The world is completely white.
The sky, the ground, and even my surroundings are all in this endless expanse of white.
And within that space, the blurry image of my past begins to appear before my eyes.
…….
Damn, Mom. It was a reminiscence.
Did I really die?
Don’t joke around.
I’m the protagonist!
I start to recall my last moment.
An overwhelming weapon disguised as a book.
That weapon ruthlessly struck my head.
Remembering that, I thought with conviction.
Yeah!
I really did die!
In an instant, everything made sense.
Since I died cleanly anyway, it’s time for me to act correctly according to the flow of the times.
What age is it now?
Right.
It’s the era of skyrocketing land and housing prices.
If you don’t stake your claim, you’ll have to live off rent even in heaven, leading a hardcore life.
It’s not too late, right?
I’ll just stake a claim once!
Give me that prime land!
I’m going to put it in!
As I was lost in thought, suddenly I saw my past self conversing with Ryu Kang-hyuk.
That grumpy old man appeared at the last moment, which was a bit annoying, but the content of his words was hard to ignore.
“Why do you do so many things in advance, old man?”
“You’ll understand once you experience it yourself.”
In an instant, the title of the book I borrowed from the library flashed back to me.
If regression happens 30 times, it’s insane.
The name of that book seemed to point to some answer for me now.
My brain, which had never really functioned properly, started to work little by little.
Various words began to slowly combine in my head.
Acting in advance.
I experienced it.
Prediction and action.
Unwanted results.
Regression.
Even with a dumb brain, I felt like I could understand what these words were hinting at by now.
But just as I realized this, my consciousness began to flicker again.
What’s the use of that!
Buying land is more important!
Let’s go! To the heavenly land!
*
“Don’t touch the prime land!!! You dog bastards!!!”
A person, just coming to their senses, blurted out nonsensical words as their eyes opened.
An unfamiliar ceiling.
No, it’s a ceiling I’ve never seen before.
This isn’t like the intro of a light novel.
I slowly sat up, trying to figure out where I was.
Suddenly, I recalled my last moment.
Oh.
That damn woman.
As I touched my head, I found no stitches.
Just a lingering tingling sensation remained.
While fidgeting with my hair, I etched the emotion I was feeling in my heart.
“If you can’t finish the job this time, it’s your turn next, you damn bitch.”
Thanks to regaining consciousness, the contents of the dream slowly started to come back to me.
Then my head suddenly went blank again.
“Move, you damn head.”
I slapped my head a few times with my hand.
Of course, my hand hurt, but it seemed effective.
My brain began to function again.
I thought with my creaking head.
Conclusion 1) The black numbers increase when a person experiences the future and regresses. One number for one future.
Conclusion 2) What one calls prediction is actually just fragmented memories faintly left after regression.
Conclusion 3) However, most people merely think of regression as simple prediction and act accordingly. In other words, they’re unaware of their own regression.
Honestly, these were shaky conclusions.
No one told me, nor were they all that accurate.
There’s no guarantee of perfection, and it was always something that required revision.
However, when everyone assumes regression is possible, it was the best conclusion I could draw.
Moreover, I quickly thought of one more speculative conclusion.
Conclusion 4) The red number only increases under the following conditions when one regresses from the future.
4-1) When an unexpectedly different situation arises from the future experienced.
4-2) When one fails to avoid something they tried to dodge.
An example for 4-1 would be getting into a traffic accident right after stepping outside the house unexpectedly, a situation one never anticipated.
An example for 4-2 would be trying to avoid the rain only to end up soaked in it.
Perhaps, the case for Ryu Kang-hyuk is 4-2.
He expected to get drunk and tried to drift home, but he was completely blocked by his manager, causing the red number to rise.
Yet, there are still some unresolved questions.
Question 1) What’s the reference point for regression after experiencing the future?
Question 2) What’s the maximum number of regressions possible in one go?
Question 3) When regressed, how much of the future can one actually experience?
At that moment, Ryu Kang-hyuk came to mind.
Given that he claimed to have experienced things, it seems he can regress, and unlike others, he appears to have some awareness about it.
But he didn’t tell me, kept it hidden.
I’m dead, you bastard.
“We can’t just brush it off as ‘that could be.’”
If I’m not careful, it could lead to ‘Oh, they’re really deepening the sweet potato. I’m getting off.’ points.
So, once I get pissed, I need to throw a fit right away, that’s the correct attitude for a web novel protagonist.
The moment I grabbed my phone to call Ryu Kang-hyuk, the curtains to my left suddenly whipped open.
And through the parted curtains, a woman in a white coat peeked in.
She saw me awake and smiled, saying,
“Oh, you finally woke up!”
“……?”
“If you hadn’t woken up today, I would’ve thought about calling the funeral service.”
She looked like she was in her late twenties with a brown ponytail.
Her words were not funny at all, but such remarks didn’t register in my ears.
Because there was a huge, divine object coming into my view.
A mummification dispenser.
A beautiful and majestic mummification dispenser was right before my eyes.
No, let me correct that.
Such lowly words can’t possibly describe it.
Right.
This is the medicine pouch.
A magical bundle that can raise a dying person at least once.
I diverted my gaze from the medicinal pouch in front of me and asked the woman,
“But where is this place?”
“It’s the infirmary. But are you really alive?”
“Why would you kill a perfectly fine person?”
“……Do you remember how you ended up here?”
Various emotions danced across the woman’s face.
Amazement at the tenacity of human life.
Disgust as if she was seeing a living cockroach.
Above all, doubt about whether what was visible now was actually real.
“I remember roughly.”
“If it was a normal person hit like that, they’d either be a half-wit or dead.”
As she scratched her head, she continued,
“Do you remember how many times you were hit?”
“Two times?”
“Three times. How the hell did you survive?”
They ended up hitting me three times.
You dog bastards.
“Anyway, that won’t be needed now. I was hoping I could use it, but it seems I can’t.”
At that, the woman pointed to a bunch of chrysanthemums.
Her expression of disappointment for not being able to use something gave me a bit of a bad vibe.
What’s she disappointed about, you bitch?
You reap what you sow.
So I decided to repay her in kind.
“Anyway, thanks for this, ma’am.”
“It’s sister, you dog bastard!!!!”
The woman grabbed a knife in an instant.
“Call me what?”
“Yeah. Call you sister.”
“What sister? Just kill me, this old lady.”
“Damn you!!!”
She threw the knife, but I simply deflected it with my head.
In the midst of that, I caught a glimpse outside.
It was already getting dark as the sun had disappeared.
Meanwhile, the woman, witnessing the absurd scene, said in disbelief.
“Ugh. Fine. My name is Yerim. Call me Sister Yerim.”
“Yes, Sister Yerim. I’m Kim Shinwoo.”
Sister Yerim waved her hand casually and pointed to the infirmary door.
“You seem fine, so hurry up and go. I’ll see you again soon.”
“I was carried in because of a surprise attack. There’s no reason to see you again.”
“I have a feeling you’ll run into me often.”
There’s no doctor other than an obstetrician who can meet me again. You old lady.
I don’t want to live a bouncy life like rice noodle.
Then there was Sister Yerim, who said to me to get lost while she just sat by her desk, being lazy.
Wondering why she wasn’t leaving at this time, I asked,
“Don’t you want to go home, sister?”
“I’m on duty, you bastard.”
“I’m sorry.”
Sister Yerim gritted her teeth and said,
“If you bring a boyfriend, I might let you off.”
“You’ll find one quickly.”
“Ever since I got hired, I’ve been on duty without fail.”
“……”
But she was the first person to help me at the academy.
Just before I was about to leave, I wanted to show a bit of goodwill and asked Sister Yerim,
“Do you happen to have any conditions for your ideal boyfriend?”
“Are you hitting on me? I’m not interested in younger guys.”
People with such a sense of self-importance need a punishment.
“No, I mean, I’m not into you either. You’ll probably smell like a chicken coop.”
“I’m still a chick from the chicken coop, you damn brat.”
No, all chicken coops smell the same.
Is there a freshness scale in chicken coops?
There’s no way this shameless chicken coop chick could have.
Sister Yerim sighed, looking at me with a resigned expression.
“I’m fine with a decent-looking older guy. Why?”
“I have an older man in mind, would you like an introduction?”
“Please!!! Please!!!”
I showed her the profile of my older man on my phone.
As expected from someone who lived leisurely, there were hardly any proper pictures in his profile.
With an expression on her face like she was searching for prey, Sister Yerim said seriously after looking it over.
“He has potential, but I can’t be sure.”
“Either way, you don’t have a boyfriend, so you can’t eat it anyway.”
Sister Yerim forcibly took my phone and typed in her number before handing it back.
“Got it. This is my contact, so please introduce me.”
“Okay. When we meet, I’ll tell you to shave and dress neatly.”
“Yeah. If it works out, I’ll ask you to officiate and sing at the wedding.”
“What if I end up in the kimchi soup triangle early?”
But my words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Sister Yerim gazed blankly into space, drooling.
“Three kids would be nice, right? Let’s name them Areum, Da-un, and Sarang.”
“……Stop there, sister. Everything sounds good, just please use different names.”
Those names are a no-go.
I might shed tears of blood later.
Then suddenly, I remembered the most crucial matter.
“Oh, sister, how old should I introduce you as?”
“28 years old.”
Suddenly averting her gaze, she spoke her age using international terms, not Korean.
“What year were you born?”
“28 years old.”
But I was sure.
She’s 30.
Because when I just saw that beautiful medical pouch, there was no significant reaction from my Juji.
Right.
The old lady detector was activated.
I smiled and was about to leave the infirmary.
“Got it. Don’t worry about it.”
“Sorry!!! Please tell them I’m at least 29 years old!!!”
Sister Yerim suddenly grabbed my pants leg and pleaded.
She was a shameless 30-year-old, but I decided to give her a break this once.
“Just this once.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
I left Sister Yerim, who kept thanking me, behind and stepped out of the infirmary.
At that moment, she muttered as if she forgot something.
“Oh, today marks the seventh day since I was brought in…”
Unfortunately, I didn’t hear that.
*
The first thought that came to my mind when I exited the infirmary was none other than books.
I felt a bit regretful for not having read the ones I’d borrowed with determination.
According to Sister Yerim, the borrowed books had already been moved to the dormitory.
But I had already figured out the deal with powers.
There was no longer any need for books or anything.
Except for the god novel ‘30 Regressions,’ I decided to return the remaining useless props obediently.
And on my way to the cafeteria, I dialed the older man’s number I hadn’t managed to call earlier.
The ringing tone went through, but the moment he picked up, he hung up immediately.
Sure.
I have plenty of time.
I’ll keep pestering him until he picks up, you bastard.
After several attempts, the call finally connected.
– “You crazy bastard! Stop calling, I can’t concentrate, f*ck!”
“Hey, did you just get another daughter?”
– “Who calls when they know that? Just hurry up and hang up, f*ck.”
“Why are you acting all prickly when we just exchanged names yesterday?”
The uncle seemed more annoyed than usual, probably because I disturbed his happy time.
Then he answered me like something seemed off.
– “Yesterday? What are you talking about, fck? Anyway, why did you call? Hurry up before my dck cools down!”
“I’ve been meaning to ask, whenever you say you do things in advance, you say ‘I experienced that,’ right?”
– “Did I?”
“If you’re already losing your mind, how do you expect to remember?”
– “My brain is more delicate than your head.”
This uncle was just as dense as I was, pretending to be high and mighty.
He seemed eager to return to his happy time, so he urged me to get on with it.
– “Anyway, whatever, let’s say that’s true. So what?”
“I’m going to cut to the chase. You can regress, right?”
– “……Don’t talk crazy. I’m hanging up.”
Just as the uncle was about to hang up without answering, I rapidly chimed in.
“Acting in advance is prediction; it’s not within the realm of experience, right?”
– “So?”
“The timeline from when you say ‘I experienced’ should be interpreted as your realm of experience.”
– “You think I’m regressing just because of that?”
“Yes.”
The uncle sneered slightly but then tried to hang up.
– “You’re really out of your mind. I’m done. See you.”
“Oh, wait.”
Since it seemed he wouldn’t readily answer, I threw out bait.
“I was about to introduce you to a woman, what a shame.”
– “……Is she pretty?”
The uncle bit at the bait.
Instead of answering, I sent Sister Yerim’s photo to him via messenger.
A few seconds later, I heard the uncle’s desperate shout.
– “Hey! Please! Save me, I beg you!”
“Didn’t you say you were going to hang up? Goodbye.”
– “Shinwoo hyung! I can regress, right! So please save me!”
The urgency in his voice had him switching to honorifics.
Now, regression wasn’t the main concern for the uncle.
What mattered was that he was desperately trying to grab onto this fleeting opportunity.
“Oh! You look busy, so I can’t steal your time.”
– “I can regress up to 30 minutes from the future! One hour cooldown! That’s all there is to it!!!”
“Why didn’t you say this sooner?”
The uncle didn’t want to irritate me and immediately fessed up about regression.
But then he seemed to realize something and asked me.
– “Hey, wait. You said you see numbers above everyone’s heads, right?”
“If that’s the case?”
– “If that’s true, we should assume everyone can regress, right?”
“Right……?”
When I replied hesitantly, the uncle quickly continued.
– “No, listen carefully. What do you think is the criterion that distinguishes whether someone is aware of their regression or not?”
“……I have no idea.”
– “I think it’s about whether or not they have powers.”
The uncle spoke calmly, but there seemed to be conviction in his words.
“Do you have any basis for that?”
– “Not basis, just experience and intuition.”
“That sounds a bit vague?”
– “Among all the people I’ve met, the only ones who’ve predicted my actions, even a little, were all ability users.”
“Oh, I see.”
It was a fairly understandable explanation from the uncle.
At that moment, a sudden feeling of unease crept over me.
“Damn.”
– “What’s wrong?”
“The academy is generally a place where only ability users come, right?”
– “Yeah.”
“That means every dog and cat can regress, then?”
– “So always think of the worst-case scenario. You can’t just ignore it since you can’t regress yourself.”
The uncle’s words set my anger boiling.
“Damn, why would you recommend something like Hallcasse to those poor souls!”
– “I’m just saying to prepare for the worst.”
“Right…take care.”
Just as I was about to hang up, the uncle shouted urgently.
– “Shinwoo-hyung! Please introduce me to that woman! Please!”
“Oh, that’s what you meant?”
The power dynamics had shifted.
I decided to speak to Ryu Kang-hyuk with all the cunning I could muster.
“Bark like a dog.”
– “As for this policy proposal, I will definitely promote economic policies for the people.”
“I’ll give you her contact.”
I wanted to keep him barking for longer, but I couldn’t help but give this one.
The uncle seemed so desperate that he hastily hung up once he received the contact.
While eating a late dinner in the cafeteria, I sorted my thoughts.
I can’t regress myself.
But I can know whether others can regress.
Assuming everyone in the academy can regress.
I needed to be cautious of two types of individuals.
One is a person whose black numbers are significantly higher compared to their red numbers.
That means they’ve regressed several times but encountered very few failures.
The other is someone with very low black numbers, but suspiciously consistent success.
In this case, they likely anticipated the future, even with just a few regressions, gaining substantial benefits.
Although it wasn’t intentional, I had discovered what my abilities were.
And for dinner, I had delicious sausage and rice.
Could anything be better than this?
Life is too good.
*
“What’s good, damn it, what’s good! You dog bastards!!!!!”
As glucose charged my brain, I started to think.
And I realized the most ridiculous aspect of the ability I had.
Wow! You can regress!
Look at you!
But I can’t!
I went to the convenience store in the academy and bought tons of soju on my way back to the dormitory.
On the way, I slumped down onto a bench.
I took out a bottle from the bag and, while blowing into it, vented my frustrations.
“Damn!!!!”
What’s the use if others can regress?
I can’t use it and am just a voyeur.
Self-defeating is probably less pitiful than this.
“I want to regress too, you dog bastards…”
If I use [Molly?], can I also regress?
There’s no [Molly?], teacher!
I stuffed the bitter alcohol down my throat.
But even as the alcohol flowed in, I couldn’t suppress the rising anger.
“No one can regress! Why can’t I!!!!!”
It didn’t take long for the bottle filled with liquor to turn into an empty one.
And my hand was already pulling out the third bottle.
“Drink and die, damn… there are still 5 days until class begins.”
In that very moment, a warning rang in my head from somewhere.
I was sharply urged to check my phone and see the date.
But what is alcohol?
It clouds your judgment and leads to numerous accidents.
So they said I was accidentally born.
I’m a true alcohol baby.
The dullness caused by alcohol successfully pushed the warning in my mind aside.
Once again, I opened a bottle of soju and poured it down my throat.
In just an hour, I had downed five bottles of soju.
At that moment, without any warning, the wave of sleepiness surged over me.
I might endure it out of sheer will, but at the same time, a gentle whisper in the back of my mind told me not to resist the allure of this sweet sleep.
But soon enough, I was dozing off, clutching the soju bottle.
Somewhere, I heard a click sound, but I had already succumbed to the temptation of slumber.
In the end, I fell into a deep sleep, oblivious to everything.
The next day, the school newspaper featured an article that attracted everyone’s attention.
The title was ‘Life Sucks. I Committed Suicide,’ composed entirely of sensational words.
And the accompanying photo was of me sleeping with a soju bottle in hand.
Of course, I didn’t know the story yet.
Not yet.
