Chapter 1401: The threshold of winter (12)

Yeom Jun-yeol, Cheon Dong-ha, Ma Jin-seung, and Yong Je-geon.

After the school trip, these four somewhat knew that I had obtained information about the world I used to be in from Gye-i-dam.

Judging by how excited Yong Je-geon was texting about how Gye-i-dam might have another name, it was obvious he was quite blown up.

And Song Si-wan was also present at that place.

“So, that’s why Si-wan was called again this time.”

Yong Je-geon said it would be more fun with Song Si-wan around, so he called him.

Though it was unfortunate that Song Si-wan was summoned to school by the Yuhee world dragon tribe suddenly, once he decided to watch over Gye-i-dam, Si-wan’s future was almost set in stone.

“Dong-ha, you said Gye-i-dam was talking to Heo Chae-ah just now, right?”

“Yes. I confirmed the location and immediately stopped Gwang-rim. I don’t know what they were talking about, but Chae-ah was sitting in front of him.”

It might have been a coincidence that Heo Chae-ah was there, but it didn’t sit well with me.

After all, it proved that the two were close enough to meet by chance and have casual conversation.

Soon, Gye-i-dam appeared with Song Si-wan.

When Si-wan showed up, Ma Jin-seung tried to hold back tears, tightening his eyes.

“Si-wan, come on in. Thanks for coming.”

“If there’s a gathering like this, call me anytime. From now on too.”

“Yeah, I will.”

Song Si-wan’s heart was big enough to gently accept even the Yuhee world dragon tribe’s coercion.

Meanwhile, the moment Gye-i-dam saw my face, he looked intimidated.

Yeom Jun-yeol greeted only Song Si-wan, then expressionlessly eyed Gye-i-dam with caution.

Cheon Dong-ha greeted normally, and Ma Jin-seung swallowed tears and warmly spoke.

Judging by their attitudes, I roughly understood the stance these four took toward Gye-i-dam.

“Those four heard about the time when Gye-i-dam was in Gye-sangjung. Yeom Jun-yeol is wary, Cheon Dong-ha is neutral, Ma Jin-seung seems indifferent, and Yong Je-geon is enjoying it.”

Yong Je-geon, who usually calls students just by their names in a friendly manner, was always adding honorifics when addressing Gye-i-dam.

It was natural to keep distance, considering even just hearing some of what Gye-i-dam did.

It would be strange to see someone who wrote such severe malicious comments on Plmago as anything but hostile!

Click.

At that moment, the shutter sound of a device camera was heard.

Turning toward the sound, I saw Yong Je-geon smiling brightly.

Looking at the hologram screen, it seemed he was taking a picture of my face.

There was almost no expression, but I could slightly see the suppression of negative feelings like disgust or contempt while staring at me.

“I’ve never seen polite Yi-shin make that kind of face at a senior before. It’s a rare sight. So I took a picture!”

“Why on earth... No, don’t explain.”

“I was going to explain right away if Dong-ha got curious, too bad.”

I should have called Kim Sin-rok too.

Though it wouldn’t have been much help in stopping the Yuhee world’s nonsense, since the jokes usually targeted Kim Sin-rok, he could have played the shield role.

But Yeom Jun-yeol glanced at my photo and seemed [N O V E L I G H T] to quietly ask to send it to him as well, but his voice was too low, so I wasn’t sure if I heard it right.

“Forget about Gye-i-dam, we should finish quickly for Si-wan’s sake.”

Song Si-wan was watching me while gently patting Ma Jin-seung’s back to soothe him.

It seemed like he was more worried about my feelings than about Gye-i-dam, who had been dragged here suddenly.

“Let me get straight to the point. You’re close with senior Heo Chae-ah, right? I have something to confirm with someone you’re close to.”

“Yi-shin, this is the first time I’ve seen you talk casually to a third-year!”

Yong Je-geon was excitedly talking, and I wondered why he acted like that.

He must have seen me talk casually to the over-five-thousand-year-old tigers in the same class, so what was so new?

But since there were no third-year tigers, maybe it looked new to them.

When Gye-i-dam was spoken to, he flinched and trembled but quietly listened.

When Heo Chae-ah’s name was mentioned, I felt his surprise and increased focus.

“He seems to care as a friend.”

I was wondering how to start the conversation about the replay when Gye-i-dam spoke first.

His voice was unpleasant, mixed with a metallic tone.

“...Is it because of the demon world scenario?”

“Since Gye-i-dam remembers it, Dain must have been very active there, right?”

“Teacher Yong, please be quiet.”

Eventually, Cheon Dong-ha stopped Yong Je-geon.

Even so, Yong Je-geon would try to interrupt and say something, but for now, he was quiet.

“Maybe because it was the scenario where Andain was active, the name came up immediately. I thought he wouldn’t remember well.”

Or maybe considering the timing, he was thinking about it.

Whatever the reason, since he knew the demon world scenario well, it was easier to talk about it.

“Do you remember who from Eun Gwang High died in that scenario?”

“...Chae-ah and Kyung-gu.”

So he did remember.

When I had previously looked at Gye-i-dam’s memory through Seong Seong-woo’s ability, I thought maybe Andain wasn’t focused when he wasn’t speaking and didn’t know.

But it was surprising how smoothly he answered.

“My power lets me experience, in first person, the situations of the game targets I perceive as appearing in the game—from the tutorial start to that character’s death. It’s called replay.”

“Replay...”

At those words, Gye-i-dam and Song Si-wan both looked at Yong Je-geon.

Seeing Yong Je-geon smile back, I guessed he dropped the word replay to test them.

“Before, teacher Yong asked me, ‘How do you know Yi-shin didn’t use replay on Si-wan?’ That’s what it meant.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I also saw part of the game through Gye-i-dam’s memory. Experiencing such a world firsthand must be painful, but gathering information that’s not in the game could be helpful. Even though I died early, if you need info from my point of view, just say.”

Song Si-wan not only fully understood replay from my explanation but also expressed willingness to participate anytime.

Even Sung Guk-eon responded so reliably, just hearing that warmed my heart.

Gye-i-dam, seemingly understanding what replay was, looked at Ma Jin-seung and spoke.

“Seeing that, no wonder he’s like that...”

“Oh, Jin-seung must have watched me die too if he did replay.”

“Waaaaaah!”

Ma Jin-seung, who had been holding back tears somehow, finally broke down crying.

His sobbing was so loud it hurt my ears, so Gye-i-dam frowned a little, stared at him, and muttered.

“...Seems like only replay experiencers are here. Otherwise, Yi-shin wouldn’t reveal such important info. Si-wan died on First Christmas, so there’s no info left to check, and I’m not recognized as a ‘target appearing in the game.’ I can’t be chosen as a replay target.”

Nothing was wrong with that.

The four here were replay experiencers; they didn’t feel the need to replay Si-wan, who died relatively early.

Also, Gye-i-dam wasn’t on the list at all.

Eunho, a similar case, was the same.

Gye-i-dam came to that conclusion alone.

“Gwak Kyung-gu and I aren’t very close. But Chae-ah is different... so they wanted to ask me about replay usage.”

Sometimes, there are malicious commenters who can’t be silenced.

Those kinds of trolls tend to ramble on even if no one responds.

They don’t stop until they get the reaction they want or take over the entire board.

Gye-i-dam rambled on even though no one was answering him.

Though what he was saying wasn’t malicious but actually true.

“But if it was a serious matter, they would have asked Chae-ah directly. They wouldn’t want to hand such important info to me.”

“You’re smart. For someone with experience as a troll, you’re pretty self-aware.”

“Teacher Yong, be quiet.”

Gye-i-dam ignored Yong Je-geon’s sharp mockery.

It wasn’t that he just ignored it; it seemed he didn’t hear it because he was focused elsewhere.

Gye-i-dam asked me.

“Did Chae-ah call me out to reveal my abilities and ask my opinion because something terrible happened?”

I didn’t explain what happened.

In fact, I didn’t know exactly what happened to Heo Chae-ah yet.

I just confirmed the existence of the recording device at the Jik Hall.

They might have already threatened with that footage, or like countless blackmailers with hidden videos, forced horrible things to get a bigger weakness.

When I didn’t answer, the expressions of the others except Yong Je-geon darkened, and Gye-i-dam’s expression twisted.

“Jo Yi-shin, have you forgotten what kind of expression Chae-ah had living?”

“I know.”

Of course I knew, so I answered without hesitation.

I probably knew better than Gye-i-dam.

Heo Chae-ah was a character despised for her expression, atmosphere, and weak personality, so I knew well from diligently writing about the labyrinth-type otherworld conquest where she played a big role.

“Some, like you guys, endure firmly through that, but some don’t!”

“Judging by Jin-seung still crying, he doesn’t seem that strong...”

“Teacher Yong!”

Despite Yong Je-geon interrupting and Ma Jin-seung’s sobs mixed in, Gye-i-dam spoke as if in agony.

“If I hadn’t had that accident, I would have lived a better life... No matter how much time passes, the memories remain. Even if my face heals and I go to high school again, it doesn’t go away! Don’t show that to Chae-ah!”

At those words, I overlaid Gye-sangjung’s image onto Gye-i-dam’s face.

The Gye-sangjung in memory had a twisted face from the aftereffects of the accident, which led to rumors that he harbored inferiority complex.

Just looking at the malicious comments he wrote showed how much resentment and grudge he held against the world.

Would things have been different without that accident and memory?

If I hadn’t had a traffic accident that struck my family, I might look different now too.

“Idam.”

Song Si-wan placed his hand on Gye-i-dam’s shoulder, and he seemed to regain composure, trembling slightly.

The strength I felt earlier gradually faded, and his usual gloomy atmosphere returned.

Regardless of my personal feelings toward the speaker, I made up my mind after hearing what was said.

Heo Chae-ah was much closer to Gye-i-dam than many Eun Gwang High students, even those seniors like Yeom Jun-yeol, Cheon Dong-ha, and Ma Jin-seung.

Maybe there was something only Gye-i-dam could understand.

“I won’t use replay on senior Heo Chae-ah.”

“...!”

Gye-i-dam’s expression brightened.

Seeing that, I almost frowned unconsciously but held back.

He was a crazy malicious commenter who wrote bad comments on almost every Plmago character except Andain, but since he shouted for Heo Chae-ah’s sake, I decided to be generous.

I waited, wanting to hear what he had to say.

But though he tried, Gye-i-dam never spoke.

I decided not to read his mind about what he wanted to say.

After breaking up, I asked Yeom Jun-yeol, who was closest to Gwak Kyung-gu.

“Let’s check senior Gwak Kyung-gu’s schedule.”