#104
Usually, Nine would pop up before I even called, but this time, no matter how much I called, Nine didn’t appear.
What should I do in this situation?
‘Something’s different from before.’
When Nine disappeared after I asked about Lee Jaeha, it showed a noticeably different attitude. Plus, there was a message like “Nine is away” that made me think it was just taking a break, but this time it was completely different. It had just vanished as if it never existed in the first place.
‘I, I was really dependent on Nine…’
I was going crazy with worry that something might have happened to Nine.
Nine wasn’t just a simple game system to me. It was all thanks to Nine that I was able to naturally blend into this world. If I had been alone, I wouldn’t have been able to adapt so easily.
But when Nine suddenly disappeared, I felt left alone. I didn’t know what to do or how to do it anymore.
Today’s quest notifications! (NEW!)
Pet Shatang has filled the farm!
Pet Dubu has filled the mine!
Pet Dobi has sold all the items!
‘It’s just like a regular game…’
No matter how many times I went back and forth clicking on the interface, Nine’s lively emoticons were nowhere to be found, and only the stiff explanation windows I used to see before appeared.
It’s just one small emoticon that’s gone, why do I feel so uneasy?
“Are you really gone…?”
I tapped on the phone screen, but there was no sign of Nine popping up. Only the pets appeared when the screen was pressed, saying “We missed you, master.”
Even when I went into the settings, pressing the obviously non-functioning notice board or customer service buttons didn’t change anything.
I thoroughly checked all the game interfaces looking for Nine, but everything had changed as if it never existed in the first place.
‘Where should I look for it?’
Could it be that Nine disappeared because something went wrong when the framework of this world – the writing – collapsed?
As that thought occurred to me, tears started falling from my eyes. I burst into tears while clutching my phone.
“Jaeha-ssi!”
“Lee Jaeha, what’s wrong!”
I heard the sound of someone banging on the bathroom door from outside. If I stay locked up like this, they’ll definitely think something’s wrong. But my mind went blank and my hands were shaking, so I couldn’t respond properly. I should say I’m fine, that it’s nothing, but no voice came out of my open mouth.
‘I can’t let them find out…’
I didn’t have the confidence to explain all of this. That the being I trusted so much was just a mere game system, and that I was more scared of this situation than the enormous anomaly that had occurred in the world.
The more I thought I shouldn’t be discovered, the louder my crying became. I could only sit down on the bathroom floor and cry like a child. I didn’t even do this on my first day in this world, but now it was like a faucet had been turned on full blast.
As I was crying loudly, feeling like a lost child, suddenly the air felt heavy. It was like the world had stopped… a sensation I had felt before.
Error! Error! A critical and urgent error has occurred!
My phone alarm went crazy. It was the ear-splitting sound I had heard before when space-time was rolled back.
“Nine!”
But I called for Nine first, putting everything else aside. I was so happy that Nine had disappeared and reappeared that I couldn’t help it. Although no expressions were visible, I felt certain it was Nine, given that this was a situation I had experienced before.
“You’re back! Where did you go!”
Space-time reversal movement detected.
However, Nine only sent out warnings instead of conversing. Every time I pleaded, Nine would display a new warning window. The main content was that I should be cautious because the author was trying to revert space-time to before Kim Sehyun’s death.
I could understand why the author was making such a choice. I’m not sure if it’s possible to completely overhaul the content of paid serialized chapters, but it was natural that they would need to somehow revive Kim Sehyun for the story to continue.
“So what am I supposed to do? I can’t do anything!”
But it’s not like I had any way to stop it. How could I prevent the author from reversing things from the outside? If such a thing were possible, I would have controlled the author from the beginning.
Please proceed with Guiding to the extent of consuming all your guide power in the shortest time possible.
“How will Guiding change anything?”
What exactly are you planning to do? I looked down at Nine suspiciously, then shook my head. Anyway, Nine had never once done anything to harm me. So it was time to trust Nine and take action.
“You won’t disappear again, right?”
Suddenly feeling anxious, I asked quietly, but Nine didn’t answer and just turned off. Looking at the game interface, it had disappeared again.
“Why do you keep disappearing…”
It seemed like Nine had no intention of appearing at all unless I was completely lost about how the situation was unfolding…. But if something goes wrong, won’t it appear again? It feels like it’s constantly watching over me.
‘You can’t abandon me now.’
My mind became anxious with worry. It seemed best to do as Nine wanted to make sure it came back for good.
“…Huh?”
The moment I flung open the bathroom door, I could only stare blankly ahead.
The two people I had forgotten about until now were looking at me normally. I thought the world had surely stopped like before, which is why I had been crying and making all sorts of noise, but this was completely unexpected.
Hyun Dowoon and Shin Haejun were staring at me with expressionless, slightly dark faces.
‘They’re suspicious of me.’
I would be suspicious too if I were them. If I suddenly heard someone go into the bathroom, cry out someone’s name, and talk to themselves.
It was such an obvious thing that I wasn’t hurt by it. But I was worried about how to make excuses.
‘Nine… must absolutely not be discovered.’
Unconsciously, my gaze turned downward. It was an unconscious action. As their gazes followed, I felt my stomach drop.
“You’ve been crying.”
Hyun Dowoon gently wiped my eye area with his thumb. I had been sobbing, so there must have been traces of tears. I should have washed my face clean with water, it was a complete mistake. Of course, even if I had, there would still have been traces.
“Uh…”
I was at a loss for words, with no excuse to make. I nibbled on my lip, wondering what the two of them might be thinking. Somehow, a dangerous atmosphere seemed to flow.
I didn’t want to keep lying to the two of them. But Nine was truly my last bastion that couldn’t be discovered.
‘I tried not to think about it, but…’
I had a concern as big as my feelings for these two people.
Whether I loved these two people and this world enough to give up my wish to fall asleep next to my beloved family.
Besides choosing Hyun Dowoon or Shin Haejun, I still had the option of finding a way back to my original world. Until Kim Sehyun died, I had been too busy surviving day by day to think about it.
I had put it on hold because there wasn’t enough time to think thoroughly about what decision to make, and if something suddenly happened, it would be pushed down the priority list… but it was clearly an issue that deserved a lot of consideration.
And if I were to try to return to my original world, I felt that Nine would definitely be the connection. It appeared in this world with me, and it’s clearly an existence meant to help me. I believed that if there was a way, Nine would definitely find it for me.
So hiding Nine’s identity was as important as my own survival. I didn’t know how the two of them would think about it, and it seemed that I should minimize contact between Nine and the people of this world, just in case.
“You’ve wanted to go to the bathroom every time. May I ask why?”
Shin Haejun with silence, and Hyun Dowoon with an indirect question, both urged me to tell the truth.
“…I want to receive revelations from the constellation, but I can’t receive them unless I’m alone. That’s why I did it.”
The first thing that came to mind was to make an excuse about the constellation. Since there was no way for others to eavesdrop on the connection with the constellation anyway, it seemed like there couldn’t be a better excuse than this.
“…Is that so? What revelation did you hear?”
“They say the author wants to turn back time.”
At my words, Shin Haejun burst into laughter as if dumbfounded. It seemed to be because of the absurd fact that time could be reversed.
After going to the trouble of driving someone to death, there’s no way he’d want to undo it all. It’s not easy to harbor murderous intent towards someone.
‘Come to think of it, Shin Haejun must have agonized a lot too…’
I bit my lip as I glanced at Shin Haejun, who still had a dark expression.
“I see. So do we have to wait?”
“I don’t know why… but for now, they say to do Guiding. The goal is to exhaust all my power in the shortest time possible.”
At my words, Hyun Dowoon and Shin Haejun frowned, then sighed.
“Alright. The constellation’s choice must be correct, since it has always helped you, Jaeha-ssi.”
Hyun Dowoon, who I thought would question more, cleanly accepted it and held out his hand to me.
“Let’s go to the room and start for now.”
I nodded and took their hands, heading towards the room.
For now… is this settled?
I’m not sure if I managed my expressions properly. I looked up at the two of them with an uneasy feeling.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
