When faced with the brink of death, they say a person can suddenly tap into superhuman strength.
"Heaaaaaargh!"
So did the Undertaker.
Upon discovering that his once-trusted disciples were experts in a sinister art of shifting the genre of their world into one of #abduction, #confinent, and #manipulation, the Undertaker mustered all his strength to break free from the sisters’ grasp.
“Ah!”
“Teacher, we lost him.”
Thus, he successfully escaped the clutches of those little devils—.
But as he frantically looked around, cold sweat gathered on the Undertaker's head.
Gulp.
‘Where... where should I run to?’
Under normal circumstances, the most reliable refuge was undeniably Noh Do-hwa. There was no one else but Noh Do-hwa.
Didn’t she maintain her unwavering ntal resilience even in the episode where the Salvation Syndro broke out?
However.
“…….”
Currently, Noh Do-hwa was glaring at him as if she intended to kill.
Her gaze left no room for misunderstanding. It was unmistakably murderous.
For soone like him, who always ended up adding one more notch to his death count whenever he encountered such looks, misinterpreting her intent was remarkably hard.
「Why?」
He stared at Noh Do-hwa, questioning why there was such animosity when he hadn’t done anything, and she also t his gaze silently, responding in kind.
「Don’t misconstrue this. I’m rely sparing you at the mont.」
「Pardon, but how is sparing even remotely justified?」
「I could kill you right now and just end things for myself too, but I'm restraining.」
「Why? Should I? Be dead?」
「You may not realize, but I've just received so really lousy mories. In those, I swore love, and the mont you pick soone else here, that vow collapses.」
「Because if you tried to keep the promise yet I forgot everything and broke our covenant of love, that ans I’m no longer the ‘’ you pledged to?」
「Correctly comprehended.」
「Indeed... So, just observing what I do without killing is already magnanimous and lenient from your perspective, and I should be grateful for not getting stabbed. Is that it?」
「Prepare to die soon.」
The Undertaker shuddered. What twisted miracle of logic was this?
But the true miracle was different.
The fact that Noh Do-hwa and the Undertaker comprehended all the intricacies solely through an exchange of glances without resorting to mystical powers like telepathy was indeed a miracle.
It was akin to listening to classical music and discerning the babble of a brook, the slickness of rocks, and the squirm of a worm on the rocks, feeling the vitality of life burgeoning within that squirm. What else could it be but a true eting of minds?
In truth, such exchanges through their eyes were commonplace between them.
In their lack of awareness regarding how this tacit understanding might appear to others, they were quite alike.
Naturally, the rest of the people, not connected to the Undertaker by color, found themselves rather irritated watching their silent exchange of glances.
Most assud Noh Do-hwa was covertly flaunting a special bond with the Undertaker, and they found it sowhat obnoxious.
It’s now understandable, objectively, why Noh Do-hwa, the leader of the managent alliance, was without a single drinking buddy among the group of returnees, apart from Lee Ha-yul.
The reason this objective fact remained beneath the surface was... well, of course, it was because people's perspectives were frad through the first-person viewpoint of returnees only. How would the Undertaker have known any of this?
[I have no choice but to intercede here.]
Creak.
Lee Ha-yul rolled in, pushing her wheelchair.
[If making everyone a mother is impossible, then I shall not welco a single mother.]
Then, Jeong Ye-ji, who always championed reason and rationality, pointed out.
“Hey, Ha-yul. I’ve always debated whether to point this out, but doesn’t your real mother, Lee So-yoon, still exist?”
[I had no choice. I, the pitiful daughter, must bear the burden of supporting her own father...]
As always, reason and rationality were casually dismissed. It was unwise to expect normal filial piety from Lee Ha-yul, who had positioned herself as a father slayer.
‘Th-that’s it. I can live with Ha-yul!'
The Undertaker’s eyes flashed with urgency.
'I can just throw out Dok-seo and Ah-ryeon! No, if I try sending them too far, they’ll co to kill . Maybe just a couple of houses away... If I declare that I’ll live only with Ha-yul, who could protest...’
“Don’t fall for it! Uncle!”
Soone cried out.
Turning his head, he saw Oh Dok-seo sprawled across the lawn, her arms jittering.
Though she was an unsightly figure, falling far from the glory of a worthwhile writer, her sudden shout couldn’t be ignored.
“Even Ha-yul has a bad ending!”
“What?!”
The Undertaker was shocked. Had he gone mad?
“Are you saying I shared love with Ha-yul?!”
If that were true, the Undertaker was ready to end his life this instant. There were laws in this world that must be upheld.
Being paired with Sim Ah-ryeon? He could comprehend that. There were people who married animals or even 2D figures in reality; it wasn’t out of bounds to end up with a nuisance or Sim Ah-ryeon. Oh Dok-seo? That was also probabilistically possible.
But Lee Ha-yul was a definite no. The Undertaker loved Ha-yul infinitely as a parent or friend, but not an ounce of romantic affection existed between them!
“Oh, well. It's more like possessiveness rather than love…”
Witnessing his shock, Oh Dok-seo’s voice grew slightly timid.
“Th-there was a world line where Noh Do-hwa, the managent leader, and Sim Ah-ryeon both fell apart, and you lost your limbs. But Ha-yul was there. Though your limbs weren’t functioning, Ha-yul supported you as so kind of senior, living together with you... Anyway, she’s a bit off too! Definitely not motives of pure heart!”
[This is slander.]
Lee Ha-yul didn't bat an eyelash.
[Supporting your parent who’s lost mobility is, no matter how you view it, true filial piety. I am rely fulfilling my role as a devoted daughter.]
"When you couldn't move by yourself, she controlled your entire body with puppet strings, moving you as she wished! After you died, she shalessly turned you into a doll, performing ‘daughter-daddy’ puppet shows by making you say lines with your own tongue, vocal cords, and mouth, and lived another 200 years!”
This ti, it wasn't just the Undertaker—everyone was aghast. Was this truly madness?
Oh Dok-seo shouted at the top of her lungs.
"I, oh? I was just thinking of your reputation, Lee Ha-yul, and that's why I didn't write it into a side story! Oh? She even used our dead comrades' bodies as puppets, making them say things like, ‘Ha-yul, you and Mr. Undertaker really are a match made in heaven,’ turning an entire city into a puppet nation... Aren't you embarrassed?!”
[Hmm.]
“If I had just written about it, your reputation would have been down the drain! You should be thanking ! Recognize the effort I made to defend my friend’s reputation! My kindness! My consideration!”
[Let ask you this, what is death?]
Lee Ha-yul still didn’t blink an eye.
[If a mory of soone persists even after death, then that soul continues on. Even though the flesh of my father is dead, within my mory, he was not, and thus, I did not permit that death.]
“…….”
The Undertaker discreetly took a few steps away from Lee Ha-yul without anyone noticing. The filial piety of his daughter was too overwhelming.
He faced a harsh reality.
‘There's no one I can rely on...?’
From the beginning, he was frustrated.
‘I’ve never even experienced romance!’
Where romance begins might differ depending on the expert, and so might claim holding hands is already a romantic relationship. However, the Undertaker was definitely not in the mature stages of any romantic involvent.
‘Why am I entangled in this ss because of the antics of other versions of myself from tilines I don’t even rember...? Ah! Is this how the people around felt viewing , a returnee?’
He realized.
‘There was a reason why Noh Do-hwa, as the manager, used to find this so loathso!’
However, that realization did little to and his current predicant.
‘If only Seo Gyu was here!’
‘I could have tossed him the question of what he thinks, but why is it he’s not around at such a crucial mont, using the excuse of a bodybuilding competition? Yes, you sly...!’
Oh, by the way, that bodybuilding competition excuse was fabricated by Oh Dok-seo.
‘Seo Gyu said he couldn’t make the trip because of competition prep! If he travels, sticking to his diet and workout routine would be difficult,’ Oh Dok-seo had preemptively made up that excuse.
She had even gone so far as to actually submit an entry under Seo Gyu’s na for a real bodybuilding competition in case the lie was discovered.
Seo Gyu would have to bow and give thanks in her direction every holiday. Naturally, the holiday gift was decided to be a premium beef set worth at least 500,000 won.
Clang!
At that mont, everyone turned their heads toward the sound of breaking glass, only to find Dang Seo-rin gripping sothing with trembling hands.
It was a kitchen knife.
“Seo-rin?”
Jeong Ye-ji, who had cut people with axes in her youth, asked in a puzzled tone.
“Where did you get... a kitchen knife?”
It was so typical of Jeong Ye-ji, asking 'where' she got the knife instead of 'why' she held it, but regardless, Dang Seo-rin yelled.
"I, I just. Wanted to travel the world happily with the Undertaker.”
Holding back tears, Dang Seo-rin sniffled.
Her tears weren’t feigned. She truly felt aggrieved. Eighty percent of her sorrow stemd from the desperation of possibly losing her destined match she had pre-claid.
The remaining twenty percent matter was quite telling.
"And also, I thought of growing closer with you all! I was actually contemplating whether I should propose going on world tours together!"
“…….”
“This is too much! I didn’t want to leave anyone behind! I even got super excited because I finally started calling Do-hwa unnie...!”
“…….”
“We shouldn't hate each other. It’s supposed to be a happy ending. We’ve finally reached this route. Yet, with so mories restored, you’re fighting again. This is a ploy of the Outer Gods...”
With teary eyes, Dang Seo-rin looked at the Undertaker.
“So…”
She muttered.
“Let’s cut it, Undertaker...”
“?”
The Undertaker's dull question escaped his lips.
“Ah, sorry, Seo-rin. What?”
“Sniff.”
Dang Seo-rin wiped her tears. The emotions were swelling fiercely.
“Just close your eyes for a bit... and let’s cut it...!”
“??”
“I-I can sacrifice. Yes. Even if that’s cut off. As long as I can kiss. That’s enough, right. Love can be sufficiently expressed with a kiss...!”
“???”
“Originally. As long as the physical lust is removed, polyamory is viable. Yes... It’s perfectly normal. Because that desire is the source of all evil, and the starting point of every problem... If it’s cut, everything will be resolved, right?”
Dang Seo-rin’s eyes glead intensely.
As did the kitchen knife.
“I-I liked the Undertaker too!”
Dang Seo-rin approached.
“It’s alright! We can... certainly be happy together!”
The Undertaker sensed impending doom.
--- TL NOTE: You'll understand what Dang Seo-rin wanted to cut in the next chapter~---
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