“If I told you that Yutae-hyung is still alive … could you believe it?”
“…What?”
At Chise-hyung’s words, I felt as if all the blood drained from my body.
Wasn’t that exactly what I wanted more than anything? If only Yutae-hyung could come back alive, I wouldn’t mind being tormented forever by the video Kang Hyukwoo recorded. I would be fine even if I wasn’t able to erase it for the rest of my life.
Chise-hyung couldn’t possibly be unaware of my feelings, and the others must have felt no different from me. There was no way he would say something like that so easily, even as a joke.
“…Of course I couldn’t believe it. It’s impossible.”
This wasn’t something that could simply be dismissed as a joke.
“I know it’s hard to believe. But I also know how desperate you must be, just like I was, so I’m saying this knowing it’ll seem strange.”
“…….”
“You said you’ve met Han Seungbeom before.”
I frowned slightly at the question thrown out of context. We were talking about Yutae-hyung, so I was confused about the sudden mention of Han Seungbeom. However, there wasn’t a hint of playfulness on Chise-hyung’s face as he mentioned him, so I simply nodded.
“Didn’t he remind you of someone?”
…What is he trying to imply with that question?
Even though I had such doubts, I obediently went along with Chise-hyung’s question. As I recalled my memories of Han Seungbeom, I remembered that I had once thought he and Yutae-hyung were similar.
At that, I let out a laugh that was almost self-mockery and muttered.
“He did. He looks just like Yutae-hyung, isn’t he? His expressions, his way of speaking. Everything is almost identical. But you’re not seriously about to say something like ‘
Han Seungbeom is Yutae-hyung
’ just because of that, are you?”
“…….”
“I even got confirmation from him. The rest of the members are with him right now. I know this is a lot to take in, but if you meet and talk to him, you’ll understand.”
Chise-hyung didn’t deny the words I had half-jokingly thrown out.
Seeing my hyung’s calm expression, I slowly began to grasp the gravity of the situation. I clutched my throbbing head and groaned.
‘The other members too? How did this happen…….’
Look-alikes were really just
look-alikes
. Once people died, they were gone. They would never come back. That was the unalterable truth. So, how could he say that kind of nonsense without even the slightest hint of doubt?
‘Has everyone lost their minds from the shock of Hyung’s death?’
They seemed to have lost their minds.
They were either mentally ill, or falling into a cult.
Come to your senses. You are all being deceived right now.
I wanted to drag the members away, telling them that. But at the same time, another thought crossed my mind.
‘This must have happened because I took Hyung away from the members. Do I even have the right to do that?’
The members are finding solace in this, so if I stop them, wouldn’t I just be hurting them again after everything they’ve already suffered?
That thought made my earlier resistance vanish instantly.
And so, I forced the most natural smile I could manage and spoke.
“…Yeah, I want to meet him too.”
[END OF JO INCHAN’S POV]
***
[Missed Call: Young Master 1 (50)]
“Is that Lee Saehwa?”
Jay, who was blinking with swollen eyes like a gummy hamburger, saw my phone screen and frowned while letting out an “Eww” sound. At his question, I simply let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“Ha…….”
‘Ha…….’
was really all I could think to say.
Seeing the number of missed calls piling up on my phone made my head spin.
‘…I’m screwed.’
After calling Choi Jeokhyeon, I immediately lost consciousness and woke up again in Han Seungbeom’s body.
After that, I had to calm down the guys whose faces were all puffed up. That took less than five minutes. Then, upon hearing that Lee Chise had gone to meet Jo Inchan, I panicked and spent about ten minutes talking to him on Jay’s phone.
Fifteen minutes total.
In that short time, a whopping 50 calls had piled up.
I usually made about 50 calls in a year, so the fact that they had all been made in the blink of an eye filled me with both awe and fear.
‘Even if it were me … I would’ve been pretty freaked out if I suddenly heard the voice of a dead person.’
Even as I tried to think that way, the shameless thought that ‘
No, but I don’t think I’d go this far
‘ briefly crossed my mind. But since I did have a conscience, I simply kept my mouth shut and hurriedly answered the call.
And before Choi Jeokhyeon could even get a word out, I immediately started talking at a rapid-fire pace.
“Sorry. I wasn’t feeling well for a moment, but I couldn’t call an ambulance, so I contacted you. But then I suddenly got better, so the timing ended up being weird. I’m fine now, so you don’t have to worry.”
“…….”
Choi Jeokhyeon didn’t say anything even after hearing my words.
As the silence lingered, I heard something breaking softly beyond the speakers, along with what sounded faintly like a person groaning.
‘…It must be my imagination.’
Since Choi Jeokhyeon’s breathing and voice remained steady, I decided to assume it was just some noise someone nearby had made … I had to assume that.
Facing the unnervingly silent Choi Jeokhyeon made me feel like I was disarming a bomb, and my hair practically stood on end. One wrong word, and it seemed like this lunatic might just explode on his own.
As I nervously harbored such concerns, Choi Jeokhyeon finally spoke.
“…Now, it’s not your original voice again. What happened?”
“Something happened, and I briefly lost consciousness. When I woke up, I suddenly found myself in my body in an unfamiliar house. When I tried to force my body to move in that state, it must have put some strain on me because I felt some pain. But I obviously couldn’t call an ambulance while in my original body, so I called you instead. That’s all. Beyond the fact that it’s related to Han Seungbeom’s ability, I honestly don’t really understand what’s going on either.”
“By
something
, you’re talking about the accident caused by that stalker, right?”
“…How do you know that?”
“Hmm.”
“…….”
“As long as you’re safe, that’s enough for now.”
I had taken the trouble to explain everything sincerely, yet not a single proper answer came back to my questions. I couldn’t even tell if I was having a conversation or just a monologue.
Neatly discarding any expectation that Choi Jeokhyeon would give me a proper answer, I immediately turned to Cha Woon. Among those who knew about my accident, he was the one most likely to be pushed around by Choi Jeokhyeon.
But Cha Woon, looking genuinely wronged, drooped his eyebrows and mouthed, “It wasn’t me. I haven’t spoken to him in ages!”. His expression was so full of sincerity that I decided to rule him out as a suspect. Next, I turned to Jay, who had been grumbling for a while now, urging me to hang up—his dislike for Choi Jeokhyeon was always obvious. As for Nam Yihwon, he had no connection to Choi Jeokhyeon whatsoever.
In the end, none of these three seemed to be the correct answer.
That meant Choi Jeokhyeon must have used some truly creepy methods to get that information. I suppose it made sense—he was the kind of guy who had been 100% certain about my identity even without meeting me in person. Every time I saw this side of him, it sent chills down my spine.
As I thought about it, I suddenly remembered that I had some news I needed to share with him.
“Ah, and a few more members found out.”
“Found out what?”
“That I’m Seo Yutae.”
“…….”
I expected a casual encouragement like “
That’s good
” or a joking remark like “
Just how many people are you planning to get caught by?
”. However, there was no voice from the other side of the speaker. All I could hear was the faint grinding of teeth, as if he was clenching his jaw.
‘Does he not like the fact that the Prism members found out?’
That thought lasted only a moment before Choi Jeokhyeon’s voice came through again.
“…I’m going there now. I’ll give you a ride, come out.”
“…Aren’t you busy? Your schedule’s packed, where do you think you’re going?”
“But you had an accident. It’ll be inconvenient for you to go back and forth by taxi.”
“It’s fine. There’s no problem now, so why bother coming? If anything comes up, the members all have cars, so I’ll just ask them. Okay? Now go on and get back to your work.”
After I stubbornly wrapped up the call in that way, a wave of exhaustion hit me.
‘He never actually said he wouldn’t come until the end, but he wouldn’t really come … would he?’
Jay, who had been watching me the entire time during the call, muttered in a grumpy tone.
“So, you were in contact with that person after all. Even in someone else’s body, Seo Yutae is still Seo Yutae.”
Come to think of it, that was true.
When I came to my senses, Choi Jeokhyeon and the members of Prism were beside me.
Ever since I revealed my identity to the members of Prism and learned that my body was still alive, the walls I had painstakingly built up until now were slowly starting to crumble.
I had known from the very beginning that I was
Seo Yutae
and could never be anyone else, but I had desperately tried to ignore that until now. However, the more I encountered people from my past life in Han Seungbeom’s body, the harder it became to do so.
‘…I want to go back.’
I had achieved too much and knew too well the preciousness of the people in my life to simply abandon my existence and live while wearing someone else’s shell. I could bear to give up wealth and fame, but there was no way I could ever forsake those connections.
This realization brought home to me once again how my true self was gradually eroding the boundaries of ‘
Han Seungbeom’,
a persona I had carefully constructed to navigate this life. And once that erosion passed a certain threshold, there was something I could no longer endure.
After hesitating for a long time, I finally managed to get the words out to Jay, who was in front of me.
“I have a favor to ask. Can you do it for me?”
“What favor?”
As I hesitated uncharacteristically, Jay tilted his head in curiosity before giving a small nod. It meant I should go ahead and say it. Feeling a bit relieved by his cooperative attitude, I finally voiced the wish I had been holding onto all this time with a slightly eased mind.
“Please let me meet Seo Yuseong.”
Jay’s eyes widened, and he looked up at me with a blank stare.
His reaction made me feel a little embarrassed, so I started rambling, almost defensively, about all the reasons why I needed to see him.
“Why? It was his birthday not long ago, but I couldn’t even do anything to celebrate it. I just let it passed by. As you know, Seo Yuseong isn’t really interested in his own birthday, so if others didn’t take care of it, he would’ve definitely just let it pass like any other day.”
“…Hyung.”
“If he knows I’m acting this sentimental, he’ll definitely hate it … It’s just that he’s never been good at making friends and always seemed to be getting into trouble, so I’m worried about whether he’s doing okay on his own … He’s doing fine, right? It’s okay if I just watch from afar, just let me see his face, just once.”
“Wait a second, hyung!”
With those words, Jay, as if he couldn’t bear to hear it any longer, grabbed my shoulder tightly and shouted at me.
“What in the world are you talking about!”
At first, I thought he was making one of those jokes I’d often heard back when I was active in Prism, like “
Yuseong is no longer a child now, so acting this fussy is abnormal
“. However, his expression was so serious that I quickly realized it wasn’t a joke,
His voice was trembling violently, and his face was ashen, as if he had seen a ghost. When I flustered a little and asked, “What’s wrong?”, his expression twisted into something even more horrifying.
“Yuseong-hyung passed away a few years ago, in an accident!”
At that whisper, echoing like a scream,
I.
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