Chapter 53: Trauma

[E13-HRN-KJE#17995 Connecting to the channel.]

The space that used to be filled with countless screens was now overwhelmed by a single, massive memory.

Ash-gray sky. A collapsed city. Right in the center, where a heavy concrete building had crumbled like a biscuit.

There was Ji-eun, collapsed, and me, holding onto her.

【‘Public Relations Bureau, Freesia’ asks if this is going to be a sad ending.】

【‘Audit Bureau, Lemon Candy’ gives them a warning look, telling them to be quiet since the male lead is reviving her.】

It was when Ji-eun unlocked her psychokinesis skill.

A sudden earthquake had sucked me down into the earth, and while trying to save me, she was struck on the head by a falling building and collapsed.

[‘Yongsan District’ survivor count: 1,000.]

The number of survivors had increased from 999 back to 1,000.

To be precise, it was right after she collapsed and just after the honey stone was used.

‘Of all memories, they chose this one?’

It was a little unexpected, but not a particularly strange choice.

A memory of dying and coming back to life.

There could hardly be a more special memory than that.

【‘Investigation Bureau, NyangNyang’ claps, saying the 13th District is really a romance hotspot.】

【‘Audit Bureau, Lemon Candy’ cheers, saying it’s been a while since love was worth risking your life for.】

…The observers’ reactions are a bit strange.

They’re responding as if they’re watching a romance film.

It’s uncomfortable.

Right now, Ji-eun is fiercely fighting for her life on the boundary between life and death.

“Please…!”

And I, holding onto Ji-eun, have a desperate expression as well.

【‘Public Relations Bureau, Freesia’ asks if it’s time to wake her with a kiss.】

【‘Audit Bureau, Lemon Candy’ urges them to hurry, putting their hands together in anticipation.】

But in this situation, they’re talking about kisses and whatnot…

Would they be making such lighthearted comments even if their lives were at stake?

They really don’t know when to stop.

But anyway.

‘Why isn’t she waking up?’

By now, she should have opened her eyes.

I was sure that as soon as I used the honey stone, her crushed head regenerated and she opened her eyes immediately, didn’t she?

At that moment—

【An anonymous observer wonders why she’s not waking up after the honey stone was used.】

‘!!’

I’d only thought it, but a message automatically popped up.

Was the system synced with my thoughts or something?

Either way.

“It’s not working?”

Apparently, the me on the screen was just as anxious, grinding my teeth and getting ready to stand up, a look of something going wrong on my face.

Then—

Ssssssht!

As I tried to stand, Ji-eun grabbed my coat.

Just barely, with her slender index finger and thumb, slowly.

‘Just now, something….’

It felt like the world slowed down.

‘Like when you use the acceleration skill.’

Thinking it must be my imagination, I focused back on the screen.

“U, Eunho!”

Ji-eun opened her eyes.

Her face was somehow redder than usual.

【‘Investigation Bureau, NyangNyang’ giggles, saying the female lead’s shyness is adorable.】

“Ji-eun! Are you okay?!”

“Yes…!”

Alive. She came back to life.

An indescribable joy and relief filled the screen.

The onlookers felt the same.

【‘Public Relations Bureau, Freesia’ asks if they both just saved each other.】

【‘Audit Bureau, Lemon Candy’ is delighted that they’re both in love to death!】

Hmm… The focus is still a little off, though.

“Ji-eun, you just came back from the dead.”

They’re interpreting this situation as romantic.

“What were you thinking? You should have protected yourself first.”

What a wild misunderstanding.

It’s something only people who don’t know Ji-eun could assume.

Once they hear what comes next, they’ll realize.

“I’m sure you would have done the same, Eunho.”

She’s just so kind, acting out of faith in humanity.

So she would have saved anyone, not just me…

“Because it’s you, Eunho.”

Hmm?

That’s not what she said to me before…?

“It’s because it was you.”

She did it because it was me?

There’s something strange about her tone.

And that smile is odd, too.

But the strangest thing—

Suddenly, I hear…

─ She~ maybe the beauty or the beast~

A pop song I’ve heard many times before.

‘Huh?’

“Ji-eun, what is this…?”

“You don’t know?”

A camera zooms in for a close-up on my shaking pupils.

─ Maybe the famine or the feast~

Cheesy background music.

Unnecessary close-up shots.

Pointlessly time-consuming slow motion.

This is just…

‘A romance drama!’

【‘Investigation Bureau, NyangNyang’ covers their mouth at the female lead’s bold confession!】

【An anonymous observer is shocked by the sugary editing!】

Oh no. Something’s off.

As I just stand there, mouth agape—

“Thank you for saving me, Eunho.”

Ji-eun buries her small head against my chest.

Ba-bam— ba-bam— ba-babambababam—

Band music blares out.

And then—

─ I! love! you! baby~ and if it’s quite alright~

A lively song announcing the unknown climax of the story.

‘Ji-eun, don’t tell me…’

【‘Investigation Bureau, NyangNyang’ screams at the adorable skinship!】

【1,000 welfare points donated!】

Phew.

Ji-eun’s boldness surprised me.

Seriously.

I never expected her to be this assertive.

So…

【‘Public Relations Bureau, Freesia’ blesses the beginning of the couple’s journey!】

【500 welfare points donated!】

【‘Audit Bureau, Lemon Candy’ claps, saying it’s been a while since they found a heart-fluttering couple!】

【1,000 welfare points donated!】

She figured out the observers’ preferences and decided to run a romance channel for the sponsorship money!

I already knew she was sharp and quick-witted, being a former secretary, but…

To this extent… I’m impressed.

‘She can handle herself.’

I don’t think I need to worry.

It’s probably better if I leave without interfering…

【‘Investigation Bureau, NyangNyang’ declares they’ll donate 5,000 points for a kiss!】

【1,000 welfare points donated!】

…What?

What are they asking me to do?

【An anonymous observer freezes with tension and shock.】

Let’s get out of here. That’s probably best.

If I stay any longer, I might lose my mind too.

And if Ji-eun finds out I was watching all this…

‘No way!’

Hurry. I need to get out of here fast…!

─ Fwoosh!

I frantically waved my hands.

Dodging the weird close-up shots on the screen.

---

─ Flash!

The ashen scenery that filled my vision vanished.

In my rush to escape, it seems I ended up switching to the adjacent video instead of exiting full screen.

[E13-HRN-CJH#8251 Connecting to the channel.]

It was an unfamiliar scene.

A space that was both familiar and strange.

‘This is…’

Dozens of desks and chairs. A chalkboard with the traces of the last class still on it. Kids in school uniforms.

A school.

And—

“St-stop it, you bastards!”

“What, you want us to stop before we even start?”

One kneeling kid, surrounded by five others laughing at him.

It was the video right next to Ji-eun’s earlier.

I’d skipped over it because I didn’t want to see it, but it’s just as pathetic on a second viewing.

Of all memories, they picked something like that.

─ Smack!

The ringleader, a big guy, slapped the kneeling student across the face.

His head jerked sideways, his upper body wobbling.

Sigh.

The type I never want to associate with.

Thugs in school who prove their worth and boost their self-esteem through violence.

Some say, ‘You can be like that when you’re young,’ but it’s precisely because they’re young that their true nature shows.

‘What an eyesore.’

As I was about to leave the channel, thinking that—

[Go back… huh?]

I saw a familiar face.

A familiar dark face.

A familiar coward.

‘!!’

The scene of school violence.

Right in the middle of a setting that didn’t suit him at all.

[Choi Jae-hyuk…?]

…Why are you there?

---

Choi Jae-hyuk. Twenty-five years old.

He’s always calling me “Hyung! Hyung!” and both Ji-eun and I took him along like a little brother.

Despite being a big guy, he’s so timid—he flinches at the slightest scratch and can’t even properly stab a dead monster’s corpse.

It’s hard to believe he used to be in the military, he’s so soft-hearted.

But now, Jae-hyuk is…

Smack!

He’s getting hit.

Thud!

He’s being kicked.

By a bunch of punks in school uniforms, just like him.

“You bastard, you know today’s collection day, right?”

“Didn’t this punk fail to get money again?”

“Then you should have stolen from the piggy bank or something!”

‘Pig?’

Jae-hyuk once said his parents used to run a butcher shop when he was a kid.

And now, unlike his current self, he was chubbier back then, so maybe that’s why he was targeted.

…By these scumbags.

“Ha, Pig Jae-hyuk.”

The ringleader squatted down beside him, then took something out of his pocket.

“!!”

Shing!

The moment I saw the box cutter, Jae-hyuk started trembling.

But whether Jae-hyuk was scared or not, they didn’t care.

“Heeek!”

“Hey! Don’t move.”

With practiced hands, they unbuttoned Jae-hyuk’s uniform shirt.

And then—

“Where did we finish last time?”

“Didn’t we cover pork neck and sirloin?”

“Then… let’s flip you over today.”

They snickered.

One of them winked and waved the box cutter like an artist gauging their canvas with a 4B pencil.

“Let’s see…”

And then.

Screek—!

“Argh!!”

They sliced open his exposed stomach, just enough to make it bleed.

“Today’s easy. That’s the pork belly, right?”

“Isn’t it the jowl? Shit.”

[These bastards…!]

The reaction to school violence was explosive.

【‘Administration Bureau, Cool Guy’ bounces with excitement at the refreshing action!】

【‘Sales Bureau, Top Performer’ cheers, saying they see the makings of someone great!】

Violence in its rawest form. The weak, brutally trampled.

Because they’re young, with no social experience, without knowing any better…

That’s why their ‘evil’ comes out even purer.

The observers were thrilled by it.

【‘Investigation Bureau, Signboard’ frowns at the frustrating development!】

Some didn’t like it, but not because they were against violence, only because the story wasn’t progressing to their liking.

“Argh!! It hurts so much…!”

“Shit, I told you not to move! You made me mess up!”

“I feel like I’m gonna die! Please, just stop…”

“You won’t die from this much.”

…Now I get it.

The reason Jae-hyuk is so timid.

The reason he’s so sensitive to even small wounds.

‘Trauma…’

This memory was Jae-hyuk’s trauma.

Even after almost ten years, he still couldn’t forget.

No—maybe it’s a scar he’ll never erase, for the rest of his life.

That’s why it was the trauma he most wanted to overcome.

【An anonymous observer rages at the unbearable atrocity!】

Thunk!

It felt like the thread holding my reason together had snapped.

After seeing something like this…

[Open the shop.]

I can’t just stand by.

─ Flash!

[Intermediate Shop, ‘The Golden Wagon That’s Everywhere and Nowhere’ has been summoned!]
[Please select the items to purchase!]

‘Strength enhancement, stamina boost, and…’

Should I just send him a weapon?

Grinding my teeth, I filled the cart—no, the basket as if I were clearing out a nearly closed supermarket, picking items.

“You bastards…”

Jae-hyuk clenched his fist so hard it looked like he’d punch through his own palm.

“I’m still living like this because of you…!”

“What the hell is he saying?!”

“What’s wrong with this punk today?”

Gritting his teeth, his limbs pinned by the others, he muttered—

─ Whoosh!

He grabbed the blade with his right hand.

Crunch!

He broke it.

“?!”

“What the—!”

Clatter!

Their only weapon snapped and fell to the floor.

Jae-hyuk used the moment of confusion to bounce up from the ground.

He raised two fingers—

─ Jab! Thud—!

And stabbed them like a hummingbird.

Right into the other kid’s eye.

“Aaaaargh! You bastard!!!”

“Is this punk crazy?!”

The others tried to rush him.

“You’re the crazy ones! You bastards!!!”

─ Screech!

Jae-hyuk leapt up, already holding a chair in his hand—no, he’d already thrown it.

─ Thud!

Sending them flying like bowling pins.

‘Hmm, this…’

Maybe I don’t need to intervene after all?