The black walker crushed the white ashes beneath his feet.
Sa-young stood on the beach, where not even the smell of the sea lingered. He reached for the doorknob of the old hut, then paused. The door was slightly open.
He was certain he had locked it tightly.
Carefully, he pushed the door open. With a creak, the inside of the hut revealed itself.
The Big Mouth hung limp, bound by chains. Sa-young reached out to the monster's nape. The moment his hand touched it, the monster crumbled into white ash, scattering across the floor.
"..."
Sa-young frowned. He had never heard of monsters disappearing when time was reversed. He searched his memories, but nothing came to mind.
'Then, was it someone else's doing?'
'But who?'
'Everyone in this world was already dead.'
Rustle
There was movement at the doorway. Turning his head, he saw Hong Ye-seong waving casually.
"Hey."
"...Right on time, huh."
Crack. Tension pressed against his fingertips. Sa-young twisted the corner of his lips.
"As if you expected this."
"Well, that's because what just happened here isn't something that ever happened. You walking into a Big Mouth's maw, I mean."
"Your doing?"
"I didn't touch it. It disappeared on its own."
Walking lazily, he stepped inside and stood beside Sa-young, staring at the white ashes.
"Give it up. Even if you force your way in, there'll be nothing there."
"There might be."
"I told you, didn't I? This world is built on memory. None of us know what's inside the Big Mouth's maw. There's no way it would be recreated."
Sa-young crouched, touching the white ash with his fingers. Black fingertips turned pale with dust. His mind drifted back to the Mackerel lying collapsed among the fallen bodies. Rubbing thumb and forefinger together, he brushed away the ash.
"Cha Eui-jae... hyung was able to change things that never happened. He saved Mackerel."
"That's right."
"Then why him and not me?"
"Because you wanted it."
Hong Ye-seong's reply was almost offhand. His face was already becoming blurry, like a camera out of focus. The more Sa-young tried to look, the more it shifted, sharp, then dull, kind, then vivid. Just like trying to force back a forgotten face.
"You wanted to grant Cha Eui-jae whatever he wished for."
A low hum echoed in the air.
"This world reflects your wishes. It's built on your memories."
"Then why..."
Sa-young trailed off. If this world reflected his own desires, then why had Cha Eui-jae died? Never once had he wished for his death. Hong Ye-seong seemed to understand and shrugged.
"Cha Eui-jae wanted to live, yes. But even more than that, he wanted to die. Rather than become some grotesque monster, he chose death. That was his wish, his will."
"..."
"...And thanks to that, I finally know the answer."
The blurry face twisted and shifted, until it gradually solidified into something familiar. Tangled black hair. Faded violet eyes. A gloomy expression. 'Lee Sa-young' swept his hair back.
The real Sa-young frowned.
"You... weren't you inside me?"
"Which is why I could come out here. This place is built from both your wishes and my memories."
"...Since when were you him?"
"Don't worry. The Hong Ye-seong you met before was real."
Sa-young turned fully toward the intruder. It felt like staring into a mirror, unsettling. The man smirked faintly.
"No need to be on guard. My wish has already been granted."
"...Finding out why Cha Eui-jae died?"
"Exactly."
'Lee Sa-young' gestured with his hand as though beckoning him along. He stepped out of the hut and walked along the shore. Sa-young silently followed. The beach, a mix of sand and white ash, shifted between soft and coarse beneath their feet.
The man ahead murmured quietly.
"He chose death. Because he was afraid of becoming a monster."
"..."
"...Foolish, isn't it. Whether he turned into a monster or not, it wouldn't have mattered."
Hearing the whisper, tinged with sorrow but oddly relieved, Sa-young brushed back the hair from his eyes.
Even if Cha Eui-jae had become a monster, Sa-young would never have killed him. Instead, he would have gone with him. Far away, to somewhere untouched by human hands. They could have bought an island, maybe...
Just the two of them.
He could have borne that responsibility forever. As long as it was him, as long as it was Cha Eui-jae.
But Cha Eui-jae had chosen death. Though terrified of it, he had judged dying to be the better choice. A decision befitting a man so bound by responsibility. Perhaps he had never imagined there could be a future where the two of them stayed together.
Sa-young muttered under his breath.
"He's an idiot."
"Yeah."
'Lee Sa-young' nodded in agreement. Likely, he had imagined the same thing. For once, their thoughts overlapped perfectly.
'Lee Sa-young' stopped in the middle of the beach and turned. Sa-young halted a few steps away. Their eyes met across the empty air.
No words were needed.
For they were both Lee Sa-young.
The other spoke first.
"You know what this means."
"Of course."
A smirk curved Sa-young's lips.
"I won't fail twice."
The world, which had been still as stone, shuddered as a violent wind swept across it. The other "Lee Sa-young" dissolved into the gale.
Sa-young closed his eyes. It was finally time to tell that foolish man, firmly and without doubt
'Whoever you are, whatever you become.'
'I will stay by your side for life.'
***
...At least, that's how it should have been.
"Yes, Team Leader Jung. We've secured hunter Lee Sa-young. Yes, yes, we've notified the Pado Guild as well..."
"If it's Jung Bin, give me the phone. I'll tell him myself."
"N-No, sir! You need to rest!"
"I know my own condition best. Hand over the damn phone."
"S-Sorry, sir!"
The Bureau hunter clutched the phone and bolted away in a panic. Sa-young clicked his tongue.
At that moment, he was sitting in the back of an ambulance, draped in a blanket.
When he had opened his eyes after the winds died down, he was at the entrance to Jongno's underground dungeon. He'd thought himself lucky not to have fallen somewhere stranger. But then, the white vines surrounding him began crawling, trying to ensnare his body.
And naturally,
'Of course I melted them.'
The instant his poison dissolved the encroaching vines, alarms wailed. Apparently, monitoring staff had been assigned to him on J's insistence, because no one knew when Lee Sa-young might return.
"..."
The ambulance arrived almost immediately, and Bureau hunters swarmed him with endless questions. "Any health issues? Any cognitive impairments?" No matter how many times he said he was fine, they refused to listen. Irritation bubbled up; he almost considered melting the ambulance itself when
"Sa-young!! Oh, thank heavens!!"
Bae Won-woo came rushing over. He frantically checked Sa-young from head to toe, nearly collapsing to the ground as he sobbed.
"Thank God you're back! You're not hurt anywhere, right? All your limbs are attached?"
"Quit the fuss..."
Sa-young clicked his tongue again, crossing his legs. He wasn't used to such a noisy welcome anymore. Behind Bae Won-woo, Kang Ji-soo shrugged.
"Well, Guild Leader's been through a lot. Cut him some slack. His mental state's fragile right now."
"How can a mind be that weak?"
"It's been... a rough time. Vice Guild Leader, you should explain."
"...C-Couldn't you tell him instead?"
Tears welled up in Bae Won-woo's eyes as he looked pitifully at Kang Ji-soo. She recoiled, disgusted, but only for a moment. Scratching her head, she finally muttered.
"Uh, well... about J."
"Yeah. Where is he?"
That was odd. The one who had worried so much, enough to assign monitors, hadn't even shown up. Maybe he was off dealing with monsters again. Sa-young propped his chin on his hand, listening to the surrounding commotion. It seemed he had returned in the middle of a mess.
Kang Ji-soo scuffed her shoe against the ground, then screwed her eyes shut and blurted it out.
"J... dove straight into a monster's mouth."
"..."
Silence.
She sneaked a glance at the Guild Leader. His hair had grown longer since she'd last seen him, curling around his eyes, and his hand covered his mouth, concealing any expression.
But soon, behind his back, dark killing intent began to writhe.
A low voice rumbled:
"...Say that again."
"Uh... well, um..."
"Say it again. I think I misheard you."
"..."
From between strands of black hair, violet eyes gleamed sharply. Kang Ji-soo quietly checked her inventory for gas masks and protective gear.