An unexpected situation in which I bounced out of 'Park Moondae' and returned to my original body?
Of course, I thought about it and expected it. In the first place, I was trying to find a way to return.
The problem was… Although I never thought of going back with the owner of the original body.
[…]
"… …"
[I-]
"Be quiet. I'm thinking about it."
[Yes… …]
I pressed my forehead with both hands as I heard a voice that sounded like a crying resonance.
My head was itchy.
'Fuck.'
I couldn't figure out what the heck this… No, I needed to gather information.
"You… Your name is Park Moondae."
[Yes, yes… !]
There was no clear color in his voice, but I could understand some of it from the way he spoke.
It meant that a little intimidated child seemed to be right.
'Damn it.'
Could it be that this was the 'conversation with Park Moondae'reward I received for clearing the mission?
There was a degree of absurdity. It was a sudden reward like this, then I would need to take a look… wait a minute.
"… !"
I am… I was just receiving the grand prize. At the music awards ceremony being broadcasted live.
In an instant, my blood cooled.
[Gunwoo hyung… ?]
I ignored his words and got up immediately. And started looking around.
[What, what are you doing?]
"Cell phone."
After ripping off the blanket, I asked in a low voice.
"Where is the phone?"
[I don't know… I don't know why I'm here… !]
I wandered around the room and finally found a small TV on a dining table next to the sink.
'TV?'
I had never bought anything like this… Well, I had to turn it on first.
I quickly turned the screen to the news channel. I wondered if there was any breaking news. And… I saw it.
Today's date floated small at the bottom of the news channel.
"… !"
[December 15, 202X]
It was 4 years ago.
Today, when I lived, it wasn't the day of the award ceremony at the end of November, when TeStar received their first grand prize.
… Instead, it was December 15th. Park Moondae's birthday.
It was the same day that I entered the body of Park Moondae, who was lying in a motel after taking a sleep inducer.
The day everything happened.
"… … Hoo."
As I stepped back, I stumbled over the chair.
[Are you okay??]
Did I come back?
'No.'
That couldn't be.
So, this… It was all too similar to when I was really in a coma, but even then… … …
Okay. I knew for sure.
"Is it a dream again?"
[What? Hyung!]
I sat down in a chair. And I clasped my fingers together. The tremors subsided.
"Okay. Let's talk."
Since this was the fucking reward, it must have a meaning.
I opened my mouth without hesitation.
"Park Moondae. You said you didn't know why you were here."
[What? … Yes.]
Whether that was a lie or not, it meant that he wasn't in a state where he could easily explain why I entered his body. If that was the case, then I would need to ask him in reverse.
"Then what were you doing right before this uproar started?"
[I-I… ]
The waves in his voice wavered a bit uneasily. I waited patiently for an answer.
[… I went to visit hyung in the hospital.]
"Hyung?"
It was the first time I heard that Park Moondae had a hyung.
However, an unexpected answer came back.
[Gunwoo hyung… hyung.]
"… !"
It was me.
Visiting me at the hospital? What was going on… No, there was something I had felt since earlier.
'This guy knows me.'
From the beginning, without hesitation, he called me 'Gunwoo hyung'. It meant that he was sure that he had a relationship with me.
I seemed to have caught a clue. I continued to ask questions.
"When?"
[That is… ! That's strange for me too, I'm sure I was living in the year 202X, but in the previous broadcast, the year was strange… .]
I had to admit this. I guess this guy… He was the Park Moondae in the last 'truth' confirmation I saw.
The future Park Moondae, who was not in my memory, who kept in touch after getting a meal from me.
A small trembling resonance rang again.
[By any chance… Don't you know me?]
"I'm not sure."
[What??]
I mean, I didn't even know if I actually knew him.
"First, tell me the last situation you remember. I… Because my memory seems to be jumbled right now."
[That, then…]
Park Moondae was hesitant, but soon began to obediently share his memories.
[Hyung… You were hospitalized, so I went to see you because I was worried. But after that, when I came to my senses, it was like this…]
"Why was I hospitalized?"
[… Uh, you were overworked.]
I nodded.
"Don't lie."
[… !]
It was nonsense to say that I was hospitalized from overworking. And this guy, when he lied, the tone of his voice changed.
"There must have been another reason, not from overworking."
And there was an answer that passed through my head.
"… Did I make an extreme choice?"
[ … Yes. Hy-hyung … Your heart hurt a lot and you were tired… I guess you remember that.]
As expected.
I tried to die in the last truth check, but I didn't really die and must have been taken to the hospital at good timing.
The bad luck wasn't too bad though. The situation was absurd, but I nodded my head.
"So, what kind of conversation did you have when you visited the hospital?"
[We couldn't talk. Hyung hasn't woken up yet…]
"… …"
I was in a coma.
I inquired further, but he said that he did nothing in particular during the hospital visit. Looking at the nuance, he wasn't lying.
So, was there anything more to know?
"What were you thinking?"
[What?]
As a result of the last cross-validation, I hypothesized that those who returned to the past seemed to have been selected based on the last thoughts and desires.
If so, it was necessary to check the last memory of this 'Park Moondae'. I had never wished to enter Park Moondae's body.
"I wonder what was the last thing you thought about back then."
For example, he might have thought that if that was his future, he would want to run away.
[… …]
The resonance was trembling even more, but he spoke without hesitation.
[It was nothing. I just thought it would be nice if hyung lived a long, healthy life… …]
"… … !"
It was an answer I did not expect.
I was a bit stunned, so I kept my mouth shut. Somewhat… Because it felt petty.
'Damn it.'
And after a while, I said something.
"First… I'm sorry."
[… What??]
"I'm sorry for suddenly talking like I'm questioning you. It must have been surprising."
No, it was fortunate that he hadn't panicked, as his body suddenly disappeared and only his voice remained.
It was a dream, so It was stupid to suddenly threaten this guy. I had to deal with it more rationally.
"Anyway, when you came to visit… Thank you for thinking like that."
[Ah…]
Resonance was mixed with slight bewilderment.
[No! You've been helping all along, but I haven't paid anything back…]
What did he mean by paying me back?
I expected it, but I didn't think he ever had much help from people around him. I didn't know how many times I would hear that over a bowl of soup.
I was thankful, but I had to move on to something more productive.
"That's fine, but more than that, how exactly are you now?"
[Ah! Well, I can't move my body… When hyung moves, I also feel it… ?]
"Okay."
Then we shared the same body, but I had the right to control it.
Anyway, the 'conversation with Park Moondae' was taking place. It was a bizarre way to make us talk in the same body, though.
'Why is it like this?'
If it was going to make a dream like this anyway, shouldn't we just talk with each other's bodies?
Perhaps… In the reality where I lived, there was no 'real ego of Park Moondae', so was it implemented in this way?
"Hmm."
It wasn't a very pleasant hypothesis, and I couldn't come to a conclusion. I'd have to check out how this dream was structured.
I got up and started searching my phone again. It was then.
[Um, hyung, are you looking for your phone?]
"Yes."
[That… Maybe it's in your back pocket.]
The voice added with a confident tone.
[Now I feel like I have something in my back pocket…]
Ah.
I immediately put my hand in the pocket of my jeans. And I found a familiar square.
I sighed.
"Thanks."
I wasn't crazy enough to consider this. I clicked my tongue and opened the phone.
Then a pop-up appeared.
[Network registration failed.]
"… ?"
This… It was a pop-up that could only appear in an engineering machine. No phone number…
… No way.
With a strange intuition, I immediately turned my head and looked around.
At that time, I didn't notice much because I lived with the option, but there was a clear sense of incompatibility.
And I found the cause.
[Hyung?]
It was a family picture above the system window.
It was a picture of four strangers. Never something I would photograph, buy, or place.
Traces of others.
"… …"
All of a sudden, a thought crossed my mind.
When I first entered the body of 'Park Moondae', I checked Ryu Gunwoo's active account, phone number, and site ID.
Everything was gone.
At first, I thought it was a parallel world, but I concluded that it was a supernatural evaporation after going through verification that 'all accounts and records that were used in the past remained'.
-'Ryu Gunwoo' disappeared from all places, including the Internet and the real world, starting from the moment I entered the body of 'Park Moondae'.
And if, now… What if I suddenly 'appeared' in that situation 4 years ago?
Without any connection to reality.
To check, I inadvertently hit my face.
[Hyung!]
"… …"
It hurt.
'Fuck.'
I got up right away. And I took a closer look around.
And I came to a conclusion.
'This is not where I used to live.'
And judging from the pain, it wasn't even a dream. This was fucking reality.
Then, the first thing I should do was…
"Let's go."
[We're leaving??]
Yes. If the monthly rent contract was also initialized, it meant that we were in someone else's house!
I hurriedly came out of my own room, which had become someone else's room.
I didn't touch anything in particular, so they wouldn't notice the trespasser.
The problem was what would come next.
'What I have now is… '
A folder phone that was not even a smartphone that had become an empty machine. And I only had about 140,000 won in my wallet.
"…"
Of course, there would be no bankbook.
'I want to kill it.'
I grinded my teeth. And called out.
"Status window."
Something came up.
[Collection of reward]
"…"
I had to stay calm.
It could be taken in a positive sense. It meant that it would be restored to its original state after receiving the reward.
I thought about how the situation happened right before I had my grand prize acceptance speech. Even thinking about it now didn't help.
"Hoo."
The resonance, who roughly grasped the situation, lowered his voice and hummed.
[Hyung, over there… Are you okay? What kind of situation is this…]
"I'm okay."
Not really. But no matter how much I said shit, nothing would change, so I shut up and sat down.
The most urgent thing right now.
'I don't have a house.'
No, there was no foundation other than a house. Because all contact with society had been reset.
I didn't know how long this damn situation would last, but it wasn't possible to have a working phone right now.
… Then there was only one thing to do.
After making my decision, I moved on again.
[Excuse me… Where are we going now?]
"Convenience store."
I added casually.
"I'm going to buy a lottery ticket."
[Lottery ticket… What? Well, I feel like I've come to the past, but I don't know the lottery numbers…]
There was a misunderstanding.
"I know the numbers."
[…]
I opened my phone again.
Even though it was a machine that didn't make calls or anything, I was able to confirm the day of the week.
-Friday
And tomorrow, Saturday, was the lottery winner announcement day.
I thought about it.
As soon as I entered Park Moondae's body, I thought of the fact that there were no stocks or lottery numbers that I knew, but was it possible that I could have passed by without looking at the numbers announced the next day?
Since I regretted it, I tried to remember.
And such an impressive experience was bound to remain in my head.
'Because I still remember.'
As soon as I entered the convenience store, I bought about 20 lottery tickets, including one or two confusing numbers.
"One of these is right no matter what."
The resonance rang as if it was swallowing saliva.
[Hyung… You're really smart.]
It didn't have anything to do with how smart I was, it was a situation problem. To understand that, I needed to explain a bit about what I went through in my own body.
'Now… This guy seems too tired.'
Anxiety began to mix with the voice from before. He was beginning to realize the situation and was feeling scared.
'For now, I'll give him time to rest.''
I then found a place to stay for a reasonable price. I only had to hold out until Monday morning, so cash was fine.
'Let's rest first, and then talk after the head cools down.'
As soon as I woke up, I needed to tell this guy what I had been through and explain the exact situation.
I spoke as I lay down on the bed.
"If you can't sleep after I fall asleep, wake me up."
[What? No! It's okay...]
"Wake me up."
After checking the status window where only 'receiving compensation' was still open, I fell asleep.
• * *
Light poured into my eyelids.
[Gunwoo hyung… ?]
"Hoo."
I inhaled and opened my eyes. Maybe I fell asleep deeper than I thought, my head was clear.
And I heard a voice that was almost crying.
[Hyung! Oh, I thought you were still here… !]
Why was he so happy? I got up.
And I was bewildered.
"… ?"
I could see the inside of an officetel, not a motel. And the green trees and the sun shone through the window.
"… …"
No, it wasn't December anymore.
"What?"
But first, the voice rose.
[Ah, hyung! We won that lottery! We received 1.2 billion!]
That was good. But what that meant was that time passed to the point where he could buy a house.
I asked him exactly that.
"It seems like a lot of time has passed since the day I bought the lottery ticket."
From then on, the voice became much quieter.
[Yes. You bought a lottery ticket then. I woke up the next day… Hyung was gone, and I turned into hyung… ?]
What?
[That, so, that's what I've been up to…]
It was a dog noise that made my eyes dizzy.
'… Let's stay calm.'
Still, there seemed to be no problem with money whether he won the lottery properly or not.
I erased one of my worries when I saw the house looking much better than the room I used to live in.
But the most poignant part happened next.
[And I… hyung. After hyung disappeared, something strange happened… … …]
"What?"
[L-look at this…]
After a while.
[! Abnormal Status: Pass or die! (1)
If you do not receive a score report without errors in the first written test of the 'Level 7 open competitive recruitment test', death
(TN: Level 7 open competitive recruitment test/7급 공개경쟁채용시험: An open recruitment conducted every year by the Ministry of Personnel Innovation and each metropolitan government to select level 7 civil servants, requiring passing a selective written test and interview)
In the past, it was called an ordinary high school.
"…"
This fucking bastard…