CH 243

Hearing these words, Go Dong-ju nodded his head in bewilderment.

“I understand. Tae-sik-ah (태식), go and get all the kids. Except for the bartender and the newbies.”

“Yes!”

The employee, who had stood restlessly at Go Dong-ju’s command, responded quickly. But before the employee could even enter the store, a tattooed man suddenly broke in.

“What are these bastards talking about? Ya!”

Seeing the man’s fist wielding, Kwon Se-hyun pulled the employee’s arm and sent him behind his back. With the sound of a hwik, Kwon Se-hyun’s face turned instead of the employee’s.

“Hyu, Hyung-nim!”

“Hyung-nim!”

In an instant, the employee and Go Dong-ju screamed in pale. It didn’t hurt much because of the miss, but it was enough to arouse the anger of those who watched.

“That shit…!”

“Go dong-ju, don’t get too excited and quietly kick him out as I said before.”

Kwon Se-hyun, who skimmed the right cheek with his hand, pointed to the small CCTV above the door with a glance. The other person assaulted him first, so even if things got complicated, there was plenty to say.

‘Anyway, the other person won’t be able to report it too soon.’

Just by looking at it, it was obvious that they were hired by Gyeongseong. They planned to put pressure on them every day like this.

As Kwon Se-hyun entered the store with a slightly crooked tie, the employees who were preparing for the opening rushed out with a stiff expressions on their faces. He told him to kick them out, so Go Dong-ju would take care of it.

Kwon Jeong-han, who had been observing the whole thing, said in a low voice.

“It’s more peaceful than I thought. Without taking out a weapon…”

“Since this is a world without talented people, I don’t think it’s possible to bring out weapons like that well.”

Park Geon-ho, who was watching the other men falling like autumn leaves with Go Dong-ju’s fist through the glass, turned to Cheon Sa-yeon’s voice.

“Wait, under your eyes…”

When Cheon Sa-yeon, who was standing close, stretched out his hand, Kwon Se-hyun faltered and pushed his body back.

“What is it?”

“There’s a trace of a scratch. Shouldn’t it be treated?”

“A scratch like this will heal on its own if you leave it alone. And don’t touch me.”

“It seems better to put some medicine on it.”

“Stop talking nonsense and get to work.”

Kwon Se-hyun, who responded harshly to Cheon Sa-yeon, who was constantly narrowing the distance, was annoyed and turned his back without hearing any answer. Cheon Sa-yeon quietly stared at his back as he climbed the stairs, but didn’t catch him.

Park Geon-ho, who watched the scene, took a long, complicated breath.

* * *

Although there was a brief incident, Dies resumed business without any major problems. After finishing work, the four returned to the hotel and headed straight to the room where Han Yi-gyeol was resting.

“Are you here?”

For some reason, Kim Woo-jin, not Min Ah-rin, greeted them. Kim Woo-jin’s face was very haggard because he suffered a lot from worrying about Han Yi-gyeol.

“Han Yi-gyeol and Healer Min Ah-rin?”

“They are both sleeping. Healer Min Ah-rin in Producer Edward’s Room.”

In response to Kim Woo-jin’s answer, Cheon Sa-yeon nodded his head. Well, it wasn’t even seven o’clock. As long as he still had a cold, Min Ah-rin, who must have struggled with taking care of Han Yi-gyeol, deserved to sleep.

“How is Han Yi-gyeol’s condition?”

“He still has a slight fever, but the cough has definitely decreased. He ate well and took medicine.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Then don’t wake him…”

“No.”

Han Yi-gyeol’s voice came from behind Kim Woo-jin. Han Yi-gyeol, who woke up and came down from the bed, opened his mouth while sweeping his dishevelled hair.

“Did you just come back?”

“Yeah. You can sleep more.”

“It’s okay. If everyone isn’t tired, can we talk? I’ll wash up and go out soon.”

Cough, Han Yi-gyeol spoke in a slightly hoarse voice. He certainly looked better than yesterday when he coughed painfully. Everyone who noticed that was relieved a little inside.

“Aren’t you overdoing it?”

“What overdoing… I will wash up first.”

When Cheon Sa-yeon made a light joke, Han Yi-gyeol tried to avoid his gaze and ran into the bathroom. With an unknown smile, Cheon Sa-yeon asked Kim Woo-jin.

“Where is Deputy Master Ha Tae-heon?”

“He’s in the next room.”

“Call him. He won’t be sleeping.”

“Yes.”

After confirming that Kim Woo-jin had left the room, Cheon Sa-yeon opened his mouth to Park Geon-ho, Woo Seo-hyuk, and Kwon Jeong-han.

“Let’s talk like Han Yi-gyeol said.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Kwon Jeong-han, who had no significant difference in physical strength from the ordinary people, also readily agreed. Shortly after Ha Tae-heon and Kim Woo-jin arrived in the room, Han Yi-gyeol came out of the bathroom.

Worried about the people waiting, he came out with his hair wet, looking a little tired like the medicine’s effect was still left.

* * *

I only woke up just in time for their return from working at Dies, but one side of my consciousness was still hazy. Is it because I took a strong cold medicine?

However, after I finished taking a shower, my cloudy mind came back a little. Ha Tae-heon, who was resting in another room, also came back after I roughly dried my wet hair with the dryer provided in the bathroom.

“Are you okay not sleeping more?”

“Of course. I’m fine.”

As soon as our eyes met, I smiled awkwardly at Ha Tae-heon, who spoke anxiously as if he was waiting, and sat down on the sofa.

After confirming that everyone had gathered except for Min Ah-rin and Edward, who were sleeping in the other room, Cheon Sa-yeon began to explain what happened today. I received a glass of warm water from Kim Woo-jin. Fox flew over my lap and lay down with his tail wagging.

‘Gyeongseong…’

Right. That time had already come. I still remembered the day the guys hired by Gyeongseong first came to the store. There was also a slight physical fight.

Perhaps from now on, whenever they had a chance, they would come and mess up with us. What Gyeongseong was aiming for was the Dies store itself, so they would do everything possible to offend us.

‘Then… if I keep staying here, I will meet that man as well.’

In this situation, it was highly likely. From the moment I first fell in Dies, I was prepared, but…

“I was thinking about it before…”

Kwon Jeong-han, who was silently looking at the pamphlet that Woo Seo-hyuk had brought before, opened his mouth.

“Even though this is a created space, the people we meet are so realistic.”

“What do you mean?”

“The people we meet are created just like the space itself… there would be no real life, which means it’s too vivid to be considered that way. It’s too good so we’re mistaken.”

I quietly lowered my gaze. Kwon Jeong-han’s doubts were quite sharp. Most of all, because I was thinking the same thing.

This was a virtual space created based on my past memories. Not only Kwon Se-hyun, but Go Dong-ju, the employees of Dies, and those employed by Gyeongseong were all not alive.

Then, what were the other people who weren’t connected with Kwon Se-hyun in this space? For example, the customers who visited Dies, or the countless people who passed by Gangnam Street.

I had no memory of them at all. On what basis was it built to act and move?

‘How far will this space go in the first place?’

When I thought of that, chilling goosebumps passed through me.

Edward had told me that everything that made up this space was lined with lines. Looking through Edward’s eyes with his abilities, Kwon Se-hyun could be filled with lines.

Then, in the end, maybe only Edward could fully accept this space as someone else’s creation without seeing it as reality. Because we who spent a lot of time at Dies, including myself, were already confused.

“…so, we should be more careful and don’t be swayed. All the strangers we meet here are just illusions like a dream.”

Park Geon-ho, who spoke in a rare, stiff tone, looked toward Cheon Sa-yeon for some reason. Cheon Sa-yeon knew this clearly, but instead of averting his gaze, he smiled brightly.

There must have been something that wasn’t explained. Well, I had some guesses as to what the problem was.

‘If you think about it, Park Geon-ho must have seen it for the first time.’

The image of Cheon Sa-yeon treated Kwon Se-hyun very gently. I went to work every day, so I knew from the beginning… To be honest, I didn’t want to get involved between the two anymore. I struggled to stop it, but I got hit.

As an unpleasant memory came to mind, I spoke up to change the topic.

“My condition has improved a lot, so I will go back to work from this afternoon. We take turns doing what we used to do.”

“It would be better not to overdo it and rest more.”

“No, I can’t stand it any longer because I’ve been lying in bed all day. Rather, Team Leader Park Geon-ho, you worked hard today, but you have to go to work again in the afternoon.”

When I talked with some regret, Park Geon-ho gave a deep smile instead of answering. That was really annoying. I shouldn’t say that.

“Did anything else happen except for strangers that came in? Like the message from the store owner.”

“Message… come to think of it, the store owner was worried about you, Han Yi-gyeol.”

“Worried about me? The store owner?”

“Yeah. He added that there’s a big hospital nearby, so you should go. Was it pretty close?”

“Hospital…”

If a big hospital nearby, it was probably the place I was thinking of right now. I didn’t know if Kwon Se-hyun would bring up the hospital by himself…

The price of hearing the unexpected news came back with low pain. I slowly closed my eyes and opened them as I felt the throbbing in my chest.

‘As expected, this place is also changing.’

As we, to be exact, me intervened in Kwon Se-hyun’s life, this space was moving in a different direction from the past. Minor but clearly.

I stared at the cloudy morning sky, covered in dark clouds, outside the window. I couldn’t guess how Kwon Se-hyun felt about the hospital, but he might be a little better than me, who was only foolish.

“I see. I’ll have to say thank you for worrying about me when I see him later.”

I answered calmly, forcing down the memories of the past that surged sharply like an awl.