Chapter 166. Butterfly Effect (1)
Hajin had a dream.
‘…What is this?’
The dream, as if to prove it was a dream, continued, shifting perspectives among different people.
The first was Taehyun.
-…Mom.
Taehyun, now looking much older than before, stood somewhere, looking like a young man.
Carrying a suitcase and a backpack, Taehyun arrived at a pension in Gangwon-do that Hajin already knew. He burst into tears and threw himself into the arms of his mother and uncle, who had come out to greet him.
-It’s okay, son. It’s okay….
Taehyun’s mother, who hugged him tightly as he cried like a child, also looked more troubled and sorrowful than anyone. Taehyun’s uncle, who seemed a bit older than when Hajin had last seen him, silently took Taehyun’s luggage inside. In the living room of the main building, a man who seemed to be Taehyun’s father was quietly drinking alone.
‘Ah, this is probably….’
Hajin immediately realized that this was one of Taehyun’s ‘past days.’
He wasn’t sure which timeline it was, but it seemed like the day Taehyun had finally given up on the long and arduous life in the entertainment industry and returned home.
And then, the perspective changed.
‘This is like a Christmas carol… what a weird dream.’
As Hajin recalled Charles Dickens’ novel, which he had enjoyed reading as a child, a scene of an ordinary fast food restaurant appeared before him.
-I’m off for a delivery.
A familiar voice was heard.
Instinctively turning towards the voice, he saw Kim Wonho, dressed in a delivery uniform instead of his usual practice clothes, putting on a helmet.
-A delivery.
-Oh, thank you~
Wonho arrived at an outdoor park with a bag full of hamburgers.
He noticed staff members, busy with cameras and lights, likely filming something. Wonho hesitated for a moment, showing a strange expression. When the staff member who took the food simply turned around, Wonho urgently grabbed one of them.
-Um, you need to make a payment since this was ordered with cash on delivery.
-The person who ordered said they already paid.
-No, you haven’t paid yet. Could you please confirm?
-Ha…. Just a moment.
While the staff checked the situation, Wonho looked around the filming site a bit more.
Soon, there was a commotion in one corner. When he turned around, he saw someone who seemed to be a celebrity getting out of a large van. Even though the person was wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask, Wonho seemed to recognize who it was at a glance.
Of course, Hajin, who was watching, also immediately recognized who it was.
It was none other than Seo Taeil of Utopia, the main MC of Miro Maze, and a senior from their agency.
-Driver, you can issue a receipt for this, right?
-…Ah, yes. I’ll send it by text.
As Seo Taeil walked closer and closer to where he stood, Wonho nodded at the staff’s words.
After completing the card payment and meticulously getting the receipt, he turned around to find that Seo Taeil had come very close.
The two made eye contact, but, naturally, Seo Taeil didn’t recognize Kim Wonho. Wonho left the park quickly, almost as if he was running away.
And then, the perspective changed again.
-Maknae, eat some food. Okay?
Eunseok was knocking on someone’s door, speaking in a desperate voice.
Judging by the way he called the person ‘Maknae,’ it was likely that Eunchan was inside the room.
-I won’t ask you to go outside. I won’t tell you to do anything. Just eat, okay?
-…Just leave it at the door.
-Okay. I’ll leave the food here. Just eat, okay? You need to eat. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll go outside. But you have to eat, okay? I’ll check later.
As Eunchan’s voice leaked out from the room, Eunseok nodded vigorously and quickly placed the tray in front of the door. Looking like he was about to cry, Eunseok hurriedly changed into his outdoor clothes and left the house, fearing that Eunchan might not come out because of him. A faint ring mark remained on his left ring finger.
‘…What happened, Joo Eunchan?’
What happened to him?
Hajin, hiding his surprise, immersed himself in the unfolding past.
It was only long after Eunseok left that Eunchan slightly opened the door.
Inside, unlike now, Eunchan had long, unkempt hair and a thin, emaciated body. He sat in front of the door wearing a long hoodie.
-…….
Eunchan stared blankly at the tray of food his brother seemed to have prepared by hand, his face devoid of any expression.
He touched the spoon slightly, then quietly pulled his knees to his chest and buried his head in them.
And then, information about Eunchan’s ‘past days’ quickly flowed into Hajin’s mind.
‘So, in the end, that damn Director and Han Sungwoo….’
It seemed that Eunchan had finally signed the Director’s contract, unable to withstand Han Sungwoo’s cunning gaslighting and the bullying from his fellow trainees. Out of a childish fear of worrying his brother and parents, he signed the contract without telling anyone, and it became a shackle that bound Joo Eunchan.
Fortunately, Eunseok discovered the situation before it got too severe and proceeded with a lawsuit, but it seemed that Eunchan had already been too exhausted by then. In the end, Eunchan developed mental health issues, including panic disorder, and retreated into his room. To take care of him, Eunseok even went through a divorce.
‘…I should have twisted those two bastards’ necks back then.’
Though it was just a dream, Hajin felt a surge of anger that made him grit his teeth.
But before that anger could fully subside, the perspective changed once more.
-Are you really selling all of this?
…It was Lee Doha, selling all his music equipment.
-Yes. You can take whatever you need.
Lee Doha, who looked older than before, perhaps in his late twenties to early thirties, was showing someone around a small soundproof room that seemed to be his studio, introducing all the equipment.
-Then I’ll take this and that pedal…. Oh, can I bring a friend tomorrow to help me carry it?
-Yes, that’s fine.
-By the way, um… aren’t you Daon? The one who made ‘New Wave’….
The man who had come to buy the equipment asked cautiously, and Lee Doha flinched for a moment before nodding.
‘Daon’ seemed to be Lee Doha’s rap name.
-Wow, that’s amazing. I really like your mixtape. I thought it might be you from your voice!
-…Ah, thank you.
-But why are you selling all of this? I heard you haven’t been active lately….
In the timeline where the Director and Han Sungwoo hadn’t disappeared, it seemed that Lee Doha had failed to debut as an idol and had turned to rapping. Or maybe he didn’t officially debut as a rapper, considering the man mentioned listening to his mixtape rather than an album.
‘He should have at least joined Spirit Out, that stubborn guy.’
As Hajin thought grumpily, Lee Doha, still with an expressionless face that was hard to read, quietly looked at his MIDI equipment. Then he softly answered the man’s question.
-…Making music alone isn’t fun anymore.
And then, Hajin woke up from the dream.
* * *
“Hah, huh…. Hoo….”
Even though it was just a dream, Hajin felt his whole body drenched in sweat.
It took a few seconds for him to recognize that the place he had woken up in was ‘reality,’ just like when waking from an extremely vivid dream.
Realizing that the place he was seeing now was indeed reality, and that the old, worn-out ceiling he was staring at was his familiar, dingy semi-basement home, Hajin let out a sigh of relief.
“…Wow, what a weird feeling to wake up to.”
Hajin got up from the small room he shared with Hawon. The clock was already pointing to 11 a.m., a sign of how well he had slept.
Even though it was his first time back home in a while, Hawon had gone to school, and his parents were at work, leaving Hajin alone in the house. After washing his face in the bathroom and shaking off the remnants of sleep from his eyelids, Hajin finally recalled the events of the previous day.
“After the final… I came back after the celebration that lasted until dawn.”
It didn’t feel real that the emotional, tear-filled final had happened just yesterday.
Hajin tried to recall the events of the previous day in more detail. He hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, but maybe because of the deep dream, everything felt strangely unreal.
-Sparkling. Come here.
-Oh…. Hajin-hyung.
‘Right. I was planning to take Dan Haru, who was alone, out to eat….’
-Joo Eunchan, why are you alone?
-Oh, hyung…. My brother suddenly had to go on a business trip for work….
-Why is Siwoo-hyung alone…. Your mother didn’t come…? No, don’t tell me. I’m not ready to hear about your mother yet.
-I didn’t even say anything yet?
-Lee Doha, are you alone too?
-Oh. My sister came by earlier.
-…She came and left?
–
Yeah. My nephew is still young. He cries if my sister isn’t home, so she had to leave quickly.
Isn’t it normal for entire families to come out for something like a survival show final? Even distant relatives, in-laws, and everyone else? Why are they all alone?
No matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t just let them go home alone after such a significant turning point in their lives.
So, one by one, the party members gathered….
-What! I’m coming too! Lee Yugeon, you join in too! Uncle, you know Hajin-hyung, right? The hyung who came to pick me up that time.
-Why…. I was going home to my grandfather’s house!
-Me too! I want to go too!
-My family is all in Chicago. I’m lonely….
-…Fine, everyone come along.
…In the end, it turned into a group dinner with the Miro Maze trainees (+ a few family members).
The time that had been intentionally left free for them to spend with their families ended up being used up as Ji Suho, upon hearing the news, quickly reserved the second floor of the restaurant they had booked for the staff dinner.
On top of that, the eliminated trainees who had come to watch the final also joined in, so yesterday turned into a noisy celebration that lasted until the restaurant closed.
[System Notification: It was a very joyful night….]
[System Notification: The system is still enjoying the lingering effects of yesterday’s intense dinner…☆]
Why are you…?
Hajin stared in disbelief at Thirteen, who seemed dazed like a tired office worker the day after a drinking binge.
‘Anyone would think we drank crates of alcohol.’
[System Notification: What was more surprising was how much fun it was without a drop of alcohol.]
[System Notification: The world of humans is truly fascinating!]
[System Notification: The system is burning with a desire to learn more.]
[System Notification: ( •ω•́ )و✧]
Smirking at Thirteen’s silly chatter early in the morning, Hajin headed to the living room.
He drank a sip of water as part of his routine, then opened the refrigerator to see if there was anything to eat. Soon, he took out some side dishes his mom had prepared and quickly set up a breakfast table.
“…Thirteen, by the way.”
[System Notification: Yes?]
“That dream earlier… it was that, right? The past timelines of those who were collected as companions.”
[System Notification: Yes, that’s correct. Last night, the fixed regressor requested a playback, but don’t you remember?]
[System Notification: (๑•̌.•̑๑)ˀ̣ˀ̣]
“I did?”
Ah…. Now that he thought about it, he vaguely remembered.
-Ha, what if I’ve changed too much? No one can guarantee that this future will be a good one…. Of course, I’m really happy. I’m obviously happy, but… I can’t stop thinking that maybe someone didn’t debut because of me, and it’s just… (abridged)
…He recalled the embarrassing memory of drunkenly babbling to Thirteen in the unconscious space right after coming home, overwhelmed by the emotions of the early morning.
“Was I… drunk yesterday?”
[System Notification: As you know, you didn’t drink a drop of alcohol.]
“I mean, was I drunk on the atmosphere….”
Hajin quietly tried to rationalize as he soaked his rice in the soup with a spoon.
But the scenes he had seen in the dream still lingered in his mind.
Hajin watched as the rice absorbed the rich broth, then spoke in a low voice.
“…Thirteen.”
[System Notification: Yes.]
“I’m doing well, right?”
For someone who had only been running towards the goal of stopping the regression, too many things had changed.
Knowing that he had changed someone’s life filled him with joy, pride, and satisfaction, but it also terrified him to the point of wanting to run away.
Kang Hajin was beginning to understand why Dan Haru, now confirmed as the 선귀자, had chosen to separate his base personality from the one of the 선귀자.
The ripple effect of his actions was much larger than he had expected, and….
It was a feeling more complicated than he had imagined.
[System Notification: Hmm, well….]
[System Notification: It’s hard for me to give you a clear answer about what the criteria for ‘doing well’ in human life might be.]
[System Notification: However….]
After a moment of consideration, Thirteen left a short response with a ‘ding’ sound.
[System Notification: Sometimes, there are things you just have to wait and see. :)]
And the results of the butterfly effect Hajin had caused were already unfolding.
Right under his nose, without him even realizing it.