#159
After that, the woman desperately tried to match the flow of the novel. However, using the flow of time that preceded it, the entire content of the novel was changed, leaving no room for her to respond.
Nine was just as desperate as the woman. Nine exploited the psychology of Lee Jaeha, who had lost all his memories and fallen into a strange world. It was as if they had to stop the author’s actions.
Of course, this was actually for Jaeha’s benefit as well. In the newly changed novel, Jaeha’s position had completely reversed from protagonist to villain. If the novel’s flow continued, only a miserable future awaited him.
Not knowing what was what, Jaeha moved diligently in a daze. This was to change the immediate future, but above all, it was to return to the original world.
Because Jaeha had lost his memories, it was easy to move towards the goal, but instead, a strong will to return to the original world developed. Jaeha really worked hard.
The approach using the game was a very wise choice. Jaeha trusted Nine as his only support and easily adapted to the new world. With just direction provided through the game system, Jaeha very smoothly changed the course of the story.
‘Impossible…! How…! What I wrote… wasn’t like this!’
The woman’s screams and the sound of her frantically hitting something could be heard intermittently. She seemed unable to accept this situation. She really tried hard to restore the flow of the writing. But sadly, because time in this world was ahead, everything she wrote was erased and changed according to Jaeha’s alterations. The original plot remained only in her head.
The sound of cursing Nine was also heard, but unfortunately, Nine was not a character appearing in the novel. Because of this, attempts to intervene in the writing to interfere with Nine always failed. There was no way to directly harm Nine.
If this continues, it’ll be my victory.
Jaeha came to think that the woman, that is, the author, was naturally his enemy. Changing the plot was going smoothly, and at this rate, the ending would not come.
However, there was a constant nagging point. In a corner of Jaeha’s heart, there remained a desire to return to the original world.
Why does he want to return to a place where there’s nothing but despair?
Maybe because he had never directly entered and lived in that body. Nine fundamentally had no attachment to life. The survival instinct was removed, but there was only a strong desire to be beside the male version of Jaeha who lived in his place.
Is he missing his real body? Is the original world so important?
From Nine’s perspective, both the body in the real world and Jaeha’s body were all real. Even if it was a body prepared for Nine, it couldn’t be considered fake since “Yeonsoo” had occupied it from the beginning.
It would be nice if he voluntarily remained in this world.
But Jaeha never gave up.
It was at the point when he thought he had changed everything and won that he realized this.
‘Now… it’s impossible…. There’s no way… to do it anymore….’
The woman finally gave up on the idea that she could change anything through writing. She lost the will to save her benefactor and let go of the writing. It was the woman’s defeat.
However, it was Nine’s defeat as well. A defeat suffered because he didn’t know what would happen to the world after the ending.
As the author gave up on her writing and decided not to write any more updates, this world rapidly approached its ending.
Nine thought there would be a peaceful life ahead. But as if mocking that thought, the world immediately began to collapse.
Watching Jaeha’s body falling downwards, Nine had to feel deep despair. Jaeha had endured being possessed in the world of the novel, but living in a completely collapsed world would be unbearable.
‘Hello. Don’t be afraid. I’ll send you to a safe place now.’
The woman who appeared in the midst of this mesmerized Jaeha.
Nine discovered something like a thread connected to Jaeha from the real world… perhaps a place even farther than the universe.
Just by the woman appearing at this crucial timing, Nine could tell what she would say to Jaeha. I’ve wanted to meet you, I’ve waited for such a long time, now you can return….
And it was obvious how Jaeha would react to that proposal. Nine realized before Jaeha himself what kind of hope had been born in Jaeha’s heart, which seemed comforted by the woman’s voice.
I can’t let him go like this.
If only I had known that the woman could speak directly to Jaeha when the ending came.
If only I had known that the world would collapse after the ending.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have changed the flow of the writing so drastically. I would have changed it little by little, just enough so that the woman wouldn’t give up, to delay the ending as much as possible.
But the end had already come, and Nine had no better options. Nine desperately tried to erase the line that had formed between Jaeha and the outside world.
‘What’s this all of a sudden! Why, why is this…!’
As the connection shook violently, the woman screamed.
Don’t be ridiculous. You think you can take everything just because you created this world? I absolutely won’t allow that. Yeonsoo won’t go back!
Nine clung to the line and used all his strength to try to break it somehow. This absolutely couldn’t happen. He couldn’t let Jaeha be separated from him.
‘Ah, no! Wait…!’
The woman let out an even shriller scream. But Nine didn’t give up. The more he clung on, the fainter the connection became, and he could feel the creator’s ability that the woman possessed flowing into his body.
Stupid author. Having such ability but not being able to use it properly, annoying villain. If he had this power, he would never have let Jaeha go. Nine was certain that if he had been in the woman’s position, he would have used any means necessary to bring Jaeha back to reality.
Eek…!
What was holding onto Jaeha was a very massive fate. It was too difficult to completely sever the power to return to the original world. However, he finally succeeded in making the connection very faint, and that alone was enough to no longer hear the woman’s voice.
Nine looked down at Jaeha’s face, who had fainted due to this struggle, and smiled faintly. If Jaeha knew this fact, he probably wouldn’t smile at Nine the same way as before. But it couldn’t be helped.
Let’s create a safe house.
Sturdy and perfect, so that he won’t feel any difference from before.
Let’s order Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon to win Jaeha’s heart more surely. I don’t like those two, but let’s make him not want to leave this place on his own.
Then forever, Yeonsoo will stay by my side.
However, Nine’s hope and happiness didn’t last long.
Jaeha died. Because the newly cast lead in this false world died, another ending occurred. And the annoying woman appeared again.
Nine had to interfere with the woman again. He had to prevent Jaeha’s soul from leaving his body. He despaired at the endlessly repeating fight.
But there was no choice. Jaeha would have revived in a different time period again, as he did before. Because he’s the protagonist.
Then he had to return to his side again. To Jaeha of the third round.
***
“…You say you’re the original Jaeha?”
Shin Haejun muttered in a somewhat bewildered voice. His face looked uneasy. Seeming to know what he was thinking, Nine shook his head.
That’s right, but not really. From the beginning to the end of the first round, Yeonsoo used Jaeha’s body. If we’re being strict, even in the first round, you loved Yeonsoo.
At Nine’s words, Shin Haejun snorted.
“Even if you didn’t say that, I loved Jaeha because he was Jaeha… no, I loved Jaeha because he was Lee Yeonsoo.”
Although it was a world in the novel that flowed according to fate, there was a clear will in Shin Haejun’s words. He had proven that even a predetermined fate could be changed by completely altering the text.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Hyun Dowoon said coldly, interrupting Nine and Shin Haejun’s conversation. In the end, what mattered was how to meet Jaeha again.
“I don’t like that you’re obsessing over Jaeha either. Anyway, answer properly quickly. You explained so much because you know the method, right?”
Hyun Dowoon had no need for Nine’s lengthy explanation of his obsessive process. There were only three pieces of information gained from this story.
When Jaeha meets death again, the world is considered as reaching an ‘ending’, and the woman in the real world can contact Jaeha in some way.
And when the lead character dies, the world resets again.
Lastly, Jaeha is wandering in some timeline where he is not present.
Jaeha was a person who felt very anxious when left alone. They couldn’t leave Jaeha, who met his death alone, by himself. They had to go to his side, either by going to get him or calling him back.
How bleak. Not even able to admire the beautiful friendship between me and Yeonsoo.
“You talk about admiration. Just tell us quickly.”
Before, I could go to Yeonsoo’s side. But not now. So probably… Yeonsoo is not in a state of normal revival right now.
“Probably?”
I can’t be sure. This is my first time experiencing this too.
Nine pouted. Hyun Dowoon clicked his tongue in displeasure, and Shin Haejun felt strange that even though Nine had the same face as Jaeha, he didn’t find Nine lovable at all.
Anyway, just as I struggled to keep pretending to be fine… the background of this world itself can’t escape from what the author wrote, right? So Yeonsoo probably revived somewhere between before the remake or after the current world.
“Where exactly.”
Shin Haejun asked in an irritated voice.
It doesn’t seem to be in this current world at all, obviously, right?
Nine spun around. Only a black, empty world was visible.
Then it’s probably in the world before the remake. So, kind of in the past, you could say?
“How do we get there?”
Hyun Dowoon clenched his fist.
We can’t go. But….
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
