Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 135. Involuntary Resignation
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Golden sand poured down.
More precisely, a golden hourglass was spewing sand as if it had finally been released after enduring the pressure of endless time.
It was a spectacular sight, but only for a moment.
-Thud...
A strange sound echoed through the air, and the hourglass disintegrated in midair.
Had something changed?
"...Hey, what the hell was that?"
Song Arin stared at me with a trembling voice as she muttered those words.
"You just shot into the air, and then some weird noise happened."
"A weird noise?"
"Yeah. Like something... breaking?"
Yoo Daon chimed in, murmuring along with Song Arin.
"And what the hell is this freaky thing you're doing right now anyway!"
She hurriedly pointed at Kim Wanwoo with her hand.
"What is th-"
-Shhh...
Just as she pointed and opened her mouth,
the hourglass vanished with that eerie sound,
and at the same moment, the petrification released as if it had fulfilled its purpose.
The man who had been frozen stared at us with a bewildered expression.
"You, what did you just—Guh!"
-Thud!
The moment he opened his mouth, Jang Chaeyeon immediately thrust her hand out, slamming him into the ground.
"Arin."
Jang Chaeyeon spread her fingers, pinning his arms and legs to the floor like nails,
and as Song Arin glared at him, he naturally opened his mouth and spat something out.
-Plop...
A small capsule fell from his mouth.
"I knew it. I knew you'd pull something like this."
Song Arin muttered in a cold voice upon seeing the capsule and picked it up.
"What's that?"
"It's an emergency capsule given only to Response Team or Containment Team members."
"Oh, no way..."
"Yeah, that no way. It's essential for field agents since it lets you go instantly without pain. I actually tried to make you spit it out during the fight earlier, but you held on till the end."
So that was why he could return at will.
Because if he died, everything would be undone.
He twisted his body this way and that, staring at me.
His face was full of bewilderment.
"...You."
Had he realized he couldn't go back?
"What did you do?"
...
A translucent window appeared above his head.
[Name: Kim Wanwoo]
[Age: 28]
[Talents: None]
[Abilities: None]
[Background: 0 Loops]
[Weakness: An ordinary human. Attack vital points to kill.]
"You... what did you do?"
...
"Answer me! What trick did you pull to make this...!"
He strained against the floor, yelling.
"What have you done!"
"Should I shut him up?"
Yoo Daon glanced at him and murmured coldly to me.
"It's fine."
He was just an ordinary person now, with no informational advantage whatsoever.
At my words, bewilderment spread across his face.
"No way..."
Soon, the bewilderment turned to denial,
"No, that's not it!"
and denial turned to despair.
"Don't lie!"
He thrashed pathetically, screaming.
"...I don't get it."
"He hasn't fully undone it yet!"
Yoo Daon muttered as she watched him.
"Isn't liberation from eternal life a one-of-a-kind blessing?"
"How many times do I have to do it? I heard it!"
...
With his despairing screams as background, Yoo Daon simply gazed at the man with complex emotions.
I heard.
And I remembered every single one of his words without missing any.
*
"...You did great."
The branch chief returned sooner than expected.
Though her hands were bruised all over like last time, and her clothes were torn, she appeared mostly unharmed and greeted us.
"Branch Chief, are you okay?"
"I can handle something like this. Losing one more tree branch hurts, though..."
Her gaze turned to Jang Chaeyeon.
"Thank you. As expected from someone renowned in the Gangdong Branch—you knew exactly what needed to be done."
...
Jang Chaeyeon looked at her, nodded once, then averted her eyes.
Both Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon seemed uncomfortable around the branch chief. Was it just my imagination?
"We'll talk later. First..."
The branch chief slowly walked toward the man.
"...Branch Chief..."
The man muttered, and the branch chief looked at him.
The smile that always graced her face was gone without a trace.
"They say chaotic people appear in chaotic times."
The branch chief murmured as she looked down at him.
...
"Why did you do it?"
...
The man remained silent, his face stricken.
Was realizing he was no longer a regressor really that shocking?
The branch chief narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Not planning to explain properly, huh?"
...
"Even though incidents keep popping up lately from who knows where..."
For a moment, I had the illusion that her red eyes were fixed on me.
"The Management Bureau is extremely strict when it comes to procedures."
...
"No helping it... I wasn't planning on losing anyway. Honestly, I intended this from the start."
The branch chief smiled and clapped her hands.
"Betrayal within the Management Bureau and betrayal of humanity."
The branch chief opened her eyes wide and murmured coldly at the man.
"I'm forcing your resignation."
The reaction was immediate.
"Resignation..."
"I figured... but she's really doing it..."
Jang Chaeyeon widened her eyes, and Song Arin turned away with the look of someone who saw it coming.
"Resignation...?"
Yoo Daon and I just blinked in confusion, clueless.
And,
"...Resignation?"
The man's reaction was even more dramatic.
"Oh? So you do know what that means?"
"Wait, Branch Chief."
Sweat beaded on the man's forehead.
"Branch Chief, hear me out. I have information about the future."
He hurriedly opened his mouth.
"Yes, I suppose you do."
"If we use that information..."
"We could prevent future disasters."
"Right. And resignation is a costly, elaborate process that's not exactly favored within the Bureau..."
The man who had been so arrogant earlier was gone, replaced by someone desperately mounting a defense.
"Exactly. Not a word of it is wrong."
The branch chief nodded, cutting him off.
"Forced resignation is the harshest punishment we can impose."
"Punishment? I'd rather die a hundred times over."
"Yeah."
Song Arin muttered softly, and for the first time, Jang Chaeyeon nodded in agreement, prompting the branch chief to glance briefly at Song Arin before turning back to the man.
"Information? No need to share."
"Branch Chief—"
"Resist? Go ahead."
"Bran—"
"Do whatever you want."
"Branch Chief! Listen to me—"
She grabbed his face with one hand.
"Quiet."
"Guh, ugh..."
-Crunched...
His face crumpled under her fingers.
...
"...Whoa..."
My spine straightened in instinctive fear, while Yoo Daon grimaced at the sight.
"I won't listen to a word you say."
"-"
The branch chief murmured coldly, released her hand, and the man collapsed face-down, unconscious with his crushed face. Then she turned to me.
"Kim Jaeheon."
"Y-Yes? Yes, ma'am?"
At her words, I instinctively stood at attention, and the branch chief laughed, waving it off.
"Come on, no need to be so scared."
How could I not be scared of someone who just crushed a human face with grip strength alone?
"You've been through a lot. I have a mountain of things I want to say, but..."
The branch chief let out a deep sigh.
"As you can see, I have too much to handle right now."
She groaned, rubbing her temples as if the thought alone gave her a headache.
"I'll call you soon. With some useful info."
"...Understood."
"You probably overheard a few things yourself, huh?"
She smiled at me.
At her words, I recalled the key points to remember and the nagging concerns.
The three people's fated futures, the manuals, and...
"Now, now! Think on that later!"
The branch chief, now beside me, patted my shoulder with a smile.
"Too much thinking wears people out, you know?"
...
"I'll give you some vacation time."
"...Vacation..."
"Need I say it again?"
The branch chief looked at me.
"Please... let there be no incidents. I was told that if another one pops up, it's not just a written apology—it's off to the mental training camp."
Fear flickered across her face for the first time.
"Anyway, rest up."
She headed up the stairs, leaving the man behind.
"Uh, what about him...?"
"Someone's waiting outside to take him."
I pointed at the man, but she shook her head and started pushing our backs.
"No, wait..."
"Post-processing starts here."
She smiled, opening the door.
"Long time no see."
A man in sunglasses greeted us and locked eyes with Song Arin behind me.
"...What."
"Just wondering if you're doing well."
"What, uh. Not bad."
"Seems like you're doing great."
"I'm not?"
Passing by Song Arin and the man bickering, Yoo Daon, Jang Chaeyeon, and I climbed the stairs.
The sun had set, and a hazy moon hung in the night sky.
"Alright!"
The branch chief clapped her hands.
"Get off work!"
*
...
...
I walked with Yoo Daon.
Song Arin stayed behind to help with the interrogation, and Jang Chaeyeon muttered something with a serious expression before leaving to check on one thing.
The incident was over, but there was still so much to think about.
Fine, the adult was one thing, but the Observer and the Extremist...
"Jaeheon."
"Yeah."
Yoo Daon turned to look at me.
A faint smile played on her lips.
"When the world ended."
"...Yeah."
"Do you think I did well?"
Her words left me momentarily speechless.
"I don't know the situation exactly."
Yoo Daon stepped past me to the crosswalk.
"But I definitely would have chosen something for your sake."
...
And she did.
Yoo Daon turned back to me.
"Right?"
"...Right."
It was her stubborn choice, but she had sacrificed herself for me.
Yoo Daon smiled.
"Good."
...
...
After a brief silence, Yoo Daon spoke.
"Um."
"Yeah."
"...I, uh."
"Yeah."
"Thaaat..."
Yoo Daon stammered before speaking up.
"...Wanna sleep over at my place?"
Doesn't she have no furniture?
"...You got a bed? No, wait, no AC? TV?"
...
Yoo Daon opened and closed her mouth repeatedly.
What am I supposed to do there?
"More like, how about karao—"
"Jaeheon! You're awful!"
"No, I mean, sorry..."
Yoo Daon stomped her foot and yelled at my words.
But it's true.
"...Ahem, ahem."
Yoo Daon cleared her throat.
"Today... work's done, so let's talk and..."
Yoo Daon glanced up at me slyly.
"Yeah?"
...
At least Yoo Daon knew how to leverage the debt I owed her.
*
In the same old room.
Wearing pajamas I didn't know when Yoo Daon had bought, I sat blankly on the sofa.
I was exhausted.
Both body and mind.
What were the manuals? What kind of past did I have? The regressor's words about having heard...
...
"...Heon?"
...
"Jaeheon?"
"Ah, sorry."
Yoo Daon smiled softly and sat beside me.
"It's okay. You're worn out, right?"
Yoo Daon rested my head on her shoulder.
"You did great. Really."
...
Sleepiness washed over me.
"And—"
Yoo Daon whispered something to me.
"—..."
...
Her last words were too faint to catch,
and when I turned my head, all that remained on my retina was Yoo Daon smiling softly and shaking her head.
*
...
Sunlight pierced my eyes.
"...Ugh."
I sat up.
Somehow, I was in bed.
...I definitely hadn't fallen asleep in bed.
"...Mm..."
Someone stirred beside me.
I slowly turned my head.
"Ah, Jaeheon."
Yoo Daon rubbed her sleepy eyes and gave a drowsy smile.
"Sleep well?"
Bed, me, Yoo Daon.
...No way?
My heart plummeted.
"Jaeheon?"
Yoo Daon tilted her head innocently.
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.