Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 544: Confession (1)

‘Wooooow…’

“It’s alright. This is too…”

“Please take it. It’s my way of apologizing to you, and I’m sure it will be useful to you in the future.”

‘Hah, does this dude think physical possessions will shake me? Haha, I’m not like that at all…’

“But…”

“You will need it later on. This is my payment for the pendant, so I hope you don’t mind it too much. It’ll probably be very helpful to you.”

‘Well, if you say it like that, I guess I have no choice but to accept it, ahem.’

It was not like I lacked money, but receiving gifts made me feel good whenever I got one.

I wanted to sing in happiness. It was the same feeling when I first received the Infinity Bag. For me, at least, the Upgrading Bag was much more valuable than those items.

‘My precious…’

The item was basically made for me.

I bet Kim Hyunsung had also noticed that I was excited.

I could tell how much he wanted to give it to me by immediately retrieving the item after he purchased it from the auction.

‘I was sure the auction housekeepers must have also been a bit taken aback too.’

After the auction, it was a normal custom to wait for an item to be delivered, but Kim Hyunsung couldn’t wait to give it to me.

‘This is why he told me to come here.’

He looked at me with a desperate expression, begging for me to accept his gift. As a Korean, I had to be virtuous and reject him three times before accepting the gift.

“Well, if you so insist…”

“Thank you so much.”

‘Why are you thankful? I’m the one who should be thankful…’

It was a weird situation in which the person who was giving the gift was more thankful than the person accepting it.

Since I didn’t bring my Infinity Bag with me, my hands and hips that had felt empty that day finally felt complete.

The bag’s design was also elegant and stylish, perhaps because Chanelia Hermes himself was supposed to have made it after releasing the Infinity Bag.

I felt my heart expand in joy as I tapped my fingers on the newly acquired product. I thought it might have much less storage space than the Infinity Bag, but it was wide enough for me to put my entire alchemist kit in.

‘I can even upgrade my alchemist kit now.’

I tried to hide my feelings desperately, but it was hard to do so.

Hearing my barely repressed laughter, Kim Hyunsung made an expression as if he had succeeded in his endeavor.

I thought he wasn’t the type to think that he could buy people’s hearts with money and gifts. He must have changed after living through such a harsh world.

An overly greedy appearance didn’t fit Light Kiyoung’s image, but what was I to do when I got such an awesome gift?

After that, I was sure he would say something along the lines of how the gift’s price didn’t matter, and he just felt glad that he was able to express how he felt through it.

It probably wouldn’t happen, but I walked down the streets with the bag tightly clutched in my arms so that no one could steal it from me.

Even though the sky was already getting dark, Kim Hyunsung looked as if he had no intention of going back. Whatever it was, it felt as if he was trying to resolve something at last, so I could not help but feel anticipation welling up in me.

‘I’m definitely sure, fuck. Hyunsung’s going to share his secret with me.’

How long had I been waiting for that moment? The timing of Kim Hyunsung’s confession had been delayed so much that I thought it would be better for me to hint towards it and make him confess.

After I decided that I needed to hear his secret directly from him, I began to approach the topic as carefully as an old man would cut wood, with many twists and turns. Like a soap drama, there were a dozen moments when the times or the situations got mixed up.

Due to Park Deokgu’s continuous appearance, the problems he caused, and Kim Hyunsung’s own problems and PTSD, his confession was much overdue.

‘In situations like this, the one with greater patience wins.’

If I moved too fast in such a delicate situation, I could potentially ruin everything.

Even though Kim Hyunsung tried to look as if he was calm, it was hard to imagine how nervous he actually was. He didn’t get easily drunk, but he must have thought it was necessary to borrow some of the power of alcohol.

That was why the regressor suggested we move to a hotel…

The previous event was all just a build-up, and what was going to happen from then on was the real deal.

From a glance, he looked nervous. Even when we conversed, he was not able to concentrate, and his eyes began to shake. I could imagine what he was thinking. Actually, maybe, he was in a more difficult situation than I could even imagine.

I bet he was thinking of something like: ‘What if he doesn’t accept what I’m going to say?’

It was natural for him to think like that, and I could bet he thought that even if I believed him, I might begin to doubt his behavior.

It was hard for him to gain the courage to confess, thinking that I might begin to grow suspicious of him. Honestly, I could understand. How could one easily confess that they were a regressor? That it was their second time living?

Even across the continent, where all sorts of ridiculous things happened, it was a hard story to believe.

Usually, if someone said such a thing, everyone would throw stones at them and call them insane.

Of course, I was already ready to accept his whole story, but Kim Hyunsung, who didn’t know that, must’ve been under intense pressure.

‘I guess I should help you a bit.’

With mana blocking all the sounds in our perimeter, I spoke.

“Is there anything you want to say?”

“What? No. No, I mean, not necessarily, but….”

“Perhaps I misunderstood, but I feel like you’re having trouble focusing. I am sorry if I am wrong.”

“No, it’s not like that. I mean, I… do have something I want to say. Yes. First, I think it’s only proper to tell you something that I wasn’t able to finish in the restaurant.”

‘Not that, you shit head.’

His avoidance ability was as high as his agility.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it was never my intention. It was something I didn’t even realize. I never thought that you would see my attitude in that way, Kiyoung-ssi.”

“…”

“It’s not that I couldn’t trust you, Kiyoung-ssi. Out of all the people I know, I believe in you the most. This might sound like an excuse, but I was so worried about your condition that I made a wrong decision.”

“…”

“I didn’t lock you up because I couldn’t trust you. I can understand why you misunderstood, but I swear that it’s not what you think. It was to protect you from external forces, not to protect the others from you.”

‘The last word touched my heart. I’m a little touched, kid.’

“I’m so sorry that you put so much trust in me, but I can’t return the same faith in you.”

‘Yeah, you should be like that.’

“I don’t think I can be forgiven like this, but I hope you accept my apology, anyway.”

Although he hesitated a lot and took a long time to talk, his apology wasn’t that bad. The Upgrading Bag in my hand also made me go easier on Kim Hyunsung.

After his apology, Kim Hyunsung looked at me as if he wondered if his apology went through to me. He was like a suspect waiting for his sentence.

‘I guess I should answer.’

“No, I’m also sorry.”

“Ah…”

“I can also totally understand why you might have felt that way. It makes me feel even sorrier to hear you say those words.”

“No, it was entirely my fault.”

“No, I think I was a little too sensitive.”

“…”

“I also had this feeling before… I’m only telling you this now, but… Right after the war with the Republic ended… you kept your distance from me.”

‘Yeah, you shit head, you were like that. That’s why I was like fuck, should I go to the Federation or not?’

“That was…”

Of course, it was hard to say that it really was Kim Hyunsung’s fault. Even though Kim Hyunsung had acted distantly, it was because he was still struggling with his PTSD.

However, I was sure he felt guilty. It was kind of interesting to see how his expression changed every couple of minutes.

“W-Wait, there was a time I was like that, but now…”

“Yes, of course, you are not like that at all anymore, but… I was a little sad at that time. I even considered transferring to the Federation.”

‘Lol. Hyunsung, relax your face.’

“I think that’s why I was more sensitive than usual in the ocean of dimensions. Rather, I feel like I should be the one to apologize. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t right for me to have been angry at you.”

“No, this is my fault…”

“I’m sorry.”

To say I was way more at fault to a guy that was apologizing so fervently to me… I couldn’t imagine what he must have been feeling at that moment.

I felt a bit sad seeing Kim Hyunsung’s troubled expression, but I wanted to maintain my position at least until he confessed to me that he was a regressor.

“If you… If you apologize to me like that, what will become of my position? During that time, the reason why… I kept my distance was because… it was… it… was actually… As I said before, I believe in you more than anyone else. I don’t know what to say, but…”

‘Then confess.’

“You don’t have to say that. I’m a little embarrassed that I brought up old stories…”

“No! No, I’m not saying we shouldn’t bring up old stories. I’m just regretting that these things happened in the past… and I regret it even now. While you were away, I kept feeling remorseful about how stupid and foolish I was.”

“What?”

“As I have said many times, I trust and believe in you. As much as you trust me, I also trust you, Kiyoung-ssi. I don’t even know what I’m saying right now, but one thing I’m sure of is that I trust you more than I trust anybody else.”

I wanted to give him a standing ovation for his great mindset.

I didn’t think I would be able to bring up his emotions so fast. Maybe, he was thinking of the time when he saw me in his unconscious state.

The appearance that Light Kiyoung showed was basically a textbook standard of faith.

I began to understand what I had to say to end that long tug-of-war roughly.

It was the same as before. If Kim Hyunsung was thinking of the time when I appeared in his unconsciousness, I guess I had to show that appearance again.

I displayed the exact same expression I showed as we separated. I said the same lines too.

“I don’t know why you’re saying this… but you don’t have to carry all the burden by yourself.”

‘Yeah, dude, you look super nervous.’

“And…”

“…”

“I trust you too.”