Chapter 2: A Second Chance

‘What the hell… What just happened?’

Minseop sat alone in the room, deep in thought.

He couldn’t wrap his head around the current situation.

‘What the hell is going on…?’

He picked up his phone.

But the phone in his hand was a V70.

‘This… I used this seven years ago… And…?’

The date had changed too.

The last time Minseop streamed was on July 1st, 2040.

But the phone now displayed the date as July 1st, 2033.

He had checked online news articles as well.

Everything was from seven years ago.

There was only one conclusion to draw from this.

‘Regression? I regressed? This is insane…!!’

It was the kind of thing that only happened in novels or comics.

He pinched his cheek to see if it was a dream.

It wasn’t.

‘This doesn’t make any sense at all.’

His confusion didn’t settle easily.

A sudden regression.

To be honest, accepting this situation in an instant was difficult.

‘Damn it. Fine, let’s say I did regress. But couldn’t it have been ten years ago? Before my accident?’

Minseop slapped his leg.

There was no sensation.

Looking at it, he muttered bitterly.

‘They could’ve been a little more generous and sent me three more years back. Haa…’

He let out a long sigh.

He still couldn’t fully grasp the situation.

But maybe because he had always read a lot of novels and similar stuff—

He was gradually adapting.

‘When I saw how young Mom looked, I was genuinely shocked.’

No joke, it felt like his lifespan had been shortened.

He thought she had secretly gone and gotten Botox or something.

That’s how young she looked.

‘Ugh… My head hurts…’

Minseop clutched his temples.

It felt like a splitting headache was coming on.

Even though he was starting to adjust, his brain still couldn’t process everything.

Just then—

[Ping!]

A sudden alert rang out.

Minseop lifted his head.

‘What was that? A notification…?’

But as soon as he looked up, he flinched.

His face stiffened.

Something that should never be visible was floating in the air.

‘What… is this?’

[You’ve received a message. Would you like to check it? (Y/N)]

Minseop froze.

He lowered his head and muttered, ‘I’ve finally gone insane. Hallucinations now… Seriously crazy.’

He shook his head.

Then looked up again.

‘It’s still there.’

He rubbed his eyes.

‘It’s still there?’

He stretched, closed his eyes, and took a moment to meditate and calm his mind.

Then he opened his eyes again.

‘Fuck, it’s really still there?’

The curse slipped out on its own.

No matter how he looked at it, this wasn’t normal.

But maybe because he had already experienced something as absurd as regression—

He pulled himself together quickly.

‘Hoo… I don’t know what this is, but let’s check it out first.’

Minseop pressed [Y] to confirm.

[Checking message…]

[I always enjoyed watching your streams. I don’t want you to quit.]

Only one message had come.

As soon as Minseop read it, he instinctively knew.

‘It’s this guy.’

This message—this sender—was the reason he had regressed.

‘What the hell… Who the hell is this…? No—what are they?’

Someone regressed him.

‘Reversing time?’

That was impossible for any human.

Only one kind of being could do something like that—

A god.

‘But wait, if there’s a god, why me? I don’t even follow a religion.’

Minseop tilted his head.

He couldn’t understand why he, an irreligious man, had been regressed.

His head started to hurt again.

‘And they don’t want me to quit streaming?’

He tried to interpret the message.

‘What did that mean?’

‘Was there a connection between the regression and his stream?’

‘I’m still streaming now, so it can’t be about the present. Then… does it mean the stream before regression…?’

A thought surfaced in his mind.

Before the regression, he had done his final stream.

And among the remaining viewers—

For some reason, one in particular stood out.

‘Chronos…’

He remembered.

‘If you could go back seven years, would you?’

That’s what Chronos had asked him.

And Minseop had responded,
‘I’d like to.’

He had only answered because it was just a question.

He never actually believed it was possible.

It was an offhand remark…

‘Wait, are you telling me I regressed because of that? No—are you telling me Chronos regressed me?’

Regressing a person.

That wasn’t something humans could do.

Time wasn’t something humans could control.

So there was only one possibility left.

‘He’s a god?’

‘The last viewer… was a god?’

That was the only explanation that made sense of the current situation.

‘But seriously, what kind of god watches my stream?’

His confusion snowballed.

One question led to another.

No matter how much he thought, agonized, or struggled—

The answers wouldn’t come.

There was no clear solution, and no one who could give him one.

‘Haa… This is way too much…’

Minseop scratched his head.

He had regressed.

And honestly, it wasn’t such a bad thing.

In fact, it was kind of great.

Think about it—what’s the biggest advantage of regression?

The overwhelming amount of information you already have.

He knew exactly which games would be released, which strategies would be posted, and which titles would become popular.

But there was one small problem.

‘My memory…’

Minseop wasn’t particularly confident in his memory.

If he had been, he probably would’ve done better in school as a kid.

Back then, his grades were solidly average.

‘Hmm… this was seven years ago, right…? I’ve seen so much, but…’

There was definitely a lot of information inside his head.

But the problem was pulling it out—he wasn’t good at recalling things clearly.

Still, there was one thing he could remember.

‘Wait a second… wasn’t the most popular game around this time ‘Heir of a Fallen House’? Hmm…’

He had tried playing ‘Heir of a Fallen House.’

But it was too hard.

That game required a lot of physical skill.

And Minseop had always lacked that.

He remembered quitting the game after just a week.

‘Right, I think I got backstabbed by my younger brother and died, didn’t I?’

‘If I were to stream something now, that game would be perfect… The only problem is…’

The problem was his physical ability.

‘Heir of a Fallen House’ was a game that was nearly impossible to play without strong reflexes and control.

Could he really do any better now, just because he picked it back up?

‘No, wait. There were strategy guides.’

Before his regression, tons of strategy guides for ‘Heir of a Fallen House’ had been posted online, and Minseop had read them.

If he could just remember those guides, it might be worth giving it another shot.

‘The problem is, how do I remember them…’

Just as he was struggling with that thought—

[Ding~]

[To help you in your time of need, a skill has been transmitted.]

A sudden message popped into his mind.

As soon as Minseop read it, another message appeared in front of his eyes.

[Skill: Flashback (Jumadeung)]

[Type: Active]

[Description: Allows you to view memories from the past, like a revolving lantern. By closing your eyes and focusing on the memory you want to recall, you can view it. However, not everything can be retrieved.]

Minseop’s expression turned into one of complete confusion.

He didn’t understand what was going on.

‘Flashback? Isn’t that what people see right before they die…?’

The name made him uneasy.

‘Seeing scenes from your past right before death… Is that what this is supposed to be?’

That’s what “jumadeung” implied—a vision of one’s life flashing before their eyes before death.

‘Hmm… I don’t know what’s going on anymore.’

Minseop scratched his head.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come to any conclusion.

But then, he realized something.

‘Wait a minute. What if someone connected me to virtual reality while I was asleep?’

If that were the case, it would explain everything.

If this was all a VR simulation, then bringing up old phone models or news articles could be possible.

But Minseop quickly dismissed that idea.

‘There’s no way that’s possible…’

In order to connect to virtual reality, the user’s consent and approval were always required.

Security protocols were in place to prevent abuse.

So something like this happening as a prank was impossible.

‘Then this really is reality…’

Minseop rubbed his head and reread the skill description.

Then, thinking he had nothing to lose, he decided to try it out.

“I just say it out loud, right? Flashback.”

[Activating skill: Flashback]

[Warning: While using this skill, your physical body will be completely defenseless. Please use it in a safe location.]

[Would you like to proceed? (Y/N)]

A polite message appeared, asking for confirmation.

Minseop pressed Y and activated the skill.

He closed his eyes in silence.

The memory he wanted to see was from ‘Heir of a Fallen House.’

Seven years ago, it was a brand-new release, but before his regression, it had already been thoroughly documented.

If he could recall the strategies, streaming the game would be easy.

‘W-What the…?’

He hadn’t opened his eyes yet, but the darkness around him suddenly lit up.

And then a stunning sight unfolded before him.

‘Is that… me?’

Another version of himself appeared before his eyes.

He was reading a strategy forum.

It was the strategy board for ‘Heir of a Fallen House.’

‘The date on the post says… 2040. That’s before I came back in time.’

It was shocking.

He was really watching a scene from his past.

And it was incredibly detailed.

‘I can read it… Yeah, the game was like this, right?’

As he read the posts on the forum, the memories he had forgotten started flooding back.

Clearly and vividly.

‘This should be enough…’

[Would you like to cancel the use of the Flashback skill? (Y/N)]

Just as Minseop thought he’d seen enough, another message appeared in front of his eyes.

He pressed Y again.

A strange sensation washed over him as the world darkened once more.

Then, he opened his eyes.

He had returned to reality.

“It’s real…”

The information was still fresh in his mind.

Sure, the memories would fade with time, but that wasn’t a big deal.

‘I can always just look again.’

Whenever he started forgetting, he could revisit the memory like a quick review.

‘Wait a second… If that’s the case, do I even need to stream anymore?’

‘Why had he wanted to stream in the first place?’

It was to make money.

He had started his streaming career because he wanted to support his struggling parents and give them a more comfortable life.

But now, he had a skill like Flashback.

And he had regressed in time.

Did he really need to stream anymore?

It wasn’t that he hated streaming, but after failing once already, he couldn’t help but hesitate a bit.

‘If I just use this skill to look up stocks or lottery numbers, I could get rich instantly!!’

A much easier way to make money had appeared right in front of him.

There was no reason to hesitate now.

‘I’ll make money some other way, and just stream for fun.’

‘Streaming as a hobby… That’s the dream, right? Hahaha…’

A satisfied grin spread across Minseop’s face.

‘I’m rich now!!’