TTOA Chapter 21

“I know too… I know.”

The Seo Eui-woo from the first timeline and the Seo Eui-woo from the second timeline are different.

They are the same person, but not quite the same yet.

‘Seo Eui-woo, you don’t know anything about dating…? You don’t even want to do that kind of thing…?’

Who was it that relentlessly clung to someone who didn’t want them?

Who was it that pathetically cried, begging for attention?

‘You… you… If I forget you… You…’

You idiot…

‘Just you wait. Really…’

Until Kwon Jae-jin sees Seo Eui-woo kneeling and shedding tears, begging him to date him…

Until then, absolutely…

Kwon Jae-jin,

absolutely,

not even a single word…!

*

The tablet screen flashed rapidly.

A vast living room in a huge mansion. Decorated in a monotone interior like a model house, Kwon Jae-jin was personally experiencing how much money can contribute to relieving stress.

Lying on his stomach on the sofa, Jae-jin was frantically shopping, jumping between various websites. Last time, he had intentionally overspent, focusing on luxury brands he wasn’t even interested in, but in reality, he hadn’t even opened the packages. So this time, he filled his cart with practical equipment.

For example, a treadmill.

He even planned to set up a home gym and chose various weight machines. Leg extension, leg press, butterfly, shoulder press, chest press, abdominal crunch, lat pulldown.

Exercise equipment was expensive, costing around two to three million won per piece. Still, considering Seo Eui-woo’s account balance of 85 billion won, it was absurd. Even after ordering barbells and kettlebells, he had only managed to spend a few tens of millions of won.

‘It’s like using a shovel to scoop up a little sand from a vast beach. It doesn’t even make a dent.’

Even if Kwon Jae-jin spent 100 million won out of the 85 billion, the balance wouldn’t even be scratched.

To put it in perspective, it’s the same as someone with a total fortune of 85 million won spending 100,000 won.

Moreover, Seo Eui-woo was earning money much faster than Kwon Jae-jin was spending it. He received a hefty monthly salary, plus danger pay, additional allowances, separate travel expenses, and bonuses… Furthermore, besides the carelessly accumulated balance in the bank, he also received quarterly dividends from investments… Whenever Seo Eui-woo’s data screen was broadcasted, royalties for Esper-exclusive information transmission poured in…

Seo Eui-woo was basically a walking corporation.

A lifetime company with guaranteed tenure, unless he died in the line of duty.

‘Damn it, instead of asking for a new house, I should have asked him to build an entire building…’

You need to know how to spend money to actually spend it. Kwon Jae-jin, who had lived his whole life as a salaried commoner in the 6th Residential District, had a small scale of consumption. Last time, he should have bought a sports car instead of a motorcycle.

‘Or a helicopter. A light aircraft…’

Tsk, Jae-jin clicked his tongue and turned off the tablet screen.

Even buying things indiscriminately didn’t seem to improve his mood much. Spending it little by little like this wouldn’t make a dent in Seo Eui-woo’s wealth. It only twisted his stomach instead of relieving stress.

Jae-jin slammed his forehead against the tablet screen.

Seo Eui-woo was always annoying, but he was especially annoying today.

It’s better to just forget it completely.>

Even if you’re lucky enough to reunite by force… it won’t be the same as before.>

In fact, Kwon Jae-jin already knew the reason.

He’s having doubts.

Maybe Seo Eui-woo is right.

‘… Ha.’

Should he just give up on everything?

‘Attachment, huh.’

Why is Kwon Jae-jin clinging to Seo Eui-woo, who doesn’t even remember him, and struggling all alone?

Why is he trying to become that bastard’s lover again, and trying to hold that bastard in his heart?

‘What did Seo Eui-woo do so well? What’s so lovable about him…’

In reality, all Kwon Jae-jin needs to do is survive.

Surviving safely from the gate that will open in four years and living a splendid second life. That was Kwon Jae-jin’s first goal.

As long as he can achieve that goal, it doesn’t matter whether he dates Seo Eui-woo or not.

‘We’ve already finished talking about moving, and if I just leave this house, I’ll automatically avoid the gate, so… I won’t die.’

As you can see, the second timeline Kwon Jae-jin has already achieved his goal.

Surviving.

‘And on top of that, I’m freely using Seo Eui-woo’s assets. It’s fair to say I’ve achieved everything I need to.’

In this situation, is there any need to endure suffering alone and try to appease and soothe Seo Eui-woo? For whose sake? For Seo Eui-woo’s sake?

There’s no need to be such a pushover… is there?

‘Yeah, as Seo Eui-woo said, maybe I should just cleanly forget the past… and start a new second life. It wouldn’t be so bad.’

Without needing to be in a romantic relationship with Seo Eui-woo. Just cleanly and simply. To newly establish a relationship as Guide and Esper.

That alone would be enough to obtain the necessary cooperation, and in the long run, it might be even more stable than dating.

‘Will we end up as business partners? Like company colleagues.’

Anyway, right now, Seo Eui-woo doesn’t seem to have any romantic feelings. Right now, Seo Eui-woo’s mind is completely filled with Guiding. He often says spaced-out things like he’s happy or he’s good, but those feelings are a longing for Guiding, not affection for the human Kwon Jae-jin.

As proof, even though Seo Eui-woo noticed Kwon Jae-jin’s peculiarities a long time ago, he didn’t dig any deeper and left it alone. Things like what kind of relationship the two of them had, how Kwon Jae-jin knows Seo Eui-woo, etc., are not very important issues for Seo Eui-woo.

‘As long as he can get Guiding from me, the rest doesn’t matter, is that it?’

If Seo Eui-woo was truly curious about what kind of relationship he had with Kwon Jae-jin, he would have persistently and relentlessly questioned him. But Seo Eui-woo… chose to win Kwon Jae-jin’s favor, setting aside suspicious questions, rather than finding out the truth about Kwon Jae-jin. To win his favor and get Guiding.

‘Yeah… Seo Eui-woo doesn’t have any special feelings for me either, so I… well… there’s no need to waste my feelings on that bastard.’

Kwon Jae-jin turned off the tablet and picked up the remote control. He turned up the TV volume and switched channels one by one. A news channel was followed by a home shopping channel, and then a documentary channel. Common dramas or movie channels depicting the daily lives of ordinary people are not broadcasted in the Special Residential District.

A space documentary was being broadcasted. He didn’t know what it was about, but he naturally stopped at that channel. The universe, made up only of shades of black and white, seemed detached from reality. A white Milky Way sparkled in the faded black space.

That place was a vast and magnificent higher world. A world without Espers or Guides. A world unrelated to the Gate Impact, creatures, or the wars of humanity. It was a far cry from Kwon Jae-jin’s situation. Compared to this universe, Kwon Jae-jin’s worries felt smaller than dust.

Jae-jin absentmindedly listened to the fact that Saturn is made of hydrogen and helium and has 82 satellites. Even the names of the satellites, which stretched out in a row—Titan, Enceladus, Mimas, Dione, Iapetus, Tethys, Hyperion, Epimetheus—were incomprehensible, complex, and unrealistic.

“What are you watching? Is it interesting?”

Just as he was forgetting reality and escaping into outer space, Seo Eui-woo appeared, shaking his wet hair. Glancing back, he saw Seo Eui-woo half-naked. He had just finished showering, and the refreshing scent of shampoo wafted from him. He was only loosely wearing gray sweatpants and wasn’t wearing a top.

“A documentary…? Do you like this kind of thing, Jae-jin?”

The way he walked over languidly was quite captivating.

The way he stretched out his long legs lazily seemed as relaxed as a sated lion, and his symmetrically divided abs and chest muscles looked as beautiful as a David statue. On top of that, his youthful face with a gentle smile was fair, his curved eyes were clear and innocent, and his messy black hair, still damp and not yet straightened, looked sensual.

“I don’t particularly like it. I just turned it on.”

“Really? You seemed quite focused on it for someone who just turned it on.”

Seo Eui-woo, smiling with his long eyes, approached and took the seat next to Kwon Jae-jin as a matter of course. He reached out, wrapped his arm around Jae-jin’s waist, and pulled him close so that he leaned against his chest.

Kwon Jae-jin leaned against Seo Eui-woo and looked up at him. Even from a low angle, his sharp jawline was free of any fat.

What is Seo Eui-woo’s body fat percentage? He estimates it to be around 5 or 6%. Thinking like a fitness fanatic, Kwon Jae-jin absentmindedly scanned his abs. He stared blankly at his rectus abdominis, external oblique, intercostal muscles, and serratus anterior, clicked his tongue inwardly, and turned his head to fix his gaze on the TV screen.

He had barely escaped reality and was focusing on Saturn when Seo Eui-woo appeared and ruined it.

‘I don’t know about attachment… but it seems I need to try to detach myself from Seo Eui-woo now.’