The pale green fence surrounding the school grounds wobbled slightly as soone tugged on it. A figure in a dark blue hoodie, the hood pulled low, was testing the fence. Then, with a deep inhale, the figure nimbly climbed over and jumped to the other side. Almost imdiately, the door of a black van slid open with a faint screech.
From the passenger seat window, Minggijeok stuck his head out and gave a thumbs-up.
“You’re a pro at fence-hopping. Doesn’t look like it’s your first ti.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
The student, clearing their throat awkwardly, climbed into the van and removed their hood, revealing brown hair falling loose. The door shut behind them, and the van smoothly pulled away. Gaeul adjusted her slightly crooked glasses.
“Why did you call out? Is there a problem?”
“No, not exactly.”
A distorted voice suddenly filled the van, startling Gaeul. She quickly turned around to the backseat. Sothing dark was sprawled out, covered by what looked like leather, not quite like a blanket.
What is that? Gaeul tilted her head, confused. Then, a head of ashen gray hair and a black mask popped out from under the seat.
“Thanks for coming out so quickly. But aren’t you supposed to be in evening classes? Is it okay for you to sneak out like this?”
“It’s fine. I left my long coat stuffed in my seat like this…” Gaeul made a round motion with her hands, mimicking the shape of a snowman.
“I made it look like soone was sitting there. I should be good for a while. The teacher on duty tonight isn’t too strict anyway.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Minggijeok chid in cheerfully, “Don’t worry. We’re just going to circle the school area.”
Silence settled in the van for a mont. Gaeul glanced around awkwardly, then turned toward Uijae.
“So, um, how have you been? I’ve been seeing you a lot on TV. You’ve been appearing quite a bit.”
“Glad to hear that. A lot, you say?”
Gaeul fidgeted with the hem of her sweatpants. Maybe it was because Uijae’s face was hidden behind a mask, but she found herself feeling nervous around him.
‘I know he’s not really like that…’
The masked Cha Uijae seed like a completely different person. Even his hair color was different. His once jet-black hair had faded into a shade of ashen gray.
The atmosphere was entirely different as well. There was an imposing pressure that kept people at a distance, a sharp aura that seed to reject anyone from getting close. He was nothing like the laid-back worker in an apron who used to greet her casually at the hangover soup restaurant.
“Gaeul, can I ask you sothing?”
“Huh? Oh, yes! Of course!”
Gaeul straightened her posture, sitting upright. Uijae asked,
“You said you t another Lee Sayoung in the ruined world, right? He took you to safety.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Do you rember anything about him?”
“Uh, why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“Well, right now…” Uijae pointed to the black leather covering the seat. Upon closer inspection, Gaeul could see it subtly rising and falling. She craned her neck to get a better look and widened her eyes.
Through the strands of black curly hair, she could see Lee Sayoung’s pale face. He was lying stretched out on the seat with his head resting on Uijae’s lap. His legs were awkwardly bent to fit in the cramped space.
Uijae absentmindedly ran his fingers over the mask.
“Sayoung woke up, but… sothing seems off.”
“In what way?”
“There are two of him. In one body.”
“Huh?”
“Huh?” The second ‘Huh?’ ca from the driver’s seat as the van suddenly screeched to a halt, throwing its passengers forward. Uijae quickly cradled Sayoung’s head and shot a glare toward the front.
“Hey, could you drive properly?”
“Well, how am I supposed to stay calm when you drop a bomb like that? You’re saying the guild leader is two people? One is already bad enough… I an, uh, is he actually asleep?”
“Probably.”
“Right. I hope he has pleasant dreams.”
Minggijeok cleared his throat, trying to regain composure. Uijae leaned against the window, resting his arm on the ledge as he spoke.
“I talked with him, and I’m sure of it. They’re two separate beings. According to Hong Yeseong, one of them is likely the Lee Sayoung from the ruined world. And you’re the only one who’s actually t him.”
“Oh, right…”
“So, what was he like? Even if it’s nothing major, anything you can rember would help.”
“Hmm…”
Gaeul hesitated, stealing a glance at Uijae.
“Uh, can I use this kind of language? He’s really asleep, right?”
“Yeah, go ahead. Say whatever you need.”
“Well… first off…”
“First off?”
“He was kind of… rude.”
A heavy silence followed. Gaeul darted her eyes around nervously. Minggijeok was slumped over the steering wheel, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
Uijae neither laughed nor cried, his fingers gently combing through Sayoung’s soft curls.
‘Well, Sayoung *is* rude…’
“And, um, he was sort of… strange… like, even though we were talking and I could tell he was rude…”
“…”
“…He didn’t feel particularly alive.”
“…”
Uijae held his breath for a mont.
Not feeling alive—the sa strange vibe that this Lee Sayoung from the ruined world had. Without the tears and warmth, it was hard to think of him as a living person at all. Everything was starting to co together. Was there an issue with their souls not rging properly?
Just then, Gaeul raised her hand.
“Oh, and there’s sothing else I should ntion. It’s not directly related to Guild Leader Lee, though.”
Gaeul clenched her fists.
“Actually, ever since I first awakened, I’ve been hearing a voice. The one that told to find J at the hangover soup restaurant—that was the voice. You know, when we first t.”
Uijae blinked. Now that she ntioned it, he rembered seeing her back then.
‘Oh man, am I really going in? Am I actually going in? This is crazy…’
‘What? Look behind ? Co on, don’t ss with . I hate stuff like that…’
Wearing a long padded jacket and carrying a heavy bag, she’d paced back and forth in front of the restaurant, talking to herself, though she had been alone.
At the ti, only Sayoung and Minggijeok knew that Uijae was J. But one late night, out of nowhere, Yun Gaeul had shown up, claiming to know who he was.
Gaeul fidgeted with her fingers.
“It felt like a friend sotis. It gave helpful advice and comforted .”
“Do you know whose voice it was?”
Minggijeok cut in from the driver’s seat. Gaeul slowly shook her head.
“I’m not sure. It’s familiar, but every ti I try to think about it, my head hurts, so I’ve been avoiding it.”
“…”
“But it always said the sa thing: to stop the end of the world. And…”
Gaeul t Uijae’s gaze, her eyes glowing golden, just like the first ti they had t.
“It always said, ‘You must not let J die. Ever.’”
“…”
They all knew what happened when Cha Uijae had died.
The second world’s Cha Uijae had died fighting an onslaught of monsters. The world had fallen into ruin, and they had failed. Lee Sayoung had beco the axis that turned back ti….
They had failed.
Gaeul shrank into herself.
“But… ever since I returned from the ruined world, I haven’t heard the voice again. I’ve been thinking about it, and Master did say that souls from the sa world should rge together, right?”
“So, are you saying the owner of that voice was another version of you? And that you’ve rged with your counterpart, like Guild Leader Lee?”
Minggijeok asked. Gaeul’s brown head nodded slowly.
“Ever since I ca back, the fragnts I see in my dreams have beco more vivid.”
“…Well, that confirms it. Sothing’s definitely wrong with Sayoung.”
Uijae murmured, running his fingers through Sayoung’s hair.
“Your soul rged without any problems, but for so reason, Sayoung’s two souls are coexisting in one body….”
Sothing was clearly wrong, but figuring out what was the challenge. Asking Sayoung directly would be the fastest way, but based on the brief encounter with the ruined world’s Lee Sayoung…
‘He doesn’t seem like the cooperative type.’
Recalling the way those empty eyes had reflected him like a mirror, Uijae felt a headache coming on. He leaned his head against the window with a groan. Gaeul spoke up.
“What about asking Master?”
“…What could he know?”
Uijae’s distorted voice dripped with skepticism. Gaeul blinked.
“Uh… isn’t he really smart? A bit reckless, sure, but he was the first to notice sothing was off with Guild Leader Lee, wasn’t he?”
…She had a point.
Fine, I’ll have to borrow the hamster’s hands for this one
. Uijae pulled out his phone and called Hong Yeseong, hoping the guy was in one of his occasional bursts of genius.
But.
Hong Yeseong didn’t answer.
A vein bulged on Uijae’s hand.
‘This guy… always whining about being bored, and now he doesn’t pick up?’
Annoyed, Uijae decided to break his promise of sending Hong Yeseong a ssage. He figured he’d have to track him down through Jung Bin after all.
‘So much for not bothering him.’
As he considered the idea of finally acquiring a pass to Hong Yeseong’s village, Uijae dialed Jung Bin’s number.
Ring, ring…
Just before the call went to voicemail, soone picked up with a beep.
―Who is this?
The voice sounded familiar. Though it was much more brusque than he rembered, Uijae recognized it imdiately. Before he could even speak, the other person interrupted.
―Whoever you are, Jung Bin isn’t here, so call back later.
“Wait!”
Uijae hurriedly spoke, causing the person to pause. There was a rustling sound, as if the other person was adjusting their grip on the phone. Then, a voice filled with suspicion asked,
―…J?
It was Nam Woojin.
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