Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1362. Visit (12)

I could say with certainty that it was a perfect ending. Well, actually, the beginning wasn’t all that perfect.

Since I did my best to cool down the heated heads of the young ones, it was fair to say that a proper story was written, at the very least.

Naturally, I didn’t look back and simply helped Rafael along.

I felt like he was aware of my intention, and it was proven by how he spread his wings. We were so close to each other, and the place where his wings were touching me was feeling unbearably uncomfortable.

In the end, it looked like he was the one carrying me away, creating a melancholic view from behind.

“...”

“...”

“I-I’m sorry, hyung. It’s all because of me...” Rafael said.

‘Yeah. You know you crossed the line this time, right?’

“I just... I just got angry... My head was boiling without me even realizing it...” Rafael confessed.

“...”

I couldn’t help but wonder why there were so many hot-headed people around me, but blaming Rafael here would be foolish. It was only right to comfort him instead.

“I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt, Mr. Rafael,” I said.

“Huh?”

“I can’t say that what you did was right, but I do know you did it for me,” I said.

“H-hyuuung...” Rafael muttered.

“But from now on, I hope something like this never happens again. I don’t want to see you get hurt... and I definitely don’t want to see the two of you fighting,” I told him.

“H-hyung...” Rafael mumbled.

‘This guy is actually moved.’

At the same time, it also felt like he was worried about the current situation. Unlike the previous conversation where I described my fight with Kim Hyun-Sung as nothing serious, I was sure he had seen the harsh reality now that I had intervened.

He had to be finally aware that Kim Hyun-Sung had changed. He finally realized that Kim Hyun-Sung had no intention of going back and that the trust between us was fading away.

Since I ended it with a final “goodbye,” he couldn’t help but realize how serious the situation really was.

It couldn't be helped. After all, we hadn’t told outsiders about this family conflict because it was embarrassing.

‘How embarrassing... I feel humiliated right now.’

It was, so to speak, like exposing embarrassing facts about my family. In that sense, it was the most appropriate reaction I could show to someone who had accidentally learned the truth. After all, Rafael was technically an outsider. It was only natural that my face turned red in a situation like this, so it was better to apologize first.

“And... I’m sorry too. I must have shown you something I shouldn’t have.”

“W-what?” Rafael asked.

“...”

“H-hyung, why are you apologizing?! You don’t need to say sorry at all. You don’t have to be embarrassed, either. I understand everything. Please, don’t ever feel ashamed. I-I’ve never once thought of you as a stranger. I know I’m lacking, but... I think I can still be a great help to you,” Rafael said hurriedly.

‘Not... very convincing.’

He stammered out his lines like a burst dumpling.

“If you ever find yourself with no one to rely on, you can lean on me. I know I’m not much, but still...” Rafael offered.

‘Yeah... not exactly reassuring.’

Still, nodding along was the rule of thumb here.

“Okay!” I answered with a confident and energetic tone. Soon, I heard him talking again, rambling on about all sorts of pointless things. Of course, I could only listen with one ear and let his words out the other.

Rafael wasn’t what mattered right now.

‘Kim Hyun-Sung... I need to see Kim Hyun-Sung.’

Whatever the case, I couldn’t deny that this useless guy had at least managed to raise the tension enough for me to obtain something from it. It had strayed a bit from the original plan, but it was still meaningful. After all, it created a turning point for Kim Hyun-Sung.

After taking Rafael’s Crystal Punch and running into me again, I was sure his mind was in a mess right now. Had we not met, he probably would’ve just kept stewing in frustration while pretending to stay composed.

Standing before the crossroads, he couldn’t help but hesitate. It made sense. He had to make the final decision, after all.

Sure enough, I saw Kim Hyun-Sung, looking like a man who had lost his country. Staring blankly at the sky, he soon trudged into the cabin. The cabin was broken, and there was no way he was in the right state of mind to repair it.

He sat at the table, doing nothing, looking like someone who desperately needed a drink.

‘Yeah. Just have a drink.’

'Have a drink and come back. Just live like a scoundrel. I’ll look after you.'

‘Wait, damn it. He doesn’t have alcohol in the cabin? No, he should have some.’

Normally, the cabin wouldn’t be stocked, but we just visited him, so the liquor we left behind could still be around. Perhaps he hadn’t gotten around to cleaning up, or I felt like he decided to hide it somewhere.

Kim Hyun-Sung probably handled the cleanup after everyone had left. Sure enough, I caught sight of him pulling out a bottle of rum from the corner.

‘Yeah. Just take a full gulp.’

'If not now, when else will you drink? Today is a gloomy day, and I'm sure you want to drink, too, right? Besides, you already failed the promise you made to yourself, and it's all Rafael's fault. Breaking one more promise should be fine, shouldn't it? You can go sober again starting tomorrow.'

I saw him hesitating, but I couldn't tell whether he was recalling the promise he once made with me, or whether this was his way of showing he couldn’t ruin everything

Kim Hyun-Sung couldn’t bring himself to gulp down the rum. In the end, he squeezed his eyes shut and even hurled the bottle at the wall.

With a crash, the shattered pieces of the bottle scattered across the cabin, and he then covered his face with both hands. He even placed his forehead on the table. I heard what sounded like sobs, and it made me feel uneasy, but sadly, sympathizing with him now would be the same as taking a step toward conceding.

‘He seemed more shaken than I expected.’

I felt like letting him win just this once.

However, I couldn’t help but shake my head at my own thoughts.

‘No, damn it. I’ll never concede.’

“H-hyung, we’re here. If it is okay with you... would you like to... with me—”

“Ah, thank you for your trouble, Mr. Rafael. You should head inside,” I interrupted him.

“Ah... right... right,” Rafael muttered.

‘That guy is playing mind games. Damn it. I can never give ground.’

It was only a matter of time anyway. The signs had been there for a while. The Regressor Instruction Manual was starting to fade, and even his eye color had returned to normal.

Once he actually severed the Regressor Instruction Manual, he’d probably come crawling back, seizing up in withdrawal. No, even without taking that extreme step of severing the Regressor Instruction Manual, it already felt like I had won him over.

‘He’s fragile, after all.’

The fear of being left completely alone and the pressure of knowing that his relationship with me could never return to what it once was. I was sure he was feeling suffocated by such thoughts.

He’d tell himself that he was fine, but he was not fine at all. He had always been pathologically afraid of facing his life alone. Even if the sky ended up falling, Kim Hyun-Sung would never be able to tear himself away from me. Never.

‘It won’t even take long. Three days will be enough.’

The next day, I saw Kim Hyun-Sung getting up. His face was still expressionless, and the cabin remained broken. I felt like he thought there was no point fixing it, or perhaps he was just too lethargic to try.

Either way, he was just dragging himself through what barely counted as daily life.

Calling it “daily life” was generous. He only stepped outside to stare at the sky in silence. When I saw him looking at the sunset, I wavered once again.

‘Why are you doing this, damn it? Why are you making me waver again...’

He wouldn’t make it into a sports drink commercial, but there was no denying that it was a picture-perfect scene. Other than that, there wasn’t much going on. He hadn’t gone to see the doctor, and perhaps he had decided to take a break from therapy.

‘Good. Damn it, it’s happening.’

Refusing counseling from the doctor was the first real change that hit me.

That, and the fact that he kept staring at the sunset.

‘He’s definitely reminiscing. Reminiscing about the good old days. He’s looking at our sky.’

The next day was the same.

Kim Hyun-Sung was still staring at the sky dyed in the colors of sunset.

The gray pigeon returned to him just as the sun was setting.

‘Ah, damn it. What the hell is that guy doing there again? Damn it.’

— Kim Hyun-Sung.

‘Ah, seriously, stop it already... Damn it, once is enough. Don’t do it again... He’s already shaken enough as it is.’

Rafael still had that half-beaten dumpling face. Not exactly a relief, but at least, it didn’t look like he was about to throw punches this time.

— Go back.

— ...

— Hyung needs you. Go back. Please.

‘Yeah, okay, that’s fine. This much is fine.’

Just shaking things up a little from a rival’s position was acceptable.

'Just... don’t throw punches again.'

One “event” like last time was more than enough. What made me uneasy was that Kim Hyun-Sung wasn’t reacting. He merely glanced at Rafael before turning his head away.

‘Ah, Hyun-Sung, don’t do that. That guy’s going to get angry again.’

I could see Rafael trembling, fists clenched tight. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for another overblown teenage-drama scene, but thankfully, no cacophony of noises followed.

— That’s all I have to say. Go back.

‘Yeah, last time you said that you kept hitting him for ages.’

— ...

Realizing that a conversation was pointless, Rafael bit his lip hard and turned away.

Just like that, Day Two ended, and the long-awaited Day Three arrived.

Kim Hyun-Sung was still there, gazing at the sunset. The difference this time was in his eyes. There was a faint spark in them again. Had the sunset cleared his mind? Had he finally realized that his actions meant nothing?

Or perhaps... perhaps our shared memories had finally broken through that stubbornness.

After watching the sunset, he went back into the cabin and began packing up with a strangely refreshed face.

It didn’t take long for me to understand what that meant.

‘He’s coming.’

“H-Hyun-Sung’s coming,” I muttered.

Of course, I could tell he was packing things up to come back to me.

“Hyun-Sung’s coming. He’s coming back,” I said.

Finally, he’d raised the white flag. I felt like he would finish packing today and return to the guild tomorrow. Sure, he probably wanted to come back right now, but that would be embarrassing, wouldn’t it?

He’d probably stall for a day and show up in the morning. There was still a lot left to sort out—the first life, the hexagrams, the terrorist incident at the Blue Guild’s Youth Center, but I couldn’t stop grinning.

Kim Hyun-Sung was coming back. I finally made him surrender.

“O-oppa?!”

I was so happy that I burst out of my room before I even realized it.

“Aww, my adorable Ha-Yan! Come here! Come here!” I shouted.

“O-oppa? What’s gotten into you... he... hehe...”

“Give a kiss! Kiss!” I demanded.

“Hehe... heehee... smooch! Smooch!”

“Hey, pig! It’s a festival today! Call everyone over! Tell Ye-Ri to come too! Hurry!” I told him.

“Hyung-nim? What’s going on? You finally snapped out of it?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

‘Hyun-Sung’s coming, damn it!’

He was finally coming!

‘He'll probably show up at dawn. If we’re lucky, maybe he'll show up right now.’

“...”

“...”

And just like that, Day Four arrived.

“...”

“...”

“Uh...”

“...”

“Huh?”

Kim Hyun-Sung was nowhere to be found.