#089
“Are you really okay with this, Hwi-kyung? Me rummaging around?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m the one receiving help.”
“You might have something you want to hide.”
“…”
“Things I shouldn’t accidentally find out? Something like that.”
Hwi-kyung tried to gauge what Gyo-ha might see in his subconscious. At worst, it would probably be an endless repetition of commuting scenes. Or maybe the sixth iteration when he attempted suicide in a motel room, or when he died from overwork.
He couldn’t recall much about his childhood, but his teenage years weren’t so bad. Repeating the regression had caused his memories from before high school to either be romanticized or evaporate.
After recalling all sorts of terrible memories, Hwi-kyung slowly raised his head. There were a few things that bothered him, but he felt that even if Gyo-ha discovered anything within him, he wouldn’t dwell on it. There was only one thing better to tell him directly than to let him find out without warning.
“There’s something I want to say first.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“I like you.”
“What?”
“I’m saying I like you too.”
Even though he was losing his physical form, Hwi-kyung’s ears burned hot. He didn’t want to experience indirect confession twice, like when the system window had revealed his feelings for Gyo-ha on his behalf.
“I really like you.”
He wanted to say these words himself.
Unplanned automatic indirect confessions were no longer welcome. It was difficult to easily say “I like you” like Gyo-ha did, but Hwi-kyung rarely gathered his courage.
Even if the other person had long noticed his affection, he couldn’t keep the words “I like you” in his heart forever. He had to say it, even if it was corny and unattractive. It’s selfish to say nothing and expect the other person to make a judgment.
Gyo-ha also covered his face with one hand at Hwi-kyung’s sudden confession attack. If he had acted shameless as usual, it would have been less embarrassing. When Gyo-ha became embarrassed together, Hwi-kyung’s neck turned bright red in an instant.
“Why are you embarrassed too? You already knew I liked you.”
“I didn’t expect to hear it directly from your mouth.”
“…”
“Now I’ve really become something. I’m excited.”
Gyo-ha, with a face slightly less red than Hwi-kyung’s, just lightly fanned himself. It wasn’t his first time hearing a confession, but strangely, he felt hot. If the situation hadn’t been bad, he would have suddenly hugged Hwi-kyung and kissed him.
Gyo-ha lightly touched around Hwi-kyung’s ankle with the tip of his shoe. Startled by the light contact, Hwi-kyung bent down to check his ankle.
Confirming that Hwi-kyung’s gaze had reached, Gyo-ha subtly touched Hwi-kyung’s instep and ankle with his toe. Hwi-kyung, now as red as a burning tomato, jumped up from his seat and distanced himself from Gyo-ha.
“You said you like me, so why are you moving away?”
“…Because you’re touching me like that.”
“Like what?”
“…”
“Wow, you can still get excited even in that state.”
Hwi-kyung took a deep breath to avoid cursing Gyo-ha as a rag bastard. What kind of etiquette was it to suddenly come on like this after being embarrassed together?
Gyo-ha, quickly returning to his usual self, got up following Hwi-kyung.
“Actually, I wasn’t saying anything because I was afraid you might dislike it.”
“What do you mean?”
“To be honest, I don’t mind being like this.”
“…”
“Anyway, I’m the only one who can see you. I’ve never felt this special in my life.”
A large hand enveloped Hwi-kyung’s. He could feel the texture and body heat clearly. For Hwi-kyung, who lately couldn’t properly touch anything, contact with Gyo-ha made even the smallest things stimulating.
“I think it would be nice to stay like this, just the two of us, sometimes.”
“…”
“But we can’t do that, can we?”
“…”
“So I’m going to bet everything I have.”
The ankle where Gyo-ha’s shoe tip had touched tingled. It was because everything he said was ticklish. Being with him made it feel like his hair was swaying in the wind, even though it couldn’t be. All the senses that were about to blur became vivid.
The tip of his tongue was sweet even though he hadn’t drunk anything. Hwi-kyung slowly inhaled, stopping in his tracks. Only then did he realize he had forgotten how to breathe. As he exhaled deeply, his chest heaved and then settled.
Next to Lee Gyo-ha, Jung Hwi-kyung was alive and well. Even if he had become a non-existent person to everyone else, Hwi-kyung could still exist as himself.
“When we go to America together later…”
“Yes.”
“It’ll take a long time, but… I’ll make sure you earn a lot of money.”
“Suddenly?”
“Finding an employee who works with an owner’s mindset is harder than catching a star from the sky.”
“You’re promising a lifetime just because I risked my life a bit. Even guaranteeing job security.”
“That’s the least I should do for it to be worth it.”
“Haha, you’re a strange person too.”
Maybe I have a future too. Perhaps a better life is waiting when this repetitive life ends. This time, really this time… Hwi-kyung thought to himself. It was an uncharacteristically positive thought. It seemed Gyo-ha’s recklessness had spread like a contagious disease.
Adequate ■■ ■■
Continue to fulfill the ■■ you have achieved.
In front of the system window, Hwi-kyung imagined a future without it. Anxiety could no longer deeply consume him. Even if it was extremely threatening.
* * *
Under the reluctant guidance of the Shaman who agreed to help the two, the project to remove the system window was carefully prepared. The Shaman still couldn’t see Hwi-kyung, but she didn’t deny his existence. She couldn’t help but believe it after seeing Gyo-ha talking to Hwi-kyung and exerting physical force.
Dealing with a person who had lost their form was a first for the Shaman too. Since no one but Gyo-ha could touch Hwi-kyung, it was Gyo-ha, not the Shaman, who had to attach the talismans needed for the ritual and tie Hwi-kyung’s hands with thread.
“How did you end up like that?”
“I’m not sure about that. It’s certain that crossing over for the fifteenth time was the problem.”
“Fifteenth time?”
“This is our fifteenth iteration.”
The Shaman didn’t believe Gyo-ha’s words that this was the fifteenth iteration. To the Shaman who had forgotten previous iterations, those words sounded quite far-fetched.
But she seemed to understand why Hwi-kyung had fallen to become a walking ghost. Beings that hover around people and plausibly fulfill impossible wishes often wanted to keep the humans they liked by their side.
However, the ways for a living person and a formless being to be together are extremely limited. To put it simply, it was similar to how 2D and 3D cannot exist on the same plane.
The problem was that it wasn’t entirely impossible. There were occasional instances of granting one wish and then completely abducting the living person. The numerous missing person posters and people who disappeared without leaving a trace were evidence of this.
From the Shaman’s perspective, Hwi-kyung seemed to have unfortunately fallen into one of those rare cases. Judging by how Gyo-ha remained attached despite the vow, there was a high probability that this strange being truly liked Hwi-kyung.
Unaware of what his grandmother was thinking, Gyo-ha tied his and Hwi-kyung’s pinkies together with thread. It was a very primitive method of connection. With his right hand held by Gyo-ha, Hwi-kyung anxiously asked.
“What if it doesn’t work even after we try?”
“We’ll keep trying other methods until one works.”
“…How can a person be so positive?”
“Am I not normal? Please tell me it’s other people who are negative.”
Even before this important ritual of chasing away the system window, the two were just exchanging nonsense. Because of this, there wasn’t much tension. The most nervous was the innocent Shaman. She broke out in a cold sweat watching Gyo-ha attach talismans to thin air and tie threads.
“Now lie down. There’s nothing to gain by wasting time.”
The only way to avoid seeing this spectacle for long was to resolve this situation quickly. The Shaman pushed Gyo-ha’s back without lengthy explanations.
“If it seems too dangerous, just run away.”
“I will if I can.”
“Aish, you fool…”
“You really don’t hold back with your grandmother.”
Unlike the Shaman who lamented getting involved in such a thing before dying, Gyo-ha fearlessly closed his eyes. For him, this was also a kind of opportunity. A chance to understand Jung Hwi-kyung’s life and essence that he might never have known otherwise.
Inadequate conditions
Inadequate conditions
Inadequate conditions
However, when he closed his eyes, the first thing Gyo-ha saw was the frantically acting system window.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
