Deputy Chief Jeong, who had been laughing so hard he was clutching his stomach, took a while to calm down. Eyes brimming with tears, he finally spoke between sniffles, practically sobbing.
“Ah, this is killing me. So that’s why Esper Sung Cha-hyeon kept acting all awkward and fidgety… Then what’s the current Favorability?”
“…Minus ten.”
Deputy Chief Jeong burst into laughter again, pointing and cackling. At this point, Ji Se-min was starting to understand why Cha-hyeon had been so tense and passive-aggressive. He glanced over to gauge his pair partner’s mood.
“Deputy Chief, you didn’t come here just to mess with us, right?”
Cha-hyeon, gritting his teeth, tried to speak gently—probably to avoid dropping that Favorability any further. Seemingly satisfied with teasing them enough, Deputy Chief Jeong finally nodded with a bright, unrepentant smile.
“Sorry, sorry. I was just… curious, I mean nervous, when I heard Guide Ji had lost his memories of Esper Sung. But this? This is seriously wild. How do you even—how does it—minus—Favorability—PFFT—”
Cha-hyeon stared daggers at the Deputy Chief, whose face had turned red from holding in his laughter. Only after getting it all out of his system did Deputy Chief Jeong begin tidying up the remnants of the takeout containers, looking quite refreshed.
“Let’s clean off the table first. Then I’ll bring it out.”
Se-min quickly stood to help, and together they cleared the table in no time. While wiping the surface, Deputy Chief Jeong—still chuckling with tear-streaked eyes—seemed to space out for a moment. Then, as if by magic, a hard, dried piece of black bread materialized in his hand.
“This is the one you were looking for, right?”
With an oddly meaningful look, Deputy Chief Jeong placed the black bread on the table—unlike someone else, he clearly had no intention of throwing it away and had kept it with care. The sight was magical enough that Se-min murmured in awe.
“Wow…”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
Cha-hyeon, unfazed, responded calmly. In his hand, golden fleece radiated a warm light before settling onto the table. Se-min almost gasped again, but this time he held it in, mouthing a silent “Wow” instead.
Cha-hyeon, after setting the fleece down, turned to Se-min.
“You too, Se-min.”
“Oh, right!”
Unlike the other two, Se-min had just casually placed his box on the TV console. He went to retrieve it. The moment Deputy Chief Jeong saw the small box in his hands, his eyes widened.
“Wait, are those… newly received Unclaimed Rewards?”
“Yes.”
Se-min carefully placed the mysterious box on the table. Now, three rewards sat together. Otherworldly items, all gathered in one place—it was fascinating, sure, but…
“So… does putting them all together do something?”
Se-min found himself agreeing with Deputy Chief Jeong’s speculation. The items—the box in his inventory, the black bread, and the fleece—just seemed like individually strange curiosities. Nothing hinted at synergy.
But among the three of them, only Cha-hyeon appeared sure of something. The moment all three items were placed together, his S-rank Esper instinct screamed that this was the key.
“The description for the box mentioned something about needing more items to unlock additional information. It was in some unreadable language, but from the context, it seemed to be referring to the items we’ve been receiving as Unclaimed Rewards.”
“Seriously?”
Eyes wide, Deputy Chief Jeong quickly checked the item information. But he only tilted his head in confusion.
“You said it was written in some strange language? I don’t see anything like that on mine. Do either of you see it?”
Box Containing the Beauty of the Queen of the Underworld
Grade: C?
Grants a death-like deep sleep. The beauty, once used by another, has been entirely consumed by the next recipient.
Se-min urgently focused on wanting to see the item info. As if responding to his intent, the box displayed its description in his mind. But unlike what Deputy Chief Jeong saw, Se-min was clearly shown something more—additional text not visible to others.
“Um… if you mean the alien-looking language, I can see it.”
To unlock additional information, ☆？Å╁¿▒○(Έρωτας και ψυχή) requires ??…
Deputy Chief Jeong gaped at the strange symbols, holding his breath as he stared at the box. Cha-hyeon calmly summarized.
“So this must be something that only you and I can see, Se-min. Which means…”
The rewards received by Cha-hyeon, and the unique bonus reward mentioned just before Se-min lost his memory—these were only perceptible to the individuals directly involved.
“…So, are you able to read it now?”
Deputy Chief Jeong asked curiously after a short silence. Both Se-min and Cha-hyeon kept their eyes fixed on the floating text visible only to them.
To unlock additional information, ☆？Å╁¿▒○(Έρωτας και ψυχή) requires ??…
“Nope. Still the same.”
The garbled text hadn’t changed at all. Letting out a breath, Cha-hyeon slumped back against the couch, irritation flashing faintly across his pale face.
“I was sure this was it.”
He still felt, deep in his bones, that the condition to unlock the additional information was “gathering all previously received rewards.” But nothing was happening. Unless…
“Deputy Chief. Could you step out for a moment?”
“…Huh?”
“Think about it. The instructions for the bonus reward are only visible to me and Se-min, right? Maybe it’s not working because a third party—you—are present. Just for a bit… Could you please wait outside?”
His phrasing softened mid-sentence, glancing at Se-min as if adjusting his tone for his sake. Though clearly reluctant, Deputy Chief Jeong seemed to understand the logic and stood up with a sigh.
“Alright. I’ll go wait in the lounge. Take your time… and if anything changes, just let me know.”
Se-min gave a polite bow as Deputy Chief Jeong left the room. Only once the door clicked shut did Se-min return to the couch.
It was only one person less, but suddenly, the atmosphere felt oddly still. Glancing at Cha-hyeon, Se-min hesitantly opened his mouth, the strange alien language still lingering before his eyes.
“Hyung… it hasn’t changed for you either, right?”
“Nope.”
Even after Deputy Chief Jeong left, the unreadable instructions remained the same. Cha-hyeon tried moving the items—the black bread and fleece—closer to the box. But clustering the items together didn’t change anything.
“Um… Hyung? Can I ask you something?”
Se-min, who had been quietly watching, finally spoke up. Cha-hyeon, still staring at the items, gave a small nod. Se-min hesitated, then asked about something that had caught his attention in the earlier conversation.
“That bread and the fleece… You said they were from Unclaimed Rewards. Did you receive them?”
That’s when it seemed to hit Cha-hyeon—he suddenly realized that Se-min must’ve forgotten all their past discussions about the Unclaimed Rewards. With a dazed “Ah…,” he ran a hand through his hair, face tightening in thought.
“Yeah. It’s kind of a long story… But to keep it short, I got them after I lost my memories of you. There are three in total… Here, give me your hand.”
Caught off guard by the sudden request, Se-min hesitantly offered his hand. Cha-hyeon gently took it and wrote a number on his palm. (2/3).
“Apparently, every time a certain condition is met, one of my memories comes back. That’s what I’ve been told anyway. I don’t actually remember, so I can’t confirm. But yeah—each time the number increased, I received one of those items.”
“Oh…”
Se-min mulled it over, trying to understand. So Cha-hyeon, who’d lost his memories, had moments where bits of them returned. Each time, a number updated and a new item appeared—like that black bread or fleece. And just like how Se-min had randomly received that tiny box after losing his memories, along with the strange Favorability window.
“Then doesn’t that mean one more item’s still missing? ‘(2/3)’ means there should be three total, right? Maybe it’s not working because the third item isn’t here yet?”
At Se-min’s innocent observation, Cha-hyeon’s brow twitched. He held his tongue for a moment, then released Se-min’s hand, swallowing hard. He didn’t answer.
But Se-min didn’t notice that Cha-hyeon had avoided the question and continued on, asking the next thing that came to mind.
“So… you brought the items together hoping to trigger the bonus info, right? What did you think it would be? Like, what were you expecting?”
It wasn’t the kind of question he could just dodge. Cha-hyeon’s expression twisted, as if two different versions of himself were fighting inside him—one composed, the other hesitating. Finally, with a deep exhale, he pressed a hand to his sternum and muttered:
“…The condition for your memories to return.”
Se-min blinked, stunned. The condition for my memories to come back? He paused, then nodded slowly, piecing things together.
“Oh… yeah, I guess that makes sense. You said your number increased each time your memory came back, right? For me… I wonder what it is. Favorability, maybe?”
He hadn’t gotten a counter like (2/3). Instead, he’d received that weird, out-of-nowhere Favorability window aimed at Cha-hyeon. Maybe that was it.
So if Favorability hits 100%…?
What is this, some kind of dating sim? Se-min let out a small, amused chuckle at the ridiculous thought.
Ding!
Additional information can now be viewed.
Both of them snapped their heads toward the status window.
“Huh?” Se-min blurted, pointing at the floating text. “Hyung, it’s changed—can you see this?”
Cha-hyeon’s snake-like eyes followed Se-min’s gesture. The once-unreadable blue window shifted as they watched.
~Unclaimed Rewards List~
♦ …Clear Reward… (2/3)
~Special Linked Reward~
Current Favorability –10%
When Favorability reaches 100%, the Queen of the Underworld’s gift will be retrieved.
+Full restoration of Ji Se-min (S)’s lost memories.
“Uh…?”
Se-min looked to Cha-hyeon again, half-laughing in disbelief. Like something out of a fantasy sci-fi movie, it was all too surreal. His voice trembled with excitement.
“Hy-Hyung, I think we were right! Did you see it?”
But Cha-hyeon, already pale, had gone completely white. His eyes, wide open, were locked onto the added section of the message—he didn’t even seem to hear Se-min.
※ This is a Linked Reward ※
When Favorability reaches 100%, …Clear Reward… (3/3) will be automatically granted.
Upon receiving all Clear Rewards, the Queen of the Underworld’s gift will be retrieved.
+Full restoration of Sung Cha-hyeon (S)’s lost memories.
