Chapter 729 – Room 302, The Cursed Chamber – ‘Brave New World’ (7)
—
– Park Seungyub
Everything unfolded just as Soyeon had said.
About twenty minutes in, that clueless ahjussi at the mart got caught by the clerk and handed over to the police, and thirty minutes later, our teacher called Soyeon and me.
At that point, Soyeon had a slightly excited expression on her face.
“See! Isn’t it strange?”
“Yeah, it’s super strange.”
Memories of a famous movie I once watched, science fiction stories, and my hotel experiences all began to mix together, flooding my mind with various thoughts.
For example, the terrifying possibility of all humanity living in a virtual world with just their brains remaining.
Even thinking about it sent shivers down my spine, but the hotel taught me one undeniable fact.
In this world, the most horrific imaginable scenarios are totally possible.
“I’ve always wondered…”
“What?”
“Why are we special—no, why am I special?”
Soyeon and my unique situation.
The others have their memories reset every Sunday night, repeating the same actions with no memory of the past.
In contrast, Soyeon seems to remember everything, while I—though my actions always change—can’t recall the past.
An interesting related concept popped into my mind.
“… Regressors. Imperfect regressors.”
“Huh?”
“Maybe our souls are stronger than normal people’s.”
“Souls?”
“Yeah. That’s why your memories don’t get erased. A strong soul can withstand the reset, right?”
“Um… then what about you?”
“I didn’t fully endure it like you, but I think I felt some vague déjà vu. That’s why my actions keep changing.”
While the details differ, it’s somewhat similar to the structure of regressors and imperfect regressors in reality.
When I finished explaining, Soyeon’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Wow!”
“Hmm?”
“I didn’t know you were this smart!”
“…”
“I didn’t expect this side of you.”
This compliment was less about joy and more about embarrassment.
What I just said wasn’t exactly brilliant, was it?
But to Soyeon, it probably felt smart enough at this moment.
This indicated that my experiences in the hotel had changed me compared to before.
“… Was I really that dumb?”
“Eh! I didn’t mean that…!”
I mustn’t forget the warnings my colleagues gave me before entering Room 302!
The goal of the first run isn’t just solving the room.
It’s about realizing the first wish, and for that, I need to act like my past self.
It would be bad if Soyeon reacted with, “Were you really this smart?” like she just did.
“…”
What would it even mean to act like my old self?
Should I pretend to be an idiot?
Wait, does that mean I should mimic a monkey?
Um… this is tougher than I thought.
At that moment, I realized Soyeon was looking at me with eager anticipation.
“…”
Those eyes, that behavior.
Something felt incredibly familiar.
It reminded me of how many colleagues appeared to Kain-hyung.
A behavior of relying on someone they deemed smarter than themselves.
In my past life, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten a reaction like that from Soyeon.
I needed to turn the tide back.
Back to how things were, exactly as they happened in the past.
“Soyeon…!”
“Yeah?”
“How do we do this?”
“…”
When I voiced my scared, flustered response, a slight disappointment crept onto Soyeon’s face.
It was the kind of feeling like, “I thought you would be sharp, but I was mistaken—”
It’s unfortunate, but this is how it is.
In my past, I probably wouldn’t have understood what she was saying anyway.
I’d have asked a ton of silly questions, and Soyeon would have likely lost her patience while answering me.
“What were you planning to do?”
Since the world resets every week?
You must have figured out the world’s oddness long ago.
You must’ve had some kind of plan.
Come on, tell me. My past self would have likely followed your words without question.
“Hmm, I do have a plan.”
“I’m listening.”
“I think this world is like a dream.”
“A dream?”
“You and I woke up from that dream. I’m fully awake, but you’re only half-awake.”
“And then?”
“If we wake up the others, maybe we can somehow make it happen?”
Soyeon’s plan was simple.
Wake others up like us so they notice the world’s quirks.
“Have you thought about how to wake them up?”
At that moment, Soyeon’s eyes flickered slightly.
As if she received a question she felt embarrassed to answer.
“Umm, well, I’ve tried waking someone up once.”
“Really? Who—”
It hit me at that point.
Soyeon and I were the only two who woke up in this world.
She must have woken someone up once before.
That someone was me!
… This realization served as a sort of trigger.
Soon, a brief vision swept through my mind like a panorama.
— Pow!
*
— Gulp!
I was secretly following someone.
A girl walking silently while what appeared to be my peers watched in amusement.
And then…
“S-Soyeon!”
“…”
“I’ve liked you for a long time! So—”
Brutal responses came back.
“Sorry. I’m not looking to date right now. Find someone nicer than me.”
…
“Sorry. You’re not my type.”
…
“I have a boyfriend.”
“Eh? Y-You don’t have one, do you?”
“Every time I hang out with you, a non-existent boyfriend appears.”
…
“You really will get hit if you keep following me.”
“Eek!”
…
“Oh— this girl does this every time. I hate it. I’m saying no!”
“E-Every time? This is our first time!”
“To you, it’s the first time.”
The world kept spinning like a hamster wheel.
…Countless confessions repeated to infinity.
At first, the girl kindly replied to go find someone nicer, but eventually, her responses turned cruel.
For the boy, it was the first confession of his life, but for the girl, it had been so many times, it was like a ritual.
A considerable amount of stress surely built up over time.
…
After countless repetitions brought about change.
The tree that wouldn’t shake after ten knocks finally splintered on the forty-second.
“I like you.”
“What did you just say? L-likes, like? What—”
“Why are you so shocked after confessing? I said I like you! Let’s call today Day One.”
To the girl, this might have felt like nothing more than a passing whim.
In the endless hamster wheel of repetition, she might’ve wanted to see a different outcome, just this once.
And so, she didn’t show sincerity in her affection.
After all, their only venture was sharing a meal together.
At this point, the girl might have thought of it all as a meaningless happenstance.
After a week, the world reset.
In this reborn world, one Tuesday afternoon, a boy confessed to a girl.
But this time, there was no confession.
The boy decided he didn’t want to confess “for some reason.”
It felt like the desire for something already achieved didn’t hold the same urgency as before.
— Pow!
*
“…”
A piece of old memory surfaced.
Much of it, to be frank, was painful.
“I have a boyfriend.”
“Every time I hang out with you, a non-existent boyfriend appears.”
I couldn’t help but mutter.
“You probably have a boyfriend now.”
“Eh? Wh-What are you suddenly saying—”
“If I hang out with you, that boyfriend of yours would show up again, right?”
Soyeon’s eyes widened.
She was surprised that I recalled my pre-reset memory.
“Uh, uh, uh…”
Soyeon put on a stunned expression for a brief moment before looking down, mumbling.
“Um, I’m sorry for what I said back then. I was probably really upset at that time.”
At this moment, I felt strangely complex emotions.
Experiencing hotel memories and recovering past wounds was painful, but…
Thanks to my experiences in the hotel, I somewhat understood Soyeon’s actions.
We dealt with problems in the cursed room at times in comically violent methods.
As for the aftermath?
Who cares?
Once we escape and the world resets, it’ll be as if it never happened.
Soyeon’s in the same boat.
Even if she said something cruel, a week later everyone loses their memories.
Her actions could inevitably become more reckless.
…
Regardless, recovering my memories had one positive effect.
As the wounds of the past re-emerged, I felt a slight fracture toward this girl?
Ha, Seungyub! Don’t forget!
After all—Yumi! It’s Yumi!
I only had Yumi!
Just as I was regaining my composure, Soyeon opened her mouth again.
“Yeah, if you recalled my past memories, you would’ve known.”
“Know what? Oh, how to wake people up from their dreams?”
“Yeah. I think… creating intense emotions can wake people up.”
I woke up from the dream after successfully confessing.
Seeing me, Soyeon thought ‘intense emotions’ triggered awakenings.
It wasn’t a baseless thought.
In my past life, I would have undoubtedly obeyed Soyeon’s words.
“So what now?”
I added teasingly.
“Are you planning to make everyone fall in love with you?”
“Eh! That’s not going to happen!”
“Kick!”
Soyeon, realizing I was joking, pouted slightly.
“… I may not be able to make them fall in love, but there has to be another way.”
“Another way?”
“The most intense emotion to trigger is anger, after all.”
“Now that makes sense. So, you’ll just beat up random people on the street?”
“No way! Then the police will catch us!”
Thanks to her specific answer, I realized something.
“So, you’ve tried this before.”
“… Yeah.”
“Did you maybe light fire to the mart?”
“What are you talking about! That could kill someone!”
“Um… right.”
For the first time, I was caught off guard.
Soyeon’s words highlighted the real danger involved.
… If it were my colleagues, they wouldn’t hesitate to set things ablaze. Might they not?
“So, I’m struggling here. Seungyub, what do you want to do?”
“…”
At this point, I suddenly figured out how utterly easy the solution was.
A way to incite intense emotions in others!
No police catch, no real harm to anyone.
Most importantly, it was a plan even the incredibly foolish past me could easily come up with!
“… I’ll give it a try.”
“Huh?”
*
I returned home.
Because I had skipped class, my parents lectured me, and after making various excuses to smooth things over, I turned on the computer as soon as night fell.
…
“Welcome to the Summoner’s Rift!”
“Is this really the only way?”
Yeah, it’s the way.
It’s the only method I could think of that my past self would also recall!
— Tap! Ding!
Soon, I heard the sound of a match being locked in, and four allies gathered with five enemies.
Turtle: hi
Dusky Wolf: hi hi, please help with Jax!
Bladebeak: anyone want to ban something?
Rock Crab: please ban Zed
Peaceful chat.
After years of experience, I could tell this was a top-tier team.
I—Grumpy Frog—kept quiet.
If I showed my intentions too early, everyone would run away.
Soon enough, it was my turn to choose a champion.
A small pebble falling into a pond of decent people.
Grumpy Frog clicked on Master Yi wordlessly.
A time of silence fell across the chat.
Responses started to trickle in.
Turtle: are you not support?
Dusky Wolf: going jungling?
Bladebeak: I’m the jungler!
Rock Crab: support Master Yi? Seriously not cool!
Normally, under these circumstances, you’d be asking about your parents’ well-being, but honestly, they seemed really good people.
Bladebeak: just go wreck the jungle, I’ll play support!
This fella isn’t kidding; the kind of heart that’d make even Jesus surprised, right?
Thus, the game began.
Without hesitation, I made my way to the bottom line.
Sona: dude, what are you doing? Go do your jungle!
Master Yi: so let’s try two top then
Two deaths below.
One death mid.
Finally two deaths up top.
It barely took five minutes for these good people to show their true colors.
…
By the time the game was wrapping up, everyone was staring at me with deep curiosity. Questions about how I lived in reality and how my parents were doing began surfacing.
With all the confidence in the world, I typed.
Master Yi: your moms
And just as the chat went ablaze, I added one more line.
Master Yi: feel free to come to Bangbae Middle School if you’re upset ㅇㅇ
…
“What? This is way too easy!”
Haha! Look how everyone’s all worked up in just five minutes!
This has been too easy? Am I actually this clever?
After five rounds, a message popped up.
“30 days game usage suspended. This account is banned for recent games for slurs and aggressive behavior…”
“Aww, already banned? Why are kids these days so fragile?”
I sighed a little and took a sip of water.
It’s not a big deal.
I still have 13 accounts left.
— Tap!
The night is long, and the accounts are plentiful.
Tonight, I’ll awaken those wandering in their unending dreams.
—
Yasuo: support confirmed
A little mental anguish is… well, isn’t that what we call ‘bitter medicine’?
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