The pain, which just moments ago had felt like it was tearing me apart, vanished. My body, once as heavy as a lump of iron, became lighter, and I could finally move my limbs at will. Realizing that I had returned to Han Seungbeom’s body, I let out a deep breath.
“Haa…….”
The body I hurriedly looked down at was incomparably slimmer and lighter than my own.
I had only returned to my original body for a brief moment and hadn’t even been able to move my hands properly. Nevertheless, losing it again left me with a strange bitterness, making my mouth taste sour.
‘For now, I should just consider it fortunate.’
The first thing I checked was Han Seungbeom’s body condition.
I was worried because I still remembered pushing Nam Yihwon and getting hit by a car, but fortunately, Han Seungbeom’s body seemed to be fine.
‘Is this also some kind of ability Han Seungbeom has?’
I had no idea what had happened while I was unconscious. But if I had really been in an accident and Han Seungbeom’s ability had restored the body, then, just as I had suspected, the memory of my body being alive wasn’t just a dream.
“I’ll dedicate everything I have, even more desperately than I am now, to find a way to stay and not leave you all behind.”
‘Maybe it’s not as impossible as it seems.’
Didn’t I make that kind of promise to Choi Jeokhyeon as well?
I began to see the possibility of keeping that promise.
But even if I could see the possibility, I couldn’t see the means. The system, which seemed to be Han Seungbeom’s mother, not only refused to grant me access but also seemed to wish for my disappearance from this world.
‘Does that person know everything that’s happening right now?’
I frowned, thinking about the person who had appeared in the room at the end, the one I presumed had been taking care of me until now. I wanted to get a look at their face, but I was unable to. I even tried to guess their approximate age by looking at their hands, but they were wearing latex gloves, so even that was impossible.
‘…They saw me but didn’t say a word.’
It was natural for anyone to panic when someone who had been asleep the entire time suddenly collapsed on the floor. But that person was just watching me in eerie silence.
‘It can’t be Han Seungbeom.’
That reaction completely erased any lingering possibility that it might be Han Seungbeom. After all, Han Seungbeom was far too worried and timid. He’d hover around me if I even showed the slightest sign of exhaustion. If it had really been him, there was no way he would have reacted like that.
‘If it’s not Choi Jeokhyeon or Han Seungbeom, then…….’
Considering the state of my body, it seemed that person had put quite a bit of devotion into taking care of me. No, I wasn’t even sure if
devotion
was the right word to describe it. To me, it felt more like
obsession
. A pathological level of obsession.
Who in the world would go to such lengths for me? Honestly, I had thought Choi Jeokhyeon was the most likely, but in the end, he didn’t even know that my body was still alive.
I held my throbbing head and let out another sigh.
‘Anyway, since that status window didn’t seem to be favorable to me, things aren’t going to be easy.’
As I thought about that, I remembered the ‘
penalty
‘ I’d been subjected to, along with the status window full of accusatory messages directed at me. And in the end, I recalled the red windows that had flooded the room as if covering every surface.
‘Is the word Glitch referring to Choi Jeokhyeon?’
Those red windows appeared immediately after Choi Jeokhyeon’s voice came through the speaker, and from that moment on, the system had shaken violently, as if it had truly glitched, until the call with Choi Jeokhyeon was cut off. That made me wonder if the word ‘
Glitch
‘ was referring to Choi Jeokhyeon.
‘Could it be related to the fact that while others forgot about the disappearing body, Choi Jeokhyeon remembered it until the end?’
Anyway, Choi Jeokhyeon didn’t even seem to know the full scope of Han Seungbeom’s abilities, so telling him about this probably wouldn’t get me anywhere. But regardless of whether I brought it up or not, I needed to contact him as soon as possible.
‘I’m already scared.’
If I’d known I was just going to suffer for a bit and then be back in Han Seungbeom’s body, I wouldn’t have bothered making the call. I felt strangely embarrassed; like I was calling an ambulance because I thought I was going to die from the pain, only for my body to suddenly feel perfectly fine by the time it arrived.
To hang up the phone after coughing and without a proper explanation … I would be confused too. Just thinking about how baffled he must have been was already giving me a headache.
“My phone…….”
With that thought, I sluggishly tried to get up from the bed to find my phone, but something pressed firmly on my shoulder, forcing me to lie back down. I frowned and lifted my head, only to see a face filling my vision, streaked with half-dried tears—I couldn’t tell whether it was dry or still damp.
“…….”
Oh, I’d forgotten there was Jay in front of me.
“Your body.”
“…It’s okay.”
When I gave a brief answer to the short question, his bloodshot deep navy eyes trembled nonstop before disappearing beneath the dark gray hair. Just as I started to think that something seemed off, tears dripped down from his lowered head.
And then, a very hoarse voice asked me,
“…Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
‘Anything to say?’
For now, I was just immensely relieved to be alive. Other than that, no particular thoughts came to mind.
However, no matter how insensitive I was, I knew that I shouldn’t have said something like that at a moment like this. So, after agonizing over it, I finally spoke.
“Ah, you must’ve had a hard time cleaning up the mess. I’m sorry.”
At that, a face filled with unmistakable anger immediately glared at me.
That one didn’t seem like the right thing to say.
Realizing right away that it was the wrong answer, I quickly blurted out the next thing that came to mind.
“Are Nam Yihwon and Jo Inchan okay?”
Even though I had pushed him right before, what if he’d gotten caught up in the accident? That would be a disaster. And since this all happened while we were trying to meet Jo Inchan, I couldn’t help but worry about him. What if he had been standing outside in that weather for a long time? It hadn’t been long since I learned that his knee was still in bad shape.
At my question, asked with such feelings, Jay clenched his teeth so hard that it made a grinding sound, then he hunched over, clutching his head as if in distress.
“Why, why are you always like this, hyung…….”
I couldn’t see his expression as he spoke.
I leaned forward so that our eyes would meet, tilting my head up to look at him from below, but the more I did, the lower he hung his head.
“…Are you crying?”
“…….”
‘Ah.’
He was probably pretty shaken up because I’d gotten into another serious accident. Jay knew who my true identity was, so it must have been even more disturbing to him. Realizing his condition a little too late, I gently tapped his cheek and spoke.
“Why are you crying over something like this, rascal? Don’t cry.”
At my words and actions, Jay’s face, which he had barely lifted, instantly crumpled.
Hmm, so this wasn’t the right answer either … Children really are difficult. No, he’s not a child anymore, is he?
Even while having such a thought, I still placed my hand on Jay’s head out of habit. I heard a sniffle, and he buried his face in my shoulder. Then, in a small voice, he whispered.
“…Don’t ever do something like this again.”
“Okay, I won’t.”
The words, “
It’s not like I wanted things to turn out this way”,
rose to the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. If I said them out loud, I was afraid that Jay, with his arms still wrapped around me so tightly, would crush Han Seungbeom’s scrawny body. So, I just kept my mouth shut.
‘This is my fate.’
What would others think if they saw this sight?
No doubt they would find it bizarre, like witnessing a wolf being carried on the back of a rabbit.
Even if it was embarrassing to show others, what choice did I have when my child was sobbing like this? I figured I should calm him down first and then deal with Dalli, who caused this whole mess. Just as I was thinking that, an ominous feeling crept over me.
“…….”
When I glanced around, I saw Cha Woon and Nam Yihwon, who had been hidden behind Jay’s big frame until now. Since Jay had openly called me ‘
hyung
‘, I had assumed no one else was around … What kind of situation was this?
The two of them stared at me with turbulent eyes, as if overwhelmed by confusion. Their expressions made it clear they had plenty to say. Of course, I had already figured I was done for the moment I, thinking it was the end, called him “
Hwon-ah
“. But I had never expected to face them like this, so unprepared.
Feeling dizzy, I quickly tapped Jay on the back, his face still buried in my shoulder.
Shouldn’t we either explain this situation or find a way to resolve it?
“Hey, hey.”
“Huheu…….”
Then, his face, seemingly too overwhelmed from crying to even open his eyes properly, lifted, looking completely lost. The moment I saw the uncontrollable stream of tears flowing down, I immediately abandoned any expectations I had for him, and pushed his head back to its original position.
“Uh, no. Keep crying.”
At that, Jay buried his face again and resumed crying.
…He looked very busy.
‘Yeah, I was expecting too much. I have to figure this out on my own. Life is a lonely journey.’
I never imagined I’d be questioned about my identity in such an undignified state.
I ignored the heavy weight on my shoulder and my immobilized upper body as best as I could, then looked back at Cha Woon and Nam Yihwon. With a voice and expression that couldn’t have been more ambiguous, I hesitantly began to speak.
“Uh, so. How much…….”
I was torn between ending my question with polite ‘
How much did you find out?
’ or casual ‘
How much do you know?
’. But if they had figured out my identity, I absolutely didn’t want to use honorifics. As I trailed off and looked at them, Nam Yihwon, who had been stiff the whole time, finally opened his mouth.
“My name, do you remember how you called me?”
‘I knew it.’
As expected, it seemed like he was going to bring up the topic I had braced myself for.
Even though a hint of confusion lingered in his gaze, the resolute look in his eyes made it clear that he wouldn’t just take my word for it if I tried to deny it.
“…….”
Then, there was only one attitude I could take.
If my precious people come to me with a certain level of confidence about my identity, I wouldn’t ignore or dismiss them
. That stance hadn’t changed.
When I nodded calmly without betraying any emotion, Nam Yihwon flinched and took a sharp breath. And as he stood there, seemingly at a loss for words, this time, Cha Woon began to speak.
“…I kept wanting to ask why Jay kept calling Seungbeom ‘
hyung
‘. At first, I thought it was just because he wasn’t in his right mind after the accident, but…….”
In response to Cha Woon’s words, I silently glanced down at the trembling back in my arms.
‘I don’t remember agreeing to this.’
Well, who could I blame? Given the circumstances, expecting him to stay clear-headed and treat me as ‘
Han Seungbeom
‘ would be far too harsh.
“Something like a strange window appeared … It was completely absurd, but all of a sudden, Seungbeom-ssi’s body started to recover. It was clearly an accident that should have been fatal.”
“…….”
“When I listened to what Yihwon said and watched Jay’s actions, I couldn’t help but hold onto hope, even though I knew it was impossible. Because you, Seungbeom-ssi, resembles our hyung too much ……. I don’t understand what’s happening, but if, just if … that window really can do something so impossible, then maybe it could bring our hyung back to life too.”
The stumbling words, filled with confusion, all pointed to only one thing.
That, ‘
Han Seungbeom is Seo Yutae
‘.
I realized that and asked bluntly.
“So?”
The manner of speaking was more like ‘
Seo Yutae
‘ than ‘
Han Seungbeom
‘.
Hearing that, Cha Woon seemed unable to get the words out, his mouth opening and closing several times. Then, clenching his fists tightly, he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I won’t doubt you. I won’t be disappointed … No, even if I am, it’s okay. Just tell me the truth.”
“…….”
“…Are you really our hyung?”
I stayed silent for a moment at that question, then answered with a faint smile.
“It’s been a while.”
The moment he heard those words, Cha Woo shuddered, and he rushed towards me with staggering legs. Then, with a force strong enough to crush, he pulled both me and Jay into a tight embrace.
However, Nam Yihwon remained at a distance, turning his head away.
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