# Chapter 183
## D-15
“The date has been set.”
This news came on a rainy evening in the height of summer.
Lee Hwan, who had just wolfed down pajeon and beer for dinner and was sprawled on the sofa preparing for bed, dropped the remote control he was holding onto the floor with a thud.
Crack. The batteries spilling out of the remote looked just like innards.
Taesung picked up the batteries that had rolled to his feet, giving Lee Hwan an inscrutable look.
“…The Management Bureau, right?”
“Yeah. They’ll adjust to their schedule.”
It seemed like only yesterday when he was surprised at how quickly the weekend approached, and now it had already been two months since he met Kang Dongying and shuddered.
The schedule that had been vaguely progressing suddenly took shape, and now a date was set that couldn’t be changed.
‘Well… it is about that time.’
According to his scattered memories, Naru was preparing to make a move on the gates around now. In the past, at this point, they had gathered for TF work in the basement of Building D.
Of course, this time, since Taesung had a firm grip on Attack Team 1, no TF team was openly formed, but that didn’t guarantee research wasn’t progressing.
Kang Dongying had high-ranked Hunters under his private command, so the work on the Semi-Awakening Project was probably continuing beneath the surface.
‘Otherwise, those meticulous old men wouldn’t just sit quietly.’
The Semi-Awakening Project wasn’t just Naru’s affair. If they wanted support from the Health Promotion Association, they needed to show results.
Taesung’s report to the Chairman about mana sensitivity probably wouldn’t have held their interest for long. How many mana-sensitive individuals could there be in that small gathering? That was something only the Chairman would be excited about.
But it wasn’t like there was no information coming through the Vice Chairman, or more specifically, through Kang Dongha. He heard that a doctor researching the gate’s immune function had joined the research team.
Lee Hwan still remembered how Taesung’s face had darkened the moment he heard that news.
‘If they’ve come directly to Naru… it means they’re already expecting some definite results.’
No matter how they tried to alter the process and disrupt things, the predetermined future was steadily approaching without wavering. Like a boomerang that would return unless knocked away with an aluminum bat.
‘It’s tiring, really.’
At this point, it’s the world that lacks awareness. If it had any conscience, it should have increased the success probability a little each time they repeated their attempts.
‘If only this were a game, I could just reset it with peace of mind.’
Or I could have left a scathing review about the extreme difficulty and cut my losses.
**JooLeeHwanHwan**
**1 ★☆☆☆☆**
**(Over 70,000 hours of gameplay)**
**This is a terrible game of bad balancing, failure, and shitty luck. It’s my 9th try and the world keeps ending. Strongly recommended for those who suffer from low blood pressure. FFS.**
Well, if I were to back down easily, life wouldn’t have repeated this much. Still, there’s no law saying a person must die, and through repeated regressions—1st time, 2nd time, 3rd time…—the data and know-how accumulated have finally shown a clear outline.
Overcoming anger, frustration, sorrow, and pain, Lee Hwan had extracted an opportunity through eight deaths. The grand-scale plan to expose Naru’s human experiments and launch an all-out attack was finally about to be executed.
“What about the legal issues?”
When he asked, Taesung made an expression that was hard to tell whether it was good or bad.
“They should be able to solve it somehow, but some evidence might not be admissible. Still, we can prevent them from escaping. Praxis plays a big role.”
If word spreads through Praxis that they’ve meddled with gates while conducting human experiments, some countries would be up in arms even if they had been planning similar things behind closed doors.
Gates were both national risk factors and assets. Several countries had already interfered with gates in third-world countries to fuel their civil wars. So imagine how dirty and underhanded the sanctions would be once they had a justification.
In this situation, with economic and military pressure flooding in, even if the Health Promotion Association controlled the domestic media, they’d have no choice but to tie Naru up with ropes and make an appropriate example of them.
And before that, the most important thing was confidentiality. They couldn’t give Naru time to destroy all evidence and cover their tracks.
This was especially true when living people were involved in the evidence. To them, test subjects were mere reactive meat rather than humans.
“So the Management Bureau moves first to occupy Building D… and almost simultaneously, Praxis, right? They’ll break the news overseas before starting the public opinion battle.”
“Yeah. After that, the business world will handle the political maneuvering, and then the two media outlets we’ve already marked will release special articles and broadcasts. How’s Praxis these days? The evidence they took last time, I think they said analysis would take a bit longer.”
Haah. Lee Hwan exhaled deeply as he picked up the reassembled remote. The TV was blaring with inappropriately loud laughter, but he didn’t have the presence of mind to turn it off.
“They said the important stuff is ready. For the follow-ups they’re planning to release, there should still be time.”
As he answered, he glanced down at the phone containing their contact information. It’s not like looking at it would make them answer.
A moment of silence passed. Again, wahaha, listening to the audience laugh from the TV, Lee Hwan felt both tension and fulfillment facing the significant task that had rapidly approached.
“Then… only opening the path to Building D remains. We’ve really… haah, come a long way.”
When he muttered in a stiff voice, Taesung placed a hand on his shoulder as if to calm him. As warmth touched him, his rigid shoulders seemed to relax a bit.
Lee Hwan overlapped his hand on Taesung’s and blinked slowly. Thankfully, the self-proclaimed dream team members were doing their jobs properly.
So now, Lee Hwan’s remaining mission was to raid Building D with Taesung and Jade.
“The map, I’m sure you’ve memorized it, but I’ve put it on the watch just in case.”
Taesung spoke again while massaging the nape of Lee Hwan’s neck. Lee Hwan swallowed the words that he’d drawn it himself and wouldn’t forget, and simply nodded.
‘We’ll be fine, but I’m worried the Management Bureau might get lost.’
‘I think we need to give them directions in advance.’
Before raiding Building D, they needed someone who knew the place well.
Everyone initially thought it would be Jade or Kang Dongha. After all, he was a blood relative involved in the Semi-Awakening Project, albeit through sabotage.
But surprisingly, the person who had examined every corner of that underground den of evil was Lee Hwan. During his first regression, he had searched through it alone and even retrieved Jade’s treatment.
So the three who had set foot down there gathered to create a map. It wasn’t difficult, but it wasn’t simple either.
Jade only remembered the corridors and rooms he passed through for experiments. Though he had later infiltrated to extract evidence, it seemed he hadn’t wandered around much, thanks to Kang Dongha’s precise directions.
Kang Dongha had gained access to the lab about a month ago but hardly ever went down unless absolutely necessary. Since the locks to the main rooms wouldn’t open anyway, he didn’t want to appear suspicious by poking around unnecessarily.
So Kang Dongha covered the basement floors 2 and 3, Jade handled the main framework and routes to the labs, and Lee Hwan filled in the details of key room locations and structures.
That evening, after returning home, Lee Hwan skipped dinner and lay face down on the bed, trying to catch his breath.
The memory of infiltrating the basement was particularly piercing and painful among those he recalled.
‘I’m struggling, Kang Taesung. It’s hard.’
‘I said I’d come for you.’
The cold research lab, experimental animals with grotesque forms, glimpses of Kang Dongha’s death through fragments of causality, and the feel of the cold floor. And… Taesung, who didn’t keep his promise until Lee Hwan collapsed from exhaustion.
The labored breathing that escaped in choked sobs when he couldn’t hold back the surge of emotions seemed to echo in his ears. Is this what it would feel like if the sternum collapsed and the heart was crushed?
‘Are you okay?’
Fortunately, unlike that memory, now there was someone who would always come for him.
Taesung seemed to notice Lee Hwan’s condition even before hearing what was wrong. He neatly folded a blanket over Lee Hwan, who was lying face down and not turning his head, then rolled it like a cape, picked him up, and sat on the bed.
Then, hugging the drooping blanket that was in no mood to wriggle, he pressed his lips against it and apologized endlessly.
Not knowing which memory was causing the pain, yet assuming it must be his fault.
‘…’
He knows it’s not his fault. That it wasn’t forgotten intentionally, that it wasn’t a wound deliberately inflicted. So he couldn’t blame him, nor did he want to.
It’s just that occasionally when memories of the past surfaced, he would quietly sink into sorrow. The regression skill was that cruel. As if it were another price for regression.
“Two weeks. Exactly 15 days left.”
A familiar voice woke Lee Hwan from his brief reverie. He must have been zoned out, as worry was spreading across Taesung’s face.
“…I’ll let Praxis know the date.”
Lee Hwan answered in a normal voice, chewing on his lip.
D-15. Somehow, it was a familiar date. Had there been something in a past life where he prepared with the same timeframe?
As he made a strange expression while speculating without much thought, Taesung nodded at Lee Hwan. As if confirming his thought.
“No, really…?”
Damn. So there really was a 15-day plan before. Lee Hwan felt a chill in his chest.
No wonder he felt his blood run cold; had his face paled a bit too? The hand that had been massaging his neck now cupped his face.
That warm touch always held him steady.
“This time, everything will go according to plan. Without danger, simply.”
Taesung reassured him firmly. It was a relief that whatever he said sounded credible.
It’ll be fine. The reassuring thought was still firmly centered within him.
—Hey, this question is too difficult!
—Ah! This is really the last chance. If you fail again, no more snacks!
—Please-!
Meanwhile, as another burst of laughter erupted from the TV, Lee Hwan finally came to his senses and pressed the remote.
Beep. With a small sound, the TV screen turned black.
