Exiting the wine cellar, I made a brief stop at the library on the second floor before heading to the exhibition room.
The exhibition room was, as the name suggests, an art gallery. It was adorned with paintings collected by Seo Ui-woo, all of which were authentic pieces.
Original works by Manet. Originals by Degas. Originals by Géricault.
Though Kwon Jae-jin lacked refinement in taste and had no interest in art, looking at these masterpieces only led him to think that Seo Ui-woo was more handsome, that bastard had a better-looking face. However, when he was alone, he sometimes came to this room.
It made him feel like he was in the company of the figures in the paintings.
Having lived his life as one among the crowd, Kwon Jae-jin felt comfort in being part of a group. Of course, even when living in Residential District 6, Jae-jin belonged to the alpha males in his own right. With his naturally strong physique and diligence in exercise, even among the working class, it was inevitable. But after spending four years with an unparalleled human like Seo Ui-woo, one unavoidably comes to realize their relative mediocrity.
Mediocrity is not a bad trait, nor is it inferior. It was simply a full reflection of an ordinary person that Kwon Jae-jin couldn’t let go of.
Kwon Jae-jin unavoidably became Seo Ui-woo’s guide by his side, but that didn’t mean he could relinquish the years he lived as a commoner. Mutant, half-breed, destined to be killed—in the midst of all these unstable and precarious defects, Jae-jin stood. Grasping an identity that was neither here nor there.
‘So… it’s not that I’m wrong.’
Kwon Jae-jin’s desires have always been righteous.
The desire to avoid the gate and survive.
The desire to maintain a relationship with Seo Ui-woo.
The desire not to forget his memories.
The desire to forget and return to his former life.
Though the desired conditions contradicted and conflicted with each other, none could be said to be wrong.
Kwon Jae-jin truly wanted it all.
He had every right to firmly grasp and claim them.
‘I have to decide.’
Which path to choose. What future to lead. To weigh Seo Ui-woo and put him on the scales.
To guard his memories and protect the Seo Ui-woo of the first timeline. To relinquish his memories and receive the Seo Ui-woo of the second timeline. It’s a struggle between giving up the past for the future, or the future for the past.
‘What would Seo Ui-woo do in this situation… if he were Seo Ui-woo?’
If Kwon Jae-jin were to split into two, and had to choose one of them, he would…
‘…’
Jae-jin took a swig of liquor.
He opened the whiskey and wine and mixed them together, drinking interchangeably. Though he’s fairly tolerant of alcohol, chugging like this would get anyone drunk. Kwon Jae-jin’s arms, legs, shoulders, and knees all flushed red-hot.
‘Seo Ui-woo.’
With a slurred tongue, he murmured his inner thoughts.
“That bastard is… so remarkable… that even if I split in two… he’d somehow manage to fix it.”
Who knows for sure.
He might possess an ability to overturn regression. An ability to transcend time.
What’s important is the fact that Seo Ui-woo wouldn’t have given up on either sides of Kwon Jae-jin. If that obsessive maniac would have easily given up or let go, Kwon Jae-jin would have long escaped him and would be on a yacht in the Caribbean by now.
“Damn it… I won’t give up either, shit.”
Both the Seo Ui-woo of the first and second timelines, they’re all Kwon Jae-jin’s.
He can’t let go of either.
Kwon Jae-jin will claim them.
He’ll take it all.
‘Memories, the future, life, Seo Ui-woo.’
And more than that.
Bet and double up.
‘The life of an ordinary person, the life of a guide, the life of a mutant. It’s all mine.’
***
The smell of gasoline stung the nose.
The Ducati Panigale V4 SP motorcycle, worth sixty million won, which Seo Ui-woo had crushed into a basketball-sized iron ball. And with the motorcycle came the gasoline, a seemingly insignificant extra.
Freebie. Extra. Not the main dish, but a side dish. Not the leading role, but a supporting actor.
Who would have known that this additional item, unnoticed in its inclusion, would become such a staunch ally to Kwon Jae-jin in this moment?
That’s why life is unpredictable.
‘The smell of the gas is potent.’
Kwon Jae-jin, with a gasoline canister whose lid had been removed, staggered around the living room. As he spilled the oil on the floor, he emptied the entire canister.
The sofa, carpet, curtains, flooring, TV… He applied a coat of oil to everything and turned the can upside down, shaking every last drop out, hoping that the half-empty tequila might also help as he poured it over.
In the first timeline, he had to smash Seo Ui-woo’s entire collection of alcohol to barely make arson work, but in the second timeline, it was convenient and nice to be able to light a fire so easily. Surely a professional in abductions and confinements. Experience doesn’t fade away.
‘Well… I already know what’s going to happen, so it’s less exciting.’
Still intoxicated, Kwon Jae-jin ignited the fire with a torch. His fingertips were already flushed as flames spread throughout the living room, and while the fire grew, Jae-jin casually crossed his arms and stepped back.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
