02. Visitors from the future (23)

Bubbling.

The sharp smell of boiling stew spreads throughout.

Chiik-

A golden aroma of crispy grilled fish skin.

I unknowingly swallow the saliva in my mouth.

Baek Ji-soo could not stand Bob’s temptation and ended up sitting in the living room of Kim I-jin’s house.

Crispy rice served on the table. Grilled fish and spicy kimchi stew.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“Eat well. Lee Jin-ah.”

“Wow, that sounds delicious! I will enjoy this food!”

Three people each holding chopsticks. Baek Ji-soo also sluggishly held the chopsticks.

How did this happen?

She wasn’t naturally this gluttonous. Rather, she had a short mouth and her tongue was on the fussy side.

However, her experience of destruction in the past completely changed Baek Ji-soo’s taste.

A long sit-in in an isolated space where no rations can be expected.

Insufficient food. Contaminated drinking water. A meal that emphasizes satiety rather than taste.

Eating even that to save money was nothing but a luxury.

A few weeks or even months of meals that filled the stomach to live day by day. Even if there was food left over, it had to be given to children younger than himself and to the helpless elderly.

Baek Ji-soo took the initiative to give her portion of food to the starving children, and by the time she returned, all her food had run out and starvation had become a daily routine.

The first bowl of warm porridge I ate after going through such hell.

It was really delicious. To the point where I felt guilty for having to eat such delicious food alone.

In fact, Baek Ji-soo could eat any amount of better and more expensive food.

If she wanted to, she could casually order the most expensive course at a top-notch restaurant.

But rather than the food you can buy with that kind of money, this kind of simple home-cooked food prepared for you by someone with all your heart.

It penetrated my heart more than any other meal.

“Did you say index?”

“Yes?”

“You must be very hungry.”

Suddenly came to my senses at the words of her grandfather, who gave a warm impression.

I had already emptied more than half of the bowl of rice.

At least the amount swallowed at once was thanks to the busy movement of the chopsticks.

“Eat slowly. Then let go.”

“… Thank you.”

Lee Jin’s grandfather pours out iced tea. She took sips, politely accepting the iced tea with both of her hands.

“Haa….”

The taste reminds me of the black tea my teacher brewed a long time ago.

The color and scent were completely different, but the feeling of comfort when drinking was similar.

“Tell me if it’s not enough. Because I prepared well.”

“Lee Jin’s cooking is delicious~”

“… Then, I’ll ask for a little more.”

Baek Ji-soo ate just half an hour more until he finished his meal.

It was a very satisfying meal for the first time in a long time.

–

“Are you going already?”

“Yes.”

Baek Ji-soo tapped his foot on the porch and put on the shoes.

“You can wait a little longer. You overworked yourself today too.”

“It’s okay. Yoon Seo-hee is also safe, so there is no reason to stay any longer.”

Yoon Seo-hee always had a bright mood when eating, but after the meal she was tired, she quickly fell asleep, as if the aftereffects of her magical exhaustion remained.

You must be asleep in bed by now, unaware of the world.

“Thank you for today. I’ll call you later.”

Baek Ji-soo looked down at him awkwardly, then he slowly raised his hand and waved it at me.

“Hello.”

Baek Ji-soo left the house with only a faint smile.

Kiik- Kung.

I stared at her porch as she left.

Is this correct?

Can I just send it like this?

Tuk-tuk. There was a hand patting my back.

Her grandfather was looking at me with a benevolent expression.

“Lee Jin-ah, go out.”

“Grandpa?”

“If you are deciding whether or not to go, go is the right thing to do. Aren’t you a weak child? I have to see you off.”

“Um… Is that so too?”

Your grandfather is right.

There was such an impressive event in the morning, but it was somehow unreasonable to send her alone like this.

“Then I’ll be back for a while.”

“Come. When you come back, please explain properly what happened today.”

Ugh. If I told the truth that I fought a boss monster, I’m sure he would be very angry.

I decided to think about how to make an excuse later. I evaded an answer with an ambiguous smile and quickly left the front door.

As if I hadn’t gone farther than I thought, I was able to follow her right away.

“Blank index!”

“… Kim Ijin?”

Baek Ji-su, whose name was called, looked back with a puzzled expression.

“Why did you follow me?”

“What if you send it alone and then collapse? I need someone to carry me.”

“… What is that.”

She rolled her eyes with an expressionless face as if she didn’t like her answer.

“I will only take you to the dormitory. It’s not too far anyway.”

I passed that glaring gaze away with her smile and walked in line with her stride.

She was worried, and she actually had one thing she wanted to ask.

Baek Ji-soo didn’t answer, but the way she walked away with a big sigh seemed like she wouldn’t pursue me further.

Trumbling. The two of them walk together on a crisp morning street.

The midsummer sun is warm and the blue sky is very clear and vivid.

The faces of people walking down the street are also full of composure. It was perfect weather for a walk.

Suddenly, Baek Ji-soo started talking.

“Thanks to you.”

It was a random word.

“Huh?”

“The streets are peaceful today.”

She stops her steps for a moment and catches her eyes on the child and her mother passing her way.

It was a look of longing for something.

“Everyone was safe because you caught the boss.”

As if thanking her for that, Baek Ji-soo slowly turned her head and met her gaze with mine.

I couldn’t express it in her words, but I felt the goodwill she had for me.

“… ….”

However, it is an exaggeration.

I didn’t catch the boss by myself.

Baek Ji-soo and Yoon Seo-hee wandered around the city every single day to prevent the Gate disaster, risking their lives and fighting.

I rubbed the nape of my neck with a shy face and brought out the curiosity I had stored inside.

“Baek Ji-soo, you know.”

Baek Ji-soo looks up at me with only a glance.

“Why me?”

“… ?”

She tilted her head slowly, puzzled.

I said with a light sigh.

“You mean the secret. Why did you think I was trustworthy?”

“That….”

“Do you know the future me? Did you see who I was?”

Ever since she identified herself as a regressor and asked me for her cooperation, I’ve cared about her.

I know that Yoon Seo-hee will become a great person in the future. Then what about me?

What would I look like? Has Jisoo Baek ever met the future me?

Baek Ji-soo swallowed lightly at those words.

He lowered his gaze and quickly shook her head.

“… No. I don’t know.”

She opened her mouth as if she could barely squeeze it out after a short silence.

What was the meaning of that silence?

Baek Ji-soo pointed at my left hand with the tip of her finger.

“That index finger.”

“Huh?”

“You used the ring I gave you, right?”

Ah, this.

The ring of space transfer that she gave to her was put on the index finger of her left hand.

It was a simple ring that didn’t feel any magic anymore because it was disposable, but I hadn’t even taken it off until now because I hadn’t been in a hurry.

“That was given to me to run away in case of danger. But you rather used it and jumped right in front of the boss.”

“Uh….”

To think that the ring was given in that sense.

No, actually, it seemed like that. When I first received the ring of space transfer, I also thought of it as a way to escape.

I didn’t know at all until I received it that I was going to use it because it would fall on the boss’s head.

“No one can jump into the danger of others without hesitation. But you are different.”

Baek Ji-soo nodded her head with determined eyes.

That’s why you thought I was trustworthy.

“Yes… I see.”

I am grateful that Baek Ji-soo ranks me so highly.

It was understandable, but also somewhat regrettable.

“It’s a subtle expression. Any problem?”

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Jisoo Baek worriedly asked if he had noticed the emotion expressed in my expression.

I shook my head as if it was nothing.

“Just. Yoon Seo-hee has become great enough to be called the antagonist in the future, but I wonder if I’m not very famous.”

I thought that if it was my talent, I would have realized my dream after at least 10 years.

A genius swordsman who created a masterpiece with his own two hands.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t expect such a grandiose title.

But if Baek Ji-soo didn’t know me, it would mean that he would still be a swordsman with great skills in the future, so it was hard for him to hide his disappointment.

At my words, Baek Ji-soo’s expression blurred.

“Well… I do not know.”

“Huh?”

“There are many lack of memory due to incomplete regression. Maybe among her lost memories is a future version of you.”

She took her eyes off me and resumed her steps where she had stopped.

If I feel like I’m intentionally avoiding my eyes, is it because of my mood?

I walked down the street again, keeping pace with Baek Ji-soo.

“So don’t be too disappointed. Maybe I forgot.”

“Um… yes.”

Is it possible that only one person’s memories disappear like that?

I wasn’t convinced, but I decided not to worry about this any more.

It’s not a problem that can be solved by holding onto it, and the future can change at any time.

Didn’t you actually catch the boss today and change the future?

Then all I have to do is, as always, do my best to make the sword.

After thinking for a long time, I arrived in front of the school gate before I knew it. The dormitory building is inside the school, so sending them off was enough.

“Is it okay to go in at a time like this?”

“It’s okay. I told you beforehand. Even that will end as of today.”

Does this mean that you don’t have to go out for a night walk anymore since you’ve defeated the boss?

“Kim Yi-jin.”

“Huh?”

She hesitates and blurs the end of her words.

“That… today… The rice was delicious.”

I laughed lightly. I wanted to say something so difficult.

“Come back to eat later.”

“…… I’ll think about it.”

I couldn’t help laughing at her sincere contemplation.

–

On the way back to the dormitory.

Baek Ji-soo, who was walking one step at a time, stopped for a moment and looked back slowly.

I could see the back of Kim Yi-jin as she left the school gate.

“… ….”

She lied to him.

To think he might have lost his memories of the future.

In the time zone before the regression, I’m already convinced that Kim Yi-jin died today.

It was an undoubted fact when I recalled the future appearance of Yoon Seo-hee, who became a plural demon.

Was it just a comfortable excuse for herself that she thought it would be better not to know?

It doesn’t matter now. Because her future has already changed.

I didn’t even want to let people know that he was destined to die.

“Haa….”

In frustration, I closed my eyes and exhaled a long breath.

The mission given to you. According to the prophecy, to find the opponent who will fight against the demon.

In the original timeline, Baek Ji-soo eventually couldn’t find the person he thought would be his opponent.

After 2022, the year indicated by the prophecy, Baek Ji-soo concluded that he had not fulfilled his mission and withdrew from the academy.

As many years passed and destruction approached, he met Yoon Seo-hee.

As the last aura user, she was fighting against demons alone, and was already the last hope for people.

So I thought.

Maybe the antagonist I couldn’t find 10 years ago was actually Yoon Seo-hee.

That’s why I planned to come back to the past and help Yoon Seo-hee from the beginning.

But.

It reminds me of Kim Yi-jin, who used the three-person sword skill to cut the half-horse’s head.

Originally, he was destined to die, but today, by some coincidence, he survived.

If only, very if.

It’s an infinitely small possibility.

The antagonist I couldn’t find 10 years ago is probably….

“… ….”

I don’t know yet.

What is clear is that she has already made up her mind to prevent destruction with the two of them.

‘It’s worth watching.’

Baek Ji-soo looked at Kim Yi-jin’s back for a while.

Keep going until you can no longer see his back.