NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Man in the Mirror
“Huh? The gate opened already? Everyone’s already gone?”
Seseona looked around bewildered. I scratched my head and gave a wry smile. This girl must have been so focused on eating that she didn’t realize the situation at all.
“Yep. Everyone’s already gone. Now only one person can pass through this gate.”
“Oh dear. Then… one of us has to stay here, right?”
“That’s right.”
Seseona nodded understandingly. She may be airheaded but she’s quite smart when she wants to be. She likely understands the tricky situation we’re in now.
Seseona soon furrowed her brow slightly and gave a bitter smile.
“It’s a shame our time together has been cut short, Jung Yong. I hope you’ll remember me when you get to the other side.”
“Right. Thanks to you, I’ve had a good time…”
“Huh?”
“See you next time. Definitely. Take care getting there.”
With that, she bowed deeply. As I looked at her standing there, smiling peacefully, I was momentarily at a loss for words.
Regaining my senses, I asked her.
“Are you saying… you’re going to stay here?”
“Yes.”
“Here… alone. When you have exams to take on your own in the other world?”
“Yes. I’m aware of that, my supervisor told me.”
Seseona nodded without hesitation as if it were obvious I should go.
I tilted my head, confused.
“If you know that, then why?”
“Because you’re the only one who has shown me any kindness here.”
“…”
“I haven’t forgotten yet. The first time you shared food with me.”
Her words brought back memories of our first meeting. I swallowed unconsciously.
“Um… Seseona…”
Even though this is a dog-eat-dog world, shouldn’t there have been others who showed her kindness? Thinking about it now, that might have been her issue.
Come to think of it, if a stranger approaches you right away like that, wouldn’t you think they’re crazy too? It’s strange that she asked for food in the first place.
I ended up giving her food without thinking. It wasn’t because I was especially kind, but because I was in a self-abandoned state at the time.
“Psst.”
That must be why. That’s why I feel guilty about Seseona’s actions now.
“I’m not usually this much of a pushover.”
“Huh? What’s that?”
We had reached the gate by now. At my unexpected comment, I just pushed her forward.
She was pulled into the gate with a bewildered expression.
“Jung Yong…”
“Learn how to cook.”
As Seseona reached out to me with a confused look, her hand crumbled into particles before my eyes and disappeared. Her puzzled face began to fade away slowly.
I grinned at her disappearing form.
“The next time we meet, you make me a meal. Something worth what I gave you here.”
“Ahh!”
With that short exclamation, Seseona vanished. Now I was alone in the dark, damp plaza. The silence made the sound of the bonfire seem louder than usual.
Ping! The gate, having reached its limit, emitted a brilliant light before dimming again. The gate, now blocked by a glass-like barrier, remained transparent.
The face reflected in the wall was twisted into a forced smile as I tried to keep my facade intact.
“…I should have been the one to go…”
I muttered under my breath after a long while.
The defining characteristic of pushovers is that they start trouble not just in the first, second, third, or even brain festivals, but on Liberation Day and Sky Day as well, only to regret it later. They say your face dominates your brain. That was me just now.
“But still, it’s only natural to repay kindness with kindness. Yeah, let’s go with that.”
The second defining characteristic of pushovers is that they rationalize easily and don’t dwell on regret for long. As a result, they often don’t progress after failing or being betrayed. That’s also me.
“But still. It was the same for me too.”
Since waking up in this world, I’ve never received such sincere kindness.
So it’s definitely true that I don’t have much regret. I don’t think I made a wrong decision.
Being a sucker is a fact.
“So what do I do now?”
I sat down by the bonfire, wondering how to pass the time until the next gate opened. It felt unusually lonely without the two old aliens who used to hang around.
“Maybe I should sleep…”
I lay down, gazing blankly at the sky. As always, it was unnaturally black, like someone had drawn the curtains.
How is everything so clearly visible despite the unnatural darkness? Did my eyes improve or is this place special? Such trivial thoughts crossed my mind as I gradually fell asleep.
“Everyone… please be safe…”
Since there’s no day or night here, my sleep cycle is all messed up. I’ve long since reached the point where I can sleep wherever my head rests.
Familiar, yet annoying memories flashed through my mind as I dozed off.
“Excuse me, candidate.”
“Hmm?”
A voice woke me from my light sleep. I abruptly sat up and turned my head.
The golem that always handled the food distribution was standing over me with heavy steps.
“What is it? Meal time already passed.”
“No, the reason I’m here…”
The golem trailed off and waved its hand in the air. A magic circle appeared in its wake, and the gate rose up with a rumble, bathed in brilliant green light as usual.
“We must ask you to come with us, the final candidate.”
“Huh?”
I unconsciously exclaimed at the unexpected invitation.
After all, it’s been less than ten minutes since the last gate closed. And now the golems are coming to personally open the gate and formally escort the last straggling candidate?
“What’s on the other side?”
“…”
The golem was silent. A clear ‘not telling you’.
This immediately raised my suspicion level. An invisible red flag popped up in my mind.
‘This is dangerous… really dangerous…’
The sucker instincts honed by years of being a pushover were sounding alarms loudly by my pillow.
Something’s not right. Something really off is going on here.
It reeks of hardship.
“Come. Please hurry.”
“…”
But the golem’s expression showed no room for refusal. There was an unwavering determination that suggested it would do whatever necessary if I refused.
I was already thinking, ‘Anything to get out of here.’
From the start, I never had a choice.
‘Let it be. I don’t care anymore.’
In the end, I stood up with a wobbly smile and took a hesitant step forward. I swallowed hard and stepped into the gate at the golem’s gesture.
The instant my foot touched down, a tingling sensation ran up my body. An alien feeling I’ve never experienced before ran through me briefly.
“Oof…!”
Before I could say anything, my vision was overwhelmed by pure white.
The last thing I saw was the golem looking at me with what seemed like pity in its expression.
*
When I opened my eyes again, a familiar face greeted me.
To be more precise, a face so familiar it’s annoying to look at.
“Your expression is quite something. And here I thought we’d meet again after a while.”
“Be in my position. Tell me you’d look any different.”
That’s right.
Standing haughtily before me was the mysterious young woman with dark golden hair and a pure white dress. Not “doongttil” but Minerva.
At the mention of her nickname, she frowned delicately.
“Where am I?”
I looked around as I asked.
Completely opposite to the testing veil where I spent three months, everything here was pure white. An eerie space where the boundaries of up, down, left, and right couldn’t be perceived. The only reason I realized there was a floor was because I was standing. Quite unsettling.
“This space is similar in nature to the one we were just in. The testing veil is between the Third and Fourth Realms. This is between the Fourth and First Realms.”
“Fourth Realm? First Realm?”
Confused by the unfamiliar terms, I tilted my head. Minerva sighed softly at my reaction and took a step closer.
“Let me explain slowly. You need to know everything now. There’s no option for a short and simple explanation this time.”
With that, she waved her hand through the air.
Sssss. The previously empty white space began to change form as if being flipped over. Wavering like a mirage, it soon filled with vivid reality, stunning me.
It was a horribly familiar place.
“Sit down, will you? It’s strange for the host to stand while the guest sits.”
Minerva walked over and sat on the bed first, pointing at a chair. Dazed, I shuffled over, pulled out the chair, and sat facing her.
“…”
I sat there and blankly looked around. A studio apartment about 10 pyeong. The messy, lived-in atmosphere was unmistakable. On the ceiling was the dried corpse of an insect in a familiar position. No doubt about it.
This was the exact studio where I lived in Korea before I died.
“I reconstructed it based on your memories. How is it? Comfortable?”
“…Better than the last place at least.”
I managed a strained smile as I responded, brushing my fingers across the desk. Dust came off just as it would in my real apartment. Every detail was identical.
The fact that she could recreate this space with a mere gesture is terrifying. For all the “doongttil” and other nicknames I’ve called her, she’s truly beyond my comprehension.