# Chapter 107
“The regression, this wasn’t the first time.”
“…What?”
“I said, this wasn’t the first time I’ve regressed.”
“What… are you talking about…?”
“I’ve been repeating it. So many times I can’t even count.”
“You’ve been… repeating the regression? How…?!”
Jaehee’s face showed disbelief and confusion. Geonwoo looked at him and continued.
“When I die, time goes back. To the past.”
“…What?”
“So I know everything. You probably thought you could deceive me because I wouldn’t know, but I know everything. Those unfortunate accidents that follow you around. I know all of it. How could I not know when I’ve changed countless futures?”
Jaehee’s eyes gradually widened. His face filled with shock at Geonwoo’s words.
Geonwoo regresses when he dies?
He’s been changing the future?
He knew about the misfortune following Lee Jaehee but stayed by his side anyway?
That means…!
Jaehee’s eyes twisted with emotion. Numerous feelings rushed in at once. Emotions he had been suppressing and enduring began to pour out.
“Why? Why did you do that…?”
If what Geonwoo said was true, it meant he had sacrificed himself countless times to protect Jaehee. It meant Geonwoo had died for him more than once.
“Why would you do something so foolish… even knowing everything?”
The current situation was so different from the original story. Now it all made sense. It was all Geonwoo’s effort and sacrifice. He had embraced Jaehee, who couldn’t remember anything, and taken all the misfortune upon himself instead.
“Why?!”
If he was aware of the misfortune, Geonwoo must have also known that if he just abandoned Lee Jaehee, a completely different future could unfold.
But why…
“Why would you do this knowing everything!”
Jaehee’s emotions suddenly turned sharp. The more he cared for Geonwoo, the more guilt and worry consumed him.
“So, how many more times were you planning to repeat the regression?”
He hated that Geonwoo had repeatedly died for him. He detested that Geonwoo had allowed himself to get hurt, and felt sorry that he had endured that despair alone.
“Even if the future changes, how can you be so reckless without knowing when it will end!”
That’s why his anger wouldn’t subside. He pointed out Geonwoo’s recklessness, shouting why he had saved him. He screamed that Geonwoo shouldn’t have done it. His emotions were out of control.
But the more furious Jaehee became, the more sadness welled up in Geonwoo’s eyes. He could clearly feel how much Jaehee cared about him by the way he was getting angry about being protected.
“Because I wanted to.”
So he answered softly.
“Because it was an opportunity to change things again. Because if I could just change the future, I could be with you, hyung. So I changed it. No matter how many times it took, I went back to the past and erased every future where you got hurt.”
It had been such a long journey.
The first regression sent him back to when he was just 10 years old, without any powers. Back then, with memories from before the regression, young Geonwoo tried to erase the monster’s wound that would appear on his hyung’s back.
But no matter how hard the young, pre-manifestation Geonwoo tried, the future wouldn’t change. It remained the same despite countless repetitions.
Eventually, young Geonwoo chose to give up meeting him. Memories that only Geonwoo remembered from their childhood while Jaehee forgot—it was a past that Geonwoo deliberately erased to protect Jaehee.
Until the day he manifested as an Esper and gained power, until that moment when he could protect Jaehee, to meet him again.
That’s how Geonwoo changed the past, one piece at a time. His own life meant nothing to him. His only thought was to protect Jaehee. He wanted to extend the time they spent together, even if just by one second.
But now.
“You want to distance yourself from me? You think that will make you happy? So you’re asking me not to do this?”
Jaehee, unaware of all this, had tried to lie. He’d tried to deceive Geonwoo. While asking Geonwoo to do it for his sake, he was actually trying to plunge himself into that misfortune. Not for himself, but to protect Choi Geonwoo.
“Why are you lying like that?”
Geonwoo’s eyes grew moist. Overwhelming emotions streamed down his cheeks.
“That happiness you’re trying to protect… is it really for yourself? Not for me?”
That’s why Geonwoo revealed the secret he had kept hidden all this time. Because Jaehee, with his memories from before the regression, was going so far as to lie to push him away, Geonwoo wanted to eliminate all his means of doing so. He wanted to convey his unwavering determination to never leave Jaehee’s side.
Jaehee’s expression changed. With a deeply complicated look on his face, he carefully spoke.
“…If you’ve repeated it, then you know… how our story ends.”
The fact that he had repeated the regression meant that the ending between Choi Geonwoo and Lee Jaehee always concluded in misfortune.
“Why… why do you deliberately take on such misfortune?”
He couldn’t understand. No, he didn’t want to understand.
Jaehee’s tears fell with a soft plop. Seeing that Geonwoo wouldn’t change no matter how angry he got or how much he shouted, he now wanted to beg.
“…Stop this, Geonwoo. You don’t need to be miserable because of my misfortune. This is enough.”
But Geonwoo objected to those words.
“Misfortune?”
“…Yes, misfortune.”
“Who says it’s misfortune?”
“……”
“Repeating the regression to be with you, hyung—that was the path I chose. Because for me, it was the path to finding happiness.”
At those words, Jaehee bit his lip before painfully speaking.
“…But what if… the end is… nothing but misfortune?”
To that question, Geonwoo answered immediately. His complete sincerity flowed out.
“Just being with you is enough for me. Just increasing the time I spend with you like this is enough.”
Those words meant that even if the end between Choi Geonwoo and Lee Jaehee ultimately led to misfortune, he wouldn’t stop.
“So don’t push me away, hyung.”
No matter how many times it takes, I’ll repeat it again.
Even if he could no longer regress and would die for good, he wouldn’t hesitate to make that choice.
“…Geon, woo…”
“Just don’t abandon me. Don’t try to bear it alone, and whatever the end may be, let’s face it together. Hyung.”
Geonwoo spoke as if pleading.
At those words, Jaehee cried. He wept bitterly. He wanted to be with Geonwoo. That was his honest truth.
Jaehee begged. He didn’t care who it was to.
Please… let there be a different ending for Choi Geonwoo and Lee Jaehee…
He desperately wished for it. He wanted to be happy with Geonwoo. Selfishly, that’s what he wished for.
Jaehee raised his hand. He gently took hold of Geonwoo and pulled him closer. Geonwoo’s eyes widened at that small gesture. Tears fell drop by drop. Geonwoo, with his large frame, burrowed into Jaehee’s embrace. He buried his face against the smaller body that wasn’t pushing him away.
***
Meanwhile, at the interrogation room, the investigation into Lee Minhun, who had tried to kill Jaehee, had been ongoing for days.
“Esper Lee Minhun, why did you do such a thing?”
But no matter how many times they asked for a reason, Minhun wouldn’t answer. Or more accurately, he couldn’t answer.
“I really don’t remember! Me? Trying to harm Guide Lee Jaehee? Why would I do such a thing? Why would I ever do that?”
Minhun felt wronged and couldn’t understand the current situation. But no one would listen to him. Because of this, Minhun had been locked in the interrogation room for days.
Without receiving any Guiding, the interrogation continued, causing his wavelength to become unstable and giving him severe headaches, making Minhun look increasingly distressed.
Someone came to see Minhun in this state.
“Esper Lee Minhun.”
Minhun weakly raised his head. Upon seeing who had called him, his eyes widened.
“G-Guide Yoo Jiwoon!”
Jiwoon approached Minhun with what appeared to be sympathetic eyes.
“I heard.”
Yoo Jiwoon spoke gently to Minhun. But his next words were not gentle at all.
“I heard you tried to kill Guide Lee Jaehee.”
At Jiwoon’s words, Minhun’s face showed shock as he abruptly stood up from his chair.
But because he was wearing restraints chained to the chair, Minhun had to sink back down before he could fully rise.
Instead, Minhun desperately cried out.
“N-No! That wasn’t me!”
Minhun strongly denied it with a desperate expression.
“Why would I try to kill Guide Lee Jaehee?”
There was no reason, Minhun defended himself.
Minhun was frantic. No one would believe him. He clung desperately to Yoo Jiwoon, who had at least been kind to him before, hoping he might listen.
“And I really don’t remember anything!”
At those words, Jiwoon gave a faint smile. He moved even closer in that state.
“First, calm down.”
Jiwoon sat in the chair opposite Minhun and spoke.
“I came because there was a request to stabilize your wavelength, which has become unstable.”
At those words, Minhun’s face looked as if he might cry. Even the kind Jiwoon seemed somehow cold. Minhun lowered his head in frustration and grimaced.
Seeing Minhun like this, Jiwoon called out in a gentle voice.
“Esper Lee Minhun.”
Then he placed his hand on top of Minhun’s hand, which was bound by the restraints. Through the touching skin, Jiwoon’s Guiding energy transferred to Minhun. The raging wavelength subsided, and Minhun slowly raised his head. His pupils were somewhat hazy.
In that state, Jiwoon spoke softly.
“Trying to drug Guide Lee Jaehee.”
A faint smile hung on his lips.
“Trying to kill Guide Lee Jaehee.”
“……”
As Jiwoon’s words continued, more and more Guiding energy flowed into Minhun, and the focus in Minhun’s eyes gradually blurred.
“All of it was done by you, Esper Lee Minhun.”
It has to end this way. Jiwoon whispered.
“Isn’t that right?”
Yoo Jiwoon smiled at Minhun.
A chess piece that couldn’t even serve its purpose and only got in the way needed to be removed quickly. There were plenty of other usable Espers here. There was also Kang Dohyun.
“Overcome with guilt, he took his own life.”
Jiwoon’s smile deepened.
“What a fitting end for Esper Lee Minhun, don’t you think?”
Could there be a more suitable ending for a useless chess piece?
Jiwoon left the interrogation room after slightly loosening Minhun’s restraints.
