Episode 41
[‘Memory of Possibility’ has been completed!]
In front of Gaeul, a message reminiscent of one seen a year ago floated up.
However, it felt like something about the content had changed slightly.
‘…Wasn’t there also a phrase about being selected as the appropriate target back then?’
As Gaeul sank into her thoughts, a familiar voice rang out.
“…Are you ignoring me like Gahyeon?”
“…Huh?”
Startled, she looked around.
An unforgettable sight unfolded before her.
Her father, staring with bloodshot eyes.
Gahyeon, struggling for breath, looked at him with resentment because of the pain.
It was just before the worst tragedy of her life was about to happen.
‘…Have I returned to the past?’
In her logical mind, she couldn’t yet accept this miraculous situation.
For Gaeul, it felt like an inexplicable time travel.
But her father didn’t wait for Gaeul. Like before, he suddenly stood up and started striding toward her.
Revisiting her trauma, Gaeul was overtaken by fear, screaming reflexively and throwing objects in her surroundings.
The sound of something breaking against the window echoed, but that was all.
It didn’t stop her father’s approach.
With trembling hands, she struggled against her father’s grasp, but her strength was not enough to stop him.
“How much have I sacrificed! …If it weren’t for you! If it weren’t for you!”
In between his labored breaths, she saw Gahyeon, clutching her painful stomach, rising and grabbing the dining table.
She forced out words through her constricted throat,
“Gahyeon… don’t…”
But Gahyeon showed no signs of stopping.
It was just the same as before.
Even returning to the past, nothing changed.
The nightmare continued to repeat.
Whoever had granted this miracle clearly bore a grudge against Gaeul.
Because otherwise, they wouldn’t inflict this pain twice.
Gaeul felt despair.
“Kids aren’t supposed to wield such frightening things.”
And then it happened.
In a graceful motion, the man loosened the grip of her father’s hand, performing a throw.
“Ugh!”
“He was thrown onto a pile of blankets, so he shouldn’t be too hurt. So let’s not overreact.”
It was Seon Taeyang.
Seeing Yoo Dae-cheol collapsed and groaning in pain, Seon Taeyang clicked his tongue once and turned to Gaeul, his face filled with concern as he spoke.
Gaeul looked at him with a worried face and said,
“Are you okay, Gaeul? …No, that’s a stupid question even I think. Of course, you’re not okay. Let’s just hold on a bit since we called an ambulance.”
“Brother Taeyang….”
“Yeah, that’s right, Gaeul. It’s Team Leader Seon. Do you have something you want to say?”
Gaeul had so much to say, but the moment she saw her father lifting the dining table behind Taeyang, all those words vanished from her mind.
What came out instead was a scream.
“…Behind! Behind!”
Even after confirming the swinging dining table, Taeyang didn’t dodge. Instead, he opened one arm and pulled Gaeul in for a hug.
Because of that, Gaeul realized why Taeyang didn’t avoid it.
…It was because of her.
While protecting Gaeul, Taeyang used one hand to shield his head and leaned his body to take the hit.
Then the dining table swung again.
A dull thud echoed.
It was a scene Gaeul had seen before. She already knew the outcome.
It felt like her heart had stopped.
Her hands and feet went numb, and her breathing became rapid.
“…Hah …Hah.”
She was hyperventilating.
Seeing Gaeul like that, Taeyang smiled lightly as if to reassure her.
Like a lie, her breathing began to return to normal.
He stood up as if nothing happened and looked at Yoo Dae-cheol, saying:
“That dining table is a deadly weapon. If it hits wrong, someone could die.”
A trickle of blood ran down Taeyang’s forehead.
He casually wiped the blood with his suit sleeve and continued,
“Good thing I learned self-defense. What would I have done if I hadn’t?”
Yoo Dae-cheol, with glazed eyes from being heavily drunk, looked at Taeyang and said,
“…Team Leader Seon, are you looking down on me too?”
Seon Taeyang replied firmly,
“I’m not looking down on you.”
Yoo Dae-cheol, as if he didn’t hear Seon Taeyang’s answer, grumbled to himself.
“It’s just a bit of money lost… They don’t know what kind of life I’ve lived!”
He lifted the dining table once again.
Seeing him, Taeyang said,
“I don’t care what kind of life Gaeul’s father has lived. What I care about is how you affect Gaeul and Gahyeon.”
He kicked a whoopee cushion that was lying on the floor, bouncing it up with a cheerful motion, and said,
“So, let’s take a hit now.”
*
[Quest Complete! You receive ‘Sword Master’s Senses’ as a reward!]
…So this is how I get it.
I reflected on the newly received Sword Master’s Senses from the reward window.
The fight was a chaotic mess.
As I closed the distance and tried to wield the dining table, Gaeul’s Father dropped it and started pinching, scratching, and biting me.
Honestly, it was more like I was holding on until Gaeul’s Father passed out from a hangover than a solid beating. In the meantime, I did give it my all, hitting with a rubber hammer to complete the quest.
As a result, Gaeul’s Father looked fine on the outside, while I was left with torn clothes and scratches all over. Anyone seeing this would obviously point at me as the loser.
It felt a bit pathetic to be overpowered by a middle-aged guy when I had the sturdy body of a twenty-something.
Well, I might as well throw my pride away. I’ll focus on the practical benefits.
Except for a shoulder throw, I hadn’t caused any real harm.
So there was no way I would get sued or dragged to the police.
Still, I managed to dodge the worst-case scenario while collecting rewards from the perplexing quest.
What could be a more perfect ending than this?
“Oh my gosh, Team Leader Seon! What happened to you?”
But it seemed like Cheon Aram and Seo Soo-yeon didn’t see it that way.
Cheon Aram was in a frenzy, searching for first aid supplies.
Seo Soo-yeon was busy documenting every single injury like it was evidence.
Both looked reassuring in their own unique way.
I felt gratitude for my colleagues who dashed here the moment they heard the news, and I joked around.
“It’s nothing major. I’m not seriously hurt.”
“Nothing major? There’s blood streaming down your forehead!”
Cheon Aram, who started disinfecting my wounds with some emergency kit from who-knows-where, said incredulously.
“Seriously, where did you learn to do this?”
Seo Soo-yeon intervened, saying, “Isn’t it better to leave this to the paramedics? The President is a first responder, after all.”
“True, I’m losing my mind here. I got carried away thinking about my military days.”
“Military? Did I hear that wrong?”
As Cheon Aram stepped back, Gaeul and Gahyeon, along with the medical staff who had finished treating Gaeul’s Father, came over to start giving me some basic care.
One of the medical staff, checking my wounds, exclaimed, “…You handled this very well. It looks like you should head to the hospital. Was it a medical professional who treated you?”
“Nope, it was the agency President.”
“…? But how could someone like that be so skilled?”
“…I have no idea either.”
The medical staff looked at me as if to say, “How do you not know?”
Well, I suppose it’s possible not to know.
I sometimes mistake myself, thinking I joined TwoBear and met Cheon Aram and Seo Soo-yeon; I hadn’t been the main character in this story.
…Though it certainly felt like I had experienced way more incidents than I should have.
Just as the medical staff wrapped things up, the police arrived.
As soon as this rough sketch was done, the police stepped in.
The police asked me and Gaeul about the situation and circumstances, then proceeded to separate Gaeul’s father, who was presumed to be the suspect, from us.
Only then could I talk to Gaeul. After the situation was under control, the police and medics rushed in, leaving no time for conversation.
“Gaeul, can we talk for a sec?”
When I called out to her, she came crawling over, struggling to hold up her weakened legs as if her life depended on it.
She looked desperate, even tragic.
…I didn’t want her to go that far.
She carefully touched my face while trying to avoid my wounds and said,
“…What even happened to you?”
Gaeul seemed like she was under immense stress.
I responded as cheerfully as possible so she wouldn’t worry too much.
“Gaeul, I might look a mess, but I won! You saw it, right? I was swinging that toy hammer three times a second?”
Thinking it through, it probably didn’t sound so good for her to hear that I fought and won against her own father.
“Well… actually, now that I think about it, it seems like a technical knockout loss for me… He was really tough. His movements were surprising for his age. I’ll admit, he outclassed me technically.”
I said that half-jokingly, hoping to get her to smile, but it only seemed to worsen the tears in Gaeul’s eyes.
Thinking back to Gyeoul’s similar situation, it became clear that my sense of humor had gone off the rails.
I should really tone it down.
“Sorry for the nonsense.”
Acknowledging my mistake, I quickly apologized.
“The truth is, that’s not what I wanted to say. I just wanted to ask one thing.”
“Anything, just say it.”
“Gaeul, are you okay?”
“…”
Instead of answering my question, Gaeul just cried even harder.
It was almost like she was wailing.
What’s happening? Did I mess up again?
…Or is she actually not okay?
“I’m… I’m fine. So…”
Oh, thank goodness.
Hearing Gaeul say she was okay gave me some relief, and I collapsed.
“…Brother Taeyang?”
Honestly, it felt like I had a concussion because my head was spinning.
I thought I had blocked the attack well, but it seemed dodging wasn’t enough to avoid all the damage.
“Brother Taeyang! No! No!”
With my hazy mind, I felt like if I closed my eyes, I’d fall asleep instantly.
I just wanted to let everything go and lie down.
But I held on. I needed to see Gaeul looking okay to truly feel at ease.
“Medical staff, please come over! Please! I beg you!”
And now, I felt like I could finally get some sleep.
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