# Chapter 120
Watching Jiwoon’s face slowly harden, Jaehee knew his thoughts were correct.
‘He can’t touch me directly.’
This conclusion came from observing Yoo Jiwoon’s behavior all this time.
‘Why does he keep trying to use others’ hands?’
The person inside Yoo Jiwoon was definitely not that type of character. Before possessing this body, even though he could have used someone else’s hands to kill him, he deliberately killed him with his own hands. He was always like that. Someone with a personality that wouldn’t be satisfied until he ended things with his own hands.
Yet such a person, after possessing Yoo Jiwoon’s body, tried to kill Jaehee through Espers despite having numerous opportunities to kill Lee Jaehee with his own hands.
‘But why?’
Why would he go through such unnecessary trouble that didn’t fit his character? What could be the reason?
‘Because of others’ eyes? Because he doesn’t want to be in a bad situation?’
No, that alone wasn’t enough to explain it. There must be something else. And there were other unsolved questions too.
The fact that monsters that should target Lee Jaehee were also targeting Yoo Jiwoon.
The fact that Yoo Jiwoon desperately tried to hide it.
And… his obsessive fixation on Lee Jaehee’s death.
These unsolved problems were becoming increasingly entangled. He needed to find the connection between them. That something Yoo Jiwoon was hiding!
“You’re… not being… yourself,” Jaehee said, forcibly putting strength into his throat.
“Directly… crushing with your own hands… is what you like… not using others to step on someone.”
As he spoke, his paralyzed throat gradually loosened, and his voice steadily gained strength.
“That’s not your style.”
Jaehee looked at Jiwoon as if asking, isn’t that right?
“So what are you so afraid of, that you can’t even touch my fingertip and hide behind others?”
Jaehee said, pulling up the corner of his lips as if provoking Jiwoon.
“I’ve been curious.”
At Jaehee’s words and smile, the tip of Jiwoon’s eyebrow rose fiercely. With that crumpled expression, Jiwoon stepped toward Jaehee. Arriving in front of the collapsed Jaehee, he looked down at him with a cold gaze.
“You think I can’t touch you?”
“Am I wrong?”
There was composure in Jaehee’s words. Despite clearly being at a disadvantage, Jaehee was watching him without showing any fear. At this, Jiwoon’s mood instantly plummeted.
“That I can’t touch you. Me.”
Jiwoon chewed over the words he had just uttered as if rolling a rough piece in his mouth. His expression grew increasingly cold. He couldn’t help it. Because Jaehee was right.
‘Yoo Jiwoon, who cannot touch Lee Jaehee.’
It hadn’t always been like that. When he first possessed this body, Jiwoon, true to being a main character, could freely enjoy and do everything he wanted. Even if it was something that didn’t suit ‘Yoo Jiwoon.’
‘What? I can do whatever I want!’
After realizing this, he was unstoppable. He quietly disposed of those he didn’t like and indulged in all the happiness he could enjoy. He monopolized everyone’s attention, interest, and affection, and could have everything he wanted.
But then the regression began. At first, he couldn’t understand.
‘Why is the story repeating?’
It didn’t take long to discover the starting point. Among characters who seemed to reenact the original story perfectly, there was one uniquely different existence.
‘Lee Jaehee.’
He was clearly a character who should die at Choi Geonwoo’s hands as the final villain of this story.
‘Then… he needs to die.’
Yet Choi Geonwoo was desperate to protect him. He even went so far as to repeatedly regress, not caring what happened to his own life, just to protect Lee Jaehee.
‘Lee Jaehee was the problem.’
In the end, the reason the story couldn’t end was because of Lee Jaehee, who had changed Choi Geonwoo.
That wasn’t all.
‘Why is everyone… going to Lee Jaehee?’
With each regression, the surrounding characters also began to change one by one. Kang Dohyun, who should have had feelings for Yoo Jiwoon; Dr. Yoon, who should have taken care of Yoo Jiwoon; people who should have cherished and given affection to Yoo Jiwoon… they all increasingly orbited around Jaehee. They gave him affection, protected him, and gave him their hearts.
‘…Could it be…’
And looking at Jaehee, someone came to mind. No matter how much he tried to deny it… Jaehee reminded him terribly of that person.
‘…Lee Hajin.’
His speech, behavior, personality. Everything was identical to him. Having been by his side under the name of friend, he couldn’t help but know. It was a sight too familiar to his eyes.
‘I have to get rid of him.’
The moment he realized Jaehee was Lee Hajin, that was the only thought that crossed Jiwoon’s mind.
Lee Hajin, who was the only one who took care of him when everyone abandoned him in his childhood.
Lee Hajin, who held his hand, saying he would be his first friend.
Lee Hajin, who always came running to his pain.
Such memories of him only flashed by momentarily.
Instead, the image of Lee Hajin whom he had killed overlapped with Jaehee’s image. All he could recall was why he had wanted to kill him so badly, why he had cruelly cut off his breath.
‘Everything I wanted to have… you had it all, Lee Hajin.’
His talent, the people around him, being the center of everyone’s attention and affection… it drove him mad with envy.
‘…If only you were gone.’
Could he take that place?
Such thoughts gradually took deep root, and his emotions changed accordingly. Gratitude turned into jealousy, then into hatred, and eventually corrupted into loathing.
So he killed him. Believing that if only he were gone, he could have everything, he didn’t let go of the hand gripping his neck. There was no hesitation. Rather, the more he applied force to the hand gripping his neck, the brighter the smile that naturally formed on his lips. He was unbelievably happy. Because soon, when this breath stopped, he could fully draw his smile on his own lips, he could make his happiness his own!
‘But I met him again in this place.’
And this time, it was as the main character Yoo Jiwoon who had everything, and Lee Jaehee, the final villain who envied him and wanted to take what he had. They met again in completely opposite positions.
Jiwoon couldn’t tolerate him. He hated the existence of Lee Hajin, and he also hated that Jaehee was gradually taking his place. Everything should be his. Whether he was Lee Jeongwoon or Yoo Jiwoon.
So he repeatedly killed Jaehee in every cycle, over and over again.
Yet, endlessly… Jaehee appeared before his eyes again.
“Yes, you’re not wrong.”
But this time was different. This would be the last time.
Jiwoon spoke, shaking off the past. His eyes were already gently curved.
“But it wasn’t like that at first. I secretly killed you with my own hands countless times.”
As Jiwoon spoke, he raised his foot high in front of Jaehee.
“But you know.”
“Ugh-!”
Jiwoon lifted his foot and forcefully struck Jaehee’s abdomen. With a dull sound, Jaehee bowed his head, his brow terribly contorted from the rushing pain. He seemed to have difficulty breathing.
“At some point, I became hesitant to kill you with my own hands.”
As if pleased by Jaehee’s appearance, Jiwoon spoke leisurely with a bright, subtle smile.
“Do you know why? Hmm? Aren’t you curious why?”
Jiwoon leaned his upper body slightly forward, pushing his face close to Jaehee’s.
“…!”
As more weight was applied to Jiwoon’s foot pressing on his abdomen, Jaehee’s face darkened with pain. Jaehee gritted his teeth, trying to endure the pain somehow. He forcibly lifted his head, swallowed the pain, and met Yoo Jiwoon’s eyes. He didn’t avoid his gaze.
Jiwoon returned his gaze and slowly opened his mouth.
“After repeatedly killing you with Yoo Jiwoon’s body, Lee Jaehee’s misfortune started transferring to me too.”
The change had begun very subtly, so gradually that he hadn’t noticed. By the time he clearly realized that the misfortune was coming to him as well, he had already killed Jaehee countless times with his own hands.
“So I tried using other people to kill you, and it was much less severe. If I had known earlier, I would have used others to kill you before. Haah.”
Jiwoon spoke with a small sigh, furrowing his brow as if genuinely regretting his own actions.
“Not knowing that beforehand, I’ve fallen to a position similar to yours.”
