Chapter 14
Time passed quickly. It was like a dream. In fact, I still had nightmares that all this time—going to school with Hyunjae, eating meals together—was just a dream. But surprisingly, all this happiness was real. If I just lightly ignored the system that occasionally made nonsensical remarks, my daily life was pretty much like everyone else’s.
I diligently continued my training as a Shielder. That was also what my father wanted for me. After that conversation, my father absolutely forbade me from mentioning anything related to dual positions. Although I was curious, it wasn’t something I desperately needed to know, so the matter faded away.
Hyunjae had quite a natural talent even for manufacturing, which he was forced to learn. He especially showed aptitude for making combat-related items like weapons and armor. Thinking that when he awakened his power later, he would literally be an overpowered character, I felt almost envious.
I pondered in my own way how to draw out Hyunjae’s potential. It needed to be a stimulus as strong as Yu Chanhee’s death, but Hyunjae’s relationships weren’t that diverse.
“Hey.”
“Hmm?”
Hyunjae, who was sitting on a bench drinking banana milk, looked at me with the straw still in his mouth. The weather had become warm enough to wear summer uniforms, and Hyunjae was dressed in a light shirt. His neat black hair and pale skin matched the light-colored summer uniform perfectly. For a moment, I forgot what I was about to say as I stared at Hyunjae, then snapped back to reality and took a few seconds to gather my thoughts.
“Aren’t you interested in girls?”
Hyunjae remained frozen in the same position without answering. Then he silently continued to hold the straw in his mouth, looking at me.
“What about you, Chanhee?”
“Huh?”
“Would you like me to be interested in girls?”
As the wind blew a bit stronger, large plane tree leaves fell with a rustling sound. The hair that neatly covered Hyunjae’s forehead fluttered slightly. I finally looked away first, then scolded him as if making an excuse.
“Why would my opinion matter?”
“It does matter.”
Hyunjae answered calmly and tidied my disheveled hair. When Hyunjae’s hand touched my forehead, I unconsciously curled up. A refreshing scent lingered where his hand had been.
“You’re lying.”
I laughed awkwardly. Hyunjae threw his empty banana milk carton toward the trash can. With a thunk, the empty plastic container landed perfectly in the bin.
“Since you say it’s a lie.”
“……”
“I wonder if it is a lie?”
What a strange guy. I touched my flushed ears and stood up.
“I’m glad we’re going to the same high school, Chanhee.”
“…I’m tired of it.”
I said something I didn’t mean and started walking toward the classroom first. Hyunjae slowly followed behind me. Just the thought of Hyunjae being behind me made me feel at ease about everything. It was peaceful. Even though my seventeenth year—so cruel and loathsome to me—was rapidly approaching.
As soon as I had this thought, I injured myself the very next day. I fell down the stairs and hurt my leg. Though the bone wasn’t completely broken, they said it was fractured. I had to miss all the remaining classes until graduation. Lying in bed, I even wondered if I had some kind of curse triggered by the word “peace.”
And the system, as if it had been waiting, displayed an unfamiliar window.
<You never know when the game might be interrupted! -In case of emergency, you can use save. (0/3)>
The very premise that a save would be used already implied that I’d go through something terrible, didn’t it? I pressed my lips tight and glared at the text. It seemed like the system was anticipating my death again, and I engaged in a staring contest with the empty air for several minutes.
But in the end, the one who lost was me, who had experienced multiple lifetimes cut short by this insane system. I said to myself, Save… fuck off. (Of course, I put a long pause between “save” and “fuck off”)
<Save complete! You can access this moment anytime when entering a specific route!>
Though I’d gotten used to terms like “access” and “game,” I still felt an extremely unpleasant sense of wrongness hearing such words. It upset me that all my experiences and emotions were treated like characters on a computer screen. And to be honest, it was a bit… creepy.
Feeling somewhat down, I lay there playing with my phone until a few hours had passed. Thinking it was about time for Hyunjae to arrive, I texted him.
-Where are you?
The reply came quickly.
-I’ll be there in 10 [email protected]!
The typo-filled response lightened my mood a bit. I found myself smiling without realizing it. Just as I sent a reply telling him to hurry, I heard someone’s footsteps outside the door. The person who entered without knocking was none other than my father. As I tried to sit up, my father stopped me and stood in front of me.
“Is your leg alright?”
“Yes, I think the cast will come off next week.”
Since we hadn’t had any notable contact since our conversation about dual positions, I felt somewhat awkward.
“Chanhee.”
“Yes.”
My father called me in a low, deep voice. Somehow, with a sense of déjà vu, my heart started racing. That’s when it happened. Text began to appear before my eyes. It was the red letters of the system, now quite familiar to me.
<You have reached a branching point!>
Branching point? I strained my eyes trying not to be obvious. Thinking that they were really playing with human lives, I glanced at the text furtively.
<Depending on your answer, you can enter the hidden route of the character ‘Yu Hyunjae’ whom you’ve intervened with!>
Hidden route? Of course, it wasn’t the first time this term was mentioned. It was clearly stated recently that Hyunjae’s hidden route had been unlocked. But despite several attempts, the system never explained exactly what a “hidden route” was. I asked inwardly: So what exactly is a hidden route? The system teasingly replied.
<Information about the hidden route has not been revealed yet. Unlock it quickly!>
Fucking bastard. This is really irritating. Hoping that this swearing would somehow provoke the system, I looked at my father’s face—he was probably the key to unlocking this hidden route.
“Why do you want to become a Hunter?”
“I told you already. To become an outstanding talent…”
“It’s not because of Yu Hyunjae?”
I flinched at the sudden mention of the familiar name.
“I’ve heard you two have been getting along quite well lately, for whatever reason.”
“Well, since we live in the same house… isn’t it better to get along?”
My father frowned at me. His look said, “You expect me to believe you became friends for such a trivial reason?” In other words, he’d hit the nail on the head.
“The reason you want to become a Hunter.”
“It’s completely unrelated.”
“How long do you think your lies will work?”
I shrank under my father’s gaze. Hyunjae is the foundation of all my life’s purposes. It’s ultimately Hyunjae who turns the cogwheels of my life and pulls the trigger of my death. Though my father couldn’t have guessed that far, I couldn’t bring myself to lie any further.
“Well, that is true.”
“Listen carefully.”
My father cut off my words and commanded.
“There’s no one who can hold dual positions as both a Shielder and a Hunter.”
“…You’ve told me that before.”
“But one can acquire both skills.”
I replied with a face that showed I didn’t understand.
“If both abilities don’t become professions, then it’s possible—that’s what I’m saying.”
“Ah.”
I see. I nodded rather stupidly. My father seemed quite frustrated with me and loosened his neatly tied necktie a bit.
“It can’t be done by your strength alone. You absolutely need me.”
“So you can help me?”
“Yes. If your ultimate reason for building strength is for that guy—”
That’s when it happened. A foot slightly entered through the gap in the open door, then quickly withdrew. I immediately recognized it was Hyunjae.
“Then my goal and your goal would align.”
I looked toward the door. Behind that door, Hyunjae was surely standing, holding his breath. My father’s goal. It had been similar throughout my past lives.
But my father was seriously mistaken. I would never harm Hyunjae. Eliminating him was even more out of the question. If I could possess both abilities, my probability of death would certainly decrease, but if I tried to harm Hyunjae, I would ultimately die one way or another.
“Align?”
My father frowned. Now it was his turn to look confused.
“I just wanted dual positions because it… looked cool, that’s all.”
“……”
“And if that helps Hyunjae, even better.”
A disbelieving sigh escaped my father’s lips, but I had said what I needed to say. Loud enough for Hyunjae to hear outside.
“I have absolutely no intention of harming Hyunjae.”
With those final words, there was a thump sound from the door. My father looked back. Hyunjae was half-visible, looking at us—no, at me. In that moment, a ding sound came with the appearance of text.
<Congratulations! The hidden route for the intervened character ‘Yu Hyunjae’ has been unlocked!>
