“So… Jung Hyun-soo didn’t get manipulated because she didn’t kill anyone?”
If they had died there, would Jung Hyun-soo’s memory have been manipulated? Although the question was slightly different, it carried a similar meaning.
Cha Jae-woo nodded.
“There’s no need to manipulate if it’s not necessary. If someone had died, Jung Hyun-soo’s memory would have been erased, and the memories of those outside the gate would have been manipulated as well.”
“…How?”
His voice seemed to tremble slightly. Noticing this, Cha Jae-woo turned to him slowly and replied.
“Like a natural disaster such as an earthquake. Or a building collapse due to shoddy construction.”
“…..”
“There are many possible reasons.”
His nonchalant attitude did not match the gravity of his words. He unconsciously shook his head.
“…That’s not right.”
This time, there was no response. He raised his voice, now agitated.
“Even so, such a lie… it’s not fair to the Esper or the families… Is it to prevent them from blaming the Esper? Is that why they lie?”
Cha Jae-woo remained silent. He took this silence as an affirmation of his words.
A chilling shiver ran down his spine.
He had a justified suspicion that this wasn’t the only instance. New Espers were continually emerging. Yet, he rarely saw news reports of spontaneous gate creations.
He had only experienced it twice. This meant that the association, and perhaps even the government, were concealing the very existence of gates caused by Esper awakenings. Could it be that there had been no victims all this time?
It seemed unlikely. Surely, many innocent people had died because of such incidents. To cover up these deaths as accidents and absolve the Espers of any guilt seemed unjust.
“At the very least, the Esper involved…”
His lips quivered. He took a deep breath and spoke again.
“…should know. Even if it wasn’t intentional, they should still…”
No Esper would want to experience a rampage, nor would they want to harm people intentionally.
However, memory is a responsibility for one’s actions. They should bear the responsibility and feel remorse for the lives they had taken. At least, that’s what he believed.
He was outraged by the incomprehensible situation. He fidgeted, biting his lip and clenching his fists. Although Cha Jae-woo hadn’t told him to do so, he felt an urge to direct his accusations towards him.
“I think so too,” Cha Jae-woo said softly.
Surprisingly, those words brought him some comfort. If Cha Jae-woo had sided with the association, it would have been too horrible to bear.
Ah, perhaps that’s why. Perhaps that’s why Cha Jae-woo personally entered the gates caused by Esper awakenings. Maybe he chose to face the dangers alone to prevent unnecessary sacrifices.
It seemed like a plausible assumption, almost as if he was defending Cha Jae-woo. He stared out the window for a moment before finally speaking up. He couldn’t hold back the question any longer.
“You lied to me.”
The sudden question caught Cha Jae-woo off guard, and he merely raised an eyebrow. He recounted what Jung Hyun-soo had told him.
“Jung Hyun-soo said you helped her. She said that whenever she was in a tight spot, you would kill the monsters for her.”
“…..”
“She remembered it quite vividly. But you didn’t tell me that. You just said you threw her in.”
“…..”
“Why did you do that?”
Because of this, he had been disappointed in Cha Jae-woo and hadn’t wanted to see his face.
He felt wronged. Despite his efforts to hide his lingering feelings, he couldn’t help but feel restless. He wondered why Cha Jae-woo had hidden the truth when there seemed to be no need to do so.
“There was no need to explain,” Cha Jae-woo said.
“It’s not that you didn’t explain, you lied,” he retorted.
“What difference would the truth have made?” Cha Jae-woo asked, his question seeming almost too obvious.
He was taken aback but nodded firmly. “It would have made a difference. I wouldn’t have misunderstood, and I would have been grateful instead. I wouldn’t have been disappointed in you.”
Cha Jae-woo fell silent again, which frustrated him even more. He wondered if Cha Jae-woo realized that his silence only made him seem more at fault. Or perhaps Cha Jae-woo was used to being seen as the villain.
“I don’t want to think of you as a bad person,” he blurted out, his emotions getting the better of him. “Even if it’s a side effect, I want to do my best guiding you because I care about you.”
Cha Jae-woo let out a small laugh. “And what if the side effect disappears?” he asked, his tone slightly mocking.
“It won’t change anything. I’ll still do my best,” he replied without hesitation. As a Guide, he saw no reason to do otherwise, especially while his matching rate with Cha Jae-woo was the highest.
“Reassuring,” Cha Jae-woo said with a smirk, though it didn’t feel genuine. Silence filled the car, and he found himself lost in thought, staring out the window as the tall buildings faded from view.
He wondered if Cha Jae-woo remembered his awakening. Were there really no casualties that day? Had Cha Jae-woo’s memories been altered too? Or did he remember everything? The questions swirled in his mind, but he kept them to himself, feeling it was better not to ask Cha Jae-woo directly.
* * *
Cha Jae-woo had awakened at the age of ten, eighteen years ago. The date was recorded on a portal site, marking the day Cha Jae-woo rampaged inside a gate. He suspected the date might have been fabricated, as people wouldn’t clearly remember the exact day a gate appeared, especially if there were no casualties.
Driven by a morbid curiosity, he searched for any accidents around that time, hoping to find nothing. He scoured through countless articles, his eyes growing tired from the effort. Finally, he found something that made his heart sink.
─[Breaking News] KE Group’s eldest son, Cha Jae-yeon, found dead with his wife. Police: “Cause unknown. Investigation ongoing.”
─Article posted on 20××.06.05 at 11:56 AM
He knew Cha Jae-yeon was Cha Jae-woo’s father. He had seen it on a portal site before but hadn’t thought much of it then. Now, the timing seemed too coincidental. There were no other major accidents around that time, and the lack of follow-up on the investigation was suspicious.
If his suspicions were correct, it meant Cha Jae-woo might have unknowingly caused his parents’ deaths. The thought sent a chill down his spine, and he regretted ever looking into it. He sat there, his face buried in his hands, overwhelmed by the implications.
