Chapter 134: A Small Trigger (6)
134. A Small Trigger (6)
[Father 'Jung Geon-ho' deceased (Cause of death: Illness)]
Among the events the System had shown him, this was the only one Kang Hajin hadn't known about.
And this was also the only reason Hajin now regretted peering into the past.
[System Alert: You may view earlier events if you wish.]
[System Alert: Would you like to proceed?]
"...No. That's enough."
Hajin shook his head with a grimace at Sipsam's words.
Instinctively, he felt he shouldn't recklessly dig any deeper into what had happened to Siwoo.
'Jung Siwoo became such a hot topic, yet this fact was so thoroughly hidden that no one ever mentioned it. Even the company didn't seem to know... It's just too rude to uncover something like this in such a way.'
This felt entirely different from when he had looked into the Returner's past.
Sipsam cautiously opened a dialogue window, addressing Hajin, who still hadn't fully shaken off his shock.
[System Alert: ...I did warn you. I advised against it.]
[System Alert: To me, everything is just literal data... But for a Fixed Regressor like you, who has to face these people directly, the meaning is different.]
Yeah. Next time, I'll listen to you.
Still wearing a complicated expression, Hajin flopped onto his bed like a limp noodle.
Even though he now knew this fact, he had no intention of treating Siwoo differently.
But the uncomfortable feeling lingered.
"You should've stopped me more forcefully..."
Sipsam responded calmly to Hajin's belated regret.
[System Alert: Of course, it wasn't the method I would've recommended...]
[System Alert: But I judged it to be a necessary process.]
[System Alert: To find the Chosen Returner, you'll have to learn about many more people's pasts from now on.]
The words that followed carried an invisible weight.
[System Alert: What it truly means to interfere with someone's timeline.]
[System Alert: Please don't forget the emotions you're feeling now.]
[System Alert: Let me reiterate—understanding someone's 'life' is never an easy task.]
[System Alert: Especially if a human Fixed Regressor like you grows desensitized to this... That would be truly dangerous.]
Sipsam stopped there, but Hajin could roughly guess what he wanted to say.
From now on, in his search for the Chosen Returner, Hajin would have to examine countless people's past timelines like this.
This time, it was just an error compensation, but in the future, through functions like Comrade Recruitment and quest rewards—all under the guise of the "System"—he would see even more.
"...So you're telling me not to get too absorbed in it. I get it now."
Just as Hajin had once lost sight of the meaning of life after countless regressions.
If he ever reached a point where he saw someone's past, present, and future as nothing more than 'quest rewards' and 'text'...
'Then I might become no different from that bastard Returner.'
He didn't want to repeat the same mistake he made with Yu-geon, thinking he had him all figured out just by glancing at his stats window.
Hajin nodded as if he understood completely. Sipsam, in turn, seemed relieved.
[System Alert: Then I'll conclude the past viewing for Jung Siwoo.]
"Yeah. I'll figure out the rest by getting closer to him."
Though getting closer was already like climbing a mountain of thorns.
Remembering once again just how difficult Siwoo was to approach, Hajin abruptly sat up.
"First things first—I still have work to do."
Even if he had unintentionally uncovered Siwoo's past, his clear objective remained: gathering clues about the Chosen Returner suspects.
Now that debut was truly just around the corner, he needed to narrow down the most likely candidates.
After all this suffering, he didn't want to experience something like 'the Returner gets eliminated in the finals, forcing another regression.'
"Let's go through it step by step. We already have a few big clues."
Hajin began listing the clues he had gathered so far on the empty System window.
Clues about the Returner
Below that, Hajin pulled up the profiles of the remaining trainees and calmly continued his deductions.
"I've been replaying the Infinite Regression incident in my head... Doesn't something feel off?"
[System Alert: What do you mean?]
"While I was running around like a madman trying to stop Yu-geon from leaving, what the hell was that Returner bastard doing?"
The Returner didn't want Yu-geon to leave.
So if they had turned back time to prevent it, they should've taken some action too.
At the time, he was too out of his mind to think straight, but now that everything had passed, he could recall the situation more clearly.
"That day, someone told me Yu-geon was dragging his suitcase toward the emergency exit."
And that wasn't all.
"The fact that the controversy about Yu-geon originated from a specific post—I didn't figure that out alone."
There was definitely someone with him at that moment.
The problem was, he couldn't remember who it was.
Frowning as he tried to recall, Hajin suddenly lit up as if struck by inspiration and turned to Sipsam.
"Hey. Can't we check this through past timelines? I'm Team Kang Hajin now, right? If I look through my own past timeline, I should be able to see!"
Hajin's eyes sparkled like that Western guy who shouted Eureka! in a bathtub.
But Sipsam, hearing this, immediately broke into a cold sweat and shrank away from Hajin's gaze.
Knowing this was his reaction whenever he was nervous, Hajin asked with a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me expression.
"...Why? Don't tell me we can't. Why not? My synchronization rate is high enough."
[System Alert: .......]
[System Alert: ( ⚆ _ ⚆ );;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;]
[System Alert: Well, you see...]
After fidgeting for a while, Sipsam finally caved under Hajin's relentless stare and confessed with a whimper.
[System Alert: It seems the Returner tampered with the timelines... They're all fragmented and scattered...]
[System Alert: We can restore them, but it'll take some time...]
[System Alert: ๐·°(৹˃̵﹏˂̵৹)°·๐]
"Are you sure humanity should be entrusting our time to you guys...? Is the world really okay with such a fragile system?"
As Hajin genuinely questioned the fate of humanity and the universe, Sipsam mumbled in a self-deprecating tone, his form turning translucent.
[System Alert: We're not omnipotent beings either... This is our first time dealing with something like this...]
[System Alert: The System is currently flailing helplessly...]
"...Fine. Got it."
Hajin furrowed his brows, trying to recall that 'someone,' absentmindedly tapping his fingers—a habit of his.
"Anyway, here's my theory. That Returner bastard must've thought my actions were the key to stopping Yu-geon's departure. So they set things up to make sure I'd prevent it."
Looking back now, some things that had seemed like natural resolutions might've actually been the Returner's doing.
Like the quick responses from the broadcasting station or staff.
"And the reason they wanted to stop Yu-geon's departure might've been because of me."
[System Alert: Correct. If not for you, Fixed Regressor...]
"No, not like that. I mean, it really might've been for me. If I had messed up that Blue Flare performance, I might've been eliminated this time."
Hajin's rank in the elimination round was 9th.
That score included the team benefit from the third mission.
The gap between them and Candy Crush, who placed 2nd, wasn't that large. If Yu-geon hadn't received an overwhelming number of votes—the highest individual count—the results could've flipped.
'Even putting votes aside, Yu-geon played a huge role in that performance.'
While the Blue Flare stage had given all its members a solid boost...
Given the outcome, the one who benefited the most from Yu-geon not leaving was...
Himself. Kang Hajin.
"There were four people who either knew or had an inkling that I couldn't afford to mess up the third mission."
Hajin carefully reviewed the trainees' profiles and pulled up four names, placing them in the empty space above.
Four profiles appeared neatly on the System window.
"Jung Siwoo, Seo Taehyun, Joo Eunchan, Dan Haru."
They were either naturally sharp and good at reading situations or people Hajin had directly confided in about his concerns.
Pointing at Siwoo's profile, Hajin spoke.
"Out of these, the one who tried most directly to stop Yu-geon from leaving was Jung Siwoo. Honestly, I thought he was the most likely candidate."
But if Siwoo were the Returner, it was hard to imagine him turning back time for Hajin's sake.
Moreover, the past he had just learned about only strengthened the belief that Siwoo wasn't the Returner.
"If the Returner reconstructed their life using discarded timelines, they wouldn't leave behind a past where their father died."
After some thought, Hajin carefully removed Siwoo from the suspect list.
Resting his chin on his hand, Hajin turned his attention to the remaining three.
"Joo Eunchan is my roommate, so I've talked to him a lot about how important the third mission was. Plus, his family background is unreal."
The second son of one of Korea's top furniture conglomerates—and a late child, with a huge age gap between him and his older sibling.
If life were a game, his background would be one anyone would want to claim.
In fact, Hajin had already leveraged that background to oust the department head and Han Seongwoo, and in doing so, Eunchan had reaped countless benefits.
He also followed Hajin closely, so his motive was solid.
"Okay. Keeping him for now."
After a quick glance toward Eunchan's bed, Hajin moved on to the next candidate.
"Seo Taehyun. I don't know much about his family... But his motive is clear. I'm the reason he got to try being an idol again, and he's close to Yu-geon too."
But Hajin knew Taehyun's past lives.
Whether at twenty-nine or nineteen—
He had lived the same choices, the same flow.
"Compared to the Returner's usual erratic behavior, Taehyun has been too consistent. If he were the Returner, he would've triggered a regression the moment Cha Minseok showed up with evidence."
Shaking his head, Hajin crossed Taehyun off the list too.
Now, only one candidate remained.
"Dan Haru."
Hajin's fingers, which had been tapping the bed frame, suddenly stilled.
A sudden puzzle piece of memory clicked into place.
"...When did Dan Haru join Miro Entertainment?"
[System Alert: Huh?]
Ignoring Sipsam's question, Hajin, as if entranced, swiftly flipped through the profile tabs without answering.
Dan Haru
Age: 17
Birthday: December 31
Trainee Period: 2 years (scouted by Ji Sooho at 16)
Position: Vocal
Notable Details:
- Parents reside overseas
- Seems close to his grandmother
Hajin's expression hardened uncontrollably as he read.
In his mind, puzzle pieces snapped together at breakneck speed, forming a massive, complete picture.
"...How did I not realize how weird this was?"