Chapter 237
Chapter 237
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 237
Chapter Title: The Irreplaceable Gift
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Just as I was wondering what on earth she meant by "now," Hyorin spoke up.
"Costumes!"
"Cos... tumes?"
"I've decided what to go with. It's Halloween, after all—don't you think ghost costumes would be perfect?"
Halloween.
Come to think of it, the year I met Hyorin, we had dressed up for Halloween together. I suddenly remembered.
'Ahh!'
I was startled for a moment. Just briefly, I thought it wasn't the past.
There were no special symptoms, and none of that pulling sensation I'd felt before.
I glanced back at the spot where I'd been sitting moments ago.
But as expected, Daeun was nowhere to be seen.
"This won't do. I'll dress you up myself. Come with me."
With that, Hyorin grabbed my hand and dragged me off somewhere.
Ah... but there's no time.
From my experiences so far, the time I could stay here was roughly ten minutes or so.
After ten minutes, I'd return to my original spot.
I had to convince Hyorin in the meantime.
Still, since I'd rewound to the first time, she should retain the memory.
Maybe I wouldn't need to explain in detail.
I shook off Hyorin's hand as she pulled me along.
"Hyorin, wait a sec. I have something to say."
I'd learned from last time that blind persuasion wouldn't work.
So I decided to change tactics.
"Hypothetically speaking... if I were to die in the future, what would you do?"
"...What? What's that all of a sudden? Die?"
"Just a hypothetical. If I died, but you knew about it ahead of time. What would you do?"
Hyorin looked baffled, but she answered anyway since it was me asking.
"What kind of question is that? Of course I'd make sure you didn't die."
"Right? That's the right answer."
"Yeah, obviously. I couldn't just let you die."
Perfect.
I'd confirmed Hyorin's mindset, so now I just had to explain the process.
I tried to calmly recount the story I'd told her back in her hometown.
But then.
"Hey! There you are!"
"So, what're we dressing up as?"
Minji and Jungeun came laughing from down the hall.
"Ah, Min..."
Whoosh!
At their sudden appearance, I grabbed Hyorin's hand instead.
"Come with me for now."
There was no time.
Running into those two here would waste precious time.
It looked a bit odd, fleeing at the sight of them.
But I had no other choice.
Running was the only option.
"Run."
"Huh? W-Wait, s-suddenly wha...!"
We bolted in the opposite direction from where they were coming.
That's when Jungeun yelled after me.
"What's going on? Why are you running away?!"
"Jungeun! They don't wanna do it! Grab 'em!"
"Hey! Stop right there!"
They really have no clue!
As I fled with Hyorin, Jungeun started chasing after me.
A ridiculous pursuit.
I tried to shake them off, but with Hyorin in tow, it wasn't easy.
Time was ticking away.
Soon, it'd be over ten minutes since I'd arrived here.
Then I'd go back to where I was...
"Huff! Huff! What... the...?"
"Hey! Ha! Huff! What... are you... doing?! Why run?!"
What the heck?
I'd been running forever. Ten minutes had long passed, but my body was still here.
I couldn't make sense of it when...
"Hey!"
Finally, the two caught up, panting heavily as they approached us.
"Why! Why run away?!"
"Huff! Yeah! If you don't wanna, just say so!"
They collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
But I still couldn't understand.
Why wasn't I going back?
What was wrong?
Just then, Hyorin, having caught her breath, spoke up.
"You really don't wanna? You just blurt out something about dying outta nowhere. You're acting weird today."
"Wh-Who said Kanghyeok was dying?"
"Why would he die? What're you talking about?"
That's what I wanted to ask.
Why wasn't I returning?
The three of them stared at me like I was crazy.
Under those gazes, I had only one thing to say.
"I just... felt like running."
I couldn't talk about the future with everyone around.
Their looks grew even stranger at my excuse.
"Man, people hate in all sorts of ways. If you don't wanna, just say no—don't run off."
"Aw, lame. Lame. I thought we could have some Halloween fun for once."
"Forget costumes. Let's just grab drinks."
"Good idea. There's a bar up ahead that was great last time. Let's go there."
"Deal! I'll book it now. Kanghyeok, you better not bail on drinks too!"
To Jungeun's question, I could only answer blankly.
"I'll go..."
* * *
It was strange.
Rewinding time had gone fine.
But I hadn't returned, and I had no idea how to get back.
Suddenly, fear washed over me.
'What if... I can't go back?'
Then what about Daeun?
I couldn't lose her, no matter what else I lost.
The longer time passed, the more I missed Daeun.
I worried.
Daeun, left alone... I was going crazy with worry.
Hyorin noticed my behavior.
"Are you okay? You look really down. Worried about something?"
"...N-No..."
Telling Hyorin, who knew nothing, about Daeun wouldn't make sense to her.
"You sure? You're really acting off today."
"..."
I knew I should say something, but I couldn't.
All I could do was keep picturing Daeun in my mind to not forget her.
"If you're not feeling well, don't force the drinks. Head home early."
"I-I'm... fine."
"You sure you're fine?"
"Yeah, just..."
I just missed her.
Daeun.
Hyorin still looked worried at my words.
But she soon changed the subject.
"By the way, Kanghyeok, about what you said earlier. I've heard something similar before."
"What I said?"
"About you dying."
Did she remember what I'd said?
"When you brought it up, it jogged a memory I'd forgotten. You asked what I'd do if I knew you were going to die."
"Y-Yeah..."
"Then think of it the other way: if you knew I was going to die, what would you do?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, what would you do?"
Of course I'd save her.
That's why I was here right now.
"Naturally, if it were me..."
"Wait."
Hyorin cut me off and asked again.
"But there's one condition."
"Condition?"
"Yeah. If I survive, fate might change. Like, maybe no kids or something."
She was recalling exactly what I'd told her back then.
And it seemed she'd been mulling it over since.
"Even if the future changes, you'd make the same choice."
I couldn't answer right away.
Maybe because I wanted to see Daeun so badly.
My choice might mean Daeun never being born.
Even so, could I choose to save Hyorin?
Foolishly, I hesitated.
I'd thought I'd choose her, selfish or not.
But in the end...
"I'm not sure."
Hyorin smiled brightly at my answer.
"See? My hunch was right."
"Your hunch?"
"Yeah. If there was a condition like that, I don't think I'd choose either. I wouldn't want to live at the cost of losing someone incredibly precious."
This was the Hyorin of the past.
Yet I could feel how much she already loved Daeun.
Daeun, whom she'd never seen or met...
Squeeze.
'Daeun...'
Even I, who'd been with Daeun.
Even Hyorin, who'd never met her.
We both longed for Daeun.
Maybe Daeun was our entire world.
Enough to face death for her.
Ah... That's when I remembered what Kerry had said.
Something Hyorin had told her during her studies abroad.
'Love prepared to embrace death.'
Perhaps the true meaning wasn't about me, but Daeun.
"Thanks. You've put my mind at ease."
"..."
Faced with Hyorin's resolve to embrace death, I had nothing to say.
I could only gaze at her sadly.
Hyorin stood up.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
"Ah, okay..."
She smiled sweetly and headed off.
Watching her go, I realized.
Convincing Hyorin any further was pointless.
Now I understood why she'd said what she did when we met at the acacia tree during the MT trip.
It was a choice she could make because she'd accepted death.
Maybe that's why time wasn't rewinding now—to show me this.
Probably.
Otherwise, there'd be no reason not to return.
Now that I understood Hyorin's heart completely, wouldn't it be time to go back?
Back to a world without Hyorin.
Back to that place with just me and Daeun...
The thought of parting from Hyorin forever made my chest ache needlessly.
Before leaving for good, I wanted to hold her one last time.
Hyorin, one last...
'But...'
A thought struck me.
'What if I don't go back there?'
At first, I was terrified of not returning.
Of never seeing Daeun again.
But on second thought, there was no reason I wouldn't meet her.
If time flowed the same, I'd see her eventually.
If I'd truly crossed fully into this past timeline.
Gulp.
'I can save Hyorin. And Daeun too...'
As Hyorin said, her survival might alter fate.
But that was without foreknowledge of the future.
With memories of the future intact...
I could save Hyorin without changing destined fate.
With everything as it was.
Hyorin and Daeun both here...
Sure, I'd have to wait years to meet Daeun again.
'But I can do it.'
This was a chance to fix everything.
I could wait that long.
Click.
Hyorin emerged from the bathroom.
Smiling at her, I thought.
'Daeun, let's... meet again. For sure.'
Praying we'd meet again for sure...
* * *
"H-hello? Oh, yeah, I'm almost there. I'll be at the exhibition hall soon."
*-Honey, you've worked so hard. You barely slept preparing for the show.*
Hearing Hyorin's voice over the phone made me smile involuntarily.
"Aw, come on. You've been right there suffering with me. Thanks for always being by my side."
*-Ah, I wish you'd hurry back.*
Her urging made me chuckle.
But I played dumb.
"Aren't you rushing it? We saw each other yesterday morning."
*-Not that. I have a gift for you.*
A gift? I was still smiling.
"What gift?"
*-It's a secret. I wanna surprise you after the exhibition.*
"What kind of gift? Give me a hint at least."
*-Hint... hmm, maybe the most precious gift in the world?*
The most precious gift? Now I was curious.
"Aw, telling me now would spoil it. Just nail the exhibition schedule, and I'll tell you after."
Normally, we'd chat longer here.
But I let it go cleanly.
"Got it. Tell me everything when I get back, okay?"
*-Yeah! Got it! Oh, by the way, why aren't you driving today?*
Driving?
I grinned.
"Because today's a special day."