Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Severed Leg and Worldline Theory
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Beep... beep... beep—
A steady mechanical beep echoed through the room.
Tae-jun opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital.
It was a far cry from what he'd been certain of—that he would die.
He hadn't felt any particular fear of death, but he couldn't help the good mood that came with still being alive.
"Phew... Is that really a form of treatment?"
His spirits had been high right up until he heard how they'd treated him.
"It was tricky until the history rewrite. But once Woo-seok's Momentary Dreams started overflowing, they said it could work."
The treatment itself was something to behold.
By the time Se-jin found Tae-jun, the contamination had already claimed most of his lower body, ruling out any conventional cure.
"Even so, amputating my leg while I was out cold... It feels off."
Before the treatment, Se-jin had judged that the contamination would soon overrun his entire body and simply lopped off his leg.
To borrow Se-jin's phrasing, it had halved his height.
"I never imagined my body could handle that level of blood loss."
"Neither did I."
"What? Then what the hell were you basing that on?"
Somehow, through a miracle, Tae-jun's body endured the grueling trip to the hospital. Then they pumped an enormous quantity of Momentary Dreams into him, and he recovered.
Ignoring his pounding headache, Tae-jun cut to the most important question.
"So, how'd it go?"
"Thanks to you, we got a lot of intel. The old man was caught on a ton of surveillance cams while hightailing it out of there."
Se-jin took a breath.
"For starters, we got a clear shot of his face and ID'd him. Name's Lee Young-gil. Full profile's in this file—read it when you've got time."
Se-jin handed over a fairly thick stack of documents.
"Pretty hefty, right? Turns out the guy's been busy."
"Got it. Then I'll head back to duty."
"Huh? No way, Tae-jun. Your leg'll give out before long in this state."
"Huh?"
"We didn't repair the original—we regenerated a whole new one. Woo-seok and the other docs say pushing it now would wreck the leg. Just take a few days off."
"...All right. I'll rest up then."
Tae-jun did want to go after Lee Young-gil, the man who'd dragged him to the brink of death. But resolving his recent nagging doubts took priority, so he accepted without protest.
"I'll get going then."
"Oh—one thing. Lee Young-gil reeked. Like a sewer, that kind of stench."
"A sewer? You don't mean...?"
Se-jin seemed to realize something and bolted from the room.
He hadn't forgotten a farewell, but with no explanation forthcoming, all Tae-jun was left with was questions.
"Guess I'll do my own thing."
Tae-jun rose from the bed with ease.
A slightly awkward sensation climbed his leg—almost hypersensitive, in a way.
"Just gotta take it easy."
Hospital confinement meant nothing to him. He changed into the suit hanging nearby—someone must have left it.
He yanked the IV line from his left arm with brute force, the kind of recklessness only the fearless could pull off.
"I know I shouldn't."
But with some free time on his hands, it seemed best to make the most of it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A slanted moon hung in the night sky, the hour when most office workers had clocked out. Children's laughter filled one home.
"So that's why you came to me?"
"Yes."
"Ha... You're still recovering, and they even amputated your leg."
Han A-ram was so flabbergasted she couldn't shut her mouth.
"Escaping the hospital like that... What are you, a kid?"
"Haha..."
Tae-jun could only laugh it off.
"But I had something urgent to discuss."
"Discuss? Wait... Skipping hospital treatment just to see me..."
A-ram's cheeks flushed red.
"Yes. Something I absolutely have to tell you."
The moment Tae-jun opened his mouth, A-ram blurted out her answer.
"I'm fine with—"
"Something big is going to happen in three months."
"...Pardon?"
"I've run into some strange stuff lately."
Tae-jun explained everything in detail.
These were things he felt he absolutely could not tell the Bureau folks. Yet, oddly, spilling it all to A-ram seemed fine.
It wasn't just that she was easy to talk to. He couldn't shake the feeling some external force was compelling him to do it.
"What do you think, A-ram?"
Regardless of Tae-jun's intentions, A-ram felt a twinge of pique.
"..."
"Uh... A-ram?"
A-ram looked up and let out a deep sigh.
"It's definitely big enough to bust out of the hospital for. Still, wouldn't it be better to tell the Bureau pros instead of an outsider like me?"
"Ah, about that."
Tae-jun described his feelings on the matter, and A-ram pondered long and hard before tilting her head in confusion.
"Well, if you only told me because it felt right emotionally... Angel, savior and victim, the clock. It's all a bit off, somehow."
"Pardon?"
A-ram glanced back at her nephew, who was gleefully watching TV in the living room.
"Ha..."
She turned her gaze to Tae-jun.
"Let me confirm one thing first. Everything you've said so far—is it all true?"
"Yes. I stake my life on it."
"Agh! I was really hoping it was all a lie!"
A-ram cursed the fact that it wasn't April Fool's.
"Okay, I'll point out the holes I see. Keep in mind, this is just one regular person's take—don't take it as gospel."
"No, any insight helps me."
"You think this is a prophecy of the future, right?"
"The angel's future matched up with what the clock showed."
"Doesn't that strike you as odd?"
"Huh?"
"For one, the angel described it like a past event. And blood on the clock? Then your clothes should've changed too, right?"
"Ah! You're right!"
"Putting it all together, this feels less like the future and more like a rundown of another worldline. In the worldline where that clock existed, the problem cropped up three months later."
To Tae-jun, A-ram's explanation rang true.
He couldn't fathom why he'd overlooked something so straightforward.
"Impressive."
"I'm a specialist horror tale reporter, even if I don't look it. I write stories from scraps of info all the time."
A-ram waved her notebook full of past articles.
"Now the worldline idea's the sticking point. Anything come to mind?"
Tae-jun and A-ram sank into deep thought.
Worldline—a convenient concept that had a way of steering you down the wrong path.
"Ah!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Tae-jun spoke first.
"History alteration from a tale!"
A-ram jumped in surprise but nodded in agreement.
From there, the discussion flew forward.
Future plans and courses of action piled up through their back-and-forth.
Once most of it was settled, A-ram gave a hollow laugh.
"We talked it out, but maybe it's nothing to worry about?"
"No, I don't think so. The angel gave me that clock for a reason—something huge is coming, one way or another."
Tae-jun scowled.
"I'll find the clock's owner, no matter what."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Phew..."
I'm inside a shopping mall right now.
You know, the kind selling sundries and groceries.
"S-s-sir... Wh-what are y-you l-looking f-for?"
One key difference: this place is a tale.
Employees with grotesquely elongated necks zip between the shelves, muttering to thin air.
Running into them is a hassle, so I'll dodge them where I can.
They're not that tough anyway—if I have to, I'll just smash through.
Still, a detour beats the annoyance if it's not too much trouble.
I came here for two main reasons.
First: Stock up some of the mall's goods for the Shop.
Second: Those barcode scanners lined up at the checkout counters.
The second one's the real crux of this plan.
The first is just a bonus while I'm here.
The scanners read an item's past.
They turn the item to ash on read, but that's no big deal.
With one of those, all my questions will be answered.
"Too many employees near the counters. Better grab the goods first."
I pulled on my gloves from the bag.
Carpenter gloves, courtesy of the Shop.
"Knowing what these are made of, I'd rather not use them."
But nothing beats them for snagging items without getting spotted.
And they'll come in handy prying off a scanner later.
I scanned the nearby shelves and sighed.
Truth is, despite all these items, I'd never bothered coming here before.
Most of it is utterly useless.
Like, drink that soda and an extra hand sprouts beside your existing one. Eat that sandwich, and your arm splits in half.
Only two or three are actually worthwhile.
"How is it all just garbage like this? If they wanna sell, they should take notes from the Tale Shop."
The fruit aisle's got two decent ones, at least.
"One's these apples."
I waited for an employee to pass, then stacked the purple-glowing apples neatly in my bag.
Just as I nearly filled it, an employee's head whipped around.
But no issue.
I'd already slipped to the other side.
"Next up: bananas..."
What to call the shape? It's uncanny.
Looks, smells, and colors just like a banana—but repulsive all the same.
Like someone jammed a metaphorical expression into physical form.
Figuring they won't sell well, I grabbed just five.
Last item: over in the liquor section.
Plenty of employees there, but nothing I can't handle.
"Time to go."