#069
The puzzle pieces came together in an unexpected place.
Late at night, after finishing the shaman house tour, Hwi-kyung dragged Gyo-ha to the hospital, worried about Ok-ja. It was fine even though visiting hours were over. The hospital where Ok-ja was admitted was a university hospital under the BK Group.
Anyway, Jung Hwi-kyung successfully reunited with his grandmother, using Lee Gyo-ha as a backup at the right moment. Ok-ja, who hadn’t been eating properly for days due to her grandson collapsing in front of her, had quickly lost weight.
“I’ve always been worried because you were weak since childhood…”
“Me?”
“Yes. You’d collapse often, run fevers. Your mother went through so much trying to cure you.”
Ok-ja, with a worried expression, uttered words Hwi-kyung had never heard before.
“Trying to cure that divine sickness or whatever it was.”
What is this about now?
Hwi-kyung’s mouth gaped open like a morning drama protagonist discovering a secret about their birth. Lee Gyo-ha was the Buddhist grandmother’s great-grandson, so what was this about him having a divine sickness? This was truly the first time he’d heard such a thing.
Just in case, Hwi-kyung first checked Ok-ja’s cognitive state. However, judging by her ability to correctly state the date, time, and family names, it didn’t seem like Ok-ja had suddenly developed dementia.
This meant that Ok-ja’s words weren’t nonsense. The talk of a divine sickness, which he had never heard in fourteen regressions, was real.
Grandmother, why are you telling such a secret only after fourteen regressions… While he thought this, in a way, it made sense that he was only hearing this now. Hwi-kyung never showed it in front of Ok-ja when he was sick.
“You’re really okay now, right?”
So Hwi-kyung couldn’t question Ok-ja about what this divine sickness meant. With the old woman who had quickly lost weight to skin and bones fretting in front of her grandson, what answer could he give other than that he was fine?
Leaving the hospital in a daze, Hwi-kyung asked Gyo-ha, who was standing next to him:
“Is this perhaps a secret about my birth?”
“Not about birth, but more like a secret about divine possession…”
“This is driving me crazy.”
Hwi-kyung crumpled up the fake talisman written by the first shaman. As if regressing when getting a job at a black company wasn’t enough, now a divine sickness? This level of bad fortune was a disaster.
“Don’t you remember anything? Like from when you were young?”
“Not at all. Some people say they remember being newborns, but I don’t remember anything before starting elementary school.”
Isn’t it strange for people to remember everything from when they were young? To be honest, Hwi-kyung’s college days were hazy due to regressing fourteen times.
Moreover, company life greatly contributed to the decline of human memory. Unless it was a particularly shocking event or a special person, even recent experiences and encounters didn’t come to mind easily.
When a person can’t even remember what they had for dinner three days ago, how could they recall a divine sickness they supposedly suffered around the age of five? Furthermore, Jung Hwi-kyung had thought he was relatively healthy until now. In fact, compared to the average office worker, his physical strength was quite good.
Looking closely, there were some strange aspects. He had fainted after vomiting when feeling a bit unwell, and he had lost consciousness in front of Gyo-ha more than once or twice.
“Even if I’m not feeling well, I can’t tell if it’s because of the company or not…”
Knowing that he wouldn’t die even if he hanged himself during the regression, there was no need to pay attention to his health. When even dying from overwork meant being alive the next day, vomiting and fainting were no big deal.
The reason a company employee who can’t die is sick? That must be because of the company… Who would think this was a divine sickness?
“How about trying to find your mother?”
Gyo-ha’s cautious question came out just after they arrived at the officetel. Hwi-kyung, holding a carrier with clothes and some necessities, reflexively closed his mouth at Gyo-ha’s question.
Having heard what Ok-ja said, Gyo-ha must have guessed something about Hwi-kyung’s family situation. In fact, it was clear what it meant for Hwi-kyung, only twenty-seven years old excluding his regression age, to be taking care of his sick grandmother alone.
Jung Hwi-kyung is not someone who can rely on his parents. That was a fact anyone could easily guess.
Even without that, Gyo-ha knew something about Hwi-kyung. He hadn’t deliberately investigated, but when they first met in the thirteenth cycle, he had checked basic personal details.
Whether his father had removed him from the family register or not, only Ji-ae’s name appeared on Hwi-kyung’s resident registration. Gyo-ha could easily deduce that Hwi-kyung’s father had cut ties with him for the sake of remarriage.
Just by looking at a single resident registration, one can know more than enough objective facts. However, Gyo-ha couldn’t be sure of anything about Hwi-kyung’s mother, Ji-ae.
The person who supposedly ran around trying to save her child had left for abroad after the divorce, leaving only an apology. Even though people change more easily than rivers and mountains, there was something odd about Ji-ae’s actions.
Gyo-ha judged that Ji-ae might know about the regression or the system window. Appearing suddenly and disappearing just as quickly, finding Ji-ae seemed a more stable direction than the Buddhist grandmother who gave Hwi-kyung mental shock.
But Hwi-kyung didn’t seem to want to meet Ji-ae. He looked like he’d rather meet the Buddhist grandmother again, even if it meant bleeding, than find his mother.
“I can’t find her.”
In the elevator going up to the officetel, Hwi-kyung said this with a slightly pale face.
“She’s someone who wouldn’t show her face even if I died.”
The elevator stopped. Gyo-ha stole a glance at Hwi-kyung’s profile, which looked suddenly exhausted.
What makes him so miserable? Hwi-kyung’s expression had darkened after hearing from Ok-ja that Ji-ae had acted for his sake.
Jung Hwi-kyung probably wouldn’t like it if Lee Gyo-ha met his mother either. He might think his weakness had been exposed, or he might get angry at Gyo-ha for meddling too much.
Maybe, as he had done until now, he would just cry, asking why everything was so easy for Gyo-ha. Gyo-ha felt sick to his stomach at the thought of Hwi-kyung crying. He didn’t want to do anything that would make him cry.
However, they couldn’t leave the puzzle with missing pieces as it was. For the sake of Jung Hwi-kyung’s mental health, they needed to remove the system window and end the regression as soon as possible.
* * *
Even if you hear outlandish things like divine sickness, you still have to go to work. Hwi-kyung woke up late in Gyo-ha’s officetel.
Whether it was because of the soft bedding or because the alarm sound was set low, his eyes opened not at six o’clock, his usual wake-up time, but at six-thirty. Although he was still not fully awake, there was no time to dawdle anymore.
Sleep came unusually well at Gyo-ha’s place. It seemed like a lie that there was a time when he frequently woke up in the early morning due to his sensitive nature and light sleep.
“Are you up?”
Gyo-ha, who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen with a clattering sound, called out to Hwi-kyung. The breakfast menu was elaborate for the first day of moving into the officetel.
White rice with soybean paste soup, grilled fish which is difficult to cook, and various seasoned vegetables. Although some side dishes were just taken out from what Marcia had prepared, the care put into arranging them neatly was impressive.
“You don’t need to go to this much trouble for me.”
“I’m preparing this because I eat breakfast too.”
“…”
“Just enjoy it since we’re living together. Isn’t it nice to have a rice-cake fairy making breakfast for you?”
Lee Gyo-ha was too big to be a rice-cake fairy. He could be a bull frog, but not a snail.
However, Hwi-kyung sat down at the table without a word and emptied a bowl of rice. Being with Gyo-ha made him take care of things he had been ignoring, even if forcibly. Sleep time, breakfast… such obvious and trivial things.
“If possible, I’d like to tell you to just quit BK International and take a rest.”
“I’ll probably be forced to regress.”
“No. I’m saying this because I don’t think you will.”
“What?”
“You didn’t move to the fifteenth cycle even though you were absent yesterday.”
“You said you’d make a vacation day for me.”
“Actually, I didn’t tell Lee Sung-ha.”
“…”
“But you still didn’t regress, right?”
Even though work time was approaching quickly, Gyo-ha was leisurely peeling fruit. He handled the knife so well that Hwi-kyung was amazed at the thinly sliced apple peel.
However, what fundamentally surprised Hwi-kyung wasn’t the apple peel. Gyo-ha’s words, “You won’t be forced to regress?” were a bit more shocking. It was even more shocking that his claim of making a non-existent vacation day was a lie.
What kind of confidence is this, after being forced to regress fourteen times? However, regardless of Hwi-kyung’s bewildered stare, Gyo-ha picked up a piece of apple with a fork and put it in Hwi-kyung’s mouth.
“Want to make a bet? On whether you’ll be forced to regress or not.”
“No, not really… I’m not interested in gambling.”
“It’s not gambling, it’s a bet. I’ll bet that you’ll be fine even if you’re absent without notice today.”
“…”
“If you’re unlucky and get forced to regress, I’ll take full responsibility.”
It was an absurd bet proposal. It was curious enough to wonder on what basis Gyo-ha had such confidence. Although Hwi-kyung had made rough plans for what to do if he moved to the fifteenth cycle, he thought it would be safer not to regress if possible.
No matter how much a cycle fails, there’s no end if you just jump to the next one. That’s why Hwi-kyung, except for the early cycles, endured stubbornly until forced regression.
There was a reason why he usually went to work whether it snowed or rained, even if his nose was bleeding or he was vomiting.
But now Gyo-ha was betting with Hwi-kyung based only on the uncertain intuition that “he probably won’t regress.” And he was doing it with an expression that seemed to say “Chicken?” which no Korean could ignore.
“Just in case, you memorize the lottery numbers.”
If he were alone, he wouldn’t have dared to challenge such a possibility even if it existed. Hwi-kyung chewed and swallowed the remaining apple, looking at Gyo-ha who was smiling brightly, saying he had already memorized them.
