Chapter 130
What Yu-hyun saw was a change in some of the many books that Kwon Jia possessed.
‘Some of the books are… unlocked?’
Yu-hyun had a special ability to see other people’s information as books.
He could see their basic information such as birth, gender, and age, and he could also read about their past experiences from birth to the present.
This ability was only visible to Yu-hyun’s eyes, and the other person could not even sense that Yu-hyun was looking at their book.
‘Yes. That’s what it is.’
It was an ability that could be called a cheat, but it was not omnipotent.
First of all, he had to see the other person in his field of vision if he wanted to read their book.
Only then could he take the book and read it or do something else with it.
More importantly, the biggest problem was that he could not open all the books.
At least the golden books, which contained stories that were much higher in rank than Yu-hyun’s current level, were unreadable.
‘I borrowed dozens of Jia’s books, but only a few of them were readable.’
And the information contained in those books was nothing special.
The really important books were locked. He couldn’t read them even if he tried, because the books wouldn’t open.
At first, he couldn’t see the locks very well, but now he could see faint chains wrapped around the outside of the books.
It was a small change that happened after he was promoted to Assistant Manager.
‘Some of those chains are gone?’
Kwon Jia had hundreds of books.
And while other people’s books floated around, only Kwon Jia had a bookshelf.
Books arranged in order.
Almost 600 volumes from the first one. Among them, Yu-hyun could only read about 40 volumes from the back.
The rest were all locked, but some of them were unlocked.
Yu-hyun wondered why.
‘There must be a reason for the chains to be unlocked. There must have been some kind of trigger. Did the effect of my promotion to Assistant Manager finally kick in?’
Yu-hyun shook his head. He had increased his rank by becoming an Assistant Manager, but even so, he couldn’t read Kwon Jia’s books.
It was as if the books themselves had a strong will to refuse to show themselves to Yu-hyun.
‘If there is any other change, is it Jia’s state of mind?’
That was what Yu-hyun thought was the most likely reason.
He thought that those books were a kind of reflection of Kwon Jia’s mind.
She hid her past and didn’t want to show it to Yu-hyun, just like the books did.
But today, they ate together, watched a movie, and talked to each other.
Kwon Jia opened her heart to Yu-hyun.
Not all of it, but just a part of it.
And that alone unlocked some of the chains on her books.
‘The locked books weren’t something I could read just by raising my rank.’
Yu-hyun realized a new way to use his ability.
It wasn’t enough to just increase his power and rank to read all the books.
Sometimes, someone would refuse to let him read them.
In those cases, he had to understand their feelings and empathize with them in order to turn the pages.
‘Is that how it works?’
Yu-hyun was slightly conflicted whether to be happy or embarrassed by this new insight that came out unintentionally. But he soon realized that he was enjoying his vacation with Kwon Jia right now and decided to put aside his thoughts about the books for a while.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, nothing. Jia. We’ve finished watching the movie, let’s go do something else.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Do you like games?”
Yu-hyun asked Kwon Jia, who shook her head.
She had lost her memories of the past, but she was sure about this one thing.
Kwon Jia’s life had nothing to do with games.
“You know what games are, right?”
“Don’t think I don’t know anything. I have a rough idea. I just don’t know how to play them.”
“Then that’s perfect.”
“…?”
“Let’s try it today.”
Yu-hyun dragged Kwon Jia to a game center.
Electronic sounds filled the space from everywhere.
Flashing lights spread like fireworks at a festival.
It was dazzling enough to hurt your eyes if you stared at it blankly.
Kwon Jia’s first impression of the game center was that it was a very noisy and messy place.
“What’s so fun about this place?”
“You’ll see when you try it.”
People who visited the game center for the first time usually couldn’t adapt to this flashy and loud atmosphere.
But as with everything else, once they got used to it and discovered the fun hidden inside, their reactions changed.
“How about it? Do you want to try it?”
Even if the world changed, these games were still suitable for ordinary people to enjoy.
Rather, some of the game machines that received the power of stories developed further and gave a different sense of reality than before.
Yu-hyun handed Kwon Jia a model gun.
It was an action game that two people could play together, where they had to shoot and kill zombies with a simple and clear goal.
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“Hmph.”
Kwon Jia snorted and took the gun.
She was thinking of teaching Yu-hyun a lesson as a senior returnee who had challenged her pride.
“Let’s start.”
“Right.”
I inserted the coins that I had exchanged in advance and started the game.
Five minutes later.
“Oh.”
“…”
The score was updated after I defeated the stage 1 boss.
1P Kang Yoo-hyun: 252,000 points, 1st place.
And 2P Kwon Jia:
[2P: 0 points]
“Um. Well. Um… It’s always like this at first.”
I offered an awkward consolation. Actually, even if it was her first time, Kwon Jia’s condition was a bit serious.
Unless you were really bad, you could easily get a few hundred points by shooting casually.
But, Kwon Jia didn’t hit a single shot.
Not only that, she used up seven coins when I didn’t die even once.
I didn’t think I was that good at the game, but seeing her miserable state, I almost felt like I was a master of the game.
“This kind of game is hard for beginners. How about we play something easier?”
Stage 2 was harder than stage 1. Could Kwon Jia handle the next level with more difficulty?
I suggested playing another easy game to be considerate of her, but her eyes were fixed on her pathetic score as if they were nailed.
“Ji-a?”
“Put in a coin.”
“What?”
“A coin, put it in.”
She muttered with a fiery look in her eyes, as if she had met her lifelong enemy.
‘This is bad.’
I didn’t expect her to catch fire in a place like this.
I thought she would be calm and rational as a regressor, but even that didn’t work.
It meant that she was really angry.
“…Right.”
There was no point in trying to dissuade her now.
I gave up on convincing her and put in a coin. That’s how the second stage started.
[1P: 345,000 points]
[2P: 0 points]
The result was a much bigger gap than before.
If there was any consolation, it was that Kwon Jia used seven coins in stage 1, but only six coins this time.
But, she was really bad.
Even if she wasn’t used to guns because she used a sword, it was almost as if she had been cursed to not hit a single shot.
“…One more time?”
“More. This time I won’t go easy on you.”
I wasn’t sure if she meant herself or the game.
I sighed. She didn’t seem to have any intention of giving up.
That’s how the third stage started.
[1P: 432,000 points]
[2P: 35,000 points]
This time there was a change. Kwon Jia’s score went up.
And she only used four coins this time, compared to six coins in stage 2.
“Next.”
[1P: 521,000 points]
[2P: 148,000 points]
Stage 4 with higher difficulty. Kwon Jia only used three coins and scored higher. But she seemed to think that it wasn’t enough, and continued to focus on the game with all her might.
Watching her from the side, I felt like I had a slight idea of how she could get this far.
‘This is not talent.’
Kwon Jia was a regressor, but her innate talent was far behind Beomjae’s.
To put it bluntly, Kwon Jia had no talent. That’s why she had to repeat countless lives like this, even with such a cheat-like trait as regression.
But, I wasn’t disappointed by her appearance. Rather, I felt goosebumps running down my spine.
‘The action of catching up with the lack of talent by any means possible. It’s different from effort.’
It wasn’t a process that could be achieved by simply working hard. What she showed me was something different from effort.
Heavier, more persistent, more desperate.
‘Madness.’
Beyond effort and obsession, burning all her soul and body with madness.
That was the only way for Kwon Jia, who had no talent, to climb up to this point.
Even in such a trivial game, her nature was clearly revealed.
That’s how the final stage 8 ended.
[1P: 1,324,000 points]
[2P: 1,352,000 points]
The final score was Kwon Jia’s victory.
“Hmm. No big deal.”
“…”
“It was hard at first, but it turned out to be quite easy.”
Kwon Jia nodded her head in satisfaction as she looked at the final score engraved on the screen.
She seemed proud of herself.
“Jia, do you know?”
“What?”
“While I was doing this, it was one coin, but you were 24 coins.”
“…”
Kwon Jia did not answer.
She silently put the model gun back in its place and turned her back to leave.
“Jia? Hey, Jia?”
“Shut up! Just recommend me some other game that suits me.”
She said with a slight turn of her head. Her face was either red because of the lights of the game center, or because she was embarrassed.
It was quite flushed.
***
The two people who had enough fun at the game center went to the bowling alley and played a bet bowling.
Of course, since there was a bet, Yu Hyun had no intention of letting her go, and he won a splendid victory against Kwon Jia, whose talent hit rock bottom.
The bet was to pay for dinner instead.
At the snack bar, Kwon Jia, who ordered cheese pork cutlet, had a rather dissatisfied expression on her face.
“Are you so bothered by losing?”𝖓𝑜ν𝙚𝘭𝘣Ꭵ𝒏.𝒏𝙚𝒕
“What do you mean?”
“You look so glum. Honestly, I can’t even say that you did well, even as a lie.”
“What did you say?”
Her eyes flashed with anger. But Yu Hyun’s words were true.
When she played bowling, Kwon Jia’s skills were at the bottom of the bottom.
She got better as she continued, but it was still miserable.
That’s why she lost and had to pay for dinner at the snack bar.
She was already annoyed by that, but when Yu Hyun said that, it was not even anger, but disbelief.
“You said it well. Let’s say I lost because I’m bad. But why is dinner at a snack bar?”
“Why?”
“Why do you think…”
“What’s wrong with a snack bar?”
When Yu Hyun asked shamelessly, Kwon Jia was speechless.
Do I have to tell him?
Lunch was rice soup, dinner was a snack bar.
Even if they were eating together as a man and a woman, wasn’t it too cheap?
But it tastes good.
Kwon Jia thought to herself as she put a piece of sliced cheese pork cutlet in her mouth.
“By any chance, did you expect something more romantic?”
Yu Hyun casually asked a question that pierced Kwon Jia’s heart sharply. She unknowingly shuddered her shoulders.
“What are you talking about…”
“I don’t know. You look like you want to clink wine glasses or something.”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what can I do?”
“But…”
Kwon Jia glanced at Yu Hyun and then said in a slightly lowered voice.
“Can’t we have a drink…?”
She asked while desperately holding back her embarrassment.
Yu Hyun looked surprised as if he didn’t expect Kwon Jia to suggest that first.
He soon smiled slyly and nodded his head.
He didn’t think Kwon Jia would ask for something like that.
Surely, Kwon Jia had changed from when he first saw her.
And she was still changing.
“What’s so funny?”
“No, it’s not funny. I was thinking of having a drink anyway. Sure. Let’s go for round two.”
“Wait, I haven’t finished eating yet.”
Kwon Jia quickly finished the few pieces of cheese pork cutlet left.
