After coming back, Bom began to move inside the kitchen, and soon, a salty smell spread throughout Yu Jitae's room. Seeing that, Yu Jitae felt strange, because the last expression he had seen on her face during the previous iteration still lingered in his mind.
"Hnn hnn ~"
As if she was in a good mood, Bom was humming.
Could he consider their first meeting as something mundane? He wondered. She seemed to have been fine. A person in a bad mood wouldn't be human, after all, but when he kidnapped her, Bom's expression was stiff.
Something good must have happened midway, but he couldn't comprehend it. Even then, cooking suited Bom quite well. Out of the six previous iterations, she had a profession four times. She had been a painter during two of those rounds, a sculptor once, and a novelist once.
In any case, she liked to 'create things.' Suddenly, he became curious. In this life, where the environment had changed greatly, what would she become? It would be very interesting to see.
Either way, he thought it was already time.
Recovering from his thoughts about Bom, he began to search through the news for events in a distant foreign land
—Africa. Within that continent across the ocean, incidents were reported one after another.
—In South Africa, a large-scale armed conflict has occurred.
—An airstrike by the demon terrorist group, Barkata. 1,400 civilian casualties.
—The South African Nations (SAN) say, "Africa will not give in to violence."
—The Barkata faction kidnaps and kills 14 workers associated with SAN, sharing the videos. The World Hunters Association condemns them as the scum of humanity.
—Clouds of war cover South Africa, with continued concerns of more terrorist attacks…
Africa was currently in the midst of war. Unlike past wars that used swords and guns, this was a war of superhumans. This long conflict would continue until the Apocalypse descended upon Earth, claiming countless victims.
To be honest, he didn't care if people died or not, but if one of those deaths included a 'Red Dragon,' then things were different.
The timing of this iteration was one year after the Dragons had begun their Amusement, and the Red Dragon, who loved battles, played a role on the battlefield day and night. Then, she was unfortunately attacked by a high-ranking superhuman and severely injured. This was an event that hastened the coming Apocalypse.
Thus, it was better to start looking for her before she was wounded out of arrogance. Reflecting on the time and date, he realized only a few days remained.
He had to move soon.
"Ahjussi."
That was when Bom waved her hand from the kitchen. It seemed the food was almost ready.
On the plate, there was a dish resembling fried rice, and judging by its slight brown hue, soy sauce seemed to have been used. Grabbing the spoon, he scooped up a spoonful of rice and put it into his mouth.
"How is it?"
After chewing for a bit, he paused. Then, without saying a word, he took another spoonful.
"You're eating well."
He continued eating in silence. After putting the last spoonful into his mouth, Yu Jitae finally put down the spoon. Seeing the empty plate, a blush appeared on Bom's face.
This dish was truly…
"It was delicious, right?"
Terrible.
Thinking a part of it might taste good, he ate it all, but no such thing existed. However, since Yu Jitae didn't answer, Bom seemed to have accepted it as a yes.
"Wah, thank you, ahjussi. This is the dish I'm most confident in."
"…What's it called?"
"Mmm, I haven't decided yet."
He had a feeling that might be the case because there was no way something so salty and bitter could exist in this world. Without understanding, he looked at the empty plate before raising his head.
"I'll make it again next time."
...
Thus began the strange cohabitation of the Regressor and the Dragon. Bom quickly adapted to the house. She cooked and washed the dishes, watched television, and read books, living as if it were her home. One day, she brought a small potted plant.
It was a jar without any signs of life inside.
"What's this?"
"The house is all dark, right? I thought it needed something like this."
As Bom had said, Yu Jitae's house was a divided copy of himself, filled with achromatic colors. The wallpaper and furniture were dull in color, the shelves were strictly organized, and there wasn't a speck of dust on the floor. It was an environment that seemed unnatural to anyone.
"Want to take a look?"
Bom placed her hand on the soil inside the jar and slowly closed her eyes. When she carefully lifted her hand again, there was a small cotyledon sprouting. It matched her characteristics as the Dragon of nature.
In any case, the two maintained their distance and space while living together for a few days. Yu Jitae was originally a man of few words, and since Bom also had a quiet personality, the two didn't talk much despite being in the same area.
"I'm back, my lord."
Meanwhile, the clone repeated the routine of coming and going from work, sharing the daily life of that day with Yu Jitae. Yu Jitae and the clone could share memories, and after closing his eyes for a moment, Yu Jitae opened them again and nodded.
"Everyone seems to be having trouble because of Jo Hosik or whatever."
Within those memories were the mundane emotions felt by ordinary humans. Anxiety that came from the possibility of not catching the criminal; happiness from finding small pieces of evidence; the new recruit feeling tired, and the emotions of the team leader offering comfort.
Such emotions, which he was still not used to, gradually accumulated in Yu Jitae's mind.
"Would it be right for me to go and help with the investigation?"
"It's fine. Leave it until the deadline, and if they still haven't found him, you can go help."
"I understand."
Yu Jitae reviewed some of the clone's memories and reflected on a similar situation. People living their daily lives would say something like this.
"…Good job."
This was a phrase uttered by the team leader when the rookie returned from a deadlock. Praising someone was something he hadn't done in a long time.
"My loyalty is only to my Lord."
But the clone, with its head lowered, cautiously asked a question.
"However, may I ask one thing?"
Though it was Yu Jitae's clone, it didn't know everything about him.
"What?"
"What is the meaning of a daily life like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Among the beings in charge of me, there has never been anyone who desired daily life. They tried to use me in more significant ways, like killing someone who needed to be killed and sending me to places for greater influence."
The 'myself' mentioned here referred to the Archduke's Shadow (SS) itself, rather than Yu Jitae's clone. Due to exceeding its limits, the skill itself had developed a personality.
"And?"
"And yet, my lord is trying to experience what daily life is. My insignificant self cannot understand it."
Hearing the clone's words, Yu Jitae closed his lips and stared out the window, lost in deep thought.
"…If it was an insolent question, I apologize."
"It's fine. Go back now."
"Yes."
After the clone returned, Yu Jitae stared out the window for a long time. The reason I need to discover what daily life is—he thought about the last repetition.
That day, thunder roared wildly, and rain poured in torrents. Looking up at the sky, a massive fissure formed with a diameter of 200 km, featuring a jagged edge at its center. The Green Dragon, covered in mud, collapsed to the ground as his gaze went between the body at his feet and Yu Jitae.
"Is this the end you desired?"
Her voice was icy, yet he remained silent. He could easily declare that the "sixth round" was the fiercest of the hundred years of repetition. In his quest for strength, Yu Jitae had torn open a rift in dimensions and ventured into the Demon World, battling through endless wars for decades. Occasionally, he returned to Earth to eliminate any organizations or individuals that had posed threats to the Dragons in previous lives.
It was a relentless cycle of war, and all that suffering was aimed at putting an end to the damn repetitions.
And yet...
"Was this the future you claimed to be preparing?"
As she cried, the Green Dragon stared at Yu Jitae with eyes filled with hatred. She placed a hand on the forehead of the girl resting her head on her knees. The child's skin was turning cold.
He had thought that hiding them well enough would suffice. Yet one of the Dragons had taken her own life. The memories of the deceased Dragon transcended dimensions and reached her family in another realm. All his hard work had amounted to nothing, and in the face of such a conclusion, Yu Jitae felt utterly powerless.
Like a statue, he stood frozen.
"You don't know why this girl took her own life, do you?"
"..."
"Of course, you don't know, and you'll never know in the future. Because you never considered us to be living beings."
"..."
"So now I will teach you what 'Fun' means to us."
Words he had never heard, despite the repeated cycles, began to flow from the Green Dragon's mouth.
"We, the Dragons, are beings that live for thousands of years and never forget. Throughout our long lives, we experience everything that existence can offer. And when we become adults after a millennium, nothing new remains. We lose stimulation, and gradually, we begin to lose our emotions.
Even then, we live. We must endure thousands of years without feeling anything, devoid of emotions, because we are the Mediators of Cause and Effect. That is our existence—a monotonous life. But did you know? Even for us, there is one thing we cherish.
Those are the experiences we had during our Fun times. When we were babies, everything in the world was strange, new, and even terrifying. Discovering such things was exhilarating. We could empathize with others' sadness, feel anger at injustice, and genuinely rejoice when our efforts bore fruit—those memories. Unlike humans who forget, we cannot lose those memories because we simply do not forget.
Adult Dragons remember the memories and emotions of their youth and relive those moments endlessly, until the day of our death. For us, Fun and the first moments of Fun, like now, hold that kind of significance.
And yet, you have ruined all of that."
As she wept continuously, the Green Dragon did not shy away from the Regressor's gaze. Yu Jitae let out a cold sigh as a myriad of emotions surged within him. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he wanted to offer an excuse, but he could not. Thus, he remained silent.
"I will never forget what happened today. Ever."
After finishing her words, the Green Dragon buried the deceased relatives in her arms and sobbed. Although it was the Regressor who had repeated his life, something deep within his heart, long unmoved, twisted in pain. That feeling became a drop of poison, coursing through his veins.
Feeling as if he would collapse if he stayed there any longer, the Regressor turned away and walked aimlessly for what felt like an eternity. He did not halt his steps for a long time.
"Ahjussi."
It was then that a voice roused him from his thoughts.
It was Bom.
"Were you sleeping?"
Yu Jitae slowly opened his eyes. There was the Green Dragon, who had just cursed him, looking at him with a bright expression.
"I'm sorry if I disturbed your sleep."
"I wasn't asleep. What's going on?"
"It's this. I bought it because it looked interesting, but I don't know how to solve it. Please help me."
Selfishly, she pushed a scrambled Rubik's Cube toward him.
"Where did you get this?"
"I heard there's a place called the Lair, so I went there. Ah, right, you work near that place too, don't you?"
"Yes."
"I bought it there while I was playing. They sold it as a souvenir."
As she spoke, the Lair's logo was emblazoned in the center of the cube.
Yu Jitae was about to say that he didn't know how to solve it either, but he halted before the words escaped his lips. Among the memories brought forth by the copy, he recalled a phrase spoken by a senior to a junior tasked with an overly challenging endeavor.
Half-heartedly, Yu Jitae decided to echo the senior's words from his recollection.
"... Let's solve it together."
"Really?"
"Why?"
"That was just unexpected."
Thus, Yu Jitae and Bom pondered for a long time and began to solve the cube together. And after several hours...
Click!
The cube was solved.
"We did it."
Bom gazed at the cube, then turned to Yu Jitae with wide eyes. After the hundred years she had spent observing the Green Dragon, this was the first time she had seen such an expression.
"Do you like it that much?"
Her eyes arched like bows.
"Yes, I like it a lot."
...
Some support wouldn't be bad
https://ko-fi.com/entiity ☕