Kim Hyun-Sung was looking at me.

“..."

I was staring at the Kim Hyun-Sung I knew—Second Life Kim Hyun-Sung.

“...”

I carefully examined his face, just like when we first connected, his vivid golden eye came into view. Of course, I realized that my eye was shining as well. They were periodically emitting intense bursts of light. It looked as if we were resonating with each other. The shining lights that seemed to be sending signals to each other instantly calmed down the moment our eyes met. It was like nothing had happened.

Strangely, the fog that clouded my mind cleared up. The moment I saw Kim Hyun-Sung’s eye, it felt like everything became certain. I wanted to control my expression, but a smile naturally formed on my lips. Of course, I would smile.

‘Damn it... I pulled it off...’

A gamble that wasn’t really a gamble had produced great results. Of course, it had been a calculated move, and it was a move that I wouldn’t regret, but it would be a lie for me to say that I wasn't anxious at all.

After all, there was no guarantee that the system would take my side. It was childish, emotional, and a one-sided deal, so it was only natural for me to feel worried.

However, in the end...

‘You don't want to lose both of us, do you?’

After all, the continent saw both Kim Hyun-Sung and me as its co-guardians. If neither of us remained, then no one would remain, and my bold bet on that paid off. Of course, I didn’t know if it had accepted my deal.

It was possible that I had simply been playing along with the outcome and design it had long envisioned. Perhaps the continent wanted the two guardians to understand each other and complete this tutorial together. I felt like it wanted both of us to give up what we had and gain the qualifications to nurture the continent.

I had no idea if this was the correct answer or if I ended up finding a different answer. There was no answer sheet to begin with. For me, there was no clearer answer than this one. Kim Hyun-Sung was standing right in front of me.

I had lost nothing, and he was here. Our eyes were still shining. Neither of us had disappeared, and we still remembered each other. Kim Hyun-Sung seemed reassured by that as well, as he looked at me with a faint smile.

“...”

“...”

“It seems like you were waiting for me,” I commented.

“I was,” Kim Hyun-Sung answered.

“How long did you wait?” I asked.

“I don’t know exactly, but it didn’t feel that long,” he answered.

“Is that so?” I asked.

“Yes. When I remembered you, Mr. Ki-Young, I suddenly became aware of my own existence. Before that, I couldn’t even recognize myself. I thought that you must’ve been going through the same process as well...” he explained.

“So you were waiting for me here,” I said.

“That’s right,” he said.

“You didn’t think I disappeared?” I asked.

“My eye kept shining, and maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt that you definitely existed. I was certain that you hadn't disappeared,” he answered.

‘What a ridiculous test. It wasn’t even interesting.’

In the end, it seemed that remembering each other was the condition to regain our bodies. Of course, I wasn’t certain, but it really was an absurd condition. It almost made me suspect that this whole thing was some cheap trick to make the two guardians realize how important they were to each other.

Of course, something like that alone couldn’t possibly explain everything. There was no way it could account for everything we had seen and felt in the first life, or the time we spent with the people here.

What was a little amusing, though, was that it wasn’t me who had been waiting for him. It was the other way around instead.

“When exactly did you remember?” I asked.

“Right after I saw you on the first life, Mr. Ki-Young, I remembered immediately,” Kim Hyun-Sung answered.

‘Really? Looks like I was a bit late.’

To be honest, I hadn’t expected this idiot to remember me right away. No, even if that was the case, I thought I would definitely be the one to remember him first. When I realized that it ended up being the opposite, I felt even better for some strange reason.

While he was waiting for me, Kim Hyun-Sung must’ve had time to sort through a lot of his thoughts.

When I stared at him for a moment, I could see him staring at me with a complicated expression. There was a bit of embarrassment, guilt, confusion about the current situation, questions, and even a hint of anger on his face. It was only natural for him to look like that. After all, he was the one who caused this whole mess.

It had to be embarrassing to come back as if nothing had happened, and he was probably wondering what he was supposed to say for himself. He was likely thinking about what kind of face he ought to show me. It even looked like he wanted to question why I had decided to imitate First Ki-Young, and what I had been thinking when I grabbed his hand and jumped into the sunset with him.

If it weren't for the time he had to spend waiting for me, he'd be more emotional right now. Of course, even if that were the case, he wouldn’t shout nonsense at me. At most, he'd grumble a little. More likely, he wouldn’t even do that and would just face me quietly. The emotion that overpowered everything inside him right now was relief.

‘And not just that...’

Relief at being able to face me again seemed to be the strongest emotion in him, but interestingly, mixed within it was self-loathing over whether he even deserved to feel that relief. Naturally, he was aware that his sins still remained. Of course, taking responsibility wouldn’t erase his sins, and Kim Hyun-Sung knew that, too, but he believed that by becoming part of the sunset, he could at least atone in some way.

‘What an idiot.’

It was exactly that kind of stupid thought and action that suited Kim Hyun-Sung, but what mattered was that he had been serious about it in his own way. He had made such a serious decision, so it wasn't strange for him to feel lost after facing me again like this.

In the end, his mind was filled with thoughts about whether he even had the right to enjoy this small bit of happiness.

‘He’s definitely still carrying that sense of debt and guilt.’

I couldn’t say things like it was all over now or that he was fine. He knew better than anyone that those would just be empty words, and no matter how sweetly I tried to comfort him, I knew better than anyone that it wouldn’t erase his guilt.

“Um... Mr. Ki-Young.”

“...”

“...”

At the same time, however, I could tell that this bastard had grown as a person. I realized that he was no longer running away and that he was ready to face the things he had done.

I could see that he came to understand that becoming part of the sunset wasn’t a solution and that it wasn’t a form of atonement but a form of escape. He wasn't going to face things by doing that. Instead, he'd be running away from them.

He still seemed unsure about how to face it or how to accept it, but I found myself thinking that the rest of Kim Hyun-Sung’s life would be spent searching for that answer. Ironically, I realized that I had changed a little as well.

Normally, or rather, the me from before would try to find the answer for him. I could say with certainty that I wouldn’t leave it for Kim Hyun-Sung to figure it out on his own, but it was different now.

Even if it took time and felt frustrating, I realized that I could wait for him to find the answer himself. I didn’t know whether this growth and change was a positive thing for me, but I couldn’t deny that I had taken a big step forward.

‘Yeah. Well... I can't even try to control things like this.’

There were still things I couldn’t compromise, but what mattered was that there were now things I could let go. What mattered was that I had realized that myself.

‘He’s still in the palm of my hand, anyway.’

I wasn’t talking about being connected through the Regressor Instruction Manual.

‘Looks like we each got split in half.’

I was talking about our current state. I would need to take a closer look after returning, but it seemed that the price for starting the second life was split between Kim Hyun-Sung and me.

Since something had to be used as material, it seemed like the system had taken half from each of us. I couldn’t tell exactly what function or side effects this event would have for us, but one thing was certain.

‘If this bastard dies, I’ll die, too.’

It was different from the soul contract I had with Dialugia. This wasn’t a contract; it felt more like a natural phenomenon. It was complicated to explain, but put simply, it felt like his half and my half had combined to maintain a single existence.

I was relieved that our physical bodies hadn’t fused together, but at the same time, the fact that our souls weren’t just connected but had become one felt strange for me.

I still had questions about how a single soul could contain two bodies and two sets of thoughts, but here I was, living proof of it. Even Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t seem to fully understand it, but he seemed to have grasped it to some extent.

'"Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt that you definitely existed. I was certain that you hadn't disappeared."' That was what he just told me. The certainty he felt probably came from the fact that our souls had completely become one.

“Um... Mr. Ki-Young.”

“...”

“...”

“Please don’t say you’re sorry,” I told him.

‘I’m getting tired of hearing that.’

“It wasn’t your fault alone, Mr. Hyun-Sung,” I said.

‘But you should admit that about ninety percent of it was your fault.’

“Let’s just say there were some accumulated misunderstandings. I can understand everything you were hiding and everything you couldn’t tell me. And I believe the same goes the other way as well,” I continued.

“...”

“Also, I know what you’re thinking right now. It doesn't feel right to just put a period on things like this. I know that the sense of guilt inside you won’t disappear. I know that going back in this state won't solve anything, and that some things simply can’t be resolved. And I also know that I cannot erase that guilt for you,” I said.

“...”

“But no matter what choice you make...” I trailed off instead of finishing the sentence by saying, "I’ll always support you." He knew what I was going to say even without me saying it.

There was no real need to leave it unsaid, but somehow this felt like the better choice. A part of it was because I wanted to respect his will more, and a part of it was because it was such an obvious thing to say.

More than anything, I thought even that could feel like a burden to the Kim Hyun-Sung standing here right now.

‘Look at that.’

Normally, this guy would be overjoyed and go crazy upon hearing my declaration of support, but instead, he was holding it in with a bitter smile. That alone told me that I had made the right choice. It seemed like he couldn’t fully accept this situation as something purely joyful.

“Okay...”

“Let’s talk about everything we missed after we return,” I suggested.

He knew it, and I knew it, too. There wasn’t much time left. From the moment we recognized each other, the sky started to change. It was a subtle change, and it was hard to notice, but First Ki-Young had surely picked up on it. Sure enough, I could see him quietly looking up at the sky. The sun was rising over the sunset. The clock that had stopped was moving once again.

“Mr. Ki-Young,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“See you in a bit,” I said.

“Okay.”

‘It probably won’t amount to much...’

He was looking toward where First Life Ki-Young was located.

I turned my gaze as well, casting it toward where First Life Kim Hyun-Sung was located.