TTOA Chapter 27

I stopped midway, standing on the corridor, and took in the spectacular sight. The acrid smoke was ash-grey, and the surging flames were bright yellow. The elegant and refined monotone living room, which only the wealthy in the 1st Residential District could afford, was engulfed in flames.

‘Hmm. Is this what it feels like to set something on fire with gasoline?’

Soon, the ceiling opened automatically, and the sprinklers, precisely spaced, popped out all at once.

As the fire was extinguished, an announcement urging immediate evacuation sounded, and a deluge of water poured down. In an instant, the smoke subsided, and the flames died out. Kwon Jae-jin leisurely followed the luminous arrow signs that appeared on the walls.

A normally concealed emergency elevator, hidden behind a built-in wall, was wide open.

While taking the stairs is the standard practice in case of a fire, this elevator was fireproof and designed for emergency escape, making it safe.

Kwon Jae-jin shook the water from his wet hair and stepped into the elevator.

There were only two buttons inside.

△

▽

Should I go up? Or down?

Of course, Kwon Jae-jin from the 2nd playthrough already knew the answer.

‘Going down leads to the panic room. There are doors and passages leading outside, but Seo Eui-woo is the only one who can open them. It’s an emergency shelter, a completely sealed underground bunker, only accessible to those with registered biometric authentication.’

So, should I go up?

‘Going up leads to the rooftop. There’s an escape helicopter, but I don’t know how to fly it.’

That’s why Kwon Jae-jin from the 1st playthrough tried to jump from the roof.

But Seo Eui-woo, somehow knowing, appeared and caught Kwon Jae-jin mid-air.

See, I told you, you can’t escape from Seo Eui-woo.

Not that I want to anymore.

Kwon Jae-jin pressed the ‘△’ button, heading for the rooftop.

A blue sea spread out before him.

Today, the sky was so clear that it seemed like there was no boundary between the sky and the sea.

Kwon Jae-jin glanced at the well-maintained helicopter and headed towards the edge of the rooftop railing. Seo Eui-woo’s mansion, built on the edge of a coastal cliff, faced the sea entirely.

Falling from here would mean either having his skull crushed on the large reefs below or being swept away by the whirlpools.

‘Wow, Kwon Jae-jin was amazing. He wasn’t afraid. Really.’

Jae-jin, with his hands on the railing, admired the scenery. He let the salty sea breeze and the scent of alcohol and gasoline dissipate. Then, wondering if he would come soon, he called out his name.

“Seo Eui-woo.”

Ah, not yet?

Why is he so late?

“Mr. Seo Eui-woo.”

Time really drags.

I wish Seo Eui-woo would appear in front of Kwon Jae-jin when I open my eyes.

“Eui-woo-yah…”

Or should I throw myself off the cliff? Is that the only way Seo Eui-woo will appear?

Kwon Jae-jin, having gone through all the muck, stood firmly here, choosing to face Seo Eui-woo head-on again from the beginning. If he had to jump, he would jump, and if he had to reveal the truth, he would reveal it.

The autumn sea breeze was chilly, and the cloudless, bright blue sky was high. Looking out over the desolate landscape below, he felt like he was standing alone in the world. Not one person among many, but Kwon Jae-jin, standing isolated, lonely, with the ground crumbling beneath his feet.

As he realized this, it felt like the world had changed.

The shimmering sunlight on the waves sparkled like fragments of light. He was genuinely moved by the dazzling and captivating sight. The sea had always been there, but he realized it anew. He saw the surroundings that he hadn’t noticed in the 1st playthrough, when he was anxiously struggling, and everything was moving and overwhelming without reservation.

Truly, he didn’t want to miss this second chance.

Kwon Jae-jin looked down at the waves crashing against the moss-covered rocks below the coastal cliff. He stared intently, bared his teeth, and smiled. This was Kwon Jae-jin’s first expression containing his resolve, sincerity, and a fragment of truth.

Just as Jae-jin smiled with his heart and was about to fall,

Light flashed.

Seo Eui-woo appeared, cutting through the light droplets scattered in the air.

Whether he had deserted during battle, he was covered in blood.

One ear was gone, and a large piece of rebar was deeply embedded in his thigh. At a glance, his injuries seemed severe. With his marble-like beautiful face so cruelly defiled, it was eerie, even grotesque.

“Jae-jin-ssi, what are you doing?”

Seo Eui-woo roughly took off the goggles he was wearing and approached. A holographic image was floating on the goggle screen, and there was a voice transceiver attached.

“Is the house on fire? Or did you set it on fire?”

“…Let’s calm down. Nothing happened.”

“Are you hurt?”

Seo Eui-woo clicked off the goggles. The rebar embedded in his body instantly turned to dust and disappeared, and a Healing Factor popped out of his chest pocket. Seo Eui-woo opened the Healing Factor and immediately injected the needle into Kwon Jae-jin’s neck. The bright blue liquid was sucked into his bloodstream.

“Were you trying to escape? Were you going to jump… to die…? What, what are you thinking! Are you crazy?”

Seo Eui-woo strode forward and grabbed Kwon Jae-jin’s arm. As if that wasn’t enough, he grabbed his collar and dragged him away from the railing. Blood dripped from Seo Eui-woo, who was covered in blood, and cold water flowed from Kwon Jae-jin, who had been showered by the sprinklers.

“As you can see, I was just trying to call out to Seo Eui-woo-ssi like this.”

Jae-jin grabbed Seo Eui-woo’s shoulder with one hand and stopped him. He frowned at the red blood flowing down Seo Eui-woo’s beautiful cheek and said in a subdued voice.

“I have something to say.”

“Ah, really…? I guess so. Of course, you’d have something to say.”

“It’s important. Don’t erase my memories. Don’t delete them. I’ll explain why now.”

“…Jae-jin-ssi, do you think I want to hear something like that right now…?”

“Everything is connected. Besides, if I don’t warn you in advance like this, you’ll definitely try to mess with my head again.”

“Ha, right now, I want to mess with your mouth, not your head.”

Seo Eui-woo rebuked angrily. The air currents twisted at once.

The blood droplets falling from him vibrated strangely, rising and falling. They didn’t fall to defile the rooftop floor but soared into the air, circling around Seo Eui-woo.

The pressure he was emitting changed the density of the atmosphere. It became difficult to breathe in the altered environment. Moreover, as if he had used his power, Jae-jin’s chin was grabbed by something invisible. He couldn’t move.

Seo Eui-woo was unnecessarily violent. It was like the day they first met.

“I think, Jae-jin-ssi needs to keep his mouth shut. It’s just a mouth that bites its tongue anyway…”

Kwon Jae-jin resisted Seo Eui-woo’s psychokinesis and stubbornly said,

“Th, that, person, you dat…dated, that… Seo, Seo Eui, ugh…”

“Give up and open your mouth. Before I think about pulling out all thirty of your teeth.”

“Kk, h, AHH!”

“Hmm… maybe that’s not a bad idea. Should I try pulling out one as a test?”

The invisible force holding his chin became twice as strong. Not only his mouth, but his body was also restrained, he couldn’t move his arms or legs, not even blink his eyelids. It was no longer possible to speak.

Seo Eui-woo shoved two fingers wearing leather gloves into Kwon Jae-jin’s open mouth. This was not Guiding. You can’t make mucous membrane contact with gloves on, and Guiding doesn’t work.

The fingers that went in deeply poked at the lower left wisdom tooth.

“Not thirty, but twenty-nine. I’m the only one who will know the number is less…”

He carefully felt the shape of the upper part of the bumpy molars, then moved to the lower right wisdom tooth.

“It wouldn’t be a problem living without one wisdom tooth…”

The slow rubbing motion seemed to be gauging which of the two to pull out. After a while, he didn’t choose either and withdrew his hand.

Seo Eui-woo looked down at Jae-jin with a chilling gaze.

Normally, his grey eyes would have been visible right away, but now, his black hair, wet with blood and hanging down, darkly obscured his eyes.

The bloodshot eyelashes glistening faintly inside the shadowed eyelids were glimpsed, and deeper within, the murderous pupils lurking quietly were visible.

“I… really don’t understand. I warned you that I’d let it go once, but there wouldn’t be a second time…”

Seo Eui-woo whispered gently, unlike his ferocious eyes.

His voice was strangely soft, as if deliberately feigned.

“Jae-jin-ssi, do you want to be handcuffed…? Or, are you optimistic that I won’t do something like that…? Do you trust me?”

“Keueuk… you, you…”

“I’ve never trusted Kwon Jae-jin even once.”

“…”

“Rather than trusting, I was letting you get away with it…”

Seo Eui-woo narrowed his long eyes and met Kwon Jae-jin’s gaze. He looked at him for a while, then chuckled blandly.

“I’ll knock you out. Letting you get away with it is over now. Sleep until I clean up the fire, receive disciplinary action for desertion, and come back.”

Without hesitation, Seo Eui-woo strangled Kwon Jae-jin’s neck. At first, he tried to knock him unconscious by hitting his solar plexus, but he wasn’t confident he could control his strength properly. If he hit him with too much force, his ability might mix in and crush Kwon Jae-jin’s body. There’s a Healing Factor, but he can’t accidentally kill him.

The strength gradually drained from Kwon Jae-jin’s body, which had been thrashing as a physiological reaction. Supporting his sagging body with one arm, Seo Eui-woo whispered.

“I won’t mess with your memories… but I’ll tie you up, so keep that in mind.”

“…”

“See you later.”