NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 34
Chapter 34. A Night of One’s Own
Time raced past evening and headed toward night.
Having come home early for the first time in a while, Ji Suho turned on his laptop as he contentedly gazed at the late-night snack he had eagerly prepared after his shower. There was some work that needed to be finished.
‘It’s something I’ve done many times, but for some reason, I’m a bit nervous today.’
Ji Suho meticulously reviewed the Excel file that Assistant Manager Yoo from the New Talent Development Team had organized and handed over. Soon, he accessed the company intranet’s mailbox. With the sound of typing, the last email of the day was quickly written.
**Date:** 20XX-02-28
**From:** Ji Suho <[email protected]>
Hello,
This is Ji Suho, Team Leader of the New Talent Development Team.
I’m sharing the results of the trainees’ monthly evaluation for February 20XX.
The trainees will be informed separately through a different file.
Please be extra careful with security as the content and files below are for internal sharing only.
**※Miro February 20XX Monthly Evaluation Results※**
1st place: Jung Siwoo
2nd place: Seo Taehyun
3rd place: Joo Eunchan
4th place: Lee Doha
5th place: Dan Haru
6th place: Lee Yugeon
7th place: Han Sungwoo
8th place: Yuki
9th place: Kim Wonho
10th place: Kang Hajin
……
Thank you.
Best regards,
Ji Suho. >
“10th place… He was really on the edge.”
Confirming Hajin’s detailed score, Ji Suho took another sip of his beer. Of course, if his score had dropped out of the top ten, he would have accepted it as the result, without any intention to intervene. Still, it was nice to see a good outcome.
“Whew, let’s call it a day. Work’s done.”
The thoughts that were clouding his mind dissipated with the closing of the laptop, resetting everything. This was the last bit of leisure he could enjoy before the survival battle.
Tonight, he planned to fully savor it. Moving the laptop aside, Ji Suho stretched out on the sofa with a can of beer, smiling contentedly.
* * *
**[Single Quest 03.]**
**[‘Do you want to be special?’]**
**Details:** The trainers are not showing much interest in you, a fledgling trainee. Stand out by achieving excellent results in the monthly evaluation and make it into the top 10!
**[Success Reward: Clue for Tracking Regression & Ally Recruitment]**
**[Failure Penalty: 40% Increase in Probability of 5th Regression Triggering, 15% Increase in Elimination Probability from Survival]**
**[Quest Completed.]**
Hajin was dreaming.
‘…Ah, this is annoying.’
He was aware that he was dreaming, but he couldn’t wake up. Even though it was all in the past, he felt utterly miserable.
– We’ve decided we won’t practice with you anymore.
– Kang Hajin, stop showing off.
– Honestly, you did it for your own benefit, didn’t you?
– Ugh, you don’t get it, do you? It’s so frustrating.
– Hajin-ah, you should at least be able to do this.
These were events from Hajin’s first life, the worst among countless memories.
‘Why am I dreaming about this…?’
– I… I can’t do this anymore.
At the center of the dream, Hajin was crying. Broken and devastated, denied of everything he had lived for, abandoned by the things he loved most.
He could feel his breathing quicken, but as if he were paralyzed, Hajin couldn’t move. It was a suffocating sensation as if his entire body was tightly bound. Soon, the scene shifted.
– What about you?
– Pardon?
– What about you, Hajin? Isn’t it something you can handle?
The dream now showed a scene from the monthly evaluation.
It was the first moment when Hajin found himself at a loss for words.
Hajin couldn’t meet Seo Taeil’s gaze directly for some reason.
Thump, thump.
The sound and pressure, as if a large boulder were endlessly colliding with a tiny pebble, enveloped Hajin’s entire body. As the rapidly vibrating synesthetic feeling distorted and shattered every scene in the dream,
Hajin woke up.
“…What a crappy dream.”
It was still early morning, long before dawn. As Hajin recognized the room’s temperature, which was almost purplish-blue, he sat up.
“…Ah, Kang Hawon.”
As he lifted his heavy body, something heavy dropped from him, and he suddenly felt refreshed. Squinting in the dark, he realized it was his younger brother, Hawon, whom he hadn’t seen in a while.
‘That’s right, he came home yesterday.’
Having spent every day at Eunchan’s place preparing for the monthly evaluation, Hajin had finally returned home during his break.
While Hajin had been away, Hawon’s room had undergone some renovations, so Hawon had taken over the living room, which is why the two of them had ended up sleeping there together last night.
Realizing that the weight that had been pressing on him throughout the dream was not a nightmare but the actual “weight” of his brother, Hajin felt a sudden wave of exhaustion.
“……”
Although there was still plenty of time before morning started, Hajin somehow couldn’t fall back asleep. Though the memories and sensations from the dream had become hazy as they often do after waking, the eerie feeling still lingered.
“……”
“…What are you doing?”
Since the small house would cause any sound to wake up his family, Hajin had once again gone to the playground in front of their house. Sitting on the swing, which had become his own special seat, and cooling his head in the cold wind, Hajin raised his head at the sound of a familiar voice.
“Why are you up and out?”
“What about you?”
“Is that how you talk to your hyung?”
“Are you a geezer?”
“Maybe a little.”
The voice’s owner, Hawon, with a face that clearly hadn’t fully woken up, walked over and sat on the swing next to Hajin. Unlike Hajin, who had only thrown on a long padded jacket over his pajamas, Hawon was fully geared up for the cold with sleep socks and a scarf. Sniffling, Hawon asked,
“…Did something go wrong?”
“What?”
“Why are you sitting there like you’ve got a lot on your mind?”
Well… He certainly had a lot on his mind, dear brother.
Hajin swallowed the myriad thoughts rising in his throat.
“……”
“……”
Hawon didn’t ask any more questions. His younger brother, who was always quiet and not expressive, had always been this way. He wouldn’t pry, wouldn’t probe, and would just be there. Always by his side, silently listening.
‘He’s such a consistent kid.’
Recalling the twenty-eight-year-old Hawon from his first life, Hajin briefly wondered if it was appropriate to describe the eighteen-year-old Hawon as “consistent.” He even entertained the strange thought that regression led to bizarre kinds of contemplation.
As the thought occurred that having a face-to-face conversation with Hawon like this was refreshing,
Hajin finally mustered the courage to face his own feelings.
“There was a monthly evaluation today.”
“I heard from Mom. So that’s why you got the break.”
“Yeah. I’m off until the day after tomorrow.”
“Didn’t it go well?”
“Well, it wasn’t that… I did fine, but.”
Hajin wrapped his arms around the swing’s chain and pressed his fingertips against each other. It was a habit that came out when he had a lot on his mind.
“There was a dance break in the middle of the performance, right? I assigned it to two other kids, but the judge asked why I gave it to them. So, while explaining my reasons, they asked…”
“……”
“They asked why I didn’t do it myself.”
“…Were you not confident?”
Not knowing everything about the trainees’ lives or the monthly evaluation, Hawon racked his brain to try and understand Hajin’s situation.
‘So, it’s like asking why he didn’t take on an important part himself and gave it to someone else?’
Having accurately grasped the point, Hawon waited for Hajin’s response. Hajin let out a small laugh.
“No. I just didn’t think about it.”
“…What?”
“From the start, I wasn’t even considering myself. But I only realized that when they asked. That I was excluding myself.”
Though there were excuses like mismatched height with Yoon Taehee, the truth was that if he had wanted to, he could have managed it somehow. Hajin knew that having all three remaining members participate in the dance break after Gong Seok’s ad-libs and Wonho’s solo would have made the composition denser.
But.
“I guess… I just didn’t want to do it.”
“……”
“If I had done it, it would have given me a better chance of ranking high in the monthly evaluation. But I guess I just didn’t want to, deep down.”
Hajin’s hands were trembling slightly, without him even realizing it. The sensation was similar to what he had experienced on the rooftop before. A feeling of something snapping, followed by a torrent of emotions flooding in like a waterfall.
**[System Alarm: (Fixed) The Regressor’s Psychological State is Unstable.]**
**[System Alarm
: ‘Wandering and Drifting’ Mode has been Activated.]**
**[System Alarm: The Mental Care System is Activated to Suppress ‘Wandering and Drifting’ Mode.]**
**[System Alarm: Processing….]**
**[System Alarm: Processing….]**
**[System Alarm:
Before he could even properly read the rapidly scrolling system windows, the emotions that had been engulfing his mind suddenly receded. Only then did he fully feel the cold air around him again.
‘…What was that just now?’
The memories of his first life that had seemed about to resurface slipped away into the distance. He could remember the events, but not the specifics.
It was like trying to recall the contents of a book read long ago. But thanks to that, Hajin was able to take a deep breath again.
“Are you okay?”
Hajin looked at Hawon, who casually expressed concern in his usual calm voice. Staring at his still young-looking brother, Hajin eventually nodded.
“Yeah, well. For now.”
“……”
“Let’s go in. It’s cold.”
Hajin got up first, and Hawon followed him hesitantly. The two brothers didn’t continue their conversation. It was only before they went back to bed that Hawon silently pushed more of the blanket toward Hajin.
That night, that was enough to make Hajin feel okay.
* * *
And then, there was another person’s night.
“……”
A space of nothingness, neither dark nor bright. It was somewhere where dimensions overlapped, neither a dream nor reality.
**[The time has come.]**
The ‘something’ that Hajin had once encountered resonated.
An unknown presence, neither sound nor sight, neither soundwave nor light.
And standing at the center of all these phenomena was a boy, who calmly stood his ground as if everything was familiar, slowly exhaling.
**[It’s time to make a decision.]**
The ‘presence’ asked.
**[The choices are the same this time. Will you return? Or will you continue?]**
Two choices appeared in the space where nothing existed.
**[KEEP OR SKIP]**
The boy, staring at the two choices, made his decision.
“I’ll continue.”
**[…Really?]**
“Yeah. Give me the information.”
Nodding, the space rippled with interest and trembled. The two choices soon disappeared, replaced by a lengthy text. The boy read the words carefully, trying his best not to forget them. Knowing the fixed events of the future was something he deemed necessary after going through multiple regressions.
**[Then, I wish you luck.]**
As if being swallowed by something neither light nor darkness, the space compressed and expanded at the same time. Feeling as if he was floating through the universe, the boy thought,
“This time….”
This time, maybe things would be different.