Chapter 402
Chapter 402
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 402. I Know
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...
This was bewildering.
In two ways.
First, Yoo Daon had confessed her love to me. And second, a new combined skill had appeared.
Winding Key.
I focused on the explanation floating in front of me.
Just moments ago... Yoo Daon had said she loved me.
And then the translucent window popped up.
[Yoo Daon's bond has reached its maximum.]
[Acquired Winding Key.]
[Winding Key: You fix the time axis, and your partner rewinds the target's time.]
[Winding Key: Can be used 2 times.]
...
An absurd ability.
Rewind time? It completely defied common sense.
I stared at the translucent window in bewilderment, muttering to myself,
"Jaeheon."
Yoo Daon's voice rang in my ears.
I turned to look at her.
Out of everyone, she was the only one watching me.
To be precise, time had stopped for everyone except me and Yoo Daon.
Jang Chaeyeon, Song Arin, Yoo Daon's parents, and all the other monsters were frozen in place, unable to move.
"Yes, Daon."
"Use it."
Yoo Daon smiled at me.
I knew exactly what she meant without her specifying.
She wanted me to use the Winding Key.
...
I closed my eyes briefly and opened them again.
Right. The partner was a fellow ability user like Yoo Daon.
It wasn't like with Kim Wanwoo, where I could fully comprehend them.
[Winding Key: 2 -> 1]
As I focused with those thoughts, a bizarre scene unfolded before me.
...
A massive winding key clock hovered in front of me.
And I wasn't the only one seeing it.
...
Yoo Daon was also staring blankly at the winding key in front of her.
She turned to look at me.
"Jaeheon."
She whispered calmly, raising her hand.
"...Is this okay?"
She lifted her hand as if seeking my permission, and I shook my head while watching her.
"I think this is a decision for you to make, Daon."
...
Yoo Daon closed her eyes as if pondering my words, then opened them.
"...I understand."
She murmured calmly and looked at me.
"If that's what you want—"
"It's not about what I want."
I cut her off.
"...Please do whatever you want, Daon."
I left it entirely up to her.
It wasn't out of fear of the consequences or reluctance to choose.
This was my way of showing her consideration.
...
Yoo Daon turned her gaze away from me.
Without a moment's hesitation, she grasped the winding key.
"Jaeheon."
"Yes."
"I think... I love you."
She gave a small smile.
...
"I know."
I answered her calmly.
Yoo Daon widened her eyes slightly and looked at me, but I didn't meet her gaze. Instead, I waited for her to turn the winding key.
-Kiririk!
As Yoo Daon gripped and turned the winding key,
-Kiriririk...
It spun, and the clock hands began turning backward.
Yoo Daon's parents grew younger.
From middle age to their forties, and soon to their twenties.
Before long, her mother—who looked strikingly like Yoo Daon—and her father, who shared her vibe, appeared in my view as two people around my age.
And then.
...
Yoo Daon released the winding key.
-Saaah...
At the same time, time resumed its normal flow.
"...Huh?"
Yoo Daon's mother looked at us in confusion, letting out a bewildered voice.
"My... body...?"
"Chaeyeon!"
The moment I shouted, Jang Chaeyeon—who had been staring at Yoo Daon's parents in stunned silence—reached out swiftly.
-Kwachik!
"Urk!"
The two slammed into the floor.
"What the hell? How... this...!"
The pair looked at us in bewilderment.
Yoo Daon gazed at them silently and smiled.
"If you had just promised not to touch Jaeheon..."
She stared at them with emotionless eyes, her lips curling slightly as she continued.
"I would have let you go."
"You weren't going to anyway."
"Caught me?"
Song Arin voiced her disbelief, and Yoo Daon beamed innocently. Terror and despair filled the faces of her parents as they watched her.
"Daon, honey. I—we made a mistake. Okay?"
"Yes, Daon. We're sorry. Please, just forgive us this once."
"...Jaeheon."
Yoo Daon turned to me and spoke.
"What should we do?"
...
I said nothing.
I simply stood there, arms crossed, watching the two.
In the end, it was Yoo Daon who spoke.
"...I don't think so."
Terror flashed across their faces at her words.
"Pick them up."
At my command, Jang Chaeyeon raised her hand, and the two floated into the air, bound.
"Eek... eek...!"
They writhed, but could do nothing.
"...What exactly did you do?"
Song Arin looked at me, and I turned to Yoo Daon.
"...Probably."
Yoo Daon gazed at them calmly before whispering so only we could hear.
"I rewound them to normal human time."
"...What?"
Song Arin frowned and looked at me. Jang Chaeyeon turned her gaze to us as well.
"...That seems to be the case."
Bewilderment crossed Song Arin's face at my response.
"Hey. This is dangerous."
She looked at me and spoke.
"...Honestly, for someone like you, sure. Um. How to put it. The Management Bureau keeps a special eye on you, but it's not like they directly restrict, monitor, or contain your abilities."
"Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon nodded, and Song Arin pointed at Yoo Daon as she continued.
"But time manipulation is different."
...
"That's the kind of power a branch head might have."
"Right."
"If we report this to the higher-ups, her black hair won't stay safe."
Song Arin bit her lip and whispered to me. Jang Chaeyeon watched us with a tense expression.
"Simple."
My response was straightforward.
"We report it, then place Daon in the HR Team."
"...You think that's feasible?"
"Yes."
...
Song Arin sighed deeply, and Jang Chaeyeon looked at me, but my resolve was firm.
"...I'll handle the negotiations, then."
Yoo Daon's parents had already been reverted to powerless youths.
Killing them felt like a waste.
More precisely, I believed people like them shouldn't get off that easily.
...
Song Arin let out a small sigh, and Jang Chaeyeon looked at me before speaking.
"I'll back you up."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"Then I'll take responsibility and bust the Management Bureau."
The way she said it made it sound like she really would, which was a little scary.
As that thought crossed my mind, I glanced at the manual.
"...The exit?"
-Chwaruruk!
[Employee Manual]
1. The blocking presence is gone, so the door is now open.
We can head back easily.
*
When we returned, the Gangseo Branch—which wasn't total ruins but heavily damaged—greeted us.
"...What a mess."
"Looks like it was rough."
Jang Chaeyeon nodded calmly in response to my murmur.
Soon after,
"Kim Jaeheon!"
The branch head's voice rang out as she approached me.
"We caught them."
I set the bound pair down in front of her and spoke calmly. She stared at me intently.
The noticeably younger two, and Yoo Daon.
"...What happened?"
The branch head looked at me, and I spoke.
"Promise me first. That you won't harass Daon."
With that, I began explaining everything to her one by one.
*
While the man explained to the branch head, Yoo Daon watched quietly.
"...One problem down."
Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon approached her after handing over her parents, and Yoo Daon spoke upon seeing them.
"You two already confessed to Jaeheon."
...
"Yeah."
Song Arin flinched as if she'd stopped breathing, while Jang Chaeyeon nodded with a calm expression.
"So did I."
...
...
Their gazes shifted to Yoo Daon, then back to the man.
"...This a declaration of war?"
Song Arin muttered with a sigh, and Jang Chaeyeon nodded calmly.
"Yeah."
"...Ha."
"But even if it's war..."
Yoo Daon trailed off, looking at the man.
The branch head listened to him with a pale face, while he spoke calmly.
"What are you gonna do?"
"What do you mean?"
Song Arin furrowed her brow sharply.
"Whoever wins his heart first, wins."
"You're gonna lose."
"Shut up."
...
Winning his heart.
Yoo Daon had no idea how to do that.
Should she just die for him?
But since he'd never warmed to her despite dying for him multiple times, that probably wasn't it.
So she decided to ask.
"So, how do you win a heart?"
The bickering pair fell silent, and Jang Chaeyeon answered.
"No clue."
"...Pardon?"
"That's why we try all sorts of things."
She looked up at the man.
"Maybe one'll work."
"...Sounds stupid, but I agree."
Song Arin sighed in response.
"...We'll just have to try our best. You, me, everyone."
"I'm winning."
"Smack your head right now."
-Thwack!
Hearing Jang Chaeyeon hit her own head, Yoo Daon sank into thought.
Winning his heart.
...
But when she'd told the man she loved him, he'd replied like this.
'I know.'
So then...
...
Yoo Daon looked at the man. He was just talking to the branch head as if nothing had happened.
A smile bloomed on Yoo Daon's face.