Chapter 116 The Reason for Actions (3)
‘…It’s a bit scary when I wake up again and have to deal with that side effect.’
I wondered how I managed to endure the cracked leg last time. Just thinking about the pain I haven’t even experienced yet made me nervous.
Hajin, with a face that didn’t seem too eager, softly repeated the keyword he had decided on last time.
“I don’t like mint chocolate.”
Even though I had devoured mint chocolate ice cream yesterday.
We had quite the fight, too, because Seo Taehyun was adamant about not sharing a table with a mint chocolate fan, insisting on it so stubbornly.
Eunchan sighed and ordered two tubs of ice cream, wondering why we had to fight over something like this in the first place.
‘As expected, if a problem can’t be solved with money, it probably means you don’t have enough of it.’
I never imagined I’d say this phrase twice in my life.
With that thought, Hajin slowly drifted off to sleep.
***
When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a space that was still unfamiliar yet slowly becoming more recognizable.
As I took a step into the space I had meticulously created, a small firework popped with a “Bang!”
“Ah, you startled me!”
Before I could even recover from the sudden welcoming surprise, something unfurled from the top of the empty space where a screen had previously descended. Tiny letters were neatly arranged on a large banner.
System Error Recovery Notice>
Hello, this is Time Manager 13.
We sincerely apologize for the major inconvenience caused by the recent ‘Fixed Regressor’ system error, which has significantly affected your daily life and system usage.
This error was discovered by Manager 13 while reviewing the system and checking information on the Returning One, having been momentarily captivated by the Fixed Regressor’s incredible athletic skills during the recent sports event…
It was a long-winded apology letter.
To sum it up, it basically said, “I’m really sorry, and I’ve brought your compensation, so please listen to me before you start complaining.”
‘I wasn’t planning to scold you this time, though.’
But there was no reason to refuse the compensation they were offering. If anything, I might as well try to get more out of it.
‘Maybe I should play a little prank.’
Hajin sank deeply into the sofa, rubbing his face with a large hand as if he was utterly disappointed.
“Sigh… Thirteen.”
[System Alarm: …………?]
“You.”
With eyes full of melancholy and a melodramatic tone, Hajin, like the male lead of a tragic romance, asked with a trembling voice.
“Are you okay?”
[System Alarm (・・・ Watching for the Fixed Regressor’s unexpected reaction.)]
[System Alarm: (O_O)]
“When I heard there was a system problem, I thought something had happened to you… I was worried our last moments would be that lousy foot volleyball match. You have no idea how much that bothered me…!”
My acting was top-notch, as if I was truly emotional.
I even thought to myself that maybe I should have been an actor instead of an idol.
“But you show up with an apology letter and compensation right away… Ha, was our relationship really like this? Was it so easy to strip away your authority the moment the Chosen Regressor was caught, never to see or hear from you again? Even if something were wrong with you, or if something happened to me, would it all just be settled with an error and compensation?”
‘Wait. The more I talk, the more genuinely upset I’m getting.’
I had just intended to tease him a little, but now that I’m saying it out loud, I’m starting to get seriously immersed.
Weren’t we supposed to be bound by fate? Was I just an outsourced hunter for the Chosen Regressor?
Hajin, who had gotten strangely emotional at this point, began to vent his pent-up grievances.
“Honestly, I was planning to greet you warmly as soon as I saw you. I wanted to say we’ve both worked hard and share our struggles. But fine. If that’s how it’s going to be, I’ll play it tough too. Go ahead and tell me about the compensation. If I don’t like it, I’m going to file a serious complaint.”
Hajin, who was genuinely annoyed by now, started grumbling, even crossing his arms and putting on a stern face.
“……?”
At this point, Thirteen should have responded somehow, but there was only silence.
What’s going on? Was my joke too much?
“…Hey, Thirteen. Say something. Why aren’t you answering?”
But there was no reply.
Feeling a bit awkward, Hajin scratched his chin and called out to Thirteen once more.
“Hey. I told you, it’s scary when you don’t answer. Say something.”
The nightmare of the Returning One flashed through my mind, and I instinctively began to feel tension and apprehension. In the eerily silent space, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, the welcome sight of a blue window finally appeared.
[System Alarm: Inputting…]
[System Alarm: Inputting…]
Just as the writing (…) that appears when sending a text message kept flashing and disappearing several times, a brick appeared in front of Hajin’s eyes.
“What, what the….”
No, it wasn’t a brick but rather…
[System Alarm: If we’re being honest, I have a lot to say too, Kang Hajin! Are you really okay? How can a human be so stubborn? If your leg is cracked after falling down the stairs, you should go to the hospital! Who in their right mind would lie in an emergency stairwell for three hours because they thought they could just regress anyway? What do you think we time managers felt, knowing that if something went wrong during this hunt for the Chosen Regressor, you could have been seriously hurt? Have you ever thought about how we time managers feel? Of course you haven’t! You’re so selfish! I was already shaken up after barely finding the Returning One’s traces on the day of the sports event. I still break out in a cold sweat when I think about that! But if you keep losing your mind like this, how can I focus on my work? Thankfully, we managed to find clues about the Returning One and solved this case, but if you ever pick up a knife and threaten someone again, I swear…! I felt so guilty that I brought every compensation I could think of, and now you say you’re upset? If I hadn’t brought the compensation, would you have let me off the hook, huh? You… ・・・]
…Thirteen’s pent-up frustrations spilled out in an anguished cry.
I, I’m sorry!
Hajin bit his lip. He uncrossed his legs and arms.
For some reason, he felt that he needed to adopt a more respectful posture.
In the end, Kang Hajin had to spend quite a bit of time comforting Thirteen before they could start a proper conversation.
He even made a promise never to treat his own body like a broken doll again, no matter what.
“Well, anyway, it’s nice to see you again.”
[System Alarm: I feel the same!]
[System Alarm: (ⓝuⓝ)-☆]
Having finished his rather intense reunion with Thirteen, Hajin straightened up. There was a lot to hear, and a lot to say.
“Let’s talk about compensation later. First, I want to hear the situation explained.”
[System Alarm: I knew you’d say that, so I’ve already prepared!]
With a whirring sound, the familiar sight of a PPT appeared.
<Fixed Regressor System Error Occurrence and Resolution Report>
Presenter: Time Manager 13
※ Warning ※
This report contains numerous slanderous and defamatory remarks about ‘The Returning One.’
(Be prepared for the raw, unfiltered anger and frustration expressed at the time of writing.)
…The cover hinted that this would be a lengthy conversation.
However, Hajin decided not to challenge it. He instinctively felt that messing with Thirteen today would be a big mistake.
With a click, the screen moved on, revealing the first section titled 〈01. What is the Mental Care System?〉
[System Alarm: Before briefing you on the incident, I’ll first explain the structure of your system, Kang Hajin.]
“Kang Hajin” – Yourself, from a normal timeline with no regression experience
“Fixed Regressor” – Yourself, after multiple regressions, with accumulated experiences from previous timelines
[System Alarm: As you suspected before, the current system in our Time Management Network has two separate registered personalities for you, Kang Hajin.]
[System Alarm: One is the basic profile, the human ‘Kang Hajin,’ and the other is ‘Fixed Regressor’ Kang Hajin, who has experienced numerous regressions across different timelines.]
[System Alarm: The Mental Care System helps integrate the ‘Fixed Regressor’ personality with the ‘Basic Personality’ to ensure a smooth fusion.]
With a click, the scene changed.
It quickly flashed through the moments when Hajin, during his repeated cycles, had lost his grip on reality due to issues with the Mental Care System, like a film played at high speed.
[System Alarm: As you’ve already experienced, perceiving different timelines comes with significant risks for a human.]
[System Alarm: You know what happens when you think, ‘I’ll just regress anyway,’ right?]
“…I get it. I won’t do it anymore.”
Thirteen quickly removed the picture of Hajin lying down in the emergency exit with a cracked leg, as if even looking at it was unpleasant.
[System Alarm: Don’t ever do that again!]
[System Alarm: (口口十)]
“…Got it.”
Thirteen continued the explanation with a sigh (=3) effect.
[System Alarm: Anyway, because of this, we usually handle such situations by deleting
the special personality.]
[System Alarm: Recognizing a regression isn’t beneficial for the human involved. Even if the special personality is deleted, the basic personality remains, so the timeline isn’t significantly altered.]
[System Alarm: If the hunt for the Chosen Regressor and the Returning One had progressed a bit faster, we would have returned your timeline to its original state by removing your memory.]
I had heard this explanation before.
They mentioned that if things had gone as planned, they would have erased my memory after finding the Chosen Regressor.
‘So that’s what they meant by that.’
Yeah. If all my memories of the regressions were erased, I’d be the same 20-year-old Kang Hajin I remembered.
Considering that most human choices tend to follow a similar path, it might be the correct treatment.
[System Alarm: But as you know, that didn’t happen. We failed, and we’re now receiving your help, Hajin.]
[System Alarm: In this case, the Mental Care System is needed to help your basic personality accept and process everything that has happened so far.]
[System Alarm: Moreover, since the Hajin of the perceived timeline had a mental debuff called ‘Wandering and Drifting Mode,’ the Mental Care System was even more crucial.]
[System Alarm: If you had been unable to accept the endless regressions and timeline intersections and kept making the same choice to give up on life like you did this time…]
[System Alarm: And if that choice had been repeated countless times, we might have reached a situation beyond our control.]
Only then did Hajin understand why Thirteen had been so angry and emphasized taking care of his body.
Of course, there might have been some attachment from having spent time together….
‘My mind was in a seriously dangerous state. I managed to endure because the Mental Care System supported me, and my personality was naturally optimistic.’
The 20-year-old Kang Hajin was more stubborn and brimming with confidence than he is now.
Even though I gave up on being a trainee, it was a time when I was finding new dreams and meeting friends with whom I shared long-lasting friendships. It was also around this time that I overcame the trauma of being bullied.
So, it’s no exaggeration to say that I was able to endure this much thanks to ’20-year-old Kang Hajin.’
I mean… Back when I was twenty-nine, I really wasn’t in my right mind.
Back then, I had no motivation, no confidence, and no desire to face the world again. Since I had no confidence in myself, I didn’t want to meet people. And since I didn’t meet people, I just kept digging myself deeper into a hole.
When someone asked, ‘How have you been?’ I felt even more depressed because I had nothing to say.
It was all the more painful because I knew how much I used to shine among people just a few years earlier.
Hajin could now properly understand and reflect on his state at that time.
“Thank you. If it weren’t for the Mental Care System, I might have been dead and buried long ago.”
[System Alarm: ………….]
[System Alarm: Not necessarily.]
Despite my sincere gratitude, Thirteen didn’t seem particularly pleased. After hesitating, this time too, the drafting (…) symbol appeared several times.
[System Alarm: …I’m sorry.]
[System Alarm: Actually, the reason you ended up like this is our fault.]
Soon, hard, emotionless white letters appeared on the blue screen.
“What? What do you mean all of a sudden?”
[System Alarm: When we first realized that you, Kang Hajin, were entangled with the Chosen Regressor’s timeline…]
[System Alarm: We should have immediately deleted the regressed personality and prevented you from getting involved.]
[System Alarm: If we had done that… at least you wouldn’t have ended up pushing yourself this hard.]
It didn’t quite make sense, but Hajin didn’t ask any further questions. He wanted to hear what Thirteen had to say next.
[System Alarm: The first time we detected your timeline was on the day you took the college entrance exam.]
[System Alarm: At that branching point, when you made a completely different choice from your original one, time energy similar to that of the Chosen Regressor was emitted.]
In the ‘original’ timeline, Hajin had prepared for retaking the exam early on and got into university through early admission.
But in the first regression, he had no lingering attachment to the past and focused on getting into college without retaking the exam, so it was indeed a different choice from his previous life.
[System Alarm: However, immediately after that, the next regression occurred, and we were able to confirm that your timeline had become entangled with the Chosen Regressor’s.]
[System Alarm: If we had retrieved the regressor’s personality right then, there wouldn’t have been any problems… but we didn’t.]
Thirteen hesitated. The drafting (…) symbol appeared a few more times.
[System Alarm: …That was because we hoped that by observing the regressed Hajin, we might find clues about the Chosen Regressor.]
[System Alarm: At that time, we were struggling to find the Chosen Regressor and the Returning One, but despite our efforts, the investigation wasn’t making any progress.]
[System Alarm: So, we decided to monitor you, another regressor emitting time energy similar to the Chosen Regressor’s, thinking we might find something.]
Just a little bit.
Let’s just get a little clue and then restore everything back to normal. That was the initial thought.
However, what the Time Managers didn’t know was…
That the Chosen Regressor was such a fragile creature.
[System Alarm: I’m sorry.]
[System Alarm: If we hadn’t made the decision to use you to find the Chosen Regressor back then… this wouldn’t have happened.]
Once again, Thirteen apologized to Hajin.
It felt like I had just uncovered some hidden truth about myself, and Hajin tapped his finger on the sofa, trying to organize his thoughts.
Once he grasped the situation, Hajin calmly asked in a steady voice.
“So, did you manage to find any clues?”
[System Alarm: …I’m sorry to say this, but yes. We’ve made significant progress.]
[System Alarm: We also discovered a lot of additional information while resolving this recent incident.]
[System Alarm: I planned to share that information with you today as well. I’ve secured all the necessary permissions.]
“Yeah….”
Hajin nodded quietly, then asked in a more serious tone.
“So, what happens after you catch the Chosen Regressor? Do I disappear? No, ‘disappear’ might not be the right word…. I mean, does all my memory vanish?”
Remembering the previous timeline alone was suffocatingly lonely,
but the thought of losing all the experiences and memories I had accumulated through the repeated regressions was also somewhat disheartening.
Various thoughts crossed Hajin’s mind.
He wanted the 20-year-old Kang Hajin to experience everything he was supposed to.
But on the other hand, he didn’t want to give up everything that the 29-year-old Kang Hajin had gone through.
“When you catch the Chosen Regressor and stop the regression, does my personality as a ‘Fixed Regressor’ disappear…? Will I then be the ’20-year-old’ Kang Hajin instead of who I am now? Won’t people around me find that strange?”
To that question, Thirteen answered calmly.
[System Alarm: In your case, Hajin, the integration between the ‘Fixed Regressor’ personality and the ‘Basic Personality’ has already progressed significantly.]
[System Alarm: The Wandering and Drifting Mode that was active in the previous timeline was also deactivated due to realizations you had in this life.]
[System Alarm: So once everything is resolved, I plan to give you a choice.]
SAVE OR DELETE
[System Alarm: You can either live as your ‘Basic Personality’ while retaining a substantial portion of the stats and experiences you gained as a ‘Fixed Regressor.’]
[System Alarm: Or you can fully integrate the ‘Fixed Regressor’ personality into the ‘Basic Personality’ and continue living as you are now.]
[System Alarm: I’ll respect your decision, Hajin.]
Hajin stared intently at the choice window that appeared before him.
It seemed like something he would need to think about carefully in the future.
Nodding, Hajin smiled coolly.
“Okay, then. That’s enough compensation for me.”
[System Alarm: Are you sure…? You were dragged into this mess because of us….]
“Well, what can you do? When I used to work at the company, I’d dread the approaching deadline if I couldn’t find the right editing angle.”
Hajin shrugged and leaned back comfortably on the sofa.
“And besides, if you guys had used me without finding any clues, I’d be furious, but that’s not the case, right? I’ve also gained a lot of insights from living this life… and I’ve gotten quite a bit out of it too. Let’s just call it even.”
[System Alarm: …… o□□□□)˚·o]
[System Alarm: Kang Hajin, you’re truly a good person…!]
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get on with the report. We’ve got a long way to go, you and I.”
Hajin smiled and nodded, lightly patting Thirteen, who was crying animatedly.
Finally managing to calm down, Thirteen sniffled and (now updated with audio support) clicked to the next slide.