Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 145. Again and Again
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I recall everything that had happened up until now.
I was always the one extending a hand. Whether I liked it or not, I had no choice but to grasp situations faster than others, and respond accordingly.
"Chaeyeon?"
I stare blankly at the outstretched hand.
"Grab it."
As if entranced by those words, I reach out to Jang Chaeyeon,
and she grabs my hand.
Looking behind her, I see Song Arin watching me with an anxious expression.
"Arin?"
"..."
Song Arin averts her gaze at my words and clutches her own arm with one hand.
An uncomfortable look on her face.
Before I can say anything to her, the hand holding mine tightens.
"Focus."
"Chaeyeon."
Jang Chaeyeon looks at me.
She's right.
This isn't the time for other thoughts.
The golden light pouring from the sky and the sound of drums.
I couldn't help feeling impatient. Especially since I'd experienced this phenomenon before.
"Chaeyeon, if this light touches you..."
"I don't know much about it. Even if I did, it wouldn't matter."
Jang Chaeyeon mutters as she pulls on my hand, drawing me closer.
"The important thing is that you're here, and I'm here."
"..."
Sometimes her trust in me felt heavy, but in moments like this, it oddly brought reassurance.
She continues speaking without hesitation as she steps forward.
"Right now, we might not have any answers."
"That's exactly what's happening."
If I knew how to break it, I would've solved it long ago.
"Then we can think about it later."
"Pardon?"
Jang Chaeyeon turns her head to look at me.
Her white hair shines golden.
"I'll stay by your side until then."
"..."
That was so like her.
"Understood."
"Let's figure it out together."
Together...
Just in case, I glance up at the sky, and the translucent window reappears.
[Name: -]
[Age: -]
[Talent: -]
[Abilities: -]
[Background: -]
[Weakness: Look closely.]
"..."
My eyes were still blind to it.
"What do you see?"
"I see something, but it's not much help."
The pouring light grows stronger.
I look around.
Amid the crumbling buildings, three figures huddle together.
"Kuhk...!"
Song Arin coughs amid the dust and surveys her surroundings.
"This is..."
"Exactly."
The sunlight pouring down, and the collapsing buildings.
"This is the scene I saw when we failed."
Despair spreads across Song Arin's face.
"How the hell are we supposed to stop something like this..."
"We couldn't."
That's why we had to turn back time and escape.
Now, we don't even have a way to turn back time.
"Hmm..."
A hole punches through the ceiling of the ruined building, and sand begins pouring in.
-Feel the pain.
"...Arin."
"...Huh?"
I look at Song Arin, who is staring blankly at the sky.
"Chaeyeon, Arin—can you make it so they can't feel pain?"
"You want me to brainwash them?"
"Yes."
"What about you?"
"It doesn't work on me."
Mental barriers suck at times like this.
Jang Chaeyeon shakes her head firmly at my words.
"I don't want to."
"...Then I won't either."
Song Arin shakes her head at Jang Chaeyeon's words as well.
"There's no need to stand on pride in a place like this."
"It's not about pride."
Jang Chaeyeon's gaze meets mine.
"I can't let you suffer alone."
"...Me too."
Song Arin mutters curtly, crossing her arms.
"Everyone, don't let pointless pride get in the way."
"It's not pointless pride."
Jang Chaeyeon looks at me.
"You'd do the same."
"..."
The golden light descends, and a burning pain surges through me.
My body is turning to sand.
"..."
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon and I face each other,
"...Ugh..."
and Song Arin grits her teeth, enduring the pain.
My arms melt away, and my head begins to melt as well.
As even my eyes turn to sand and scatter, I look at the two of them.
Song Arin stares at me with lips pressed tight,
and Jang Chaeyeon smiles at me in my vision.
Both of them turn to sand and vanish,
and I turn to sand and vanish as well.
*
-Feel the pain.
"Cough!"
I cough up sand rising to my throat.
The place where I open my eyes this time is...
"..."
A sinking cruise ship.
Drowning now?
"Cough...!"
A faint coughing sound reaches me.
Song Arin is coughing beside me.
"Cough! Cough!"
"Arin."
"Cough!"
Song Arin clutches her throat and coughs repeatedly.
It's not sand she's spitting up.
Her face is pale, her gaze unstable. A face full of terror.
"Arin, snap out of it!"
"She's still trapped in the pain."
Jang Chaeyeon, now behind me, mutters as she looks at Song Arin.
"Move."
She pushes me aside and faces Song Arin.
"Chaeyeon."
"Sorry."
"Cough! Cough!"
Jang Chaeyeon mutters quietly, then
-Smack!
slaps Song Arin hard across the cheek with one hand as she clutches her throat.
Song Arin's head snaps to the side, and her coughing stops.
Silence falls.
"You with us?"
"...Yeah."
Song Arin nods, touching her slapped cheek.
Jang Chaeyeon lets out a low sigh and speaks.
"You, break the assimilation."
"..."
Song Arin freezes.
"You know it too? Next time, it'll really mess with your mind."
"...No."
Song Arin's voice trembles.
"Right now... right now, it's just because it's the first time. Soon..."
"What do you think?"
Jang Chaeyeon's gaze turns to me.
"..."
I check Song Arin's condition.
Her throat, gripped so hard, bears handprints like autumn leaves, and her face is still pale—she hasn't fully snapped out of it.
"...I agree with Chaeyeon."
"..."
Song Arin right now is far too dangerous. She might not hold up at the next hurdle.
"We can go back, right?"
"We can."
Jang Chaeyeon nods slowly in response to my question.
"..."
"Arin."
"Ah, no."
"Arin?"
Song Arin shakes her head hurriedly and looks at me.
Only one emotion shows on her face.
Desperation.
"No. I'm not useless. This... this much pain is nothing to me."
"Arin."
She shakes her head and continues.
"Th-the Red Lady back then! Even... even that pain, I endured it! I'm not useless enough to be discarded over something like this..."
"Arin!"
"..."
Song Arin's words stop, and our eyes meet.
"You're right, Arin. You're not useless."
"R-right. I'm not useless. So..."
"But you need to go back now."
"..."
Song Arin's expression freezes at my words.
She looks at me with trembling hands, as if hearing something terrifying.
"No..."
"It's for your sake, Arin."
"..."
She stares at me, frozen, then
"O-okay."
stands up, muttering in a trembling voice.
"If... if that's what you want..."
"Yes. It's what I want. For your sake, Arin."
"...Y-yeah..."
She mutters and looks at me.
That expression is almost...
"...I'll go..."
exactly like that of an abandoned child, making me wonder if I should stop her.
"Arin..."
Before my words finish, Song Arin vanishes.
Her expression just before disappearing lingers vividly in my mind.
"...Take good care of her when she gets back."
"...I will."
Jang Chaeyeon mutters from behind me, and I can only respond that way.
-Creeeak...
The cruise ship is sinking.
*
"Pha!"
Surviving a sinking ship is harder than I thought.
In movies, everyone swims like pros,
"Cough...!"
but Jang Chaeyeon sits beside me, vomiting water.
"Movies are all lies, huh."
"I just realized that now."
Swimming in strong currents is nearly impossible.
Unknowingly, I sit close to Jang Chaeyeon to warm my cold body, and she presses against me as well.
We're at the top of the ship.
No higher place to go now.
"They say drowning is really painful."
"Yeah."
"You've experienced it?"
"Cube."
"You went through that there too?"
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon nods.
The water rises to our thighs.
"..."
How do we get out of here?
Feel the pain.
And look closely.
Seeing and pain.
There must be a way to break it.
But nothing comes to mind.
"Chaeyeon."
The water reaches our waists.
"Yeah."
"This might sound really sorry to say."
"Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon stares straight at me.
"Can you die with me a few more times?"
"...Hehe."
The water is up to our chins.
She smiles at me.
A smile without a speck of dust.
"If that's what you want."
"......"
"I'll do it. As many times as needed."
Jang Chaeyeon smiles,
and at the same time, we submerge.
Jang Chaeyeon smiles,
and at the same time, we submerge.
*
My body tosses and turns.
I struggle to claw my way to the surface,
"...!"
but it's no use.
As if there's a ceiling in the sky, no matter how hard I swim up, the water level keeps rising.
Am I dying like this?
Honestly, dying doesn't bother me.
But I don't want Jang Chaeyeon to suffer more.
They say drowning is truly agonizing—
Amid these useless thoughts,
-someone grabs my hand.
White hair flutters.
A soft hand strokes my face.
Our eyes meet Jang Chaeyeon's, and she smiles.
At the same time, a translucent window appears.
[Jang Chaeyeon's feelings toward you intensify.]
[You can use Observation.]
[Observation: Consumes one Critical, reveals what you couldn't see before.]
[Critical: 0->1]
Observation?
I recall the Regressor's words about the "Observer."
Why here?
No time to think.
[Use Observation.]
[Critical: 1->0]
At the same time,
[Name: -]
[Age: -]
[Talent: -]
[Abilities: -]
[Background: -]
[Weakness: Look closely.]
the text on the translucent window flows like water, and information begins to appear.
[Name: Exterior]
[Age: X]
[Talent: Lure]
[Abilities: Imprisonment]
[Background: People inside a bead have no idea they're inside a bead.]
[Weakness: Now it will be even clearer.]
People inside a bead don't know they're inside a bead.
[Coordinate Rip: 3 uses]
No time to think.
Jang Chaeyeon's eyes widen, and she looks up at the ceiling.
A crumpled spot appears in our vision.
Understanding my intent, she immediately reaches up.
As Jang Chaeyeon clenches her fist,
-Kwach!
the bead shatters.