episode_0144

“And a few days later, I died in a car accident. That’s how I became the me of this parallel world.”

I sighed heavily.

“…So, you lived a long life? Was it a lie?”

Lady murmured with a bitter smile.

“Sorry… It was so absurd to die like that… I didn’t want to tell you…”

“Who would expect a car accident.”

“That’s true, but… I’m only saying this now that I’m dead. It’s really absurd.”

Lady clicked her tongue and brushed away the clouds.

The clustered clouds scattered like a burst balloon.

“I was in a taxi, and there was an accident on the other side… The bus crossed the center line and collided with our front car as a result. Our car tried to avoid the side and front cars and ended up falling into the river.”

“I was trapped in the crumpled taxi and drowned. My last memory was of the cold water, so I’m sure.”

So that’s why.

When I first met her, she was underwater…

“It’s absurd. I died like that too.”

“It must have been absurd for you too.”

Lady patted my shoulder with a sympathetic expression.

And soon, her eyes widened.

“Wait. You… died by drowning too?”

“Yes. Ironically, it was due to an accident on land.”

“So that’s why…?”

Like a detective who finally found the answer, Lady bit her nails and trembled.

“Yes. It felt strange. When the twenty-sixth Chaewon came, we naturally thought it was the Chaewon from another world…”

The messed-up nail tip pointed at me.

“It was you.”

“…That’s right.”

“So that’s why.”

“Why do you say that?”

“In that world, it wasn’t me who died. It was you.”

“…Oh. Really?”

“Of course.”

Compared to the history of the twenty-five other Chaewons who came, my case as the twenty-sixth Chaewon was the most peculiar.

And this peculiar situation seemed to depend on who had ended their life underwater.

“Just one thing to confirm.”

In other words, in the world where I died, Chaewon didn’t die.

Could it be that the Chaewon over there wasn’t infected with TSVID?

What was different?

What was the difference between me in my past life and the other Chaewon?

“Around February 2023. Did you come to Korea?”

“…I did.”

“Did you happen to play the piano near Siwoo’s house cafe?”

Lady shook her head.

“No?”

I see.

So that was the difference.

The Chaewon of this world, the zeroth Chaewon, had been playing the piano since she was young.

The other Chaewons must have played different instruments. They all came together to become the Chaewon who now plays in the orchestra.

I was drawn to that Chaewon.

It was because of the choral symphony she had created that I turned to Chaewon.

“So that means…”

The zeroth Chaewon, like the Chaewon I remembered from my past life, had played the choral symphony alone in the cafe.

This world wasn’t much different from the world I had experienced in my past life.

Therefore, in three years, Siwoo would be exposed to the danger of the accident as planned.

That’s why the Chaewon of this world wouldn’t be infected with TSVID.

I could exist as Min Chaewon, a woman.

All I had to do was save Siwoo from the accident three years later.

“…Wait.”

But just as I was about to conclude my hopeful deliberation, a fact I had forgotten grabbed my ankle like a ghost’s hand emerging from the swamp.

“Then… why did Chaewon go back to Austria in her past life?”

I grabbed Aclert’s shoulder and asked.

Her shoulder had gradually become transparent, blending into the surroundings.

“Lady, I have one more question.”

“…Yes.”

“When did you leave for Austria again?”

“Around March 2024?”

Chaewon from my past life got the date wrong.

“Back then, did you say goodbye to Siwoo?”

“No? Why would I? I was too scared to even look at Siwoo’s face, so I ran away.”

“…I see.”

It seems like my guess was correct after all.

“The accident happened on….”

“April 9, 2024. Unluckily, it was my twentieth birthday.”

Chaewon from my past life didn’t get caught by TSVID.

He didn’t become a man, nor did he die.

Because Chaewon from my past life left for Austria on April 9, 2024.

He managed to avoid the fate of death.

‘There’s no way to know what Chaewon was thinking back then.’

No one knows why Chaewon left Korea in that world.

I’m the only one who came from that world. I don’t know. It wasn’t Chaewon.

But fortunately, Zero Chaewon is living a life almost identical to Chaewon from my past life, except for the fact that he’s dating Siwoo.

Whether I like it or not, when April 9th comes next year, I will definitely find out what happened.

“Anyway, I’m sorry for leaving you alone. You don’t have much time left, so I hoped you would settle down and have a child soon.”

“W-what are you talking about? Seriously!”

“But… if you don’t do that, then….”

She seems so helpless.

I know she likes Siwoo, but it’s too reckless.

“What if I get caught by TSVID? Will the child be born properly? Even if it’s born. What about Siwoo? What did he do wrong?”

“…….”

Lady pursed her lips and shook her head.

“…I’m sorry. I guess… that’s true.”

She covered her desolate face with her hands.

“I’m sorry. I’m really… sorry. It’s really the worst….”

I wrapped my arms around her shoulders.

Even though I can’t fully understand Lady, Siwoo, and Chaewon’s unfulfilled hearts, I can at least understand the desire to see a glimmer of hope before despair sets in.

“I don’t like to think optimistically all the time. But still…. You won’t face a future as despairing as the one you experienced in your past life.”

“…Isn’t saying that itself optimistic?”

“No. I’m just speaking based on solid evidence.”

My memories are hazy.

After letting Chaewon go, I fell into despair.

But I always longed for Chaewon’s warm light.

“I heard you had a NewTube channel?”

“…No?”

“Yes. That was 0 Chaewon’s…. A meteor created by combining the memories of 1 to 25 Chaewons as a musician.”

In my past life, the channel Accleret uploaded new videos every week until April 2025, when the last video was posted.

Since Lady ended her life in April 2024 in her parallel world, there’s a difference of a whole year.

‘She didn’t even upload pre-recorded videos….’

After the peak of nightlife, Chaewon arranged music based on the most recent releases at the time of uploading.

Of course, she must have been alive and well until 2025.

‘What worries me is the announcement of the end of activities….’

The announcement from Community, written in a tone that wasn’t Chaewon’s.

Was it written by her family because she died?

… I’m not sure.

Should I deduce through the people around her?

Song Seonghyuk.

His actions in 2025.

Combining the information I learned after becoming Min Chaewon….

He challenged the Queen Elizabeth Concours in the first half of the year.

However, he suffered defeat in the finals and was eliminated.

He then went on to win the Chopin Concours in the second half of the year, achieving a record-breaking first place.

‘If Chaewon died in April 25….’

Song Seong-hyuk might have slipped in the Elizabeth Conqueror preliminaries.

The death of Chae Won must have been a huge shock to him as well.

That’s how he was able to win the Chopin Conqueror after half a year of gathering his thoughts.

Speculation becoming a solid fact.

However, it is truly a despairing speculation.

‘All clues… point to Chae Won’s death……’

No.

It could be something else.

He might have quit NewTube for a different reason.

Don’t jump to conclusions yet.

Don’t think you know everything without actually knowing anything….

“Hey.”

“…Yes.”

The blurry Lady who had become indistinctly grabbed my shoulders tightly.

“Are you anxious?”

“……….Yes.”

In the end, she who took her last breath at a similar age to mine.

Not an adult, but a mature girl, Min Chae-won. And Lady Acklert.

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay. It’ll be fine.”

She reassured me.

Anxiety about the uncertain future, comfort derived from the certainty of reality.

“You’re with Siwoo right now.”

As soon as I heard those words, the anxiety melted away like snow.

The suffocating feeling like struggling in water, turned refreshing like flying in the sky.

“In our future, there’s nothing but happiness…. Isn’t that what you said?”

“…Yes.”

“Yeah. Things that can’t be solved alone can be solved together.”

Lady faintly smiled.

After that smile and the last word.

“You two are a perfect pair.”

“Gasp…!”

I woke up from the dream.

“Gasp… Gasp……”

I calmed my rapid breathing and thought of someone.

Someone I always wanted to see. Someone I always wanted by my side.

I missed his smile.

I wanted to be embraced, hear his voice and breath.

Right now, immediately.