#018
#018
: The space-time is returning to normal! Rollback! Rollback! Rollback!
Nine started shouting the word ‘rollback’ continuously along with a strange siren sound.
And suddenly, my body was forcibly laid back on the sofa in the ‘rolling around’ state from earlier….
“The Awakened Center has announced that an S-grade Red Dungeon will soon occur in Incheon. This is the first Red Dungeon since one opened in Jeju a year ago. It has been decided that the main conquest team for this Red Dungeon will be Awakened Team 1 with S-grade Esper Shin Haejun, and specially, Awakened Center Director Hyun Dowoon will also join the conquest team.”
The interrupted news resumed normally. As if the paused world had restarted.
I have no idea what’s going on. As I listened quietly in bewilderment, my phone suddenly rang. Looking at the number, it was Hyun Dowoon. We just parted ways, why is he calling again?
“Hello?”
– It’s me, Jaeha. I’ll send a car, so can you come to the center for a bit?
“Why…?”
Somehow, I have a feeling. A feeling that this news and the current phone call are related.
– We’re in a meeting about the S-grade Red Dungeon conquest. I’ve been decided to go in for the conquest, and I thought it might be good if you came along too.
‘The plausibility is really off.’
The magic of real-time news coverage of an ongoing meeting!
Clearly, the author of this story doesn’t care about plausibility at all.
“I’ll come now.”
What will happen in this dungeon? With all three main characters gathering, what kind of quest will appear to torment me!
…Such thoughts flashed through my mind, but the thought of S-grade dungeons being profitable made me answer immediately. I’m quite materialistic too. But… the temptation of 20 million won is too great! To live, you need real money, not just inventory money…
‘By the way… why did Nine show me this situation?’
He showed me the comment pointing out the error, and the author’s SNS shaken by it. If Nine had been on the author’s side from the beginning, would he have tried to show that SNS?
‘I thought the quests naturally followed the flow of the story… so I thought he was on the author’s side.’
Maybe that wasn’t the case.
I looked down at my phone with a serious face.
“Nine… are you on my side?”
: Nine is always on Yeonsoo’s side! ??? is gradually changing the flow!
“Who is that?”
: A secret is a secret!
Nine seemed to have no intention of telling me the identity of ???. My guess is that it’s the entity giving quests to Nine…
If it’s gradually changing the flow, it might mean that while following the overall direction of the original work, it’s leaving room for me to change my reactions.
Anyway, it wasn’t a bad thing for me, who needed to avoid the original work.
: Don’t forget to leave, Yeonsoo!
“Alright.”
I guess I have to go. I nodded and got up, not knowing what would happen at my destination.
***
Following Hyun Dowoon’s secretary, I nervously entered a large conference room.
As I entered through the opened door, I immediately spotted Shin Haejun and Kim Sehyun. Shin Haejun still looked displeased, and Kim Sehyun looked almost sick.
I cautiously avoided eye contact and looked for Hyun Dowoon.
“Over here.”
Hyun Dowoon, who had been hidden near the door, stood up and pulled out the chair next to him. As I naturally sat beside him, people looked at me with surprised faces.
Kim Sehyun seemed shocked to see me appearing close to Hyun Dowoon, and Shin Haejun looked even more displeased than before.
‘This is really uncomfortable….’
I just want to collect dungeon by-products and make some money. Why do I have to be in such a difficult situation…?
“Why is that person included in the conquest team?”
Someone asked Hyun Dowoon. He answered with a very sweet smile, just like when he lured me here earlier.
“Because I’m courting him.”
“W-what?”
“I’m in the process of persuading him to become my pair. I don’t want to show others how capable my guide is… but since we’re going to the dungeon, it can’t be helped.”
His words about not wanting to show me to others seemed sincere. Hyun Dowoon, who had been frowning and looking displeased, blinked a few times and then muttered with a softened expression.
“…Pair?”
Suddenly, Kim Sehyun murmured in a faint voice. I couldn’t hear clearly, but his face, alternating between looking at me and Hyun Dowoon, seemed very dumbfounded.
“Center Director.”
I gently scolded him, saying it was too much to announce this when I hadn’t even decided to become his pair yet. Hyun Dowoon leaned towards me and chuckled.
“I have to declare my intentions early to prevent others from eyeing you.”
As he said this, Hyun Dowoon’s gaze was fixed directly on Shin Haejun. As their gazes briefly locked, suddenly Kim Sehyun jumped up from his seat.
“Ex-excuse me! I’m sorry, but I need to talk to Jaeha for a moment!”
Kim Sehyun, with his eyes tightly shut, ran over and grabbed my wrist. I frowned, wondering what this was all about… but Kim Sehyun’s grip was so strong that I was reflexively pulled along.
Even as someone called out from behind, Kim Sehyun dragged me into an empty conference room, locked the door, and looked at me. His eyes trembled like those of a lost child.
“P-pair? What’s going on?”
Is the possibility of me becoming Hyun Dowoon’s pair guide such a trigger? Kim Sehyun was glaring at me with a frightening expression.
I felt my hands sweat under the pressure of the intimidating situation. My fingers involuntarily curled and fidgeted.
“The Center Director’s pair? He has never paired with anyone before…!”
Kim Sehyun looked downright anxious. His glare at me was tinged with jealousy.
‘Jealousy?’
Why is he jealous of me? You’re still a pair guide to an S-grade Esper, aren’t you?
“It’s strange. The last time I saw him, the Center Director’s body was completely tangled. It’s not something an F-grade like you can guide. Why did you receive a pair offer?”
“Uh…”
“That’s a problem only an S-grade guide can resolve. I thought he would eventually ask me, so why you…!”
I blinked as I listened to Kim Sehyun’s frantic words.
So, Kim Sehyun wanted to have both Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon?
As I thought this, I felt somehow deflated and let out a long sigh.
“Sehyun.”
“It’s impossible… huh?”
I grabbed Kim Sehyun’s shoulders, who was rambling on his own, to bring him to his senses. Kim Sehyun looked at me with blank eyes.
“Sehyun, am I really your friend?”
“…What are you saying?”
“If I get a good offer to become a pair, shouldn’t you congratulate me as a friend? But why do you keep putting me down?”
At my words, Kim Sehyun opened his mouth as if to argue.
However, I continued speaking before Kim Sehyun could open his mouth. I might be slow, stupid, and prone to mistakes… But if there’s one thing I learned from corporate life, it’s that in a fight, the first hit wins and the one with the loudest voice prevails.
If you can prevent the other person from speaking properly, you win unconditionally.
I’ve always been on the receiving end of the first hit and lived without being able to make a sound, but with Kim Sehyun coming at me so blatantly, I felt miserable and thought I might as well go for it.
“It’s always been like this. Because you’re F-grade, since you’re F-grade, F-grades can’t do this, can’t do that…. Have you ever genuinely worried about me?”
“No, I mean-“
“I’m asking if I’m really your friend. Do you see me as just an accessory to make you look good? Have you ever really listened to what I had to say?”
“J-Jaeha.”
“Why did you send me to the dungeon? Didn’t you think I might become someone else’s pair in the dungeon? Because I’m just an F-grade guide anyway?”
Would the real Lee Jaeha have been sad or elated if he heard this?
I can’t know, but at least I wasn’t sad at all. Even seeing Kim Sehyun’s pale face, I didn’t feel like comforting him.
“Jaeha, it’s all a misunderstanding. That’s not what I meant. Really.”
Kim Sehyun said, gripping my clothes tightly. Tears welled up in his large, round eyes. Shin Haejun might find it pitiful. But I only thought about how my limited wardrobe was getting wrinkled.
“Let go.”
I frowned as I removed Kim Sehyun’s hands. His hands flew away as if I had hit him.
“Ow, ouch…!”
Kim Sehyun clutched his hand and shed copious tears. And I bit my lip hard. Because it felt like a familiar pattern.
‘This is definitely… a pattern where someone is watching…!’
Of course, today I did verbally attack Kim Sehyun, but I’ve been the one getting hit all this time! Can’t I even say this much! I felt like crying from the injustice.
“Why are you crying?”
And just as I thought… Shin Haejun burst through the door.
Is the conclusion next that Shin Haejun grabs my collar and shakes me, asking why I made Kim Sehyun cry? I pulled my neck back in advance, preparing a posture to avoid choking when grabbed by the collar.
However, unexpectedly… the person Shin Haejun asked “Why are you crying?” was not Kim Sehyun, but me. Shin Haejun stood in front of me and spoke to me as I was biting my lip.
Kim Sehyun’s dazed gaze wavered between me and Shin Haejun.