Original Chapters: ???
30: the gamer and the manager
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A voice that often spoke to him in a disgusted tone.
"Remember to hide your face, being a manager is just a hobby of mine so don't give me too much trouble, okay?"
Yet now it spoke to him with helplessness and a hint of annoyance.
"Well, that's that, really. Eun-Byeol out."
The call ended just like that.
Junghyuk remained frozen, unable to process the current situation. It was not until a status window popped up in front of him that the regressor managed to react.
A personal sub scenario? And this constellation, I don't think I've seen that name before. Junghyuk's eyes narrowed, reading what this scenario was all about.
Then... the questions I've been asking, I can now find the answers?
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Yoo Junghyuk realized quickly when and where he was.
This was the company building where he signed as a professional gamer. At the moment, his career was on its peak so Eun-Byeol's warning wasn't a surprise. However, what Junghyuk kept thinking about was Why couldn't I remember having a manager?
His memory drew a blank. Had he ever had a manager? Was this scenario playing with him? But that can't be it.
[Clear Condition(s): The constellation Love Me 'Till Death gives you the chance to unearth the history burried deep in your hearts. However, don't get too caught up in the past for you shall remain stuck in time if you are unable to untangle the knots in your hearts.
1. Find the answer to: Who are you?
2. Answer the question: Do you regret?]
The clear conditions stated the task in a straightforward manner. This was the past he forgot, the one 41st round's Yuseung revealed earlier. Yoo Junghyuk tapped the desk in a rhythmic manner, wondering what he should do now. At the same time he glanced at the time, a notification popped out from the side of the monitor's screen.
'Pick up Mia. Be on time.' the note said.
Yoo Mia. His little sister.
Come to think of it, he'd been trying to search for her but hadn't had the chance to catch a single glimpse of her hair. There was no time to find her location because the scenario kept him on edge. Anyway, the farther she was from the main battle, the safer she would be.
Finally finding the resolve to go through this sub scenario, Junghyuk left the gaming chair and took the elevator to the ground floor. He met many unfamiliar yet familiar faces on the way, returning their greeting at the same time.
However, he couldn't remember any of their names.
This was odd.
He took a cab to Mia's school instead of the bus and he began thinking at the back. First of all, I have no recollections of Byeol being my manager, much less having one, at least. However, this answers the question why I find him familiar.
The second questions he had were: why did he feel guilty towards Eun-Byeol? What exactly did Junghyuk do for 41st round's Yuseung to say what she said? Why did it involve his pride?
The third question was: what did he do and why does Eun-Byeol feel so much disgust toward him?
"We're here," the cab driver called out, pulling Junghyuk out of the train of thoughts plaguing him. "Are you paying in cash, sir?"
"Yeah," the gamer handed the exact amount of money and got off the cab. He stared at this elementary school with peculiar eyes. He remembered this place and at the same time, he didn't. It was a strange feeling he couldn't describe properly with words.
"Oppa!" While deep in thought, a familiar little girl tackled him around the waist. Junghyuk bent down and picked her up, catching Mia's flushed expression. Her smile was as bright as he remembered.
"Mia." The little girl happily kissed his cheek, causing Junghyuk's expression to soften. "How was class?"
"It was okay. The big meanie from fifth grade got her ass owned by me!"
"Hm?"
"I mean, I didn't let myself get bullied!"
The siblings stared at each other before busting out laughing.
"Then, Mia should get rewarded for being a strong girl, right?"
"That's right! I want an ice cream mochi! The one we always buy in that store!"
"Okay. Mia's the boss for now."
The store Mia mentioned was three blocks down from her school so Junghyuk simply carried her while he walked there.
"By the way, oppa, where's that pretty oppa who's always with you?"
"... pretty oppa?"
"Yeah." Mia made some unrecognizable gestures with her hand. "You know, the pretty oppa who sends you here and then sends us back home. He always buys me sweets, too!"
Ah.
At this point in time, shouldn't he jave already mentioned Eun-Byeol's name to her?
"Don't you know his name?"
"Well, you always have this sour face when I ask you and never tell me. Then, when I ask pretty oppa, he'd just laugh and tell me to ask you."
"..."
How petty could Junghyuk have been in the past that he didn't even want to tell his little sister Eun-Byeol's name?
"His name's Ahn Eun-Byeol."
"Can I call him Byeol-oppa? I like his name. He's like the stars in the sky; so pretty!" The ecstatic little girl threw her arms in the air.
"... you have to ask him next time."
He wondered; with Eun-Byeol's sister complex, would he allow another little girl to call him oppa? Even the Yuseung of their round calls him mister, not oppa.
Plus, Mia was his sister. Would he also express his dislike towards her? Then again, the beau didn't seem to be like that kind of person.
Mia insisted on buying the mochi on her own so Junghyuk could only hand her the money once they reached the store. Waiting for her outside, the phone in his pocket began ringing again.
This time, there was only a string of numbers displayed on the screen.
"Yoo Junghyuk," the voice sounded strange, as if it were forcibly changed in pitch. "Remember our words. Your decisions have consequences and these consequences will involve the people around you."
Then, the call ended shortly.
Junghyuk furrowed his eyebrows, wondering who the hell was that and what was the purpose of that call. What did they mean that his decisions have consequences? They mentioned how the people around him would be involved...
Did this mean that this 'threat' would cause the bad blood between him and Eun-Byeol in the future? Were the decisions that person mentioned, the decisions that caused Eun-Byeol's death?
What exactly were these decisions?
...
Two days have passed yet Junghyuk had yet to see Eun-Byeol.
Currently, he was at home making Mia's breakfast. Then, he would bring her to school before heading to the company. The regressor felt that the two days were too monotonous. Without anything particularly special happening.
It made him uneasy.
When everything seems normal, that's when things are supposed to get out of control.
Junghyuk was about to turn around the corner and some fifty more steps, he'd be in front of the entrance. That was when the screeching of tires pierced his ears. The gamer's instincts told him to run and get into the company building but a force held him in place.
The wind blew past him, and something grabbed his collar and dragged him inside. The gamer felt confused at first but then he realized that he was inside a car. An oddly familiar car.
Abruptly sitting up, Junghyuk was met with a pair of 'smiling' eyes in the rearview mirror.
"I thought I told you not to get in trouble, Junghyuk."
"I—" the regressor wanted to ask what he meant but for some reason, his voice wouldn't come out.
Ahn Eun-Byeol, his manager, pinched the bridge of his nose and started the car, driving to who knows where. "Tell me honestly, Junghyuk, who exactly have you provoked?"
"I didn't provoke anyone, Byeol-hyung."
... did I just call him hyung?
"I want to believe you, I really do, Junghyuk, because you're the type of goody-two-shoes I despise." Despite his harsh words, Junghyuk didn't feel anything. He wasn't annoyed nor did he get angry. Instead, he felt that the way Eun-Byeol spoke to him was the norm.
"My lab was ransacked and all the research my team had been conducting for the past two years were stolen. For no reason. Anyone I made an enemy of, they wouldn't dare touch my things. So, Junghyuk," the beau's piercing smile appeared on the rearview mirror.
"Who did you provoke?"
The question was once again asked. This time, the gamer felt pain stabbing his head, like needles pricking his brain. Junghyuk grabbed his head, trying to soothe the tormenting feeling away when memories began pouring in.
"Throw the game," a voice said inside his head. "And I'll pay you five times your salary." The voice practically sneered, sounding arrogant and callous. "Or, you know, we'll make it until your team can't even compete."
Those words stunned Junghyuk. They sounded so familiar and he remembered almost blowing a fuse, tempted to beat the shit out of that person.
"I'll give you until the semi-finals to decide. That's still two months away. When the deadline gets closer and closer, you know what'll happen, right? You, your little sister, and the people around you better prepare your funeral in advance."
"It's Choi Sooho from CAT." Junghyuk answered unwillingly again, as if there was something forcing him to speak. "He... tried to bribe me to throw the semi-finals away."
"Junghyuk," Eun-Byeol called in a helpless tone, no longer as angry as earlier. "Choi Sooho might be an illegitimate child from the Soo's but he has enough capital to ruin the company you signed into. You could have made some concessions."
"Bribery, fundamentally, is wrong. Why can't I refuse?"
Yoo Junghyuk felt embarrassed by the words he uttered. Had he always been that righteous, that he couldn't even read between the lines and only wanted to do what was right? Did his past self stubbornly clung onto his morals, even if the consequences were dire?
If he did, it was no wonder his 'pride' killed Eun-Byeol.
He was too stubborn to lower his head in front of someone stronger than him, and fought with all his might without thinking about the ramifications of his actions.
The answers slowly came to him, epiphany hitting him like a bitch.
"Byeol-hyung—"
"It's alright," the beau looked weary, as if he hadn't slept for days. "I know what kind of person you are. I should have thought about what could happen when I decided to manage you." Eun-Byeol released a long and deep sigh.
"Still, you're an idiot."
"..."
"An incredible idiot who doesn't know when to back down."
"..."
"But," in the rearview mirror, Junghyuk caught Eun-Byeol's gaze. It was so mesmerizing that Junghyuk thought he was daydreaming. "I guess that's what makes you amusing~"
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"..."
"Well, aren't you coming down?"
"... this is a cottage... in the middle of a mountain...?"
"What, you want Choi Sooho to find you? Anyway, I already asked one of my friends to hide Mia. I know you're too stupid and one track-minded to send her away to safety."
Ah.
Yoo Junghyuk was stunned.
Outside this sub scenario, all he received from Eun-Byeol were his disgust, avoidance, insults, and every negative thing Junghyuk could think of.
Although the current Eun-Byeol still insulted him, there was no ill intent behind his words. It was just the way he interacted with Junghyuk.
The manager thought of Mia's safety and brought him here where he could be safe. This concern and worry were all too new to him. And weird. He had gotten used to being at the end of Eun-Byeol's hostility that he had difficulty accepting the beau's good will.
"Junghyuk," a pair of fingers pinched the gamer's cheek. "C'mon. I called the boss earlier and told him it'll take a while before we can go back. So, go inside first and eat. I... have to take care of a few things first."
Eun-Byeol turned around, retracing the path they've taken to get to the cottage. Junghyuk, of course, didn't follow the beau's words and followed after him. The manager simply stole a glance from the corner of his eyes, not saying another word.
"Byeol-hyung," Junghyuk unwittingly talked once more. "Where are you going?"
"To take care of some... pests."
"Out here, in the forest?" Pests were everywhere. It was better to stay inside the cottage.
However, Yoo Junghyuk the Regressor had an inkling of an idea what Eun-Byeol was up to. From his understanding of the beau, he should be searching for the people who had been following them from a distance and Eun-Byeol planned on taking them out.
As much as Junghyuk wanted to stop him, his body and mouth had a mind of their own. They wouldn't listen to him.
His mouth spat words even though he tried to shut them up.
His body moved despite how hard he tried to hold himself back.
Junghyuk wanted to stop Eun-Byeol because what if it was this scene that took his life and he wasn't ready to face the reality and see him lifeless and a corpse and—
"Junghyuk."
"What is it, hyung?"
"... don't follow me from here on out. Go back to the cottage. I'll be back quickly."
It was so obvious that Junghyuk wanted to grit his teeth. He wanted to ask, What do you think you're doing? In this life, we're nothing but ordinary humans. How are you going to face Choi Sooho's men when all you've got is that brain of yours?
"... okay, hyung."
...
Dusk had fallen, bathing the mountains in ominous hues of oranges and red.
A certain manager, rather, a part-time manager and a full time computer scientist gazed upon the trap that captured all the pests chasing after their trails. Ahn Eun-Byeol swept a bored glance over the crushed body of a man under a boulder, a corpse whose limbs bent in abnormal angles, and many others who died miserable deaths.
"Seriously, I can't even clean this mess up so I had to lure you wastes here. This part of the mountain barely has any visitors and I'm sure Junghyuk wouldn't stumble upon you guys by accident." Ahn Eun-Byeol sighed and stretched his limbs, throwing away the compound bow he'd been holding down the hill.
It landed beside the person who had an arrow piercing right through his forehead.
"Now, how should I deal with Choi Sooho?"
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Damn.
Bb byeol is hot.