriah!'
'Koreografinya belum selesai sepenuhnya jadi agak canggung~ Mohon dimaklumi, teman-teman!'
'Hei, jangan menyoraki kami! Kami tampil dengan baik kok!'
'Lucu banget, sumpah. Ah, jangan rekam kami~'
'Teman-teman, tolong vote unnie, ya!'
Kualitas koreografinya begitu buruk hingga tidak bisa dipuji sebagai sesuatu yang bagus.
Semua bergerak sendiri-sendiri dan bahkan tidak menghafal gerakan dengan benar.
Mereka saling berpandangan sambil terkikik, membalas sorakan teman-teman yang merekam dengan kamera ponsel, lalu menyelesaikan penampilan mereka begitu saja.
Tak lama kemudian, giliran Seonwoo Eun.
Ia menyanyikan lagu 'Ice Flower', yang merupakan lagu andalannya dan akan menjadikannya seorang superstar dalam program audisi 6 tahun kemudian.
Penampilannya begitu sempurna hingga masuk dalam jajaran tiga besar dari seluruh lagu yang pernah ia nyanyikan seumur hidupnya.
'......'
Ketika Seonwoo Eun menyelesaikan lagunya, seluruh isi kelas terkejut dalam keheningan dan tidak mampu berkata apa-apa.
Bahkan sang wali kelas yang tadinya duduk dengan ekspresi acuh tak acuh kini bangkit dari tempat duduknya.
Selesai bernyanyi, Seonwoo Eun berkata:
'......Adik perempuanku sedang sakit dan hanya bisa berbaring di tempat tidur. Aku berdiri di sini untuk memberikan keberanian kepada adikku yang sakit. Aku adalah anak pindahan jadi aku belum punya teman dekat, tapi tolong bantu aku.'
Seonwoo Eun menundukkan kepala lalu kembali ke tempat duduknya.
Segera setelah itu, pemungutan suara dimulai.
'Nah, angkat tangan kalian jika menurut kalian Seonwoo Eun tampil lebih baik.'
Begitu namanya dipanggil, Seonwoo Eun menunggu dengan cemas.
Namun:
Hasilnya di luar dugaan.
Tidak satupun temannya yang mengangkat tangan.
Anak-anak sekelas saling melirik dengan gelisah, sementara lima siswi yang tampil tadi terkikik di antara mereka sendiri.
'Ah, Guru! Seharusnya kita pakai pemungutan suara tertutup saja, kan? Kalau begitu setidaknya satu suara pasti ada yang keluar. Tapi kalau begitu votingnya pakai nama asli?'
'Kasihan sekali...... Hei~ Setidaknya kalian pilih dia......'
'Hei hei hei, hebat sih—Tapi dia memang benar-benar jago nyanyi. Haruskah kita latihan sedikit juga?'
'Ah, malas ah. Nanti pas hari H disinkronkan saja, apa susahnya~'
'Benar juga. Aku harus pergi ke tempat les. Atau sebaiknya dia gabung sama kita?'
'Ah, gabung apa? Repot pura-pura akrab tanpa alasan. Lagi pula kalau dibagi berenam, sertifikat hadiahnya jadi makin sedikit.'
Sang wali kelas berdehem.
Guru itu sangat tahu siapa yang tampil lebih baik, tetapi bukankah ini sekadar pertunjukan bakat anak-anak?
Ia tidak berniat campur tangan lebih jauh dan langsung mengesahkan hasilnya.
'Ehem, batuk...... Karena hasil pemungutan suara menunjukkan seperti ini, kita tidak bisa berbuat apa-apa.'
Pada akhirnya, Seonwoo Eun tidak bisa berpartisipasi dalam pertunjukan bakat di festival tersebut.
Dan tepat setelah itu, adik Seonwoo Eun, Seonwoo Hye, dijadwalkan untuk menjalani operasi secara setengah paksa.
Hasil operasinya tidak begitu bagus, sehingga masa rawat inapnya pun diperpanjang.
'Semua ini terjadi karena aku. Karena aku tidak bisa memberikan keberanian kepada adikku......'
Seonwoo Eun akhirnya menyalahkan dirinya sendiri.
Hal ini berakibat pada penurunan harga dirinya yang semakin parah.
No Name mengakhiri ceritanya begitu.
Itu adalah kisah yang sebenarnya tidak pernah kutanyakan atau kuceritakan rasa penasarannya, tapi begitu mendengarnya, aku merasa kasihan padanya.
Seonwoo Eun.
She was recalling memories from about 6 years ago.
Age 14.
First year of middle school.
Days without a single friend due to constantly moving because of difficult family circumstances.
Moreover, it was the year her younger sister Seonwoo Hye was hospitalized due to illness, making it an even darker period in her memory.
Her sister hospitalized would cry every time, scared of surgery.
'I don't want surgery, unnie. I'm so scared.'
Seonwoo Eun hugged her sister tightly and said:
'People who endure scary things and take on challenges are cool. Unnie also always faces challenges head-on whenever scary things happen, right?'
'Really?'
'Of course. Unnie's dream is to be a singer, right? So even when I'm scared to stand in front of people, I always courageously take on challenges. You can do it too!'
Seonwoo Eun didn't have very high self-esteem at that time.
It was when relatives who looked down on her for aspiring to be an idol despite being poor, and unfamiliar schools without a single friend to confide in were weighing her down.
Nevertheless, Seonwoo Eun promised her sister:
'When you get surgery, unnie will cheer you on from the stage.'
'From the stage? How?'
'I'm going to perform on the festival stage at the school I transferred to. I'll cheer for your surgery to go well from there. So let's get the surgery, okay?'
'Really? Unnie, are you going to sing at the festival?'
'Yeah. I told you, right? Unnie said taking on challenges isn't scary at all.'
'Wow- As expected! Unnie is coolest when singing on stage!'
'Right, I'll show you through video call. So you'll definitely get the surgery?'
'Yeah!'
Seonwoo Eun decided to perform on the school festival stage to give confidence to her sister who was afraid of surgery.
She planned to show her sister through dancing and singing in front of many people.
That people who bravely take on challenges are surrounded by many people and receive cheers and support.
Since there wasn't really anyone else to participate in the festival talent show anyway, Seonwoo Eun applied and immediately started practicing.
......However:
'Huh? What? When did the festival talent show prize change?'
'Oh, awesome! They're giving gift certificates! Let's participate too!'
'But someone already applied?'
'So what. Push them out~ Push them out~'
'We're the trend~'
When the talent show prize changed from mere notebooks and colored pencils to cultural gift certificates, several female students began showing interest.
They had many friends and were influential within the class.
'Teacher! We want to participate in the competition too~'
'No. Only one team per class can participate in the talent show. That's the rule. If you wanted to do it, you should have come earlier. It's already decided.'
'Ah, it's not like you said it was first-come-first-served! We can decide again!'
At the other female students' objection, the homeroom teacher waved his hand dismissively as if annoyed.
'Then decide by vote. Do the talent show once each in front of the class kids, and whoever gets more votes can participate. Good?'
The teacher called Seonwoo Eun to the front of the classroom as if annoyed.
He also called the other five female students to her side.
Without giving Seonwoo Eun time to respond, the teacher said in front of the students:
'Both teams do the talent show once each. Your classmates will decide who did better. Fair, right?'
The talent show began immediately.
The five female students came forward as if annoyed.
Then they played their prepared music and started dancing.
'Great song choice, right? Our class will definitely liven up the festival atmosphere!'
'We haven't finished choreographing everything yet so it's a bit awkward~ Please understand, friends!'
'Hey, don't boo! We're doing well!'
'So funny, seriously. Ah, don't film us~'
'Friends, please vote for unnie!'
The level of choreography was so poor you couldn't even say it was good as a compliment.
Everyone was moving separately and they hadn't even memorized the moves properly.
They looked at each other and giggled, exchanging boos with friends filming them on phone cameras while carelessly finishing their performance.
Soon it was Seonwoo Eun's turn.
She sang 'Ice Flower,' which was her signature song and would make her a superstar in an audition program 6 years later.
It was perfect to the point where it would rank in the top three of all the songs she had sung in her lifetime.
'......'
When Seonwoo Eun finished her song, everyone in the class was shocked into silence and couldn't say anything.
Even the homeroom teacher who had been sitting with an indifferent expression was now standing up from his seat.
After finishing her song, Seonwoo Eun said:
'......My younger sister is sick and just lies in bed. I stood here to give courage to my sick sister. I'm a transfer student so I don't have close friends yet, but please take care of me.'
Seonwoo Eun bowed her head and returned to her seat.
Soon, voting began.
'Now, raise your hand if you think Seonwoo Eun did better.'
When her name was called, Seonwoo Eun waited anxiously.
However:
The result was unexpected.
None of her friends could raise their hands.
The class kids each looked around nervously, and the five female students who had performed earlier were giggling among themselves.
'Ah, teacher! We should have done a secret ballot instead? Then at least one vote would have come out. But then is the voting by real name?'
'Poor thing...... Hey~ At least you guys vote for her......'
'Hey hey hey, awesome- But she really sings well. Shouldn't we practice a bit too?'
'Ah, that's annoying. We can just sync up on the day, what's the big deal~'
'Right. I have to go to academy. Or should she join us?'
'Ah, join what? It's annoying to pretend to be close for no reason. And if six people share, the gift certificate gets smaller.'
The homeroom teacher coughed.
The teacher clearly knew who did better, but wasn't this just kids' talent show anyway?
He didn't intervene further and confirmed the result.
'Ahem, cough...... Since the voting results came out this way, there's nothing we can do.'
In the end, Seonwoo Eun couldn't participate in the talent show at the festival.
And right after that, Seonwoo Eun's sister Seonwoo Hye was semi-forcibly scheduled for surgery.
The surgery results weren't very good, so her hospitalization was prolonged.
'It happened because of me. Because I couldn't give my sister courage......'
Seonwoo Eun came to blame herself.
This resulted in her self-esteem dropping even further.
No Name concluded her story like this.
It was a story I hadn't particularly asked about or been curious about, but now that I'd heard it, I felt sorry for her.
"......I think my personality got twisted like this from that turning point. When I lose to someone in a field I was working hard in, that day's memory comes back too vividly. I keep having that nightmare on infinite repeat until I somehow achieve a victory I can accept."
"Hmm, I see."
I nodded after hearing her words.
Trauma experienced in childhood lingers long into adulthood.
To overcome it requires a very long time and much effort.
Perhaps her persistent challenges against me until now were also because of that trauma.
"But what does you going on stage to dance and sing have to do with your sister's surgery? It's not like the surgery would or wouldn't work depending on whether you participated in that competition."
"......Are you a T type?"
"Yeah, somewhat like that."
"......Don't judge children's thoughts too rationally. That's how I thought back then."
"Anyway. So after that, you came to pathologically hate losing?"
I didn't empathize but I understood anyway.
I too was once the type who hated losing more than death.
'I was like that when boxing. Then after the accident when I was living like a shut-in, that personality changed 180 degrees...... People's lives are truly unpredictable.'
While I was nodding, No Name was shouting at Peo:
"I think I said this before. Your archery skills are qualified enough to represent the clan. That expedition team? Your comrades' recognition? What if you don't have those things? You can just go hunt the demon independently!"
Perhaps recalling her past, No Name was sincerely trying to help Peo.
"If I could go back to that time, I would have done that. If I really wanted to be on stage, I could have just told the MC right there on the spot!
If it was a pleasant MC, they would have given me an impromptu opportunity! If that didn't work, I could have just barged in! It's not like there were security guards, and they wouldn't strictly prevent such things at what was just a chaotic school event. Everyone would have liked it actually. I had the skills for it."
Rather than persuading Peo, No Name was closer to persuading herself.
More precisely, her 14-year-old self.
Soon, Peo's drooping ears perked up slightly.
But even so, his tail was still curled between his legs.
No Name placed her hand on Peo's shoulder once more:
"If you want to catch the demon, we can just go by ourselves, right? It's not like you have to belong somewhere to be qualified to catch demons."
[......But. The location of the demon's peak can only be known by belonging to the expedition team.]
Peo answered in a dejected voice.
Right then:
[Brother...... demon...... location...... I know......]
A small voice was heard from behind.
Geo.
That little kid had walked all the way here while desperately enduring seizures from his illness.
[De...... mon is...... at Walpurgis Peak...... there...... I heard...... adults talking......]
[Geo! How did you get here!]
Peo supported Geo and shouted.
No Name also hurriedly picked up Geo and ran to the cave.
Meanwhile, I looked at the quest window:
[You have discovered Hidden Quest 'Ugly Duckling Peo (2)'.]
[Hidden Quest Discovery Condition: Clear Hidden Quest 'Ugly Duckling Peo' then refuse the reward.]
[Hidden Quest Achievement Condition: Awaken Peo then defeat the demon.]
[Demon (0/1)]
[Awakened Peo (0/1)]
'Huh, this is a quest I'm seeing for the first time too.'
No matter how much I searched through my regressor's future knowledge, there was no content about such a quest.
In other words, this was an irregular quest generated by No Name's impulsive actions.
'Well, it would be too anticlimactic if the quest ended there.'
Actually, regardless of the quest, I was planning to hunt the demon that spread the Lotus disease anyway, so this worked out better.
Geo's dialogue was also helping the situation:
[I...... want...... my life or death...... decided by...... brother's hands...... not others'......]
It was dialogue and a situation that felt somehow familiar.
'From here on are lines I'm hearing for the first time. But somehow they sound familiar? Where did I hear that dialogue......'
While I was observing Geo, Peo hugged Geo tightly and gritted his teeth:
[Geo.......]
Watching that scene, I shifted my thoughts:
'......Now that it's come to this. Instead of the Storm Bow that was the original quest reward, I should look forward to what will come out.'
Who knows?
Something better than the original reward I knew about might drop.
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