“Or family…”
“…”
“Do you have a family, Jae-jin? Can you recall their face or name?”
Seo Ui-woo,
In the first round, why did Seo Ui-woo cry so often?
Crying, begging, clinging, pleading, kneeling.
Why.
Why did he feel so sorry, regretful, and remorseful toward Kwon Jae-jin?
Why!
In the first round, what sin did Seo Ui-woo commit against Kwon Jae-jin to make him so desperate…?
“Nothing.”
Kwon Jae-jin muttered hollowly.
Even sitting properly on a decent sofa, he felt like he was falling.
Where had he been until now, and where had he just fallen from?
“I can’t remember anything. Family, did I have… such a thing…?”
From a peaceful paradise, he was thrown into the inferno of hell in an instant.
A catastrophic disaster he could never escape from.
“I’m sorry.”
Seo Ui-woo sighed and offered words of consolation. But they were inaudible to Kwon Jae-jin.
He remained frozen for a long time like a stone. His blood cooled and his flesh solidified, turning him from a living being into an inanimate object. Like a dead person. An empty corpse with its soul extracted.
“Ha…”
Kwon Jae-jin let out a hollow laugh.
The light laugh grew louder and more intense.
“Haha, ahaha! Hahahahaha!”
Kwon Jae-jin, still held tightly by Seo Ui-woo, shook his shoulders and laughed loudly. Like someone tied to a stake, burning in the flames. Laughing as if screaming in agony.
Seo Ui-woo. Crazy bastard. Crazy son of a bitch.
I was fooled. Completely.
Totally deceived.
***
Humans are born from the flesh and blood of other humans.
We call these blood ties kinship, and among them, close relatives are called family.
Family.
Parents, siblings… family.
‘Why did I never doubt it?’
Kwon Jae-jin wasn’t a being that fell from the sky or sprouted from the ground. As someone who inherited someone’s blood, why did he forget his roots so completely?
It was as if it had been artificially erased.
‘I must have family too, naturally. It’s ridiculous that I can’t recall their names, faces, or who they are…’
He should have been suspicious from the beginning. He should have doubted and investigated.
But he was too consumed by dying in the gate, regressing, and reuniting with Seo Ui-woo to notice the suspiciously broken link.
‘Am I an idiot?’
He occasionally thought about the company. Wondered about the life of an ordinary citizen, thought about his home. Memories of moving from one rented place to another. But how could he remember such trivial personal details while completely forgetting about his important family?
The answer is clear. Seo Ui-woo erased it.
The first round Seo Ui-woo perfectly deleted Kwon Jae-jin’s family memories, making it seem like they never existed!
‘That fucking crazy bastard.’
Yes, he knew from the start that Seo Ui-woo was a jerk.
He knew he was a maniac driven crazy by guiding.
But this was too much. This was beyond what any trashy bastard could do…
‘Why did he hide it? When was he planning to tell the truth? Or did he never intend to say it at all? No wonder I was oblivious to the existence of psychic abilities. So, was he planning to deceive me completely until the end? That… fucking bastard. That damn bastard. Who gave him the right? Who gave him the right to erase my memories…! Fuck! You fucking bastard!’
Seo Ui-woo played with Kwon Jae-jin.
Deceived and betrayed him.
Erased his original life and made it so he had no choice but to live as Seo Ui-woo’s guide. He was manipulated to accept him with a brain dominated by him.
With no family left in Kwon Jae-jin’s life, he had no choice but to be with Seo Ui-woo.
Forgetting his kin, with a mind knowing only Seo Ui-woo, with memories leaving only him, what other choice could he make!
‘Where does my true intention end and the deception begin?’
Forgiving Seo Ui-woo, accepting his confession, deciding to date him, where… where did it go wrong…?
‘Why did I regress? I should have just died when swept up by the gate. If I had, I wouldn’t have found out the truth, and I wouldn’t be this miserable.’
Hatred, hatred, hatred…
Kwon Jae-jin’s lover, partner, precious one, whatever…
Whoever it was…
Four years…
How could he do such a thing to Kwon Jae-jin for four years…
‘I should have died without hesitation.’
I should have let myself die in the gate. Should have never tried to avoid that future. Should have refused the guiding with Seo Ui-woo my whole life, hating him constantly. Should have remained strict and cold, never letting any compassion grow.
No matter how much Seo Ui-woo tried, I shouldn’t have liked him. Whether he smiled like a peach or wagged his tail like a puppy, I should have firmly rejected him, never feeling a bit of affection.
