NOVEL ONLINE FREE #041
#041
Aren’t dreams said to be fragments of memories? Hwi-kyung raised himself up while clutching his throbbing head. It seemed he had fainted after confronting Gyo-ha due to his oversensitive nerves.
Hwi-kyung would often fall ill like this, even though he was usually fine. He didn’t pay much attention to his physical condition, knowing he wouldn’t die anyway.
“Are you awake?”
What an embarrassing display… Gyo-ha’s face appeared blurry as he handed over a cup, as if he had been waiting. The stinging in Hwi-kyung’s eyes suggested he had been crying in front of him again.
The cup he received contained warm milk. Hwi-kyung felt a strange sense of guilt. While he kept criticizing Gyo-ha, the other man was endlessly kind to him as if nothing was wrong. Even to Hwi-kyung, this relationship seemed quite unfair.
“I was shocked when you suddenly fainted. You didn’t answer my calls for three days.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Seeing you lose consciousness often, it seems your health isn’t good.”
“I’m quite healthy for an office worker.”
“Healthy people don’t grab others by the collar, cry, and then faint.”
“…”
“How about getting a check-up? Maybe some psychological counseling…”
It was a kind suggestion, but Hwi-kyung shook his head. Unlike Lee Gyo-ha, who had immediately sought psychiatric counseling after his first regression, Jung Hwi-kyung had never once visited a psychiatrist.
It wasn’t that he viewed psychological counseling negatively; he just had no idea what to say to a doctor or counselor. “You see, I’m living my fourteenth life right now…” One sentence like that would easily get him diagnosed with schizophrenia.
If this were truly an illness, there might be a solution. But Hwi-kyung’s situation wasn’t something that could be improved by taking medicine or getting some sunlight. Forced regression was a phenomenon that couldn’t be fixed even in death.
“I know you think it won’t help. In fact, we both probably look crazy to others.”
“…”
“I once told a close acquaintance that I was a regressor and got reported as a drug offender.”
“Why on earth would you tell someone something like that…?”
“Because I thought they were a trustworthy friend?”
“…”
“The fact that they reported me out of concern shows they really were a trustworthy friend.”
What a truly positive mindset. Sometimes Hwi-kyung wanted to disassemble Gyo-ha’s head to check his thought circuits. It was beyond Hwi-kyung’s common sense to still speak positively about someone who had reported him as a drug offender.
With such a personality, he was probably nursing Hwi-kyung without a care, even after suddenly kissing him a few days ago. Hwi-kyung sipped the now lukewarm milk little by little. His head still felt like it was about to split, but his mind had calmed enough to make rational judgments.
“Mr. Lee Gyo-ha.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry for barging in suddenly and startling you.”
As his mind returned to normal, words of apology immediately spilled out. He couldn’t bear it otherwise. No matter how saint-like Gyo-ha was, this was a bit much. Hwi-kyung thought he had really lost his mind.
“I’m not looking for an apology.”
“…”
“I suddenly kissed you too. Let’s call it even.”
Hwi-kyung, who had no intention of bringing up the kiss first, choked briefly while drinking his milk. He had tried to ask about it naturally and move on, but Gyo-ha insisted on bringing up this topic again.
“So don’t go AWOL again. In the future.”
“I’m truly sorry for the unauthorized absence. I’ll work extra…”
“Forget about extra work. Just unblock my contact.”
Hwi-kyung ended up unblocking Gyo-ha’s contact right in front of him. When confronted about his three-day unauthorized absence, his fighting spirit crumbled instantly. If nothing else, not showing up to work without submitting a reason felt like a real mistake.
“Now, let’s get to the main point.”
“…”
“Why did you suddenly ask about the number one trot singer?”
Hwi-kyung tilted his head back, resting it against the bed’s headboard. The dizziness seemed to subside a bit as his nape pressed against something hard.
He couldn’t believe he had been so shaken by just one sentence: “BK Entertainment is sponsoring it.” It’s not like there weren’t any variables in previous cycles.
Someone’s embezzlement amount would change by millions of won, and the timing of a workplace sexual harasser appearing on the 9 o’clock news was always vaguely different. While it was predetermined which businesses would thrive or go bankrupt, the exact timing of their success or failure wasn’t fixed.
But Hwi-kyung had seen Kim Tae-pung win without fail seven times. Each time, there was controversy because he held his first concert only in Seoul, lacking a proper agency. That’s why Hwi-kyung had to pay extra for scalped tickets.
But now, sponsorship from a large corporation? This was different from changes in embezzlement amounts or sexual harassers being arrested. Apart from fixed events happening somehow, Gyo-ha’s intervention was something that could bring about new results.
Since the program received sponsorship from a major entertainment company, Kim Tae-pung, who was close to being the confirmed winner, would likely join BK Entertainment. Unless Gyo-ha was a fool, he must have decided on the sponsorship with Kim Tae-pung’s recruitment in mind.
“My grandmother likes Kim Tae-pung.”
“Kim Tae-pung?”
“He’s the Season 1 winner from that program.”
“Ah, so that person’s name is Kim Tae-pung.”
“… Didn’t you sponsor the program to recruit him?”
“Not particularly?”
However, Lee Gyo-ha exceeded Jung Hwi-kyung’s expectations in his simplicity.
Gyo-ha replied with a blank face, “I just sponsored it, you know?” Hwi-kyung was at a loss for words. He specifically chose to sponsor “The Number One Trot Singer” among all the successful programs out there, yet claimed there was no particular reason?
“I just… thought my grandmother seemed to enjoy watching it when I visited the hospital, so I sponsored it.”
“…”
“I thought she’d be happier if it became bigger.”
“You invest for such a trivial reason?”
“Isn’t that the purpose of the entertainment business? To make someone happy.”
“Business is done to make a profit, isn’t it?”
“I don’t mind taking a loss. And I knew to some extent that it would be profitable. After all, I know the future you know, right?”
At this point, Jung Hwi-kyung wasn’t sure if Lee Gyo-ha was truly simple-minded or actually clever. Cases where goodwill and profit coexist are extremely rare. This is the collapse of corporate ethics.
But he didn’t have the energy to argue further. Gyo-ha was indeed a kind person, as Hwi-kyung thought. Kind enough to invest in that program as soon as he became an executive director of BK Entertainment, just because Hwi-kyung’s grandmother liked it.
He must be able to live so thoughtlessly because he has the wealth and position to do so. Hwi-kyung just sighed, covering his face with one hand.
“Was it a program I shouldn’t have sponsored?”
“No.”
“I thought I might have interfered with your plans.”
“It’s not interference. It’s just that I have a deep, unfortunate connection with that program.”
“Why?”
When faced with Gyo-ha’s “Why?” attack, Hwi-kyung found himself helplessly opening up about his past cycles. He could easily say things to Gyo-ha that he would never tell a professional counselor.
No matter what Hwi-kyung said, Gyo-ha never mocked him. He didn’t look down on him or view him negatively. In Hwi-kyung’s long life, people like Gyo-ha were rare and precious.
“I wanted to go to Kim Tae-pung’s concert.”
“…”
“Grandmother really wanted to go… but I could never get tickets.”
Hwi-kyung talked about his experience of finally buying scalped tickets in the sixth cycle. Saying it out loud, it didn’t seem like such a big deal. It had been an enormous event for Hwi-kyung, but looking at it from a distance, it seemed like such a small happening that he wondered if he should even mention it.
But Gyo-ha listened to Hwi-kyung’s words with an even more serious face than Hwi-kyung’s. Even if he wasn’t a fellow regressor, Gyo-ha would probably have believed Hwi-kyung’s words from beginning to end.
Someone believes what I say. Realizing this, Hwi-kyung felt all his strength drain away. He had always lived as if being chased, but now he felt like he had just realized there was nothing behind him.
So it was inevitable that he developed feelings. Hwi-kyung liked Gyo-ha. This was now an undeniable fact. Even if this emotion was merely the relief of finding a lifeboat in the vast ocean…
“Let’s go to the concert this cycle. I’ll get you VIP seats.”
“Are you going to recruit Kim Tae-pung to BK Entertainment?”
“Yes.”
“Just because of a few words I said?”
“No, it’s not ‘just’ that, Hwi-kyung.”
“…”
“We’re just people trying to live happily. Why do you say ‘just’ about an experience you can describe so vividly? You remember it clearly because it was sad.”
Anyone would have ended up liking Lee Gyo-ha.
“You asked how I can do anything so easily?”
“That was just because I wasn’t in my right mind…”
“For anything that’s difficult for you, just use me.”
“…”
“Use me a little. I’ll always be an easy person for you.”
Hwi-kyung’s head started throbbing again. How could he say such things so casually? What makes you so easy? Sometimes, his thoughtfulness and kindness were almost frightening.
To hide his stupid expression, Hwi-kyung lowered his head. Even though they had only shared two cycles together, Hwi-kyung wanted to entrust everything to Gyo-ha.
That’s why he kept tearing up when he looked at him. Strangely enough… because he felt that no matter what pain he went through, Lee Gyo-ha would always be by his side.