176 – The Returner Wandering (12)
“With a toothbrush… Underwear and… “Is there anything you didn’t pack?”
“Here are the socks.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Choi Ji-won is packing her luggage in a large suitcase.
“… “I guess I’ve gotten used to it here too.”
Instead of packing up her things, she jumped on my bed, buried her nose in her blanket, and took a big breath of her scent.
“Now… This smell is more familiar. “This feels like my home.”
“… “
I didn’t necessarily say it out loud, but… The smell of the cosmetics Choi Ji-won used became familiar. If she leaves, her vacancy will be felt from her scent.
“Are you going?”
“I have to go.”
That’s right. Choi Ji-won… I was getting ready to leave my room. She realized that the condition for my return was intense emotions… In order not to get too used to each other, we decided to go away for a while.
The date to fill the regression conditions has already been completed. Now all that’s left is to wait for the monster to appear. Since that period lasts as long as ten months, this is how we prepare for separation.
“Junho, am I not going somewhere to have fun? We have to work hard to gather information. You don’t want to do it twice after being apart for ten months, right? “You have to be sure to do it once.”
“Of course. I also have a plan prepared. However… “I guess it’s okay to just tap once in a while, right?”
“Isn’t it okay sometimes? “It might actually be tantalizing and exciting.”
The plan is simple. Gather as much information as possible over 10 months. For safety reasons, we decided not to climb the tower and promised to do our best in our respective fields.
“Ah, it’s over.”
Ji Ik.
As soon as the suitcase zipper closed, Choi Ji-won finished organizing her luggage.
“Now… “I really have to go..”
Choi Ji-won turns his head and smiles while putting on his shoes.
As Choi Ji-won gathers her luggage and leaves… When she heard that her girlfriend had gone abroad to study, she suddenly remembered her friend getting drunk and crying. She wondered if the feeling he felt was what I am feeling now. Even though I know it’s not a permanent separation, and even though I know it’s necessary, there’s a feeling of regret that I can’t help but feel.
“… Why is your expression like that? “I feel weak too.”
“What does my expression look like?”
“It looks like a wet dog.”
“… In that case, wouldn’t it be better to say it’s like a puppy?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Hey, it’s not a puppy.”
Choi Ji-won, who has finished putting on her shoes, spreads her arms at the entrance. She walked up to her and gave her a light hug, followed by a brief kiss from her.
If it stayed like this any longer… It seemed like he was really going to tell me not to leave, so I forced myself to turn around.
“Then… “See you in 10 months.”
“Yes. I’ll contact you.”
We parted ways for a while to face a better future.
**
Choi Ji-won’s vacancy was huge. She was much bigger than I thought.
When she woke up in the morning, she felt awkward being alone and was unfamiliar with the cold, uninhabited room.
Even if we do not speak directly, the subtle noises of daily life that humans make. The absence of the noise of life… It kept tormenting my heightened senses.
She felt unbearably lonely because she had no lover. Although I was relieved that this loneliness was temporary, I was afraid of the future if my return to Choi Ji-won was prevented. When that time comes, won’t I really go crazy? I think I still have mild symptoms of mental illness.
It was not easy to fall asleep alone at night, and even though I wanted to borrow the power of alcohol, my strong body did not succumb to alcohol. The fact that the medicine didn’t work is a bonus. Now, I am in a state where I can’t drink or stretch as much as I want.
During this period, I think I fell asleep for about two hours every other day.
However, it is said that humans are animals of adaptation. After a week or two, being alone became somewhat bearable. Rather, there were things I could enjoy because I was alone.
Of course, when I had to cook and eat, I felt Choi Ji-won’s absence… I had 2 billion won left in my bank account, and the quality of the delivered food these days was excellent. (Choi Ji-won said that his father’s inheritance was sufficient, so he did not bother to take the money.)
Now, my body has slowly adapted and my mind has calmed down to some extent. My routine was to lie in bed all day and look at my phone. I occasionally went out to meet acquaintances, but I spent the overwhelming majority of my time staying at home.
In name, I was surfing the Internet to ‘gather information,’ but… Inside, I was worrying over and over again.
Several years pass. If Michael Jeter, the president of the association, suddenly falls into a psychosis and threatens to destroy the Earth… Can I stop him? If someone as powerful as Michael Jeter goes crazy, is there a way to suppress it?
There are two main scenarios. First, Choi Ji-won and I, who predicted the disaster through regression, attacked the player and successfully subdued him.
And second… Due to a strange twist in the regression point, the Earth is destroyed before Choi Ji-won and I can reach the player in question. Or, if that player is so strong that Choi Ji-won and I can’t win, the Earth will be destroyed.
“The risk is too big.”
No matter how much you think about it, it is too late once time passes. The stronger each individual’s power becomes, the more precarious the fate of humanity will become.
There are also two solutions here. First, I must conquer the tower to the end before other players gain the power to destroy human civilization.
And second.
“… “
A guy who seems poised to destroy the world… Killing them in advance. The method recommended by the old man falls into this latter category.
To be honest, I also have a very, very strong aversion to this method. How can I tell whether another person deserves to die or not? What right do I have to decide someone else’s fate?
However, the old man who thought the same way as me faced destruction in return. If I had been before talking to the old man, I would never have chosen this method, but after hearing the old man’s story, my worries deepened.
“Jiwon… “
If you ask Choi Ji-won, he would probably be completely against it. He may be angry and say he is very disappointed in me. Even if it means repeating her regression many times over, she will choose the moderate path.
I don’t think Choi Ji-won’s method is bad. Rather, I think I can maintain my sanity because Choi Ji-won is so just and noble.
But… I think regressors should always be prepared for what ifs happen. You must be wary of situations where you go crazy without going crazy, and while you should not go around killing people carelessly, you must be prepared to kill people.
I will not practice the old man’s methods. However, we will make some preparations that can be implemented.
“… “In a larger sense, this can be said to be information collection.”
How the world situation progresses… Jiwon Choi will be able to research much better than me. Because she had connections to the association and was a wannabe that players around the world wanted to become friends with.
Then I… Research the players. We investigate who has what tendencies, what ideas, and what kind of personality they have.
Of course, it won’t be easy. It is clear that this is not something that can be handled alone.
However, among the people I know, there is one person who, like the old man, argued that ‘those who are going to be killed must be eliminated first.’
“Azai Yuuki.”
“This voice… “Junho?”
“I can send you a plane ticket… “Come to Korea.”
A Shinigami known to the world as dead. Azai Yuuki.
There is no better helper in collecting information.
**
As soon as the Shinigami, Azai Yuuki, received my call, he dropped out of school and came to Korea as if he had been waiting. In his own words, he ‘explained things well to the family so they could understand.’ I’m not sure how well this crazy Jammin explained it.
“Who needs to be killed?”
“… “There is no such person.”
“Well, what do you mean by that? They clearly say I have the qualities of a hero and are preparing me for the role… “
That’s right. Now that I think about it, I somehow confessed that I could see the qualities of a hero in this guy. Choi Ji-won and the old man were dizzy and forgot about it.
“… I mean, there’s no one to kill right now. What we need to do now is to strengthen our internal stability. From now on… “I need to research some of the best players around the world.”
“To say that he is a good player… “
“Famous player. Strong player. If not, then you are the player you feel for. Secretly investigating them… “You just have to let me know the results.”
“Secretly… “You mean it.”
“That’s natural.”
“… All right.”
Yuuki nods her head with a flushed face. Although he seemed to be trying not to show off as much as possible, his expression showed that he was extremely excited as if he was on a secret mission.
“Well, first, I’ll start researching the Japanese players I know best.”
“Yes. “Report regularly.”
After the envoy who had been assigned to me left, I took out my cell phone from my pocket and left a text message for Kang Chan. The message was that they would like to have a meal in the near future.
“… “First of all, I should start by getting to know people who are relatively close to me.”
Starting with Kang Chan, I began to frequently make appointments with players I knew. We left text messages every day to say hello, spent time together, and laughed and talked.
“Kim Jun-ho. “Are you interested in joining our guild?”
Kang Chan wanted to recruit me to his guild, but I refused for now. Even without my efforts, his guild was growing smoothly, and rumors were spreading that Kang Chan was also a huge monster.
In addition, Gyeongnam Man. Ahn Kyung-jun. Joonghyeon Yoon. Park Cheol-jin. And to other Korean players I was introduced to across the street. Meetings led to new encounters, and I was able to realize that the Korean player community was bigger than I thought.
At some point, I began to be known as Korea’s Madangbal. As word spread that I was a favorite acquaintance of the popular Kang Chan, the number of people who wanted to meet me increased exponentially. I was curious about what would have happened if the rumor spread that Kang Chan was Choi Ji-won’s boyfriend.
“Ah, Brother Junho! Hello!”
“Oh, I’m younger, so why are you my older brother?”
“Hey, Semyon is your brother. What.”
The days of forming friendships with Korean players and receiving reports from envoys from time to time to learn the personal details of the players were repeated. And repetitive daily life means that time passes quickly.
In the blink of an eye, 5 months have passed, half of the promised 10 months.
“… It’s Junho. Can I talk to you for a moment? “I just wanted to talk about what I’ve been up to.”
I received a call from Choi Ji-won.