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Chapter 299

Usually it's not surprising to hear your roommate's voice early in the morning, but the situation now is a bit exceptional.

'I'm getting annoyed.'

Today Ryu CheongWoo was supposed to be participating in a camp entertainment program for 2 days and 1 night as a guest.

That's why I made a video call comfortably because I would be alone in the room.

[Oh...]

"Wait."

Tak

I closed the laptop for now. Then I got up and headed for the door.

"Wait a moment, hyung."

And I opened the door.

Ryu CheongWoo, dressed in light clothes, stood with a somewhat puzzled look. I wonder why he's here too.

"Hmm, I thought you would be filming."

"Oh, I decided to join again tomorrow night due to a cast problem."

CheongWoo rubbed the back of his neck several times and said in a slightly embarrassed tone.

"The door was closed...I was thinking of going to sleep in the living room if you had fallen asleep, but I heard noise..."

"..."

If he had heard what I was talking about, there's no way he'd be so calm.

'It's a good soundproof place in the first place.'

I sighed and turned around.

"There are a lot of noisy people, so I think I locked the door and forgot. Sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for."

His words sound sincere, but it's funnier that he understood this excuse. I thanked Cha YooJin briefly and sat on my bed.

I waited for a while and when CheongWoo started to prepare everything to take a bath, I grabbed the laptop and wanted to go out...

"MoonDae-ya, did you have the laptop on?"

"I was playing a game."

CheongWoo looked a little surprised.

"Until this early in the morning?"

"...Yeah, well, I thought it would be okay to do it just for today."

Since I had been thinking about YooJin earlier, this excuse quickly came to mind. I feel like my dignity is being destroyed.

A vague response came to me.

"Hmm...it might be bad for your health, so do it more sparingly."

"...Okay."

I replied with difficulty.

"I'll turn it off now."

"That's okay. Even if you have to keep a schedule in the afternoon, it's already 3 o'clock in the morning."

CheongWoo smiled slightly and started to take out his pajamas.

I endured the urge to hit the bed with my fists and made a rational decision.

'He's going to take a bath in 30 seconds.'

So I'll pretend to turn off the laptop and...

"Hmm, MoonDae-ya, since we're talking about this...Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

As soon as he finished organizing his clothes, CheongWoo spoke a bit cautiously.

At that point, I should have guessed.

"It's about that VTIC sunbae-nim."

Oh, damn it.

I swallowed my saliva at the subject of the guy I'd been video chatting with on my laptop.

'I closed the laptop, so he won't be able to listen to this.'

"From what Sejin said, it sounds like there was an incident. What was it that sunbae-nim did?"

"Hmm..."

I'll tell him briefly. I'll say something close to the truth, but without being specific.

I did the moderate synthesis.

At once, so that the reaction would not escalate unnecessarily, I implied that it was a thing of the past.

"It was something that happened a long time ago."

And I changed the atmosphere by focusing on the fact that it wasn't my fault instead of explaining the incident itself.

"We argued and got into a fight. I didn't attack him first, I counterattacked."

"You fought?"

"Yes, we...We had a fist fight."

"..."

He was a little confused.

Oh, that's cool. I think it's going to be similar to the two guys who have the same name.

"That...sounds like he got punched when he was trying to punch his hoobae."

Exactly.

"That's right. obviously there's a difference in years in our ages...but from a hierarchical standpoint, it was his fault. It was good to fight back."

"Okay."

So that's it?

I think it's the right time to hear some reassurance or advice...

"But, have you become close enough to play games with that sunbae-nim?"

"...!"

Crap.

I don't know how many more times he's going to surprise me.

But it seemed like CheongWoo wasn't questioning me about that, but rather asking himself.

"Earlier, when I entered the room, I heard the sound of your headphones, it was not my intention to hear it."

As soon as I closed the laptop it shut down, it didn't immediately change to an idle state, it must have taken a while. He has good hearing.

"Do you have any concerns or inconveniences? You can talk about it."

...He also seems to be a bit worried.

Perhaps, adding up various circumstances such as the 'recording of my informal speech' incident, he seems to suspect that I am in a situation where I am constantly being disciplined and harassed.

He must be speculating that CheongRyu is using me as a bot in the game until dawn to bully his hoobae.

'Because he was a jock, he must have come across many such cases.'

I shrugged.

"No, nothing. I keep contacting him because I feel comfortable with him after fighting. I've received enough apologies from him."

"Hmm."

"I'm using him well, so you have nothing to worry about."

"...Are you using him?"

"Well...since we already solved our problems, it's easy to deal with him. That's why it's comfortable to use each other sometimes, don't worry."

"Okay..."

Ryu CheongWoo seemed to be convinced, but then worry showed on his face.

And he asked hurriedly.

"MoonDae-ya, that doesn't mean you're the one who's bothering him now, right?"

I'm the one who always ends up angry, you bastard.

"...Of course it doesn't."

I spent some time trying to reassure Ryu CheongWoo, who started to worry about the situation.

"Hyung, do you think I'm the kind of person who would do that?"

"No, of course not. But, hmm, you're so smart...If you want revenge, you don't have to act the same as that person..."

"Don't say something so obvious and go take a bath."

Ryu ChengWoo entered the bathroom at that time with an awkward smile, and I went out to the living room with my laptop after telling him, "I'll explain that I'll leave after the game is over."

And I opened the laptop with my back to the terrace. I was going to stop the application and shut it down, but...Surprisingly, CheongRyu's face appeared.

[Ah.]

Looks like he was working on something.

But why didn't he bother to hang up the video call?

[Did you guys finish talking?]

"I didn't know you were still online."

[I want to hear the answer to my question.]

Ah, let's finally get back to that.

'Why are so many people asking for clarification?"'

I answered in a low voice, pressing my forehead that was tingling with pain from discomfort.

"In the current situation it's hard for me to speak, so I'll answer by chat."

[Okay.]

-CHR: This way?

-Apple: Yes.

-CHR: ^^

-CHR: So why are you running an analysis that you won't be able to use?

Are you leaving it to me?

I was skeptical for a moment, but soon wrote quickly in consideration of his contribution.

-Apple: Once I finish analyzing the pattern, there is something I want to deduce.

-CHR: What do you want to infer?

-Apple: I don't know why I'm here.

-Apple: Because my memory is faint.

I could hear him making a low noise in the headphones.

I thought he was lost in thought, but he soon came up with a ridiculous idea.

-CHR: Wasn't it your wish to become an idol with a new identity?

-Apple: I was taking an exam to become a public servant.

-Apple: My only relationship in the industry was to be a photographer of idols to sell data.

-CHR: You haven't secretly developed an admiration for idols?

This bastard is really a...

I deliberately typed on the keyboard calmly so as not to express my true emotions.

-Apple: Looking at the cases of Kwon HeeSeung and you, it seems like you had quite specific desires.

-Apple: Do you think I'd do that?

I heard his laughter over the headphones. I tried to change the setting to mute, but it stopped just before.

-CHR: Okay.

Right.

-CHR: But I don't think that's the only thing.

What?

-CHR: I don't think you're the kind of person who shows to go out of the way and do all kinds of things just to feel better.

-CHR: Is there any other reason?

"..."

Well, I was the exception in having a status window and different missions, so it was possible for me to do more things.

But there is an explanation I can give without having to explain in detail.

I paused for a moment, then slowly typed a response.

-Apple: I don't want this insanity to happen again in the future.

In the end, it comes down to this again.

It sounds like a nice wish, but in fact, it's crazy to have to overcome "status abnormality" without having a status window.

How many times have I almost died?

...The guy on the other side of the screen doesn't know how many times he could have died.

'It's already crazy in the sense that you have no choice or knowledge of it.'

There must be a reason why I took action as soon as I got a clue instead of waiting to have a conversation with "Park MoonDae".

However, the person chatting with me does not seem to agree very much. CheongRyu looked at the monitor.

-CHR: Does that mean you prefer to just die?

-Apple: No way.

That's extreme.

-Apple: If you don't want people to die, you can use another method.

-Apple: Either make a donation or run a campaign.

-Apple: I don't think it's good to send people back in time and make them go crazy if they fail to complete their mission.

I received a brief response.

-CHR: Are you unhappy now?

Funny that the guy who saw that I won told me that.

I wrote back.

-Apple: We were successful.

-Apple: But we don't know what happened to the people who failed.

For example, Kwon HeeSeung's status abnormality.

It clearly just said "will fail", but the effect was not written.

'In CheongRyu's case, his status abnormality definitely caused the restart.'

If so, in the case that it "failed", I might end up going crazy or end up dead as my status abnormality.

What will happen after that...doesn't feel positive at all.

-Apple: It will be hard to find the next target.

-Apple: Still, if we analyze the pattern, we might find a way to stop it.

-Apple: Don't you think it's worth a try?

Space and time are factors that can be controlled.

[...]

CheongRyu did not respond for a few seconds. He just moved his hand a few times over the mouse.

When I realized that this action was like petting a dog, the response came back.

[Maybe.]

I nodded slowly.

And the guy on the screen suddenly chuckled.

'What's wrong with him?'

-CHR: And also

-CHR: It's to prevent people with knowledge of the future from causing changes in your future activities, isn't it?

"..."

-Apple: Why do you want to check if you already know?

[Hahaha!!!]

I guess his laughter can be heard through the headphones. I got fed up and changed the setting to mute this time.

-CHR: It's good to kick the ladder.

-CHR: Yes, I will continue to cooperate with you in the future, hoobae-nim ^ ^

TN: "Kicking the ladder" is an expression that originally means "to avoid free trade in the market"; however, it is also a saying among people who have reached the top of glory, for it is a very common quibble that they kick the ladder (the means) by which they have climbed, thus depriving others of the possibility to climb behind and reach the top as well.

"This bast..."

"Are you still playing?"

At that moment, I realized again that I was sitting in the living room of the apartment.

"No, wait a minute."

I was glad I had muted the laptop.

-Apple: I'm going to shut down.

This time, I closed the app and turned off the laptop completely.

Ryu CheongWoo was drying his upper body in the room with a strange smile.

"You must have really enjoyed the game."

"I will delete it."

"No, you don't have to..."

"No, I'll do it for myself."

I patiently endured CheongWoo's encouragement and then lay down on the bed.

"I'll close the door."

"Okay."

'Let's get some sleep.'

I apologized to CheongWoo and left my phone with the alarm set to 10 o'clock.

Whether orally or writing, I was more tired than I thought I would be because I said a lot of things I wouldn't usually say.

'...I have managed to make a theory after analyzing everything we could have come up with.'

A system that transfers to the closest candidate in both space and time.

Discovering the pattern was an achievement. But the more information was discovered, the more spooky details were revealed.

'How on earth does the system find and transfer to those who will willingly die in the future?'

No, being able to return to the past at the moment of death in the first place was a transcendental ability.

I inadvertently called up the status window.

[Name: Park MoonDae (Ryu GunWoo)]

A long list of lines began like this.

I don't understand why this stayed with me if the system was supposed to have left to transfer to the next person.

It felt strange that the more I analyzed the pattern, the more my specificity was revealed.

And in the end, I realized that I hadn't made a bad choice.

'After all, it is necessary to have a conversation with 'Park MoonDae.''

I couldn't deny it. It was very likely that I would find out more information about that gap that way.

'And if I continue like this, at least I'll be able to win the Daesang...'

When I thought of that, I fell asleep.

I slept soundly without having any dreams.

And the next day...

Jiiiiiiiiiiing-!

"..."

I had slept well.

I turned off the 10 o'clock alarm and cleared the message notifications and pop-ups on the screen.

And I didn't pay much attention to it, but there was also a news item on the entertainment newsletter app I had recently subscribed to.

["We're done with Military Service" Comeback from the 6 members of T-Holic].

I later found out that it was a disaster alert.

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