The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 16 - A Thing Called Family (3)

 

 

Damn it.

 

I never imagined Lee Jin-hyuk would actually cause trouble—though, to be fair, it wasn’t like I hadn’t considered the possibility.

 

Lee Jin-hyuk had been the cause of countless deaths for Lee Yoo-seong. That was why I sent him far away with his mother.

 

Just in case, I’d even assigned someone to keep tabs on him. As for his father—well, he was already sitting in a police station, so I’d left him alone.

 

But this?

 

‘Should I have sent him not to Gyeonggi Province, but to an island instead?’

 

Yeah, next time I’ll send him to an island—an uninhabited one. Let him survive there, fending for himself.

 

‘No, no.’

 

First, I needed to stay calm.

 

Lee Yoo-seong hadn’t killed Lee Jin-hyuk yet. If Lee Jin-hyuk had died by Lee Yoo-seong’s hand, I would have had to abandon this episode. Any round in which Lee Yoo-seong personally committed murder had always ended in failure.

 

This delicate, gentle child could never bear the thought of hurting another person—let alone killing one.

 

So what I needed to do was—

 

“Yoo-seong, don’t throw away your life for someone so worthless.”

 

—calm him down, so he wouldn’t stain his own hands with murder.

 

The boy, who had been staring at me in silence, finally spoke.

 

“…Hyung, didn’t you say you’d support me no matter what choice I made?”

 

“Yoo-seong…”

 

“You did, didn’t you?”

 

Pressed for an answer, I nodded.

 

“That’s right. I did.”

 

Lee Yoo-seong let out a bitter laugh.

 

“He says… his family killed my parents.”

 

Damn it. That loose-lipped idiot told him that too?

 

Worst-case scenario.

 

Lee Yoo-seong had always blamed himself for his parents’ deaths—that guilt was why he’d bowed so low before Lee Jin-hyuk’s family all this time. But if he now knew they were the ones who had done it?

 

If someone could hear that and not be consumed by revenge, they wouldn’t be human—they’d be a saint. And even saints wouldn’t keep their composure after something like this.

 

Still, I thought there was hope.

 

Or at least, I did—until…

 

“But you know, hyung, you once told me my parents were already gone before the ambulance arrived. But…”

 

The boy whose life had been built on constantly reading the room twisted his lips into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

 

“…turns out they were alive.”

 

Strange, isn’t it?

 

He asked me that as he looked straight into my eyes.

 

On his distorted face was a smile—a grotesque mix of anger, regret, sorrow, and self-loathing.

 

Then he turned to his cousin and shouted:

 

“So tell me! Why did my parents die, huh? Come on—tell me!”

 

“S-sorry! I don’t know! I just overheard Mom and Dad talking when they were drinking, so… I don’t know! I’m sorry!”

 

Lee Jin-hyuk’s words came out in a sobbing rush, his hands clasped in desperation.

 

“Sorry?”

 

He didn’t realize that his apology only fueled Lee Yoo-seong’s fury.

 

“You know what, Jin-hyuk?”

 

Lee Yoo-seong’s voice carried a bitter smile.

 

“I said that exact same thing to your family dozens of times. And every time, you know what they told me?”

 

His expression went blank.

 

“That my apology wasn’t sincere.”

 

And with that, Lee Yoo-seong released his grip.

 

“Aaaargh!”

 

The body he’d been holding in midair plummeted. I clenched my teeth at the distant scream.

 

Thud!

 

Silence.

 

Lee Yoo-seong gave the burning house a single, sorrowful glance before turning to me.

 

“I’m sorry, hyung.”

 

“…Yoo-seong…”

 

It was over.

 

He had killed his cousin—and now, he would try to follow him. No matter how blinded by rage he’d been, this boy was still too gentle to live with such a thing.

 

“I really am sorry.”

 

The flames roared higher. Through them, I saw him, balanced precariously on the veranda railing.

 

I hesitated. Should I force my way through the fire? Or… just give up?

 

Then his voice, heavy with regret, reached me.

 

“I don’t want to blame myself… I don’t want to regret it… I want to do as you said, hyung, but…”

 

A faint smile lingered on his lips as he finished.

 

“I can’t.”

 

The body hanging from the railing tilted downward. Each second stretched, moving in slow motion.

 

Whoosh!

 

The fire roared louder, flames leaping higher.

 

“Yoo-seong!”

 

I ran.

 

Give up? Sure—easy to say. I could abandon this round and start again.

 

But the thing is…

 

Back in the 364th round, after killing someone I’d fought so hard to save, I swore I’d never face another regression like that again.

 

“…!”

 

I managed to catch Lee Yoo-seong just in time.

 

Both hands clamped around the boy as he began to slip.

 

He stared blankly at the drop below, then looked at me.

 

“…Let go. You’ll fall too, hyung.”

 

“It’s fine. If I fall, then so be it.”

 

Death didn’t scare me. From this height, it would be instant—no pain.

 

But—

 

“Let’s live, Yoo-seong.”

 

I couldn’t let go of this wounded boy. I couldn’t start over again.

 

Lee Yoo-seong’s face twisted.

 

“Is it okay… if I live?”

 

“Of course. Of course it is.”

 

But he shook his head.

 

“I let the people who killed my mom and dad take everything from me.”

 

His home. His inheritance.

 

“They took it all.”

 

“I got it back for you, didn’t I?”

 

“And now it’s gone again.”

 

He gave a self-mocking smile.

 

Just as he said, the home I’d reclaimed for him was now being devoured by flames before our eyes.

 

The heat behind me grew unbearable, and smoke scraped my throat raw. I couldn’t stop coughing.

 

Watching me, he spoke.

 

“Hyung, let go. If you keep this up, you’re really going to die.”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“You’re not fine!”

 

His voice cracked, anger and desperation mixed together.

 

“You have a family! People who would mourn you! So let go! I said, let go!”

 

He started prying at my hands. I couldn’t let that happen.

 

“Yoo-seong.”

 

I called softly, then asked, “Why do you think no one would mourn your death?”

 

His eyes widened.

 

Through the smoke stinging my eyes, I forced my gaze to stay on him.

 

“You have me. And you have Seo Do-hwan.”

 

“You guys are…”

 

“I’ll be your family.”

 

His lips parted slightly. I caught the flicker of surprise and emotion on his face and pressed on.

 

“Remember what Seo Do-hwan said? That just sharing blood doesn’t make you family.”

 

So—

 

“Let’s live, Yoo-seong.”

 

His shocked expression crumpled into sadness. This time, the boy cried not in silence, but openly, sobbing. I preferred this to when his tears had fallen without a sound.

 

But right now, I had to focus on pulling Lee Yoo-seong up.

 

My strength was fading. At this rate, I was going to lose my grip on him—and no matter how strong Lee Yoo-seong was, no one could survive a fall from this height.

 

People say you might live from the 20th floor, but from the 54th-floor penthouse? It’s certain death.

 

I clenched my teeth and pulled.

 

Because I didn’t want to see that awful sight. Because I wanted him to live.

 

But,

 

Creeeeak—

 

A grating, unpleasant sound rang out, and then—

 

Clang!

 

The screws holding the railing in place gave way.

 

“Ah.”

 

I let out a dazed sigh—then my body pitched forward into the open air below.

 

“Hyung!”

 

Lee Yoo-seong reached out toward me.

 

Idiot. If he’d come to his senses, he should’ve been saving himself, not me. With his abilities, he could carve footholds into the outer wall like it was nothing.

 

So why—?

 

Maybe because I already knew this round was doomed.

 

Smiling faintly, I grabbed his hand. That small hand I’d missed countless times before—this time, I held it tight.

 

“Hey! You! You crazy bastards!”

 

A voice cursed from somewhere below.

 

“…!”

 

In that instant, my body was yanked upward.

 

Before I knew it, I was flung back into the penthouse.

 

I hit the floor with a heavy thud and rolled across it. Pain shot through me, but I couldn’t even scream.

 

“Cough! Cough!!”

 

The thick smoke forced cough after cough from my lungs.

 

More importantly—what the hell had just happened?

 

I hadn’t even met that damn Archmage yet, so it couldn’t have been teleportation magic.

 

“Damn, what’s with this fire? The sprinklers aren’t working? Everything’s going to burn.”

 

At the sound of that familiar voice, I raised my head in a daze.

 

“…Seo Do-hwan?”

 

There he was, standing right in the middle of the flames, completely unharmed.

 

“What?”

 

By now, Seo Do-hwan should’ve been with Lee Jin-hyuk and his family.

 

“How are you even here?”

 

“Is that all you have to say to the guy who just saved your life?”

 

He laughed, looking incredulous.

 

“On my way, I thought I saw that bastard over there. Came to check, and it turns out I was right.”

 

That bastard?

 

I followed his pointing finger and spotted Lee Jin-hyuk lying unconscious, drool running down his twisted face.

 

“…He’s alive?”

 

“Yeah. He suddenly dropped from above me. I caught him before I even realized it… though maybe I should’ve just let him die.”

 

“No—you did the right thing.”

 

If I was going to get rid of him, it would have to be without Lee Yoo-seong finding out.

 

“Where’s Yoo-seong?”

 

“Over there.”

 

The boy lay collapsed as if dead.

 

“Yoo-seong!”

 

I rushed over, checking his condition. Fortunately, he seemed merely unconscious, breathing steadily. But why had he passed out all of a sudden, when he’d been fine during the fall?

 

The answer came quickly.

 

“Seo Do-hwan! Is this payback for Yoo-seong giving you a double nosebleed?!”

 

That bastard must’ve done something while hauling us up.

 

And sure enough—

 

Like a thief caught red-handed, Seo Do-hwan flinched and stammered,

 

“P-Payback? What are you talking about?! And why bring that up now?! Instead of thanking the guy who saved you, you’re accusing me? Boss, isn’t that going too far?!”

 

Too far, my ass.

 

I wanted to mock him for being a grown man with no shame, but first, we had to get out of here.

 

“Let’s get outside first.”

 

Sirens wailed in the distance. A belated worry hit me.

 

Lee Jin-hyuk was falling. We were all falling—until Seo Do-hwan saved us. But what if someone had seen that?

 

If so, I needed to deal with it before word spread.

 

I started to help Lee Yoo-seong up when—

 

“Cough…!”

 

A violent fit of coughing racked my body. With this much smoke, it was inevitable.

 

“Boss?”

 

My vision blurred, and my legs gave out beneath me. I must have inhaled too much smoke.

 

Well… aside from being a returnee and a regressor, I was still just an ordinary person with a lot of money.

 

Enduring this long inside a burning building was something, I supposed.

 

“Boss? Hey! Kwak Yoon-hoo!”

 

Seo Do-hwan’s urgent voice rang in my ears, but I couldn’t answer. If I could, I’d tell him I was fine and to quit shouting.

 

“Kwak Yoon-hoo! Wake up! Hey!!”

 

In the end, my eyes slid shut.

 

Ah. I can’t die like this.