Anyway, I ended up going to the same hospital as Kwon Taehan. I came in a different car, but the opinion at the scene had been that I probably needed an examination too.

I sat beside Do Yehyun in the back seat of a police car on the way to the hospital and answered a call from Joo Seowon.

“Yeah, Seowon.”

—Y-you got in an accident? What the hell does that mean? You got in one, right? You didn’t cause it, right?

“I’m fine. I’m on the way to the hospital right now.”

—You crazy... what the fuck is this.... Did the car suddenly take off?

I immediately sensed what Joo Seowon was about to say next and turned the call volume down.

—Don’t tell me, like some crazy bastard, because Hunter Kwon wouldn’t answer your calls, you caused an accident so you could use that as an excuse to contact him, fuck, hey! If you were in your right mind, there’s no way you’d do something like that. Right?

“Who are you worried about right now? Me?”

—I’m worried about myself, you fucking bastard!!!

I asked because I wondered if maybe he was worrying about Kwon Taehan, but what came back was a fierce reaction.

“Fuck, Seowon. Are you seriously going to keep swearing at me?”

—...What? You’re the one who should be...!

I could feel the police officer’s eyes flicking at the back seat through the rearview mirror. Putting the petty bickering aside, I asked,

“Did you see what happened? It must’ve made the news.”

—.......

“I guess the car’s totaled. Think insurance will cover it?”

—Insurance? Stop talking bullshit and start preparing for trial. Fuck, it looks like I’m gonna end up visiting you in jail!

Nobody died, so what kind of jail visit was he talking about? It was a light little incident.

That ended the conversation. I stared for a moment at the call screen after it had disconnected almost like some kind of protest, then handed the phone back to Do Yehyun.

“Thanks. That helped.”

“.......”

While I’d been talking the whole time, Do Yehyun had been turned toward the car window, and now a hand came down toward my thigh. I wondered what he was doing, but when I left him alone, he quietly activated a Skill while lightly pressing down on my thigh with that hand.

Moonlight’s Blessing (S) has been activated.

Feeling the faint light wrap around my body, I leaned back comfortably. I hadn’t really felt the need for healing because I didn’t think I was injured, but once the Skill was applied, the tension in my sore body loosened.

When we arrived at the hospital, got checked over briefly, and sat waiting side by side, a police officer scratched at the back of his head and stopped in front of me a little later.

“Uh.... Hunter Seo, is your body okay?”

“Yes.”

“Uh, well, this is the first time I’ve ever dealt with something like this... first of all, Hunter Kwon is awake, and there was almost no impact from the traffic accident, but because he pushed himself a little in the dungeon, that impact was... apparently kind of there? So, uh.... first of all, I was thinking maybe you should talk it out with Hunter Kwon and come to some kind of settlement.”

“Yes, a settlement sounds good.”

“The truth is, I don’t really know what happens when Hunters get into a traffic accident with each other, so, well, ahem.... this is really... I’m not sure either.”

I liked the vague ending with no real conclusion. Well, wasn’t he basically saying to talk to Kwon Taehan or work out a settlement or whatever on our own?

‘Nice?’

I shot to my feet and asked,

“Where is Hunter Kwon?”

“...You’re going right now?”

It’d be better to finish things quickly while I was at it. When I stared at the police officer like I was asking why he was questioning something so obvious, he hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

“I was just coming from seeing Hunter Kwon, and, well, I told him he should try having a conversation with you, Hunter Seo.”

“Yes. So can’t we do it now? Have a conversation?”

“But Hunter Kwon....”

Why was he dragging this out so much?

I calmly nodded, meaning for him to keep talking. The officer coughed awkwardly, avoided my eyes, and continued.

“He said he was going to kill you....”

What?

“Ah, that’s fine.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s just everyday phrasing, that’s all. Koreans say they’re dying all the time anyway. Like, I’m dying from the heat, things like that.”

“I don’t think... it was that kind of thing.”

“So where is he right now?”

“He’s still in a private room because his examination isn’t finished yet, but he’ll probably be discharged today right away....”

I only listened that far before immediately starting to walk. Kwon Taehan talking about killing me or sparing me just felt like such a petty little bluff that it wasn’t even funny.

Hospital security must really have been strict, because right in front of Kwon Taehan’s room, it was quiet. I lightly ignored the few people trying to stop me and opened the room door.

‘This bastard locked it.’

I put force into my hand, yanked the rattling sliding door all the way open, and stepped straight into the room.

“Hello.”

“Get out.”

The moment I greeted him as I entered, Kwon Taehan pointed toward the hallway before I’d even finished speaking.

Maybe he was already fine moving around, because instead of lying in the bed they’d given him, Kwon Taehan was up and pacing around here and there.

I easily ignored what he said, shut the door with its broken lock, walked farther in, and sat down in the folding chair.

“What are you doing?”

“They said we had to reach a settlement, so I came to apologize.”

“A settlement?”

The chair creaked when I leaned back into it. I sat there quietly and stared at Kwon Taehan. Outside the open window, the sun was slowly going down, casting shadows across his face.

“Yes.”

“.......”

“If I go to prison... that’ll be inconvenient in a lot of ways. Is there any compensation you want?”

I asked because I was seriously thinking of compensating him in my own way, but Kwon Taehan’s expression didn’t change. Which meant he still looked fucking furious.

“There shouldn’t be any financial issue now.”

Well, if he wanted me to compensate him with money, I could try. My previously pathetic bank account had grown quite a bit by now.

But what Kwon Taehan latched onto was something else.

“Now?”

Repeating that single word lowly, as if chewing it over, Kwon Taehan slowly furrowed his brow.

“Now... now?”

“.......”

“What do you mean by that?”

The anger in his voice had clearly faded compared to earlier. It wasn’t just the anger, either—how should I put it? It felt more like he’d let his strength go.

I just stared at him without giving any answer, because I wanted to observe his attitude.

“How do you know the me from before?”

“.......”

“From the beginning... you were strange. Why were you there? And why the SH Guild.... No, there’s not a single thing about this that isn’t strange.”

“.......”

“What exactly are you trying to do with me right now?”

Maybe because the strength had gone out of his voice, everything he said sounded like a question. Or maybe like a desire to get certainty.

Either way, I couldn’t answer carelessly. If I slipped up, it’d be a penalty. If all that happened was some bleeding and a headache, then whatever, but if it went beyond that, it would be a problem.

‘But Kwon Taehan is right in front of ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) me?’

My suspicion had already become certainty. A protagonist free from plausibility, a regressor who could ignore penalties....

“Seo Jehyun.”

“.......” 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

“Say something.”

If that smooth, steady voice dropping cleanly without trembling seemed to hold a strange unease, was that just my imagination?

‘No way.’

I couldn’t know exactly how the end of the fourth round had gone. Kwon Taehan’s countless rounds had been skipped over and ended within the original story.

How was I supposed to really feel the reality that he had gone through every last one of those “skipped” points I never got to know, and was now standing before me for the fifth time?

Even though he’d been killed over and over and filled with rage, he had never once properly killed me...... just what the hell was he thinking for that to be possible? A violent fury beyond all of that, more than I could even imagine? But if that were the case, right now he looked pretty desperate.

Was he, absurdly enough, craving someone who would remember the forgotten lives no one else could remember? Even though he’d never intended to trust me from the start.

“Haha....”

I mean, the bastard had gotten so worked up he’d even grabbed me by the collar, and all he’d done after that was run away.

“I don’t really know... what I’m supposed to say.”

“.......”

I stood up and walked toward him without hesitation. Even as I got closer and closer, Kwon Taehan didn’t avoid me, and I could see his gaze tracking my movements.

“First, I’ll apologize for the car accident. Honestly, it was intentional.”

“What?”

“And I was sincere when I said I’d compensate you. I also wanted to use that as an excuse to talk to you more, Hunter Kwon.”

When I reached right in front of him, I lowered my gaze for a moment. Instead of the combat boots he liked wearing in battle, what caught my eye were leather loafers.

A familiar brand.

Yeah, those skipped-over points really were...... strange. How had a guy like this—someone with no interest in fashion, someone who rushed at saving humanity like a moth to a flame—ended up choosing and wearing the shoe brand I used to wear all the time?

I nudged the front of Kwon Taehan’s loafer lightly with the tip of my shoe.

“Nice shoes.”

“.......”

When I looked up after saying that, I saw Kwon Taehan’s expression. He was staring at me with his teeth clenched, and he did seem angry somehow...... but I’d always been bad at noticing this kind of emotion.

Then what was Kwon Taehan thinking as he stood here facing me?

“You....”

When I killed Kwon Taehan in the last round, how had I killed him? Did I stab through his stomach? There’d been no reason to deliberately leave him alive in pain for long, so I probably chose to end it in one shot.

And if I got it wrong, I might leave him with some fucking trauma that would limit his range of movement, so I probably avoided blowing his head off....

Half feeling like I was gambling, I raised my hand and pressed it against his abdomen. Coincidentally, it was also the part that had gotten crushed when the airbag exploded in the traffic accident I’d just caused.

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

“.......”

“I mean it.”

Warning.

Do not damage plausibil■ty.

‘Got it right.’

Ignoring the huge window in front of my eyes, I looked straight at Kwon Taehan beyond it.

Anyway, the me right now wasn’t the “Seo Jehyun” Kwon Taehan thought I was, so would acting like that person to him count as a kind of deception?

I crooked the corner of my mouth at Kwon Taehan, who seemed to have lost his words and was just looking at me with quiet eyes.