Chapter 318
Chapter 318
The tone of the voice over the phone shifted, ringing out with a smooth resonance.
Even hearing it again, it was unmistakably Cheong-ryeo’s voice. It sent a chill down my spine.
‘Why the hell is this bastard showing up here?’
Even the phone number was different. What the fuck was going on? And what did he mean by "met before"?
“…?”
“…….”
Is this some kind of voice phishing scam?
I stayed silent for a moment, dumbfounded, briefly considering the possibility that it might actually be someone else.
Then, I gave the most appropriate answer.
“Don't worry about the courier. I’ll stop by and pick it up today. Thank you.”
He backed off surprisingly easily. No, wait—could it really be someone else who just happened to have a similar voice…?
Not a chance.
I couldn't hold it back anymore and opened my mouth.
“Cut the crap.”
“I said cut the crap, Shin Jae-hyun.”
I hadn't used his stage name just in case there was a final sliver of a possibility, but based on his reaction, it was definitely him.
A brief silence hung over the line, but soon, a voice laced with laughter broke through.
“…!”
He was quick on the uptake, which made him even more annoying. I wondered if this was really something he could deduce so instantly, given how nonsensical the situation was. …But first, a question.
“How did you get this contact information?”
“Don’t give me that bullshit. You’ve done thousands of fansigns.”
Even if it was a fansign for an advertisement model, it wasn't like he’d only done it once or twice. How could he possibly distinguish someone who had received an autograph over a year ago without even giving their name?
However, his voice remained nonchalant.
“What?”
He recalled the situation at the time in quite specific detail.
In my head, the phrase was automatically reconstructed and played back in the tone of Gong-myeong.
‘Park Moon… no, Ryu Gun-woo……. Sorry. Please just write it as Keun-dal!’
Wouldn't it be stranger if I didn't know? As soon as I heard your description from my junior, it clicked.
“…….”
This goddamn….
I swallowed a string of curses and silently endured my rage. I knew that getting angry at the 'Park Moon-dae' who had known nothing back then was pointless.
In the first place, it all came back to the same fundamental question since he wasn't here.
‘Where the hell did that guy go?’
Still, I had to say one thing.
“That wasn't me.”
“I’m telling you, it wasn't.”
I pressed down on my throbbing temple.
“That was… the real Park Moon-dae. Not me.”
Cheong-ryeo remained silent for a while before finally speaking.
An hour and a half later.
I was facing the man, who had brought his dog along, at a residential-style cafe on the outskirts of Seoul.
The location was the same as where I had met him last time, and with the dog in tow, the situation felt eerily similar.
‘Is he testing me again to see if I’m really me?’
His brain never stops turning. I sat down across from him and spoke.
“I take it you come here often.”
“Occasionally, when I have time.”
Cheong-ryeo shrugged as he stroked the dog, who was holding a ball in its mouth. There was no sign of suspicion.
I suppressed a sigh.
I felt a sense of skepticism about having another private meeting with this bastard… but he was someone whose brain cells had experienced special circumstances. It was better than nothing.
Meanwhile, he scanned my appearance and nodded.
“How should I put this… your appearance matches your personality.”
It sounded like an insult, but since I had neither the time nor the resources to get angry over it, I let it slide.
I gave a slight nod, and he changed the subject.
“It’s quite fascinating. Do you live by switching bodies? Though, it seemed you were always yourself whenever you were active as my junior.”
“I’d like to ask you when you picked up phone scamming as a hobby.”
“That’s a bit harsh. Calling it phone scamming… I never lied.”
Cheong-ryeo placed something on the table.
“You left this behind.”
“……!”
It was… a compact camera. A brand-new product, still in its packaging.
And then, the advice I had given to ‘Park Moon-dae’ came to mind.
- If you’re interested, maybe you should buy a camera and try taking some photos. Once this exam is all over, of course.
‘Did he buy it for motivation?’
I sighed, feeling a complicated mix of emotions I couldn't quite name. Cheong-ryeo smiled brightly.
“I just used some people to track down sightings, and the boarding academy came up. There was no scam involved.”
“And you felt the need to make the call yourself?”
“Of course. You should never leave the decisive parts to someone else.”
He was a meticulous bastard.
Even considering the process of how I got here, my assessment of him didn't change.
Look at what he said the moment we agreed to meet.
I almost reflexively agreed before realizing what that meant.
Like someone who had repeated the same timeline multiple times, he knew how to play the cards he held.
So, I wasn't exactly thrilled about showing him my own hand… but in this situation, the benefits of telling him outweighed the risks.
I decided to give him a few more points for the cooperation he had shown during the incident with Gold 2.
“Listen.”
I leaned back.
“I was able to check my missions through text.”
“For me, the words ‘Status Effect’ appeared directly before my eyes. Like a game window.”
Silence fell.
Cheong-ryeo tilted his head to the side, then responded nonchalantly.
“Is that so?”
He didn't seem particularly surprised. I clicked my tongue.
“Was it that obvious?”
“A little, but it’s also an understandable explanation when you consider the balance.”
“Balance?”
“Think about it. In exchange for letting you restart, a mission… a ‘Status Effect’ is attached. It’s a format where if you’re given one thing, another follows as a penalty.”
Cheong-ryeo slowly traced a line on the table with his finger.
“In your case, Junior, both your body and your profession changed, right? That’s a huge penalty. So, it wouldn't be strange if you were given a help menu in return.”
“…….”
I suppose you could look at it that way.
Cheong-ryeo continued, sounding genuinely curious.
“Hmm… You were from a prestigious university; wasn't it a waste to give up that foundation?”
“I was just a civil service exam student, so what does it matter?”
“Haha.”
Cheong-ryeo asked with an unnervingly soft tone.
“Did you also deduce from that help menu that everything ends if you die?”
“…Yeah.”
“Hmm, I wonder if that should be considered a penalty too.”
At this rate, I was going to end up spilling everything down to the level-up system. I suppressed a sigh.
Since things had already come to this, I decided to check something I’d wanted to test before getting to the main point.
“First… try following me.”
“Hmm?”
“…Shout ‘Status Window.’”
For a rare moment, Cheong-ryeo’s face went blank as he stared at me.
Then, he burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
Don't laugh, fucker.
Saying it out loud in front of someone else made my skin crawl. I took off my glasses and pinched the bridge of my nose.
“Junior, you certainly have a vivid imagination.”
“Shut up.”
“No, I’ve tried it too.”
Cheong-ryeo leaned forward.
“I’ve tried every kind of content and superstition. Logging out, comas…. Hmm, was that the 9th time, or the 10th?”
“…….”
“How many times do you think I’ve tried things like that? Nothing works.”
Cheong-ryeo chuckled.
“Nothing at all.”
“…….”
“So… well, should I try shouting ‘Status Window’ anyway?”
“Forget it.”
I rubbed my eyes. Then, after hesitating, I finally forced the next words out.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
“…….”
That was unnecessary.
‘…Did tutoring ‘Park Moon-dae’ become a habit?’
A guy like this would probably say something like, ‘Don’t tell me with words, give it to me in a song’…
“…Thank you.”
“…….”
“Can I hear the explanation for your current situation now?”
“Fine.”
Ignoring the dog sitting at my feet, I finally got to the main point.
I explained the situation that had unfolded since the ‘Status Effect’ ended, including how I had taken on a mission myself, while omitting certain details.
At the mention of ‘taking on a mission myself,’ his eyes narrowed slightly, but his initial reaction was a critique of the explanation.
Not that it was particularly helpful.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
There were more than one or two strange things; did he think I’d understand just from that?
Cheong-ryeo tapped his finger on the table.
“Look. Whether it was you or me, when we restarted, the previous time ceased to exist.”
“Right.”
“But this time, two people exist together on the same timeline and influence each other. It’s a completely different category.”
“Meaning?”
“I’m wondering if a different force is at play. It seems a time paradox occurred in the process, too. Hmm, interesting.”
Whether this bastard found it interesting or not wasn't going to lead to an immediate conclusion; the important thing was the result of this situation.
“Anyway, the point is that after the Status Effect of passing the exam ended, I woke up in this body, and ‘Park Moon-dae’ disappeared.”
“Ah, the one you said entered that body?”
“Yeah.”
I needed to scrape together even a hint of what the hell was going on.
“I wanted to ask if anyone has ever suddenly disappeared while you were in the middle of a restart.”
“No. It was always the same.”
He replied as if there was nothing to even consider.
Then, he spoke with a look of confusion.
“But… is that really so important?”
What?
“From what I’ve heard, it seems you’ll return to normal after today. Won't he just return to that body on his own after that?”
“Maybe not.”
“Even if he doesn't, wouldn't that be more convenient? Ah, are you worried your original body might disappear?”
“Right now….”
What is this madman babbling about?
“I’ve saved you the time of having to make unnecessary ethical considerations. Think about it carefully. Junior, what if that… ‘Keun-dal’ asks you to give him his original body back?”
“…….”
I swallowed my cold coffee and set the cup on the table.
“If he wants it, I’d have to consider it.”
“But there’s no way to do it, is there?”
“There’s something worth trying.”
I had no intention of telling him, but I had something in mind.
‘Missions.’
I could take on another mission… and set ‘switching bodies’ as the reward.
“And since it’s Park Moon-dae’s own body, he has rights to it.”
Regardless of whether I actually did it or not, strictly speaking in terms of authority, wasn't that the case?
However, the man sitting across the table… was indifferent.
“I think you’re mistaken about something.”
“…!”
“Everything Park Moon-dae has is something you achieved. Regardless of whether it’s that body or not, what’s inside that head is your mind, and you’re the one who built it.”
“…….”
“So why are you making plans to give it away? You should be thinking of a more effective way to avoid getting entangled….”
“I’m not making plans, I’m just… keeping the option open.”
“Why bother keeping an option like that open?”
“…….”
“Listen. Let me recount your tracks so far.”
Cheong-ryeo’s finger began tapping the table again.
“You saved a person who originally didn't exist by letting him live in your body, you helped him study, and you made plans for him to survive until now. Hmm, I think you’ve done more than enough, even from a moral standpoint.”
“…….”
“I’m not saying we should kill him. I’m just… wondering if it wouldn't be fine to just leave things as they are.”
Cheong-ryeo met my eyes.
“Don't you agree?”
I clenched my fist.