Omniscient Reader

Two people struggled behind the closed door and were seemingly arguing about something. The stern voice of the old policewoman couldn't overpower the other's distress cries. She did try to reason with the officer first, but with no avail, thus ended up becoming more ȧssertive because of it.

"Detainee Cho Youngran, what do you think you're doing? Stop! You can't go inside!"

"I have an urgent message! Please, let me through!"

"I'm going to call the other guards- Hey, wait!"

Finally making her appearance was one of Lee Sookyung's most trusted henchwoman, but this is what Cho Youngran preferred to call herself. In the eyes of the beholders, her role was no other than the king's most faithful and irreplaceable advisor. Upon entering the room, the usually calm and poised woman showcased an aberrant urgency in her demeanor. Cho Youngran even tripped over some words and almost bit off her tongue, while wheezing for air as she tried to catch her breath again.

"Sookyung-ssi, forgive me! My... My negligence caused this incident! I... I..."

"Calm down, explain yourself more clearly." Lee Sookyung stood up, trying to pacify her agitated inmate. She wanted to offer her a seat but Cho Youngran profusely refused. Just as if all the previous adrenaline had entirely left her body, both legs suddenly gave in as if they had turned into gelatine. She slumped down on the cold floor, momentarily without any strength to stand up again.

"It was him, that ruffian!- I mean, that suspicious officer you told me to keep an eye on." Cho Youngran corrected herself when she saw the officer coming inside the room. She directed the perpetrator's identity to someone working in the facility. Perhaps, she just didn't want to have to deal with another misunderstanding, plus the culprit was someone going undercover under their nose.

"He... He said I had to relay a message to you. But then he suddenly attacked me with a sedative! I just managed to regain my senses a few moments ago and immediately rushed here! After that..." She talked hastily with eyes darting about wildly.

Lee Sookyung grimaced, and yet still nodded her head, beckoning forward even though a keen sense of foreboding had grown in her mind.

"Then what? Speak clearly, Cho Youngran."

Although the numbness was sunken deep within her bones, Cho Youngran gritted her teeth and slowly lifted herself from the ground. With a scrunched up expression, she pushed that piece of unfolded paper against Lee Sookyung's ċhėst.

"It's better if you read it for yourself Sookyung-ssi..."

Glancing at the letter, her hands tightly clenched around that unfolded sheet of paper, almost tearing it apart. The last bit of composure left inside Lee Sookyung had shattered at that moment, leaving behind only an otherwise divergent ghastly pale complexion on her face. The letter in her hands ended up being crumpled into an unrecognizable round shape. Her trembling pupils turned bloodshot as she roared out in a fit of anger.

"How dare he, that swine!"

Her steadfast demeanor had completely vanished, turning her into a fiendish beast blinded by rage. Lee Sookyung whipped her head around and menacingly marched forward towards the confused officer who still stood there speechless.

"Officer Park, please tell me where is Chief Song! My son's life is in danger!"

The officer stood frozen while the walkie-talkie was still buzzing in her hand. Even the light inside the room slightly flickered, as if giving an ominous presage. Just as though she was driven by something mysterious, officer Park could not control her voice as words came out of her mouth involuntarily.

"But... She had just departed a few moments ago! We received a report just moments before our Chief left in a hurry. It was about gunshots noises coming from the same area where your son resides..." Dawning on her was the realization of what she had just said, shook filled the old policewoman's eyes as she gasped while covering her mouth.

"What?!" Lee Sookyung shouted out loud as her fist heavily landed on the wall beside her, causing the old officer Park to flinch in fear.

Yoo Jonghyuk's hands were also tightly clutched under the table. His cold façade was slowly crumbling down, chipped away by this strange jittery apprehension gnawing him from inside-out. An almost identical feeling had overwhelmed him in the past in the same way. A fresh memory etched into his mind. Precisely, it was when that careless man had rushed in front of him to take the hit instead.

That troublesome sensation charged at him with such ferociousness how could it not create a clamor inside his heart.

He wondered if Kim Dokja's past life had been this harsh and chaotic.

When this thought surfaced, an undetectable spark appeared unnoticed beside the black-clothed man. However, it lasted only for a brief second before vanishing.

Out of the blue, another string of messages from the system popped up out of nowhere. Yoo Jonghyuk's forehead wrinkled in bewilderment. Wasn't it supposed to be out of function because of the distance? How come it's working again.

Nevertheless, what confused him wasn't the sudden reappearance of the system. What perplexed him the most was that the mission's current status, completed. Additionally adding fuel to fire, the frown on Yoo Jonghyuk's face deepened as he read the title of his last quest.

+

[Side quest #3 - Compliments are good for the health.]

Category: Side

Difficulty: ???

Clear conditions: 100/100

Side effect: Indirect inclination towards the character 'Kim Dokja'. *Warning: Random activation.

Compensation: ???

Failure: ㅡ

*There are additional clear conditions.

*No constellation interference allowed.

+

[Side quest #3 - Compliments are good for the health has ended.]

[Error: Target too far away.]

[New analysis in process... Update completed.]

[Initializing last mission...]

+

[Side quest #4 - Ultimate Sacrifice.]

Category: Side

Difficulty: ???

Clear conditions: Save Kim Dokja

Side effect: Indirect inclination towards the character 'Kim Dokja'. *Warning: Random activation.

Time-limit: 1 day

Compensation: ???

Failure: ㅡ

*No constellation interference allowed.

+

Yoo Jonghyuk stayed still in silence while he stared at the transparent panel before him. He reached out, but his hand passed through the impalpable surface. The regressor quietly grunted in dissatisfaction.

「 Are you toying with me? 」

***

Now panicking, the policewoman's heart also filled with unease. Such an important issue couldn't be delayed any longer! She cried towards the microphone. "Contact the Deputy Police Chief immediately!"

While Yoo Jonghyuk stood dazed with an unfocused expression, Lee Sookyung suddenly whipped her head around to glare at the regressor while fuming in anger. Seeing the lack of reaction from the other man pissed her even more off.

"If it wasn't for you!-" Her words stopped mid-sentence as she tried to hold back herself from doing something that would have unnecessarily prolonged her sentence.

While making a scornful expression, she flung her arm, carelessly throwing that wicked paper ball towards him. "Read it for yourself."

Dear writer Lee,

For my revenge, your son must come with me.

I didn't force him, it was a fair trade.

I gave him what he wanted.

He saved who he wanted.

Now it's time for him to uphold his part of the deal.

He's a good kid and a perfect bait.

I'll allow him a proper burial.

If you can find his body, of course.

Pre-condolences, Jun.

____________________________________________

That was the moment, Yoo Jonghyuk realized he had been played by that person again. In his life, the savant man rarely fell for schemes and deceptions. His trust wasn't given out easily, which is why it's always hard not to be affected when forsaken.

But there had only been one stupid man whose lies are never told for his own sake. It frustrating, indeed, because no matter how hard Yoo Jonghyuk had tried, hating Kim Dokja had been demonstrated to be a daunting quest. Maybe one day he would be even desperate enough to consolidate their relationship as companions just to hook out all those secrets he's been hiding from them.

"Damn it. We won't be able to make it one time even if they dispatch a team now!" Lee Sookyung couldn't help but curse out again. "Hey! Where are-...!"

Abruptly standing up from his seat, Yoo Jonghyuk sprinted out the room, past the corridors and then out of the building, whizzing past everything like the wind. The regressor couldn't care less about attracting unwanted attention right now. All the confusing puzzle pieces had seamlessly fallen together. He had been played by a kid, but worst of all, he had feigned ignorance and subconsciously indulged himself in this farse.

Yoo Jonghyuk couldn't understand himself anymore. The reason why his mind can be plagued by one person to such an extent. How his first instinct is to rush out and search for him. He had always thought it was the system playing tricks on him, but deep down he's aware that a simple restriction wouldn't have been able to affect him so drastically.

After what happened with Lee Seolhwa and his newborn child, the regressor had lived in anguish and shunned himself off from any romantical allusion. At the end of the second regression, Yoo Jonghyuk promised himself to never hold such burdensome feelings in his heart again. And everything could have gone as planned if it wasn't for that meddlesome archangel.

Liking someone is when impulses and emotions win over reason.

He had wanted to forget this weakness inside of him. But that person had intruded in his life in such a subtle and skillful manner the regressor simply couldn't turn a blind eye anymore. Those feelings could easily develop in a dangerous affection if not controlled. Maybe because he's aware of it which is the reason his mind automatically rejected the idea.

As though a huge weight had been lifted off his ċhėst, Yoo Jonghyuk's body seemed to become lighter and less restrained as per result. Confronted with these newly discovered emotions, Yoo Jonghyuk was still feeling a little bit conflicted. Howbeit his initial plan was to live his life in forever denial, now that he had come face to face with a new final result, he would have accepted it anyway.

His mind couldn't help but wander away as the wind vigorously brushed past him, rustling his hair and clothes while he skipped through various buildings and streets.

A different kind of companion.

The faint content smile that graced the black-clothed man's lips lasted only for a few more seconds before he got pulled back to reality. Kim Dokja was still in danger, how can he, Yoo Jonghyuk, let his love interest die when his feelings are yet to be reciprocated. However, now that he needs to take responsibility for his feelings, that man must be taught the true meaning of "companionship".

And he wouldn't mind being the teacher.