NOVEL WEB Chapter 300
Chapter 300. Nightmare (4)
The Chosen Regressor personality Dan Haru watched as the original personality Dan Haru gradually faded away in front of him. Only after the original personality had completely disappeared did he feel the two personalities merge back into one body.
It felt similar to usual, but there was one difference—this time, the Chosen Regressor personality remained awake. The 26-year-old Chosen Regressor Dan Haru sat down as if his strength had drained from his body. He spoke to the still-awake original personality Dan Haru, warning him.
“You… will regret this.”
As if he was asking one last time, Dan Haru, not even bothering to wipe away the tears streaming from his eyes, questioned himself.
“When you wake up, the Dan Haru you know will be gone. You’ll have to endure time you don’t remember. People will pity you, attach reasons to your every action, and judge you however they want.”
Are you really going to wake up from this illusion and face the grim reality?
“You’ll live in a time where mistakes can’t be undone, and nothing can be restarted. When you grow old, get sick, suffer, and feel lonely—thinking back on this moment, regretting it will be pointless.”
The harshness in his words was deliberate because he knew that this was the last choice he would be given.
He knew he couldn’t win against Dan Haru.
From the very beginning, from the moment he couldn’t even remember, every choice he made had been for Dan Haru.
“…Are you really okay with this?”
The answer to that question came sooner than expected.
It came through the voice that the original personality Dan Haru had once thought of as his ‘inner voice.’
-I’m okay.
Listening to the voice he had always used to comfort ‘Dan Haru’ now comforting him instead, Dan Haru lowered his head and closed his eyes.
-I’ve learned how to stand up again after falling, thanks to you.
“…Idiot.”
-So we’ll be okay.
‘Dan Haru’ slowly opened his eyes again.
As always, when faced with a choice, the purple option appeared before him.
[KEEP OR SKIP]
This must be my last choice.
Dan Haru stared at the option for a moment. Then, he noticed a new option appearing below the usual two choices.
[RESET?]
In that instant, Dan Haru instinctively knew.
If he pressed that button, all the fake settings he had created would disappear, and with the fusion of the Chosen Regressor personality and the original personality, this endless cycle of regression would finally end.
Dan Haru hesitated for a brief moment.
But in the end, his decision didn’t change.
[RESET]
As soon as he chose the option he had never selected before, the space of his unconsciousness began to collapse as if it had been waiting for this moment.
As Dan Haru instinctively recoiled in surprise, a familiar resonance found him and spoke to him gently.
[So, in the end, he succeeded in convincing you.]
“You are….”
[Welcome back to your one and only ‘life.’]
“…….”
[I wish you luck in this timeline as well.]
As if to prove those words of wishing luck, a beautiful fireworks display unfolded beyond the collapsing space, over the sunset-lit sea.
Even in the midst of this overwhelmingly eerie situation, Dan Haru stared blankly at the fireworks. It was hard to believe that his ‘life’ was truly beginning.
“Sparkling.”
“…Ah.”
Dan Haru came back to his senses when someone, whom he had momentarily forgotten, approached from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. Only then did he remember his ‘hyung’ and quickly turned his head.
“Is the emotional part over?”
Despite the playful tone, Hajin didn’t look well. There was a dried trail of a nosebleed, and his complexion was pale, his face drenched in cold sweat.
Startled by Hajin’s appearance, Dan Haru nodded and supported him. Hajin let out a short breath, grabbed Haru’s hand, and met his eyes. With bloodshot eyes, Hajin spoke in a low voice.
“Then get ready to run.”
“Huh?”
“When I count to three, just run, got it? One…”
“Huh, no, wait, hyung…!”
“Two!”
Aren’t we running on three!?
Before Dan Haru, whose eyes widened in shock, could process it, Hajin grabbed him and charged towards the only illuminated exit with tremendous speed. Waves and obstacles seemed to crash down as if trying to prevent them from leaving, but Hajin never let go of Haru’s hand and ran forward.
And finally, when the two of them leaped into the light-filled escape route—
“Huff!”
“…….”
Morning sunlight streamed through the windows, revealing a view of green mountains beyond.
Welcomed by the spring air that seemed to herald the start of a new life, the two realized they had awoken from a deep sleep.
“…….”
Dan Haru blinked blankly, then slowly sat up. Beside him, he saw Siwoo still sleeping soundly on his bed. Thinking how he looked like Snow White in Sleeping Beauty, Haru turned to the other side and saw Hajin, rubbing his forehead as if it ached, slowly raising his head.
“…….”
“……….”
Thankfully, Hajin looked much better than he had in the space of the unconscious. Though his eyes were still hollow and he appeared a bit worn out, it only accentuated his usual cool demeanor rather than making him seem unwell.
For some reason, Dan Haru found himself instinctively watching Hajin, keeping his mouth shut. The unrealistic events that he had just accepted came rushing back to him as he woke up to a peaceful morning, making it difficult for him to say anything.
Perhaps, the thought crossed his mind that everything that had just happened might have been nothing more than a dream…
“Haru.”
“…Y-Yes?”
“I’m serious.”
“W-What do you mean?”
Haru looked at Hajin with a nervous expression. Hajin, still pressing his throbbing temples, glanced up at Haru and chuckled.
“I’m serious about enlisting with you in the front lines if I don’t get into KATUSA.”
“…….”
“You’d better pray every day for the next ten years that I get in….”
“……….”
“You know I lost my college entrance exam scores and my university because of you, right? You’re not getting away with this. I’m going to make sure you pay me back for all of it….”
But despite his grumbling words, there was no hint of blame or reproach in Hajin’s voice. Watching Hajin rub his eyes and nonchalantly get up from his seat, Haru finally broke into a smile.
“What are you laughing at? The thought of cleaning up the mess you made makes me dizzy.”
“…Hehe, sorry.”
“Why did I end up picking up such a troublesome maknae, seriously….”
As Dan Haru chuckled sheepishly, Hajin, who was shaking his head, suddenly had his pant leg tugged by Haru. Hajin shook his leg to get Haru to let go, but whether it was part of the fake settings or not, Haru’s grip was as strong as ever. Haru, still smiling, spoke up.
“Hyung….”
“…….”
“You’re the best adult I’ve ever met.”
“…….”
“It might be a selfish thing to say, but…. I’m really glad I met you.”
With a clear smile, Dan Haru silently expressed his gratitude to Hajin. Hajin watched as a new blue system window appeared before his eyes.
[Single Quest 03.]
‘The Happiness the Boy Desires’
Details: Congratulations on your successful debut.
To protect everyone’s dreams and happiness,
Your group needs a strong foundation and success.
Fill and change the timeline.
Survive the onslaught of idol wars and win the Rookie Award.
Success Reward: Block the possibility of timeline intervention by the Returning One.
[Basic Quest 02. Confrontation with the Regressor]
Details: Convince the Chosen Regressor ‘Dan Haru’ and unify his personality.
Success Reward: Removal of the Chosen Regressor’s regression rights.
[The quest has been successfully completed. The rewards have been automatically received.]
[System Alert: ‘Dan Haru’ is ‘responsive’ to you. (Responsiveness Rate 97.1%)
‘Dan Haru’ can be recruited.]
[Would you like to recruit him? (Y/N)]
Hajin looked at the system notifications with a satisfied smile and patted Haru’s shiny blonde hair.
“…I know, kid.”
Finally, it was the starting line.
* * *
“…Is Siwoo hyung still not awake?”
After finishing their surprisingly affectionate morning greetings, Dan Haru cautiously pointed at Jung Siwoo, who was still asleep beside him, and asked. After confirming Siwoo’s steady breathing, I nodded and got up.
“Yeah. Now that we’re awake, we should wake him up too.”
“Oh….”
“But first, let’s figure out the situation.”
I picked up my phone, which had fallen near where I had been lying, but it was turned off—either the battery had died or someone had intentionally turned it off.
Judging by the fact that we were still lying in the villa peacefully, it seemed like Lee Doha had followed my request properly….
‘Thirteen isn’t properly connected yet, which means he’s probably busy too…. I need to check what happened while we were out.’
After confirming through the system that the mental care program was properly applied to the newly recruited Dan Haru, I left the still somewhat dazed kid in the room and stepped outside alone.
Doha and Yugeon
weren’t near the second-floor room where we were, so I carefully descended the stairs and found the unlit living room on the first floor.
“…Why are they sleeping here like this?”
The lights were off, but the living room was fully illuminated by the sunlight streaming in through the large windows.
After fully descending the stairs, I saw Doha, who had given up the long sofa to Yugeon and was dozing off with his arms crossed while sitting upright in a single-seat sofa. Next to him, Yugeon was curled up on the long sofa, covered with a blanket, sound asleep.
‘What are they, guard duty mercenaries…?’
Should I wake them or not?
While pondering this, Yugeon stirred awake, probably alerted by my presence. As if trying to focus his blurry vision, he squinted, then his eyes widened in shock as he realized I was standing in front of him. He shot up, screaming like he’d seen a ghost.
“Aaah!”
“Gah, you scared me…! Quiet! Quiet down, man!”
Startled, I jumped back. Yugeon continued to look at me as if I were a ghost, and his scream woke up Doha, who was dozing beside him. With dark circles that seemed to reach his chin, Doha’s black eyes fixated on me.
“…Ahem. Did you sleep well?”
Though it couldn’t be helped, I had ended up dumping everything on Doha and passing out, so I awkwardly greeted him with a mix of embarrassment and apology. But Doha, who usually had a dry expression, stared at me in silence, like a stone statue guarding the entrance to a dungeon.
“Uh, so…. Was everything okay? Nothing happened?”
Feeling increasingly uneasy with Doha’s silence, I kept asking questions. Doha, without breaking his intense gaze on me, slowly got up and walked toward me….
“Hey, say something. Was everything okay? Huh? Hey, Do—, Ugh!”
…And then he punched me square in the face with all his might!
“You think everything was okay?”
Did I just get punched by Doha? Did I really get punched? Did he just hit me?
Seeing stars was one thing, but the shock of being punched by Doha left my head spinning.
Holding the spot where I got hit, I looked up at him. For the first time, I saw him genuinely angry, glaring down at me with a terrifyingly stern voice.
“…I won’t do it a second time.”
“…….”
“Don’t ever ask me to do something like this again.”
What the hell happened?
I’m freaking scared, damn it…