Chapter 353

I apologized with complete sincerity, but Kwon Taehan’s expression gradually twisted. Without saying anything, Kwon Taehan picked up the phone that had fallen to the floor, turned to look at me, and spoke in a murderous voice.

“Just because your memories are incomplete doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want. Of course, it’s not like you do whatever you want because of that. You were always that kind of bastard.”

“Taehan, guess which one of us was the one who made plans? You. And now you think you need to go? To clear that fucking unimportant Gate? That’s a problem....”

“It’s an A-rank Gate, and you’re saying that’s not important?”

“Why is it important?”

That was an interesting way of thinking. Well... I knew he was the kind of bastard who went around overflowing with a sense of justice, but this time it seemed like there was a slightly different reason.

“You have your ‘memories,’ so you should know, right? It’s not like that Gate can’t be handled just because you’re not there. I don’t know who you’re in contact with on the Special Response Team, but how do you even know it’s really an A-rank Gate? How do you know they didn’t just bluff so you’d hurry over?”

“.......”

“The Special Response Team seems short on manpower these days, so they keep contacting you, and you keep going along with it. What kind of public servants are they... constantly asking a private individual for help.”

When I looked at Kwon Taehan sideways, I could see his Adam’s apple move.

'Looks like it really isn’t an important Gate.'

For a moment, I considered whether maybe I simply didn’t remember it, but judging from his reaction, that definitely didn’t seem to be the case.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s an important Gate or not. If I can help, there’s simply no reason for me to deliberately refuse.”

“A reason not to help? It’s right here. Me, who showed up properly on time for our plans. Taehan.... Fuck, are you kidding me?”

“.......”

“Still, I’ll let it slide. You look desperate to distract yourself with something else right now.”

Kwon Taehan stared straight at me.

Well, wasn’t I right? I already knew he was someone who cleared a lot of Gates in the first place, but after tracking what he’d been up to recently, the degree to which he was throwing himself into work was even worse than I’d expected.

He was taking linked assignments from the Special Response Team, going to support other guilds, and clearing practically every Gate that came into his line of sight regardless of rank.

'The reason is obvious.'

He was already a bastard who wasn’t right in the head to begin with. There was also the fact that I had personally gone around stirring his mind up, and the fact that things had gone wrong with Joo Seowon. In a lot of ways, he would need some kind of outlet for all that turmoil.

It was close to self-harm, but Kwon Taehan had always endured reality this way. It probably would’ve been difficult for him to find another method.

“If your mental illness was acting up, instead of clearing Dungeons, you should’ve contacted someone and asked for help.”

At my words, Kwon Taehan let out a disbelieving laugh. When I smiled back at him, the bastard laughed in short bursts for a moment before hardening his expression and asking,

“Who? You?”

“Not like I couldn’t handle it.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

I hadn’t said it to be funny. I jerked my chin toward the iPhone in Kwon Taehan’s hand.

“Throw it away and follow me.”

“.......”

“We still have to finish hanging out.”

“I called you today because I wanted to talk. Just confirming that you were the one who made the investment is enough for me.”

Hm? What did it matter whether it was enough for him?

“Really? It’s not enough for me.”

“.......”

“You agreed to cooperate with me. We did. Ah, and of course, I cooperated with you too and invested money in this pathetic office that looks like it’s about to collapse. Though I did put an investor in between us.”

“.......”

“You said you’d help me recover my memories.”

At that, some of the tension left Kwon Taehan’s eyes. The bastard slapped the phone down on the desk and spoke as though warning me.

“Pay me back for it.”

“Are you that poor?”

“...I meant you broke it, so you should take responsibility.”

Well, it wasn’t like I couldn’t do that.

I tilted my head and followed Kwon Taehan.

We went to a nearby large shopping mall so I could deal with everything at once, and first got him a new phone activated. Kwon Taehan quietly stared at the empty phone, sighed, and shoved it into his pocket.

“...Do you at least have a destination?”

“No, not really? Since we’re here, should we do some shopping?”

“.......”

I’d said it without much thought, but Kwon Taehan obediently followed me. Just because I had ‘memories,’ the bastard would suddenly become this... soft with me from time to time. No, it wasn’t like he had ever really come at me forcefully in the first place.

Since this wasn’t somewhere I came often, I was leisurely walking around looking for a store when Kwon Taehan asked first,

“What are you trying to buy.”

“I don’t know, clothes?”

“There’s barely anything here that suits your taste.”

“You know what my taste is?”

I asked jokingly, but an unexpected answer came back.

“...Probably better than you do.”

What a ridiculous thing to say.

I moved closer to Kwon Taehan and spoke in a lowered voice.

“Taehan, I’m not particularly sorry to say this, but my tastes were already completely established before I ever met you.”

“You prefer metal watch straps because they’re more comfortable to wear, and you don’t like anything too flashy. You always buy from the same line too. Want me to tell you the brand?”

“We’re talking about clothes, not watches.”

“You think I don’t know your clothes?”

Well, maybe he did.

“You dress neatly. Suits... you like things like that. Your casual clothes are pretty fixed too, and you don’t really like jeans. Especially ripped jeans. And clothes that are too big....”

“Looks like you know something, but you don’t know the terminology, so you’re fumbling around like this.”

“...There’s no need to know things like that.”

“Anyway, you were heavily influenced by me.”

At those words, Kwon Taehan stopped dead. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulled him a little closer, and spoke as though it were obvious.

“That’s probably why you hate me.”

“Don’t just make assumptions however you want.”

“I’ve been letting a lot slide since earlier, but strictly speaking, this is something between the two of us. Even if I make assumptions however I want, you don’t really have anything to say about it.”

“You...!”

Kwon Taehan slapped my hand away and stared straight at me.

“Are you really in a position to say that? Right now?”

“Yeah.... I told you I’m sorry.”

“There’s no way it’s that simple.”

If we kept arguing here, we would probably draw too much attention. I cleanly gave up on shopping and dragged the bastard back downstairs. He seemed to become aware of our surroundings too, because he obediently shut his mouth.

“Should we just leave Seoul entirely?”

“.......”

“I wasn’t going to ask for your opinion anyway, so if you keep your mouth shut, that works for me. Keep shutting the fuck up.”

I took Kwon Taehan with me and drove toward a place I was slowly starting to get familiar with.

Around the time we had been in the car for an hour, Kwon Taehan finally asked first,

“Where are we going.”

“Cheongju-si.”

“...Why?”

Instead of answering the bewildered Kwon Taehan, I gave him a small smile and kept driving.

Once we arrived near the destination, I went into the first restaurant I saw. While we waited for the food we ordered, Kwon Taehan looked at me suspiciously.

“Why did we come here?”

“I came out here on a few scouting trips recently, and I liked it.”

“Scouting?”

“I had business here for Haeseong.”

At that, Kwon Taehan nodded and lowered his gaze somewhat awkwardly.

“...Why are you trying to recover your memories?”

“Because I’m curious. I fucking hate not knowing something.”

“I talked to you about it before too.”

As Kwon Taehan said that, he frowned as though recalling a very old memory. He also looked uncomfortable somehow. I didn’t know exactly what emotion he was feeling, though.

“...I told you even though I knew I’d look like a crazy bastard. At first, I thought it was my fault.”

“Your fault?”

“.......”

Kwon Taehan nodded and answered a beat late. His voice was unexpectedly calm.

“Yeah. You... didn’t have any reason to do that. You can be kind of fickle and do whatever you want sometimes, but... I thought there was no way you’d do that to me.”

“Hmm.”

“So I looked for the cause in myself. I thought I’d made some mistake. At first....”

His voice trailed off, and when the food happened to arrive right then, he closed his mouth again. Instead of urging him on, I started eating. Kwon Taehan repeated about thirty-nine actions in a row that completely killed my appetite before finally picking up his spoon.

We didn’t talk much while eating, but because of that, it somehow... felt like we had already gone through all of this at least once before. There was no helping it, considering how much time had accumulated between us.

It wasn’t just me. Kwon Taehan had also become far too accustomed to me.

Around the time we finished eating, Kwon Taehan started talking again.

“So I brought it up because I wanted to try convincing you, or at least... because I wanted to try figuring out what you were thinking. I thought about it a lot too. I felt... betrayed by you, but that was secondary. Honestly, it wasn’t that important.”

“What did I say back then?”

“Of course, you didn’t... believe me. Though it did look like you were thinking about something seriously.”

“Hmmm....”

Well, I definitely should’ve known Kwon Taehan had regressed.

The purpose behind me killing Kwon Taehan was clear. I didn’t have the ‘Regression’ Skill that the bastard possessed.

'Though the circumstances seem a little different now.'

So in order to return while retaining the memories of that turn, I had no choice but to usurp his Regression Skill. Without information, it was difficult to prepare for what came next.

“So?”

“...You killed me four times. Saying something like that didn’t change anything.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’d rather be.”

He’d only died four times and he was already this broken.

Then again, Kwon Taehan was the type who cared about a lot of little things. It would’ve been enough to focus only on the goal, but in the end, Kwon Taehan was the type who recruited Joo Seowon, got swept up in me... and couldn’t let go of various other people either.

In that sense, the fact that I had overturned everything around Kwon Taehan in advance this time had been more effective than expected. Even though things had gone in a direction I hadn’t anticipated either.

Anyway, the strange sense of defeat from things not going according to the course he knew was what had made the bastard the way he was now.

As a result... he had ended up standing in front of me like this.

It was a good thing.

Smiling, I got up first and paid the bill. Since I hadn’t clearly decided on the next destination, I roughly searched for a nearby walking trail, parked the car, and walked along the path.

“You brought me all the way here even though there’s nothing in particular to do?”

“The nature’s nice. Just enjoy it.”

“.......”

Kwon Taehan followed me silently until, at a quiet point with no one around, he finally stopped dead.

“Why?”

Because the bastard had stopped following me, a subtle distance had opened between us before I knew it. When I turned around and stared at Kwon Taehan, he spoke in a clear tone.

“Stop.”

“Why?”

“This really... isn’t right. I don’t want to get swept up in you.”

“Is that a resolution?”

“.......”

Then he should’ve been firm from the beginning. He had gone along with everything, and now he was saying he didn’t want to. There was no way that would be convincing.

“I’ve told you repeatedly. I don’t want to get involved with you. I don’t want to get swept up in you anymore either. It’s closer to being tired.”

“Yeah, and I told you we should get close again.”

“.......”

“We used to be special to each other.”

I strode toward Kwon Taehan. The bastard reflexively stepped backward, but once the distance between us had closed to a certain point, he obediently stopped.

“I’ll help you this time.”

“It always started like that. And the ending was a mess.”

“Really? Then trust me again.”

“Ha....”

Kwon Taehan let out a small disbelieving laugh, then soon started laughing hard enough for his shoulders to shake. When I raised an eyebrow, the bastard bit his lip hard and spoke like he was sighing.

“You can’t even handle losing a little bit of your memory like this....”

“.......”

“I had to do everything again! Can you even imagine how exhausting it is to start over from nothing? Do you know how horrible it is for relationships where you already got close and shared so much to be reset? Not just one or two of them, but all of them....”

“Did something happen to your sense of self?”

“You think it wouldn’t? When no one knows me at all?”

“So what, did you want to die?”

“.......”

Kwon Taehan, who had covered his eyes, slowly lowered his hand. He wasn’t crying, but the area around his eyes was strangely red.

“Did you want to die?”

“Yeah.”

“No, I wanted to live. Because I knew that if I died, I’d go back again. Are you asking whether I wanted to end everything? Yeah, that’s true.”

“.......”

“After killing me like that, how did you never... properly succeed even once? You should’ve just killed me properly instead.”

I watched Kwon Taehan’s expression and slowly approached him. Every time I closed the distance, Kwon Taehan gradually erased the expression from his face.

Only after I finally reached him did I slowly grab Kwon Taehan’s arm tightly and pull. Kwon Taehan came along obediently. I wrapped an arm around him as though hugging him and raked my fingers through the back of his head.

“Okay, Taehan.”

“.......”

If only four times had already made him like this, I couldn’t even imagine how much more broken he would become in the future. Of course, I had no intention of making him live through all those turns.

I pressed firmly against the back of his head, making him lean against my shoulder, then gently stroked the back of his head.

“Next time... I’ll make sure to kill you properly.”

“.......”

“So you can’t come back to life again.”

Still holding Kwon Taehan in my arms, I took out the Space-Saving Box where he couldn’t see it. Anyway, there was only one thing I needed right now.

I patted his back briefly, then slowly pulled away and said,

“I was originally going to stay with you longer... Hmm, but then I think you’d hate me too much.”

“...What?”

“Let’s make the next date longer. This is a present.”

I handed him a box. The moment Kwon Taehan took it, he realized what was happening and tried to throw it away, but the activation had already begun.

“Go wait there. And don’t get too stressed.”

“......!”

Flash, the Teleport Box lit up, and Kwon Taehan disappeared in an instant.

At the sudden disappearance of his body heat, I raised an eyebrow and slowly took my phone out from inside my clothes. The call connected quickly.

-Jehyun.

I calmly informed the owner of the familiar voice of the simple fact.

“Yes, Guild Master.”

-.......

“Taehan is on vacation starting today.”

-Today....

“I thought it would be good for you to know.”

Im Haekyung answered after a moment.

-That sounds like the worst vacation imaginable.