Chapter 178
Theatrical Regression Life
Episode 178
Kang Min-ah has never once thought that fire was scary.
That was natural, even if it wasnât her. The fire that most people know is that it either rises from a machine as big as the palm of oneâs hand, or, no matter how big it is, it only briefly flutters over a frying pan the size of someoneâs torso. It has never transferred to other objects or burned people.
If we were to look further, we would find forest fires and fire accidents that occasionally appear in news and internet articles. However, even though the fire inside was so big that it seemed like it would consume the world, it was only a world beyond the screen. Even when people encounter such incidents, all they do is click their tongues and say âitâs a shameâ, but they donât get scared.
ââ¦presidentâ¦?â
So, I had no idea that the fire right in front of me, which I could feel with my whole body, would be this scary.
âMr. Yoon Garam.â
âI feel good.â
ââ¦yes?â
Bright green eyes stared at Kang Min-ah.
âI love it so much that my head feels dizzyâ¦.â â
â¦.â
ââ¦Ha haha. Phuhahahahaâ¦.â
The two hands desperately covering the corners of his mouth are unrealistic. My tears fall to the ground in a patter, and my wide-open eyes look lovingly at the park, where there is no place that is not on fire.
âhow is it.â
She instantly smiled gently and asked Kang Min-ah.
âItâs strange, isnât it?â
ââ¦.â
The moment she heard those words, an ember fell on Kang Min-ahâs feet.
âUh uhâ¦â
It was a fire that wouldnât go away no matter how hard I tried to shake it off.
ââ¦Ahh!â
My heart dropped.
The fire had no shape. I couldnât just scrape it off with my hands like food residue that fell on my clothes while eating, and I couldnât wipe it away like I accidentally spilled water or drink while drinking. The change in fire that did not spread all at once, but gradually covered the body, was enough to put people in fear.
âAhahahahahaâ¦!â
A loud laugh rang in my ears.
Kang Min-ah desperately ran away, trying to keep her mind from working properly. No, I ran to find other people. It was because I instinctively realized that in order to survive, I had to protect others. It was truly a struggle that bordered on unconsciousness.
âYeonseok, Yeonseokâ¦! Hey Noh Yeon-seok!â
The person I must protect.
âCurbâ¦.â
ââ¦.â
ââ¦Ah.â
The people I had to protect.
ââ¦.â
But whatâs the use if they all die?
ââ¦no.â
When I saw Noh Yeon-seok lying face down with one hand outstretched, tears fell drop by drop.
Even when I desperately grabbed his sturdy shoulders and shook him, even when I stroked his cheeks with my hands and made eye contact, the poor young man did not respond. As usual, he didnât look at me with such a loving gaze that I couldnât even dare to accept him.
âIâm sorry. Iâm sorry.â Iâm sorry ahhhâ¦ugh Iâm sorry ha.â
ââ¦.â
âWhat should I do⦠Huh? Yeonseok, Yeonseok. No Yeon-seokâ¦.â
Even though I tried to hold him in my arms, I couldnât even hold his heavy body without any strength. After making a fuss over and over again, I just accepted reality and fell on top of it.
âWhy why why why does it have to be like thisâ¦.â
Why did this good child have to die like this?
Noh Yeon-seokâs hand was holding a hammer covered in blood and flesh, and around him, the body of President Choi Jeong-man was leaning against a tree. I couldnât help but notice that the reason why the shape of the face couldnât be recognized was because of the hammer that Noh Yeon-seok was holding tightly.
âYou are because of me.â
killed a person
âBecause I couldnât take responsibilityâ¦â
I hated people.
âHuhhh⦠Yeonseok. Sorry sorry. I am.â
ââ¦.â
âI wanted to do betterâ¦.â
I knew it well. Noh Yeon-seok was such a kind and innocent child that he never hurt anyone easily. That kind of person hated Vivian, a poor student, because of Kang Min-ah, and killed the person who tried to kill me. They turned President Choi Jeong-man into such a miserable corpse.
And yet you died.
âI couldnât protect it.â
Kang Min-ah was an idiot who couldnât protect anything and couldnât do anything for her age.
The tears that fell from Kang Min-ahâs eyes reached Noh Yeon-seok, but had no effect on him, whose entire body was soaked in blood. There was a big difference between the blood, which had a fishy smell and was now soggy, and the clear, slightly salty water. Unlike Kang Min-ah, who cried because she was just sad, Noh Yeon-seok must have been very sick and distressed. â
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
â¦
ââ¦.â
This is how the manager died too.
ââ¦Kang Min-ah?â
ââ¦Doctor.â
âAre you okay, Kang Min-ah?â
I died because I couldnât protect anythingâ¦.
âYou have to run away. Thereâs a monster nearby. âRight now, they are preying on Vivian, so they wonât come right away, but they will come after me when the time comes.â
ââ¦What about Vivian?â
âyes?â
âArenât you going to save me?â
ââ¦.â
ââ¦Hahahaâ¦.â
So much has changed, Manager.
âsorry.â
I guess itâs because you died. Jaeheon Lee Itâs because I killed you.
âIâm sorry, Iâm sorry. Iâm really sorryâ¦â
ââ¦Student Vivian was the first to step forward to take on the monster. There is no need for Kang Min-ah to feel guilty. Detective Hong Gyeong-junâs death was also the monsterâs fault in the first placeâ¦â
âIt wasnât like this from the beginning, we were.â
âMr. Kang Min-ah.â
âYouâre not the type of person to say things like thatâ¦â
I missed the person who just said something light with a blunt look. I missed the strange peace I felt when that person protected us, just living and breathing by our side. I couldnât say I was very happy back then, but at least it was much better when I had Lee Jae-heon as my spiritual support.
âLetâs move first. Itâs never too late to think about it later.â
ââ¦.â
âKang Min-ah.â
ââ¦all right.â
After returning the hammer that Noh Yeon-seok was holding with trembling hands, Kang Min-ah stood up.
âBut but over thereâ¦thereâs President Garam Yoon.â
At that moment, the fire that had been slowly gnawing away at my leg died down little by little. One side of the suit pants was burned and stuck to the skin, making it sore, but it actually made Kang Min-ah feel at ease. Actually, yes. When I think about it, the manager also suffered an injury like this.
ââ¦Are your legs okay?â
âIt doesnât hurt.â
âIf you say so.â
Doctor Ha Seong-yoon smiled with a soft face that must have been fake.
âI just need to stop by the hospital later.â
ââ¦Thenâ¦â
Kang Min-ah also laughed at the smile that was so similar to Yoon Garam.
âI will protect you until then.â
With those words, Kang Min-ah and Ha Seong-yoon ran in the direction where Yoon Gar-ram was. Because the entire park was being consumed by fire, it was difficult to breathe and their eyes were sore that they were distracted, but thanks to Ha Seong-yoon and Kang Min-ah, who found their way strangely quickly, they were able to avoid getting lost.
When I finally got to Yoon Garam after shaking off the little monsters that came from time to time.
ââ¦.â
ââ¦Aha.â
Insanely beautiful green eyes greeted them.
ââ¦.â
It seemed as if the whole world was run by Yoon Garam.
So, it wasnât something as empty and pretentious as saying, âHe looks like the main character.â This means that the person who caused the burnt tree branches to fall to the ground, the leaves that turned into ashes to fly like butterflies, and dye the entire white sky red was Garam Yoon.
âmister.â
She called out to Ha Seong-yoon in a soft voice from among the bumpy roots of the tree.
âhelp.â
He was happy to answer.
âDonât worry.â
ââ¦Wait a minuteâ
Phuukâ.
The blue blade dug into my delicate neck.
A bright smile spread across a face covered in tears.
* * *
âKang Min-ahâ was watching it.
* * *
ââ¦I⦠I mean.â
ââ¦.â
âThat wasnât my story.â
The end of his voice trembled slightly.
âItâs true, he was a different person than me.â
Only then was Jaeheon Lee able to be sure.
ââ¦was this a structure where each world had its own timeline?â
What Kang Min-ah wanted to say was clear. She saw the story of âKang Min-ahâ in the last episode and that passage was just a dream. Thatâs probably why his mental state was much more stable than that of the main character, who experienced everything firsthand. Because the current Kang Min-ah is not the âKang Min-ahâ from the previous episode.
However, the problem was that, when interpreted this way, the world depending on the episode was different. There is a separate world for the first round, a separate world for the second round, and a separate world for the third roundâ¦
âEven that person died in the end.â
ââ¦.â
Suddenly, the people who died in the first and second rounds came to mind.
If this structure is really true, the âreturnâ experienced by the protagonist and Lee Jae-heon was not a concept of reset. All you have to do is abandon the previous timeline and move to the next timeline. Itâs like moving on to a new book with the same name.
The story after that was left to those who were left behind.
âOf course, he was the same as me. But I didnât think I would protect someone so⦠blindly. But he was different.â
âhow.â
âIt was an obsession. Itâs survival instinct. âI think it was like I couldnât survive if I didnât protect others.â
Kang Min-ah was looking at the current self and the previous âKang Min-ahâ completely separately.
ââ¦If the main character finds out about this, heâll lose his temper again.â
Lee Jae-heon barely swallowed a sigh.
The probability that the hypothesis from the conversation with Ha Seong-yoon and Jeong In-ho was correct was increasing. The hypothesis is that the last survivor will return. That is, only when all the characters die will there be a âlast survivorâ. In that case, wouldnât the world, having decided that there is no longer any value here, send the âmain characterâ to another timeline to continue the story?
It could have been moved to a point in time when all the âcharactersâ he recognized were still alive, or to a point where he felt it was convenient to proceed with the âstoryâ.
ââ¦But I donât think thereâs anything I canât understandâ¦ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âYes.â
âI thought that if I were to be picky, I could end up like that. âI canât explain it well, but it felt like the branches were in different directions, but the roots were the same.â
Of course, questions remain.
âWhy do I return with the main character?â
Additionally, what value does the âlast survivorâ have to have the right to be handed over the memories of the previous episode? Above all, why did Choi Min-hongâs first guardian, whom Song In-myeong had already killed, have to die?
First, letâs think about the last part. Even if the main character is moved to a point in time where all the characters he remembers are alive, or to a point in time that the main character finds convenient, there is a contradiction in either way, coming to a point in time where the âfirst protectorâ is dead. What does the protagonist know about his guardian to find his death convenient?
âThen in this case, it means that Choi Min-hongâs guardian was not treated as a characterâ¦â
Why?
âwhy?â
As Lee Jae-heon, the reincarnated person, is also undergoing regression, for some reason âChoi Min-hongâs first guardianâ, a native of this world, was not treated as a âcharacterâ.
âBut he and I⦠donât seem to be completely the same.â
ââ¦.â
âHa Seong-yoon and In-ho seem to have some memories of that time. âThatâs itâ¦â
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
ââ¦return.â
âyes yes. âItâs just like the subject matter of a common novel.â
Next is the reincarnation of possession.
âBecause among these, there are regression and reincarnation.â
What remains is possession.
ââ¦Boss?â
âNo, just a little.â
âI did something wrongâ¦â
âItâs just that my head hurts.â
Yes, I had a headache.
âI really couldnât believe itâ¦â
Choi Minhongâs guardian, did you possess him?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with it.