Chapter 12 — The one who has tied a knot must untie it (2)
He was teleported to a park bench in Jongno District. If anyone passed by and saw a man sitting there, they would have picked up their steps and bolted. After all, it was 3 in the morning. To put it on top, that man who was sitting on an empty park bench was laughing alone. “Ha–Hahahaha…” That man, no, Yoon-seok shifted his eyes to look at his surroundings.
The night sky was painted with stars.
The sound coming from a full-speed car engine.
Everything was the same as before he was taken to the Tower of Heaven. He was stupefied, wasn’t the time gone by when he was there? ‘Even the minutes are exactly the same.’ Yoon-seok flinched after his gaze fell to the time that showed up in the park clock. For a split second, he had a thought: maybe the whole thing he’s been through was only a long dream?
「Return in 23:58:41.」
And just in time, the warning popped up. If not, he would have torn apart whether it is true or just his fantasy. “I can even see it from here.” However, there is a tiny difference between here and there. He has to squint and concentrate in order to see it since it’s very subtle. Yoon-seok took out his smartphone. His phone had completely run out of battery and couldn’t be turned on. ‘Turned out the time didn’t stop.’ Then maybe three days have passed since then.
Yoon-seok walked off to the main road and stopped a taxi. He found this funny and ironic. Originally, Yoon-seok was at the park to wait for the first train to operate to save some money. However, as time went by, the way he saw everything changed. Even his thoughts regarding time have changed. A minute, even a second, was priceless to Yoon-seok, who had to go back there after 24 hours. “Please go to Sillim-dong.” The taxi drove Yoon-seok to Seoul road. The destination is his shabby rented room. The taxi driver said nothing, so he quietly watched the night view of Seoul from the window. It’s just an ordinary landscape, nothing special, but why does it feel different? Yoon-seok chuckled after looking out the window for a long time. The taxi driver asked as he saw what happened in the rearview mirror.
“Something caught your interest?”
“It’s just that… It’s a little different from what I imagined.”
It’s not like he didn’t feel something bubbling inside. If someone asked him if he’s happy, then he was sure the reply would be “yes I’m happy”. But only that. “I thought if I came back here, I would cry a lot.” Maybe it’s because he is home only for a day? Or is it because he has something to do? To his surprise, he was rather calm. The driver listened quietly and gave a piece of his mind.
“Student, I presume you must have come back from a faraway place?”
“Yes. I came back from a very far place. Seoul is still the same as before.”
“Gosh, it has changed a lot even if you think so.”
Many hundred-story buildings built in Jamsil-dong, news about the redevelopment of the Guro District, the driver kept rambling alone throughout the trip until it arrived at the appointed destination. When he was about to close the door after paying the bill, the driver asked one more question.
“So how long has it been since you were not here?”
“…3 days.”
“???”
* * *
“Oh! The student from room 603!”
When he was entering the code for the shared front door, a half-awake guard found Yoon-seok and made him jump in surprise.
“Where have you been? There was a total disaster!”
“Disaster?”
“That’s right! Your friend, or something, came and shouted so loudly to get his friend out.” Even without any further explanation, he knew who this person was. It was Kang Hyung-woo. He probably thought that Yoon-seok ignored him when he can’t contact Yoon-seok and come all the way here. Yoon-seok bowed his head and apologized to the guard, assuming that Hyung-woo had left the place with some serious damage. “I am sorry. It won’t happen again.” The guard has a quizzical look on his face. “Student… your air somehow feels different.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, should I say it has become a little more mature? Anyway, it’s not important. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but make sure you solve it.”
“Yes, I’ll try if I can.”
“It’s late, so go in.”
After a quick conversation, Yoon-seok entered the building. A six square meter studio room worth 450,000 won per month plus 500 won for security deposit. As he looked at the room and his extended arm met with empty air, he slowly realized. “I am really back.” It’s different from the stone chamber, which only has one stone statue. There is furniture decorating the space. Above all, he could feel hunger, thirst, as well as tiredness. After plugging a charger into his smartphone, he opened the refrigerator first to soothe his throat. There was an unopened can of cola. Without much thought, he grabbed it.
Fiiiiiizz–
The refreshing sound pierced his ear. For a few seconds, he would mistake the sound from the snort of the green monster he met on the first day. Yoon-seok gulped down the coke. ‘Wow, was it always this delicious?’ He really felt it’s been a long time since the sensation of eating he had. Yoon-seok’s tongue cheered at the sweet and tangy taste of cola. ‘Wait, enough with the coke…’ Yoon-seok turned on his smartphone. “I should order food.” With that, he called nearby late-night snack restaurants one after another.
* * *
Chicken, Tteokbokki, Pork wraps, and the list go on. When he woke up, a total of 90,000 won worth of late-night snacks were already in Yoon-seok’s stomach. At first, Yoon-seok was going to set aside some of it for breakfast… but he stuffed his face with food and finished it all alone. ‘Why in the world am I like this?’ Yoon-seok is a person who barely eats one chicken every day. But even after eating this much, he still has enough room in his stomach. With this amount, he probably can star as BJ[1] for Mukbang in the future. ‘Since I haven’t eaten anything, has my stomach grown or something?’ Yoon-seok was shocked when he was patting his stomach unconsciously. Instead of a soft belly, a hard stomach like rock brushing his fingertips. Now he think about it, his once tight T-shirt he uses as pajamas was loose today. Yoon-seok quickly rolled up his clothes. Just like what he saw in movies and pictures, no it was more than that, extensive and thick abs were revealed.
“Haha……”
There seemed to be many things to laugh about today. A dumbfounded laugh to be exact. ‘Don’t tell me I can use <Weapon Enhancement> and other unique skills too in here… huh?’
「Unique skill, <Weapon Enhancement>, is activated.」
The plastic fork from delivery food became red. ‘…Seriously?’ The fork is also a weapon? It was really written <Weapon Enhancement>. He then used the back step for a test.
「Counter-attack is available.」
This works too. Yoon-seok has no idea who he is supposed to counter-attack to test it. “Sigh…” He breathed out a deep sigh. In the chat room, there were people who said that they could use the skills they learned there in the original world. Yoon-seok regarded it as a false rumor. “Turned out it was otherwise…” If he has to be honest, he never said that this thought never flashed in his mind: what if he could use this ability in real life? Although such thought quickly dismissed as a wild imagination. But Yoon-seok has gone through a lot of crazy things, so it wasn’t difficult for him to accept it. His hunch that buried down deep inside was also the other factor.
He was nervous about the future. ‘It feels like I have a superpower…’ He has capability rank such as Strength, Stamina, Endurance, and Agility, the highest with Rank F+. Even like that, if someone gave him a wooden sword, he was confident that he could knock down some of the world’s martial arts champions with a single stroke. The more he goes to the arena, the stronger he will be. ‘And now this is where the problem is. I’m not the only one who is also in this situation…’ The Tower of Heaven has magic and super strength. If those people who had such skill were placed into society, it’s enough to stir commotion. What would be the world going to be?
‘For now, I’m not in the position to worry about that.’ Yoon-seok picked up his smartphone he had left to eat. He checked the piled up notifications one by one.
-Kang Hyung-woo: Hey. Where are you?
-Kang Hyung-woo: Oi? Ignoring me? Call me as soon as you read this.
-Kang Hyung-woo: Fucker, did you just avoid my call? You think you can?
-Kang Hyung-woo: Just you see. I’m on my way to visit your parents.
Kang Hyung-woo was the one who reached him out the most. There were 32 text messages, and 117 missed calls coming from him alone. ‘It’s no surprise if the battery died…’ Yoon-seok didn’t get mad when he read Kang Hyun-woo’s messages about visiting his parents. He was expecting it anyway. It also confirmed as he read his father’s messages next.
-Father: Yoon-seok, Hyung-woo said he can’t reach you, is something wrong?
-Father: Hyung-woo came today. He asked me to pay back the principal of the debt I borrowed because of the last fire as soon as possible. I double-checked the contract, but nothing mentioned that issue. Do you know why Hyung-woo suddenly like that?
-Father: If you two were fighting, try to settle it by talking to each other. You two are friends, after all.
When he saw Kang Hyung-woo’s threat, he didn’t budge a bit. But when he saw his father’s text, his hands shaking. He has been through many almost-dying situations, but since when did his viewpoint open wide? On a normal occasion, he wouldn’t get upset at such a part and just let it off. ‘You two are friends, he said?’ His father is not a fool. He surely knows that it is not a normal friendship if the friend went to the other friend’s parents and urged them to pay back their debts after a little fight. Long story short, his father advised him to reconcile. ‘Don’t tell me. He knows what my situation is but pretends not to know?’ An incomparable sense of betrayal like he never felt before filled in. It’s like a cold dagger stab him right in the heart.
As a father, he wouldn’t ever know his complete relationship with Kang Hyung-woo. Perhaps his father thought Kang Hyung-woo was the culprit who started the fire and Yoon-seok was his accomplice, so he didn’t want to dig deeper. He has a strong belief in that theory but brushed it off. Even though his other side tried to think rationally that it’s not true, he refused to look more into it. Knowing the truth won’t change anything.
‘But still… it doesn’t sit right.’
It’s 5:30 a.m. right now. The sun is not up yet, but it’s time for his father to get up since he has to go to work early. Yoon-seok took a breath and pressed the call button.
-Is that you, Yoon-seok? You punk! Why can’t I reach you? Anything is fine?
His father answered and uttered several words. His voice was loud, there seemed to be a hint of worry and anger. His mother woke up because of the phone, Yoon-seok could hear his mother muttering, “Is that Yoon-seok?” Yoon-seok did not answer any of his father’s questions. Instead, he said, “Father, I have something to tell you. Will you listen to me?” His father answered he would.
Then, Yoon-seok began to confess about Kang Hyung-woo’s harassment that had been going on since elementary school. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, it was a long story that couldn’t end in a short time. His father postponed his departure to his workplace to listen to the story. He had been asking questions from time to time but became quiet as the conversation progressed. Yoon-seok told the truth that he had been hiding all his life while his father faced the truth that he had been turning a blind eye to.
Maybe it’s only imagination.
Maybe Hyung-woo and Yoon-seok getting along pretty well.
It’s nothing more than a joke between youngsters that they got bullied.
But all of those his father’s secret wishes were trampled on after he heard the terrible truth.
-I’m sorry.
After Yoon-seok finished his long story, his father apologized after silence filled them. He could tell his voice cracking as if holding sobs.
-You’ve grown up having a hard time and have an awful father. I’ll do something about the debt problem. About Hyung-woo… no, that kid, don’t meet him anymore.
“I can’t. I’m going to meet him in person and end it.”
-Are you going to be alright?
“I will. Now I have the courage to do that.”
-You’ve… grown. My son.
What is his father thinking right now? Should he be so proud of Yoon-seok? Should he blame Yoon-seok or thank him? Should he apologize? Or maybe all of that. Yoon-seok told his father, no matter what happened after he settled down his relationship with Hyung-woo, he wanted to take a break from college and go on a trip to reflect. His father strongly supported it. His mother who was listening also agreed.
“Then, I’ll hang up now. I’m shutting down my phone, so you won’t be able to reach me in the future. But please don’t worry.”
With that, the problem of his family being cleared up. He wondered why he couldn’t do such an easy thing like this back then, why he had to take the responsibilities himself at such a young age. After having a short moment cutting off some strings from his heart, he pressed the call button again.
– …Choi Yoon-seok? You’re Choi Yoon-seok, right? Hey, you fucker! You want to die?
“Let’s get out, meet and talk.”
February 12, 2019, 7:10 a.m.
The bright morning has come to end, implying it’s time to put an end to this bad relationship.
* * *
Notes:
[1] BJ or Broadcast Jockey is like Live Online Streamer.