Chapter 249
Chapter 249
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Hellish Time
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What makes a person who they are?
I'd pondered that on my own before.
It was a thought that came to me while looking through the records left by countless versions of myself.
Was Kim Jaeheon from the Finance Team truly the same person as Kim Jaeheon from the HR Team?
That wasn't my conclusion.
I could only be considered myself because I possessed solely my own memories.
In that sense...
...
I tore my gaze away from Park Ye-eun, who was looking at me so desperately, and turned to Eileen, who was sitting across from me, facing me directly.
When Eileen had glared at Park Ye-eun with hostility, Park Ye-eun's reaction had been like that of someone betrayed by their closest friend.
From her perspective, Eileen had been her mentor.
Unlike me, with our vast age gap, Eileen was just the right age to be like an older sister to Park Ye-eun.
So it was understandable enough that Park Ye-eun wore a shocked expression.
Feeling a heavy sense of responsibility in my heart, I opened my mouth.
"How's your body feeling?"
"It's fine. It's a bit uncomfortable having them keep checking things here nonstop, but what can you do?"
Eileen answered my question as if it were no big deal.
It was fortunate, but Eileen still retained her memories of the Management Bureau.
Not just the Bureau, but she had all the necessary memories for everyday life as well.
...
Though watching her run her hand over the desk in wonder made me question if that was really true.
"Still, it's a relief you're safe."
"It's because you made the decision, Eileen."
"No. It was the right decision."
Eileen looked at me as she ran her hand over the desk.
"If not, our heads would've already been blown off by the angels by now."
"Haha."
I let out a dry laugh as I looked at Eileen, and she met my eyes.
"Still, it's a relief."
"Hm?"
"That you're alive."
I was momentarily at a loss for words at Eileen's statement.
"I've been digging through the memories I have left. It's not like I have anything else but time."
Eileen stretched her body back and gazed up at the ceiling.
The sleeves of her patient gown dangled loosely.
"And everyone I remember is dead."
...
"My parents too, and everyone else."
"I... see."
"And they were all people who could've lived if I'd just done a little better."
She closed her eyes.
What kind of scene was Eileen seeing right now?
"So it's funny, but..."
Eileen opened her eyes and looked at me.
"I hope you don't die."
...
It was the reaction I'd expected.
The Branch Head had warned me about it, and Eileen was in a precarious state right now.
"Don't worry."
First things first, I needed to ease her concerns.
"I'm not the type to die that easily. And I have my team members."
Now's the time.
I subtly turned my head and nodded toward Park Ye-eun with my chin.
Park Ye-eun caught my gesture and forced an awkward smile.
"Haha, hello..."
"...Is she on your team?"
Eileen stared at Park Ye-eun blankly before turning to me, and at that sight, the cracks widened in Park Ye-eun's awkward smile.
"...Yes. She's on my team."
"Just her?"
...
What was she getting at with that question?
I hesitated for a moment, but there was no way I could lie here, so I slowly shook my head.
"No. There are more."
"Who? Women?"
Did it matter if they were women?
"Uh..."
Slowly, in a way that Eileen could easily understand, I began explaining.
According to the Branch Head, her memories might return, so I mixed in as much detail as possible.
"Daon is, well, a regenerator. She helps me out a lot... Without Daon, there've been more than one or two times I'd have died."
"...Yeah."
"Chaeyeon... She seems cold on the outside, but she's actually really warm. She shows a lot of consideration to people she acknowledges... or opens up to."
"......Yeah."
"Arin is super prickly, but when you turn around, she's already finished all the work. That's the type she is. Makes things easy when working."
"...."
Eileen stared straight at me.
"No men?"
"I told you about the Team Leader. He's been dealing with some serious hair loss lately—"
"No. Is that all your team members?"
Eileen's gaze showed no sign of leaving me.
"No. And there's Ye-eun here, our intern."
I pointed my thumb at Park Ye-eun, and she forced another awkward smile.
"Uh, sis... I was really worried about you..."
Park Ye-eun stammered it out, and Eileen stared at her before opening her mouth.
"Were we... close?"
"...Uh..."
At Eileen's question, Park Ye-eun looked flustered, like she had no idea what to say.
"Th-that, uh. Um."
"Were we close?"
Bewilderment flooded Park Ye-eun's face.
Close.
That wasn't a word you could say lightly.
Especially if the person themselves was asking—it took tremendous confidence to claim you were close without that kind of certainty, given how relationships worked.
"I... I thought so."
At Park Ye-eun's words, Eileen closed her eyes for a moment.
"I see."
...
Should I step in here?
As I was thinking that, my smartphone rang.
It was the Branch Head.
"...I'll take this outside."
I slowly stepped out the door and answered the Branch Head's call.
"Yes, Branch Head."
[How's Eileen's condition?]
"Hmm..."
[Truth is, I wanted to observe her a bit longer, but she was so determined there was nothing I could do.]
"So determined?"
[She was adamant about seeing you, Kim Jaeheon.]
The Branch Head's voice came through the smartphone.
[But we understand. Especially if she's lost her memories—people cling harder to the ones they still remember.]
...
[If the people left in her memories from the incident are all dead, and there's just one survivor, anyone would feel that way.]
"...You're right."
[But I'm completely against putting her in HR.]
...
[No response? You wanted her there?]
"No, not at all. I think Eileen belongs on the Response Team too."
[Then why no comment?]
"I have to take responsibility."
Responsibility for being the sole survivor in her memories.
Responsibility for letting her get swept away in the river, knowing she might lose her memories.
"That's why I can't say anything."
[You're straightforward to a creepy degree, really.]
Laughter came through the phone before cutting off.
[Don't forget that mindset. It's what people in the Management Bureau should have.]
...
[Talking too long will eat up your visiting time. I'll hang up?]
And before I could say anything, the call ended.
I slowly looked back at the door.
It felt like a massive weight on my shoulders.
*
Eileen and Park Ye-eun watched as the man stepped out the door.
This was their chance.
The man had probably gone out to give her and Eileen time to talk.
That's what Park Ye-eun thought as she looked at Eileen.
"Uh, sis. I was really worried about you. They said you'd lost your memories too..."
...
"And even when it was just you and him left, I was so worried about you—"
"Be honest."
Eileen cut off Park Ye-eun's words.
"Y-yes?"
"I don't remember you."
Park Ye-eun already knew that.
But hearing it straight from Eileen made her heart sink.
'You have potential.'
That was what Eileen had said the first time she met Park Ye-eun.
'Ah, don't get the wrong idea. It's not about your background or anything. It's just a bit of shared sympathy as people in the same boat.'
'...'
'Anyway. Now that you're in this crazy world, you must have big ambitions too, right?'
The Eileen in her memories smiled brightly as she looked at Park Ye-eun.
'Let's do our best.'
"The people left in my memories are few."
Eileen closed her eyes.
A pained expression rose on her face.
"My late parents, and the team members I was with."
...
"They're all dead. Some because I fell short, some because they went too far for me to reach, some just left without reason."
"Sis..."
"I guess I was a lonely person."
"That's absolutely not true!"
Park Ye-eun shouted loudly, and Eileen looked at her, then raised her index finger to her lips.
"Shh. Kim Jaeheon's on the phone. Don't disturb him."
...
"Anyway. Being lonely isn't a big deal."
Eileen looked at Park Ye-eun.
"In my memories, there's only dead people. Except for one."
"Sis..."
"That means everyone else might not mean much to me, or Kim Jaeheon might be special to me."
No, he is special, she murmured, her gaze drifting far away before returning to Park Ye-eun.
"But you're not in my memories."
...
That means...
Eileen didn't say the rest.
But Park Ye-eun knew exactly what she meant.
Park Ye-eun slowly slid down into her chair.
And then the door opened, and the man came back in.
"You're back? That was a long call."
"It wasn't that long...?"
"Short time on the phone feels long to me. Relativity."
"If you put it that way, I have nothing to say."
When would this hellish time end?
Park Ye-eun lowered her head as she watched the man talking with Eileen.
She felt utterly lonely.
*
A few days later,
"...Here it is."
"Ah. So this is HR."
Eileen glanced at the HR Team's front gate.
After her talk with the Branch Head, Eileen had decided to stay with the Response Team for now.
She'd step down as Team Leader, but remain affiliated with Response. She'd provide support to HR when needed.
Eileen took a deep breath and opened the door.
-Creeeak...
The eyes of the HR Team turned to Eileen.
"What? You came earlier than I thought."
"Hello!"
...
Song Arin, Yoo Daon, and Jang Chaeyeon looked at Eileen, and the Team Leader smiled warmly.
Only Park Ye-eun averted her gaze like she'd committed a crime.
Eileen cleared her throat.
"Ahem."
Then she spoke.
"I want to take Kim Jaeheon to the Response Team."
"Did you lose your sense of self instead of your memories?"
"Maybe her personality changed when she got swept into the river? With those corpse-like people."
"...Hmph."
The three looked at Eileen,
and the Team Leader hurriedly stood from his seat.
"I, uh, I'm going for coffee."
The Team Leader dashed out the door.
"Not allowed?"
Eileen looked at me.
Her face full of questions.