#98

I watched Seo Duseok’s hand rummaging through his inner pocket with sharp eyes. Since I had no idea what he was going to pull out, it was only natural that my sense of caution heightened.

After a while of searching, Seo Duseok’s hand finally stopped, as if he had found what he was looking for. He rolled his eyes toward me sitting on the bed, and his eyes curved mischievously. The way he acted as if he knew exactly why I was on edge made me frown in displeasure, and then he suddenly pulled out the item from his pocket and held it out to me.

“Here. This is my business.”

What he handed me was a dark navy ring case. I looked at Seo Duseok with an expression asking what the hell this was, completely thrown off by the unexpected appearance of a ring case. In response, Seo Duseok said in a teasing tone.

“Will you marry me, honored guest?”

“Freaking lunatic.”

Cursing at Seo Duseok was truly an act of helpless instinct. The curse came out faster than any thought or reasoning. I looked at him with eyes full of disgust and subtly shifted my body away from him. Seo Duseok, seeing this, put on an expression as if he were hurt.

“That’s harsh. Am I that disgusting? Are you, by any chance, a homophobe or something?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. I don’t hate homosexuality—I hate you and the things you do.”

“Ah, come on. Falling in love at first sight and proposing isn’t all that strange.”

This guy’s seriously insane. I looked between Seo Duseok and the ring case he was holding with a face full of horror and said.

“Cut the crazy talk and tell me the truth. What’s the real reason you came?”

“The proposal is the real reason.”

“Then just leave. You lunatic. There’s absolutely no way I’m accepting it.”

“Our honored guest is so cruel. Trampling on a man’s pure heart like this. I’m so hurt, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep for a while. Where oh where should I mend this broken heart~.”

“Wherever that is, it’s definitely not here. Get out. Get out of my sight right now.”

Seo Duseok had even started adding a melody to his whining. I pointed coldly toward the hospital room door as I looked at him. If he didn’t leave, I was more than ready to throw him out myself. The IV in my arm was a bit in the way, but I could just ignore it—or rip it out entirely if I had to.

“You’re really too much. Can’t you treat me nicely for once, like you do with those other guys?”

Seo Duseok must’ve been referring to Tartarus when he said ‘those guys,’ right? I raised an eyebrow with a sour expression.

“Be realistic. How could someone like you ever be compared to those kids?”

At my firm response, Seo Duseok burst out laughing with delight.

“Man, I really like this cold side of you.”

“Has anyone ever told you you have a really weird taste?”

Seo Duseok just shrugged lightly in place of an answer. I looked at him with eyes full of revulsion and then let out a long sigh as exhaustion washed over me.

“Oh no. Our honored guest looks super tired. Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not. Which is why I’d really appreciate it if you disappeared quickly.”

I said that while rubbing my forehead, which had started to throb. Then, after a moment of silence, Seo Duseok reached out and pulled my hand away from my head. He suddenly placed the ring case he had held out earlier onto my open palm.

What the hell is he trying to pull now? I seriously debated whether I should just chuck the thing across the room. But as if he sensed my growing irritation, Seo Duseok hurried to explain.

“That earlier part was a joke! Honestly, someone else asked me to give this to you.”

“Someone else?”

At his words, I looked down at the ring case sitting in my hand with a puzzled gaze.

“Who would give me something like this?”

“You.”

……What? I lifted my eyes from the case and stared at Seo Duseok’s face. He was smiling brightly. Smiling in that irritating way of his, he just stood there while I clicked my tongue in annoyance and opened the ring case.

Inside was a man’s ring with a design I found incredibly familiar. I took the ring out and examined it closely, turning it in my fingers.

“This is……”

It looked like a matching set to the ring that woman named Seohyun had in my memories earlier today. The design was nearly identical, only differing in size. I cautiously slid the ring onto the ring finger of my left hand. It fit perfectly, as if it had been made for me.

……So it really is the ring of Goo Won from the game.

“Didn’t you say last time that the request from my past self was already completed?”

I raised my hand and looked at the ring on my ring finger as I asked, and Seo Duseok grinned slyly and replied.

“Sorry. Saying that was part of the request, too. I was just following the instructions from our honored guest, so even if you’re mad, go easy on me.”

At his shameless words, I rolled my eyes away from the ring and looked at him.

“What exactly was the request I gave you? This time, don’t lie—just tell me properly.”

Because I won’t be asking twice.

At the quiet add-on, the corners of Seo Duseok’s lips twitched uneasily. He studied me with eyes trying to gauge whether I was serious, then slowly opened his mouth as if he had come to some sort of conclusion.

“Deliver the designated item on the designated date. Perform the specified actions without complaint. That’s all—just those two things.”

“The designated dates being last time and today?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“How many more times are left?”

At my pressing, interrogative tone, Seo Duseok slowly shook his head.

“This is the last one. I mean it. Please believe me. Even I wouldn’t mess around with something like this, not when my life could be on the line.”

“Life on the line? That’s a dangerous thing to say, someone might take you seriously.”

“You were totally ready to do something if I was lying again, weren’t you? Don’t pretend otherwise, honored guest.”

I smiled faintly at how accurately Seo Duseok had read my intentions. Sharp guy. Then again, in his line of work, you wouldn’t survive without sharp instincts. Seeing my satisfied expression, Seo Duseok let out a sigh of relief.

“Besides saying the request was finished, did you lie about anything else last time?”

“Nope. Nothing else. Everything else was real. And this really is the final request. Back when you received the first item, your past self said to tell you the request was over if you came looking, then to deliver the final item on the designated date. I just followed those instructions.”

As he hurried to explain, I tilted my head and studied him carefully. Is this really the truth? At my doubtful gaze, cold sweat began to bead on Seo Duseok’s forehead. He gulped nervously with a tense expression.

“……Well, alright. I’ll believe you.”

“Thank you. For believing me.”

“No need to thank me. It’s not you I believe in—just my past self, who probably knew well enough that I wouldn’t let anyone get away with pulling the same stunt twice.”

I spoke indifferently while slipping the ring off my finger and placing it back into its case. Seo Duseok gave a sheepish smile. He really was someone who knew exactly when to be careful and when to act up.

“Is that everything you were supposed to deliver?”

I asked as I absentmindedly fiddled with the ring case in my left hand. At that, he quickly pulled out two envelopes from his back pocket and held them out to me carefully.

“These, too.”

I took the envelopes he handed over and examined them from various angles. I looked thoroughly, but there didn’t seem to be anything particularly unusual about them.

“Letters again, huh?”

“Seems like your past self had a thing for analog stuff.”

I pointedly ignored Seo Duseok’s remark and opened one of the envelopes first. Inside were a folded letter and a single photograph.

The photo was what I checked first. In it, someone who looked about college-aged—clearly the in-game Goo Won—and the woman named Seohyun I’d seen in his memories were holding hands and smiling brightly. Their smiles were so radiant, anyone would assume they were truly happy. I dazedly reached out and traced the smiling face—my face—in the photo with a fingertip.

It was a strange sensation. How could I even describe it? No matter how I tried to put it into words, I couldn’t find the right ones. I slowly pulled my hand away and let it rest on my thigh.

“So you do smile like that, huh?”

Seo Duseok sounded genuinely intrigued, looking at the photo. I couldn’t help but agree. So this is how I smile. It was a kind of smile I’d never seen before.

I shook my head a couple of times to rid myself of the odd feeling, then turned my attention to the letter that had come with the photo. As the paper unfolded with a soft rustle, I found that once again, there were only two short sentences written on it.

[Go back. Before you regret it.]

……What is this supposed to be? A threat? Or a warning? Unable to hide my displeasure, I carefully folded the letter and started slipping it back into the envelope, making sure Seo Duseok couldn’t see it.

Or at least, that was what I was trying to do—until something in my peripheral vision caught my attention.

There was a faint, dark something on the inside of the envelope. I paused, then peered into it. That’s when I saw the letters written inside. ‘Drawer’…… What? It looked like something about a drawer.

Realizing it was too faint to read like this, I tore the envelope open completely, revealing the writing more clearly.

[Top section of the first drawer on the left side of the bedroom dresser.]