164th Episode, Route 2 – Canceling the Contract
To be honest, I’m exhausted.
If I could stop this madness… I truly want to stop right now.
Yet, despite that, my hand reached for Option 1. It wasn’t out of a sense of duty.
It was just pointless stubbornness.
“Is this really the best option?”
At that moment, the tiresome voice that always appears when I forget it stops blocked me.
I turned my head. Of course, there she was—Minerva.
“…I was wondering why you weren’t showing up.”
I muttered in a voice that sounded like I was about to die.
Looking around, time had indeed frozen. The raindrops falling from the sky hung suspended, glittering like jewels.
The sight was so majestic that I involuntarily let out a cry of wonder.
“Yeah, why are you here?”
Her eyes glared at me in irritation. Minerva shrugged her shoulders and immediately shot back.
“I clearly told you to prioritize your own life above all else. Listen to advice offered by others for once. Ugh, you’re disgustingly stubborn.”
“…”
Her taunting words hit sharply.
Even if I had a hundred mouths, there’s nothing I can say now. I decided to stay silent and take it in word for word.
As expected, Minerva would mock my form, but strangely, she was staring at me as if I were a stray puppy.
“You look terrible. You’re already… both body and mind. You’ve been utterly torn apart. Tch.”
That comment. I’m sure I’ve heard it before somewhere.
When was it? I don’t remember clearly. My memory is vague. Right now, I don’t even have the energy to think about it deeply.
I glanced at Minerva with tired eyes, and she sighed before continuing.
“What are you going to do? Are you planning to continue with this contract?”
“…Yeah, probably.”
“You once said your dream was to live quietly and happily, then die peacefully. Isn’t this the perfect time to achieve that dream?”
That voice again. No matter how I think about it, I don’t remember saying that in front of Minerva.
Something definitely happened in my past life that I don’t recall. As I experienced earlier with Kern, this feeling of having my thoughts read is extremely unsettling.
“If you don’t continue this contract, the regression point will immediately collapse.”
Hearing my disgruntled expression, Minerva smirked and began to toy with me.
She continued as casually as if talking about yesterday’s lunch menu.
“If you wish, I can erase the regression point while keeping the Demon King’s burden on you intact. That way, the possibility to keep your memories remains. But if you don’t wish to remain as you currently are, we can remove both the regression point and the burden of the Demon King, erasing all of your memories.”
“Completely… you said that, huh.”
Everything is too troublesome. Even her cheerful voice grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. I let it all fly in one ear and out the other.
But then, something struck me sharply.
“If for some reason you want to discard all memories from this time, regressing with the collapse of the point back to the very first moment isn’t entirely impossible.”
“… What?”
“Yes. It would be to a time before you came into this world. Returning to the complete beginning.”
I muttered, still finding it hard to believe.
“… From the start?”
“Yes. Remember that crosswalk where you died? We’ll probably go back to about that time. How does it sound? You hate me, after all. It would be like erasing all our encounters.”
Minerva said this while giving a dry chuckle, but I stayed silent.
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
“Lucy said something similar… Apparently, when the Demon King reaches its limit, returning to such a point becomes unavoidable.”
“It’s possible because of me. The clumsy time magic used by the creations of witches? It’s child’s play once the constraints are no longer a factor.”
“…”
“Therefore, while moving back to another regression point is impossible, we can definitely return to the first moment. It’s unaffected by the constraints because it’s before this world’s formation.”
Her voice became more decisive. I who had been about to protest, fell silent.
I stared at Minerva with wide eyes while she extended her hand toward me. Almost simultaneously.
“I’ll help you. You’ve done far more than I’d expected. Rediscovering the Demon King’s original resolve—it was all I had asked of you.”
“…”
“You’re no longer necessary. So… you can rest. Discard all the painful memories you’ve accumulated here. I give you permission.”
Her tone remained as brusque as ever, but I could feel a sincere worry hidden within.
I chuckled awkwardly.
“What’s with all the women worrying about me since I came to this world? It’s throwing me off.”
Lucy and Minerva, both of them. Not something I’d ever imagined I’d get from people like Seseona or Seop Baek.
Park Jeong-yong is living his first and only mysterious golden age in his 24 years of life.
“Let’s go back to the beginning.”
I said it with a mixture of exasperation and relief.
Minerva froze mid-motion, retracting her extended hand. She looked at me in confusion.
“… Wha, what? What did you say?”
Strange. She suggested it, but now she seems to be taken aback by my acceptance.
Is this karma? They seem perplexed when their absurd suggestions are actually followed too closely.
I let out a low chuckle, dryly smiling.
“Yes, let’s do as you said. Give up. Screw it.”
“Wa, wait… why? Why this choice..?”
“Because… if you, who evidently hate me so much, insist like this, it feels like it won’t be a good thing either.”
Minerva wore an utterly dumbfounded expression, muttering under her breath, “Could it be…?”
Could it be what? Did I say something wrong? This is what I’ve decided on; what I’ve put my all into.
I laughed to myself in self-reproach.
“I’m tired. It’s too exhausting. Yes, as you said… I just want to rest now.”
At this, Minerva closed her mouth.
She frowned deeply, smiling crookedly, as if she had a lot to say but chose not to.
“… That’s right. You were originally like that, weren’t you? Yeah.”
Her tone was surprisingly matter-of-fact.
She fidgeted her head, looking at me with narrowed eyes.
“Is there anything you want to do or say as a last request?”
Anything I want to do. I stared at the ground in thought before pulling out the Box of the Dead.
Click. Opening the box, I saw the wrinkled scraps of paper and a ring nestled among them—the crude iron ring I received from Tara in Kern.
Without hesitation, I grabbed the ring.
“Let me take this one thing back with me.”
“…Alright. Since it’s not a magical item, it’s perfectly possible.”
As I idly twirled the ring, Minerva gently smiled.
She then slowly shook her head and extended her hand toward me.
“…Ahhh!”
Keeeeeeng! A sharp emerald green light tightly enveloped my body.
The sensation was familiar, akin to traveling through a gateway—my body and mind being rapidly pulled to somewhere unknown.
“All memories disappear with this. Regardless, it’s certain… you’ll at least be happier than here, right?”
That was the last thing she said.
[Alert ― Contract Cancellation]
[An unknown force has nullified the Contract of Immortality.]
[All regression points are collapsing. The accumulated time at the regression points is disappearing.]
My vision flickered with stark white light. Minerva’s voice and form blurred away.
In front of me, a small hexagonal passage was rotating. Instinctively, I flailed toward it.
“This temporal storm… really is the best….”
I whispered involuntarily… then my consciousness faded completely.
The light was overwhelmingly bright.
Beep!
A loud car horn blared close by.
I averted my eyes from the headlight beams that harshly pierced them.
“Watch out, you bastard! Are you trying to die? Pull yourself together!”
“Uh… e, excuse me!”
After the driver shouted, I suddenly got up from my spot.
I was in the middle of a crosswalk. People around me were muttering as I crouched there. The traffic light showed a glaring red.
“Sorry!”
Damn, how embarrassing.
I hastily brushed off my clothes, bowed deeply to the truck driver, and quickly crossed the road.
“What’s going on? Why would you suddenly run across the crosswalk at a red light…”
I promised myself I’d jump into the sea, remember, Jung Yong?
Do you want to die like your father, getting into a traffic accident and ending up cursed?
“Phew… almost went to another world.”
I muttered in sarcasm, calming myself down. Why did I run across? Did someone shove me?
Oh, yeah… probably.
“Wait, who the hell…?”
I tried desperately to recall the moments just before, but…
Surprisingly, I couldn’t remember a thing. Did my memory escape due to the shock of nearly dying?
‘No.’
It’s not just that. There’s something… something really important that I’ve forgotten.
What is it? This hollow feeling.
Why do the familiar surroundings feel so strange all of a sudden?
“Damn senility.”
They say early-onset dementia is common among people in their 20s these days.
Lately, I haven’t been using my brain much. Maybe I should play a round of GoStop with my neighbor Chang Bong-hyeong. I lost about 50,000 won last week and it’s been giving me heartburn.
“Hmm, there’s something I have to do…”
Oh, yeah. I remember I was on my way to deliver overdue donations to the orphanage my father sponsored.
“Ah. Why do I have to suffer so much when I barely have enough to eat?”
How could Dad waste so much money on donations?
If he had that much to give to orphanages, wouldn’t it have been better to buy me something good to eat? I still regret not being able to afford milk feeding during elementary school.
Still, I forgive you, Dad. You were just doing good.
“As long as it wasn’t from the orphanage you graduated from, I would’ve cut ties right away…”
Just as I fiddled with the crumpled envelope in my pocket, my eyes caught an unfamiliar object on my finger.
‘A ring?’
A crude, thick iron ring was on my finger.
What is this? I’m not someone who spends money on accessories.
Even for someone who knows nothing about jewelry, the design of this ring is abysmal… why on earth am I wearing it?
“Damn, I’m not in a good state today.”
I scratched my head while taking off the ring, intending to carelessly toss it somewhere in some random direction.
But I stopped.
“…”
I don’t know why, but the idea of discarding it suddenly felt unpleasant—strongly so.
After a hesitation, I jammed the ring back onto my finger.
“Seriously, I’m not feeling well. Shit.”
Muttering to myself, I shoved my hands into my pockets.
The people bustling around me, who were already strangers, felt exceptionally alien today. Shivers ran down my spine as I walked through the street toward the orphanage, feeling an inexplicable chill.
I thought I had already experienced enough strange occurrences today. But no, I didn’t.
“Eeh! Oppa! What a coincidence meeting you here!”
The young woman who worked part-time at the orphanage was someone I knew.
“It, it’s nice to see you again.”
I was startled.
I recognized the face clearly enough but couldn’t recall where I had seen her.
I had to wear a somewhat awkward expression, like when I accidentally make eye contact with a baby on a subway.
“Do you remember me? It was two years ago! On the construction site of Shamseung Pyeongtaek!”
“Ah. Yes, indeed.”
“Ahaha, right!”
As her smile appeared, I thought I remembered.
During my first year of manual labor. In Pyeongtaek, I worked at a labor-intensive pipe-laying job. While there, I met a woman my age who was working part-time as a traffic guide.
She had become close friends after I stopped a middle-aged team leader from sexually harassing her.
‘What was her name…’
I don’t recall. It’s been two years; how could I?
After that incident, the team leader made life extremely difficult for me. I lasted about a month before we clashed, and I left on my own. Honestly, we didn’t interact much even then.
More surprising was that she remembered me.
“What else could have happened?”
“Didn’t you keep the number I gave you back then? You never contacted me once… Did you not want to talk to me? That’s just rude!”
“Ah, that…”
Oh, now I get it.
I don’t remember her name yet, but I understand why I didn’t contact her. Back then, the two roommates conspired and stole my phone.
“Damn bastards, they didn’t know anything.”
We extracted a confession at the police station through some masterful scheming even Zhuge Liang would be proud of, but by then it had already sold for 300,000 won at a secondhand market.
Recalling that period of ignorance brought back some nostalgic memories.
I explained everything to her in detail.
“Ah, is that what happened? I thought you hated me or something… I was feeling down for a while, wondering if something bad happened.”
“Why would I hate you? You’re beautiful…”
When she said that, it felt good. To think, a beautiful woman like her had been concerned about me. Such a thing has never happened in my 24 years of life.
…
… Or has it?
Was there? No, there wasn’t. There couldn’t have been.
Why does it feel like there was?
“Let me have your phone.”
While I was blanking out, she suddenly asked for it.
Confused, I tilted my head to the side. She smiled broadly and said,
“I’ll give you my number again… and this time, don’t forget.”
We got married.
Did I skip the middle part too much?
After we became good friends and met a few times, she confessed her feelings due to unbearable tension. Naturally, I accepted. We dated for about three years and eventually decided to get married.
“Young man, I am truly happy.”
She said this during our wedding.
Of course, what can I say? I had long since given up on the possibility of marrying someone due to poor fortune. Living life with father-like idiocy, I had thought it would remain that way forever, but this is the one time I’ve sincerely felt I was born at the right time.
We held a modest wedding at the small church she attended, right in front of the orphanage.
With both of my parents deceased, and having ruined all sorts of social relationships while repaying debts, the lack of guests on my side was embarrassingly noticeable. But thankfully, her mother and she were considerate of my feelings.
They are truly good people. Honestly, too good for a guy like me.
Among all this, there was one strange occurrence.
An anonymous congratulatory note arrived to me.
“Are you happy, Oppa?”
As I stared out the window at the sea, she asked.
I nodded naturally.
“Yes. I never thought I could be this happy.”
That’s right. It happened too suddenly.
For some reason, this happiness doesn’t feel like it’s mine.
An unbearable void keeps pressing down on me, feeling persistently that I forgot something important.
“…”
Whenever this feeling arises, I involuntarily look at the crude iron ring on my finger. Somehow, it brings a strange sense of relief.
But now this is over. My ring finger now carries a wedding ring.
There’s no place left for this iron ring anymore.
“Huh!”
With all my might, I threw the ring into the sea.
It clattered against the cliffs below the villa, before the waves swallowed it up. I kept staring at the spot where it disappeared.
Until the moment it left my finger, an inexplicable regret had lingered.
“Oppa, what are you thinking about so deeply?”
“… Why are eagles’ beaks crooked?”
“Hahaha. What’s that supposed to mean?”
Whatever. I’m just saying random stuff.
In reality, I was imagining the depths of the ocean where the ring sank.
It’s as cold as death and completely dark.
You can’t see anything.
[Ending (1) ― Submersion]
