It would be a lie to say that First Life Ki-Young had no regrets. More than anything, he probably wanted to keep spending time with that pig. If it were possible, he'd spend his whole life with Park Deok-Gu. Compared to all the time he had spent missing him, the time they had just shared was nothing more than a fleeting moment.

Even so, there were many reasons why he was trying to wrap things up so quickly.

‘Lucky for me.’

Perhaps he was afraid of growing too attached. The more time they spent together, the harder it would be to let Deok-Gu go. Whether this was the ending he wanted or not, it seemed like it was enough for him to know that the pig was living a good life somewhere and looking genuinely happy.

It felt a little suspicious, but I felt like that really was enough for him.

He was probably feeling regretful that he did not have a place for himself there, but First Life Ki-Young believed that he no longer had the right to stand by Park Deok-Gu’s side.

After eating that awful meat stew courtesy of Deok-Gu, his mood and attitude suddenly changed. On top of that, there was one more reason he chose to say goodbye a little earlier.

‘Kim Hyun-Sung is on his way.’

He had to have realized that Kim Hyun-Sung was heading here right now. Of course, just meeting Kim Hyun-Sung wouldn’t resolve everything. I didn’t even know how to resolve things anymore.

With Mikael, our safety net, gone, there was no clear answer for how to move forward in this second life. Unaware of any of that, he seemed to be acting as if the second life was about to begin.

Meanwhile, the sharp-eyed pig had also picked up on the shift in atmosphere. Anyone would pick it up, and it was painfully obvious considering how First Life Ki-Young was smiling bitterly while ruffling Park Deok-Gu's his head.

Just as he reached out to stroke Deok-Gu’s head once more and say a farewell that was not quite a farewell, Deok-Gu shot to his feet and stared straight at him.

“Why are you acting like you’re about to disappear?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“...”

“...”

“What? When did I ever do that?” First Life Ki-Young asked.

“I don’t know. It just felt like you were trying to say goodbye. We’ve only just had a meal together, haven’t we? We should grab some coffee, and later tonight, we can share a glass of wine.

"There’s still so much we haven’t talked about. I’ve got tons I want to tell you, and there are lots I want to hear, too. And it feels like I’ve been the only one talking so far, so... let’s hear your story for once,” Park Deok-Gu offered.

“...”

“What have you been doing here? What’s happened to you all this time?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“You don’t need to know. And besides...” First Life Ki-Young trailed off.

“If I don’t know your story, then who will? If you don’t want to talk, fine, but I’m not letting go until you do,” Park Deok-Gu said.

As if that weren’t enough, he grabbed First Life Ki-Young firmly by the shoulder.

“W-what is this?! You pig! What are you doing?! Hey, let go! Let go, you pig!” First Life Ki-Young shouted.

“I told you, I’m not letting go!” Park Deok-Gu shouted back.

“You crazy pig! What do you even want me to say?! I’ve said everything already! If I can do it, then you can do it even better! That’s it! My shoulder, damn it! That hurts! My shoulder hurts!” First Life Ki-Young complained.

“No, I’m not letting go! Where do you think you’re going, trying to run away like this? My grandma used to say that if you keep everything bottled up inside, it turns into an illness! And right now, your face looks exactly like someone who’s hiding something! So let’s hear it,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“What kind of nonsense is that?! Damn it! What do you think I’m hiding?! What would I even have to say to you in the first place?! You idiot! Don’t start acting like some kind of counselor all of a sudden!

"This is it! We’re done here, you pig!” First Life Ki-Young yelled at him.

“I’m telling you, I don’t even know what you mean by done!” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Gah, seriously! What do you mean, what’s done?! You dense idiot! You know it, too! You know I’m not your hyung-nim! Let go!” First Life Ki-Young shouted.

“That doesn’t matter! You’re still my hyung-nim! That’s why you remember me, isn’t it? That’s why you cried like that when we first met! How could I not see you as my hyung-nim after that?! You’re my hyung-nim, no matter what! Whether you smell like herbs or like blood, you’re still my hyung-nim!” Park Deok-Gu told him.

“Fine, I get it, just let go already!” First Life Ki-Young said.

“I won’t!” Park Deok-Gu said.

“I said, let go!” First Life Ki-Young ordered.

“No!”

“You little! Did you just drop the honorifics on me?!” First Life Ki-Young questioned.

“Well, you said you’re not my hyung-nim, didn’t you? Then I can talk however I want!” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Y-you crazy pig!”

“Anyway, I’m not letting you leave! Where are you even trying to go?!” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Go follow your own hyung-nim!” First Life Ki-Young shouted.

“I’m not going anywhere until I hear everything you have to say! I can’t stand leaving things like this. It feels like I took a dump and didn’t wipe!” Park Deok-Gu insisted.

‘This is a complete mess. Total chaos.’

This was Park Deok-Gu for you.

‘Even seeing it again, it’s still shocking.’

Even I felt like running away at this point. It went without saying that First Life Ki-Young’s face turned bright red. In his head, he had already said farewell, so the embarrassment he was feeling right now was understandable.

It was like saying goodbye to a friend and waving as you part ways, only to realize that you two were heading in the same direction before ending up being stuck on the same bus together.

Since that farewell was pretty emotional, the awkwardness doubled.

Since Park Deok-Gu was refusing to let him go, the awkwardness had to be absolutely unbearable for him. Even after blurting out that he wasn’t his hyung-nim, this guy’s attitude hadn’t changed at all. I could say with certainty that he had never expected things to turn out like this.

Honestly, neither had I expected this. The atmosphere had been so heavy and emotional that I thought things would wrap up neatly right away, even though I was supposed to know Deok-Gu better than anyone.

‘He’s always been like this.’

Wasn’t he practically a master at making things spiral out of control? It wasn’t the first or second time this pig’s unpredictable antics had thrown everything off.

Of course, it wasn’t just something that applied to Second Life Ki-Young. First Life Ki-Young had surely gone through countless absurd situations while living with him as well.

It had simply been so long since he had spent time with Park Deok-Guu that he had forgotten the fact that this guy would never just go along with what he had in mind.

“Let go! Damn it! Just—” First Life Ki-Young shouted. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

“I told you, I’m not letting go!” Park Deok-Gu yelled back.

‘This is seriously driving me insane.’

Their voices were echoing loudly throughout the entire inn. Perhaps it was for the sake of authenticity, but the soundproofing in this place was terrible. There was no way this was an appropriate place to invite Kim Hyun-Sung.

Crash!

“Hey! Damn it! Stop! Stop it, you pig!” First Life Ki-Young shouted.

“If I grab you, you can’t even move, right, hyung-nim? So just stop resisting!” Park Deok-Gu told him.

“You crazy—”

Bang! Crash, Crash!

‘This is a complete disaster.’

There was no way I could meet Kim Hyun-Sung here. Since those idiots had practically taken over the entire inn. I felt like I had to be the one who had to leave. In any case, I didn’t have time to worry about that duo anymore.

Judging by how quickly First Life Ki-Young had tried to wrap things up, Kim Hyun-Sung could already be right outside. At the very least, he had probably already entered a space like this easter egg.

First things first, I grabbed my mask. Then I headed up from the basement to the first floor, and the smell of the food they had made struck me right in the nose.

‘Seriously... they couldn’t even clean up after themselves? Or at least air the place out? How is this supposed to be the hideout of the greatest villain of the first life? It just smells like people live here.’

The noises from the second floor only grew louder. Then, I spotted Kasugano Yuno, calmly sitting there, drinking tea as if nothing was happening. When she noticed me, she brightened up and greeted me.

She looked like she had a lot she wanted to say. After all, bringing Park Deok-Gu here had been something of a gamble, and it could have even gone against my interests. It made sense that she was worried.

Seeing her face, the slight suspicion I had been feeling toward her melted away.

“Have you been well? And, um... I...”

“You’ve done well,” I interrupted her.

“I don’t know what to say... I can only apologize...” Kasugano Yuno said.

“There’s nothing for you to apologize for, and you don’t need to be so cautious around me. I think I understand why you brought him here. Whether you just wanted to comfort him, or whether you believed this was the answer... I don’t know what exactly you saw. But I know your actions are always for my sake. In the end, you were right,” I told her.

“No, it’s just that...”

“You know I’m not someone who finds it easy to trust others. And saying something sentimental like this doesn’t really suit me, especially not here... but the reason First Life Ki-Young and I were able to live different lives... Of course, meeting Kim Hyun-Sung was the biggest factor, but...” I trailed off.

“...”

“It’s probably because he had people he could trust... people like you. In the first life, Ki-Young was betrayed over and over again, until the only person he could trust was that pig.

"He probably forgot how to trust anyone else. Maybe... he had chances to turn things around and fix everything, and maybe I started off well, too, only to ruin it all in the end. Nothing’s truly over yet, but... I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done.” I continued.

“T-thank you, Master,” she said.

“So... do you know what happens next? Or have you seen it?” I asked.

Kasugano Yuno, who had been nodding with an emotional face, shook her head at my question. It meant that even she couldn’t tell how things would unfold from here, or how any of this could be set right again.

It was a little disappointing, but I had expected it.

For now, I was just grateful that, thanks to her, we managed to cross a major turning point.

“But I have no doubt that you will make the right choice, Master... and that you will achieve a good outcome,” she said.

“If it’s the right choice, I already made it a long time ago,” I said.

“...”

“...”

“I’ll get going, then. See you at home,” I said.

“I’ll be waiting.”

After a brief exchange of farewells, I opened the door to the inn.

“Phew...”

I let out a long breath and looked up. Since we were inside what used to be a pigeon nest, there was no sky to see, but the sight of a lone, shabby inn sitting there still felt strangely out of place.

For no reason in particular, it struck me just how far I’d come.

I was talking about myself and the guy upstairs struggling with Park Deok-Gu.

I learned a lot and had been through a lot. I didn’t want to put it as Sung Ji-Hoon would, and I didn’t like saying something as cliché as “I’ve grown as a person,” but... I felt like I really had changed a little. At my core, I was still the same, of course.

Honestly, the idea that this whole system could just be a tutorial meant to turn me into some kind of god irritated me enough that I wanted to deny any kind of growth, but... I couldn’t completely deny that I had grown, at least a little. People would grow from even the smallest things, and I was no different. I felt and had experienced a lot, after all.

Big Boy, those salon ladies, Jung Ha-Yan, and countless ordinary people who simply hoped for a miracle... It would be a lie to say that they hadn’t left an impression on me.

Of course, there were parts of me that hadn’t changed. If anything, some things had only become more fixed.

“...”

“...”

‘I’m never leaving.’

'Once you step in, there’s no leaving.'

I turned my gaze and saw him looking at me.

My vision was obscured by the mask, but there was no doubting it. I was staring at Kim Hyun-Sung. He looked frightened and hesitant. Of course, he would feel that way. This was the moment when he would come face-to-face with First Life Ki-Young.

It was the moment he would confront his original sin. This was the moment he had been steeling himself for after leaving everything behind.

Kim Hyun-Sung had come here to put an end to his story. He had come to place a period at the end of his long story.