291 – HGL 291

291

In the Seowon Guild, the scent of old books and disinfectant lingered as usual. Not a particularly pleasant smell. Eui-jae, conscious of the hand around his shoulder, moved his feet. Lee Sa-young was stuck right next to Eui-jae, as if worried he might collapse.

‘…….’

Of course, this wasn’t welcome either. Every time he felt the presence beside him, he couldn’t hide his cold sweats and tense body. However, neither Eui-jae nor Lee Sa-young showed it.

An hour earlier, Student Ga-eul had shouted as soon as Eui-jae took the phone.

―I’m sorry, but please come to the Seowon Guild quickly! It’s really urgent!

The call was cut off just like that. Lee Sa-young looked very displeased, but he didn’t stop him from meeting Student Ga-eul. Well, what could he do if he tried to stop him? They needed to gather any information they could get anyway.

‘Besides….’

Eui-jae’s death wasn’t far off. Eui-jae followed where Lee Sa-young led. Click, the sound of the door opening was heard. A warm heat poured out. Along with a subtle scent of green tea. Was it the reception room?

“Ah, J! You’ve arrived!”

Student Ga-eul’s voice was heard. Eui-jae checked the mask he was wearing and then answered.

“Yes. You’re Student Ga-eul, right?”

“That’s right! You’re J, who I met briefly back then, right? Oh, but the bandage on your hand… are you hurt?”

Eui-jae touched his hand. He felt the rough texture of the bandage.

“Ah, this…. Yes, a little.”

“Oh my goodness, oh, are you seriously injured? Do you have any Elixir or something?”

“It’s okay, it’ll heal soon anyway. I don’t want to waste Elixir in this world.”

Ga-eul trailed off, saying, “Still…,” but Eui-jae shook his head.

He couldn’t exactly say that his skin had peeled off while wiping away Lee Sa-young’s tears!

While applying disinfectant and carefully wrapping the bandage, Sa-young didn’t say a word. Eui-jae also didn’t ask why he was disinfecting and bandaging his hand himself instead of using an Elixir. He simply offered his hand. Imagining Lee Sa-young’s expression.

Student Ga-eul let out a sigh of relief.

“Still, it’s a relief…. I was so surprised because it was such a vivid place when I opened my eyes.”

“Didn’t you come here through a dream?”

“Yes, that’s right… but originally, it’s a way of watching like a movie. This is the first time I’m moving directly with my own… ego.”

Ga-eul made a sound like she was waving her arms and legs around. Eui-jae checked the red numbers in the darkness. 21 hours. The moment Eui-jae would face death. A predetermined end. Not even a day left.

“…….”

He didn’t want to die. But his death was already determined. He couldn’t escape from death. Eui-jae raised his head.

“Student Ga-eul.”

“Yes, J!”

“Do you remember when we first met?”

“The first time? Ah…, yes! Are you talking about when I went to the Hanover Soup Restaurant?”

“Then, do you also remember what Student Ga-eul showed me back then?”

“Yes? …Ah.”

Yoon Ga-eul’s voice darkened. The Fragments of the Destroyed world she had shown him. Yoon Ga-eul, rummaging through the ruins to see if she could find any traces of her friends and neighbors, then encountering a Monster, and J blocking its path and telling her to run away. And…. Even Lee Sa-young, holed up in his room like a recluse.

Eui-jae said, making an effort to ignore the pressure he felt beside him.

“That time will come soon.”

“Yes? But, um, I….”

“It’s okay.”

Eui-jae ignored the trembling of his body. He didn’t know if it was because of Lee Sa-young or because of the fear of death. No, he didn’t want to know. He continued to speak firmly.

“Do it as you remember. Okay?”

“…….”

“After all, this world is a world reconstructed based on the memories of the Destroyed world. So just…. do it as it is.”

“But if I do that, J will….”

“It’s okay.”

Eui-jae smiled.

“That’ll be the end of my role in this world. I might be the first to go back.”

“…….”

“Okay, Student Ga-eul?”

Only after a long time did Ga-eul answer quietly.

“…Yes, I understand.”

What must she be feeling? The feeling of having to run away knowing that the person behind her will die. A sob and the sound of sniffing were heard. The sound of roughly rubbing skin.

At that moment, a presence was felt from behind.

“…What, I was wondering why I heard crying in the reception room. What on earth did you say to make a child cry? Lee Sa-young, was it you again?”

A blunt voice, it was Nam Woo-jin. The arm that had been around Eui-jae’s shoulder twitched.

“You wound me with such suspicion…. I didn’t even open my mouth.”

“Surely J wouldn’t have made her cry.”

“Why? It could be that unlikely possibility.”

“…Huh?”

“N-No, that’s not it. Neither of them did anything wrong.”

Ga-eul hurriedly interjected. Nam Woo-jin clicked his tongue as if dissatisfied and snapped.

“Whatever it is, if you’re done talking, clear out of the reception room quickly. We need to use this place as a patient ward.”

“Have the number of patients increased that much?”

“It’s for isolating patients with Mutation symptoms. If they’re kept with regular patients… in case something happens, they won’t be able to escape and will all die.”

“…….”

The hand holding his shoulder tightened. This guy, he doesn’t know his own strength. Eui-jae poked Sa-young’s side with his elbow. However, instead of giving Lee Sa-young a hint, his elbow felt like it was about to break. It felt like he was hitting a steel plate.

‘Ah, damn it!’

Tears welled up from the stinging pain. Was he bruised? Eui-jae rubbed his elbow roughly. Haha, laughter was heard from the side. Nam Woo-jin asked, dumbfounded.

“Are you doing a comedy act? Why is your hand like that?”

“Ah, that’s….”

“I bandaged it for him…. He said he wanted to fight with his fists this time. Like boxers.”

Before Eui-jae could make any excuses, Sa-young replied lightly. Nam Woo-jin grumbled.

“Tsk…, if you’re human, use tools. Unless you’re going to use a spear for barbecuing.”

“Haha… yes, I understand.”

“Anyway, if you’re done talking, get out of here. Our Guild members are waiting!”

Nam Woo-jin roared. Sa-young tapped Eui-jae’s shoulder as if telling him to leave. Just as Eui-jae was about to turn around, something fell from the air with a thud.

“Huh? What’s this? A book?”

It seemed Nam Woo-jin had picked up what had fallen. Flap…, the sound of a page turning was heard.

“Wow, it’s all blank. What, is it a notebook? Whose is it?”

Eui-jae looked around in the air. He had definitely checked that nothing was written on it and put it in his Inventory, but it seemed to have come out of the Inventory on its own.

As if it had to.

Eui-jae’s mouth opened on its own.

“It’s a notebook.”

“J, is it yours?”

“Doctor, I’ll give it to you. I think you’ll have more to record than I do.”

“Giving something that fell on the floor as a gift, your gift sense is really terrible.”

His voice was mixed with laughter. Nam Woo-jin reached out and patted Eui-jae’s shoulder.

“Well, I’ll probably keep a diary more diligently than you. I’ll take it for now.”

“Guild Leader! All the medical supplies and bedding are ready!”

“Ah, okay. Come in and clear the tables and sofas….”

Nam Woo-jin began to talk to the librarians beyond the door. Eui-jae glanced back. The sobbing had stopped by now.

“I’m screwed.”

Thud, a crumpled ball of paper rolled across the floor and stopped.

Seowon Guild, Nam Woo-jin’s small room was a mess. Traces of crumpled paper and broken mugs, a whiteboard filled with writing that was scribbled so much it was unreadable, and Nam Woo-jin, half-lying on a chair with his hair disheveled. He was staring blankly at the ceiling with his glasses askew.

“There’s no answer, no answer.”

On the desk, a small monitor showed a mutated Monster flailing its limbs and rampaging. Even though they had injected a newly developed vaccine. Could they really restore the mutated Monster to its original state? Could they stop the Mutation? In the first place, turning a Monster back into a human. Was that even possible?

“Haa….”

Nam Woo-jin took off his glasses and rubbed his face roughly. He felt like he was blocked by a wall. No matter what he did, he couldn’t move forward, and there was no way out no matter where he looked. The group he was researching with, Prometheus, was more like a competitor than a help. Of course, it seemed they had also hit a wall.

“…Damn it!!”

Nam Woo-jin jumped up and kicked the desk with his foot. Bang! The books and papers piled on the desk scattered to the floor. In the middle of the even more messy small room, Nam Woo-jin grabbed his head and let out a deep sigh.

It was then.

“…….”

Through the gaps in the scattered papers, an old book came into view. The very book that the Awakened Management Bureau had said they would help decipher, but had not deciphered a single word.

“What a load of crap!”

Nam Woo-jin roughly picked up the book and turned the cover. At that moment. A pure white light poured out from the book.

Unrecognizable, strange letters,

[…J gave me a notebook. Giving something that fell on the floor as a gift, that guy is really absurd.]

[Anyway, since I received a gift, I’ll try to record at least something.]

[It’ll be helpful in some way.]

Were changing into recognizable letters.

Even in Nam Woo-jin, his handwriting.