Love for Love's Sake - Chapter 70
Chapter 70
As I read the email, I held onto my blanket with the feeling like the entire floor was caving in.
Just a moment ago I was talking on the phone with Cha Yeowoon. However, now the boundary between reality and unreality seemed to be rapidly blurring.
It was a strange sensation. Originally, Cha Yeowoon and reality were distant. To be precise, the person in my reality was ‘senior.’
As I came to my senses and scrolled down the email, the contents continued.
[ These were changed.
★ Cha Yeowoon doesn’t injure his leg.
☆ Tae Myeongha makes a friend.
★ Cha Yeowoon doesn’t quit track and field.
☆ Tae Myeongha rises in ranking.
★ Cha Yeowoon falls in love for the first time.
☆ Tae Myeongha earns $2250.
★ Cha Yeowoon sets a new national record.
☆ Tae Myeongha gains a fan.
★ Cha Yeowoon’s ill-fated relationship doesn’t disappear (new).
※ A sudden change exceeded capacity, causing an error in the server. Current missions are temporarily suspended. A rollback seems to be necessary.
※ Until the server stabilizes, all efforts will be focused on stabilization. ]
Whether it was exam ranking, money, or things related to fans, it was undoubtedly the Sub-Mission for Cha Yeowoon, so why was my name written there?
It was also difficult to understand the meaning of the words added below.
The word ‘error’ reminded me of the system error I had seen this time. What if it wasn’t simply caused by Cha Yeowoon’s social media account being deleted?
“Stabilization…”
What was this? Before I could finish muttering, a ding sound interrupted my thoughts.
[ Compensation given for the sudden Sub-Mission interruption. ]
A new message that I had never seen before appeared in front of me.
[ Recover some of Tae Myeongha’s past memories. ]
As sudden as the termination, the compensation was also abrupt. It was impossible to read and accurately guess what it meant.
Like the film of a movie being abruptly cut, my view faded unnaturally.
The scenery in my room blurred and reassembled in different textures and forms.
A redrawn surroundings gradually settled.
“I don’t like words like destiny.”
Next, my voice was heard.
When did I say such a thing? It was certainly my words, but it sounded unfamiliar enough to be ambiguous. The timing couldn’t be determined.
I didn’t know exactly where I was. The chilly river breeze brushed against my shoulders as the night sky reflected in the dark waves shook.
“Why?”
Someone standing next to me asked.
Their facial features and silhouette were blurry as if they had been intentionally soaked in water, but I could tell who it was as soon as I saw them.
Senior.
I couldn’t remember his name, face, or anything, but senior was senior.
“Everything seems to be predetermined.”
“I see.”
“What? Does senior believe in such things?”
It was a dull reaction, so when I asked again, he gave me a smile that made it hard to tell what he was thinking. I felt that way despite him being just a blurry form.
“Well. Then you don’t believe in fate either?”
“Fate or destiny, it’s just talk.”
When was this conversation?
Why did I say this?
“That’s what my grandmother used to say. People are like books that have already been written; how they will live and die is already predetermined. If you live a good life, you’ll be born with good fortune, and if you live a bad life, you’ll have a wretched destiny in the next life.”
It sounded familiar. I was often told I was unlucky wherever I went.
I had heard it from someone who had learned about my family situation, and I had also heard it from a fortune-teller I had gone to on a whim. I was told that I was unlucky and had no family luck.
It was like a tag. The sticky residue that I couldn’t remove even if I put in effort. The everyday misfortune that a person without support had to suffer. It wasn’t my fault I struggled without a family, but people, whether out of sympathy or malice, casually attached a minus price tag to me.
Perhaps this was what I had said after hearing something similar.
“I don’t like it. Even if it’s predetermined, I should be able to change it.”
“Should you?”
“Otherwise, there’s no point in trying.”
Did I say this to senior? I must have thought very intimately.
I wasn’t accustomed to being honest with others. I thought that showing weaknesses would make me weaker.
Unlike me, who was being honest as if revealing my bare skin, senior looked at me with eyes that were hard to read.
Among the blurry shapes, only his pupils reflecting the dark sky, like the river that illuminated the pitch-black night, were clear for a moment.
It seemed like senior was laughing again.
“Okay. I got it.”
It was a strange answer.
But senior was simply an unreadable person.
An unusual person different from ordinary, and someone who was difficult to grasp accurately. I seemed to have always thought of senior as such.
“Then, Myeongha…”
Something more was said. However, the sound became too faint to hear amidst the swift flowing river.
My vision faded in and out as if I was blinking several times. The scenery by the river was peeling away.