Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 545: Confession (2)

‘Okay, now this is it. I did it.’

I clenched my fist, seeing his nervous yet determined face.

Kim Hyunsung looked so touched that the insecurity on his face began to fade away.

I didn’t know what exactly he was thinking, but after seeing his expression change, I disguised my excitement by sipping on my wine. Based on his perspective, I had no memory of what happened in his subconsciousness. That was because, unfortunately, I suffered from aftereffects.

It must’ve been a dramatic development for me to repeat the same words that had touched him so much before with an expression as if I was saying it for the first time.

I bet he was floundering in a sea of emotions. Although I didn’t remember anything, he probably believed that I would feel the same way and think that I definitely believed in him. I was sure that his guilt would have shaken his mentality, too, urging him on even further to have the following thoughts:

‘I have to say it. I have to confess.’

‘If I hide any more secrets, it would be betraying Kiyoung-ssi. I have to confess today, right now.’

Even I thought I might’ve been a bit evil towards him. How could I not rejoice in harvesting a fruit I had taken so long to care for? I was sure that Kim Hyunsung’s mental state was currently like an 8-ton truck with a broken handle or like a bitcoin at the peak of its’ success.

He had nothing to stop him now. At that point, I was sure that he was having a hard time keeping his secret to himself.

‘Reveal it. Reveal it.’

“Yes… it was like that. Kiyoung-ssi, you are… always… yes.”

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing. Nothing at all…”

‘Yes, Hyunsung. Fuck, that’s how you’re going to reveal it.’

“Wait… there’s a place I would like for you to come with me.”

‘The time has come. The time has come!’

“Where…”

“I know it’s a little sudden, but there’s a place I want you to come with me. I also have something I want to say to you there.”

“…”

There was no turning back at that point, but he looked nervous. His voice was trembling a little.

I got up with an expression as if I didn’t know anything, and likewise, he got up after paying for the bill. We walked slowly outside, and soon after, we saw how dark it had gotten.

A few night lights lit up the streets, but the streets were much darker compared to Lindel.

Thanks to that, I was able to see the stars much more clearly in the night sky. The atmosphere was nice, and I began to wish that calm music would play as background music.

“Where are we headed?”

“It’s not far from here.”

“…”

‘Did this punk live in this area before?’

He was moving outside of the city, but it didn’t seem like he was moving towards Lindel.

I thought we were moving towards a place that held the most memories, but it seemed as if he prepared other places as well.

‘Is this bastard playing around to buy time?’

No, I didn’t think so. His footsteps began to slow down, but it seemed as if he had already made up his mind. Sure enough, I could see that he was slowly building up for his big reveal, and he began to speak with an uneasy expression.

“I’m sure you weren’t aware, but there is actually another thing I need to apologize to you. It’s for a different reason than the one I told you before.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about… But you don’t have to apologize.”

“You probably won’t believe me. Or you might be surprised. You might be disappointed in me. But with everything I have, I promise you that the reason why I hid this from you is not that I had some ulterior motives, or I didn’t trust you.”

‘Yeah, yeah. I understand everything, Hyunsung. If I don’t understand you, who will? And you punk, your hyung-nim will believe everything you say. I will believe it.’

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s all so sudden…what do you mean by hiding it…? You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. You don’t have to share everything with me. Even if you hide your personal problems, I won’t be disappointed or have any other thoughts about it. I also have a few things that are hard to tell you…”

“No, it’s not such a simple matter. If only it were that mundane… However, it’s different from… the things that you said were difficult to bring up.”

‘If you heard everything I was hiding from you, you would probably faint…’

“Please don’t be too surprised, and I hope you’ll listen to my story as calmly as possible.”

‘I will, so please tell me your story quickly.’

And finally, the place we arrived at was a small house. The house was so small that it looked like it could barely fit a family inside.

I couldn’t understand why Kim Hyunsung had brought me to a house a bit far away from a small village in Heren.

‘He was here.’

I didn’t know exactly when, but Kim Hyunsung had stayed in that place before.

‘Did he live in hiding?’

I didn’t even have to guess because I knew I was going to hear everything soon.

With a bit of a stiff expression, Kim Hyunsung opened the door. The room was relatively clean, considering that a person hadn’t lived there for a long time.

Without saying anything, he took a seat on a chair. His hands, face, and lips shook.

Then, he suddenly got up and began to prepare tea. He was acting strangely. He lit up the fireplace and the candles around the house.

I could see him moving distractingly.

I thought he might give up on telling me everything even though we had come all the way there, but it seemed like he didn’t need my help.

“It is a fine house. This place…”

“I used to live here.”

“Sorry?”

“For a couple of months. I can’t remember exactly, but it was about that long… according to what I remember.”

“…”

I made a questioning expression. It was because Kim Hyunsung and I had never separated since we arrived in that world.

Of course, we got separated sometimes to complete necessary works or missions, but it had never been that long.

I naturally displayed a facade of shock and surprise. I was about to ask what he meant, but his expression told me not to say anything.

‘I should just keep listening.’

I wasn’t foolish enough to shut him off when the story was about to be unfolded.

As if Kim Hyunsung had been relieved to see my response, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued. He couldn’t suddenly say that he was a Regressor. Considering him, it was surprising that he brought up the tutorial dungeon first.

“I was a bad person.”

“…”

“E-Even at the tutorial dungeon…”

“…”

“I didn’t fight… I was too busy escaping from the monsters. It was too much for me to handle at the time. I watched from the side while many people died. I ignored their pleas for help and escaped.”

“What are you talking about…?”

“I can’t even remember the faces of those whom I’ve left behind… No, I’ve watched other people die because my head was only filled with thoughts of surviving. I can’t recall how many times I’ve breathed a sigh of relief as I heard people scream beyond the walls because I’ve survived either.”

‘This was unexpected.’

Very unexpected.

‘That was still left in his mind?’

I wasn’t certain. However, there was a possibility.

Kim Hyunsung was a good person, but he wasn’t excessively so. He wasn’t the type to give out a helping hand unconditionally either…

It would’ve been reasonable if his humanity and goodness had worn out after surviving the hellish 1rst timeline. In fact, our lovely Regressor’s emotions had been quite worn out before Light Kiyoung had shone his brilliance on him.

He didn’t hesitate to kill people if necessary, and he placed benefits for himself and the party above moral standards.

‘I couldn’t understand it at first.’

I couldn’t fathom why Kim Hyunsung had gathered useless people in the 2nd timeline to play a survival camp, or why he had gone around to save the survivors.

It became dangerous to find Jung Hayan or the murderer Jung Jinho, but the first timeline must’ve influenced him.

‘He didn’t gather around people and investigate the dungeons before.’

He only ran away over and over again. It was a natural response for a twenty-something-year-old who had suddenly dropped into a different world without knowing anything.

It was more convincing than saying that he slaughtered monsters as soon as he wielded a sword while saying, ‘hey, this is my hidden power.’

‘This is interesting.’

Very interesting, indeed.

Who knew that Park Deokgu and I were among the people whose death Kim Hyunsung had ignored in the first timeline’s dungeon tutorial?

“I survived by luck, but I remember it being very hard.”

“I am sorry… I understand what you are saying. Hyunsung, you…”

“Yes, I had participated as the investigation team in the tutorial dungeon, but I didn’t do that before.”

“…”

“Are you perhaps, d-d-disappointed?”

“No, I don’t understand everything… but you only showed a natural response.”

‘I would’ve thought differently if I was the victim, though.’

“That’s good.”

He seemed a bit relieved. That must’ve been one of the things he worried about.

‘Ah, he wanted to look kind in front of his hyung? Awww.’

“But… when you say before, what time… do you mean? Have you gone through the tutorial dungeon twice?”

“I can’t say that. Indeed, I had technically experienced it twice, but not in the way that you think. I mean… I mean… I…”

“…”

“I’ve already experienced this world before I met you.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“I am a Regressor.”

I clenched my fist without realizing it. Of course, I didn’t forget to act out a delicate facial expression. I looked at him like he just said something completely out of the norm.

His pupils didn’t shake. His eyes told me to believe in his words.

It seemed like his past was coming back to him bit by bit. In truth, from a normal person’s perspective, I had thought that he would also know the future.

I reacted like I couldn’t believe it, and Kim Hyunsung seemed to show that he had no reason to lie.

Seeing my changing expression…

Our Regressor’s hands shook.

“I-I am a Regressor.”

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