Chapter 142: The Necklace
What in the world is happening right now?
I stare blankly at the person... in my eyes.
It feels very similar to that time. Of course, there seem to be some slight changes.
"You're quiet."
"Well, of course I am."
I feel like I've definitely seen it before.
As I frown, lost in thought, she looks at me and smiles.
"What, reminiscing about the old days?"
"No. I feel like I saw it recently, but I can't remember well."
"You've grown up a lot since the old days. I thought you'd naturally say you missed me."
"Well, a lot of time has passed."
"In my eyes, you're still a child."
She looked at me with a soft smile.
That expression was as if—
"...It's like you were sniffling and hitting me in a dream."
"..."
Her smile stopped.
"That's because you were wrong first."
"Me?"
Suddenly speaking point by point, she pointed a finger at me.
What did I do?
"Do you think it's right to keep hitting someone on the head?"
"First, let me correct one thing."
"Go on."
"You... you weren't originally human, right?"
At my words, she paused for a moment.
"Maybe."
"You... are the Manual itself?"
"...Maybe."
"You have no intention of telling me, do you?"
She avoids my gaze.
"There's nothing good for you in knowing right now."
"Then why did you call me here?"
"I didn't call you."
She shakes her head and looks at me.
"You fell here."
"Fell?"
"It was an emergency escape too. So even if you wake up, your memories will probably remain very vague."
A smile blooms on her face.
"So, rest a bit before you go. You won't remember anyway—"
"That's not going to work."
I cut her off.
"I was just with Ms. A-rin, and a strange scene was reflected in my eyes."
A rising sunset, a setting morning sun.
"What is that?"
"...You won't remember anyway."
She meets my eyes.
"Right. Since when have I ever won against you?"
She sighed and opened her mouth.
"Probably because of the phenomenon happening right now."
"Phenomenon?"
"Yes. Remember. The necklace has a great influence on people."
"..."
"Keep the necklace. You are the only one who can touch the necklace. Others must never touch it."
"...Okay."
"Because people tend to hide precious things in deeper places."
Sighing, she slumped to the floor.
"...Just hearing you talk, it sounds like you know everything."
I look at her with an expression asking if she can't tell me more. Meeting my gaze, she lets out a deep sigh.
"I only know as much as you know."
"I don't know that much."
"No. You do."
She answers in a firm voice.
"Did a different timeline version of me write it down?"
I recall fighting the Regressor.
Back then, things I didn't know were also written in the manual.
"..."
She tilts her head with an ambiguous expression.
"Half right, half wrong."
"Even if I ask what that means, you've got a face that says you won't tell me."
"Right. It's no good for you to find out. No, rather, you shouldn't know."
She sighs.
"But you did it anyway."
"Did it?"
"It's nothing."
As always, she looks at me with the same smile.
"Keep up the good work in the future. Don't forget. I'm always watching over you."
"...Yeah, thanks."
At my words, she smiles.
"No. I always enjoy it too."
"Watching the outside world?"
"There's something even more enjoyable than that."
She laughs and looks at my face.
What, is collecting data enjoyable or something?
She gets up from her seat.
Water splashes on my face, and as always, she looks down at me.
"Time to go back."
"Time to go back?"
"Your coming here was unavoidable too."
With a mature smile, she gestures.
"Before you go, is there anything you want to ask?"
"Something I want to ask..."
There are so many things I'm curious about.
Who are you, exactly why do you exist, what is your purpose.
But the question that jumped out of my mouth wasn't that.
"Why... do you keep helping me?"
A pure question.
I don't have the ability to turn back time.
I don't have any overwhelming power to break everything.
To begin with, I'm not someone who could have come this far on my own power.
At my question, her eyes widen,
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"A momentary memory can sometimes become the driving force that makes someone live their life for another."
She.
"But I don't look at you from within memories."
She was looking at me with a soft smile.
"I just hope you reach a happy ending."
"What kind of talk is th—"
With the feeling of someone grabbing the back of my neck and pulling, I look forward.
"Take care. Be careful with your health."
She waves her hand,
and my body is sucked backward.
What kind of existence am I to her?
A momentary memory, a happy ending.
Perhaps...
Before I could even think, my mouth opens first and I shout.
"Hey!"
At my words, she looks at me.
"Let's see each other again next time!"
Just like in childhood.
"..."
She looks at me and beams brightly.
And then, darkness arrived.
*
"Wake up!"
At the urgent voice, my eyes snap open.
Jang Chae-yeon, who had been grabbing and shaking my shoulders, made a relieved expression.
"You're awake..."
Unlike usual, Jang Chae-yeon looks at me with complete relief on her face.
Song A-rin is lying next to her, breathing heavily.
"What happened? Ms. A-rin..."
"You're the one... what happened to you?"
Me?
"Well, I..."
'Remember.'
An unknown voice echoed in my head.
"..."
"Are you okay?"
"Ah, yes. I'm fine. What about Ms. A-rin?"
"She fainted."
"How?"
"You two were lying down hugging, so I pulled you apart, but she was already unconscious."
Jang Chae-yeon says that and floats Song A-rin in the air.
"We need to find the necklace."
"Where is it?"
'Because people tend to hide precious things in deeper places.'
"Shall we go a bit further inside?"
At my words, Jang Chae-yeon nods.
The deeper we walk inside, the darker the path becomes,
"Ugh..."
Song A-rin opens her eyes, groaning.
"What I just saw..."
"Ms. A-rin."
"...Holding you..."
And as if realizing something, Song A-rin's eyes widen.
"...Are you okay?"
"Huh?"
"I said, are you okay? Hey, put me down for a second!"
As Song A-rin starts to struggle, Jang Chae-yeon sighs and sets her down.
As soon as her feet touch the floor, Song A-rin hurriedly approaches, stands on tiptoe, and meets my eyes.
"Ms. A-rin, what are you doing..."
"Shh."
Her face comes so close that her nose almost touches mine.
But not a hint of embarrassment could be felt in her expression.
She just stares into my eyes with a serious expression,
"...It's gone. What a relief."
She lets out a sigh of relief and pulls her face away.
"What did you see that made you act like that?"
"...I didn't see something, I transferred it."
"Transferred it?"
"There was something tormenting my mind since morning..."
Song A-rin presses her temples and mutters.
"But, it transferred to you. And I feel a bit better now."
"Ah-ha."
"...But I don't get how you're perfectly fine like this."
"You're strong against mental attacks, aren't you?"
"I don't think it was a mental attack..."
Song A-rin mutters and looks at me.
"You don't hear any voices in your head, right?"
"Huh?"
"You don't hear things like 'die' or 'you're useless'?"
"Not at all."
"It doesn't hurl abuse at you or endlessly bring up past stories?"
"No."
"...What a relief."
She lets out another sigh of relief.
"Seems like nothing's wrong, so let's think about that later and go."
Jang Chae-yeon seems to be getting a bit impatient.
We move on.
Bizarre wires increasingly adorned the surroundings, and a gurgling sound could be heard from somewhere.
"Everyone hears that sound, right?"
"Yes."
"I hear it."
They both nod.
We walk towards where the sound is coming from.
"..."
"...Is this... a person...?"
Song A-rin mutters in a stunned voice, and Jang Chae-yeon turns her gaze.
I too frown involuntarily at the sight before my eyes.
It was a massive lump of flesh.
It felt like what would happen if you stripped human skin and multiplied it infinitely.
The more horrifying point was.
[Name : Kim Ja-kyung]
[Age : 36]
[Specialty : X ]
[Talent : X ]
[Background : She only heard that it was a job where she just had to wear the necklace.]
[Weakness : Please remove the necklace.]
"...It is a person."
"...Ugh."
"How horrifying."
Song A-rin turns her gaze away, and Jang Chae-yeon sighs and mutters.
Staring at the flesh lump, I realized something was caught on it.
Probably the necklace.
It's too embedded to see properly.
I narrow my eyes and look. Does a semi-transparent window appear?
A semi-transparent window appears.
The problem is.
"...There are too many."
Because of the numerous semi-transparent windows, I can't see properly.
I slowly walk towards the necklace.
"Should I do it?"
Jang Chae-yeon looks at me.
'You are the only one who can touch the necklace. Others must never touch it.'
A familiar voice rises in my head.
I stretch out my arm to stop Jang Chae-yeon.
"No. I'll do it."
"...Are you sure?"
"Yes. I can do it."
Confidence surges as if I'd been told by someone that I could.
"...Be careful."
At Jang Chae-yeon's words, I nod and slowly move forward.
There was a big problem starting with going to get the necklace.
"...Ugh."
The problem was that I had to climb this lump of flesh.
Judging by the height, it seemed about as tall as three people stacked on top of me.
Do I have to climb this?
While I was pondering, Jang Chae-yeon flicks her finger upward.
"Whoa!"
My body is lifted and flies towards the necklace.
"I was wondering how to climb this..."
Jang Chae-yeon, meeting my gaze, smiles and reaches out to grab the necklace.
As soon as I grab the necklace, a semi-transparent window appears.
[Name : Necklace]
[Age : X ]
[Specialty : X ]
[Talent : X ]
[Background : Every gem has a device to prevent this.]
[Weakness : X ]
"..."
I shift my gaze.
Necklace, necklace, and necklace.
All identical necklaces were overlapping, as if deliberately obstructing my view.
Semi-transparent windows pop up,
and the sound of footsteps begins to be heard from afar.
"...Chae-yeon."
"...Yeah."
"How long has it been since we left our post?"
"...40 minutes."
"...We're late."
"The necklace?"
"It's a fake."
I look at the flesh lump.
I recall the weakness.
<Please remove the necklace.>
The necklace is definitely here. The problem is where?
It's ultimately a matter of time. If I can just search a bit more...
-Bang!
A sound of something flying is heard.
"Hey! Watch out!"
Song A-rin shouts, and Jang Chae-yeon stretches out her hand.
I look up at the ceiling.
A robot falling from the sky.
Its mouth opens,
-Click, click...
A timer appears.
As if it had been waiting for me to take the necklace.
I hurriedly turn my back.
I can't run away. Then, I have to somehow block it with my back...
-Boom!
A sound of something exploding is heard.
Along with it, my body flies far away...
"...Huh?"
It didn't?
I open my eyes that I had closed and look ahead.
"Haha! Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
A hearty laugh is heard as something rolls on the floor.
Whenever the round thing rolls on the floor, sparks fly and the floor caves in.
"Hahahaha!"
After rolling on the floor several times, the man who had curled up his body springs upright.
Despite clearly having knocked away that bizarre thing with his bare body, there wasn't a single wound on him.
No, he even protected me.
Smoke billowing from his body, he looks at me.
"Long time no see, Mr. Kim Jae-heon! Lovely weather, have you been well?"
"..."
The man looks at me with a refreshing smile.
"I wondered when I'd get to roll like this on time, knowing this would happen! Hahaha!"
"Disgusting."
Jang Chae-yeon mutters upon seeing him, and the man laughs as if he doesn't even care about the remark.
The ace of the Gangseo Branch Isolation Team had arrived.