991 Episode 59 What Kind of Ending (12)

"When I first met that guy, I definitely thought he was a villain. He had the look of a villain just by looking at him. You know, I mean. Those squinting eyes, that inscrutable expression, and even his slender build—"

It was the first time I had heard my story told in such detail by someone else.

"Those kinds of bad guys are everywhere!"

Several constellations shouted in indignation at the middle-aged man's tantalizing description. I, too, chuckled and nodded.

"And he was so good with words; whenever he opened his mouth, people would be completely blown away. He truly felt like a born swindler, a natural-born con artist, the ultimate swindler."

However, as I kept listening, I started to feel a little offended. Even a swindler gets annoyed when they keep hearing that they are a swindler.

As if he could read my mind, the middle-aged man continued speaking.

"But my daughter says that guys like that are actually quite popular."

I continued listening, feeling at a loss as to who to agree with.

"Anyway, he was an extraordinary friend from the start. While everyone else was out of their minds, he alone was fully alert and catching the bugs."

Perhaps it was due to the middle-aged man's masterful storytelling skills. The constellations reacted immediately.

Even the constellations, who had been skeptical at first, were soon engrossed in the story. I, the Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal, and Jung Heewon also joined the crowd to listen.

"So I said it out loud. Could you teach me how to catch bugs as well?"

As tension escalated, the constellations reacted.

The middle-aged man continued his story. The time they joined forces to catch the bugs, taught the people the strategy, and tried to survive the 'First Scenario' together.

Despite the reactions filled with disbelief, the middle-aged man continued speaking with a faint smile.

"But then, that cult leader bastard appeared!"

"A cult leader?"

Listening to the middle-aged man's story, I, too, recalled the events at 'Geumho Station'.

The appearance of the Life Cult Leader Kim Cheolyang. The debate over whether bacteria are living organisms or not. The birth of a cult. Meeting Lee Cheoldu, the boss of the Cheoldu faction. Even the change in the scenario completion conditions just before the scenario ended. The middle-aged man vividly described the battle that had taken place at Geumho Station with only ten minutes remaining.

And finally.

"Surprisingly, that friend protected me until the very end. And then the scenario time limit expired!"

The atmosphere in the dining hall fell solemn.

This was because none of the constellations here failed to understand what it meant for the scenario's time limit to have expired.

"Thanks to that friend, I am alive here right now."

The constellations who had been pointing fingers at the middle-aged man, claiming his story was a lie, as well as those who had been constantly nodding their heads or engaging in heated debates, remained silent for that moment.

Then someone asked.

Friend. I remember the person who had called me that for a long time. The person who had called me friend from the very beginning.

He was speaking.

"No, my friend did not die."

At that, the reactions of the constellations exploded.

Despite the boisterous reactions of the constellations, the middle-aged man simply smiled silently. He seemed accustomed to this scene.

It was then that Odin, who had remained silent the entire time, raised his hand. As the middle-aged man pointed at him, Odin asked.

At the question, the middle-aged man's expression darkened for the first time. He hesitated for a while, then answered with a faint smile.

"He is alive."

Alive. A voice filled with faint but clear conviction.

"Surely, he must be alive somewhere."

Muttering this as if in prayer, the middle-aged man soon clapped lightly and brought order to the room.

"That is all for today's story. See you again at the next story reading. Now, let's eat!"

The distribution then began. The constellations lined up in turn to receive their rations. Today's menu was spicy stir-fried pork made with frozen pork belly.

"Oh, this is—"

"So this is frozen pork belly!"

I sat among them and ate with them. The vegetables and fruits grown in the smart farm were so fresh that I found myself wanting another bowl without even realizing it.

"Of course it's delicious. After all, Demeter harvested it herself."

As the Great Sage Equal to Heaven muttered, an old woman who had been eating silently in the distance looked over at me with an embarrassed expression.

'Demeter,' the ruler of agriculture and the seasons.

It seemed she, one of the Twelve Olympians, was also here.

With a dazed heart, I swallowed a strawberry and said,

"It's delicious."

A world where myth-grade constellations farm and cook their own meals. Did Kim Dokja really dream of a world like this? If so, what did he want to see at the end of this world?

Just then, a middle-aged man who had just received his meal ration approached our table and sat down.

"Son-ssi, have you arrived?"

"Yes."

"Heewon-ssi, you've arrived too."

The man looked at Jung Heewon beside him, then glanced around again as if searching for someone else.

"Didn't Hyunsung-ssi come with you?"

"Yeah, he's a bit busy."

Busy. Is it really okay to describe it that simply? I thought of Lee Hyunsung, who must be struggling, surrounded by men in black suits right now. Suddenly, I wondered if it was okay for me to be eating something like this here.

"Excuse me."

It was then that Jung Heewon spoke. Ahjussi replied.

"Yes, please go ahead."

"Uh... no."

As if still not entirely certain, Jung Heewon glanced back at me. Then, ahjussi looked at me and asked.

"You seem to be eating well today, Dokja-ssi."

"Yes, because it's delicious."

"But I thought you usually couldn't eat tomatoes..."

Ahjussi looked down at my tray and spoke. I stared at him without answering. We looked other in silence for quite a while.

"Ah."

It was ahjussi who reacted first. His eyes slowly widened. The man, who had been looking at me with eyes full of distrust, opened his mouth in a trembling voice.

"Surely not..."

I had been thinking about reuniting with this person for a long time. What we would talk about when we met again, what expressions we would wear as we greeted each other. But when I actually met him, all the words I had thought of scattered, leaving only a single sentence lingering like a prayer.

"Just as much as you wished for me to be alive, I too wished for you to be alive."

Perhaps that is the story we truly wished for each other.

"Yes. I give."

He put down his chopsticks with trembling hands and looked at me.

He was the first person I met in this world, 'Kim Dokja: Jiyoon's father, and my old friend.'

"It's been a long time, Dansu ahjussi."

Amidst the bustling conversation of the rural constellations, I could see the tablecloth on his table getting wet.

I started eating again. Then, Dansu ahjussi picked up his chopsticks again and ate. We remained silent until we had finished our bowls.

It was a meal with Dansu ahjussi, whom I had met again after eight years.

"What? So, this ahjussi is the person you were looking for?"

After hearing Dansu ahjussi and my story, Great Sage, Heaven's Equal stepped aside for a moment, and Jung Heewon also left to watch the constellations.

Dansu ahjussi and I sat in the reception room of the abandoned factory and shared a long conversation.

"Friend, how have you been?"

Holding Dansu ahjussi's hand tightly—which was still warm—I began to speak. Dansu ahjussi listened attentively to my words with the same calm eyes as before.

The time I parted ways with my companions and entered the Fear Realm. The time I left the Fear Realm and entered the 'New Murim District'. The journey from ascending 'Ragnarok' with Jung Heewon to finding the 'Missing Bush' on the stage of the preliminary battle.

"Ah..."

Listening to that journey, Dansu ahjussi sighed several times and shed tears several times. It seemed he had become more tearful since I last saw him.

"It seems you've been through a lot, too."

"Of course. I have been through a lot."

Dansu ahjussi hesitated for a moment before beginning his story. Some of it was a story I, too, knew from Kyung Sein.

The time my comrades scattered after I disappeared. Some left like Ji Eunyu, while others followed the 'New Kim Dokja'.

"If you mean the new Kim Dokja—"

"Yes. It is the 'Kim Dokja' who appeared after my friend disappeared."

Snowfield Kim Dokja. I was hearing the same story once again from Dansu ahjussi that I had also heard from Kyung Sein.

"Did you not stay with that Kim Dokja?"

"I was with him at first, too... but somehow, I ended up operating alone."

Dansu ahjussi continued his story, running his fingers across the table as if choosing his words.

"It wasn't because he was a bad person. He is genuinely worried about this world. He sincerely hoped that everyone could reach the end of the scenarios."

If Dansu ahjussi, of all people, felt that way, it couldn't be a lie.

"Then why did you come out separately?"

"It is a complicated matter to explain. Strangely, he didn't feel like 'Kim Dokja' to me."

Kim Dokja didn't feel like Kim Dokja. Hearing that from Dansu ahjussi, a fragment of Kim Dokja, made it sound like a very philosophical statement.

"It is difficult to explain, but that is the only way I can put it."

"In what way did you feel that way?"

"I felt that way when he left Sein-ssi behind in the 'New Murim District'."

Was that the reason after all?

Perhaps because that story came up, ahjussi, whose complexion had brightened for a moment, asked me.

"Come to think of it, my friend must have met Sein-ssi in the 'New Murim District'."

"Yes."

"Is Sein-ssi doing well?"

I deliberately avoided talking about Kyung Sein. However, seeing his condition, I felt I had to be honest.

I took the time to tell him about Kyung Sein's fate. How she fought to the very end, how she met the end of the story, and even where she is now.

"Ah..."

Ahjussi's eyes welled up with tears again.

"I really don't know why everything turned out this way."

I felt the same way. Nevertheless, the reason I couldn't give up on this story was that it was still going on. It was because that was still our life.

"There is one thing I want to ask you."

I recalled the pre-battle of 'Ragnarok' that ahjussi had participated in.

"I heard that there was a girl who went missing with you back then."

"Ah, that's right."

According to the records, Dansu ahjussi disappeared through the bushes of missing persons while trying to protect a girl to the very end. However, Dansu ahjussi was the only name I knew on the list of missing persons.

Dansu ahjussi slowly opened his mouth.

"That child is Shin Yoosoung."

I was momentarily flustered by the unexpected name that came out of Dansu ahjussi's mouth.

"Yoosoung-i?"

That couldn't be right. If that were the case, Shin Yoosoung would surely have been on the list of missing persons. But Shin Yoosoung was neither on the list of missing persons nor on the list of survivors.

That meant—

"It wasn't the Yoosoung from this worldline."

"Ah."

It was only after hearing ahjussi's words that I realized how the situation had unfolded.

"If that child hadn't helped me, I probably would have died right there."

Shin Yoosoung of <Kim Dokja Company>.

She had intervened in 'Ragnarok' in some way and led Dansu ahjussi to the bush of missing persons.

Perhaps because she wasn't a figure from this worldline, Shin Yoosoung's information wasn't in the participant records for the 'Prelude'.

While I was happy that <Kim Dokja Company> had been safe until recently, I was also worried at the same time.

"Then, is Yoosoung-i here in this world by any chance?"

But if Shin Yoosoung had come here, why hadn't the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal and Lee Hyunsung mentioned it?

"Ahjussi."

Dansu ahjussi had clearly said he entered with the girl Shin Yoosoung was possessing. But no matter how I looked at it, Dansu ahjussi was here alone right now.

A sudden ominous premonition struck.

"What happened to Yoosoung-i...?"