< Episode 236 Return (3) >
I was eavesdropping on the conversation between Jia and the Celestials from a distance.
There were too many eyes watching me to show myself, so I decided to just watch quietly.
I also needed some time to assess the situation.
About 10 minutes passed like that.
“Then we should go back now. The next time we meet will be on the battlefield.”
“······.”
“I will move.”
After all the conversations are over.
As I watched the celestials flying away through the sky, I muttered this out loud without thinking.
“······Shit.”
This is seriously the craziest shit ever.
It's hard enough just fighting the Faction, but Savior and humanity are at war?
What kind of crazy shit is this?
'These real politicians are the same in any era.'
As I looked at Jia's distraught back, I couldn't help but feel anger boiling over at the politicians who had caused the trouble.
'Why are you making contact with the sect? You crazy bastards. Do you have no brain?'
This is something that is impossible to ignore. Since the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Office was arrested by Savior himself, war is inevitable.
'This is driving me crazy.'
It was messed up from the start.
I wonder if my past life was a donut.
No, I don't think even a donut would be this twisted.
'Still, I have a rough idea of the situation.'
First of all, unlike the original, the incident of the return of the alien race seems to have happened quickly.
I don't know the exact time, but it must have been at least 4 months.
'If the government has stepped forward to negotiate with the faction, it is highly likely that at least half a year has passed.'
There is no way the Korean government would move so boldly in just one or two months.
The patience of Korean politicians is not that short.
Therefore, we can conclude that the alien races began to return about half a year ago.
'But why did this variable occur?'
The return of the alien races should normally begin immediately after the awakening of the main system.
Why was it half a year earlier? What kind of butterfly effect occurred to make this happen?
'Could it be because of me?'
What comes to mind right away is my existence that has been digging up the past.
Could it be that my presence has caused some variable, hastening the return of the alien races?
Unless there is some other cause that can be guessed, that is highly likely.
'······There really isn't anything in this world that I can do as I please.'
I scratched the back of my head.
What's the point of making a plan? Even if you make one, new variables will pop up right away, forcing you to modify the plan.
'Ugh. I guess I'll have a hard time again.'
I sighed again and looked at the side profile of Zia giving instructions to people from afar.
'Your appearance is the same, but your aura has matured.'
Is it because it's been a long time since I've seen you?
I miss something and it's nice to see you again.
I've seen Adele often in the past, so her face is familiar, but it's strange that I feel this way.
“······.”
The emotion that came after longing was bitterness.
The fact that Jia is alive and well means that Adele died in the past.
Even if you were prepared, it was natural for a human being to feel bitter over the death of a colleague you had grown attached to.
'I think it's fortunate, but strangely bitter.'
A strange, inexplicable feeling took over my mind.
As I was chewing over that uncomfortable feeling,
The people surrounding Jia began to gather in groups of three or four and disappear.
'You're going to carry out the order.'
It looks like Jia's instructions have been completed.
Now they will each disperse and prepare to fight Savior.
Someone might go and prepare to make peace with Savior.
'It would be impossible to change Savior's mind, though.'
It is impossible to change Savior's mind since it is not someone else but the Chief of Staff to the President.
War is bound to happen.
“······How did it end up like this?”
Zia looked up at the sky and muttered.
There is a sense of desolation and sadness in his voice.
I can't see the expression from where I am, but there must be dark clouds hanging over them.
Of course.
Because from now on, I'm in a position where I have to fight Savior.
There is no choice but to despair.
“I can’t win······right?”
There is a bitterness in Jia's voice.
The difference in power between Korea and Savior is overwhelming.
If all of humanity were to unite and fight against Savior, then it would be understandable. Korea alone would be no match for him.
'But there's no way anyone will help me.'
There is no country that will help Korea, which has been marked by Savior.
This world is different from the past, because it is a society of people who return to thoroughgoing individual egoism.
A cold society where there is no such thing as inter-racial solidarity.
“Seoyul-ah······.”
Suddenly, Jia called me.
The voice is strangely trembling.
Are you crying?
“If you were here······. It wouldn’t have turned out like this, right?”
“······.”
He expresses his longing for me in a tearful voice.
“You idiot. You bad boy. When the hell are you coming back?”
In the middle of an empty garden within the Shinwha Group's premises, she blurts out cute curses in a trembling voice.
“Come back soon······.”
Something felt ticklish.
I should say that it was a heart-wrenching feeling. I felt embarrassed and ashamed.
'Still, I'm happy.'
I felt a strange joy at the thought that someone missed me this much.
I just kicked the ground.
Jia's back gets closer in an instant.
Before I knew it, I was right behind Zia.
He still looks up at the sky, as if he doesn't sense me, even though I have completely erased his presence.
"hi."
“······.”
There was no response from Gia to my voice either.
I thought he would turn around in surprise, but he was completely indifferent.
“Have you forgotten my voice too?”
“······I remember.”
There is a bitterness in Jia's voice. There is not a hint of joy or happiness.
“Are you upset that I came so late? You don’t even want to see my face?”
Jia shook her head quietly.
“Then why don’t you look back?”
Zia was still looking up at the sky. Looking up at the cloudless sky, she said this in a trembling voice.
“If you look back… it will disappear again.”
"uh?"
Anticipation, disappointment, sadness.
A sobbing voice mixed with all sorts of mysterious emotions.
“Don’t be fooled anymore. This voice is an auditory hallucination created by my longing…”
“······.”
I was speechless for a moment.
What this means is that he remembers hearing my voice as an auditory hallucination before.
“That’s right. Just disappear quietly. ··· Don’t make people expect anything.”
And not just once or twice, but many times.
“When I look back, there’s no one there······. That bitter experience······ I don’t want to have that again.”
I scratched my head and moved towards Zia.
Then he gently grabbed her face and lowered it down.
“Okay. Can you believe this?”
Eyes red from crying.
Lips that tremble intermittently.
Did you put on makeup?
Gia, whose face has become more mature than the old Gia or the past Adele, looks at my face intently.
"······hallucination?"
He's talking nonsense again.
Is this a hallucination?
“Have you ever seen a hallucination talk and even touch you?”
I gave him a very light thud on the head, to bring him to his senses.
Zia grabbed her forehead, which had been hit.
“Then······a dream?”
Beyond hallucinations and illusions, now it's called a dream.
“What’s your dream? Have you ever had such a vivid dream?”
“······Yeah. Quite often.”
“Oh, really?”
I see
I have never had such a vivid dream······
Oh, there you are?
I had an incredibly vivid dream just then, in a nick of time.
When I thought about it that way, I thought it might be confusing.
“Then how can I make you believe that I am real?”
“······.”
Red, bloodshot, rabbit-like eyes stare intently into mine.
Then he started touching my face here and there, and in an instant his face became gloomy.
“That’s not true······.”
The tears at the corners of my eyes became even more evident.
“Why again?”
“The Seo Yul I know isn’t this handsome.”
"······yes?"
What?
“The bridge of my nose is a little lower, and my face isn’t that small. This is definitely a dream I had in mind.”
“······.”
Different?
No, of course, as the elven stigmata evolved to higher levels, their faces would have become a bit more attractive. Even so, the difference would only be in the nanometer range.
You confirmed it by touching it?
How on earth?
“If it’s a dream, wake up quickly. I don’t want to be disappointed when I wake up.”
“······.”
Hey, how many times have you dreamed of me that you're saying something like that so naturally?
'······At this point, no matter what I say, you won't believe me.'
Maybe not?
Should I try shock therapy?
It's a bit like that because I'm a woman.
If I hit him hard enough to make him come to his senses, wouldn't he come to his senses?
It was when I was thinking like that.
“Zia!”
A familiar woman's voice was heard from afar.
High-tension, high notes that seem to assert cheerfulness and brightness.
I can tell who it is just by hearing the voice.
I turned my head in that direction.
“I heard the news······Huh? Ah!”
Hashiyeon.
She looked at my face and her eyes widened.
“Come on.”
This guy hasn't changed at all.
The face and the atmosphere are both similar. Compared to Aqua, they seem to be more than 90% similar.
“Seo, Seo Yul-ah?”
Siyeon approached me with a mysterious expression that was a mixture of surprise and joy.
“Hey, you’re back?!”
He grabbed my hand and shook it up and down as if he was happy to see me.
“Do you know how long I, we’ve been waiting? Why are you so late!”
I wonder if he's angry or something, but the way he's waving his hand is very rough.
“Fortunately, you don’t treat it as a hallucination or a dream.”
“Huh? A hallucination? A dream?”
Siyeon tilts her head as if to ask what that means.
I glanced to the side.
Siyeon also followed my gaze and moved her gaze.
“Jia. Did you cry?”
Zia, with bloodshot eyes, pursed her lips and her body trembled intermittently.
“Why is your face red again?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
He lowers his head, his face red as a tomato, and answers in a crawling voice.
You can tell just by looking at the reaction.
It seems like he's acknowledged that I'm the real Kang Seo-yool. He must have realized what he said and felt ashamed.
I said with a playful smile.
“This time, Siyeon, aren’t you going to appear in my dream and trick me?”
“······!”
Gia's already red face became even redder.
“Dream? What?”
Siyeon tilted her head cutely.
“No, just a little while ago, Zia······.”
“Gyaaaah!”
Jia covered my mouth in shock. Then, at an angle that Siyeon couldn't see, she said this with her eyes, sobbing.
'Please don't tell me. Please.'
As I looked at that face, I couldn't help but laugh.
Well, I don't have the interest of carelessly revealing my dark history to others.
I nodded slightly.
Zia sighed in relief and took her hand away from my mouth.
“Why? What is it?”
“It’s nothing.”
“······?”
Siyeon tilted her head again with a question mark floating above her head.
An expression that says he just can't understand the current situation.
“Just. It’s nice to see you after so long.”
"ah!"
Siyeon laughed brightly again.
“Yeah! Long time no see! Nice to see you again!”
Then he jumped into my arms and hugged me tightly.
This guy is really the same.
I also hugged Siyeon just like that.
“You really are the same anytime, anywhere.”
“Huh? What?”
Siyeon hugged me tightly for about 3 seconds, then pulled away and looked up at me.
“No. Their reactions are so polar opposites that it’s amazing.”
I looked back and forth between Siyeon and Jia.
“Seo, Seo Yul-ah!”
“Ah.”
It seems like he finally noticed something.
Siyeon glares at Jia with sullen eyes.
“Zia, you. You really cried a lot.”
“······.”
Siyeon said slyly while poking Jia's reddened cheek.
Jia's fists are shaking. Her expression looks like she could die from embarrassment.
“Is that the dream you were talking about earlier? The one you talked about last time while drinking. You said that Seoyul kept appearing in your dreams.”
“Hey, Siyeon, that story······.”
A playful light flowed from Siyeon's eyes.
“I think we talked about hallucinations and auditory hallucinations. I think you saw them about three times?”
“That, that’s enough······.”
It would have been perfect if she had stopped here, but it seems she still has no tact. Siyeon ended up taking it one step further here.
“How embarrassing must I have said something for Seo-Yul to react like that······ Gosh!”
Jia stabbed Siyeon in the ribs.
“Siyeon-ah······. Let’s do this moderately.”
Jia became serious.
The shame has surpassed the lethal dose, and it seems that my head has become more cool.
“Hey, the side is half······ Gyaaak!”
“Be quiet. Hit me in the side.”
“Gyaaaaaaah! Sorry, Mi···Miaaaan! Please, at least my side······.”
I looked at Jia and Siyeon bickering and laughed out loud.
'These guys really haven't changed at all.'
That's how we met again.
< Episode 236 Return (3) > End
