The Belief That Things Will Get Better – 4

Compared to coming down together, going up the hill alone was steep and took a long time.

As I trudged up the endless hill, I scanned the scenery that Yoon Sia had seen, from the same spot.

The moon, hanging on the horizon, shone just as brightly as it had on the way down.

Even as I gazed at the moon, with its subtle beauty captivating the eyes of many, I didn’t find it particularly beautiful.

Trudge, trudge, I climbed the long, long hill.

The best thing about being possessed in this place is having so much time to think alone.

Is it because I’m always at home?

The time left over after homework, preparation, and review is more than I thought.

When I have that time, I often recall memories from my previous world.

When I think of the ending, I wonder if there are any memories worth cherishing, but the memories of people meeting people remain positive, so I don’t feel the need to correct them.

Even excluding the chaotic Dimensional Shift at the beginning, I met quite a few people.

Lee Mina, Namgung Soyou, Choi Garam, Emma, Maria.

Involved with them, I had to experience different deaths each time.

Deaths caused by others, and sometimes deaths caused by my own will.

Embracing the bad ending of death each time, and frantically adapting to a new dimension, I had forgotten.

That no matter how the ending turned out, the time I spent with them wasn’t so bad.

[…Could that be possible?]

The memory of that time when the sunlight coming through the window brightened the room.

The sight of Maria blushing shyly and sharing an awkward silence.

[If you do this, it feels like you’re drinking the moon. You should try it too.]

The memory of gazing at the moon while tilting a glass on the pavilion.

A painting created by the moonlit wine glass and Soyou’s jewel-like red eyes.

[Master. Just once… just once… can you hold me tight?]

The memory of slowly dancing with the dance of colorful flames as lighting.

The dance I created with Emma, who was smiling in my arms.

[Don’t worry. I’m an expert, so you won’t get hurt!]

The memory of panting while moving my clumsy body.

Garam’s laughter, cheerfully smiling and shouting words of encouragement.

And….

[You did well. Looks like you haven’t lost your touch.]

[Thank you. Inho, you’re always so cool that I don’t even notice the clothes.]

[I didn’t play well today, so I couldn’t clear stage 1, but let’s set a date and clear it all the way through next time.]

[That’s a valid point. Should I try it too?]

Memories with Lee Mina.

Lee Mina roughly revealed her family history to me.

Perhaps she wanted to ask if I would be okay with someone like her.

On the way home from work, her sunken face, revealing her weaknesses in a trembling voice, is still vivid in my mind.

I’ve been thinking about Lee Mina a lot lately.

Perhaps I’m overlapping her image onto Yoon Sia’s face.

Choi Garam also had an unfortunate family history, but it feels subtly different.

Lee Mina and Yoon Sia are similar.

They both carry the burden of life alone, and they show diligence in being pessimistic about the world but not stopping.

And ironically, even the fact that I’m by their side is similar.

That’s why when I look at Yoon Sia, I think of Lee Mina.

“That’s why I want to take care of her even more.”

I mutter as I enter the house I’ve finally arrived at.

As with most random thoughts, it ends without any real conclusion.

As I entered the house where no one welcomed me, the cold temperature of the living room enveloped me.

Shivering at the temperature, which wasn’t much different from the outside, I headed to the second floor.

I looked at my phone to send Yoon Sia a KakaoTalk message to see if she got home safely, when a call came in.

“Hello.”

[…It’s me.]

At the sudden self-introduction, I looked at the caller ID.

The word [Father] was on the screen.

Finally, the first conversation with my parents since coming here.

“Yes.”

Not knowing what to say, I kept my answer short.

[Suspension.]

The voice on the other end of the phone spoke the word “suspension” and then fell into a long silence.

As if uttering this word with his own mouth was extremely shameful.

[…Your suspension is ending soon, so I called to see if you’re preparing to go back to school.]

The businesslike voice echoed in the room.

“Yes.”

Not knowing what to say, I returned a short answer again.

[Okay, don’t bother me with this kind of thing again. If you don’t have the brains to study, you shouldn’t cause trouble.]

A short clicking sound was heard at the end.

I shouldn’t rationalize it, but I began to get a sense of why the child in this house was alienated.

[If you cause trouble again this time, don’t expect any support or anything.]

The one-sided conversation continued.

I had nothing to say but “yes.”

[I’m hanging up.]

The call ends.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t even checked how long my suspension was.

I rummage through the room and find the notice of suspension.

The suspension period is until this week… which means I have to go to school next Monday.

I think of the things I will face when I go to school.

The existing friendships and my reputation, which will obviously be very low….

‘No matter how the ending turned out, the time I spent with them wasn’t so bad.’

One of the thoughts I had while climbing the hill.

I have a feeling that I won’t live to my natural lifespan in this dimension.

If it’s not Yoon Sia or Shin Jeonga, then some irresistible force will appear from somewhere and cut my lifeline.

In the past, I would have worked hard to avoid death.

But through the time I spent with Maria, I was able to look at Dimensional Shift from a slightly different perspective.

Since I’ve been possessed in this world anyway.

Let’s fix as much as we can.

I believe that I can make this slightly twisted world a better place.

I believe so.