Chapter 11: An Unfulfilled Wish and a New Beginning

It was a strange thing. Even though Taehyun had expected to hear something like this and had already prepared an answer in his head, he still felt as though the words had caught in his throat.

When he failed to answer readily, Park Hyung-jin seemed to assume that Taehyun was dumbfounded and hurriedly continued.

“I’m not going to make excuses and say it was because of that watchmaker’s brainwashing. That brainwashing wasn’t some kind of all-purpose thing, and apparently, all those little things I did to you ultimately came from things I had already been thinking…”

“…”

“I’m really sorry for speaking to you so carelessly. I just, well… I got a little anxious when I saw you hanging out with people I didn’t even know. It felt weird seeing you suddenly go so far away from me, when we’d been friends for so long.”

Hyung-jin seemed to be trying his best to explain himself, but Taehyun only found his feelings becoming more complicated. It was almost exactly the same apology Hyung-jin had given him during their argument in the past.

‘I was anxious. It felt weird.’

It was practically the same old script every time. Taehyun did not think Hyung-jin was lying. He was probably being sincere, in his own way.

But that was precisely what made it even more obvious.

The two of them might have been friends for a long time, but whenever something like this happened, Taehyun could feel just how fundamentally incompatible they were.

“I’ll be more careful about what I say from now on. I really will.”

“…That sounds like you’re saying you’ll still think those things, but you just won’t say them out loud.”

“That’s not what I mean. Really, Taehyun. I know you were hurt. But we’ve gotten along all this time, haven’t we? I know I’ve hurt your feelings plenty of times, but I’ve helped you a lot too.”

“…”

“I used to go see Seohyun whenever she was having a hard time. And you remember that I helped you find a part-time job, right? You’ve got nothing to lose by staying friends with me. You know I also made sure the other hunters wouldn’t come after you this time, right? I usually wouldn’t bring something like this up, but it’s still better for you if we’re friends…”

Taehyun had no intention of denying any of that. If Park Hyung-jin had not been around during the hardest years of his life, both his and Seohyun’s lives would have been even more difficult.

Taehyun was always grateful to him.

And he also knew that continuing to be friends with Hyung-jin would benefit him far more than it benefited Hyung-jin.

‘But still, I…’

Just as Taehyun finally gathered his courage to say what had been lodged in his throat.

‘You didn’t keep your promise.’

“…!”

There was no analog clock anywhere in the café, yet the loud ticking of clock hands suddenly rang in his ears.

Taehyun and Hyung-jin instinctively looked around.

‘Wait. What? Wasn’t the brainwashing completely gone now?!’

“Why are you interfering in someone else’s business?”

‘I merely offered some advice. In any case, I’m the one who planted the seed, so I should clean up the mess.’

Rigor did not seem surprised in the slightest, as though he had anticipated this. He glanced beneath the table and pulled out a silver desk clock that had been stuck underneath it, placing it on the table.

The clock offered no resistance and remained perfectly still.

Judging from what the watchmaker had said, it did not seem as though he had been trying to manipulate Hyung-jin. He had probably learned that Hyung-jin was meeting Taehyun and decided to intervene.

Perhaps there was no malicious intent.

While Taehyun hesitated over what he should do, Hyung-jin hurriedly shouted toward the empty air.

“I-I told him everything! I did exactly what you told me to! So why isn’t he reacting at all?!”

‘Because you deliberately left out the most important wrongdoing, of course. The fact that you have always subtly looked down on him, and that you believed yourself superior because he was a lesser person who needed to be controlled and looked after so that he would not wander off somewhere strange. I believe I explicitly said that admitting that honestly was the most important condition.’

The moment he heard those words, Hyung-jin’s face hardened frighteningly.

Taehyun had almost forgotten that the usually affable young man could make an expression like that. The face before him seemed strangely unfamiliar.

‘Actually, I had known deep down that Hyung-jin was like that.’

Not from the very beginning. It was something Taehyun had realized after thinking about everything that had happened.

He did not deny that Hyung-jin had helped him. But it was also true that the source of that help seemed to lie partly in Hyung-jin’s sense of superiority and strange desire to control him.

Then Taehyun’s answer would not change.

He finally steeled himself and spoke.

“I’m not going to get angry about that.”

“R-Really?”

“Even if it was because you felt superior to me, it’s still true that I benefited from your help. And besides, what can I do about something you think privately?”

At Taehyun’s words, Hyung-jin’s face brightened.

It was true that Hyung-jin had always been in a much better position than Taehyun. He had been born as the talented son of a wealthy family, so naturally, he had grown up with the privilege of looking down on others from a slightly higher position.

Taehyun did not think that was Hyung-jin’s fault.

It was simply the way things had turned out.

But that did not mean Hyung-jin had any reason to smile so brightly now.

Apparently, he thought Taehyun had forgiven him.

But…

“It’s something neither of us can really change, but I don’t think I can be friends with you anymore.”

“…What?”

“You and I don’t seem to get along very well. I’m genuinely grateful for everything you’ve done for me, but I think that’s a separate matter.”

“…”

“I know you could get angry and say I’m shameless for taking everything you gave me and then walking away. I wouldn’t have much to say against that. But even if I try to repay you for everything you’ve done for me, I don’t think I can go back to being your friend like before. That much I’m certain of.”

Taehyun said that and stood up.

“I’ll try,” Hyung-jin hurriedly added.

But Taehyun neither answered nor looked back at him.

In truth, this had probably been inevitable from the beginning. The disconnect Taehyun had already felt while they were friends had simply risen completely to the surface because of what had happened.

Would things have been different if Hyung-jin had been honest from the start?

If the watchmaker had not intervened and exposed everything, and if Hyung-jin had simply admitted that he regretted looking down on Taehyun, perhaps Taehyun might have given him a different answer.

He honestly did not know.

That had never happened.

But then Hyung-jin asked in a subdued voice,

“Then let me ask you just one thing. Just one last question.”

“…”

“Taehyun, you and that guy… Rigor. What exactly are you two? Are you dating?”

So that was his final question.

As he felt the last lingering attachment in his heart finally fall away, Taehyun walked straight out of the café.

He had a feeling that his connection with Park Hyung-jin would end here.

****

‘So this is how it turned out in the end. That young man seemed prepared for it to some extent, though.’

Hyung-jin did not follow, but Taehyun found himself hurrying toward the bus stop anyway.

The desk clock was definitely still on the table, yet the ticking continued to ring in his ears.

Something suddenly occurred to Taehyun. He opened his bag and found a silver wristwatch shining between his textbooks, despite the fact that he never wore one.

Had the watchmaker simply left Hyung-jin behind and followed them?

No, he had multiple bodies in the first place. Perhaps he could exist in both places simultaneously.

Rigor, however, clearly disliked the mere fact that the watchmaker had come over to them. He frowned deeply as he spoke.

“Could you at least talk in a normal-looking form? My ears are hurting.”

“Leave him alone, Rigor. There are plenty of Curses who maintain the forms they had when they were Curses. Anyway, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. Didn’t you always disappear whenever Rigor showed up?”

‘No, I never ran away. Is there some reason I should deliberately follow that man around?’

“Funny, because you vanished like a ghost every time Rigor came around… Anyway, let’s say you never ran away. Then why did you come this time when you had no reason to? Did something change your mind?”

There was no reason for the watchmaker to follow Hyung-jin here.

He did not particularly care for Hyung-jin, and even if he wanted to clean up the mess created by the seed he had planted, a few words of advice should have been enough.

He must have known perfectly well that Taehyun would come with Rigor.

‘…I’ve simply let go of many things now. I wanted to tell you that much.’

The watchmaker replied in a slightly sullen tone.

Ah.

The moment Taehyun heard those words, he felt as though many questions in his head had suddenly fallen into place.

He did not know exactly what the watchmaker felt toward Rigor. Whatever desire the man had once possessed to gain Rigor’s recognition was probably different from what Taehyun himself had once felt, and different from what Hyung-jin had felt as well.

But one thing was clear.

The watchmaker had finally given up on some unfulfilled longing.

Perhaps his decision to intervene with Hyung-jin and offer him advice was part of that realization.

Rigor seemed to have noticed almost the same thing. He shrugged with a rather complicated expression.

“…If that’s true, then I suppose it’s a good thing. I never thought you’d be able to do it. You did have something torn away from you by the Origin Dungeon.”

‘Do you think I would pay the price like an idiot without considering what came afterward? I merely threw away a card that I had no choice but to discard. Now that I know I could never achieve it in the first place, I feel much more relieved.’

“So you’re saying you gave up your hope, yet you’re still putting on airs. Yes, whatever it is you wanted, I won’t be able to give it to you. I’m glad you chose to give up on it yourself. But then… what are you going to use as your guide now that you’ve abandoned a wish you could never fulfill?”

‘It is not an area you can help with, so don’t worry about getting involved. I intend to pursue my own goals and find fulfillment in them.’

The watchmaker answered coldly, as though drawing a line between them.

In the past, he would have shown at least a trace of lingering attachment.

Now, however, he genuinely seemed to have reached a state of acceptance.

Perhaps he really had traveled the world alone and, somewhere along the way, learned to let go.

He had realized that someone he desired—or someone he believed would be useful to him—might not actually be compatible with him at all.

‘Well, I made it sound grand by calling it a goal, but specifically, I intend to clean up after myself. The things I did in the past.’

“Clean up?”

‘As you know, I traveled through many worlds, deceiving and manipulating people. Sometimes I brainwashed them, sometimes I didn’t, but the result was ultimately the same.’

“…”

‘I visited a dungeon recently, and Replica told me about the Spider Painter. Replica spent more time explaining how that foolish Challenger managed to reconcile two idiots, but I found the Spider Painter’s attitude more memorable. Perhaps I could try to settle the debts I accumulated in the past as well. I don’t expect it to go smoothly from the beginning.’

The watchmaker spoke in a tone that sounded half resigned and half hopeful.

It was something Taehyun could never have imagined hearing from him before.

And yet, he thought this was also very much like the watchmaker.

That man had always wanted to become a hero somewhere deep in his heart.

To him, a hero was not merely someone who accomplished something great. Perhaps a hero was also someone who acknowledged his own mistakes and took responsibility for them.

However, what the watchmaker said next was rather unexpected.

‘In that sense, I intend to leave this world for a while and wander through other worlds.’

“You’re going to wander through other worlds? Is that even possible?”

‘Why wouldn’t it be? If the System can travel between worlds and fulfill the duties of a world-maintenance organization, then I can do the same. In fact, quite a few of the Curses who haven’t been seen in this world lately have been doing exactly that. You know. The Knight, the Angel, the Prisoner, and so on.’

“Ah, those guys.”

Rigor clicked his tongue in disbelief.

So that was why Taehyun had been having trouble seeing them lately. They were not even in this world?

That was rather surprising.

Come to think of it, Taehyun had heard recently that Fabio had been frequently visiting the world where the Relay’s daughter lived, which had apparently made the Knight sulk.

Perhaps, in a fit of annoyance, his wanderlust had returned and he had gathered some companions who happened to share his temperament.

Knowing that Knight, it sounded entirely plausible.

‘I don’t intend to join them, but I plan to travel the worlds in my own way. I’ll apologize to those I deceived in the past, and if possible, I’ll try to help them as well.’

“…”

‘Oh, and for the record, I have no intention of apologizing on your behalf. You should atone for the mistakes you made in the past yourself. Surely you haven’t forgotten about atonement entirely now that you’re so hopelessly in love with your lover?’

Rigor fell silent as though the watchmaker had caught him completely off guard.

The watchmaker let out a chuckle that sounded almost mocking before disappearing without a trace.

His departure was almost refreshing.

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