"I am proving it."
In Yang Myeong-hyun's hands..., there was nothing at all.
His callus-free palms suggested that, at least until he came in here, he had not done any hard labor.
Showing me his empty hands, he tossed his words out of his mouth in indifferent little jabs.
Maybe it was because I was suspicious of him. Separate from his voice, his behavior looked somehow contrived, like a stage performance.
'And besides, a tool is something you can hide.'
Just like how I'd deliberately tucked the dagger I couldn't even use anymore into the leaflet.
...The dagger's been milked for all it's worth by now, so I guess it's fine to throw it away.
"From my standpoint, I don't understand why you would go out of your way to reveal your own Perk."
"Why is that?"
"...Because in this place, we're supposed to hide ourselves from each other."
"Because I am hopeless at hiding even a single thing."
I'm certain of it. He's a benefactor I owe thanks to for healing me, but that was definitely a lie.
He carried the neatly composed air of an adult, which didn't match clumsiness at all.
Adults generally keep at least one thing hidden away in the damp dark.
"It is laughable, but I believe saving people suits my temperament better than killing them."
"That's hard to believe inside this museum."
"And yet I see traces that young Ji-san has also tried his utmost not to treat other people's lives cruelly."
"......."
When Yang Myeong-hyun pointed at the scar on my earlobe, I had nothing to say.
He seemed to have grasped at once that I'd won by sacrificing my own flesh.
"I thought it made no sense for me to try to help others in this Tower, which I climbed by trampling on someone."
So he does know.
"But it was a comfort to know there is someone as foolish as I am, so I revealed it."
"...I'm not purely good-natured the way you are."
"No. Forgive me. Young Ji-san is shrewd."
Idler or scholar, I couldn't tell which; he was decent and perceptive, yet oddly unhurried.
Being that relaxed in a survival game like this wouldn't do him much good.
'Well, I'm not in a position to worry about anyone else right now.'
"How long was I asleep?"
"There is no clock here, so I cannot say, but it seems both young Ji-san and I were exhausted and slept quite a long while."
A wooden floor that creaked with every step.
The space hadn't changed, and there was no guidance whatsoever about the floor or the task.
"Why is there no explanation at all? Is there still something we haven't carried out....?"
"Well. I do not know. I arrived only a little before young Ji-san entered this room myself."
I see. And my stamina had recovered. I moved quickly around the room, searching for anything special.
Yang Myeong-hyun, who had been staring intently at my restless movements, quietly made a proposal.
"If this task turns out to be a team event, how about we form an alliance?"
"An alliance...?"
"It means moving together to find a way for us both to live."
Maybe because I'd been burned before, I couldn't bring out a positive answer right away.
I'll admit Yang Myeong-hyun was less suspicious than the man I'd met on Floor 3.
"If you do not find me trustworthy, then just for this floor is fine."
"It's not that I don't trust you. Um...."
'After the guy I met on Floor 3 went after my life, it's hard to trust anyone right away.'
If this place had been a wide space like the Dragon Palace on Floor 3, I'd have kept my distance from Yang Myeong-hyun, alliance or no alliance.
'But this is a cramped room.'
With the two of us locked in a room alone, showing too much hostility was dangerous too.
I thought it wouldn't be bad to keep my suspicion inside while forming an alliance on the surface.
'Right, if this floor's quest is a team mission, having anyone at all with me beats acting alone.'
"All right, let's work together."
"Ah. That is a relief."
When I nodded, Yang Myeong-hyun's expression brightened considerably.
Even so, he was so grave that it wasn't a particularly cheerful face.
"But don't you consider that I might stab you in the back or be a crazy bastard?"
"That may well be. But I like young Ji-san's recklessness. I think it will be a great help in this place."
"Cutting off my earlobe was..., insane. Even I think it was reckless."
"Indeed. Very reckless."
"......."
The man shook his head from side to side as if he'd seen an eccentric. His attitude was like some sage who had already lived out his whole life.
"But there's something I'm curious about."
"What is it? I will answer anything."
"Why you call me young Ji-san.... How old are you, if I may ask?"
"Ah, I am twenty-three this year."
'What the hell, he's just a young punk.'
It was pretty absurd that a guy five years younger than me was flatly using the address 'young Ji-san.'
Maybe I should tell him to drop that weird form of address and call me brother.
"I'm the elder here by five years, so you'll have to change how you address me."
"Ah, to think you were the elder. Then, may I call you Brother Ji-san?"
"...Yes, do that."
Maybe I should have just let him call me 'young Ji-san,' odd as it sounded.
All we'd changed was the address, but it felt like the distance between us had suddenly closed, which left me uneasy.
And this was a temporary alliance where either of us might point a weapon at the other at any time.
But just then.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
Someone outside the room was knocking on the door.
"Who is it?"
"I do not know."
It seemed this was a first even for Yang Myeong-hyun, who had been awake until now.
Yang Myeong-hyun and I stepped up to the door, but neither of us could bring himself to open it.
While we exchanged glances, the knocking kept ringing through the room.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
"......."
In the end, unable to endure that repeating sound, I opened the door.
At that, a man in a broad-brimmed hat came bustling into the room.
He was a white man with a tawny beard and hair.
"Brother! Why did you take so long to open the door?! I thought something had happened to you—"
The man saw Yang Myeong-hyun and me already inside the room and took a step back.
"Who are you two?"
"Uh—"
'That's my line, though.'
Though from the moment 'brother' came up, I had a rough guess.
The man tilted his head, then clapped his hands as if he'd realized something.
"Could you be members of the painters' commune my brother said he would build...? I see. Pleased to meet you!"
"?"
Yang Myeong-hyun's eyebrows twitched, as though he still hadn't worked out the man's identity.
Wearing a bright, kindly smile, the man held out his hand to us.
"I am Theo van Gogh."
"...!"
Just as I'd thought.
'After Vincent van Gogh, now I'm even meeting Theo, the younger brother who supported him.'
Maybe because I'd only just woken up earlier, I hadn't properly taken in this room.
Countless paintings hanging on the walls, bluish wallpaper, and yellow solid-wood furniture.
The worn colors carried the traces of long years.
This was the house van Gogh had prepared so he could live and work together with his painter friends.
It was the room van Gogh had lived in, in the French city of Arles.
'The Bedroom in Arles.'
'So Floor 10 runs on van Gogh's story too.'
The room was realized exactly as in the painting van Gogh had made of his own bedroom.
Being on guard against Yang Myeong-hyun, I hadn't properly appreciated the beauty of these colors.
'To think I've stepped inside a van Gogh work twice now. Even if it's fake, it's moving.'
Of course, that didn't change the Tower's cruelty.
"I ask that you make beautiful art bloom here together with my brother."
"We are not painters, though."
'Gah.'
Out of nowhere, without consulting me, Yang Myeong-hyun had honestly confessed.
When I looked at Yang Myeong-hyun in shock, Theo, sensing something strange in the air, opened his eyes wide.
"...Then who are you, to be inside my brother's house?"
"Well, we each have our own occupations.... In any case, we are visitors climbing the museum."
"Visitors? Do you mean you came to see my brother's paintings?"
'With honesty like that, it's a wonder he made it up to Floor 10.'
Now I could definitely believe Yang Myeong-hyun's claim that he'd healed my ear before I woke up.
As it turned out, he was a man without a single ounce of flexibility.
I shot Yang Myeong-hyun a sidelong glare, then equipped a benign smile and pushed my head toward Theo.
"We are Vincent's friends."
"I knew it!"
Unlike the Vincent van Gogh I'd seen earlier, Theo was a simple NPC who didn't know this world was fake.
He was a system that existed for the quest, so a rough excuse would move things along to the next stage.
'So read the room and play along.'
I'd liked his altruistic attitude and thought he was worth allying with.
But being this oblivious was a problem.
Still, when I glared wide-eyed at him, Yang Myeong-hyun nodded, however belatedly.
"I'm Kim Ji-san. Pleased to meet you."
"Yang Myeong-hyun."
"Mr. Kim Ji-san, Mr. Yang Myeong-hyun. Welcome to Arles! Haha, isn't that how my brother would have said it?"
It was truly strange to hear our names come out of Theo's mouth.
Just like when I listened to the Curator, Theo's words registered as Korean.
"Our names alone make it obvious we're from completely different countries, and yet he doesn't mind at all."
"In the end he is only a system inside the Tower."
I carried on this conversation with Yang Myeong-hyun, whispering openly right in front of Theo.
Even so, Theo only kept smiling, half listening to our conversation and half not.
"Ah. Did you happen to see my brother on your way to Arles?"
"I did. We exchanged a few words as well."
"Oh, Mr. Yang Myeong-hyun. What did you talk about?"
"It was about his own paintings."
Yang Myeong-hyun had met Vincent van Gogh on the way to Floor 10 as well.
He surely hadn't received a supplementary Perk that possessed him with an artist's spirit, the way I had.
Quests proceeded the same way for all visitors.
"Vincent van Gogh is an extremely self-centered man who nonetheless wants other people's hearts."
"...Rude as it is, I cannot say you're wrong, Mr. Yang Myeong-hyun. My brother is transparent enough that his insides show even in a short time. Isn't he?"
He could have taken it badly, but Theo accepted Yang Myeong-hyun's words cleanly.
Compared to Vincent, he was certainly in a state of less emotional turmoil so far.
Perhaps he had governed himself as steadily as possible in order to become his brother's supporter.
'His brother's supporter.... Right, there are relationships like that too.'
"Did you speak with my brother as well, Mr. Kim Ji-san?"
"Yes. He asked me..., whether I wouldn't live here with him forever."
For some reason, just this once, I wanted to honestly unload my experience with Vincent onto his dependable younger brother, Theo.
On top of that, I also meant to check whether Yang Myeong-hyun had received the same offer.
'Guess Yang Myeong-hyun didn't.'
From the look on Yang Myeong-hyun's face as he watched me, it seemed I might be the only one Vincent had made the offer to.
"Oh! If you would stay here with my brother, Mr. Kim Ji-san, that would set my mind at ease. Have you no thought of settling down for good?"
"That's right. Unfortunately."
"Ah. I see. It would be nice if you and my brother could become an inspiration to each other."
'Good grief. This NPC is talking nonsense.'
"I couldn't inspire Vincent van Gogh anyway."
Far from being the kind of talent who could inspire Vincent van Gogh, I wasn't even a bright student — a colleague, yeah right.
However sweet Vincent's offer had been, objectively, inspiration made no sense at all.
Not when I knew my own wretched skill and talent.
"What a shame. Still, I believe even a brief connection becomes a memory that shines like eternity."
"Yes."
"In that case, would you find the letter for me?"
Out of nowhere?
The way the flow of conversation snapped off and turned to a new topic reeked of a quest.
"A letter?"
"Yes. My brother often loses his letters. But that one letter should be inside this room. It is a very precious letter."
Having finished his explanation, Theo looked toward the window and straightened his clothes.
"I must be going now. There is not much time left before my train."
'Hey. You've got to give more hints. This isn't enough.'
In my urgency, I grabbed the hem of Theo's coat as he made to leave right that instant.
"Ho ho, Mr. Kim Ji-san. Your manner is rather more forceful than it looks, isn't it?"
"About that letter. Is it a letter you sent to Vincent, Mr. Theo?"
"No. It is not one I sent."
"Then who sent it?"
Theo turned coldly away and pried my hand off.
Then he politely lifted his hat and bade us farewell.
Theo opened the door and made to leave the room.
"Well then, I really must go. I wish you luck. Do find the letter."
"W-wait! You have to at least give us a rough date, when it was sent!"
When I thrust out my hand and pressed him to the last, Theo smiled awkwardly, as if put on the spot.
In the face of my persistence, he moved off and tossed out one last remark.
"Probably.... It should be a letter sent roughly a hundred years ago. Be sure to write back. You can just throw it under the door."
SLAM.
Theo left, and the bedroom door closed again.