Chapter 31

Chapter 5 – Returner Baeksan

1

In the hospital room, I faced a man I had never seen before.

He looked quite fatigued, slowly brushing his hair back with his hand.

“Don’t try to call for others. They won’t see me anyway. Only you can see me, you lunatic.”

As if to prove his point, he reached out toward the bed.

His hand passed through the bed like a ghost.

I stared at him in shock, and Baeksan clicked his tongue.

“You’re probably wondering who I am and why I suddenly appeared.”

Feeling something unusual about him, I nodded quietly.

He tapped his cheek, seemingly pondering where to start.

Finally, he opened his mouth.

“First, let me introduce myself. I’m Baeksan. A Returner.”

What kind of introduction is that?

The word “Returner” left me speechless.

Even in a world full of Returners, this was hard to accept.

But seeing him floating in the air, half-transparent, sent shivers down my spine.

Was I possessed by a ghost?

“Don’t think you’re possessed. I’m here to save you. If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead.”

Hearing that, I flinched.

So, those memories weren’t fake.

“Then, I was…”

“Yeah, you were on the verge of death. That’s the condition for me to appear to you.”

Condition?

The condition was me nearly dying?

This was all too confusing.

“Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything step by step. The problem is how much you can hear. First, ㉫¨┳、ˇΥΨ㎘Ⅷ. Can you hear me?”

Suddenly, his voice twisted, and a noise-filled voice echoed in my head.

What the hell?

“Uh, yes?”

“Good, you can’t hear that part.”

As I blinked in confusion, Baeksan crossed his arms, seemingly pondering what to say next.

Finally, he nodded.

“First, you were supposed to die at the age of 30, four years from now.”

A death sentence out of nowhere.

I’m supposed to die at 30?

I felt a guillotine hanging over my neck.

I glared at him, but Baeksan’s expression didn’t change.

“And originally, that’s when I was supposed to appear in your body.”

“But?”

“Yeah, you died much earlier than the future I knew.”

I didn’t fully believe him, but I listened quietly.

Because I remembered Si-ho and Baekseolhyang’s reactions.

‘Si-ho said I came back.’

I was electrocuted, but my body was fine, and my memories were gone.

All these facts made me listen to him.

Even if I couldn’t believe the Returner part, I could believe he saved my life.

‘Maybe it’s just a hallucination caused by the electric shock.’

But my life was too tragic to think that way.

I decided to set aside my doubts for now.

“So, the future has changed?”

“That’s right. ……Damn it.”

He seemed to have a foul mouth.

He kept brushing his hair back, stopping before it all fell out.

“The future changed probably because of my intervention. My return caused some events to shift. The problem is, I don’t know how much has changed.”

Baeksan tapped his finger nervously.

Why did he return?

No, why did he appear before me?

Couldn’t he just go back to his own body?

“Curious why I returned?”

“Ah, yes.”

He seemed to notice my question and answered.

He pondered how to explain, then smirked.

“You’ve read novels or played games, right?”

Of course, I play every day.

I was planning to go home and play after being discharged tomorrow.

“Then it’s simple.”

He laughed, as if he had given up on everything.

And seeing that reaction, a thought crossed my mind.

Why do so many Returners in novels go back in time?

The answer is simple, almost obvious.

“The damn world is going to end.”

As Baeksan, the Returner, said it himself.

For a moment, I was speechless.

It was the answer I expected, but it felt like a story from another world to a mere commoner like me.

It felt like listening to someone panicking about a prophecy that the world would end in 2032.

“So, Baeksan, did you come to stop that?”

“Just call me Baeksan. No need for formalities. We’re the same age.”

“Ah, then, San?”

It reminded me of a rapper I like.

“……Just Baeksan.”

He insisted on using his full name.

“Then, Baeksan, why did you come to me?”

Since we were on casual terms, I decided to ask more comfortably.

He said he’d answer everything, so I decided to ask all my questions.

Hearing my question, Baeksan casually dropped a bombshell.

“Because you’re the starting point of the apocalypse.”

“……Wait.”

My head started to hurt.

What kind of nonsense is this?

Me?

How?

“Did I turn into some villain? Do I have some special ability?”

“Don’t worry. You were ordinary until the day you died.”

That’s a sad story.

While I laughed bitterly, thinking the only thing I was proud of was being a top-tier player in Road of Academy, Baeksan told me the truth.

“You’re not the problem. The people around you are.”

“People around me? Like who?”

I thought about the people around me.

Returners, one, two, three, four……

Hunters, one, two, ……three?

Something about my relationships seemed increasingly unusual.

Was I imagining it?

“Regardless of how many are around you now, your relationships are abnormal. Too many people with special powers, like Returners and Hunters, are gathering around you.”

He looked tired just thinking about it.

“And you, Kang Ha-chan, are the center of it all. A commoner at the center of countless Returners and Hunters. Do you know what that means?”

“People will go crazy trying to get to me.”

“Exactly! Damn right!”

He clapped enthusiastically, as if praising me.

He must have gone mad after returning.

“In that situation, if you’re killed, what do you think will happen?”

“Revenge? But even so, would they go that far for me?”

“What if Cheonma is killed?”

“I’d go kill that bastard.”

“Idiot, it’s simple.”

As a Returner, he explained things clearly.

Even I would chase someone to the ends of hell if they harmed the people around me.

If others are like me…

‘Maybe not the end of the world.’

But it would definitely cause chaos.

I crossed my arms and groaned.

I understood his point.

If that happened, my life would definitely be in danger.

But there was still something I didn’t understand.

“Why don’t you just possess me and protect me yourself?”

“Damn, do you think I can stick to you 24/7?”

“Oh, no way.”

A dark man watching me 24/7? Absolutely not.

“Exactly. Even if I return to prevent your death, if you die, it’s over.”

He treated me like some kind of fish.

“But if I possess you directly, it’s different.”

“You can save me when I’m about to die?”

“But that’s not possible often. Your body can’t handle repeated possessions. It takes at least a month, preferably three months, to recover. That’s why I set the condition for possession to be just before your death. So, I’ll help you in other ways.”

I understood why he came to me, but I looked up at him.

“Is that okay with you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is your life okay with that?”

He returned after going through so much.

The reason for his return, the world’s impending doom—it was all believable.

But what about Baeksan’s remaining life as a ghost by my side?

What meaning does that have?

If he returned to his own body, he could prevent the apocalypse and live his life.

He could do much better than before.

But he gave all that up to save me and prevent the apocalypse.

I couldn’t imagine how he felt making that choice.

Hearing my question, Baeksan uncrossed his arms and let out a small laugh.

He looked at me as if recalling a distant past.

“Yeah, you’re that kind of guy. That’s why they clung to you.”

His eyes held an emotion I couldn’t understand, but he quickly erased it.

“It doesn’t matter. I was on the verge of death before returning anyway. Saving you and preventing the apocalypse is enough for me.”

I wanted to say something, but I kept my mouth shut.

Anything I said might undermine his resolve.

“And I’m the best damn guy in the world. I can do well on my own. I don’t need the memories of returning.”

Arrogant words flowed naturally.

He showed unwavering confidence, not doubting himself at all.

“Anyway, the problem is you. With the future changed, I don’t know when you’ll die. Originally, that woman was supposed to stay by your side until you turned 30, but she’s not here.”

“Which woman?”

“Your sister, Kang Mari.”

Huh?

“My sister?!”

My face lit up instantly.

I never expected to hear my sister’s name from him.

Seeing my reaction, he looked puzzled and tilted his head.

“What? You don’t know where Kang Mari is?”

“……No. She disappeared after a dimensional shift when I was 8.”

“What? That can’t be.”

Baeksan seemed shocked, as if that didn’t happen in his future.

Maybe in his world, my sister didn’t disappear.

“Damn, what’s going on?”

He ruffled his hair, then suddenly looked out the window.

“……Maybe the Tower of Apocalypse distorted the prophecy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I sent a prophecy from the future to the past, telling Kang Mari to protect you.”

Did the Tower of Apocalypse distort it?

If so, that’s why my sister disappeared.

“……Damn, I’m sorry. It’s my fault your sister disappeared.”

He bowed his head apologetically with a dark expression.

I felt a headache coming on, but I sighed and brushed it off.

For a moment, I felt angry about growing up alone, but it wasn’t Baeksan’s fault.

If what he said was true, he was trying to protect me.

I wasn’t a child anymore, so I didn’t have the right to be angry.

So, I changed the subject before his expression worsened.

“Can the Tower of Apocalypse do that?”

“Time interference has a big impact. Most prophecies in the world are messed up because of the Tower of Apocalypse. That’s why I even wrote forbidden books. But even those were distorted.”

He looked troubled, thinking about many things.

Originally, he was supposed to appear just before my death at 30, so it was natural to feel overwhelmed.

“Enough. Let’s focus on the present. I’ll fix what I changed.”

With that, he sat down on my bed.

“So, Kang Ha-chan, let’s do some training to get stronger.”

And just like that, I was about to receive special training from a Returner.