Chapter 164: Great Hostility (2)
Nothing much was revealed from 2% of a.n.a.lysis.
Yu Jitae had to guess with just the messages, images and the memories of the past that had been given by Vintage Clock.
Who. How. Why.
Aside from ‘why’, there was also a lot to think about in regards to ‘who’ and ‘how’, because even Yu Jitae of the 7th iteration was unfamiliar with the other side of the Horizon of Providence or the [Non-providential World].
His current situation was like this.
Yu Jitae is from Korea (Earth), and the dragons are from America (Askalifa). While they were riding a small boat, the dragons met a storm that came from s.p.a.ce (Non-providential World) and somehow ended up in Korea. However, Yu Jitae also had nothing but small boats and couldn’t take them back to America. And yet added on top of that were the presidents of j.a.pan (A nearby dimension) and China (A nearby dimension) whom he had killed, evacuating to outer s.p.a.ce and shooting missiles from there.
The animosities held by the dead ones could in fact do that. Mana was the manifestation of will, and one’s will remained and went on even after their death.
What didn’t make sense was what came after that. How did someone’s hostility end up in the Non-providential World? Or in other words, how were those guys that died in China and j.a.pan shooting missiles from outer s.p.a.ce?
It would be impossible for the current Yu Jitae even if he used everything in his a.r.s.enal.
Yu Jitae was a human who had followed the regulations of a Providential World to hit the limit of an existence in terms of strength. Existences that are originally from the Non-providential World should have nothing to do with him so they shouldn’t hold any dissatisfaction against him.
And it was impossible for an existence that originated from the Providential World to do what Yu Jitae couldn’t do.
Thus, he had to think about all sorts of possibilities in order to understand this paradoxical situation and it took some time for the Regressor to focus back on Bom.
“…”
Bom was looking at Yu Jitae with a vacant gaze.
Raising his hand, he shook it in front of her eyes. Her eyes remained unfocused as if her soul had left her body.
Was she looking at Providence? She should be, according to his prediction.
By holding his hand, Bom synchronised with his thoughts and emotions. In his head, the Vintage Clock gazed off into the distance of the Providential World and found the Great Hostility there before naming it and regulating it.
The Vintage Clock was able to interfere with Providence. The moment it was regulated by the Vintage Clock, the Hostility was included within Providence so theoretically, Bom should immediately be able to see Providence again since she received the emotions and memories from Yu Jitae.
And his prediction seemed to have been on the mark.
Her eyes slowly regained its focus and her expression simultaneously turned brighter.
“Bom. Are you okay?”
She nodded her head. Her smile also turned brighter.
“So you can see Providence again?” he asked.
This time, she gave a slightly bigger nod. On her lips, there was a lively smile full of joy that was different from the usual, gentle smile.
“Right. That’s good.”
“Thank you…”
He felt like heaving a sigh of relief. It seemed that everything was back to normal for Bom.
It was late at night.
Bom hesitantly opened and closed her mouth several times without saying anything, and fidgeted with the ends of her hair in contemplation.
She opened her mouth again when the sun started to rise.
“Ahjussi.”
“Yeah.”
“All the things you say and give to me are good, right?” Her voice was unusually serious.
“Yeah,” he replied.
“Then, even if there are things you don’t tell me, I don’t have to be curious at all, right? Things like why you’re trying to protect us, and why you’re trying hard to make us happy. Because everything is for us.”
“Yeah. You don’t need to know.”
“Then even if you give us something that looks bad on the outside, there must be a reason behind that right? Like how you suddenly kidnapped me while I was living just fine?”
He had to think for a little before replying to that question.
“I’ll only be giving you good things, but you’re right.”
“I thought so.” Lowering her head, she murmured to herself, “But I think you can give bad things now…”
It was hard to catch the meaning behind her whisper. Bom fidgeted with her fingers and he replied without thinking deeply about it.
“You don’t have to think too much about it. During your Amus.e.m.e.nt, you can be as comfortable as you want.”
“Yes. But, ahjussi, I think I also want to lie down now that I’m full.”
When she gazed back up into his eyes, her eyes were slightly slanted.
“You know, if there are only 4 pieces of a very sweet and tasty cake.”
With a rather sorrowful gaze and a low voice, she whispered.
“I shouldn’t eat everything, right. There are only 4 pieces and other people need to have some too.”
“And?”
“Eating everything is being greedy. A childish greed,” she whispered.
The Regressor felt something strange from her words.
He didn’t know the shape taken by emotions, but knew how human greed worked and understood what she was trying to express.
“Bom.”
“I didn’t know but, I must be a greedy person.”
Perplexity soared within. Despite being far apart, it was more so than when they were close.
“……I want to eat everything by myself.”
Bom wasn’t smiling.
***
‘But how can people do everything they want to do? Adults have to hold it in somehow,’ she said before lying back down and he didn’t say anything in response.
That was the end of their dispatch and the next day, they returned to the dormitory. There was a lot to think about. Both the thing about Great Hostility and Bom’s words weighed on his mind.
From time to time, he did get that feeling.
Does she, by any chance, hold a goodwill towards me. An emotion that exceeds the general goodwill between two personas?
The time they spent together wasn’t short by any means. Even Yu Jitae who was still insensitive to daily lives felt a slight difference between the way Yeorum, Kaeul and Gyeoul treated him and the way Bom treated him.
But when they returned to the dormitory, Bom was back to being completely normal.
“h.e.l.lo. Good morning.”
“Yeah. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes.”
Being on his side and taking care of the kids. Keeping the boundary between him and suggesting new things everytime. Sometimes teasing and laughing after gaining Providence back. She was the same as always.
So as time pa.s.sed, he was able to let go of some of the complex worries he had regarding Bom. He already had a lot of things to do aside from that.