232 – Returners Are Mentally Weak (11)
After clearing the 23rd floor. My room.
“… “
Choi Ji-won was not there. I cleared it early by using an expedient method, so it is only natural. If you wait, it will come.
“… “Let’s play some games.”
I grabbed my sore head and threw myself on the bed. He paid a lot of money to replace the mattress, so it is as soft as the bed on the first floor. A stressed brain desperately needs rest.
“Good.”
It’s good to have a lover, but you also need alone time. Actually, if I told Jiwon that I wanted to spend time alone, he would respect me, but I feel sorry for saying that, and I haven’t had much time lately… For the first time in a while, she had the best time relaxing.
One day like that. Two days. Three days. Four days.
“… No, right? Probably not. “It’s Choi Ji-won.”
Now, my anxiety has grown more than the comfort of spending time alone. I can’t even leave the house because I’m worried about coming back. I stayed in my room and spent my time watching boring movies.
Is he dead? That probably isn’t it. It’s Choi Ji-won. It’s Choi Ji-won.
He will be alive It is certainly. So what is the identity of this anxiety symptom of mine? As well as the excessive mental damage on the 23rd floor, this…
“… “
Choi Ji-won has become too precious.
In my repeated regression, the only companion who can understand me. A support that always supports me. Dear lover. Hero of Earth.
Now it is difficult to imagine life without Choi Ji-won. It became natural for us to be together. Her future without her her without her her… I became afraid.
It is not wrong to say that it is a dependency disorder. Don’t lovers usually have a bit of dependence?
“It is true that the condition is not good.”
And it is true that my condition has improved greatly. My mentality has also weakened… It was like that before, but it’s still hard to memorize people’s names.
If time goes back, we will no longer know each other anyway. I’m going to repeat the same actions. Why memorize names or remember faces? Even if someone told me their name, I heard it with one ear and let it go with the other.
“… “
I decided to see people as people, but the situation has become like this again. These days, rather than going out of his way to protect people with a warm heart, he seems to be acting mechanically to protect them. Just because it is decided that way.
“Why did I try to climb the tower?”
I search through the dusty warehouse of memories. Preciously stored memories sparkle in the corner.
“… “I wanted to be a hero.”
These days, I’m driven more by a sense of duty than a sense of publicness, but I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to save the world and be praised. Of course, I’m not taking action directly right now because I don’t want the regression to be discovered, but…
When you complete the tutorial and a sighting is posted on the Internet, or when you see a sighting on the Internet of a hermit driving a white fog… It felt pretty good. As my heart tickled, the corners of my mouth slowly turned up.
“Popularity… Wouldn’t it be nice to get some?”
Isn’t liking a situation where others look up to you a sign that you are human in some sense? Because it affirms the existence of ‘others.’ If you look at the original novel, psycho regressors without blood or tears don’t care about what others think.
Yeah, popular. Let’s get some popularity. As Jiwon said, revealing one’s identity may be a bit of a problem, but being popular will definitely help one’s mental health.
Should I at least wear a mask and go around saving people? ‘Dark Hero’ has a very strong taste, but it’s like soup that always gets eaten.
Or should we try to make use of the fresh gimmick? It’s just that freshmen are not cool, so we go with ‘geomseon’. What is it? In the novel I was reading, there was a character called Geomseon Yeo Dong-bin, and it was very cool.
“Ugh.”
It felt good just to have dark delusions. Imagination is your strongest self.
S#.1 In the middle of Seoul / Day
Among the rubble of the collapsed building, multiple players are fighting against a giant monster.
I’m doing my best, but I’m falling behind.
Player 1: Ugh, if it goes on like this…
Player 2: Watch out!
The player who was playing the role of tank gets kicked out. It’s no longer enough. Drowning despair. The moment when everyone gives up and closes their eyes.
A mysterious man appears and cuts the monster in half with a single sword. You can’t see his face clearly, but the fog spread softly around him is very mysterious.
Player 1: Who are you?
Mysterious Man: Who am I?
Player 1: Yes, yes. I know all the S-rank players…
Mysterious Man: There is no need to know.
A mysterious man who coolly disappears using a ‘flashlight’. Only then do the players come to their senses and quickly search for the mysterious man, but all that remains is a frozen monster split in half and fog on the ground.
That was the beginning of the legend of ‘Geomseon’…
“Uhhhhh… “
Fun. It’s childish but fun. It was base fun to roll around in bed and daydream, and when I came to my senses, it was time to sleep.
You may not know it right now, but you will have time later to prepare for the monster invasion. Let’s try it then. Take care of your mentality and have fun. Protecting your privacy. Isn’t this really killing three birds with one stone?
So the next day.
“Jiwon!”
“Junho!”
Choi Ji-won is back. Although he looks a little tired due to the ‘disadvantage’, he looks relatively fine. (I was a little shocked when I looked in the mirror on the first day I came back.)
“Are you okay? Why are you so late?”
“W-what do you mean?”
“You didn’t kill anyone, right? All 10 people on the 23rd floor were people. Do you know this?”
“You know, you know. Rather, Junho, are you okay?”
“Then. It’s okay.”
Choi Ji-won touches my forehead and examines my complexion. The condition is much better now, so it won’t be noticeable. I also hoped Jiwon wouldn’t worry.
“Why did it take so long? 23rd floor.”
“Aren’t you fast? I am… “I broke it very easily.”
“… What do you mean?”
“So, in my case… “
It is said that when Choi Ji-won entered the 23rd floor, a woman was waiting at the bonfire. The letters floating in the air also changed to [2/2].
However, the 23rd floor still did not start. Since there was nothing to do, Choi Ji-won and the woman spent time talking about various things, and it is said that they became fast friends using the know-how they had accumulated at girls’ middle and high school.
“I’m really good at making friends with my sisters.”
It might have been different if I was alone, but since we were together, it wasn’t that difficult to endure. Choi Ji-won waited endlessly at the campfire, and after a day, or maybe two,…
“White smoke is coming… “I lost my memory.”
Choi Ji-won lost his memory because of his acting. No, he didn’t just lose it, new memories were added on top of it.
The two people at the campfire turned into eight people. All memories of the two days were deleted. From the beginning, we split into 2 people and 8 people… The tower erased all those memories.
There are two false beings here. In general, there is no choice but to be deceived.
“However… “He remembered the whole situation.”
“… “What?”
But does the pure white smoke not work on inanimate objects? Or maybe it didn’t work because I had two personalities? It is said that when Choi Ji-won was confused, Bungbung secretly informed him, ‘Ji-won, there were two of you when you started.’
“… No. “This is a scam.”
Therefore… In the first place, you were retaining your memories in the layer where white smoke erases memories? This… This… It’s a foul.
“Because I knew that the 10 people were all human, I intentionally avoided conflict… After enduring the disadvantage for 5 days, a mass of tentacles suddenly crawled out from under the ground. Kill it and it’s over. It was dangerous because it was hidden, and its own combat capabilities seemed weak.”
“… The entity that was giving the disadvantage was that mass of tentacles, and they came out after 5 days… “You mean you only have to survive for 5 days?”
“Yes. Among the people I was with was a university professor, and he said this. Unlike typical mafia games, 23rd Floor does not provide any ‘information that can lead to inferring the culprit.’ To do nothing.”
“… “
“Well, it’s sophistry. But I think that was the intention of the guys who designed the tower. If you don’t just hit them, but reason with clear evidence… It’s an impossible situation to begin with, right? Then, rather than forcing yourself to reason, the correct answer is not to reason.”
Jiwon shrugs his shoulders. She casually took off her armor as she spoke, but then she went into the bathroom and came out changing into comfortable clothes. The sight of him lying down on a soft bed is said to be okay, but it must have been quite difficult.
“Maybe… Wouldn’t a lot of people die here? “Because in a situation where both parties are sensitive, something that is nothing special can feel suspicious.”
“… That’s right.”
“Junho, what about you? “How did you wake up so early?”
“Oh, me?”
I didn’t want Jiwon to worry, so I answered with a mix of truth and fiction.
“I just got lucky. On the second day, people fought among themselves and the floor blocks were torn, and there was a deep cave there.”
“… Really?”
“Uh. I’ve only had a few regressions. Just twice. Look now. Are you saying you’re fine? “I’ve only been disadvantaged a few times.”
“… “Thank goodness.”
“Then. Thank goodness. Anyway, I’m really, really fine… Jiwon, do you mind if you don’t rest? Aren’t you tired?”
“I was just tired. Can I get some sleep?”
“Okay then. “I’ll go to the convenience store.”
I left my room, heartbroken that my sanity was not discovered. It’s good to share difficult situations and receive comfort… I didn’t want to reveal that I had developed symptoms of dependence on Choi Ji-won. Anyway, if we’re together, we’ll be fine. I just have to endure it.
**
‘Are you going to be okay?’
Bungbung asks Choi Ji-won, who is lying on the bed. Are you okay?
Choi Ji-won’s keen senses recognized that Kim Jun-ho was lying. It was the same during the tutorial. It’s only a minor difference, but humans signal when they lie. Choi Ji-won has the senses to notice that.
“It’s okay.”
In fact, Choi Ji-won was not honest either. Because she also intentionally hid something.
Choi Ji-won… No, Bungbung knew the identity of the ‘disadvantage’. Bungbung witnessed the ‘disadvantage’ firsthand. I reported the details to Choi Ji-won.
The ‘disadvantage’ is… It shows that one has been abandoned. It shows the person who is most precious to you betraying yourself and leaving.
Why did each person react differently on the 23rd floor? It may be due to my own unique mental strength, but it is also due to the fact that the way I react to the situation of being ‘abandoned’ was different.
Choi Ji-won knows. The ‘disadvantage’ that Kim Jun-ho saw was himself. She said she would have completely abandoned Kim Jun-ho and poured out abusive language that belittled his character. Because it was like that with Choi Ji-won.
Choi Ji-won knows. Kim Jun-ho’s mentality… He must have been more shaken than he looked.
Nevertheless… Don’t say I try not to worry.
If he can’t do it without Choi Ji-won.
“… It’ll be okay.”
Because we just need to stay together forever.