I Don’t Want This Reincarnation

“As far as I know… Dies was originally owned by someone else.”

“Is it the man who came late to be that someone else?”

“Yes.”

Piik, Fox let out a faint cry and rubbed his head against my cheek. He noticed my depressed mood and his comforting gesture made me feel a little better.

“No wonder. That’s why he kept asking me to call him Manager, not Boss.”

Park Geon-ho touched the corner of his mouth and muttered as if he understood. After taking a sip of the warm water from the cup, I continued.

“It’s not like a day or two for Dies to be checked by Gyeongseong. Of course, it’s the first time they’ve been pushed in like today.”

“What are those gangsters after? Store?”

I lowered my gaze at Ha Tae-heon’s question and pondered for a while, then opened my mouth.

“Yes. Dies is right. To be precise, they are aiming for the land where Dies is.”

“The land.”

“Gyeongseong is a somewhat reputable construction company. Those who came today are organizations that Gyeongseong uses behind the scenes.”

There was curiousity in the eyes of everyone who was listening to my story at the word “construction company”. Indeed, the story of fighting over land was unfamiliar and new for these people.

“You guys know that there’s an old alley behind the back door of Dies. If you look at it from there, that’s the land that Gyeongseong has invested in. And Dies is in a state of about half of the land that Gyeongseong intends to use.”

“Umm, so it looks like they are trying to force the people out of the store by threatening them.”

“It’s cumbersome for Gyeongseong, too. Originally, it would have been planned to make a deal with the original owner and take it over with ease.”

In fact, he was even making a deal with Yoo Shi-hyuk. The man, selling a store like that would have been as easy as the blink of an eye.

However…

“The owner of the store changed before the transaction was even completed and the current owner has rejected Gyeongseong’s offer. So now this is the situation.”

“Is there any reason he turned down the offer?”

“That…”

When I couldn’t answer Min Ah-rin’s question, Park Geon-ho opened his mouth instead.

“He seems to love the store quite a bit. The employees and atmosphere are good.”

“Aha. He seems to be very caring for the people around him.”

Min Ah-rin looking at me and talking as if he was amazing made me feel embarrassed. It wasn’t that Park Geon-ho said anything wrong.

“The most important part is missing.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who had been listening quietly with his arms folded, spoke for the first time.

The most important part… Even if I didn’t have to listen, I could guess what he was talking about.

‘He must be curious about what kind of relationship I have with Kwon Se-hyun.’

Even if I told them what I had been through so far, it might not be easy for everyone to accept. Even so, having decided to explain as honestly as possible, I waited nervously for Cheon Sa-yeon’s next words.

“You have to tell us what you want to do in the future.”

“Pardon?”

But what followed was a completely different question than I had thought. Being overshadowed by my nervousness, I couldn’t hide my bewildered feelings.

“…what does it mean?”

He wasn’t just asking what I was going to do until we got out of this space. Cheon Sa-yeon asked me, who stiffened my shoulders.

“Kwon Se-hyun, do you want to help that person?”

“……”

Help Kwon Se-hyun. The meaning of those words weighed heavily on my heart.

Kwon Se-hyun, whom I had met so far, was just an illusion created by this space based on my past memories. He breathed, but he wasn’t alive, and even if we touched him, he couldn’t become a reality.

“I…”

It was just part of a terrible nightmare. When I woke up, the dream of a moment that I could never face again was Kwon Se-hyun in this space.

A memory I never wanted to look back on. A moment that couldn’t be forgotten even after I died, filled with clumsy mistakes and regrets. All that was left was an empty life of lingering regrets and pain.

However…

“Yes.”

Nevertheless, they were forced to make the same choice.

“…I want to help.”

I hoped he could get different results than me. I hoped that Kwon Se-hyun, who was here, could live a comfortable life even a little. So, I hoped I could keep the kid’s wish in a more right way.

In the end, I couldn’t push Kwon Se-hyun away. No matter how ugly it was, he was me in the end. Now all I had to do was help the other me as far as I could so that I didn’t die in vain.

“Right.”

I couldn’t stand the truth that I had been hiding and spit it out. And Cheon Sa-yeon, who heard them, raised his lips elegantly and smiled.

“Good.”

I only blinked at his unexpected reaction. Not only Cheon Sa-yeon, but the other people who listened to me next to him all had similar expressions.

“What… are you saying it’s okay?”

“I agree with the decision to help Kwon Se-hyun.”

“What? No, that… it’s enough for me to help. Others don’t have to care…”

“We have to keep working at the store until we leave the space anyway, isn’t it rather strange to draw a line like that?”

…is that so? Ha Tae-heon said to me, who hesitated because I couldn’t respond.

“I agree with that opinion. Above all, now that we haven’t found the “conditions” to activate the exit, it’s better to pay attention to what’s happening around here.”

“The day when Deputy Master Ha Tae-heon agrees with me has come. Amazing.”

Ha Tae-heon, ignoring Cheon Sa-yeon’s joke, opened his mouth with his eyes fixed on me.

“In order to get out, you have to do anything to gain an advantage, Han Yi-gyeol. So, if you want something, don’t hide it and tell me.”

Ha Tae-heon’s calm voice sounded like he was trying to soothe me when I was anxious. I smiled bitterly.

“Yes. I will.”

Even though I knew I couldn’t do that, I had no choice but to let go of my heart. As Ha Tae-heon said, Kwon Se-hyun might have a hidden clue to escape the space in the future events.

“Then we can go to work tomorrow as we always did.”

“Now that we caught one of the gangs who raided the store, the owner must have gotten more information.”

It was at that time while listening to the conversation between Park Geon-ho and Woo Seo-hyuk and organizing the things to be done in the future. Edward, who was sitting quietly, approached me.

“Well… Han Yi-gyeol-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“Perhaps… that…”

Edward paused for a while with a slightly pale complexion. As I waited without urging, he looked up at me with a firm expression on his face.

“If there’s a chance later, can I meet the owner of the store one more time?”

“The owner of the store?”

Why was Edward trying to meet Kwon Se-hyun?

‘Don’t tell me…’

Edward, who noticed what I was thinking when I frowned, answered with a worried look.

“Nothing has been decided yet. It just that he was felt particularly different.”

“Are you referring to the different energy you felt about him?”

“No. It’s not that, but… umm, it’s so vague and I don’t know what it is, so it’s hard to explain right now. So I want to meet him again. Is it possible?”

“I will ask him. He will probably say it doesn’t matter. But I don’t know if you will be able to meet him right away.”

“Ah, that’s fine! I still have to look at the exit anyway… From what you just said, it seems that there are other problems as well, so I understand. Please listen to my request slowly.”

Edward, who saw that I had accepted it without being offended, smiled broadly with a relieved expression on his face. I put the awkward feeling aside for now and nodded my head.

“All right. I will forward it to you as soon as I get an answer.”

Until now, I had guessed that the clues were all over the space, never thought that they were in humans.

‘Surely… Kwon Se-hyun is a being created because of me after all, so there’s nothing wrong with checking it out.’

Edward pointed out a new possibility. I should take a closer look at Kwon Se-hyun starting tomorrow.

* * *

“We don’t have any proper information yet. The chief was able to hold out quite a bit and yesterday I was too busy to get things done.”

The next day, as soon as I entered the office, Kwon Se-hyun skipped greetings and brought out the main topic right away. It was just as I had guessed yesterday.

“Yes. I guessed so.”

Even if you take the chief, if Kwon Se-hyun, the most important person, left his seat, there was nothing the kids below could do. Kwon Se-hyun was called by Yoo Si-hyuk, so he probably couldn’t come back soon.

“……”

“…what is it?”

As I was wearing the tie I had brought from the dressing room, I looked up at Kwon Se-hyun’s gaze, staring at my face. Kwon Se-hyun, who sat slightly on his desk with his arms crossed, opened his mouth.

“Has nothing happened after you left yesterday?”

“Of course. What had happened to us?”

When I answered the words half-heartedly while tying my tie, he slowly tilted his head.

“Us? I was asking about your condition.”

“Me?”

Why was my condition suddenly? I raised the tie knot and tightened it slightly, smiling brightly and making eye contact with Kwon Se-hyun.

“Well, were you worried?”

“A little bit?”

Kwon Se-hyun shrugged his shoulders, raising the corners of his mouth, despite I ridiculing him. Annoying as usual.

‘Worried… I can’t believe it. But it’s the right thing for me to do.’

He could worry about the subject of being dragged by that man. After finishing the dressing, I asked about the part I was curious about.

“Then when are you planning to get the proper information from the chief?”

“After work is over.”

That’s not bad. After all, the important thing right now wasn’t the chief.

I looked at the calendar on the office wall. As I remember, today was a day when an important person came to visit.

Knock, knock.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door from outside. My eyes and Kwon Se-hyun’s eyes turned to the door at the same time.

“Hyung-nim, you have a guest.”

“Let him in.”

As soon as Kwon Se-hyun’s permission fell, the door opened and someone passed Go Dong-ju and entered. Seeing the face of the other person, I felt my heart sink coldly.

“Se-hyun hyung-nim. Do you have time?”

“Of course, it’s fine. Come in.”

“I was passing by and stopped by to see you. I bought you coffee to drink.”

The person who entered the office lifted the coffee tray proudly. The transparent plastic cup contained a black Americano with ice.

“But… is he your first guest?”

“Ah, this one…”

Kwon Se-hyun, who hesitated for a moment as if it was difficult, explained immediately.

“He’s someone I know. His name is Han Yi-gyeol.”

“Did Se-hyun hyung-nim know anyone else? Amazing. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you.”

The opponent asked me to shake hands. Big, rough hands, a grey suit, angled shoulders, and a cut scar on the tip of his right eyebrow.

I slowly reached out and grabbed his hand. And I responded to the greeting with sincerity.

“…yes. Nice to meet you, too.”

Park Seok-jae. Finally, we met.