TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 244
-The viewing of the “666th Side Story” ‘To Its Original Form…’ begins.
Mikhail exhaled at the exotic situation unfolding before his eyes.
‘Where is this…?’
Finding no trace of mana to suggest it was Illusion Magic, and too realistic to be a Hallucination, Mikhail widened his eyes in confusion.
‘What is this…’
Startled, Mikhail raised his head and looked around.
“This is….”
The Academy.
Standing in a place he had passed countless times, Mikhail widened his eyes and swallowed hard. Just moments ago, he had been in the Dormitory, yet now he stood in front of the Fountain. He couldn’t make sense of this situation.
It was night, but now it’s day….
A faint voice from the Blue Window reached Mikhail’s ears as he stood there, bewildered.
[Do you remember?]
At the sudden question about memory from the Blue Window, Mikhail felt puzzled.
‘Remember what…?’
[Do you remember three days after you severed the Accursed Karma of the Academy?]
The Blue Window brought up a memory that Mikhail had thought insignificant.
[That dawn, there was One Letter in your Shoe Cabinet. A letter written in such Terrible Handwriting that it was nearly illegible.]
Recalling the past, Mikhail felt curious. What was so important about that letter?
‘It was nothing, wasn’t it?’
In the faint memory, Mikhail had thought it was just another Love Letter, one of many. He had assumed it was from someone with terrible handwriting.
In the hazy memory, that letter was probably…
[You tore up the letter without a second thought.]
He must have torn it up.
Feeling a sudden Shiver, Mikhail looked at the Blue Window with trembling eyes.
To Mikhail, who was torn between the thoughts ‘No way’ and ‘Could it be…,’ the Blue Window began to slowly reveal the answer.
[You tore up the letter without a shred of regret, without knowing who the Protagonist of that Terrible Handwriting was.]
‘No.’
[The Protagonist of the letter spent two days at a Desk, pouring their heart into it. They filled the Letter Paper with worries about what expression you’d make, what thoughts you’d have, as you read it.]
And then,
[That The Boy waited endlessly for you that day before leaving.]
The Blue Window spoke.
It spoke of the Survival of that The Boy.
It calmly listed the mistakes Mikhail had made in not noticing these things. Then, it recited the contents of the letter Mikhail had never read.
[It’s been a long time since I wrote a letter.]
A letter bearing a nickname that no one else knew.
[A lot has happened, but since my handwriting is so terrible, I thought it would be hard to express everything in writing. I shouldn’t write too much. Honestly, I don’t even think you’ll be able to read this.]
It was slowly interpreted.
[Before I leave, I wanted to leave One Letter behind. I wanted to see your face one last time.]
‘No…’
Mikhail shook his head.
Thinking it was impossible, he reproached and hated himself for missing the opportunity right in front of him, staring at the letter with trembling eyes.
[I’ll be waiting in front of the Fountain at 6 PM tomorrow.]
At the final sentence, Mikhail’s heart began to pound violently. It was racing madly, and he was shaking with resentment toward himself, taking deep, ragged breaths.
-Your Longtime Friend.
‘Ha… ha…’
[In a memory unknown to anyone.]
[You read The Boy’s letter. Gripping your chest at the first line of the letter you’d read by chance, you were eagerly interpreting it.]
[That day, you were smiling. You had never felt such anticipation or excitement before. You worked hard to interpret the letter and prepared to go to the promised location.]
Mikhail’s vision brightened.
Under the rising Sunset, in front of the Fountain Square filled with couples and people, Mikhail’s eyes lit up.
‘This is…’
-The viewing begins.
With a cold voice, a Girl standing in front of the Fountain appeared before Mikhail’s eyes.
A White Dress.
White Shoes.
An ivory-haired woman, wearing Light Reddish Lipstick and fidgeting with her fingers, gazed endlessly at the Clock Tower, as though waiting for someone.
Mikhail looked at the Girl with trembling eyes and a vacant expression.
‘Is that me?’
Standing in front of the Academy’s Fountain Square, showing a side of himself no one else had seen, he stood shyly.
“…Huaa.”
He looked like a Girl.
From the shyly dressed outfit.
To the makeup done for the first time.
He looked like a Girl of that age.
Fidgeting with his fingers and shifting his feet, the version of himself in the viewing stared at the Clock Tower and muttered.
“When will they come?”
Wearing an expression that seemed on the verge of tears, the version of himself in the viewing kept repeating the same words.
“…Will I be able to do it well?”
Wondering how to start the conversation, hesitating, entrusting himself to the melody drawn on the Music Sheet, the version of himself in the viewing showed awkward nervousness.
Watching that, Mikhail envied her. She was experiencing something he never had. He envied that version of himself who had seized the opportunity he had missed.
Excitement.
Without a smile.
Without laughter.
Feeling only Jealousy toward the current version of himself who clenched his lips and wielded a sword, Mikhail harbored a strange envy.
And at the same time, he felt uneasy.
What if that letter was an obituary?
What if the connection, knowing the Old Friend of long ago, had come to deliver sad news? With that thought, he erased his Smile and gazed at the unfulfilled past.
‘Focus on reality…. It’s already in the past….’
Chiding himself for his scattered thoughts, Mikhail exhaled deeply.
The version of himself in the viewing muttered to himself, starting an awkward performance. Ignoring the gazes of others, he nervously rehearsed what to say when he saw the The Man from his memory.
“How should I start the conversation….”
“Ah… hi! How have you been…? I’ve been doing well. Haha… I even became the Top Ranker at the Academy…”
“The weather is so nice, isn’t it? If you have time, should we go to a Cafe?”
“You must have been really surprised, realizing I’m a woman…. Fool, how could you only notice now…”
The version of himself in the viewing, muttering to himself, suddenly fell silent. Even while saying such things, his heart was pounding wildly.
How much would he have changed?
He must have become very Handsome.
He’ll be so surprised when he finds out I’m a woman.
“…”
Still.
“When we meet, I want to hug him.”
Mikhail felt the same.
He desperately wanted to see the face of the The Man from his memory, to feel it, to hear his voice.
-Tick.
The version of himself in the viewing swallowed dryly as the approaching Time drew near, waiting for the memory to come closer. At this moment, he was the only Protagonist in the world. No, he was the Lady named Misa.
“Sniff…”
Holding back the Runny Nose threatening to spill, Mikhail slowly lowered his head.
-Click.
The clear Sound of Shoe Heels echoed.
The version of himself in the viewing stopped breathing, as did the current Mikhail, focusing entirely on that sound.
-Click.
The Sound of Shoe Heels, neither fast nor slow, reverberated softly through Mikhail’s heart.
-Click.
“…”
In the Viewing, Mikhail swallowed his breath.
Watching it, the current Mikhail clenched his fists and bit his lips.
‘Finally, I’m meeting him…’
The Man’s face was still not visible. It was hidden in the Shadows.
-Click.
As the silhouette slowly came into view, Mikhail clenched his fists. It matched the image of The Man he remembered.
With a Striking Tall Height.
A Muscular Build.
Even from afar, he drew the attention of many, looking like a Handsome Man as he walked closer.
Only his face remained hidden by the Shadows.
The image of The Boy who had once been a Hero to Mikhail during his hardest times was still intact.
‘That’s right…’
With a trembling heart, Mikhail lowered his head and waited for The Man to approach. He wasn’t ready to see his face yet.
Even though he wanted to see him immediately.
He hid his face for a moment, fearing he might crumble without preparing his heart.
What would he look like?
Had anything happened to him?
What if he thought I was ugly and ran away? Both the Mikhail in the Viewing and the current Mikhail lowered their heads and swallowed nervously.
Slowly, The Man approached.
The Man, whose presence amplified Mikhail’s Heartbeat, took one more step forward, stopping right in front of him and cautiously greeted him.
“Excuse me.”
The Man’s voice resonated gently.
The youthful voice of The Boy was gone, replaced by a pleasant, deep tone that softly called out to Mikhail, who still had his head lowered.
Perhaps nervous himself, The Man swallowed dryly, then exhaled a Deep Sigh before speaking again.
“Are you Mikhail?”
“…”
“Or not…?”
-Drip.
Tears began to fall onto the White Shoes of the Mikhail in the Viewing. He had planned to meet him with a Bright Expression, to start the conversation with a smile, but his tears spilled earlier than expected, and he couldn’t control his emotions, his shoulders trembling.
“Yes…”
Mikhail nodded with difficulty.
With a trembling voice, he nodded vigorously toward The Man calling his name, trying hard to prove that he was the person he was looking for.
Affection.
Love. Memories.
A whirlwind of complex Emotions began to stir like a Small Hurricane in Mikhail’s heart. Overwhelmed by the torrent of feelings, Mikhail couldn’t lift his head.
All he could do was nod. That was all the Mikhail in the Viewing could do, unable to face the memories that had come to him, welcoming him with his head lowered.
“Ah…”
The Man let out a small sigh as he looked at Mikhail. Unsure how to start the conversation, he exhaled and slowly began to speak.
“You look very different from how I remembered.”
“…”
“But still…”
The Man, speaking softly, opened up about the long-standing memories and greeted him warmly.
“You’re still a Crybaby, and the way you shake your head when you cry hasn’t changed.”
With a faint smile, The Man spoke to the Mikhail in the Viewing.
“You’ve grown up. Our Kid.”
At the sound of The Man’s chuckling voice, Mikhail slowly lifted his head, and The Man cautiously began to bring closure to the fragments of memory hidden in darkness.
“I guess I should reintroduce myself.”
“…”
“My name is Rika… No…”
“…”
As his face slowly came into view, both the Mikhail in the Viewing and the current Mikhail shed tears as they looked at him.
At last, they saw his smile.
“Ah…?”
‘No.’
It felt as if the world was collapsing.
“I’m Lee Minhyuk.”
The memories he had hoped for and cherished crumbled all at once, and the Massive Barrier he had held back in his heart collapsed.
This couldn’t be.
It had to be a Lie.
He thought The Man must be up to something strange again as he clenched his fists.
The Man he had hated so much, the one he thought he could never reconcile with, was now looking at him with a wistful smile.
Disgust Overflowed.
“What… are you doing right now?”
‘Stop joking.’
The Past Self.
The current Self, with a Pale Complexion, stared at him and let out anger.
But.
“…”
Seeing his awkward smile, Mikhail couldn’t speak. Holding a Paper Bag with a Teddy Bear in one hand, his Sad Smile didn’t seem like a Lie.
“…”
‘You’re joking, right…?’
His lips trembled.
His fingers shook, and the Intense Throbbing in his ears echoed with vehement denial.
“No…”
‘No.’
“This can’t be.”
“This can’t be.”
Mikhail repeated the same words as the Mikhail in the Viewing. Crying, he kept rejecting the unbearable reality, saying it couldn’t be true.
As Mikhail’s denial grew stronger, The Man’s face showed an increasingly awkward smile.
“It’s been a long time.”
“This… isn’t right.”
“There’s so much I’ve wanted to say to you all this time.”
“…”
“I don’t know how to begin, but this is the first thing that comes to mind.”
“Shut up…”
With trembling hands, the Mikhail in the Viewing grabbed Ricardo’s Sleeve. With desperate hands, he clutched his sleeve, shaking his head and vehemently rejecting him.
“It’s a Lie.”
“…Haha.”
“You can’t be that person.”
“I’ve been watching over you all this time.”
“No!!!”
“You’ve worked really hard.”
The Mikhail watching the Viewing collapsed onto the ground with a Thump. He had no strength in his legs. The situation, which had put a Period on something he thought was impossible, left him unable to pull himself together.
No.
There must be more to this.
He thought it was only a Medium to deliver news, shouting voicelessly for an answer, but all that came back was the desperate sobbing of the Mikhail in the Viewing.
The person he hated the most.
The person he thought would be different.
At the same time, the memories of his past self, who had cruelly hated him, flashed by like a Life-Flashing Memory, making his breath tremble.
“I’m sorry for treating you so harshly all this time.”
-The Viewing has ended.
The Reunion he had hoped for ended in The Worst way.