Chapter 361: Choose (4)

I regretted the choice I couldn’t remember making.

‘Why did you cling to life when you could just peacefully die, Hyun-Woo? What was the point of living like this?’

I thought to myself.

No matter how much hair-pulling I did or how many soul-wrenching cries I went through, nothing changed. The forgotten contract was ironclad, unbreakable. I shouldn’t make any further choices. I couldn't bear the thought of deciding, especially when it came to my parents. Even if choosing was the only escape from this nightmare, I was not supposed to choose anything.

Bang! Crash!!!

"Hyun-Woo!!!"

The door shuddered under the force, probably because my father thought I was in danger and tried breaking in to save me. I felt an overwhelming desire to just end my life now. I wanted to go back to how things were.

I wiped my face roughly with my sleeve and managed to pull myself together enough to open the door. "...I’m so sorry. I was sleeping," I lied.

The sight of me seemed to startle my parents immensely. Sweat beaded on their foreheads, and my mother's eyes were brimming with tears. "W... Was there any trouble? I thought I heard some distressing noises coming from inside."

I tried to sound calm. "No, nothing like that."

"...Alright, do you mind if we come in for a bit?"

Although they clearly didn't believe me, they didn't press further. Given my past behavior before traveling back in time, their wariness was reasonable. I had always made it a point to seem busy or simply not at home whenever they checked on me.

Opening the door to face them now must have felt unusually solemn and significant for them. I realized then how neglectful I had been and stepped aside to let them in. "Please, come in."

"Thank you. We came back because... umm... it seemed like today you might be less busy, and we thought we might have a chance to talk," they explained.

"Hyun-Woo, have you eaten anything?" Mother asked with a soft voice.

I shook my head, not because I was hungry, but because the thought of eating made me feel nauseous. But, I couldn't merely send them away after they had made the effort to match their visit with my supposed free time.

"You look a bit pale. Is everything alright?"

"No, it's nothing. I’m just tired." I reassured them, though I was only reassuring myself.

"Okay, Have a chat with your dad, then. Is the side dish I sent over still here?"

As soon as she entered, my mother headed straight to the kitchen. I was left in the living room with my father. The air between us was defined by an awkward silence after a brief and halting attempt at conversation about my work life.

"So, uh... how's work going?" he asked hesitantly.

"It's going well," I responded a bit too quickly.

"I’m glad to hear that."

The conversation soon trailed off into silence. It had always been like this between us, even before the incident that had driven a wedge in our relationship. Talking now felt even more strained and uncomfortable.

My father then diverted his attention from our dry talk to inspect the room. "It looks like there's mold here. Is there a leak somewhere?" he muttered more to himself than to me, perhaps to fill the silence with some sort of interaction. He then abruptly turned back to me with a concerned look. "Is there really nothing bothering you?"

I shook my head once more because I found it hard to articulate the true breadth of my feelings and recent experiences. I couldn't bring myself to share that I had just lost significant people in my life due to my choices. My members were now gone because of me.

My father studied me intently before rummaging through a bag and pulling out several soju bottles from a rustling black plastic bag. "Hyun-Woo, I've always wanted to have a drink with you once you were old enough. I thought today might be the right time, so I got your mother's approval to buy these. Do you drink often?" he asked with a hopeful note in his voice.

"Drinking..." I remembered my father had mentioned something similar back when I was a Chronos member. I was now ready to share a drink with him for the first time. "I’m not too bad at it," I concluded and managed a small smile.

Despite having already shared a drink with Goh Yoo-Joon, I was not at all intoxicated. In this timeline, I was well-accustomed to alcohol, so even if my father and I finished all the bottles, I wouldn’t feel a thing.

My father seemed pleased with my response and quickly joined my mother in the kitchen to bring out the food.

***

Together, we shared a drink or two. In this reality, no amount of alcohol seemed to affect me. It was remarkable, considering how I used to have a notably low tolerance for alcohol back in my Chronos days. I wondered how much I had drunk to be this sober despite all the soju.

On the other hand, my father began to be tipsy by the second bottle.

"Your father doesn’t really drink much, and he’s actually not that good with alcohol. But he bought so much soju today," my mother explained.

"Ah, he has low tolerance..." It seemed I had inherited this trait from my father.

"Hyun-Woo, has there been anything new with you lately?" Mother asked. Even my father, who had been half-asleep with drooping eyelids, perked up and looked my way with that same curious glint.

"Nothing much." Their faces fell slightly at my response; disappointment etched across their looks.

My mother pressed since she hoped to pull more information out of me. "There must be something. Even if it's just work troubles or small daily grievances."

Father chuckled lightly, trying to steer the conversation toward a lighter mood. "We actually came here wanting to hear all the whimsical and far-fetched stories you might have. I prefer those over the gloomy stuff."

Both their eyes held a deep earnestness, almost pleading for the conversation to continue, for anything that would keep our dialogue flowing. Perhaps father’s decision to bring a full stock of soju despite his low tolerance was a testament to their hope for a breakthrough tonight.

"I wish we could just chat like old times," I admitted. Having been a member of Chronos, I had once unilaterally broken down the walls between us. Perhaps that was why I now found myself longing for those genuine and nonsensical conversations.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Or maybe I had gone slightly mad dealing with the stuff with Goh Yoo-Joon and the other members, or had resigned to never returning to my life as a Chronos member. Or maybe I was just tired of suffering in silence.

"You can take what I’m about to say as some absurd rambling or a figment of my imagination. You can even think it’s just the booze talking."

Despite my warning that I was about to say something crazy, my mother and father listened to me with curious expressions on their faces.

I told them everything that had happened so far, leaving out only the part about the plane crash. I explained how I went back in time, debuted there, held concerts, and eventually returned to this moment after experiencing ultimate happiness. I spilled my guts until I felt completely unburdened, and I felt a sense of peace washing over me for the first time in ages.

The surprising thing was that my parents listened to the entire admittedly unbelievable story without a single objection or interruption. They didn't mock me or express disbelief. They just listened. I knew they probably didn’t buy a word of it, but they let me talk because they wanted to hear what their son had to say.

Even as I bitterly gulped down soju to speak more boldly and recklessly with each sip, they just sat there and absorbed it all. How did they react when I finally finished my story?

"I see... So that’s what happened..." They looked confused but were wearing complex, subtle expressions. It was clear they were struggling to process everything. They probably thought their son had gone mad while they weren’t paying attention to him. I surely was a disgraceful son.

However, my parents didn't voice their tangled thoughts. Instead, they exchanged glances and nodded resolutely.

"Honestly, your mom and I couldn’t understand half of what you said."

"Yes, Father."

"But if it’s true, we want to tell you to make choices for a better future."

It seemed they had decided to support my story, no matter how far-fetched it sounded.

"If this is real, if you were happier in that life after going back in time, then don’t hesitate or feel sad and choose that life."

"How can I do that? But thanks to the alcohol, I managed to finally say it out loud once. I feel a bit relieved."

My mother’s expression turned more serious. "I just want you to be happy in any form. I prefer the version of me that’s happy seeing a happy Hyun-Woo."

I thought they were just saying it to please me. It felt comforting, even if it was just a gesture.

Until the event window appeared before my eyes...

[You have made a choice for Event One.]

I stood up reflexively as a chill ran through my body. The shock took my breath away. The words on the screen seemed to mock the chaos in my mind.

"What’s—!"

"What?"

"Hyun-Woo, why are you suddenly acting like this?"

[The NPCs of Event One will disappear based on your choice.]

Bang!!!

"Are you crazy?!"

Fear gripped me. I was terrified my parents would disappear too, leaving me alone in this surreal nightmare. The idea of losing everyone so suddenly filled me with dread, and I started spewing whatever words and curses came to mind. Desperation colored my voice.

Slamming my hand on the table didn’t hurt at all, but I couldn’t hear my parents’ startled screams. Everything seemed distant and surreal.

"What choice?! It was just something they said! It wasn’t a choice."

My doubts and anger, which had been simmering all day, turned into strong resentment toward the unknown entity. I felt like a pawn in some cruel game.

No matter how many cursed words I spat into the air, time passed, and the system window disappeared as if it had completed its task. It was so indifferent to my suffering.

"Stop it!!!"

When I slammed the table again with all my might, I was the only one left in the room. My parents had vanished and left me in a deafening silence. I couldn’t cry, get angry, or even express my astonishment properly. I just stared at the empty table like a mute who had no words. The side dishes my mother had set out, the alcohol bottle my father had opened, everything remained except for me.

[The final event has occurred.]

I didn’t even have time to be sad because I truly wanted to quit this twisted reality. With the text window coldly dominating my vision, the room twisted and the scenery changed once more.

The place where I stood was not an empty room but an airport. I found myself standing in front of an airplane, the engines humming with a sense of foreboding.

[Make your choice.]

The words hung in the air, demanding an answer.