LGHTNOVELBOOK #024
#024
Gyo-ha spent the 12-hour flight deep in thought, cramped in the (in his opinion) tight economy seat.
How could he save Jung Hwi-kyung from company hell? It was truly an altruistic concern. But underlying it was a desperate wish to stop waking up on the first morning of his master’s program at the American studio.
Unlike Hwi-kyung, who had to find a good company, Gyo-ha had no special conditions for regression. Hwi-kyung was the main regressor, and Gyo-ha was just a secondary regressor who helplessly went back with him when Hwi-kyung regressed, starting a new cycle with all his memories intact.
So keeping the main regressor in the current cycle was the best Gyo-ha could do. Regression wasn’t always bad, but after 14 times, he wanted to stop going back to the past.
Gyo-ha was less stressed about regression than Hwi-kyung, but even he felt fatigued after experiencing the same events fourteen times and hearing the same 9 o’clock news fourteen times, down to the color of the anchor’s top.
If even the carefree Gyo-ha felt this way, Hwi-kyung’s stress must have been indescribable. Gyo-ha recalled Hwi-kyung struggling to go to work normally with a dark bruise on his face.
No matter how abnormal company workers were said to be, that was truly bizarre. Gyo-ha inadvertently saw the fatigue, anxiety, and worn-out spirit on Hwi-kyung’s face. He hadn’t meant to look, but Hwi-kyung had shown a moment of vulnerability due to his pain.
That crazed face dug into a corner of Gyo-ha’s heart. It was instinctive sympathy. Gyo-ha felt sorry for Hwi-kyung. Even though he had to go to graduate school more than ten times because of Hwi-kyung, he felt pity rather than murderous intent. It was truly the heart of a saint.
In fact, most people would probably pity Jung Hwi-kyung. He hadn’t done anything wrong; he was living in hell because of kindness bestowed upon him after he helped someone with good intentions.
Gyo-ha just wanted to make Hwi-kyung a little more comfortable. As he closed his eyes, leaning back in the hard airplane seat, he recalled Hwi-kyung’s face muttering that he was annoyed with him.
And how, despite saying that, he had spilled everything about his experiences as soon as he learned Gyo-ha was also a regressor…
“At least that’s fortunate…”
It was really fortunate that there were two regressors, not just one. Unlike Gyo-ha, who had early on suspected there might be other regressors, Hwi-kyung seemed to have thought he was the only one going back to the past.
Otherwise, he couldn’t have made such a glad expression. When he found someone who believed his story, Hwi-kyung showed a rare smile. Not a fake smile, but a strange smile that seemed to express some relief.
Gyo-ha hadn’t known Hwi-kyung could make such an expression. Before revealing that he was a regressor, Hwi-kyung had always treated Gyo-ha with a businesslike attitude.
The corpse-like appearance chanting about normal work attendance and the smiling face saying “see you in the fourteenth cycle” flashed alternately in his mind. During the twelve-hour flight, Gyo-ha thought about Hwi-kyung even in his dreams. He felt sorry for possibly ruining one of Hwi-kyung’s cycles, and hoped that he would smile a little more often instead of dying from pain.
What a strange sense of kinship…. Gyo-ha admitted that he was overly concerned about the main regressor he had just met in the previous cycle. It was too nuanced to be pure sympathy.
Lee Gyo-ha wanted to help Jung Hwi-kyung. Not because they were both regressors, but simply because Hwi-kyung seemed like someone who should live a little happier. He thought it would be nice if Hwi-kyung wasn’t unhappy.
* * *
Hwi-kyung marveled at one of the twenty lottery tickets he held. Although he only managed to get one right due to confusion with the numbers, it was still a first-place win. Giving up on HSK and investing in the lottery had been the right decision. He could always study for HSK again, but with the lottery, if you got the timing or numbers wrong, it was over.
He also dabbled in short-term stock trading. Last time, he had regretted buying long-term investment stocks, only to suffer and regress after a year.
As a result of his diligent financial management, Hwi-kyung was able to move his grandmother to a private room without difficulty. His grandmother, like most elderly women, had initially waved off the idea of a private room, saying it would be lonely, but once she could watch TV alone, she was visibly pleased.
“Watching that trot program again?”
“These days, that Kim Tae-pung. That kid sings well.”
“I’m saying this because you’re always watching reruns.”
“They don’t show anything else interesting.”
Hwi-kyung turned his attention to the TV along with his grandmother. Thanks to giving up on long-term investments and engaging in quick trades within his means, he had accumulated a decent sum, if not a fortune, allowing for a temporarily comfortable life. Once he received the lottery winnings, the situation would improve further.
“Grandma.”
“Yes?”
“Should we go see Kim Tae-pung’s concert?”
“Don’t be silly. Do you know how hard it is to get seats for his concert?”
“I’ll try to get some. I won the lottery, remember?”
“That’s right. I guess my prayers to the heavens paid off.”
“And I’ll be joining a company soon.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere…”
If I don’t join anywhere, I’ll end up having the same conversation with grandma again. I’ll suggest going to Kim Tae-pung’s concert, but then I’ll fail to get tickets or grandma will be too sick… So we won’t be able to go together. Actually, I’ve already repeated this about three times.
His mood suddenly dropped. His grandmother, oblivious, gave the same answer she always did: “If you can just get the seats, I’ll definitely go.” Hwi-kyung had already heard this about three times.
“This time, I’ll definitely get the seats.”
“Hey, this is Kim Tae-pung’s first concert, why are you talking like that? You’ve never even been to a concert.”
In the sixth cycle, Hwi-kyung had managed to get the concert tickets his grandmother wanted for the first time. He had bought scalped tickets, paying an inflated price.
He knew it was wrong, but Hwi-kyung was really not in his right mind then. He just wanted to do something his grandmother wanted. So he spent his own money to get two tickets with difficulty.
And the day before, his grandmother collapsed with a high fever. It was because she had left the hospital too early, unable to pay the medical bills. There were tickets, but Hwi-kyung’s grandmother once again couldn’t see the concert. After that, Hwi-kyung really came to dislike Kim Tae-pung or whatever his name was. Is being good at trot singing everything? He should hold concerts more often…
“I think our grandson is more handsome than Kim Tae-pung.”
“Of course. I take after you, grandma, so I’m quite the looker.”
A familiar smile followed this nutritionally void conversation. Hwi-kyung thought this moment was what made him happiest, at least. Even if he couldn’t change the impending future, even if the same conversations and situations would repeat…
But at that moment, Lee Gyo-ha appeared.
The door to the private room really burst open. A nurse quickly followed behind Gyo-ha, saying, “You can’t do this!” But Gyo-ha walked without hesitation, as if he had lengthened his legs for this moment.
Hwi-kyung, who had been savoring the touching moment, changed his expression in a 1-second cut as soon as he saw Gyo-ha, as if he had never been smiling. Even though Gyo-ha was no longer his superior, Hwi-kyung instinctively displayed his default expression #2 for dealing with superiors.
“Jung Hwi-kyung. Why aren’t you answering my calls?”
“I think I replied to your message. Said I was busy buying lottery tickets.”
“Hah, how long does it take to buy lottery tickets?”
“You think the lottery I bought, even giving up on HSK, is a joke?”
“…Did you win?”
“One ticket did.”
“Just one?”
In the rapid flow of conversation between Hwi-kyung and Gyo-ha, only the grandmother and the nurse looked bewildered. It seemed strange that instead of congratulating the lottery win, Gyo-ha was criticizing that only one ticket won.
But Gyo-ha still thought that if someone was a regressor, they should be able to win the lottery with at least 20 consecutive tickets. It was because the media had completely warped his concepts and perspectives. If you’re a regressor, you should be able to do this and that… Anyway, hero novels had ruined this person.
“Do you know how hard it is to memorize lottery numbers and timing?”
“You should have memorized them in advance…”
“Next time, why don’t you memorize them, Director? I’m barely managing to memorize other things.”
“Next time? Absolutely not. This time, just live here with me.”
“What the…”
When the statement “Live here with me” popped out, the grandmother covered her mouth and looked back and forth between Hwi-kyung and Gyo-ha.
“Is he your lover?”
Hwi-kyung’s grandmother, who had accepted a broader Korea earlier than most elderly people due to watching too much TV, asked in a lowered voice. Even the nurse who had been following, saying “You shouldn’t do this,” had long since retreated with a disgusted expression, seemingly thinking this was a lovers’ quarrel.
Hwi-kyung thought Gyo-ha, who frequently caused misunderstandings among those around him, was really problematic. Are you crazy? Even if you can’t carelessly talk about regression, how can you say “stay in this cycle” like that?
“No, he’s not.”
“Then why does he talk like that?”
“He’s just that kind of person.”
Gyo-ha, who had just noticed Hwi-kyung’s grandmother, shyly handed over the expensive fruit basket he had been carrying. It was a completely opposite attitude from when he had been confronting Hwi-kyung earlier.
“I’m Lee Gyo-ha.”
“Oh, yes… I’m Kim Ok-ja.”
Hwi-kyung’s grandmother, Kim Ok-ja, who ended up exchanging greetings with Gyo-ha unexpectedly, grasped Gyo-ha’s hand with her wrinkled one. My, he was quite handsome. Ok-ja thought Gyo-ha was two hundred times better-looking than Kim Tae-pung. Our grandson… has such a lover? Indeed, life was full of surprises the longer you lived.
“I’m Hwi-kyung’s superior…”
“You’re not anymore.”
“Ah, right. Then what am I now?”
Hwi-kyung was exasperated by the secondary regressor who had tracked him down to his grandmother’s hospital room just because he had ignored a few messages.
“A fellow traveler in fate? Something like that.”
His choice of words also contributed to raising Hwi-kyung’s blood pressure.
“So you are lovers!”
“We’re not!”
While someone else’s grandmother was clapping her hands thinking her grandson had found a lover, Lee Gyo-ha, instead of stepping in to deny it, was just saying nonsense like “Shall I peel an apple for you?” with a seemingly thoughtless face. What kind of guy is this, really…