Chapter 221. Kick off (2)
The timeline shifted.
And Thirteen, the time manager, didn’t know.
‘What the hell is this?’
My blood ran cold, but I quickly reminded myself that I was in the middle of a live broadcast.
This is a place where even a two-second clip of you being expressionless can lead to all sorts of wild speculations and evaluations of your character. With my already fierce appearance, even a slight frown could lead to who knows what, so I focused all my attention on maintaining a poker face. Then, while Thirteen continued to throw question marks in confusion, I inwardly communicated with him.
‘A comment related to Dan Haru just came up in the chat, and as Dan Haru was about to see it, time went back. If you, the time manager, don’t know what’s going on, then who would?’
Maybe because the sudden regression had put me on edge, my tone was a bit sharp, but I didn’t have the energy to worry about that now. Thirteen seemed to be trying to figure out the situation, as the word “Loading…” appeared before he temporarily vanished.
Meanwhile, our live broadcast continued.
“Here’s a question for Hajin hyung. ‘Hajin, did you get that eyebrow scratch on purpose?’ someone’s asking.”
Seo Taehyun happened to read a question directed at me, and everyone’s attention turned to me. I smiled as naturally as possible and touched the scar at the end of my right eyebrow.
“No, it’s from an injury when I was a kid. I got a little cut while sword-fighting with my brother.”
“I thought Hawon hyung would find sword-fighting annoying.”
“Exactly. So, he just stood there, and I ended up dancing with the sword by myself and fell, hitting my forehead on the handle.”
“……”
For a moment, an indescribable emotion flickered in Lee Yugeon’s eyes, but I decided to pretend not to notice.
I kept a close eye on the chat, just in case another strange comment popped up. But no matter how long I stared, there wasn’t anything suspicious, and Dan Haru, who was sitting next to me, also seemed calm.
“Dan, give that to me.”
“Yeah? This?”
Just in case, I took the monitoring tablet that Dan Haru was holding. He handed it over without any resistance and leaned in close, peering over my shoulder as if he wanted to keep watching the chat.
After a moment’s hesitation, I opened a note app next to the live broadcast app and scribbled a quick message by hand.
<Was there any strange comment or anything?>
Dan Haru glanced at my message, then shook his head slightly with a small smile. His cheeks, which were unusually rosy today, looked so round and irritating.
‘Hold it in, Kang Hajin. He doesn’t know anything.’
My primary objective at that moment was to get through the live broadcast without any issues.
Seo Taehyun and Jung Siwoo were handling the hosting and managing the others’ audio as usual, but since I’m usually talkative, it would be odd if I suddenly went quiet. So, I picked a random comment from the chat to read.
“Siwoo hyung, someone wants to see you play the piano, Desty.”
“……”
“……?”
Oops. I read the comment without thinking, and Jung Siwoo flinched and shut his mouth.
Come to think of it, he’d reacted like this to piano-related comments before, so I tried to steer the conversation naturally back toward me.
“But I can play the piano too. Aren’t you curious to see me play, Desty?”
“No, seriously, this hyung is surprisingly good with various instruments. He can play acoustic guitar too. What else? Drums?”
“I started learning drums but stopped midway, and I can manage some basic beats on the bass guitar. I’m also really good at playing the *danso*. Want to see it later?”
“No, not interested.”
“Why not? I can play ‘Arirang’ so beautifully that the music teacher even praised me.”
Seo Taehyun, quick on the uptake, played along with my drift in the conversation. Meanwhile, Jung Siwoo, who had regained his composure, finished his earlier response in a calm voice.
“I haven’t played the piano much since I entered college, so my fingers are really stiff. …Someday, if the opportunity arises, I’ll practice again.”
“Doha hyung, you pick the next question. You haven’t said much today.”
“Well… okay.”
It was a subtle response, but none of the other members seemed inclined to comment further or continue the conversation.
Even Lee Yugeon, who usually doesn’t care about others’ moods, seemed to have noticed that something was off with Jung Siwoo, as he uncharacteristically took the lead in the conversation.
But I didn’t have the luxury to appreciate Yugeon’s change.
‘It’s okay. Nothing has happened yet. …It’s okay.’
I clenched my fists tightly, trying to calm my cold hands without revealing them, hoping that Thirteen would return with news that it was nothing, just a minor system glitch.
—
“I’m going to sleep first, Doha.”
“Okay. I’ll do a bit more work before sleeping, is that alright?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
As soon as we arrived at the dorm, I was the first to finish getting ready for bed and lay down. I saw Lee Doha turn off the room light for me and switch on a mood lamp that he had placed on the desk.
I immediately closed my eyes, muttered the keyword to enter the space of unconsciousness, and then felt the sensation that I could never get used to, no matter how many times I did it, as I opened my eyes.
“…What the…?”
But what greeted me wasn’t the ‘workspace’ I had poured my heart into customizing, but an unfamiliar beach with a crimson sunset rippling across a lavender sky.
“Thirteen. Hey, Thirteen! Where are you?”
Not only was the place unfamiliar, but even Thirteen, who would usually greet me with all sorts of fuss, was nowhere to be seen.
Just as I was about to turn around, scared that the damned regressor might have done something again—
A very familiar ‘resonance’ echoed.
[I didn’t think my bet was wrong, but still.]
“…?”
[But, how should I put it… You’re truly unpredictable.]
And I had encountered this resonance before.
“You…! You bastard…!”
The entity that first gave me the ‘system,’ and who was likely Thirteen’s superior.
I pointed accusingly in the direction of the voice, not knowing what else to call it. I didn’t even know where the voice was coming from, but I pointed anyway.
“What are you? Where’s Thirteen? Where is this place? Give me back my workspace, you jerk!”
[Hahaha. Calm down first. I’ll explain everything one by one.]
“You’re kidding, right? Do I look like I’m in the mood to calm down?”
[But you need to stay calm. After all, you still don’t know what you’ve done.]
“…What?”
The implication that I had caused some sort of incident made me frown. The ‘entity’ conjured a fabric sofa on the sandy beach, as if telling me to sit. Reluctantly, I approached and sat on the sofa. It was annoyingly comfortable, which made me dislike it even more.
[First of all, the ‘system’ you’re looking for is here.]
With those words, a hologram-like image crackled to life in front of me. Through it, I could see the silhouette of someone in a very dark, isolated space.
Nothing was clearly visible, but it was certain that the silhouette was of a person.
“…Is this Thirteen? But, Thirteen is….”
[Time managers cannot take on the form of any living being. Do you know why?]
“……”
[Because we are not living beings. The moment a time manager covets life, they lose their identity as a time manager and simply disappear, becoming a fragment of light.]
“Speak plainly. Don’t you know that even the Bible gets retranslated to be easier to understand these days?”
[If the god you believe in were the same as humans, would you trust that god?]
“……”
[If the being managing human time and life were the same as a human, would you trust that being?]
Humans believe in gods.
Because humans can aspire to be like gods, but can never become gods.
The ‘entity’ spoke with a self-deprecating tone in a low voice.
[I thought you could find the Chosen Regressor and stop the Returning One. And you did find the Chosen Regressor, and you even uncovered the Returning One’s plan.]
[You were doing an excellent job with the tasks assigned to you. But…]
“But…?”
After a brief pause, the ‘entity’ resonated in a voice devoid of emotion.
[…You probably didn’t expect that you would influence your ‘system’ to the point where it began to humanize.]
[Didn’t you find it strange? That your system, at some point, seemed to enjoy talking with you more than fulfilling its role as a time manager.]
I stared at the silhouette of Thirteen within the hologram.
As I gazed at the shapeless silhouette that merely hinted at a human form, memories flashed through my mind.
[Normally, you wouldn’t think to become this close with a ‘system,’ right?]
[At least not in those stories you like to read.]
“So… because of me, Thirteen started to humanize, and that’s why he couldn’t even notice the regression earlier? Then, what’s going to happen to him now?”
[I’m considering it. But I can
’t just leave things as they are. You know what kind of ‘choice’ a time manager who desires human life makes, don’t you?]
I didn’t need an explanation to know that he was referring to the damned regressor.
I clenched and unclenched my fists, trying to steady my breath.
“…Well, at least that’s a relief.”
[A relief?]
“Thirteen might become like the damned regressor, but it doesn’t mean he’s already become one, right? That’s common in this line of work. You know, those plots where you send someone like Thirteen to stop the regressor, but then Thirteen becomes the regressor because he humanizes, causing a time paradox or something.”
As I let out a genuine sigh of relief, the ‘entity’ laughed so loudly that it seemed to shake the heavens and the earth.
This bastard.
They think it’s funny that I’m suddenly living in some modern fantasy world because of them?
[…Indeed. Perhaps it’s because you’re this way that all of this was possible.]
“Hey. Stop acting all high and mighty and get to the point. So, what now? What are you going to do? I mean, what happened anyway? What was that comment in the live broadcast, and what do I do next?”
Impatient and frustrated, I shot off a series of questions. The ‘entity,’ as if telling me not to rush, moved the ocean to create a large wave.
[Before I explain everything, I’ll ask you just one question.]
As I looked at the wet sand on the beach after the wave had passed, the ‘entity’ continued.
[Even if you could no longer recognize regression, would you still intend to help Dan Haru?]
“…What do you mean?”
[The Returning One has begun to act. It seems he’s determined to sever the timeline of the Chosen Regressor connected to you. If that happens, you will no longer be able to recognize regression and will live a normal life. Like before.]
“……”
In the space where not even a breeze blew, the ‘entity’ asked me.
[I’ll ask again.]
[Despite that, do you still plan to continue helping Dan Haru?]
And my answer was already decided.