#158
‘Quickly, quickly, the ending needs to come.’
‘I didn’t write the ending, but… if the last scene comes out, it should be treated as the ending, right?’
From the moment Lee Jaeha and Hyun Dowoon showed signs of getting together, someone’s voice started to be heard more and more. It was a woman’s voice, and although her identity was unknown, she kept saying strange things like ‘ending’.
As the frequency of the woman’s voice increased, Nine was able to gather quite a few clues to deduce her identity.
‘Because I ended up writing over 60 chapters of Close to Me…’
‘If I see the ending, I’ll be able to get out of here, right? That’s usually the rule.’
‘The story needs to end quickly so I can return with that person.’
The conclusion Nine reached from these pieces was that this was a world inside a novel.
The woman was the author of this story, and she had been pulled into the world of her writing after hitting her head when she was pushed during a traffic accident. The man inside Lee Jaeha’s body was the person who had pushed her away and was hit by the car instead at the moment of the accident.
The woman kept reassuring herself. Even though it was her first time experiencing this, she believed that if she could somehow see the ending of the story, she would be able to return. Although she couldn’t be certain since it was an unfinished story, her voice conveyed the sense that believing this was how she was able to endure.
In the story she had written, it seemed Lee Jaeha was supposed to end up with Hyun Dowoon. There appeared to be a scene she was expecting, and she strongly believed that when that day came, she would be able to escape this world along with the man.
You’re just going to leave me behind like this?
To Nine, Lee Jaeha was already not himself anymore. The thought that he might now be able to reclaim something he didn’t even want made him angry for the first time.
Above all, he didn’t want the man to leave his side. He only wanted to keep watching the man’s life, to stay by his side.
However, contrary to Nine’s wishes, the woman’s voice became clearer with each passing day. The only different condition was that the ‘ending’ was getting closer, so it seemed that this was allowing the woman to gain strength. If making her voice heard was considered strength, that is.
As Lee Jaeha became happier between Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon, the woman’s voice also became more hopeful. Naturally, Nine became more and more depressed. He instinctively realized that the day when the woman and the man would escape this world was truly coming.
He wanted to prevent this situation somehow. Gradually, Nine came to dislike Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon. After all, the only thing precious to Nine was Lee Jaeha’s life.
He got a hint for a solution when the woman’s power grew very strong.
‘I’ll be able to return soon. But I’m a bit curious. Why was it this version? Even though there was a newer version…’
‘The last one I was reading was also the remade version. I don’t understand why.’
Although he wasn’t sure what it meant, it seemed this world was from before the remake. The woman had been reading the remade version right before she died, and then she had the accident.
If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean there’s one more chance left?
He just needed to reset the world again. If it became the world of that remade story, it would mean one more chance.
Fortunately, just as the woman’s power grew, Nine’s constraints also loosened a bit. Nine could go further than before, understood the structure of this world better, and could even read the memories of the man’s soul. It seemed possible because they were in the same soul state, and after thoroughly examining those memories, Nine was surprised by the life full of misfortune and became convinced that it would be better for the man to remain in this world.
However, contrary to Nine’s expectations, the fateful day arrived soon.
***
“Hello, hyung.”
Lee Jaeha held out an Americano he had just pulled, his cheeks flushing.
He had prepared it knowing that Hyun Dowoon always came to the cafe at 2 o’clock.
Hyun Dowoon took the coffee and smiled softly. Then he held out a note.
Lee Jaeha chuckled as he took the note. It reminded him of the business card he had received the day he first introduced himself to Hyun Dowoon. Somehow, that day came to mind.
Lee Jaeha unfolded the neatly folded note to check its contents.
[There’s a fireworks festival this evening. Want to go see it?]
It seemed like a usual date invitation, but he didn’t understand why it was delivered via note today. Lee Jaeha tilted his head. However, Hyun Dowoon, waiting for an answer, had a very serious expression.
Lee Jaeha felt that something was going to change today…
‘Today! I can finally get out!’
The woman watching the scene laughed with joy.
No! This can’t happen! Don’t go, don’t leave me behind!
And Nine, who only sensed the ending on the day itself, screamed, turning pale.
***
To cut to the conclusion, Nine couldn’t change anything.
Lee Jaeha went to see the fireworks festival with Hyun Dowoon. Standing by the Han River, Hyun Dowoon gazed at Lee Jaeha’s profile with loving eyes as fireworks burst in the sky.
If this were a novel, there might have been a sentence like, “Lee Jaeha’s profile, watching the fireworks, alternated between bright and dark. Hyun Dowoon’s face softened as he gazed steadily at this sight.”
Afterwards, Lee Jaeha’s body gradually brightened. It was clear that the ending was approaching. Something extraordinary was about to happen, whatever it was.
This can’t be.
He couldn’t let them leave like this. At the moment of the ending, the woman and Nine could finally see each other. Nine, in Lee Jaeha’s form, and the girl’s eyes, full of hope of escaping, met.
Not knowing of Nine’s existence until now, the woman looked at Nine with a face full of shock.
There will absolutely be no ending. I won’t let this person go.
Nine rushed towards Lee Jaeha’s body. He wanted to somehow prevent the soul from leaving.
And surprisingly, perhaps because they were close to the novel’s ending, Nine could touch his own body for the first time. Lee Jaeha’s body swayed sharply as Nine charged forward.
Lee Jaeha was standing in front of the river. In front was only a low railing. Nine knew well what would happen if he didn’t release his strength now.
He knew it clearly.
But he thought it was better to die together like this. Having made that decision, he pushed Lee Jaeha’s body with very strong force.
Splash!
Nine tightly embraced Lee Jaeha’s body as it fell into the river. The man couldn’t escape from the body and sank into the deep water along with Nine. Inside, Nine could feel Lee Jaeha’s body dying.
He wasn’t sad. He just hoped the man wouldn’t leave.
After losing consciousness while desperately wishing for this.
As Nine had prayed, the world entered a new phase.
***
Nine prevented Lee Jaeha from reaching the ending. And in the remade world, he quickly realized what he needed to do.
It was because the woman kept crying out in distress. She had escaped to reality but couldn’t save the man trapped in Lee Jaeha’s body. Cursing Nine was an added bonus.
If she thought that way, it would be better to just give up, but it seemed the woman was determined to try anything. Saying she couldn’t give up on the person who had saved her life.
It was a commendable attitude. If it hadn’t been about the man, Nine would have cheered her on too.
Was it because she had returned to the original world? The woman’s voice was faint. But it was enough to get various hints.
It seemed the man in the real world was still lying in the hospital, unable to regain consciousness. The woman seemed desperate to somehow return the man to that body.
She recalled the ending that wasn’t fully completed at the last moment. She firmly believed that if she could see the ending in the new world, the man would be able to come out to the real world as well.
I’ll stop it this time too.
Nine now clearly knew what he had to do. To keep the man by his side, he intended to completely change the flow of the novel.
Fortunately for Nine, there were a few things he had gained as the world changed.
First, time flowed a bit differently between this world and the real world. This world was ahead of the real world’s time and flowed very quickly. Although he couldn’t know the exact time axis, what was certain was that it flowed differently.
That’s why when the woman escaped to reality, her body was fine without any issues. It was also why the man, with no one to take care of him, could still be lying in the hospital – because not much time had passed. Lee Jaeha’s first life had only been a few days in reality.
It would have been better if time flowed the same and the man had nowhere to go. It was a pity.
The second good point was that as this story was remade, Lee Jaeha was changed into a villain.
There shouldn’t be any ending at all. Let’s change the story’s direction completely.
If Lee Jaeha had been the protagonist like before, Nine would have changed Lee Jaeha’s life path with tears in his eyes. However, fortunately, because Lee Jaeha was now the villain, he could change things so that only good things happened in his life.
And lastly.
When the woman disappeared, Nine’s power was no longer limited to just understanding this world or wandering around. It seemed he had somehow taken some of the ability of the woman who had been the author.
Nine created the phone and app that the man had been using. Perhaps because a new phase had begun, Nine could no longer touch or influence Lee Jaeha’s body. Because of this, he chose the thing the man had spent the most time on as a means of communication to convey his opinions.
Although he couldn’t freely use his power after creating one phone and exhausting all his strength, making that was the most useful thing he could do.
Because the man had forgotten all of Lee Jaeha’s memories while experiencing death and the shift in the time axis…
: Hello, Yeonsoo! Here’s your quest notification for today! (NEW!)
Pet Shatang has filled the farm!
Pet Dubu has filled the mine!
Pet Dobi has sold all the items!
Nine happily greeted the man.
To Yeonsoo, who was neither the unacceptable Lee Yeonsoo nor Lee Jaeha, someone else’s shell.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
