Chapter 367
Chapter 367
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Human Inside the Machine
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The pen is mightier than the sword.
Usually, this was more of a metaphor.
It mostly meant that the power of the press or literature couldn't be overcome by brute force.
But the pen I was holding right now felt like it had flipped that logic on its head.
Literally a pen stronger than any sword.
A pen that could rewrite a person—what could be mightier than the sword if not this?
And the reason I was thinking such thoughts...
"Urgh...!"
Was the crushing headache pressing down on my skull like a vice.
If I didn't distract myself with something like this, I'd go mad from the pain.
"You're insane...!"
Finally, the Troupe Leader muttered something almost Arin-like and stamped her feet.
My temples throbbed like they were about to burst, the headache intensifying until it felt like my head would split open.
My vision turned blood-red, as if blood were flowing before my eyes, and I touched my cheek with the hand not gripping the pen.
A wet sensation, and blood smeared bright red on my fingers.
I was literally crying tears of blood.
Staring at the blood streaming from my eyes, I soon felt a similar sensation from my nose and touched it—鼻血 was pouring out too.
I could hear screams from the others in the distance. I couldn't make out what they were saying.
But it was okay.
I felt like I could do this.
It was baseless confidence, but even so.
I raised the pen. The one that had been about to strike through my name again froze in my grasp.
All it did was let the headache erode me further.
"Cough...!"
Kneeling, I focused my mind to somehow control this pen.
Was wielding a pen such a big deal? I just had to swing it instead of letting it move on its own.
I gripped the pen and brought it to the box with my name.
The headache hit even fiercer.
"...Gah..."
Now my vision was so blood-red I could barely handle the pen.
This wouldn't do.
I had to write with it somehow...
As my mind grew hazy,
Someone placed a hand on my back.
Who?
"Pull yourself together."
A calm voice. No—a voice pretending to be calm.
Her hand was trembling; she seemed extremely worried.
"Arin?"
My vision was blurred with blood, but I knew it was Song Arin.
"Yeah, it's me."
Song Arin murmured in a calm but shaky voice as she placed her hand on my back.
"H-How can I help you...?"
"..."
Honestly, I didn't know what to say. In my current state, answering properly—or even staying sane—was a monumental task.
So I just stayed silent.
"...Damn it..."
Song Arin let out a frustrated sound and knelt beside me.
"Arin...?"
"Just... stay still..."
She took deep breaths in and out, then clenched her lips as if making a vow.
"...!"
Then she grabbed the pen along with me.
Are you crazy?
I tried to say something to stop her, but my voice wouldn't come out properly.
I told you not to touch it.
"Kehok!"
Unfortunately, instead of words, blood-laced coughs spewed from my mouth,
"Ugh...!"
And as soon as Song Arin touched the pen, her nose started bleeding, and she leaned against me.
Are you insane? Why grab it with me?
That thought lasted only a moment.
"...Kehok, kehok...!"
Surprisingly, the headache eased a bit, unlike before.
How did this make sense?
I looked at Song Arin, and she was looking back at me, blood streaming from her nose.
"You idiot...!"
Shockingly, the first words from her mouth were a curse at me.
"Please... just... say something...!"
I didn't say anything because I knew you'd stop me.
I stared at her in disbelief, and she ground her teeth as if about to burst.
"...!"
Then another hand touched the pen.
A hand identical to Song Arin's.
At the same time, the headache eased even more.
Did it get better the more people held it?
Now I could speak properly.
"Cough!"
I spat out the blood stuck in my throat and looked at who was holding the pen.
"...!"
The Troupe Leader held the pen, looking at us both with pity.
"Even romance stories get hate if they're filmed like this."
"Does this look like romance to you right now?"
Unbelievable. I was risking my life here.
"What if I joined your suicide pact?"
She muttered calmly and glanced at Song Arin, who shot back irritably under her gaze.
"Shut up, you who did nothing."
"...!"
The Troupe Leader shook her head and looked at me.
"No plans to let go of the pen?"
"Nope."
Letting go now wouldn't help us anyway. Wasn't this the perfect time to resolve it?
"...Write."
"With what?"
"...!"
Right.
I thought about the pen.
This pen could ultimately rewrite a person's core.
So...
I looked around.
The middle-aged Troupe Leader was gone.
Had she fled in the meantime?
"First, we need to stop this."
Ignoring the throbbing headache, I spoke. The two others, seemingly feeling the pain too, furrowed their brows at me.
"What are you planning?"
"Control the pen."
"How?"
"Just swing it like this..."
I swung the pen through the air—nothing happened.
Just a black ink trail lingered in the air.
"...Nothing happened."
"...!"
Clutching my aching head, I kept thinking.
How could I properly use this pen?
"...!"
My gaze turned to the translucent window in my vision.
[Name: Kim Jaeheon]
[Age: 27]
[Talent: Insight]
[Talent: Insight]
[Background: Having survived countless brushes with death, he has grown even further.]
[Weakness: Even so, he is just an ordinary human.]
"...!"
This was it.
I raised the pen, and the two looked at me.
"W-What are you doing?"
"Just watch. And don't let go."
Slowly, I reached toward the translucent window about me.
What to touch?
Talent or special skill? Messing with those could be disastrous.
Name or age even more so.
That left background or weakness.
"...!"
My hand went to the background.
-Shrrrrk!
A manual unfurled at the same time.
[Office Manual]
[GB - Editing Personal Information]
1. Casually editing personal information carries a high risk of shaking the person's very foundation.
2. Since unforeseen accidents may occur, consult others or proceed with caution when editing personal information.
What did they expect me to do?
Muttering that inwardly, I slowly began writing next to the background.
[Background: Having survived countless brushes with death, he has grown even further. And now, he can wield the pen mightier than the sword.]
If I just rewrote my background like this...
My hand stopped trembling.
The headache vanished, and the pen fit perfectly in my hand, as if it were mine.
At the same time, knowledge on how to use the pen flowed into my mind.
It wasn't as hard as I'd thought.
No, it was easy.
It felt like moving my own limbs.
How had I not known this until now?
Of course I hadn't.
"...!"
I'd just rewritten myself.
Into someone who could wield the pen.
"You..."
Song Arin stared at me in shock, and the Troupe Leader looked at me with fear in her eyes.
"Hold on a sec."
I replied, got to my knees, and moved forward.
-Drip, drip...
Blood dripped in drops, and warm liquid still flowed from my nose and eyes.
But I had to do this now.
I raised the pen.
Erased.
Erasing meant striking through every canceled name that had been there.
As the strike-throughs vanished, sanity returned to the eyes of the collapsed or dazed people.
"Wh-Why?"
"What is this...?"
And now, what I had to do...
I looked up at the sky.
This was a play, and this pen was nothing but the byproduct of everything from Act 1 to Act 3.
Which meant...
I began writing in the air.
End it?
No, ending it might lead to who knows what.
The finale meant the play had successfully premiered.
Declaring the finale would leave this pen in the world—and this devastation too.
I couldn't do that.
"...!"
What should I do?
Suddenly, the moon's landscape flashed in my mind.
The person groaning in agony inside the machine.
And the branch chief's bitter expression.
That person had left me behind for a better future. In the middle of the moon, empty and uncertain when anyone might come.
So—
"Hey!"
"Kim Jaeheon!"
"Jaeheon!"
I heard others calling my name, but now wasn't the time to care.
I had to find a way to resolve this situation first.
How?
Pondering, I raised my hand.
A way to not end this act.
A way to rewind to the beginning.
"...!"
Slowly, I wrote in the air.
[Retake]
Redo from Act 1.
At that moment,
-Whoooosh!
A massive wind howled, and people screamed.
"Kyaaah!"
"Uwaaaah!"
The screams faded into a panoramic distance,
"...!"
And I stood alone in an empty city, pen in hand.
"...Phew."
I sighed and looked around.
An empty city. Crumbled ruins.
The only bloodstains were mine; the others had vanished as if they'd never been here.
"...!"
This must be my ending this time.
"Hey."
I spoke to the manual in my pocket, but it had disappeared from my chest too.
The end, then.
Thinking that, I sat down right there.
My head hurt so much.
"...Cough."
I vomited blood and lay flat on the ground.
I should record this, or they might not stop it later if it all vanishes.
With that thought, I closed my eyes.
I'm exhausted.
Time to sleep—
"You idiot!"
"Huh?"
Someone grabbed my collar and yanked me up.
Purple hair gleamed in the sunlight.
"Here you are, making that carefree face all by yourself!"
Song Arin glared at me, lips bitten tight, eyes welling with tears.
"Arin, how did you...?"
"Shut your mouth!"
"Mmph!"
She clamped her palm over my mouth and stared at me with teary eyes.
"We either go back together or die together! If you die, I die too! No matter what! Even after ten years or a hundred!"
"...!"
She glared at me, breathing hard,
"...So if you want to save me, find a way out right now."
She whispered in a low voice.