Chapter 87 – Ayaka’S Mom’S Secret (3)
It was dark.
That was the first feeling I had when I regained consciousness.
‘Where am I?’
I felt a hazy sensation, as if I had been asleep in dark water, as my mind returned.
To be precise, my mind was back, but my body couldn’t move at all.
It was as if someone was pressing down on me.
After being pressed down by someone for a while, my body slowly began to move, and my eyes and eardrums began to open.
“““Yeon Seung-moon!”””
“““Waaaaaaaah!!!”””
A deafening roar passed through my open eyes and eardrums.
‘What, what is this?’
Where am I?
I was dumbfounded, looking at the countless people shouting like thunder and the people on the platform in front of me.
But that was only for a moment.
“Lee Seung-woo, what’s wrong? Did you eat something bad?”
The soldier next to me, no, Joo Han-jin, who would later be called Yeon Seung-moon’s hound, spoke to me.
“No. It’s nothing.”
“You’re so boring. Still, let’s smile today.”
“Okay.”
Joo Han-jin said that, patted me on the shoulder, and headed towards the reporters. Seeing him, I realized.
Ah. Right. I remembered.
What time it was now.
‘After the Second Korean War, the Sino-Korean War, and then.’
It was the day after the military coup when they seized power.
Yes. In short.
‘Did I return to the first day of his term?’
To be precise, not me.
“The Republic of Korea will be made into a country with true equality and loyalty, without a single shame…”
That’s General Yeon Seung-moon over there.
I thought that to myself and thought about the things that would happen in the future.
There were so many things, but if I only counted the important ones.
Military service points, or rather, the national civil service point system, the closure of community sites that could cause hatred, the revival of the death penalty, the Military Anti-Discrimination Act, etc.
Roughly, even if I only counted the important things I remembered (by my standards), it was about this much.
‘That’s quite a lot.’
Well, it was natural.
Like a man who seized power with guns and tanks, he knew exactly who his target audience was.
I thought that to myself and watched President Yeon Seung-moon’s speech until the end.
To be precise, I also watched the people in other seats except for that president…
Most of the people in the seats were wiping away tears, as if they were proud that the Green Academy had finally produced three presidents.
No. Actually, I knew how they felt.
They must have felt like they were finally being rewarded for the terrible treatment they had received.
Maybe I felt that way in the past too.
‘Not now.’
Thinking about the Yeon Seung-moon’s forced suicide incident and the gate that would explode later, I felt rather unpleasant.
Well, still.
‘He’s the one who taught me that you need guns to achieve true equality, so I guess I can clap for him.’
“……Thank you!”
With that, President Yeon Seung-moon’s speech ended, and after that, after that… what did I do?
‘M-my vision…’
I suddenly felt my mind floating, and I saw people through my blurring vision.
Most of them were happy.
They seemed to believe that Yeon Seung-moon was a true superhuman who could save the ruined Republic of Korea.
To me, he was just.
[So, can you do it or not?]
[It’s possible.]
[Then take care of it.]
He was just a hitman who was asked to take care of someone while being treated to a good meal.
I closed my eyes like that, and my mind became hazy again, as if I had fallen into the water.
Then, I felt someone grab my arm and pull me out of the deep water.
I didn’t refuse the hand, grabbed it, and went up to the surface.
I was able to regain my senses safely.
“Haa! Haa! Haa!”
“T-Takuya?!”
No. To be precise.
“I! I thought you were dead!”
“Wh-what do you mean—ah, the tattoo.”
I died once and was able to wake up again.
***
I muttered, looking at the cliff-like slope inside the cave.
“We fell from that height together?”
“Yeah. I was fine after falling. But Takuya’s head was bleeding.”
I listened to Ayaka’s mom’s explanation as she was using her clothes to stop the throbbing in my head, and I thought to myself.
I wasn’t okay, probably because I fell from that height.
That’s because.
‘The tattoo is disappearing.’
The tattoo on my arm, which was subtly heart-shaped, was disappearing.
In short, it was as if I had already used up one life.
‘That’s a waste.’
If I had responded a little better, I wouldn’t have had to use a spare life for nothing.
It was a bit of a waste, but I decided not to think about it for now.
There’s nothing more foolish than dwelling on something you’ve already used.
After shaking off the thoughts about the tattoo, I looked outside the cave where I was and said.
-Swishhhhh!
Outside the cave where I was, strong rain was soaking the earth.
That’s right, it was raining here now. And it was a pretty strong downpour.
“When will the rain stop?”
“Hmm, well, looking at the rain, it seems like it will take some time to stop.”
At those words, I sighed deeply.
‘This is going to be a pain.’
If I couldn’t go back home today, I was worried about what Yuka’s mom, who was timid and worried a lot, would do, so I was quite annoyed.
As I was sighing and thinking, Ayaka’s mom came up from behind and hugged me.
Then, she whispered in my ear.
“It’s okay, Takuya. Everything will be okay…”
It seemed that Ayaka’s mom thought I was feeling anxious about the situation.
But that was a big misunderstanding.
This kind of situation didn’t make me feel anxious at all.
Rather, it was cozy. Well.
‘Compared to when I used to eat bugs to survive, this is heaven.’
The reason I was sighing was just because of Yuka’s mom, who would cling to me when I got home later.
If I told her that I had died once, she would probably follow me even to the bathroom.
I thought that to myself and looked at Ayaka’s mom and said.
“It’s not that I’m scared. It’s just that I don’t know how Yuka’s mom will scold me when I get back.”
“Pfft, well, Yuka is timid.”
Fortunately, Ayaka’s mom seemed to relax at my words, nodding and smiling.
We smiled at each other for a while.
But that was only for a moment, and a problem arose.
“Achoo!”
It was that Ayaka’s mom’s body was shivering.
It seemed that the wet clothes she had been wearing since she first woke up were the problem.
At that sight, I realized my mistake.
I should have paid attention, but I had forgotten.
Seeing Ayaka’s mom like that, I quickly took out the necessary supplies from my pocket.
No. I was about to take them out.
‘But, is it okay to show her the subspace pocket?’
For a moment, I wondered if it was okay to show her the subspace pocket, but since she knew about hypnosis, I concluded that she would know about this too, and put my hand in my pocket.
Then, I took out some charcoal, a torch, and a Korean-style steamer, and gave Ayaka’s mom a sleeping bag.
“Wh-what is this?”
“It’s a sleeping bag. Please cover yourself with this.”
At my words, Ayaka’s mom looked flustered but nodded.
No. If she knows about hypnosis, shouldn’t she know about this too?
I had that thought for a moment, but that wasn’t important right now.
“Mom, take off your clothes first.”
“T-take off my clothes? Th-that’s…”
I told Ayaka’s mom, who was wearing wet clothes, to take them off.
I said that because her body temperature would drop quickly if she wore wet clothes.
Ayaka’s mom seemed to know that too, and nodded.
“I’ll give you some clothes, so take them off.”
“Okay.”
Ayaka’s mom said that and took off her clothes. I gave Ayaka’s mom a towel first, and then I was about to give her some suitable clothes, but…
‘What? Why are there no clothes?’
There were no clothes that I had stored in the subspace pocket.
‘Ah, right. I took them out to replace them last time?!’
Come to think of it. I had taken out all the spare clothes to replace them.
In short.
‘Huh? Does that mean we have to be naked?’
It meant that Ayaka’s mom had to be naked.
No. Not only Ayaka’s mom, but I, who had been rained on without realizing it, also had to be naked.
Knowing that fact, I seriously wondered what to do, and Ayaka’s mom, who was watching me deep in thought without giving her clothes, asked me what was wrong.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, well…”
I explained the situation to Ayaka’s mom, and after listening to my explanation, Ayaka’s mom thought for a moment, and then, as if she had made up her mind.
“Then…”
She unzipped the sleeping bag that I had told her to wrap herself in and opened the entrance wide, saying.
“It’s cold. Let’s stick together.”
At Ayaka’s mom’s words, I really had no choice but to maintain our body temperature.
“Okay.”
I decided to go in for now.
There was no better way to maintain body temperature than to stick close to each other.
It was definitely not because I had any ulterior motives.
Anyway, that’s right.
