# Chapter 14
Fortunately, the causality he still didn’t properly understand wasn’t hindering him. There were no system messages, no restrictions, no penalties.
Did it mean he could freely reveal the skills he would have in the future? Or perhaps, since Taesung already had them, the system didn’t consider it a spoiler.
Thwack!
There was no time to think further. While Taesung was caught off guard, Lee Hwan pushed his body with all his might and his pupils glowed brightly.
The first thing to deal with was the gun still aimed at his temple. In an instant, the space around the muzzle twisted and with a bang— the bullet embedded itself into a nearby wall.
Whoosh!
As expected, Taesung’s flames engulfed the surroundings, and soon an intense heat rushed in. Lee Hwan might have burnt his hands slightly, but he successfully blocked the fire.
However, he couldn’t maintain it for long. Since it wasn’t an ability meant for defense in the first place, the longer it went on, the more certain his defeat became. But attacking Taesung again might not work either.
‘Kuk…!’
Lee Hwan created an oxygen-depleted space around Sunglasses’ head over Taesung’s shoulder.
Actually, it was a flimsy trick that would become useless if he just took one step forward out of the space, but fortunately, Sunglasses panicked at the unfamiliar suffocation and grabbed his own throat.
Clatter, clack—!
The gun fell to the floor with a kack sound of choking. While Taesung instinctively turned his head to check on Sunglasses, Lee Hwan pushed him hard once more and quickly withdrew his body.
Belatedly, flames whooshed after him, sizzling the ground.
Just as he was wondering if he had escaped, Lee Hwan’s eyes suddenly widened.
‘The gun…!’
Unfortunately, the loaded gun was still in the flames.
The swelling barrel within the wavering heat, and Taesung in front of it. There was no time to deliberate. Lee Hwan forgot about escaping and instinctively created numerous spatial barriers in front of Taesung.
Bang! Rattle-rattle!
The heated gun exploded with an enormous sound. Bullet casings and fragments scattered in all directions, avoiding Taesung, and whoosh— one fragment grazed the arm of the staggering Sunglasses. Blood spurted from his forearm, but it didn’t appear life-threatening, which was fortunate.
He had saved Taesung!
With this thought, Lee Hwan gladly turned his head, only to be struck hard by a brutish fist, ungrateful for the favor.
Thud. His blood-soaked body rolled on the ground.
…Why?
Lee Hwan raised his head while lying on the ground. A splitting pain rushed through his already injured head, and a high-pitched ringing began in his ears. Watching Taesung’s still cold, hardened face with blurry vision, Lee Hwan’s heart kept sinking.
Far from being grateful, Taesung’s expression seemed to ask what trick he had pulled.
“Ah…”
Lee Hwan groaned softly. A belated realization struck his already aching head.
He still didn’t know Lee Hwan’s ability. He would have only seen Lee Hwan’s pupils glow brighter before Sunglasses got hurt.
Realizing the situation, Lee Hwan’s eyes filled with bewilderment. Despite nearly being roasted by Taesung several times before, getting punched in the face now felt more stunning than any of those times.
Lee Hwan wiped away the blood that was about to enter his eyes with trembling hands and slowly got up. Blood dripped onto the ground drop by drop. When he gestured forward with his eyes that held a faint light, Taesung warily regarded him with an ominous expression.
“Kak… cough cough!”
Lee Hwan released the space. Only then did Sunglasses make a loud noise as if his breath had burst forth. Thinking Lee Hwan had pulled another trick, Taesung rushed to Sunglasses, and taking advantage of that gap, Lee Hwan abandoned his home and just ran.
* * *
Lee Hwan hurriedly wiped away the flowing blood as he delved into familiar alleys devoid of any presence. For a moment, he thought he heard the sounds of the two pursuing him, but soon the surroundings grew quiet. Only then did Lee Hwan sit down, catching his breath. Everything in front of him was yellow.
Just then, the sky that had been gloomy since earlier began to drop rain. Unlike typical spring rain, thick raindrops hit his head with tapping sounds. Red bloodstains flowed down his face and dripped onto the ground.
He must look like a ghost without even seeing himself. Lee Hwan thought so as he looked down at his clothes, which were getting soaked red.
Cold, hungry, and in pain. How did it come to this?
There was actually a clear answer to that question, one that Lee Hwan had been continuously avoiding. Pressing his stinging head firmly with his hand to stop the bleeding, he felt utterly miserable.
He had to acknowledge it now. He was not yet the Taesung that Lee Hwan knew. Without his memories, he was someone completely different from the kind person before the regression. As a result of not accepting that and clinging on, everything had gone wrong.
But how could he have done otherwise?
The moment Lee Hwan realized that Taesung had truly regressed with him, he felt only regret instead of resentment. Perhaps this world was trying its best to mess with him. Lee Hwan, removing his hand from his head, habitually mulled over the system message.
[Adjusting causality.]
It was something he had pondered countless times over the past few days. With no one to provide answers, he had pieced together thoughts on his own, ruminating on a problem that remained unsolved no matter how much he tried.
If there were already established rules or inertia in the world, any action that deviated from them would be tampering with causality. Perhaps that’s why transmission was blocked.
However, the message only appeared when Lee Hwan tried to tell Taesung about the destruction. Despite all other words and gestures also having the potential to change the future.
Drip, a fallen drop of water momentarily pooled on his hand before rolling down to the ground, unable to withstand its own weight. Lee Hwan watched this quietly and suddenly had a thought.
What if the system doesn’t prevent change unless it’s in a direct manner? That is, if it doesn’t significantly harm this ‘causality’ or whatever, then it doesn’t matter?
‘Think… let’s think…’
Let’s say the skill took away the memory. All along, it was the system that had sealed his mouth. Nevertheless, Lee Hwan thought that perhaps the system was just an observer that only enforced rules.
That made him even more anxious. The system detects and sanctions abrupt changes around Lee Hwan by ‘adjusting’ something.
The message about adjusting causality felt chilling. He couldn’t help but think that perhaps the price was the growing discord with Taesung.
The more Lee Hwan tried to tell Taesung the secrets from before the regression, the more twisted their relationship became. Their first meeting had ended with Lee Hwan simply running away, but after the causality message appeared, they became a bloody affair like this.
“Shit…”
It was just a hypothesis. But he kept feeling uneasy and his head ached. Did it mean Taesung shouldn’t know about the Monster Wave? But if Taesung hadn’t lost his memory, they would both have known perfectly well.
Lee Hwan stared blankly at the system window that still didn’t provide any information and cursed.
If there was a consumer protection agency in the system world, he’d report immediately. How could they handle things this way? But no matter how he thought about it, the system was the boss and he was the underling.
‘Don’t like it? Then don’t use the system.’ If it said something like that, Lee Hwan would be the one clinging to its pant leg, crying and begging.
The bleeding seemed to have stopped, as clear rainwater had been dripping through his hair for some time. Fortunately, except for his clothes being stained red in places, he wasn’t in a terrible state. Being an Awakened person, his body was already beginning to recover.
Now he just needed to go home, wash his body in warm water, change into well-dried clothes, swallow some medicine, and sleep deeply.
However, he had nowhere to go.
Strange. Since his regression, he kept losing places to stay. Lee Hwan looked up at the sky with blank eyes and then searched his pocket. In his hand came out a thoroughly wet, crumpled, and tattered 10,000 won bill.
If he returned now, he’d be beaten by the guys waiting, but just continuing to walk made him afraid of being followed, even though no one was there.
Lee Hwan climbed the slippery hillside for no reason, descended to a different neighborhood, and wandered aimlessly. Finally reaching near his company, he staggered into a 24-hour sauna that glittered under the darkening sky.
“…I had a nosebleed.”
When the counter staff showed an anxious expression seeing his split lip and stained clothes, Lee Hwan made a casual excuse and handed over the dripping money.
Fortunately, the wound area wasn’t large. With good food and rest, something like this could heal.
Entering the bath, Lee Hwan carefully washed his head and warmed his cold body. The misty view, filled with steam, felt rather comforting. Only after spending a long time under the water in a daze did Lee Hwan finally emerge from the bath looking clean. Taking advantage of the momentum, he warmed his body in the sauna, loosened up, and then trudged toward the sleeping area.
The sleep, which was unclear whether it was death or just sleep, continued for hours. Lee Hwan fell into a deep sleep without dreams for the first time since his regression. There were no monsters to torment him, no Taesung chasing after him.
Then, at dawn, he woke up to hunger. He left the space filled with snoring sounds as everyone else was sleeping and caught his breath for a moment. It created a strange feeling, seeing so many people sprawled out without any movement.
Lee Hwan made a hood with a towel to protect his head, bought two hot spring eggs with his remaining money, and devoured them quickly.
He wanted to drink sikhye too, but he had left his card at home and was penniless.
Before further ruining his future plans, it was time to end his wandering.
Ring ring—
Lee Hwan tapped his phone, which had barely survived thanks to its waterproof function, and made a call. Not long after the dialing tone rang, click, someone answered the phone.
“Ah… what the hell, are you crazy…? Can’t you see the time?”
“2:42 AM?”
“If you’re not going to sleep, don’t call after 10 PM.”
A deeply groggy voice complained irritably. Indeed, Taesung’s voice was better than this guy’s. Lee Hwan composed himself and spoke.
“I asked you yesterday. About what I want. I have something I want now.”
“…What.”
“I need your cooperation.”
