Cheolgeok, bang.Deureureuk-.“Come in.”Today was my second visit to Boss Gil’s electronics shop. Joo-o took in, with meticulous detail, all the odds and ends he’d missed last time.Even coming back, it was an impressive place. In the game, Boss Gil spat out canned lines like “You here?” or “Take a look and go” whenever you entered a certain radius—yet here he was, leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed.He had a crushed cigarette butt dangling from his lips, and every time the ash looked like it might fall, he flicked it off with his fingertip.“You really carry that thing everywhere, huh.”Boss Gil muttered, looking at Joo-o.“Really,” Joo-o thought. Had anyone ever told him that? Jin Muhae gave a perfunctory nod and stepped inside.Joo-o followed him in a hurried shuffle, matching eyes with Boss Gil.The older man’s face was layered with the wear of many years. In flashbacks, he’d been surprisingly refined and vibrant—so much must’ve happened to leave him like this. Though the story of this trash game often felt sloppy in places, Joo-o still loved the world of La Vida Blue.He didn’t really know why he’d become so attached, but he just liked it. He’d spent hours staring at it blankly.‘Was that really it?’Even though he couldn’t recall the past, the fact that he loved this game was etched deep in his heart. It wasn’t that he tried not to forget; it was more like it was imprinted somewhere in his unconscious so he couldn’t ever forget.“Sit over there.”As Joo-o stepped over the threshold, Jin Muhae suddenly pointed to a sofa tucked in the corner of the shop.Boss Gil watched them in silence.“Can’t I come inside, too?”“No.”“You gonna be here long?”Joo-o swallowed hard at the unexpected exclusion. He glanced around, unsure what to do, and locked eyes with the expressionless man again.Ah. Boss Gil didn’t want him here. It was Boss Gil’s place, after all.He didn’t want their main story—the story of the party members—blabbered in front of anyone.He knew there was no helping it, but he still felt a bit hurt. Joo-o loved these people and knew everything about them like the back of his hand, but strictly speaking he was an outsider. The original story didn’t include a character named “Joo-o.” Come to think of it, it was surprising that Jin Muhae even accepted him in the first place.‘I really was an outsider, that’s for sure.’Unlike the other mercenaries who teamed up for large-scale requests, Jin Muhae preferred missions he could handle solo—an intentional loner. In a game without multiplayer, it made sense, but Joo-o still worried.He’d proved his worth by flouting even the “stay put” orders—just in case Jin Muhae decided to kick him out and go back to being alone.“I’ll stay put…”He murmured, but Jin Muhae’s expression was one of irritation. If it were just the two of them alone, he might’ve stomped his feet and demanded they tear off his shoes, but today the decision wasn’t his.So Joo-o sent a hopeful, pleading look to Boss Gil. The man, having just finished a cigarette, tossed the stub into a trash bin in the corner, then stiffened as he noticed Joo-o staring.“I’ll give you this.”He rummaged in his pocket and produced an item he’d stashed in his inventory.A green plastic shard: a Tinkler Friends “Teterong” figure, square with tufted fur on each side and two round eyes.Joo-o didn’t like it much and already had two of them, so he could spare one as a gift.Still warm from being clutched in a hand, the character figure plopped onto Boss Gil’s palm.“…”Boss Gil glanced at Jin Muhae, who sighed and answered the unspoken question.“It came in a cereal box. He eats it all the time…”‘I should’ve said it was your favorite!’Worried his gesture might be undervalued, Joo-o’s heart raced.“Teterong can cast magic and is a lucky friend.”“…”“If you hold it and make a wish, it grants it… kind of.”“Kind of?”“Not completely. It sort of listens.”That was the item description. Unable to endure the awkward silence, Jin Muhae snapped his eyes shut.“Enough. Tell him to bring it in.”Seeing no end to it, Boss Gil gestured toward the door. Finally, Joo-o beamed and hurried inside, eager to settle before they changed their minds.Deureureuk.He dragged out an old dining chair and sat down in a flash.Jin Muhae and Boss Gil would sit on the sofa by the tea table to talk, so as long as he stayed over there, he wouldn’t be in the way.“Did you bring it?”“Yes. But why this…”Jin Muhae pulled out a handle about a handspan long. A weapon: release the safety, press the button, and a blade would spring out.Boss Gil wordlessly took it, then produced, as if prepared in advance, a rod for sharpening from his back pocket.Crack, clang-.He pried the closed handle apart, splitting the blade in two. One of the internal components clinked to the floor.“Hey, Muhae. Do you remember what the first knife you brought looked like?”“…Roughly.”“Did you notice what’s new?”“Well… everything but the blade seems changed.”Boss Gil tossed the blade onto the tea table and probed the inside of the handle with his fingertip.Phijik—a faint hiss, like gas leaking, could be heard.“They put a rechargeable battery in this. For storing Blue energy.”“In something this small?”“It’s tiny, but they had an efficient storage unit.”“That…”“Expensive, right? It is. Every time the size shrinks by ten percent, the price doubles. It’s way pricier than what’s in your gun.”Jin Muhae’s expression turned odd. He looked as if to ask why something like that was in a cheap knife.“Seongjo gave it. We were drinking and talking about your knife, then he just told me to use this.”Between °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Boss Gil’s thumb and index finger gleamed a multifaceted crystal.It looked like a processed gem, full of cuts and facets.“You didn’t know, did you? Back then, whether your father still had it.”“…So it was used for ‘that thing,’ huh?”“Something like that. Not exactly.”Tsk. Boss Gil clicked his tongue sharply. His usual manner, Jin Muhae thought, carried more bitterness.“Honestly, I doubt they put anything in it, but just in case.”“What was it used for?”“I’ll charge it for you—look into it yourself.”Avoiding further explanation, Boss Gil turned and headed to his workshop. Joo-o caught his eye again, shaking the purple plastic shard.‘Friend.’“Good grief.”For a moment, a dry smile flickered on Boss Gil’s face.True to his word, Boss Gil only recharged the lens before sending them on their way.The crystal, barely larger than a knuckle, emitted a soft blue glow.“It’s pretty.”At Joo-o’s remark, Jin Muhae only raised an eyebrow. He didn’t reply, but Joo-o took that as agreement and hopped onto Jin Muhae’s bed, humming the La Vida Blue OST.Blue energy was normally processed into electricity, but with a special method, it could be used directly as power.The latter had less energy loss, of course. Yet people still opted for the former in daily use because Blue energy was so abundant—and “keeseok” batteries were naturally rare and heavy.“It’s a luxury item.”“Yeah. It’s pretty.”In this world, keeseok were treated like precious metals—gold or opal—thanks to their unique properties.The lens Jin Muhae held was even crafted to be worn as jewelry.It was in a completely different league from the heavy, unassuming battery in his gun.Joo-o watched the deep brown eyes fix on the crystal with certainty. Though Jin Muhae’s lips were firmly closed, Joo-o felt as if he could hear his inner monologue.‘If there’s something worth not selling and making me earn 200,000 dil, there must be something to it.’Like that narration, this crystal was clearly an item for a quest.Why Jin Seongjo had kept something like this, or how he’d left evidence here, wasn’t explained—but Jin Muhae would find a hint related to the “signaler” here.From this point, the playable area in the game would expand. Beyond the residential outskirts, the slum’s light—and darkness—of the entertainment district would open up.I vaguely remembered seeing various scenes there in the late game… but that’s a story for later.If I could tag along with Jin Muhae while he searched for the blueprints, it’d be so much fun.Joo-o bounced his leg in time with his humming, waiting eagerly for Muhae’s next speculation.

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