The Price of Survival
“Did you just say you can’t switch bodies until tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
I can’t switch bodies until the end of tomorrow. After all, I set it that way.
“Hah……”
He exhaled a short breath and stared into empty space, then turned his gaze back to me.
“But that’s fraud. An ability like that. If you can set the period for switching bodies however you want.”
I nodded.
Exactly as Won Ji-an had said.
If the user could set the switching period autonomously, in theory they could live their entire life switching bodies.
But a system like this wouldn’t just leave such an ability to be used freely.
“Of course, there were restrictions.”
“What are they?”
I avoided Won Ji-an’s questioning eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“……”
I hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
“It’s your lifespan.”
“……Lifespan?”
“Yeah. Your lifespan is reduced during the period you’re switching bodies.”
Honestly, I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to share it.
But I had to. Because the ability the unidentified being from before had been using was similar to this.
So Won Ji-an needed to know this information too—that using the ability to switch bodies with others reduces lifespan.
“Of course, it’s not exactly the same ability. This one switches bodies between two people, while the ability that guy used made the target unconscious and took over the body.”
Strictly speaking, they’re different, but similar. Probably the reason he couldn’t stay in someone else’s body for long was the penalty of reducing his own lifespan.
“How much is it reduced?”
“That’s……”
I couldn’t bring myself to say it and closed my mouth.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“It’s not good to know. I’ve already used the item and switched bodies.”
If you knew how much my lifespan had been cut this time, Won Ji-an would definitely feel guilty.
So I decided not to say anything. Instead, to reassure him, I forced a smile.
“Anyway, what? Even if you survive in this world, it’s not like there’s anything special about it.”
But Won Ji-an’s expression grew even worse.
“Then why did you save me? If surviving in this world is nothing special.”
My words got stuck for a moment.
Won Ji-an always turns logical in strange places. I become stupid in situations like this too.
“I have no regrets.”
“……”
“Ultimately it worked out, but at that moment I thought you might really die, and to prevent any bad situations, I decided to save you even by cutting my lifespan.”
Won Ji-an’s expression became unreadable.
“Are you still angry?”
Won Ji-an shook his head.
“No. You already made the choice, your lifespan was reduced, and now there’s nothing you can do about it. I don’t want to get angry over something irreversible.”
Indeed. Efficient thinking.
But I didn’t say it out loud. I was afraid it would just pour oil on a burning house.
I looked at him and spoke again.
“So you’ve calmed down now?”
“……”
“I’m sorry. Anyway, we debuted together. Let’s enjoy today. Why keep making a face on such a good day?”
With my poking gestures, Won Ji-an slumped helplessly.
“Alright.”
“Then what, shall I order some late-night snack? We should have a celebration party.”
“A celebration party?”
“Yeah. As a commemoration of surviving.”
To lift the heavy atmosphere, I joked with an unenthusiastic tone.
“Since it was a day we almost had a funeral, now we’re having a party! Haha!”
“……”
Won Ji-an muttered in frustration at that.
“It’s a day we lost our lifespan, and you’re saying to celebrate a party as if it’s good……”
“Haha.”
What can I say.
Whether we lost our lifespan or whatever, it’s a day no one died.
Isn’t that enough?
“It’s not like lifespan is anything. If you had died today, you would have lived the remaining days filled with guilt.”
I fiddled with the delivery app on my smartphone and spat out those words.
Neither of us said anything. We survived today. We were at the level of barely surviving right before death.
“We have to thank the people who saved us until the end.”
If there had been no fan votes, there would have been no tomorrow for us.
The joke that a funeral turned into a celebration party wasn’t exaggerated. We really almost died.
If we hadn’t succeeded, we would have lived our whole lives in this basement and died. Won Ji-an would have disappeared from this world too.
“……Thinking that way is eerie.”
If their choices hadn’t been made, we would have died as nameless beings without ever seeing the light of this world.
“But having someone to die with is somewhat romantic, isn’t it?”
A smile came to Won Ji-an’s words.
“Fate-sharing community, is that it?”
“……Probably?”
Won Ji-an is the only one who can casually have such eerie conversations.
“What do you want to eat?”
After finishing the somewhat eerie conversation, we naturally moved on to ordinary topics. The question of what to eat for late-night snack. It felt strangely out of place because it was so ordinary.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to think hard today. We debuted, I just want to enjoy.”
Won Ji-an lying on the floor waved his limbs and muttered.
“Yeah. Let’s enjoy.”
“You’re the one who won’t let me enjoy.”
“Haha, why.”
“You lost your lifespan. You didn’t say how much you lost.”
“If I say, you’ll get angry again.”
Annoyed, Won Ji-an got up to provoke me.
As soon as I opened the window, a pungent smell of cigarette smoke rushed in.
“Uwaaaaa.”
“Does it smell?”
“It smells like sewer and cigarettes mixed, really weird smell.”
I closed the window again.
Now that we’ve debuted, this dirty, filthy basement is over.
Still, it’s sad to leave a place I got used to? No way. I have to leave this place without looking back.
“I ordered pizza.”
“Good job.”
After the dry conversation, silence flowed again. Neither of us spoke first. Maybe because we were tired or because we were watching each other’s eyes.
The faint smell of cigarette smoke from earlier when the window was opened drifted in.
“Sorry.”
“Huh?”
“I was angry.”
Won Ji-an muttered while lying down.
“Anyway, it was a choice I made to save you.”
“……”
“I also acted on my own to save you, and you got really angry, so I guess I was being childish.”
“You knew that?”
Won Ji-an looked at me with a frown.
“I was joking.”
I rolled my eyes unnecessarily.
Silence flowed again.
“I debuted.”
Won Ji-an lying there staring blankly at the ceiling said in a slow voice.
“I still can’t believe it.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. It feels like a lie.”
“I feel the same.”
Won Ji-an continued.
“Do you remember? I was completely insignificant in my last life.”
“Was I?”
“Yeah. Like I was there but not there, and no one cared if I was gone or not. If I disappeared from the world, the world would stay the same……”
I wanted to ask why he was talking about the old days, but I listened quietly.
“But now, there are many people who support me. And there are people who hope I don’t die.”
“……Yeah.”
“There is one crazy friend who traded his lifespan for me.”
Crazy friend.
“What did he say, the best he could say was crazy friend?”
“Haha.”
But I understand.
Even if he says that, what Won Ji-an wants to say now. He’s expressing gratitude in that way.
“I almost died, but I’m happy.”
At those words, I almost burst into laughter.
“What’s funny.”
“No, just surprised.”
It was surprising anew.
How such emotional changes could happen spectacularly in one day.
From the moment of despair in the brink of death, to acceptance, anger, then miraculously debuting and becoming happy.
It was surprising that my brain could accept this crazy emotional change.
“It’s fortunate that I can end this crazy day with the word ‘happy’.”
Won Ji-an, blinking with sleepy eyes while listening to my words, yawned.
“Tired?”
“Yeah.”
“You can’t sleep before the pizza comes.”
“Hmm.”
“No, if you’re too tired, just sleep. We can return the favor tomorrow.”
At that moment, the phone rang.
As expected, it was Lee Hae-won.
“Of course. I thought Lee Hae-won would call.”
But after ending the final live broadcast, and both of us being tired, I thought we could quietly pass today…….
“What to do? Answer?”
Won Ji-an, who had entered my body, looked panicked and fiddled with the phone.
“Just don’t answer.”
But before my words ended, Won Ji-an had already picked up the call.
[Wonwoo-ya!]
Lee Hae-won’s bright voice came through the phone.
[We finally debuted!]
“Ha, hahaha……”
Won Ji-an holding the smartphone to his ear laughed silently without knowing what to do.
[I’m so happy we can debut together. I don’t know how long I’ve waited for this day. I’m so happy.]
“Ha ha ha ha……”
As Won Ji-an kept laughing, Lee Hae-won asked with a puzzled voice.
“Wonwoo-ya, why are you like that?”
“……Huh?”
“From earlier, you’ve been laughing at my words. You’re weird today. No, you were crying a lot yesterday too, not like you.”
Then Won Ji-an clicked his tongue.
“What’s my own thing.”
Hah, saying that.
It was from my mouth.
[You…… you?]
“W-well, that’s all happy tears. Tears of joy. Because I’m so happy that I can debut with Wonwoo……”
Without drinking, panicked Won Ji-an stammered.
[What are you saying. That you can debut with Wonwoo. Wonwoo is you.]
“Ah, right.”
I seem to be making a lot of mistakes today.
“That’s why I told you not to answer.”
Lee Hae-won reacted immediately when he heard my voice.
[Huh? Who’s next to you?]
“……Me. Won Ji-an.”
[Ah! The two of you are together? At this time of night?]
Won Ji-an snatched the phone from his hand and took the call instead.
“Yeah. We’re having a party.”
[What? Why didn’t I get invited?]
“Would you come?”
[Ah! I’m coming! Me too!]
……Coming now?
I didn’t expect him to grab it so eagerly when I just said it casually.
“You’re late. Come next time.”
[What? I said come! Me too!]
“……Are you really coming?”
Won Ji-an next to me looked at me with eyes full of resentment at what I said.
[I’m with Jaehyun right now, shall we go together? The more people at the party, the better!]
Na Jae-hyun too.
Thinking about the two of them chatting, I felt blood coming out of my ears.
“Here the basement is really narrow and smells. And the party will be held later with everyone together, so why……”
I tried to tell him not to come, but he didn’t seem to understand.
No, even if he understood, he just repeated that he wouldn’t pretend not to understand.
[I’m coming right now!]
“Hey, hey! Don’t come! Hello?”
The call disconnected, and in the silence, our eyes met.
The look of what to do now. I avoided his gaze and looked up at the ceiling.
“Well, since we know each other too well, let’s pretend not to be caught and act well.”
“Act well?”
“……Wait, what are you doing.”
At that moment, Won Ji-an picked up the hoe from the floor and swung it.
“Hey, no, wait! That’s not it!”
Perhaps he couldn’t hold back his anger.
But using even the weapon.
“Are you joking now?”
Won Ji-an aimed the hoe at my head and took a step forward.
“Ah, no, stop it seriously. Such inefficient actions won’t help in this situation at all. You’re hitting me? It’s like hitting yourself. This is your body.”
Thud!
“Ahhhhh!”
But humans always do inefficient things.
Even if what is in front of you is your own body, when anger exceeds the limit, people can even self-harm.
“This is hitting you!”
Thud thud!
“No? The pain is what you receive.”
Won Ji-an looking down at me holding my head had a wicked smile.
After being hit on the head with the hoe, I felt a sense of clarity in my mind.
“……You, changed.”
Won Ji-an squatted in front of me and silently stroked my head.
“Is this giving a curse and then medicine?”
And after how much time passed, there was a knocking sound at the door.
It wasn’t pizza. The one who opened the door and came in was…….
“We’re here!”
It was Lee Hae-won and Na Jae-hyun.