Side Story Chapter 3. The World Without Him (3)
“There’s something…I want to confirm.”
Though he couldn’t be certain, Chi-Woo realized that it had taken great courage for Chi-Hyun to say what he had just said out loud.
“It sounds like there’s something you want to see again.”
Chi-Hyun flinched as Chi-Woo guessed what he was thinking without even being told, but in the end, he nodded with a determined look on his face.
Chi-Woo nodded back and flicked his hand lightly without saying anything. From that point on, the world’s time began to rewind. The opened front door closed again, and Chi-Hyun walked backward up the stairs. Soon, Chi-Hyun regained his senses and realized that he had returned to the same situation from before. This was the day when Chi-Woo turned twenty years old; it was the day Princess Sahee told him that he could kill his brother.
His brother appeared to know this truth, or else there would be no explaining his behavior. Chi-Hyun raised his head with wavering eyes and saw his brother’s face right in front of him. His brother was frozen in place while holding a kitchen knife and rus.h.i.+ng toward him. Seeing his brother’s face twisted like a vengeful spirit, Chi-Hyun’s breathing shook. He knew the truth. His brother had lived like an ordinary person while he was a hero called the legend. He could easily deal with an attack like this so that no one got hurt.
Yet Chi-Hyun didn’t do that. It wasn’t that he couldn’t, but he chose not to. It was true that there was a part of him that felt conflicted, and so, he felt grateful that his brother had made the first move. He was able to justify his own action: ‘Ah, You are trying to kill me. I won’t have to feel any guilt about killing you either.’
And just around the time he finished everything, a suspicion arose in his heart. Of course, he couldn’t be sure of it yet. Chi-Hyun wanted to confirm this fact one more time to see if he was mistaken or not. His brother’s contorted face became even more warped as he thrust the kitchen knife a bit lower. Chi-Hyun inhaled deeply when the frozen time started to run again. Soon afterward, Chi-Woo shouted while swinging his knife.
“Diiiiie!”
Chi-Hyun stared blankly at the kitchen knife striking down from above. Originally, he had counterattacked as if he had been waiting for the chance and taken his brother’s life with merciless hands. Yet Chi-Hyun didn’t do anything this time. He simply closed his eyes and didn’t move even when a sharp and hot sensation touched his shoulder. Then—
“…”
“…”
Nothing happened. Though his shoulder p.r.i.c.kled, that was all. Chi-Hyun had planned not to do anything but die obediently even if the kitchen knife dug into his throat. It wasn’t a lie, but the truth. He didn’t know the reason, but that was what he wanted to do this time. In the end, the tip of the knife pierced through his skin slightly, but stopped there. It didn’t go deeper than that. Chi-Hyun thought, ‘This isn’t what is supposed to happen. He needs to slice off my head. So…’
“Why…?”
Chi-Hyun flinched. The exact word he was thinking in his head came out of his brother’s mouth.
“Why are you standing still…?” his brother asked in a raspy voice. “You…have to kill me…”
Chi-Hyun’s eyelids shuddered, and he made great efforts to keep his eyes closed. If he opened his eyes and saw his brother, he thought he would have to acknowledge the truth in front of him. The suspicions he had in his heart would become true.
“Only then…will you be able to…free yourself…”
When Chi-Hyun heard what his brother said next, he couldn’t endure it anymore and opened his eyes to look at his brother.
“So why…won’t you kill me…?”
And so, Chi-Hyun learned that the suspicions he had were the truth. When his hand pierced Chi-Woo’s chest last time, Chi-Hyun had thought his brother would resent him. He had thought Chi-Woo would at least glare at him with loathing eyes and sputter curses, which he had been determined to bear. But that wasn’t how Chi-Woo had acted. Chi-Woo appeared a bit taken aback, but there wasn’t any hint of resentment or hatred on his face. Instead, he seemed to accept his fate calmly and even looked slightly relieved. Chi-Hyun had been wondering why Chi-Woo had made a face like that. It was his brother who had tried to kill him first after all. Thus, he thought…perhaps, his brother didn’t really try to kill him.
Instead, Chi-Woo was trying to get killed—he was pretending to kill Chi-Hyun to make Chi-Hyun kill him without any hesitation. And it turned out to be true. The scene in front of him was proof. Chi-Woo looked stunned as he stared at Chi-Hyun like he couldn’t understand. He stood still with the kitchen knife in his hand. He thought his act had been flawless since if he didn’t go all-out, Chi-Hyun would’ve realized his intentions. That was why he had hardened his heart and pierced Chi-Hyun’s body, no matter how shallow, so that Chi-Hyun could feel a bit of his murderous intent and counterattack.
“Oh…” In the end, everything Chi-Hyun suspected was true, and after realizing this fact, Chi-Hyun couldn’t endure it any longer and collapsed to the ground. His legs gave out, and he kneeled on the ground with his hands on the floor. “Ah…ah…” He sounded out of breath as he looked up at Chi-Woo with hot tears trickling down his face. He was completely tricked by his brother’s act to let him live the life he wanted without suffering from guilt. He wondered why for a moment, but realized that he had heard the answer just before from the Chi-Woo he met outside. It was because he was Chi-Woo’s older brother.
“I’m…sorry…” The words he had been forcefully suppressing escaped his mouth along with his tears. Chi-Woo looked down at Chi-Hyun as he apologized while shedding tears nonstop.
“I’m sorry…really sorry…”
Clank! The kitchen knife fell from Chi-Woo’s hand and rolled on the floor. Thus, time paused again, and Chi-Woo blankly turned his gaze away from Chi-Hyun and looked to his side.
“See?” There was another Chi-Woo who looked exactly the same as him, and this Chi-Woo was smiling with his arms crossed. “I told you.”
The Chi-Woo from this world nodded. “…Yes, it’s as you said.” Though he wavered a bit, he admitted it in the end. “I didn’t think…he would really do this…”
“But anyway, you really are amazing.”
This world’s Chi-Woo tilted his head at Chi-Woo’s praise.
“What is so amazing?”
“I might’ve told my brother in words, but you carried them out in action—so well that even Chi-Hyun got tricked.”
“Who knows…?” This world’s Chi-Woo looked a bit empty as he stared into s.p.a.ce. “I don’t.” After a moment of silence, he continued in a husky voice. “ I don’t know too well either, but maybe there was a part of me that wanted to live. Inside a deep corner of my heart that even I didn’t know existed…” Chi-Woo from this world continued while smacking his lips in a confiding tone. “That means, in the end, I was the same as you. Well…I guess I kept a better façade than you.”
The two Chi-Woos shared a faint smile while they looked at one another.
“How is it then? Do you have the confidence to continue living now?”
When Chi-Woo told this world’s Chi-Woo that he could save this world, this world’s Chi-Woo couldn’t answer immediately. It was because he had more fundamental questions such as why he was born or whether it was right for him to even live. These were questions Chi-Woo had also pondered many times in his life. Before, the Chi-Woo from this world didn’t have the confidence to keep living and act like nothing had happened after dying at his brother’s hands. But that wasn’t the case anymore.
This world’s Chi-Woo let out the breath he was holding. It felt as if the burden he had been keeping in his heart had lifted.
“Fine, do as you say. But when you do, please give us our desired future.”
“Is it the future you want?”
Before this world’s Chi-Woo answered, he took another look at Chi-Hyun, who was still crying while kneeling on the ground, and said, “…No. It’s the future that my brother and I want.”
Seeing this world’s Chi-Woo smile, the edge of Chi-Woo’s lips also turned upwards. With this, another transaction came to an end. Though the problem in this world was a bit harder to solve than in other places, Chi-Woo felt a great sense of satisfaction from solving it. And after fulfilling this world’s Chi-Woo’s wish, Chi-Woo made his way to other worlds and continued to solve their problems. Eventually, he reached the end of his journey to other parallel worlds with only one person left to meet. No—if he really thought about it, there were two people left.
***
One woman stood alone on a vast, empty wasteland where nothing remained. This woman was Choi Yoo-Joo. She was the one who used to be called Perfect Yoo-Joo in Future Yoo-Joo’s s.p.a.ce. She also believed it when others called her by that nickname, and before she reached this point, she had thought she surely had lived a perfect life. She didn’t know what she was lacking. She drew out everything she possibly could and even went beyond 100% by using miracles, coincidences, and luck. Even then, she failed to reach the future she wished for.
Though she had awakened, it was lacking. And even though she saved Liber, she had failed to protect the person most special to her. She was able to come all the way here with her sister’s grand sacrifice, but what was the point of all that now when she failed to achieve what she really wished for in the end?
No, not yet—it was too early to give up. Though it was unstable, she still managed to awaken her powers; and even though she couldn’t wield its powers properly, she could mimic it. Thus, she needed to search for ways to use this power. But she couldn’t think of a good way to do this alone, so she thought she should gather people in a similar situation as her. If they all put their heads together, maybe she could think of a good solution. Yes, for example, a s.p.a.ce like the one that Future Yoo-Joo made…
“…Ah.” Perfect Yoo-Joo’s mouth gaped open. She finally realized why Future Yoo-Joo hadn’t shown much interest in her. ‘I see.’ She now knew why Future Yoo-Joo only ever gave her bitter smiles.
‘She was…me.’ That was why she didn’t care about her. Since Future Yoo-Joo knew everything about her, there was no need to pay attention to her. And this was the same for the current Perfect Yoo-Joo. Realizing this truth, she felt all strength drained from her body. Future Yoo-Joo wasn’t even herself from another world, but herself from the same worldline. That meant that no matter how much she worked and tried, she would only be able to reach the same future as her. Future Yoo-Joo and her were the same person. The fact that she couldn’t escape her future no matter how much she struggled instilled in her an indescribable sense of despair.
She felt a great sense of regret then. Who knew it would be this painful to learn of one’s future? If she knew, she would’ve avoided going to that s.p.a.ce. At least then she wouldn’t be filled with such dread and regret. Perfect Yoo-Joo hung her head low as waves of despair she couldn’t escape from swept her away. Thus, she forgot the fact that in that s.p.a.ce…
“Why is your head hanging so low?”
There was a man that she had placed all her hope and expectations on.
“...When you’ve been doing so well until now?”
A rough hand carefully touched Perfect Yoo-Joo’s chin and raised it. Following the motion, Perfect Yoo-Joo looked up, and her eyes widened. How could she not?
***
“?”
When Future Yoo-Joo opened her eyes, she looked stunned.
‘Isn’t this place….?’ This was Future Yoo-Joo’s s.p.a.ce. Not only was her s.p.a.ce still intact, she couldn’t understand why she was alive. Her body should’ve turned to nothingness due to the price of using a power she shouldn’t have.
‘But why…?’
The moment her body revived, a faint light began to grow. Future Yoo-Joo a.n.a.lyzed the phenomenon occurring inside her body and couldn’t hold back her surprise. It was because the cause that allowed her to exist in this place was disappearing. And the reason was simple: the past had changed. There was only one reason Future Yoo-Joo had created this place, which was to find a method to save herself. And for this cause to be disappearing, there were only two possibilities.
Either her past self had given up before she reached this future, or there was no need for her to even reach this future anymore. Future Yoo-Joo knew that there was no way the former would be true. Her past self would’ve never given up even if she knew things wouldn’t work out. That was how she was. Thus, there was only one possible explanation for what was currently happening.
There was no way she had changed the past with her own power. That meant she had gained somebody else’ help to change the past. After thinking about all this, Future Yoo-Joo raised her head and saw a young man smiling in front of her.
“h.e.l.lo.” As soon as their eyes met, Chi-Woo raised his hand. “I made you wait for so long.”
Because it was so sudden, Future Yoo-Joo’s mouth reflexively opened and closed again. No voice came out, as if the emotions rising in her heart had rendered her speechless.
“I came to keep the promise I made with you.”
All sorts of thoughts pa.s.sed through Future Yoo-Joo’s head then. She recalled the Chi-Woo who had told her not to give up and find a solution together. He had told her to trust him, but at some point, he greatly lamented his reality and fell into despair. He had said that they were too late, that there were no other methods now. Then, he suddenly disappeared without a trace. Future Yoo-Joo was shocked by his behavior and even resented him. Still, she wanted to believe in him. She thought that perhaps, if things were a bit different from that time, the situation wouldn’t have come to this.
And not forgetting how regretful he sounded, Future Yoo-Joo created a s.p.a.ce and called his past self. Then, she begged him not to forget the realization he had gained from this place so he wouldn’t regret it in the future. And thus, her wishes finally became fulfilled. Though he didn’t succeed without faults, Chi-Woo achieved the future he wanted and came back to her, remembering the promise he made to her. Future Yoo-Joo looked at Chi-Woo, who had become greater than any other existence, and her eyes shuddered. She tried to hold back her emotions with all her might and gritted her teeth.
“I’m sorry…I bet you waited for so long. Thank you for not giving up and waiting for me.”
But the moment Chi-Woo opened his mouth, Future Yoo-Joo couldn’t endure it any longer, and uncontrollable tears trickled down from her eyes. As she cried, her eyes and mouth curved softly. From head to toes, her body was now awash in brilliant light. Future Yoo-Joo smiled and cried while she said in a slightly complaining tone, “Do you know how lonely I was…? How long I’ve waited for you…?”
Though he had taken a long detour, Chi-Woo still came back to her in the end. Thus, she smiled more brightly than ever at Chi-Woo as she asked, “Why were you so late…?”