Chapter 60
‘Seo Wonseok?’
That was the name that caught Kim Yi-hak's eye while he was skimming through the freshman roster in his office.
It stood out not just because of its unusual three characters, but because the student had topped the national college entrance exam scores.
‘A dragon rises from the shallows.’
Kim Yi-hak's impression of Seo Wonseok was brief and to the point.
The university where he'd been appointed professor was Korea University—the shining face of South Korean education, as its name implied.
Unless you'd been kidnapped for early admission, Korea University was the prestigious gathering spot for the top scorers on the entrance exam.
Well, Seo Wonseok was an unusual freshman, to say the least.
He wasn't from the elite Seoul 8th School District, a gifted high school, or a science academy. Sure, his school had a name that carried some weight, but it was just a national high school in a provincial backwater town.
And then there was one more fact he'd learn later.
‘From an orphanage...?’
Yeah, he must've poured his blood and sweat into it. Or maybe he just had a freakish talent for studying.
Kim Yi-hak didn't hold out much hope.
Top national scorers popped up every year. Hell, he'd been one himself back in the day with the College Scholastic Ability Test.
Besides, an orphanage kid entering med school? His life goal was obvious: get rich.
‘One more plastic surgeon for the world.’
Kim Yi-hak clicked his tongue dryly and closed the roster.
But Seo Wonseok turned out to be a stumbling block that shattered Kim Yi-hak's expectations.
During lectures, Seo Wonseok nitpicked every damn thing.
Well, technically, he didn't argue or contradict outright.
It was more like every time he opened his mouth, he dropped such irrefutable truths that it made you wonder if his brain was made of bedrock. The kid was a walking boomer.
So one day, Kim Yi-hak scheduled a meeting. As an educator, he felt the need to hammer some reality into this student preaching ideals.
How long did the silence last?
An answer he never saw coming slipped from the boy's mouth.
......
The corner of Kim Yi-hak's mouth twitched. He lifted his chin arrogantly and prodded further.
Pretty brutal exchange.
Neither Seo Wonseok nor Kim Yi-hak backed down an inch. Status and hierarchy meant nothing in that moment. Both instinctively knew it.
Lose this childish pissing contest, and...
‘You'll be dragged around.’
‘You'll get dragged around.’
Seo Wonseok for his part.
Kim Yi-hak for his.
They both wanted to establish the invisible power dynamic right here.
After a beat of silence, Seo Wonseok bit his lip.
And as the story unfolded, Kim Yi-hak's face visibly hardened. Each word grated on his eardrums like nails on a chalkboard.
Kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech!
Every phrase was so infuriating that the hallucination rang crystal clear. It felt like someone was right there, scraping iron right next to him.
Kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech!
‘Damn it.’
A dizzying thud pounded in his head. He clutched his temple and shook his head violently.
Seo Wonseok left the lab without a hint of regret at the curt dismissal.
Kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech!
“Kuh.”
That first one-on-one turned Kim Yi-hak against Seo Wonseok for good.
“Urk.”
Cold sweat beaded across my forehead in buckets.
Kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech!
It intensified. I pressed my fingertips to the steel door. Hemo, the red slime, wrapped around it like shrink-wrap, its sticky adhesion meant to muffle the sound.
......Kreeeeeech.
For a moment, it seemed to ease up.
Kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech!
No such luck—the frenzy ramped up. Hemo bristled all over like a hedgehog.
‘Fuck.’
Quit harassing me already, you bastard!
My ear suddenly burned. I glanced sideways. My earlobe was red and wet. Eardrum burst, probably.
“Cough!”
Blood sprayed from my mouth. Damn. I thought just keeping the door shut would do it, but no dice.
Kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech!
Why didn't I think of that? The enemy was a demon. ∅∅-grade gate rules prevented it from forcing the door open, but that unholy power could goad me into opening it myself.
Like right now. This shredding metallic screech was hell-bent on draining every drop of blood from every orifice. Human faucet, my ass.
“Hah, hah.”
Yeah, I know, Hemo. Used too much blood on the first floor, huh? Even the emergency stash inside you is tapped out.
‘Not the limit yet.’
I'd already crossed it. Spill any more, and I'd go into shock and die.
“Ow.”
Choi Uncle couldn't stand it anymore and started toward me. I shot him a look to stop.
“Uncle... keep an eye... on the professor......”
I had to endure.
‘Timing isn't ripe yet.’
Taking down Jangsanbeom was a success, sure. Don't forget: I need to turn the professor into an ally.
‘Just opening the door and calling his name isn't enough.’
Professor Kim Yi-hak had walked into this room, mumbled blankly, then passed out. Nostalgia? Bullshit.
‘He's the coldest person I know.’
Case in point: he'd stayed pretty calm even after getting dragged into a ∅∅-grade gate. For someone like that to suddenly collapse from shock? Ridiculous hypothesis.
‘Maybe the professor's part of this final stage gimmick.’
Unlikely that Jangsanbeom mimicked his wife's voice on purpose. ∅∅-grade gates run on absolute rules. Nothing's thrown in carelessly.
And above all...
Even if our relationship started on bad terms, could I turn a blind eye to his tragic future?
No way. Can't get lost in personal grudges.
Second: recall the purpose of this second life, Seo Wonseok.
‘Revenge?’
No.
That fleeting emotion wasn't my lifelong mission this time.
‘Seize it now.’
Last life, my life's gears ground and slipped constantly. I was too green at reading situations back then.
But life handed me a do-over. My biggest weapon? Future knowledge... That's what I thought at first.
“No.”
The bonds with the people connected to me.
Fate.
The Eternal Blessing might just be fate taking physical form.
‘The bonds I botched last life...’
The springs that broke in my previous life—these fateful ties—I wanted to hunt them down one by one and fix them.
Then they'd become my ultimate weapons. No more ignoring the ones I knew were suffering, drowned in self-pity.
‘Professor Kim Yi-hak.’
You included.
Cough!
“......Ow!”
Choi Uncle stomped in frustration. Palm flat against Hemo on the door, I shouted.
“Professor!”
My voice made the professor's body twitch.
“......”
“If you want to save your wife, you can't stay trapped in the past!”
“......”
Bound tight, he started blinking rapidly.
“You know this house is from the time when you were happiest as a Korea University med school professor! Decades ago!”
A view overlooking the Han River. Retro interior like a time machine.
This place was a page from memory. An artificial illusion recreating the era he desperately missed.
And the clincher:
“The picture frame on the TV stand!”
Kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech!
“The photo with your wife!”
Kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech!
Kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech, kreeeeeech!
“If you can't go back to the past......!”
Time for brutal honesty.
“Shouldn't you start changing things from now on......!!”
This was my own vow, too.
A scream not to lose sight of what's truly precious amid revenge and rage.
“Your wife in the real world is still alive!”
That snapped the professor fully awake.
“......”
He slowly pulled his wire-bound upper body forward.
Choi Uncle jolted back in shock. Like seeing a corpse push open its coffin lid.
“Y-You, you back to your senses?!”
The professor gave Choi Uncle a blank glance.
“O-Oh.”
Choi Uncle looked between me and the professor, conflicted. Frustrating, but that caution was smart.
We'd just dealt with zombies downstairs. Could look like the professor, but be a gate monster in disguise.
Professor Kim seemed to get it and sighed. Then his chapped lips parted.
“A-Alright.”
No hesitation from Choi Uncle. He grabbed a gleaming golf club from the balcony.
“Being around you means I end up gripping a golf club way more than my fate ever intended.”
Uncle warned as he unwound the bindings.
No reply.
The professor hurried behind me. Uncle thrust the club forward and stuck close.
The professor eyed my condition. He clicked his tongue sharply soon after.
“......Hah.”