347 – Ruin (8)

The word stubborn… has an unwavering firmness. It has a firmness that won’t waver even if the wind blows, or if it rains, or if someone pushes hard from the side.

“I disagree. No, it just won’t work.”

That was exactly what Choi Ji-won was doing right now. She was stubborn. There was no room for negotiation here, and it seemed like there was no room for me to dig in.

“No, it’s not that bad, is it?”

“That’s about it.”

A ring given by an angel. A ring that can erase one characteristic. This ring is one that I originally planned to save for the ‘worst case’.

My trait, regression, causes time to turn back when I take damage. So what if I regress due to natural aging, or death from illness? People can’t live forever… What if even death triggers regression?

If that’s the case, I will live forever. No, to be precise, I will become ‘unable to die’. Since humans who dare to challenge eternity will go mad, this is an ending I do not want.

But I have this ring. It is a ring that can erase all traits. I don’t know if the ring given by the archangel can nullify the regression that seems to be the highest trait… Assuming that it is possible, I can always have a comfortable rest.

“If you do that and get locked up forever like you said, what are you going to do? Absolutely not.”

I also understood why Jiwon Choi was worried about me. It was something I had worried about in the past.

“But there’s no answer to this either.”

But… even considering that, the current situation was just hopeless. It’s not just because my identity has been spread. The problem is that my ‘strength’ has also been spread.

People had already begun to expect that I would solve everything, just like the President of the United States. Maybe I could solve it once. But what about after that?

If my goal was to become the ruler of Earth, I would have welcomed it with open arms. But… I didn’t want that. I didn’t want this kind of responsibility. I didn’t want to be pushed onto a throne I didn’t want.

“but…”

Since Choi Ji-won had known about my personality from the beginning, when I showed my weakness, she couldn’t act strong anymore. It must be because she knew how stressed I was and how driven I was.

“What about regressing to another, another person?”

Choi Ji-won tries hard to express a different opinion. But she has already thought about this.

“A day and a half after the point of return, the president will spread my name. So the person who will return with me must be someone who can stop the president within a day and a half. Who else can do that besides Dok Soo Hee?”

“… Bringing back the president?”

“That person can’t regress. He’s already devoted his soul to the book, so he won’t be affected by my powers. Even if I try, I can only regress the President of Korea, but the problem is that the President of the United States doesn’t listen to others. When I tried to spread my personal information, all of the key aides opposed it with all their might. The President was crazy enough to not listen to me. Unless he’s someone like Dok Soo-hee who’s armed with force… I think it’s impossible.”

“…”

“Ah, there is a way. I can have a trustworthy person return and secretly kill the President of the United States. Then my identity will not be revealed, and the people who were doing the work will know that I did it, so they will be relieved. It can’t be helped that it will be known to the underworld, but it will stop the fire for now. But this is not the direction we want, right?”

At some point, Jiwon Choi listened to me with her head down. It might have been because my voice was filled with resentment.

“So… right now, the ring is the best. If you wear the ring…”

“No, no. Just wait a minute.”

Only then did Choi Ji-won hug me tightly.

“First of all… it’s not certain. Even if you erase the book’s characteristics, it’s not like everything will go back to normal.”

“You can ask the book about that.”

“That’s true, but… yeah, maybe Dok Soo Hee will come out someday. Wouldn’t that be better?”

“… ‘Someday’?”

“Doksoohee, even if she’s out of her mind now, it’s not like that’ll last forever, right? Let’s wait. Let’s wait. She’ll come out someday. She’ll come to her senses someday.”

“… Do you know what it means to wait and see?”

“…”

Choi Ji-won immediately understood what I meant. I didn’t have time. Why didn’t I?

“Monsters are coming out.”

In the next six months… monsters will invade Earth. The Earth will be plunged into chaos like never before, and people will die.

Can I just sit there and watch this? I’ll block it. I’ll do my best to block it. I don’t know if I can block it completely, but I’ll be able to significantly reduce the damage.

But what happens after that? What if a regressor suddenly appears and prevents all the damage? What happens to society?

Whether I want it or not, I will be the guardian of the Earth. Not only now, but in the future.

It might be okay once. Since I was going to save the world anyway, I guess it doesn’t matter. These are the gazes that Choi Ji-won had been enduring from the beginning. There’s nothing I can’t do.

“…I can’t do it.”

No, I don’t think I can do it. I’m not that kind of generous person. I don’t want my life to be put on the chopping block and dismantled by the public. I just… want to become moderately famous and receive moderate praise.

“But no ring.”

“Then… what should we do?”

In the end, there was no other option but the ring, so what did Choi Ji-won want to do? I carefully pulled Ji-won away from me, who was still hugging me.

“Honestly, it might seem pathetic to you. You… have endured this for a long time.”

“No, I don’t think so. It’s different for everyone.”

“Then maybe it was just my inferiority complex. Anyway… I don’t want this situation. I can’t do it.”

“The ring is…”

“There is no other way.”

“…”

Yeah, that’s the problem. There’s no other way.

“Wearing a ring may not necessarily solve everything. So, I’ll just ask the book. I’m not going to do it right away either.”

“but…”

“Huh? It’s okay to ask.”

“Something…some way…”

“… I’ll go ask the book.”

Jiwon understands her feelings, but she can’t just wait around when there’s no alternative. If she wants to wait, she should start thinking about ‘how to stop the monster invasion’ right now. It would be better to ask the book for the answer.

So I turned my back and prepared to move to the United States.

“mask.”

“…What mask?”

“24th floor reward, mask. What if I wear that?”

I heard Jiwon jump up from behind me. A mask?

“What if someone you can trust, like Firefighter Park Cheol-jin, puts on a mask and transforms into you? Then wouldn’t the president meet you?”

“…”

Yes, the mask that was the reward for the 24th floor. Using the mask, you could change into the appearance of anyone you wanted for an hour. If you just showed that appearance to the president, you could at least have a ‘conversation’.

“I don’t know how the conversation will flow, but regression isn’t something that ends in one go. The person who regresses together will also gain know-how… Don’t you think it’s possible?”

It’s not a very likely possibility, but it’s not an entirely unreasonable plan.

“How do you get a mask? Firefighter Park Cheol-jin.”

The problem is, there’s no way to get the mask in the first place. We have the mask, but there’s no way to get it to Firefighter Park Cheol-jin outside the tower, so in the first place…

“Jitter. You can contact Jitter.”

“Jitter?”

“Yeah. That guy owes us something. So if you contact Jeter, explain the situation, borrow a mask… and contact the president, it’s possible.”

“…”

Then it’s a different story. Michael Jeter is so sorry that he came all the way to Korea and waited in front of my house. Regardless of his true intentions, he will show cooperation for now.

If you can get the mask with the help of Jitter, and if you can get the president’s attention while using the mask with the help of Jitter as well… If you tell the president the whole truth while he is welcoming you saying, ‘The returner has finally come!’

Well then. It might be possible. Yes, it’s not impossible.

But this is also a probability. It is not certain that it will succeed, and there is also the disadvantage that I have to drag firefighter Park Cheol-jin into this grand return of mine.

But if you use the ring, you can erase the book that is the root of all evil. If you use the mask, you may be able to stop it for now, but there is nothing you can do about the fact that my identity has been spread to the leaders of the world.

Should I just do as Choi Ji-won said and escape the situation? Or should I use the ring to change everything?

Up until now, I have always respected Choi Ji-won’s opinion. I almost always did as she said. I was aware that my mind was not in order because of the pressure of being a regressor, so I mostly thought Choi Ji-won’s opinion was right.

But at the final crossroads of choice. This time.

“…I’ll go and check with the book first.”

He trusted me, not Choi Ji-won.