The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 77 - The Butterfly Effect (4)

 

A place where people believed that if they gave everything to the cult leader, he would bestow mercy and grace upon them. The followers called him “Master” and followed him with unwavering devotion—they would give up everything for his sake.

 

‘To think that Lee Man-deuk’s mother was a member of that cult.’

 

It was something I hadn’t realized even once, despite going through 365 regressions. But looking back now, it was an understandable oversight.

 

Before I ever came into contact with Lee Man-deuk, his father had died of lung cancer, and his mother—suffering from schizophrenia—had slowly lost her grip on reality and eventually passed away.

 

And yet… Lee Deok-soon and Lee Soon-deuk knew. Through all 365 repetitions of my life, I alone had remained ignorant. I felt utterly pathetic.

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung, are you okay?”

 

“Huh? Yeah. I’m fine.”

 

“But your expression looks really bad…”

 

Lee Yoo-seong hesitated, studying my face.

 

Damn.

 

It seemed I’d let my emotions show after being blindsided like that. I quickly settled my thoughts and forced a reassuring smile.

 

“Yoo-seong, I really am okay. I was just lost in thought and ended up making you worry. Sorry about that.”

 

“No, it’s fine!”

 

He waved his hands in a panic.

 

“If you ever need my help, please tell me! I’ll do anything I can.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Even if it was just kindness in words, I appreciated it.

 

“How about we take a break for today? If you’re worried about Deok-soon and Soon-deuk, I can go check on them.”

 

“Let’s just go home together. Seo Do-hwan will be watching over Deok-soon and Soon-deuk anyway.”

 

“Okay! Your body isn’t in great shape either, Yoon-hoo hyung. Let’s go back and get some proper rest!”

 

Did I really look that bad?

 

The only thing wrong with me is my left wrist that Seo Do-hwan broke…

 

Lee Yoo-seong worried too much.

 

“What about Han Yeong-won noona? She should be at the hospital with Do-hwan hyung right now.”

 

“She won’t be.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Lee Yoo-seong tilted his head.

 

“Han Yeong-won will be at home.”

 

Because that’s exactly the kind of person she is. There was nothing in AMA Seoul Hospital that could possibly entertain her. And sure enough—

 

“You’re late.”

 

Han Yeong-won really was at home.

 

“Wow…”

 

Lee Yoo-seong stared in awe.

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung, how did you know Han Yeong-won noona would be at home?”

 

Because I’ve been tangled up with her through all sorts of things over 365 regressions. But of course, I couldn’t say that.

 

So instead—

 

“Just a hunch.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

Lee Yoo-seong looked dumbfounded. It must’ve been a surprising answer. After thinking it over for a moment, he said,

 

“Well, sometimes your gut feeling can be right on target. And I guess Yoon-hoo hyung is the kind of person who gets that kind of feeling a lot, huh?”

 

Not at all—but trying to explain would just make me sound insane, so I stayed quiet.

 

And so, after a storm-like day had passed, morning came.

 

“Ms. Han Yeong-won.”

 

I called out to her.

 

“Why are you calling me, you piece of shit?”

 

“Could we talk for a moment?”

 

“If it’s an interesting story.”

 

“It will be.”

 

I gave a faint smile.

 

“Have I ever told you a boring story?”

 

Han Yeong-won stared at me for a moment, then smirked.

 

“As expected, you’re even more amusing than Ji Geon-hyuk.”

 

“Thanks for the compliment.”

 

It was early morning, and Lee Yoo-seong was still asleep. That left only Han Yeong-won and me.

 

***

 

A housekeeper placed teacups in front of Han Yeong-won and me, then stepped back.

 

“Please give us some privacy.”

 

“Yes, young master.”

 

The housekeeper bowed and withdrew.

 

“Smells nice.”

 

Han Yeong-won smiled as she took in the aroma of the tea.

 

“So, what’s this interesting story you’re going to tell me?”

 

Straight to the point. 

 

With her personality, it wasn’t like she’d wait politely for me to bring it up. So I spoke calmly.

 

“Do you remember the cult I mentioned the other day?”

 

“The cult?”

 

She looked like she’d forgotten.

 

“I told you there was a group here similar to the Demonic Sect.”

 

“Ah. Yes, I remember now.”

 

Thankfully, Han Yeong-won recalled it quickly.

 

“Could you take care of that cult now?”

 

“Hm?”

 

Han Yeong-won tilted her head slightly.

 

“Weren’t you the one who said I should only move when I feel like it?”

 

“I don’t remember saying that.”

 

“Tch. You’re no fun.”

 

She clicked her tongue, clearly displeased at being caught in a lie.

 

“So why should I listen to you now?”

 

Her sharp tone made me answer carefully.

 

“The Demonic Sect has five precepts.”

 

They were the rules Han Yeong-won herself had established.

 

“Be loyal and never betray the leader. Do not offer children under the excuse of personal gain. Children must not be unfilial to their parents.”

 

And then—

 

“Parents must cherish their children.”

 

“Oh?”

 

Han Yeong-won’s eyes widened slightly.

 

“Who told you that?”

 

“I just memorized what you said.”

 

I’d heard the Demonic Sect’s five precepts from her hundreds—no, thousands—of times. I smiled faintly at her displeased look and went on.

 

“The cult I told you about also has five precepts, just like the Demonic Sect.”

 

Their loyalty to the Leader was the same—but the rest were different.

 

Unlike the Demonic Sect, they had to offer everything, including their children, to the Leader. The wealth they worked so hard to gather went straight into that so-called Leader’s pockets, and the children were exploited for all kinds of labor.

 

And finally—

 

“They even preach that if a child becomes useless, the parents should throw them away.”

 

The Leader of the Ark of Universal Salvation Church used the followers’ children as he pleased and discarded them when they fell ill.

 

No—he made the parents throw them away themselves.

 

If he dealt with the dying children directly, he’d be entangled in trouble. So he forced the parents to abandon their sick children with their own hands.

 

“These… damn bastards.”

 

Han Yeong-won’s face twisted.

 

“Someone like that dares to call himself a Leader and run wild without fear of the heavens?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She gave a crooked smile.

 

“Interesting. Very interesting.”

 

The way she smiled sent a chill down my spine. I’d expected her to react strongly to the fifth precept of the Ark of Universal Salvation Church.

 

Han Yeong-won had lost her younger sibling when she was young. I didn’t know how. 

 

‘She never explained it in detail.’

 

I’d tried to look into it myself, but there was nothing to find. There were only two things I truly knew about her.

 

First, she was a regressor known as the “Mad Heavenly Demon,” someone who didn’t see this world as a place she belonged to.

 

And second—

 

“How can parents treat their children like that? No—the real problem isn’t the parents, but the cult leader who made them that way.”

 

—she reacted extremely sensitively to the relationship between parents and children.

 

In this situation, that was a good thing. Without giving an order, making a request, or striking a deal, I could get Han Yeong-won to take care of the Ark of Universal Salvation Church for me.

 

“Where is that piece of trash now?”

 

Han Yeong-won asked, her eyes flashing. In her pitch-black gaze, red energy surged. I swallowed my tension before answering.

 

“If you walk along Gangnam-daero, you’ll run into members of the Ark of Universal Salvation Church doing their missionary work.”

 

“Hoh.”

 

“Are you going right now?”

 

“Yes.”

 

She turned sharply.

 

“The sooner that kind of scum is dealt with, the better for this world.”

 

She wasn’t wrong.

 

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to contact me.”

 

“There won’t be any need for that.”

 

Of course not.

 

“Still, just in case—”

 

Before I could finish—

 

Whoosh!

 

Han Yeong-won vanished from sight. The only thing she left behind was a window, now open, though I didn’t remember it being opened.

 

“…A window isn’t exactly a door.”

 

But she was already long gone.

 

After that, I lost contact with her. It wasn’t until more than a week had passed that I heard from Han Yeong-won again.

 

And by then, Lee Man-deuk…

 

[Lee Man-deuk]

 

You bastard. Didn’t I tell you two days ago? I found Ji Geon-hyuk and lifted the curse on him, so give me the damn plane ticket. Why haven’t I heard from you? Do you have a death wish? Want me to make sure you die the moment I land in Korea?

 

…still hadn’t returned to Korea.

 

***

 

“…Scary.”

 

Pretending not to see Lee Man-deuk’s message, I put my phone on silent. Otherwise, I’d be flooded with his calls.

 

“CEO?”

 

“Ah, yes. I’m listening. So you want to remake the songs released under King and perform them for Nikes at the year-end concert?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Kang Ye-seong smiled brightly.

 

“I talked to the others too, and we all feel the same way—we don’t want the songs from our time at King to just fade away. I feel that way too.”

 

Behind him, the members of Victory nodded. At their hopeful gazes, I smiled and nodded back.

 

“Sounds good.”

 

“Really, CEO hyung?!”

 

Cheong-ryang beamed.

 

“Thank you! Thank you so much, CEO hyung!”

 

Right after him, Haneul broke into a bright smile.

 

“We’ll work hard to prepare!”

 

The youngest members chimed in too.

 

“Let’s fix up Micho Macho Micho first!”

 

“No, I want to work on our first album’s title track instead.”

 

“Let’s start with Micho Macho Micho! It’s basically the song that connected us with the CEO!”

 

Lee Nak-hwa and Shin Yoo-soo started bickering.

 

“Alright, alright. Let’s decide which song to remake first slowly, after talking it over with Chris.”

 

“But—!”

 

“You haven’t forgotten we’re in the CEO’s office, right?”

 

Ji Ye-chan handled the younger ones smoothly and smiled with a playful look.

 

“CEO, thank you so much for giving us permission.”

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

So far, there hadn’t been a single time when listening to Victory’s opinions had led to a bad result. And besides, every song Victory remade would end up charting in the future.

 

“Then go talk it over with Chris. And if anything needs approval, contact me right away.”

 

“Yes, sir!”

 

All the Victory members answered in unison.

 

“We’ll see you next time!”

 

“Yeah. Get home safely.”

 

After seeing Victory out and heading back to my office—

 

“Um, CEO.”

 

“Yes, Ye-seong?”

 

Kang Ye-seong stopped me.

 

“You’re taking care of yourself, right?”

 

His cautious tone made me smile.

 

“Don’t worry. I’m pretty tough.”

 

Kang Ye-seong looked unconvinced. It stung a little, but I didn’t show it.

 

“This will come off soon too.”

 

I showed him the cast on my left wrist and smiled. Only then did he nod.

 

“Make sure you’re taking care of yourself while you work, okay?”

 

“Of course.”

 

“Then, I’ll get going.”

 

Kang Ye-seong bowed and hurried after the others.

 

The more I saw him, the more polite he seemed—almost as much as Lee Yoo-seong. Of course, if he ever went mad in that state, he’d become someone who’d thrown away all manners and wrecked his own character.

 

‘That won’t happen, so don’t think about it.’

 

There was something else I needed to worry about right now: Lee Man-deuk’s father.

 

He’d been acting like he could die at any moment, but he was still hanging on. That was also why Lee Man-deuk couldn’t return to Korea.

 

“Phew…”

 

For some reason, my chest felt tight. I let out a small breath and turned off silent mode on my phone.

 

Buzz!

 

My phone started vibrating loudly. Speak of the devil—I thought it might be Lee Man-deuk, but it wasn’t.

 

[Lee Yoo-seong]

 

Seeing the name, I answered right away.

 

―Hello, Yoon-hoo hyung?

 

“Yeah. What’s going on?”

 

―Well… I got a call from Do-hwan hyung.

 

A bad feeling crept up my spine. And sure enough…

 

―He said Deok-soon and Soon-deuk’s father is in critical condition.

 

“…I see.”

 

So he’d held on this long. Looks like today is the turning point.

 

“Got it. I’m coming now.”

 

I grabbed my coat and hurried to the hospital room where Lee Man-deuk’s father was admitted.

 

And there…

 

“Hello, CEO Kwak.”

 

Lee Man-deuk was there.

 

“…Mr. Lee Man-deuk.”

 

It hadn’t even been an hour since I’d received that furious message from him.

 

‘When did he get here?’

 

No matter how worried he was about his younger siblings, I’d thought he’d stay in the U.S. quietly for at least three days…

 

“Hey, you fucking bastard.”

 

The curse from right beside me made my thoughts stop.

 

Lee Man-deuk was suddenly right in my face, grabbing me by the collar.

 

“Yoon-hoo hyung!”

 

Lee Yoo-seong tried to pull him off me in alarm, but I stopped him, signaling that it was okay. At that, the crazed mage burst into wild laughter and ground out his words through clenched teeth.

 

“Explain.”

 

Explain what, exactly?

 

“What the hell is that man doing here?” 

 

With a twisted smile, Lee Man-deuk ordered,

 

“Explain, Kwak Yoon-hoo.”