Delusive Fate

#082

Jung Yi-dam’s story, which began casually, gradually filled with strange anger. The emotion was overwhelming. He acted as if Lee Han-sol had once promised to love him. He expressed resentment as if Lee Han-sol had broken that promise and betrayed him. His misplaced blame naturally extended to Ki Baek-woo. By then, Lee Han-sol shouted “Stop…!” in a shrill voice. It was full of stories he didn’t want to hear.

The Ki Baek-woo that Jung Yi-dam spoke of suffocated him. It was horrible. Really horrible. The world died in sepia and turned blood-red. No, you’re weird, Jung Yi-dam, stop, I hate you, you crazy bastard, shut up, shut up, you’re mentally ill, keep your mouth shut, please stop, there’s no way… that could happen….

Why would Ki Baek-woo die? I thought I wouldn’t forgive him until he died as much as I did… That’s what I thought. That I no longer love him… that I would never forgive him… that he couldn’t die as much as I did anyway… So I decided to abandon him, that’s what I decided….

But Jung Yi-dam said that Ki Baek-woo had died.

He said that if Lee Han-sol dies, Ki Baek-woo would naturally die. He said Ki Baek-woo was dead even though he couldn’t remember the past. Because Lee Han-sol was gone, because he made Lee Han-sol disappear. If that was going to happen anyway, he should have resisted the system earlier and held onto Lee Han-sol, but he couldn’t even do that one thing and left Lee Han-sol to die, and yet he dared to say he died. Jung Yi-dam described Ki Baek-woo’s death in too much detail, one by one.

How Ki Baek-woo’s head was split, how his handsome face was ruined, the amount of blood he shed, the reservoir he fell into, the types and number of pills he took, the shape of the knot he used to tie his neck….

Jung Yi-dam talked chattering as if explaining a fine dining course meal, then clicked his tongue.

‘As I watched… I started to get bored.’

That’s what he said.

‘Why am I doing this here? That’s what I thought, Han-sol. I’m the one who should be in love. But why are you two doing it….’

Leaving just me out, the two of you, so unfairly…. How long do I have to stay here watching you and Ki Baek-woo fool around? How long do I have to deal with the whining Ki Baek-woo? Am I, fuck, his emotional trash can? He messed up and why is he throwing a fit now? I’m having a harder time than him. I’m the most pitiful and struggling one here. Han-sol, you think you’re the most pitiful. But that’s wrong. I’m the most pitiable. You’re making it so hard for me. I’ve become like this because of you. This happened because you fell in love, do you have any awareness of what you did wrong?

Jung Yi-dam put down Lee Han-sol’s face as if pushing it away, after carefully touching it as if handling a sugar cookie that breaks easily with a crisp sound. Then, in an incredibly arrogant posture, he sprawled on the chair and said.

I was so bored that I wanted to stop this world. So I tried to die, but I can never die during the story. Because I’m the protagonist. The main characters also can’t kill me. There’s no way slaves prepared for me could kill their master. Then how can I twist this world full of lies, this world that doesn’t guarantee me love? How can I stop this place?

First, we need to create a flaw in the story. If an exception occurs in the story, holes will be created in the flow, and when holes are created in the flow, the system will stick to repair it. By dispersing the power of the system like this, the system’s control over the main characters will also weaken.

But the only characters deeply involved in the story enough to twist the original are me, Ki Baek-woo, and the others. We can’t do anything, so we can’t twist the content…. Then is there no hope for the plan to stop this world by creating a fatal error in the system?

‘No. There is.’

There’s Lee Han-sol. The only being who can affect the original work with different behavior than usual. If only Lee Han-sol changes, and thus affects Ki Baek-woo’s behavior, and problems arise in the story progression because of Ki Baek-woo, and the system starts to creak because of the problematic story… If we reach the last gate before the ending with weakened control over the main characters….

Jung Yi-dam said with a smile.

‘We seize that opportunity to destroy the system core.’

‘System core…?’

‘You don’t need to understand deeply. Just think of it as the core of the system that makes up this world. It’s where the beginning and end of the game, the start and ending are created. If we can destroy that… an irreversible and permanent error will occur in the system. The server will shut down, and all the boring gameplay and walkthroughs will end. And we gain….’

The freedom we’ve longed for. Jung Yi-dam mumbled with unclear pronunciation and looked up at the ceiling. His eyes shone hazily as if imagining something. After a moment of silence, he frowned and growled.

‘But you didn’t change.’

‘……’

‘You held onto Ki Baek-woo until the end in your right mind. To that bastard, boringly… Yes, anyway, it was good to see. Unchanging love, that’s so ecstatic, isn’t it? That’s why I wished you would never change, but… What if you really never change? What if we have to live like this forever? I was scared. Afraid that because of you, I’d have to repeat dying pathetically, conquering, dying, conquering, dying, conquering forever, lonely without love or promise. Huh?’

‘……’

‘Han-sol, I was so scared… Because of you….’

But finally, the time has come. You finally changed and moved Ki Baek-woo. Your nauseating love finally changed a bit and messed up Ki Baek-woo’s heart. Because you acted opposite to your settings, it created an error in the story that moved Ki Baek-woo. So all the prepared events and predetermined storylines were ruined, and as a result, I’m here in front of you like this. Han-sol, finally.

Jung Yi-dam changed his expression from time to time as if performing a play, and then looked directly at Lee Han-sol with sparkling eyes as if overwhelmed. Finally, the time has come for us to end this damn loop. So it’s okay to cry tears of joy and ecstasy. Jung Yi-dam’s pitch-black, wide-open pupils seemed to say so. He looked at Lee Han-sol with a confident face. He said.

‘If you do as I say, we can end it all. You can even completely finish me off with your own hands without worrying about coming back to life. You’re tired of repeating the same time endlessly too, aren’t you? You want revenge on me, don’t you? Don’t just glare at me, answer. Say you’ll listen to me well. Hm?’

Listen well? He’d let me kill him with my own hands if I do. Ha.

“You fucking bastard. Just wait and see.”

I’ll never do what you say. Even if I’m a hopeless idiot, I’m not that much of an idiot. Lee Han-sol gritted his teeth, full of stubbornness. He staggered up after destroying all the useless evidence of his past self that Ki Baek-woo had collected in the drawer. He tore up all the papers and notes, shattered the toys. He even meticulously broke each colored pencil one by one.

The messy sight that dirtied the floor seemed like both a pledge and a declaration of war.

There will never be a time when I go back to those days of stealing such junk to console Ki Baek-woo. No matter what happens, the current Lee Han-sol can never become the Lee Han-sol of the past. He has already been damaged much more than the crude objects strewn across the floor over a long period of time. The broken and worn fragments of Lee Han-sol no longer fit together and cannot be reassembled into anything. He will now remain in that state forever.

“You son of a bitch, you fucking bastard… Just wait and see.”

Lee Han-sol came out to the living room, dragging his feet, leaving behind the small room that seemed like it couldn’t get any messier. The living room wasn’t much different from the small room. The kitchen and bathroom were all like battlefields. It was all because of Lee Han-sol’s anger. Because of one irresponsible word Jung Yi-dam had thrown out.

“You think I’d do that? Don’t make me laugh. Just suffer forever too.”

That word Jung Yi-dam had thrown out as if mocking Lee Han-sol. That word was so terrible that Lee Han-sol couldn’t feel any sense of reality.

‘Han-sol, since you’ve changed and the original flow is already twisted, now there’s only one thing for you to do. It’s not difficult. It’s an extremely easy task.’

‘……’

‘Love Ki Baek-woo again.’

‘…What?’

‘Love him to death, stake your life on it, just like you’ve done until now. This time, truly realize love with Ki Baek-woo. Do what you absolutely shouldn’t do in the story. Make a mess of the settings like that and come to the last gate.’

Looking into Lee Han-sol’s blank expression as if doubting his own ears, Jung Yi-dam smiled without malice. He swore, as if he didn’t think at all that Lee Han-sol wouldn’t be able to do what he ordered.

‘Then there… I’ll let you kill me with your own hands.’

So, from now on, try loving Ki Baek-woo to death again. You can do it, can’t you, Han-sol?

Lee Han-sol put on the hoodie that was sprawled on the sofa and grabbed his phone and wallet. His feet were bleeding from stepping on glass shards, but he didn’t care at all. He crumpled on his sneakers without even realizing it hurt. His vision was red with rage and stubbornness.

“He’s talking nonsense. How could I forget that bastard? It won’t happen again. Let’s just all live in hell together.”

He headed straight for District B. There were still two days left until the move, but now nothing mattered anymore. This is the end. It was all over.