At this moment in my life, I do not believe that anything is a coincidence.
"Why Ahn Hana?" I feel too tired to yell. "Did I meet her because of her condition?"
The keeper gives me a heavy nod. "She's an urgent one."
"Is she my responsibility because I turned back time?" Jae Kyung died. I met Ahn Hana. I found out that she's keeping the soul of a psychopath inside her. After coming across her, I did look into her out of curiosity because I wanted to know who Hong Yi Hwan was.
The timekeeper sighs. "Ahn Hana was not supposed to have Hong Yi Hwan's soul inside her."
So, it changed.
It was around 5 years ago. Ahn Hana was treated like a national sinner for taking the case of a man who was suspected of 100th-days murders. Later, it turned out that the murderer was not only someone else, he was also deeply connected to Ahn Hana. He killed her parents, the people who were connected to the cases that she won, her best friend, and Do Sejin's younger sister.
Hong Yi Hwan was no other than a popular prosecutor Im Jihoon. He switched his identity after an accident and lived as Im Jihoon. He even had a family. When they found out that he was the magnolia murderer, he went missing.
But I know that he didn't go missing. He's living inside Ahn Hana.
"I told her that I wouldn't bother her. I know that it's wrong, but Ahn Hana seems okay with another soul inside her." I feel uneasy just thinking about Hong Yi Hwan. Does Do Sejin know? "It looks like she loved that killer for real."
"She might be okay. But we are not." The timekeeper frowns at me. "That's an unholy union. It is certainly not love between them. We have to fix it before something bad happens."
"Right." I massage my forehead. "Nothing bad happened since Hong Yi Hwan died. What would happen now?"
"Do Sejin has to leave soon for mandatory military service." The timekeeper scowls at me. "Nothing bad happened because he was there. After he's gone, there's two future for Ahn Hana. The first one is that Ahn Hana will snap and she will take the same path that Hong Yi Hwan did. Her first victims might be her children or Hong Yi Hwan's wife and his children. She might kill them all. The second one is that she will resist and kill herself. Hong Yi Hwan is someone who enjoyed killing. It won't be long that Ahn Hana will give into his dėsɨrės if Do Sejin leaves. Hong Yi Hwan is wary of Do Sejin because Do Sejin is extremely cautious. Also, Ahn Hana has a soft corner for Do Sejin. That's preventing her from completely giving into Hong Yi Hwan. She doesn't know that."
That... I gulp. A psychopath is a psychopath even after he dies. Do Sejin and his children are living with a bomb that can blast anytime. I am scared. At least, the timekeeper is not a psychopath. He's quite rational.
"Yi Hwan also has an inkling that there's a part of her heart that is still human." The timekeeper looks at his hand. It's completely healed. This time, all of his powers are not locked. "He's waiting for a time to completely merge with Ahn Hana. When that happens, Ahn Hana will become a demon in a human form. She will become something like Yi Hwan who loves feeling the warmth of blood."
"You want me to take care of someone like that?" After knowing this, I want to stay as far as possible. I won't let Little Hae go to Hyun's house. It's better if Little Hae keeps a distance from Hyun.
"Yes." The timekeeper can almost read her mind by her expression. "You can't keep Hae away from Jae Hyun. Those two are meant to be together. In this lifetime, Wu Yixing found your aunt a lot earlier."
"Wu Yixing and my aunt?" I gape at him. "What does that got to do with my Little Hae?"
"The other timekeeper must have told you." The timekeeper smiles at me. "Little Hae has your aunt's soul. Jae Hyun has Wu Yixing's soul. Will you not save your future son-in-law?"
My future son-in-law is Wu Yixing. My daughter is my aunt. No, I can't accept this. No... Little Hae is Little Hae. Even if she has my aunt's soul, she's not my aunt. She's my flesh. She's Little Hae. Kwon Hae. That's her name. She's not Kwon Yoori.
"If you think like that, then Kang Si An is also not Li Jun. In each lifetime, he had a different body. Now, he might look like Li Jun. He even has memories of his previous lives, but Kang Si An is Kang Si An. He can never be Li Jun."
"Li Jun wasn't Li Jun either after I turned back time." I sigh and stare at the distance. "Why my life is so complicated?"
"You made this mess." The timekeeper laughs. "There's no time for regret. We are already here. We can only make things better."
He's watching me intently with Kang Si An's green eyes. I find it unnerving. "Aren't you like Yi Hwan too?"
"Of course, not. I have the deity's permission. I won't kill the innocent. Don't look at me that way. I didn't kill the 'you' now. You are living because of my decision. Let bygone be bygone. Do you see me using Kang Si An's body to go on a killing spree? I don't like feeling blood on my hand either."
His voice is light, but my heart is not. Everything is right if there's deity's permission. It's wrong if it isn't. Who is this tyrannical great deity?
"Tell me more." I have to do it anyway. "Little Hae won't like it if Jae Hyun and Ha-Neul die."
I don't want innocent people to die.
"Ahn Hana's soul is suffering. She's also an anomaly in this world. Keeping Yi Hwan's soul inside her is something that should have never happened." The timekeeper's voice turns heavy. "Take your time and think. I need to go now. My daily 100 minutes are over."
"Daily what?"