Delusive Fate

#077

A pained groan was heard.

“It hurts… I’m in so much pain, Baek-woo…”

The voice was weak and faint, as if gasping. Even amidst the bone-shaking chaos of the humid dungeon where massive destruction raged, that small voice was clearer than anything else. At least to Jung Yi-dam.

“It hurts…”

Jung Yi-dam unknowingly narrowed his eyes. The light of intense heat brilliantly illuminated his vision. A majestic and warm golden color spreading like waves around him. It was the light of revival, bringing hope to those dying and losing faith. It was a gentle touch embracing the pitiful Jung Yi-dam, who had fallen into skepticism due to repeated incomplete love.

“Baek-woo…”

It’s enchanting. Jung Yi-dam thought, mesmerized by the scene before him. He couldn’t dare move. In his mind, as he barely breathed in the position he had been pushed into, a voice resonated like a divine revelation.

‘Foolish son, do not doubt.’

That voice echoed from the deepest part of Jung Yi-dam’s consciousness, overwhelming him.

‘Because you foolishly committed the sin of doubt, I sent my most cherished angel there. You shall gain truth through the death of my child.’

Without realizing it, Jung Yi-dam had clasped his hands together as if in prayer. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks. His heart was beating too fast. He felt dizzy as if about to collapse, but his senses were clearer than ever. He saw a vision of his skin peeling off thinly. He was captivated by the feeling of being reborn, shedding the old and polluted outer shell like a molting creature. Jung Yi-dam was in awe of his belated realization.

Lee Han-sol is an angel.

Come to think of it, it was strange. Lee Han-sol had been too impressive from the moment he first saw him. He thought he had an angelic impression. He should have noticed earlier when he had such a grand impression of someone who wasn’t even a target to pursue, nor a particularly important person.

Lee Han-sol is an angel.

Jung Yi-dam was convinced as he watched Lee Han-sol’s white face turn red. The S-class gate just before the ending. Lee Han-sol, a C-class hunter who shouldn’t be here. This sublime situation where he followed Ki Baek-woo, who treated him so coldly, all the way here, and saved Jung Yi-dam, who had taken away his lover, getting pierced by the monster’s teeth instead…

Lee Han-sol’s face had moles in only the prettiest places, as if by some lie. On his left jaw, right cheek, and eyelid… The blood flowing like a downpour connected his moles. It looked just like the constellation Aries drawn in red.

‘Ah, Aries.’

This scene unfolding before his eyes, Lee Han-sol, must undoubtedly be God’s teaching and gift to Jung Yi-dam. Lest he might not notice, He was giving such a clear signal by leaving a mark with his constellation. With this, Jung Yi-dam reached a perfect faith that no one could tarnish.

Lee Han-sol is an angel sent to me by God. All this time, God had been putting me through trials. The pursuits up until now, including Choi Tae-hyuk, were just hardships to test my faith in love. And when I, in my weakness, was about to crumble without realizing it myself, when I was about to doubt and deny love… He directly proved it through an angel.

“A true love that defies death…”

See, it wasn’t just a foolish delusion that only existed in my imagination…

My great angel personally proved it. Disappearing into the monster’s mouth with Ki Baek-woo’s name as his last words, the angel showed me, with utmost dignity, what completed love is. Even as his flesh and bones were crushed by the monster’s teeth, he silently spoke to me with sad, closed eyes, as if Ki Baek-woo’s indifference was more painful than that.

“Don’t give up…”

That true love will soon come to you, so never waver. You should keep to your duty and only love… Jung Yi-dam once again steeled his faltering heart, honoring Lee Han-sol’s death and God’s will. He was reborn, shaking off all unholy doubts that love might not exist. The main story ended along with Jung Yi-dam’s tiresome wish that this would finally become the true ending of his life. The system’s control, which had absolutely bound the protagonist Jung Yi-dam and the main characters who were Jung Yi-dam’s pursuit targets, slowly began to lose its power.

How long had it been since they became free from the story?

One day, Ki Baek-woo suddenly recalled something. It was a truly abrupt memory, or rather, a flood of consciousness. Huh? He questioned inwardly and closed his mouth. What are all these memories now? Ki Baek-woo, who had been blinking stupidly, suddenly froze all movement. In the living room sofa of Jung Yi-dam’s quarters. Ki Baek-woo, who had been sitting comfortably there having a normal conversation, closed his mouth, and the space instantly fell silent.

“Hunter Ki?”

Jung Yi-dam called out to Ki Baek-woo quizzically. But there was no answer for a while. Ki Baek-woo had his head bowed and remained silent for a long time. After staying frozen like that for quite some time, he finally broke the silence with a faint voice lacking confidence.

“Hyung?”

It was an awkward question that didn’t connect at all with the conversation they were having just before.

“What?”

“Wait, hyung… Why am I here, no, wait.”

Ki Baek-woo’s eyes, as he hesitantly raised his head, were wavering with bewilderment that had rushed in like a tidal wave. Jung Yi-dam looked at his suddenly changed state with puzzlement. Ki Baek-woo, as if he had no room to care about such things, nervously stroked his chin with trembling hands before covering his mouth. His complexion instantly turned as pale as a sheet. The weakening control of the system could no longer suppress Ki Baek-woo’s memories that it had hidden somewhere. The time that had passed was flooding into his mind.

“This… uh…”

Ki Baek-woo groaned stupidly, not knowing what to do. Strange scenes appeared. Lee Han-sol crying, screaming, desperately clinging. The pitiful Lee Han-sol that made him want to kneel right in front of him and do anything he asked, begging him to please stop crying, wanting to plead until the tears stopped. And himself coldly turning his back on such a person.

Ki Baek-woo shook his head violently. Yet the strange scenes continued to appear in succession, as if they were real memories. His own image leading the way in insulting, mocking, and despising Lee Han-sol, such unbelievable scenes that shouldn’t even be dreamed of as nightmares… as if they had really happened.

Ki Baek-woo strongly pressed his thigh with his fist. He barely breathed through his narrowed airway due to the sudden surge of anxiety. He raised his head. There was Jung Yi-dam, quietly watching him. Why was it Jung Yi-dam and not Lee Han-sol…

Ki Baek-woo asked without realizing it.

“Where’s our hyung?”

Where’s our hyung? Why am I with Jung Yi-dam? Strange scenes are suddenly appearing, and our hyung is in every scene. But there’s no way I could have done that to hyung. How dare I do that to hyung, he’s my everything. Without hyung, there’s no reason for me to live. How could I have possibly done such insane things to hyung who means that much to me. If I wanted to die, I’d rather commit suicide than do such crazy things…

So it’s all fake.

Me making hyung cry, driving hyung to his death, and with Jung Yi-dam… It’s all fake.

Ki Baek-woo desperately tried to think optimistically amidst the confusion. Seeing his pale complexion, Jung Yi-dam quickly grasped the situation.

‘Ah, I see what’s going on.’

He was the protagonist of this world and had experienced post-ending situations many times. Although this was his first time on Ki Baek-woo’s route… Anyway, he could tell at a glance. Ki Baek-woo had acted as if he had forgotten Lee Han-sol due to the system during the story progression. It seemed that the concepts connected to Lee Han-sol, which had been forcibly suppressed, were now surfacing. Who Lee Han-sol was, what he meant to him… It would be confusing if the events up until the ending and his original feelings for Lee Han-sol were mixing together. Although he couldn’t know Ki Baek-woo’s exact feelings, Jung Yi-dam thought that such things didn’t matter anyway.

What was important to Jung Yi-dam was this: Would Ki Baek-woo, now with his right mind, love him unchangingly as he had sworn at the ending? Would he personally prove that he knows how to love, not letting the angel’s sacrifice be in vain? Or would he become trivial like the others?

Ki Baek-woo, who was hurriedly getting up as if he would go looking for Lee Han-sol anywhere right away. Jung Yi-dam opened his mouth towards him.

“Where are you going?”

“First, home… no, just…”

“If you’re looking for the angel, he’s gone now.”

“What?”

Ki Baek-woo, who had been acting urgently, asked back as if he had heard something strange.

“The angel died. He’s nowhere.”

“Angel…? What nonsense are you…”

“He left for a far place, didn’t he? Because Ki Baek-woo Hunter loves me. Because I need to live for you to be happy. So the angel sacrificed his life to save me and prove complete love. He went to God’s side, great and sublime.”

Ki Baek-woo didn’t even listen to the end of Jung Yi-dam’s words. His expression clearly showed that he was dismissing it as worthless nonsense not worth listening to. Jung Yi-dam didn’t try to stop him as he rushed out with anxious steps. He just tried to gauge when he might return.

A day? Is that too short? Maybe it will take two days. Since it’s my first time pursuing Ki Baek-woo, I can’t quite estimate.

Three days passed, and it became four days. Even then, Ki Baek-woo didn’t return. Jung Yi-dam was disappointed by his gradually crumbling expectations. Is this a failure again…? Is there really no such thing as love? I clearly heard the angel’s, Lee Han-sol’s voice telling me not to give up. True love was there.

Feeling dejected, Jung Yi-dam stepped outside. He needed to meet Ki Baek-woo first. Only through conversation could he understand Ki Baek-woo’s state of mind, and only by understanding could he make any decisions. For example, deciding whether to die right now and start pursuing again, or to keep watching like this for a bit longer.

That’s how Jung Yi-dam left the house. It was exactly three hours and twenty-six minutes later. When Jung Yi-dam finally encountered Ki Baek-woo, achieving the purpose of his outing.

“Ah…”

Standing in front of Ki Baek-woo, Jung Yi-dam unknowingly burst into tears. Tears flowed like a downpour, quickly wetting his small face. Ki Baek-woo, indifferently, didn’t even ask why he was crying. However, this time, Jung Yi-dam wasn’t hurt by the changed attitude of Ki Baek-woo, his pursuit target after the ending. Rather, joy welled up. No. This emotion, swelling up as if to swallow him, went beyond joy. It was probably closer to ecstasy.

“Ah, what should I do…”

Jung Yi-dam covered his cheeks, which had turned red as if from excessive excitement, with trembling hands. Even though the angel who had descended for him had proved everything with his blood, his heart was too fragile and foolish, about to waver again. But at this moment, Jung Yi-dam felt all the doubts that had been corrupting him disappear. He felt Ki Baek-woo taking away all his doubts and anxieties. Yes, it’s Ki Baek-woo.

Ki Baek-woo, who appeared as if falling from the sky.

“It’s done. It’s done now. Yes, that’s enough. Ah, thank God…”

Thank God. Thank you for showing love once again. Thank you for proving that Ki Baek-woo is someone who knows how to love truly…!

Jung Yi-dam had the happiest face in the world. His heart was beating as if it would burst.

In front of Ki Baek-woo’s corpse, which had fallen from the sky.