Chapter 92: Hidden Ties

Hwang Do-kyung.

In the original story, he was someone who merely hovered near the main character, Hyun-jin.

When Seung-hyuk and Hyun-jin finally got together, Do-kyung gave up without hesitation and wished them happiness.

Hyun-woo, moved by that kind of character, decided to possess the body of Seung-hyuk and even helped Hyun-jin and Do-kyung get together.

Before returning to the past, things seemed to go just as Hyun-woo had expected—Hyun-jin and Do-kyung appeared to have become lovers.

Whenever someone asked about her boyfriend, Hyun-jin would only smile ambiguously, though.

Anyway, Hyun-woo had never paid much attention to Do-kyung.

In the original, he was simply described as a good person, and even after possessing the body, Hyun-woo’s background checks had revealed nothing suspicious.

“But when I met him again after the regression, he turned out to be… unexpected.”

From the very first meeting, something about him felt off.

The more they talked, the stronger that feeling grew.

His home, filled with luxurious furniture and expensive items that no mere professor’s salary could afford—Hyun-woo found it strange.

Do-kyung was technically just an adjunct instructor.

There was no way he could sustain such a lifestyle.

Hyun-woo even conducted another secret investigation, but again, nothing came up.

Perhaps Do-kyung was truly as spotless as his image in the original story—or perhaps there was a secret so vast even Hyun-woo’s abilities couldn’t uncover it.

“There’s something odd about him… but I found nothing.”

Hyun-woo told Seung-hyuk the truth.

He’d always found Do-kyung suspicious, and he could tell Seung-hyuk knew something too.

“You know something about Hwang Do-kyung, don’t you?”

“Not exactly, but…”

“…?”

Seung-hyuk normally couldn’t care less about other people.

If something didn’t interest him, he wouldn’t even look twice.

So the fact that Seung-hyuk found Do-kyung suspicious meant there was definitely more to the story.

And as expected, Seung-hyuk said something shocking.

“Kim Min-jae.

I once saw that bastard meeting Hwang Do-kyung at school.”

“What?”

Hyun-woo’s eyes widened.

Kim Min-jae and Hwang Do-kyung—an utterly unthinkable pair.

“But Kim Min-jae never took Do-kyung’s classes,” Hyun-woo said, frowning.

“That’s why the police didn’t even consider Do-kyung a suspect.”

“You know a lot about this,” Seung-hyuk noted.

“Ahem… well, I happened to hear a few things.”

Though he had long forgotten, Hyun-woo had received detailed reports about Kim Min-jae from Sung-yoon.

In the original, Kim Min-jae was a minor character whose only role was to create the incident that brought Hyun-jin and Seung-hyuk together.

But this world had become real, and Hyun-woo considered it natural to monitor a stalker like Kim Min-jae carefully.

Feeling a bit self-conscious, Hyun-woo recalled what Seung-hyuk had said to him before—that he tended to overdo things.

But to Hyun-woo, this was simply common sense.

Seung-hyuk shook his head and continued, “Yeah, Kim Min-jae never took Do-kyung’s class.

Isn’t that weird, though?

Everyone at Korea University said his class was an easy A, yet Kim Min-jae never enrolled once.”

“Now that you mention it…”

Do-kyung had started lecturing around the time Seung-hyuk and Hyun-jin entered university.

When the real Joo Hyun-woo was a student, Do-kyung hadn’t been teaching yet, so he didn’t know him well.

But in the original story, it was said that his classes were so easy that not taking one in four years made you an idiot.

It was nearly impossible to miss every chance unless one intentionally avoided him.

“I saw them meeting somewhere isolated on campus,” Seung-hyuk said.

“The atmosphere was tense.”

“What were they talking about?”

“No idea.

I was busy, so I didn’t stay.”

“Hmm…”

Kim Min-jae and Hwang Do-kyung.

Two people who should have had no connection.

What could they have been discussing in such a secretive place?

“I just remember that the mood was bad,” Seung-hyuk added.

“Kim Min-jae looked… agitated.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.

He’s usually quiet, doesn’t talk much, but that day he looked angry.”

“……”

Hyun-woo recalled what the police had found during their investigation.

When Kim Min-jae was high, he was uncontrollable, but once the drugs wore off, he became meek and docile—clearly intimidated by the police.

Everyone who knew him said the same thing: he was quiet, timid, and withdrawn.

But the truth was different.

Deep inside, Kim Min-jae had violent tendencies, and the drugs had simply unleashed them.

“Was that bastard doing drugs even at school?”

“Not sure.

But if he was, wouldn’t people have noticed?”

“Hmm…”

Maybe.

The difference between Kim Min-jae high and sober was so stark that people would’ve caught on quickly.

Still, if he’d looked agitated only when facing Hwang Do-kyung… something about that didn’t sit right.

“……”

A bad thought flashed through Hyun-woo’s mind, and he frowned.

“You’re thinking the same thing I am, right?” Seung-hyuk asked.

“No, that’s ridiculous…”

The idea that Hwang Do-kyung was involved with drugs—it was absurd.

If that were true, Hyun-woo would’ve noticed long ago.

And in the original story, Do-kyung wouldn’t have been a proper sub-lead at all.

Before the regression, Hyun-jin had even dated him for five years.

If there was something that dark, she would’ve noticed—and told Hyun-woo immediately.

“Get a grip.

We don’t know for sure yet,” Seung-hyuk said.

“Yeah… you’re right.”

“So let’s find out.”

“Find out?”

“Yep.”

Seung-hyuk nodded, a confident grin on his face.

Hyun-woo stared at him, startled.

“Did you forget what I’m best at?”

“……”

*Hacking.

Of course.*

Hyun-woo sighed deeply.

“I already looked into him.”

“Then the people you used weren’t good enough.”

“Are you insulting Moon-sung’s resources now?”

“There are things even money can’t buy.”

“Ha… unbelievable.”

There was no winning against someone that confident.

Hyun-woo gave up and waved his hand.

“Fine.

Do what you want.”

“Will do.”

“But don’t do anything too dangerous, got it?”

“I won’t.”

“……”

Still, given Seung-hyuk’s track record—he’d once brought down L&S entirely—Hyun-woo couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

He gave Seung-hyuk a wary look.

“By the way, isn’t it almost time?”

“Oh, right!”

Startled, Hyun-woo glanced at his watch.

Hyun-jin would be arriving any minute.

“What are you waiting for?

Let’s go!”

“Yeah.”

Hyun-woo hurried toward the elevator, while Seung-hyuk followed at an unhurried pace.

“Wow, hyung!

This is amazing!”

“Haha…”

Hyun-woo smiled awkwardly at Hyun-jin’s delighted expression.

He’d worried there wouldn’t be enough time, but somehow everything came together.

They had rented a private room in a hotel restaurant to celebrate her birthday quietly, just the three of them.

The hotel had decorated it modestly, but Seung-hyuk and Hyun-woo had added extra touches earlier.

The highlight was a string of photos—Hyun-jin’s birthday pictures over the years, arranged in order.

Seeing them made her especially happy.

“Look, hyung!

Remember this one?

I tried to make a whipped-cream cake, but we both ended up covered in it!”

“Oh, yeah.

That happened.”

“And we’re both still smiling!

Isn’t it hilarious?”

“Yeah.”

Hyun-woo nodded, watching her laugh.

He remembered it vaguely through Joo Hyun-woo’s memories—but it wasn’t truly his memory.

He smiled faintly, feeling a strange ache in his chest as he looked at her bright face.

“How old were you in this one, hyung?”

“……”

Even Seung-hyuk seemed deeply interested in the photos—especially the ones where he was standing next to Hyun-woo.

Hyun-woo could only glare at him in quiet disapproval.