noveldrama
Chapter 268
Chapter 268
Not long before, at Seowon Guild.
Nam Woo-jin unleashed a storm of reprimands. “Of course, you had to cause trouble! Why don’t you ever think about taking it easy when you’re injured? And you—Lee Sa-young—what on earth were you doing instead of helping him? Losing your memory doesn’t give you free rein. You should be treating J with respect!” His scolding was sharp and unrelenting. On top of that, Uijae was dragged off for a physical exam afterward.
Nam Woo-jin gave Uijae a hard stare, scrutinizing him.
“At the very least, it looks like your body’s recovered somewhat.”
“Yes, sir.”
Uijae responded politely, hands clasped. He hadn’t realized before just how intimidating Nam Woo-jin could be when angry; it was enough to make even the fearless Uijae’s hair stand on end. Nam Woo-jin waved a file at him, his gaze intense.
“But don’t go around acting up again! You never know when a relapse could hit.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Glad you’re answering well, at least. Now, get out of here! Try pulling any more stunts, and you’ll regret it!”
“Yes, sir.”
Uijae bowed and quickly exited the examination room. At the end of the hallway, Sa-young, with his gas mask on, leaned against the wall, waiting for him. Sa-young offered a smirk as he handed over Uijae’s mask.
“Got a good scolding?”
Uijae grumbled as he slipped the mask on.
“Like it’s not your fault.”
“You’re the one who suddenly got all riled up.”
“And who was it that threw that note at me like that? Now, hand it over—I want to read it.”
Sa-young obediently handed over the neatly folded note. Uijae unfolded it and began to read, his eyes scanning over hastily scribbled information, some of which he knew, and some he didn’t.
---
- Director Ham Seok-jung died during the monster wave
- Died alongside Director Park Hye-kyung
- Wave Guild does not exist
- Fish Market is gone
- Mackerel is missing (Last seen heading toward Haenam; Jeong Bin is aware)
- Hong Yesung has been out of contact since going to Jirisan
- Bae Won-woo: Member of the Awakener Management Bureau
- Seo Min-gi: Member of the Awakener Management Bureau
- Choi Go-yo: Member of HB Guild
---
Uijae turned to Sa-young, surprised at his ability to gather such information.
“When did you manage to find all this out?”
Sa-young shrugged nonchalantly.
“Jeong Bin told me when I asked.”
“No threats involved?”
“Hard to say. If he got spooked and started spilling, would you call that a threat?”
Makes sense. To prevent any bigger issues, Jeong Bin probably offered up everything. Uijae glanced at Park Hye-kyung’s name, pausing briefly before continuing to read.
“…No Wave Guild here?”
“Seems like I never made one. After all, the only reason I created the guild was…”
Sa-young trailed off, and Uijae didn’t press him. It was likely that he’d made it to wait for Uijae. No matter how high he was in the rankings, there was a limit to what one person could accomplish alone. Sa-young shifted the subject.
“I heard it was mostly just the two of us traveling together.”
“…So it seems.”
Uijae folded the note back into its original shape, then handed it back, asking, “And how did you know I’d recovered? Or that the restraints were loosened?”
“It was tied differently than the way I left it.”
Noticing that in such a short window? Uijae squinted, but Sa-young answered nonchalantly.
“Plus, I tied it tightly, yet you didn’t seem to be in pain. I figured you’d recovered enough by now.”
Ah, that made sense. Gaeul must’ve been in a rush and couldn’t control the tightness properly, yet Uijae hadn’t felt much discomfort. He rubbed his wrists. The red marks that had been left behind were already gone.
Checking his phone, Sa-young continued, “I asked Honeybee to lend us Choi Go-yo. He should be heading to Seowon Guild soon. Where do you want to go first?”
“I’d like to find Mackerel.”
Sa-young tilted his head, surprised. “I thought you’d say Hong Yesung.”
Mackerel, who’d lost his other half… Oddly enough, Uijae felt a sense of urgency to find him first. He shrugged.
“I don’t know why. Just feels right to start there.”
“Alright then. Fortunately, Jeong Bin seems to know his whereabouts.”
In the corner of his vision, the red number *160* blinked. Time was slipping away relentlessly, with no way to hold it back.
Uijae looked up at Sa-young.
“But I should tell you this up front… I don’t have much time left.”
“What do you mean?”
“Physically, I mean it.”
Sa-young let out a soft hum, tilting his head slightly.
“Not going to explain in more detail?”
A single warning was already stacked up. Should he spend another one to explain things to Sa-young, or save it? Given Sa-young’s keen insight, he might be able to pick up on it without Uijae saying anything directly. Best to save those warnings.
‘I trust him that much.’
Without warning, Uijae removed his mask, took Sa-young’s arm, and met his eyes, violet and earnest. Sa-young tilted his head, studying Uijae’s face with a lingering gaze. Then,
Tap.
The protruding filter of Sa-young’s gas mask gently nudged Uijae’s nose. What was that supposed to mean? Was he trying to provoke him? Uijae touched his nose, baffled.
“What’s that for?”
“You were looking at me with such puppy-dog eyes, I thought you might be angling for a kiss.”
Are you kidding?
“What? You think that’s what I was doing? Really?”
Uijae tried to jab him in the ribs, but Sa-young dodged nimbly, catching his fist instead. His voice lowered to a murmur.
“Got a gag order or something?”
“……”
Sharp as ever. Uijae didn’t nod but twitched his bound hand in response. Sa-young sighed.
“Really, there’s no peace in our lives, is there?”
Tell me about it. Uijae nodded in agreement. Sa-young continued calmly.
“How much time do you have left?”
‘Come to think of it…’
Sa-young wasn’t originally from this world, right? He’d come over together with Uijae, so there shouldn’t be any harm in sharing this information with him. They were in this escape attempt together. Uijae glanced at the dwindling red numbers in his vision and began to speak.
But then—
---
[WARNING! Second Infraction! You must not interfere with the past. Do not disclose future events.]
[Note: Subject "Lee Sa-young" is also considered a past entity.]
[Caution: Upon the third infraction, penalties will be enforced.]
---
A second red warning appeared, blocking his words. Uijae’s eyes widened in disbelief. What was this about? Sa-young had come into the dungeon with him!
But he was frozen, unable to move a finger. Sa-young was looking at him, puzzled.
Uijae felt a wave of despair.
Curse this system!
After a moment, he managed to find his voice, though it felt like his throat was constricted. He had no choice. He’d have to use the same approach he had with Gaeul.
“Sa-young.”
“Yes, hyung?”
“My… in my hospital room… how many roses were there?”
“Seven.”
The answer came immediately. Did he remember everything? Before Uijae could even feel impressed, Sa-young’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Don’t tell me…?”
Yes, exactly.
“You don’t mean you have seven hours left, right?”
No, that’s not it!
Uijae clutched his head in frustration.
---
In the end, unable to reveal the countdown on his life, Uijae had no choice but to prepare to move on to Haenam. Sa-young tossed out every possibility—seven hours, 70 hours, a week, seven weeks—but Uijae couldn’t answer any of them, as red warning messages continued to flash before his eyes. He finally drew an X over his mouth with his fingers, signaling he couldn’t answer. Sa-young sighed, then stopped asking.
When Choi Go-yo from this world’s Seowon Guild arrived, he was unexpectedly neat. Honeybee had mentioned that Ma Tae-bok didn’t like things that looked too rough. After opening the door, he dramatically vomited before passing out. Honeybee loaded him up, and they set off for Jirisan to find Hong Yesung.
But—
‘Something’s off…’
There was a feeling of danger.
“How you found me, I don’t know…”
His smoke drifted into the air and disappeared.
“But I’ve washed my hands of that life.”
The young man, with bare feet covered in white ash, said nothing more and continued to smoke. His disheveled checkered shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a white tank top underneath, and his baggy pants were soaked at the cuffs. His indigo hair was long and messy, and his glasses
were scratched and smudged. He didn’t look anything like the Mackerel brother Uijae remembered.
‘Not sure if he’s the older or younger brother.’
He looked like the older one, but his mannerisms reminded Uijae of the younger. Uijae glanced at Sa-young beside him, curious to hear his thoughts. But Sa-young simply rested his chin on his hand, uninterested. Mackerel tapped his cigarette, scattering ash as he spoke.
“If you don’t have anything to say, just go.”
“Wait, I do have questions.”
“I don’t know anything, nor do I have anything to say.”
He waved dismissively and turned to leave, his wet feet squelching as they hit the ground.
Why did I come looking for Mackerel? Hong Yesung would probably know more.
Uijae…
“Tell me how the Fish Market fell.”
“……”
He didn’t want to watch someone be left behind alone.
Mackerel’s steps stopped.
The whitening of the Fish Market, the death of the Mackerel brothers—these things hadn’t yet happened in his own world. If he could understand what happened here, he might be able to prevent it. Uijae stood up from the porch and approached the halted figure.
But then—
“So you’ve come all the way out here to poke at a sore spot… What an honor.”
With an air of mockery, Mackerel turned to face Uijae. His narrowed indigo eyes fixed on him.
“If I tell you…”
He removed his cracked glasses and pushed his messy hair back from his eyes, a crooked smile forming on his lips.
“What… are you going to use it as a cautionary tale to form a plan?”