Chapter 219
Chapter 219
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 219
Chapter Title: Soul, and Souls (19)
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“……What are you doing?”
The bathroom fell silent for a moment.
The kids in front of me were just teenagers, maybe sixteen at most. Sure, they were taller than average and pulling scary faces to look tough, but in the end, they were nothing more than kids in school uniforms.
“…….”
“W-what? And who the hell are you, mister!”
At my age now, looking back, it was a truly pathetic sight. At an age when they should’ve been studying their asses off and honoring their parents, these kids were channeling all their youthful energy into tormenting others.
-Cough! Cough!
Behind the flushed, vigorous faces turning toward me sprawled a small body like a discarded trash bag—a kid even smaller than his peers, soaked to the bone like a drowned rat, hacking away nonstop.
That was me.
My past self.
Kang Tae-oh, 3rd year Class 5 Seat 1 at Hobuk Middle School.
From the day I started middle school, for three straight years, I endured bullying from kids my age. No special reason or anything. Yeah, bullying doesn’t need a “reason.” Unjust acts don’t get excuses tacked on.
These children who now felt utterly harmless had been my greatest source of terror back then. Of course they were. I was just a kid. What’s nothing to an adult looms huge for a child. It was perfectly natural for the young me to fear them.
“……Does knowing who I am change anything?”
That was true—until today.
I pulled the cloth looped around my neck up over my nose, half-covering my face. Just in case someone—specifically, “young Kang Tae-oh”—recognized me. I didn’t want to risk triggering some time paradox or doppelganger effect straight out of a movie or novel. With my face securely hidden, I pitched my voice low.
“Alright, I’ll give you two choices.”
“……?”
“One. Go home nice and quiet, study hard, and be good to your parents.”
“What?”
“Quiet. The grown-up’s talking.”
“……?!”
“Two. Act like idiots, get the beating of your lives, and limp home.”
“W-what the hell are you saying!”
“Pick one. Fast.”
Sure, I told them to pick, but I already knew what they’d choose. Because...
‘……This is something I already lived through.’
Yeah. I remembered it crystal clear. The moment those bullies who tormented my childhood self vanished without a trace. A rumor went around school that “Kang Tae-oh has a gangster uncle,” but I never knew where it came from. Turns out, this was the truth.
The current “Theodore” had come to save the past “Kang Tae-oh.”
-Crack.
I rolled my neck side to side and clenched and unclenched my fists as I eyed them. The sudden appearance of an adult had thrown them off, but since I wasn’t some hulking brute—and one of them was even taller than me—they quickly shook it off and fixed me with bulging glares.
But to someone who’d been through every battlefield imaginable, even orcs, their tough stares weren’t scary—they were adorable.
“I, iiiiyaaaa!!!!”
The kid in front balled his fist and charged. I slipped the punch effortlessly and gave his back the lightest shove.
-Crash!!!
He slammed straight into the bathroom wall. Damn, what a racket for barely any effort. I dug in my ear with my pinky and turned to the rest.
“Hurry it up. Come on.”
We’re Korean, after all. Before I even finished, a chubby porker and a kid who looked like he’d boxed a bit came rushing in together, fists ready. Good—gang up like that. Makes it...
-Bam!!!
Easier to handle in one go.
I grabbed each of their elbows and twisted their arms to cross paths. Their fists swung not at me, but right into each other’s faces.
“Aaaack!!!”
“Uwaaa!!!”
Noble hits to the face sent them tumbling backward. Alright, two left. I glanced their way. A middle schooler towering over even me, decked out in a basketball uniform, spat curses and unleashed a wild kick.
-Tap!
Before his sneaker could connect, I twisted aside and pressed his Achilles tendon with a poke. He lost balance in an instant and toppled backward. Thud! The sound of his freshly buzzed occiput smacking the cold bathroom tiles rang out. Oof, that’s gotta sting.
One last punk.
The weasel-eyed one hanging back swallowed hard—I could hear it. Aha. Spooked.
-Tap!
Sure enough, the final kid bolted past me toward the exit. Of course, I had no intention of letting him off easy. He’d had his chance to choose. As he brushed by, I shot my leg out straight.
-Thud!
-Crash!!!
He tripped spectacularly, bursting into sobs. Sounded like a busted nose or shattered front teeth—take your pick.
“…….”
Surveying the now-quiet scene, I crouched and nudged the one who’d face-planted on the floor. He lifted his head, sniffling through a face smeared in blood.
“Ouchie. Bet that smarts.”
I said it with zero concern, clicking my tongue in mock pity. Tsk tsk. Their own damn fault. Not a single punch from me? A full-grown adult can’t go laying hands on budding youths!
“Alright, buddy.”
-Sniff...
“Wanna make a man-to-man promise with big bro?”
-Sniff, sniff...
“No more bullying other people from now on.”
-Nod, nod, sniff...
“Bored? Play games instead. Games.”
Way healthier, any angle you look at it. Builds goals, rewards effort, hones reflexes—kids should grind games in their prime youth. Relieves stress, and no stress means no need to bully.
“Promise?”
He bobbed his head frantically through the bloody mess, sniffling nonstop. The other sprawled punks had heard every word, holding their breaths.
“…….”
Past “Kang Tae-oh” too.
I dusted off my hands and stood. Through the gap in the dingy public restroom door came the squeaking screech of tires—far off, a car pulling up. Our little commotion must’ve been loud enough for someone to call it in. Better bail before the cops showed. As I turned to go, a tiny voice piped up from behind.
“Th-thank you...”
...It was “me.”
What had that era’s me looked like? I’d buried the bad memories, refused to dwell, treated it like it never happened. But...
“…….”
I turned wordlessly. There he was—the past me I’d ignored for so long. Face covered in bruises. I’d hidden that face from my parents for three whole years. No, that’s not true. They knew everything. All because my pride wouldn’t let me admit it—I’d driven nails into their hearts for all that time.
“……If you’re grateful,”
“…….”
“Tell your parents the truth.”
“…….”
“It’s not shameful.”
“…….”
“Doing nothing—that’s what’s shameful.”
“…….”
“Nothing changes if you do nothing.”
“…….”
“Remember that.”
I gave young “Kang Tae-oh” the words I’d needed most back then. What face he made after, I wouldn’t know. Cops burst in before I could see—I kicked the door open and bolted.
Outside stretched the void once more. A space of nothing. A space that could become anything. This emptiness held infinite potential, connected to every time and place.
‘Which means...’
If I played it right, I could head straight to wherever or whenever I wanted. The crows must’ve exploited that trait to snag their fragment.
‘Then, before they make a move, find the fragment and Dawood quick and get the hell out of...’
That’s when it happened.
-Creeeak...
Behind me, the sound of a new door swinging open. Damn, now I’m scared to look. I took a deep breath and turned slowly. Sure enough, another “familiar” door awaited.
A spotless glass door so clean a fly would slip right off. Beyond it poured the bright, dazzling lights unique to a city. Towering skyscrapers ablaze for the night skyline, vast roads crammed with cars, rush-hour crowds heading home...
-@%$!$^*...
-^&*!@$...
The bustle of the city leaked through the gap—shop music, chattering commuters. Sounds utterly impossible in a pseudo-medieval land, not even imaginable!
-...Mr. Kang!
Then, cutting through the familiar din, a familiar voice called a familiar name. This was...
‘Mr. Kang! Druid’s a recommended class, you know.’
Right—the newbie Woo Kyung, who’d advised me that druid was top-tier.
‘Which means, beyond that door...!’
My world, before the drop into the pseudo-medieval land.
The realization hit, and I found myself walking toward the door without thinking. I gripped the handle of the glass door, sticker reading [Micio], and eased it open. And then...
-Ugh, seriously! When’s the damn bus coming?!
-Vroom...
-...The deep freeze that started yesterday shows no sign of letting up...
-♩♪~♬♩~♪♬...
The familiar, longed-for clamor flooded in. The announcer’s crisp weather report, grumpy mutters, car exhaust rumbles, the latest hits blasting down the street...
And.
“Ah, Mr. Kang! Let’s head out together!”
“Nah. You’ll just rope me into drinks.”
“Hehe, ditching me again?”
Not far off stood “me”—Kang Tae-oh.
“I’ll introduce you to my friends. They’re sweet and cute!”
“Woo Kyung, stick to meeting your own friends. It’s the last day of <Eo-en> Season 1 event—where’s the time for booze?”
“Mr. Kaaang~!”
...
Yeah.
The space and time I’d landed in...
“Later, later. Gotta hit the games tonight.”
...was the day I’d get smashed by that infamous “isekai truck.”