Chapter 403: Unspoken Words |
For Seo Arin, the time spent with Ryu Min was pure happiness.
With Ryu Min by her side, she always felt strength and believed she could overcome anything.
But Ryu Min...
“Sobs...”
Finally, lost his life.
The doctor said it was a sudden death due to a heart attack.
“Ryu Min... What am I going to do now? How am I supposed to live without you...? Sobs...”
Seo Arin wasn’t prepared to say goodbye to Ryu Min.
She had hoped he would recover and return to how he was before, like a miracle.
No hope remained for Seo Arin, only despair.
While she cried desperately beside Ryu Min’s lifeless body, the real Ryu Min watched her from the shadows.
“I can’t believe that I, in this world, have died... What a strange feeling.”
Seeing the death of another version of himself was difficult to put into words.
Of course, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
After all, it wasn’t someone else’s death, but his own.
“In this world, I have no parents, so Ryu Won will handle my funeral.”
As expected, when he went to the funeral, Ryu Won was there hosting it.
Ryu Won of this world was just as grief-stricken by his brother’s death as Seo Arin.
Ryu Min wasn’t worried about anything except the possibility of him having dark thoughts.
“In another world, Ryu Won was also deeply saddened by my death... He even had very dark thoughts.”
Would Ryu Won and Seo Arin in this world also make desperate decisions in their anguish?
Reading their gloomy thoughts, he saw that it was a possibility.
Even though he knew it was meddling, Ryu Min revealed himself to Seo Arin when she was alone.
He didn’t want to see her hang herself.
“Seo Arin.”
“Ryu Min? How...?”
“Think clearly. It’s me.”
“Ah... you’re Black Scythe.”
Since their faces were the same, Seo Arin had thought for a moment that Ryu Min had come back to life.
“I thought you were already gone.”
“How could I leave in peace knowing you were like this? I’m worried about you.”
“...”
Seo Arin saw Ryu Min in Black Scythe, in the way he cared for her.
The same Ryu Min with whom she had promised to live happily ever after.
“Black Scythe... Ryu Min.”
“...”
“I’m sorry for not being by your side when you left. Thinking about how lonely you must have felt makes me cry.”
Seo Arin began to pour out the words she couldn’t say to Ryu Min while he was alive.
“Am I foolish, right? But I’ll only cry today, I won’t do it anymore. If I keep crying, you’ll be worried up there...”
Although he could have interrupted her, Ryu Min didn’t.
He knew that listening silently would be a great comfort to her.
Even without reading her thoughts, he had enough intuition and consideration to understand that.
“So, be happy wherever you are... Goodbye...”
“...”
“I’m sorry, Black Scythe. You must have been confused by my strange words, right?”
“No, it’s okay.”
“It’s just that, seeing you, I couldn’t help but think of Ryu Min... I wanted to say goodbye one last time... Sobs.”
Ryu Min quietly watched as Seo Arin broke down in tears again.
But seeing that she couldn’t stop crying, he had no choice.
Ryu Min embraced her and gently patted her back.
“It’s okay. Cry today. Just today.”
“Sobs.”
Seo Arin cried non-stop in Ryu Min’s arms for quite some time.
——————-
“...”
“...”
Seo Arin felt embarrassed to look Ryu Min in the eyes.
Remembering how she had cried in his arms an hour earlier made her want to hide.
“Uh... Black Scythe. I’m sorry about before. I got carried away by emotions...”
“It’s fine. If you cried to your heart’s content and feel better, that’s what matters.”
“...”
Seo Arin finally looked directly at Black Scythe.
“Thank you.”
“Now, I really don’t have any more time. I have to go.”
“To another world?”
“Yes. I have no reason to stay here. Ah, before I leave, I should see Ryu Won.”
“Are you worried about Ryu Won?”
Ryu Min nodded.
“He’s the one who will be the saddest over my death. In another world, he even tried to follow me in death.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So before I go, I need to see him and talk to him. Even if it confuses him, if I can prevent him from committing suicide, it’ll be worth it. And you... Please take good care of Ryu Won while I’m gone. Make sure he doesn’t have dark thoughts.”
“I will. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Ryu Won.”
“It’s reassuring to hear you say that.”
Ryu Min’s smile made Seo Arin look away.
She was trying to convince herself that the Ryu Min in front of her was different, but she couldn’t.
“Then, I’m leaving.”
“Ah, yes... Please come visit us sometime. Promise me.”
“I will.”
————-
Before moving to another world, Ryu Min met with Ryu Won.
Fortunately, he hadn’t hanged himself like in the other world.
He was just immersed in sadness.
“Brother? How is it that...?”
“Ryu Won. While I’m gone, don’t have dark thoughts and stay well. I’ll be watching over you from above, so don’t do anything foolish. It would break my heart. Understand?”
“Brother...”
“I came to say a final goodbye before leaving. So cheer up. We’ll meet again someday, so don’t be sad. Alright?”
“Yes, brother.”
“Now that I’ve heard your answer, I’m leaving.”
With those words, Ryu Min suddenly disappeared.
No, he pretended to disappear.
As if Ryu Won had seen an illusion.
“This is... as if it were a ghost.”
To his brother’s eyes, he must have looked like a ghost.
He hadn’t told him that he came from another world.
“Seo Arin also said she’d take care of Ryu Won, so I shouldn’t worry about him in this world.”
With a sigh of relief, Ryu Min began to search for his next destination.
“Where should I go? I guess it’d be best to go to a world where I have acquaintances.”
After thinking about whom to visit, a person came to mind.
And using the power of time, he moved to their world.
With a doubt in mind.
“But... why do I feel like my power has strengthened? Could it be just my imagination?”
———————-
After the Survival Game.
The world, which seemed destined to collapse, managed to stay afloat.
Although it lost the population aged 15 to 29, there were still 6.2 billion people on Earth.
And the younger generations began to fill the twenties bracket.
“Now I’m in my thirties...?”
Even though it was an age where he could work without issues, An Sang-cheol was unemployed.
And all because he had destroyed everything the president had built.
“I’m sorry, President...”
Vision Consulting.
The new company created by President Ma Gyeong-rok, based on the know-how from the former Cheonma Consulting.
A company created with much enthusiasm, but it didn’t last long.
The company began to crumble when Ma Gyeong-rok appointed him as co-director.
Rebellion among the executives and mass resignations.
With internal division and deteriorating management, the company couldn’t function properly.
The result?
A drastic drop in stock prices, and eventually, bankruptcy.
Knowing it was all his fault, An Sang-cheol always felt guilty towards Ma Gyeong-rok.
“What confidence did I have, not knowing anything about management, to accept that proposal...?”
To avoid disappointing President Ma Gyeong-rok, An Sang-cheol accepted his offer to be co-director.
But that confidence led to the company’s collapse, and his choice proved disastrous for Ma Gyeong-rok as well.
“Wasn’t that the wish in the first place...?”
An Sang-cheol’s wish was for Ma Gyeong-rok to show him absolute trust.
“It was like the blind faith he had in Black Scythe...”
He never imagined this would be the result.
Despite the company’s bankruptcy, the wish remained valid.
“Mr. An Sang-cheol, don’t blame yourself so much. After all, it was my proposal. And even though things have come to this, I don’t regret that choice. No matter what, I still trust you.”
Ma Gyeong-rok showed blind faith in An Sang-cheol.
“It feels good, but in the end, I’ve made the president unhappy.”
Even though he didn’t show it, An Sang-cheol knew that Ma Gyeong-rok had been under a lot of stress lately.
As evidence, murder incidents had increased several times more than before.
Without discriminating between violent criminals and minors, Ma Gyeong-rok punished them, and each time, An Sang-cheol assisted him.
“Mr. An Sang-cheol, please dispose of the body. In the meantime, I’ll step out for some fresh air.”
“Yes, President.”
“I’m no longer a president, so stop calling me that.”
Ma Gyeong-rok left the warehouse after saying that.
Probably to enjoy the moonlight.
An Sang-cheol looked at the body that Ma Gyeong-rok had left behind.
It was the corpse of a criminal, with multiple stab wounds.
“The president used to take their lives with a single stab. He didn’t hold personal grudges.”
However, recently, the bodies had dozens of stab wounds.
Even though he didn’t show it, it was proof that Ma Gyeong-rok was under a lot of stress.
“Even though his trust in me increased, in the end, I’ve made the president unhappy. This is all my fault.”
Or, in a way, Black Scythe’s fault.
Wasn’t this wish made because of Black Scythe?
While feeling a mix of anger towards Black Scythe and guilt towards the president, he was busy cleaning up the body.
There was a commotion outside the warehouse.
“What’s going on?”
Curious, he went out to see.
And then.
“P-President?”
An Sang-cheol witnessed a shocking scene.