By Zephyria Eui-jae, after waving his arm that had pierced Nam Woo-jin’s face and shoulder, subtly stepped back. A hardened gaze followed him. Eui-jae, unconcerned, looked around.
‘First… I need to figure out what works and what doesn’t.’
Considering he hugged Lee Sa-young at home, he can touch Sa-young. Eui-jae tapped the floor with his foot. Standing on the floor is also possible. Eui-jae waved his arm at Sa-young.
“Hey! Check something for a sec.”
“What is it now…!”
“…Huh? What’s wrong? Didn’t you have something to ask?”
As Sa-young’s voice grew louder, Nam Woo-jin tilted his head, puzzled. It seemed even the sound didn’t reach him. Sa-young bit his lip and glared at Eui-jae. It seemed to mean not to move recklessly. Eui-jae pointed to the bookshelf.
“No, I’m trying to see if I can touch things.”
“……”
“I’ll do it where you can see me. Is that okay? I’m doing it?”
Sa-young sighed and withdrew his glare. Eui-jae pulled out one of the books that filled the space to the ceiling. Fortunately, he could touch it. He examined the book. Nothing was written on the cover or the spine.
The inside of the book was the same. An endless array of white paper.
“……”
He pulled out and scanned other books, but they were all blank. Blank, blank, blank…. As he scanned each book, a pile of books accumulated at his feet. One could believe he had just collected blank notebooks shaped like books.
‘It’s not like I’m in a stationery store’s notebook corner.’
Eui-jae scratched his head. Did Nam Woo-jin have a bad habit of collecting only blank books? Eui-jae picked up a few blank books and approached Sa-young. The two were talking. Nam Woo-jin asked.
“…Information related to the System is too broad to explain even if we stay up all night. It’s better to clearly define the area you’re curious about.”
“Everything related to Doomsday.”
“Doomsday?”
Nam Woo-jin replied with a puzzled face.
“Doomsday, what are you talking about?”
“……”
Sa-young narrowed his eyes. Eui-jae examined Nam Woo-jin’s face. It wasn’t the face of someone lying. The innocent expression of an ignorant person was there. Before long, he twisted his white hair with his fingers and chuckled.
“Ah…, did you hear some Doomsday theory somewhere? Those are all made-up stories.”
“……”
“Don’t be swayed by strange words.”
“……”
“Seriously, how many guys are trying to profit by stimulating people’s anxiety…. It’s the end of the world, the end of the world.”
Nam Woo-jin clicked his tongue and began to mutter. He seemed to have a lot pent up. Sa-young didn’t miss the opportunity and glanced at Eui-jae. Eui-jae opened a book and showed him the blank page.
“The books on the bookshelf are all like this, is it usually like this?”
Sa-young shook his head slightly. The books were originally normal. At that moment, Sa-young called Nam Woo-jin.
“Doctor.”
“What is it?”
Sa-young asked calmly.
“Do you know J?”
“J?”
Nam Woo-jin blinked his pure white eyes. Eui-jae held his breath without realizing it and waited for an answer. The white flame seemed to have a hint of light purple. Finally, the answer came.
“What’s that?”
A questionable answer.
“Haa……”
A sigh that seemed to make the floor sink came out. The owner of the sigh, Cha Eui-jae, was sitting at a terrace table of a handmade burger place. Eui-jae rolled his eyes. Through the store’s glass window, he could see the back of Lee Sa-young wearing a black coat. The big, dark guy ordering at the counter looked strangely funny.
‘Anyway….’
Eui-jae rested his chin on his hand. He couldn’t help but replay the events at the Seowon Guild.
‘J? What’s that?’
Lee Sa-young, after hearing Nam Woo-jin’s answer, immediately grabbed Eui-jae’s arm. And he spat out a word irritably.
‘No need to hear more….’
They left the library like that, and the two walked aimlessly down the street. There was no destination. They were just walking wherever their feet led them. In the same direction. People avoided Lee Sa-young but passed right through Eui-jae.
Sa-young, who had been silently watching the scene, suddenly said.
‘I’m hungry.’
Thanks to that, a new destination was created. The nearest restaurant. That was this handmade burger place. Of course, ordering was Lee Sa-young’s job.
Eui-jae took off his mask. After all, people wouldn’t be able to see him anyway. Taking off the mask while wearing J’s clothes felt strange. A small sense of unease and a slight sense of liberation coexisted.
A cool breeze brushed his face. The sensation of the wind felt particularly unfamiliar. His gray hair fluttered wildly in the wind. Eui-jae blinked for no reason.
“You took off your mask.”
At that moment, Sa-young, who had placed a tray on the table, sat across from him. He stuck a straw in a cola glass and pushed it towards Eui-jae. Eui-jae rested his chin on his hand.
“You’re the only one who can see me anyway.”
“……That’s true.”
Sa-young threw a french fry into his mouth. After chewing and swallowing, he also rested his chin on his hand, following Eui-jae.
“You’re taking it more calmly than I thought.”
“Huh?”
“Not being visible to people. And…. That no one knows Hyung either.”
Eui-jae shrugged instead of answering. Sa-young frowned slightly.
“Aren’t you anxious at all, Hyung?”
“No, well….”
If he were alone, he would have been anxious, of course. Unable to bear the sudden loneliness, he might not have been able to move even a step. But….
Eui-jae stared silently at Sa-young in front of him and took a sip of cola. And,
“Hyung?”
Shit!
He slammed the glass down. Of course, he adjusted his strength so that the table wouldn’t break.
Eui-jae picked up the cup and shook it. The black liquid swayed, and the ice clinked. Swish…. The sound of the carbonation popping was clear. It’s black, it has carbonation, and it comes with french fries and a hamburger.
It’s cola, right? Eui-jae, unable to believe reality, asked.
“…By any chance, is this carbonated water?”
“Huh? It’s cola.”
Sa-young blinked. Eui-jae took a deep breath and drank the cola, or whatever it was, once more. Soon, he covered his eyes with his hand while holding the straw in his mouth. He didn’t want to believe reality.
“……”
He couldn’t taste any sweetness at all! Only the carbonation struck his mouth and throat. This was the collapse of cola. While Eui-jae was going back and forth between despair and the abyss, Sa-young repeatedly drove in the wedge.
“It’s cola.”
“Liar.”
“It’s real.”
Sa-young suddenly held out a french fry.
“Try it.”
“……”
Eui-jae stared at the french fry with a sullen face. What’s the reason for suddenly giving it to him? It looks crispy and warm on the outside. The yellow golden color looks appetizing. It must have just been fried. As he began to have a staring contest with the french fry, Sa-young slightly stuck out his black tongue.
“It’s because I don’t know the taste….”
“……”
“You have to eat it to confirm what’s strange, right?”
That’s true.
But he didn’t want to eat something whose taste he could predict with his own hands. Eui-jae closed his eyes and opened his mouth. With a low chuckle, the french fry entered his mouth. He closed his mouth and chewed. Once, twice, three times…. Finally, Eui-jae, who had chewed and swallowed the french fry, lowered his head gloomily.
“It’s not good……”
“Ah, that much?”
“No…, it’s not that it’s not good, it really has no taste. It’s tasteless.”
He didn’t want to chew more, but doing unpleasant things is what adults do. Eui-jae, with a miserable face, ate one more french fry. He savored the taste of the tasteless french fry.
The fluffy texture of the potato under the crispy outer skin. Only up to there. He couldn’t feel the oily and salty taste he had expected to follow. Eui-jae made chewing muscle movements with a subtle face. Muttering was a bonus.
“No, seriously, this is weird….”
Sa-young chuckled. Foods that couldn’t be tasted were terrible. It was even more so because he originally knew the taste.
‘Come to think of it.’
Lee Sa-young said he couldn’t taste anything. Then…. Eui-jae glanced up. Sa-young was nonchalantly chewing on french fries with his legs crossed. Has he been living in the world eating this kind of food every day?
‘No wonder he didn’t want to eat!’
Suddenly, a sense of pity washed over him. In the meantime, Sa-young, who had pulled out the wooden pin stuck in the center of the hamburger, opened his mouth.
“Anyway…. You can’t taste anything either, Hyung.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, then the conclusion is out.”
After taking a big bite of the hamburger and slowly chewing and swallowing it, Sa-young wiped his mouth with his thumb.
“This is a space reconstructed based on the memories of another Lee Sa-young, then.”
“……”
“I know there are many books in the Seowon Guild, but I don’t know the contents of the books…. So they were all blank.”
Sa-young poked the hamburger bun with the pin.
“Since I don’t know the taste of food… of course, it has no taste.”
“You didn’t know about Doomsday either?”
“Well…, maybe he dreamed of his own utopia. A world without Doomsday.”
The wind blew. Sa-young’s hair fluttered, revealing his pale forehead. Eui-jae suddenly asked.
“Let’s say that’s true about Doomsday. Then why don’t I have a role?”
“……”
“Why can’t anyone see me?”
“I told you…. He dreamed of a utopia.”
A sound of grinding teeth was heard. Sa-young rested his chin on his hand and muttered.
“He must have wanted no one to know of Hyung’s existence, that guy.”
“……”
“Except for me.”