NOVEL WEB 34
Ah.
Once again, it was space.
A vast and silent expanse, with 82 moons orbiting around Saturn. Titan, Enceladus, Mimas, Dione, Iapetus, Tethys, Hyperion, Epimetheus… Kwon Jae-jin’s dream. The manifestation of his unconscious mind.
Jae-jin was once again escaping into space.
Through space, Jae-jin’s inner voice was shouting.
Did this really solve anything?
Did revealing the truth about his regression to Seo Eui-woo truly fulfill all of Jae-jin’s desires?
He had barely managed to hold onto his memories, but the fundamental problem remained unchanged.
Jae-jin had altered the future.
Seo Eui-woo had changed.
Whether it was for the better or worse, he couldn’t yet decide. But one thing was certain—Seo Eui-woo from before had vanished without a trace.
The Seo Eui-woo of the second timeline was too different from the one in the first. Like it or not, Jae-jin had to accept at least one rejection.
He had no idea what lay ahead.
His unconscious mind screamed of anxiety.
Throughout the night, Jae-jin tossed and turned, dreaming of space, Saturn, and its 82 moons.
By the time he woke the next morning, the remnants of his dream had faded into a blur, soon forgotten. Yet, the anxiety that had sunk deep into his subconscious still lingered.
Kwon Jae-jin still longed for the Seo Eui-woo who had disappeared.
For the four years they had spent together, a time steeped in both love and resentment…
***
This couldn’t be happening. Kwon Jae-jin was at a loss for words.
‘Gasoline really does burn differently…’
The living room was a disaster.
To put it into words, everything had burned except for the window glass.
The ivory-colored leather sofa was charred black. The pleated curtains and pure cotton carpet had disintegrated into ashes, completely unrecognizable. The wooden flooring had been scorched through and collapsed in places, and the wallpaper, door frames, and even the doors had all been blackened beyond distinction. It was impossible to tell where the walls ended and the doors began. Even the ceiling bore scorch marks from stray embers and the chaotic aftermath of the sprinklers going off…
Standing at the entrance of the hallway, Jae-jin let out a quiet, hollow breath.
There was no way he could walk through this ruin barefoot.
As he glanced around, searching for slippers, Seo Eui-woo stepped out of the bedroom behind him, stretching and yawning as he asked, “Looking for something?”
“…Slippers.”
After utterly wrecking Jae-jin last night, Eui-woo had apparently enjoyed a fantastic night’s sleep. Like some kind of ritual where a sacrifice is drained to grant eternal life, he had sucked Jae-jin dry through guiding and achieved the supreme feat of an undisturbed, refreshing slumber.
Fucking bastard.
Somehow, the better Eui-woo slept each night, the worse it got for Jae-jin. A chill crept down the back of his neck.
“Even if you wear slippers, your feet will still get dirty. I’ll just carry you.”
Eui-woo extended his right hand.
The moment Jae-jin took it, both of them rose effortlessly into the air. They were floating.
If Eui-woo could levitate objects with telekinesis, there was no reason he couldn’t do the same with people. He moved through the air as if it were as natural as walking.
“Where do you want to go?”
Jae-jin, resigned to everything at this point, sighed and answered wearily, “…The dressing room. I need to put on some clothes.”
“Ah. Alright.”
It wasn’t even worth arguing with Eui-woo anymore.
If he was going to carry him, so be it. If he was going to make him float, fine. If he looked refreshed and well-rested, good for him. Our boy has done it, hooray, how admirable… Best to just let it go. What else could he do?
Drifting weightlessly like a balloon, Jae-jin arrived at the dressing room. He grabbed two sets of random clothes—T-shirts and pants—tossing one set to Eui-woo and slipping into the other himself.
Eui-woo always made sure to wash Jae-jin after guiding, but never dressed him. Maybe he just preferred skin-to-skin contact, because he always left him naked, clinging to him as he fell asleep. Because of that, getting dressed the moment he woke up had become part of Jae-jin’s morning routine.
Once fully clothed, he found himself in light blue jeans and a white hoodie. When he turned to check on Eui-woo, he saw him still holding the clothes in his hands, standing there idly, watching him.
“…Aren’t you going to put them on?”
When Jae-jin nudged him to hurry up, Seo Eui-woo chuckled softly and finally slid the fabric up his endlessly long legs. He ended up wearing dark blue jeans and a white hoodie, almost identical to Jae-jin’s outfit.
It must have been because Jae-jin had grabbed two sets from the shelves where clothes were sorted by type.
Though unintentional, the matching outfits made Jae-jin pull a strange expression. It felt oddly like they were wearing couple’s clothes. Of course, Eui-woo seemed completely unaware of that.
He was clueless about how normal people dated, let alone what it truly meant to become someone’s partner. The Seo Eui-woo from the first timeline had been just as ignorant—until Jae-jin had explained it to him.
“I’m done dressing.”
“Well done. Now, let’s head to the kitchen.”
“Yes. Hold my hand.”
Eui-woo reached out again, and Jae-jin took his hand.
Now that he was clothed, he felt more like a civilized person, making the trip to the kitchen far more comfortable.
“Are you going to cook? Are you hungry, Jae-jin?”
“No. Coffee.”
With an extra shot. Strong.
There was no way he could start the day without chugging an iced Americano.
Jae-jin pulled a shot of espresso, then filled his cup with ice, making the drink so cold that it sent a sharp tingle down the back of his head.
As he gulped it down straight from the cup, not even bothering with a straw, Eui-woo watched him closely from the side. His gaze was so blatant that Jae-jin was tempted to say something, but he really couldn’t be bothered. Instead, he simply held out his hand.
“Where do you want to go next?”
When Eui-woo took his hand, Jae-jin gestured upward with a tilt of his chin, coffee still in hand.
“The rooftop.”
“The rooftop? Why?”
“There’s an ocean up there.”
“Yes, and?”
“It’s blue.”
At that, Eui-woo’s eyes curved slightly without another word. His gaze, soft and yielding, was nice to look at.
“You might feel a little dizzy.”
As soon as he said that, Jae-jin’s stomach flipped.
Light burst around them, bright flashes flickering in rapid succession like camera shutters going off. The glare stung his eyes, making him turn his head away, and a sea breeze brushed through his hair.
When he slowly opened his eyes, they were already on the rooftop.
The vast, open sky and the rolling waves of deep blue spread out before them in silent welcome.
Tiny orbs of light floated around them like fireflies, twirling and dancing through the air.
“Do you like it?”
Jae-jin didn’t answer.
Instead of answering, Jae-jin reached out and pointed toward the distant sea.
“There.”
“Hm?”
“Let’s go there.”
Jae-jin gazed at Seo Eui-woo.
If Eui-woo could fly through the sky and teleport instantly, then surely, he could carry them over the ocean as well. They weren’t supposed to go outside, but if it was over the open sea, there wouldn’t be anyone around to see them.
Eui-woo suddenly burst into laughter. His voice, light and carefree, sounded just like any other young man his age.
“You trust me too much. What if I drop you?”
“Are you going to?”
“No, never.”
Once again, everything lit up.
Jae-jin closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were hovering over the endless ocean.
The brilliant sunlight scattered across the waves, refracting into countless colors. White seafoam rolled and crashed below, its spray lightly splashing against their bare feet.
It was truly dazzling.
He couldn’t tell whether the brightness was a lingering trace of teleportation or if the sight before him was simply that breathtaking.
Jae-jin took a sip of the iced Americano he had brought with him.
It was perfect.
The best coffee he had ever tasted in his life.
His lips curled slightly. The usual stiff, fatigued expression of an overworked office worker softened, and for once, he smiled.
Eui-woo didn’t miss that moment.
“So, you like this kind of thing…”
He didn’t even blink as he burned the image of Jae-jin’s rare smile into his memory.
“I thought you weren’t too fond of the ocean. That’s why I was looking for a house somewhere else, away from the coast. But I guess I was completely wrong.”
“…You know it was because of the Gate. I wanted to get as far away from it as possible.”
“Then how about we move to another beach? A different coastline.”
“Doesn’t matter. I like mountains too. I used to rock climb as a hobby.”
“Oh, is that what they call a sport? One of those extreme sports normal people do?”
“Yeah. It was probably just another form of training for you, though…”
Eui-woo reached out and wrapped his arms around Jae-jin’s waist.
Jae-jin let him.
He simply took another sip of coffee.
“I’ve decided. We’ll get multiple houses. We’ll live in the mountains for a while, then by the sea. We can just move around together.”
“……”
“We can teleport anywhere, so it wouldn’t be hard at all. Mornings in the mountains, evenings by the sea… Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”
Jae-jin simply nodded in silence.
Thinking it over, it actually seemed like a great idea.
They could own multiple houses, like vacation homes, and rotate between them depending on the season or even the time of day.
As someone from a working-class background, Jae-jin had always considered owning even one home a miracle. The idea of owning multiple properties had never crossed his mind.
You wouldn’t understand unless you’d lived in a rental.
After all, when you’re stuck working overtime every day, practically living at the office, your paycheck vanishes into rent before you even get to touch it. And that’s just the beginning—there’s also maintenance fees, food expenses, transportation, social obligations, insurance, phone bills… By the time all those financial black holes are done sucking your salary dry, there’s barely anything left. Maybe just enough to scrape together a tiny bit of savings.
Even if you went all in, gathering every last penny and taking out a massive loan just to buy a house, the interest rates were sky-high, and property prices had already shot past the clouds.
Would Seo Eui-woo even understand this kind of life?
Probably not.
The fact that Jae-jin’s hobbies consisted of running and rock climbing—activities that required little to no equipment—said it all. He simply hadn’t had the financial luxury to invest in anything more expensive.