9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 223 - Epilogue (2)

Choi Hyeon-su lived just like that.

Doing whatever he wanted to his heart’s content, becoming a regular at every bar in the neighborhood, gradually forgetting the memories of his past life.

One winter day, he had drinks with Seong-jun after a long time.

“Hey, Deputy Manager Jeong finally got promoted to manager.”

“Oho, hmm, that’s quite good news.”

“Good my ass! Executive Director Seo got promoted to branch director and went on a political rampage, and that bastard finally managed it through sheer persistence! The way he shows off makes me so sick that I keep going on field work all the time! Cough! Cough!”

Seong-jun was venting his frustration by aggressively eating spicy chicken feet, then choked and started coughing. Choi Hyeon-su watched him while steadily downing soju.

“Ahh.”

At first he thought it tasted like garbage, but gradually it grew on him and now it was even sweet. Was this proof that he’d adapted to this world?

‘Has it been about four years? Five?’

He stared blankly out the window where snow was starting to fall and thought to himself. The strangeness of Choi Hyeon-su’s body, the pop songs that came on TV, and the daily life without magic no longer felt awkward.

Seong-jun, who had stopped coughing and calmed down, poured soju into Choi Hyeon-su’s empty glass. Then he muttered in a subdued voice.

“I feel this every time we meet, but you’ve changed a lot.”

“How so?”

“You’ve become much softer, I guess, like there’s no wall there anymore. Before, you always seemed like someone being chased by something. You were a workaholic too. That was admirable. Though toward the end I definitely thought you’d die from overwork at that rate.”

Seong-jun was the one who had thrown a fit more than Executive Director Seo when he said he was quitting the company. At first he suspected it might be to switch to a competitor, and when he found out he’d become unemployed and was just fooling around, he seemed disappointed and cut contact for a while.

Still, he was the friend he’d grown closest to after entering this body, and he was grateful for many things. Without him occasionally calling, he would have wandered much more in this unfamiliar world. Seong-jun had firmly anchored Choi Hyeon-su in place.

Choi Hyeon-su chuckled and clinked glasses.

“Come on, I told you it was to refresh myself. If something appealing comes up again, I’ll take on the challenge, stuff like that.”

“I’m so jealous, so jealous!”

“If you’re jealous, quit your job too.”

“A father can’t even dream of that, you know? Stocks or the lottery would have to hit big, geez.”

They exchanged trivial conversation as the drinking session continued.

And exactly six months later. Choi Hyeon-su was looking for travel destinations to welcome summer.

“The charter market’s at its end too, should I move to Jeju Island…”

As always, not worrying about his bank balance at all, he was leisurely looking up plane tickets on his laptop. At some point, he felt something strange.

“What’s that thing?”

On his desk, behind his laptop, there was an unfamiliar object.

A square object that fit snugly in Choi Hyeon-su’s palm. The material looked like crystal. Thin crystal branches contained bright red liquid that sloshed around, and those red branches geometrically intertwined around a core floating in the center.

“A cube…?”

He muttered as he picked it up. The object began vibrating slightly.

Choi Hyeon-su thought of his previous world for the first time in a very long time. The power called ‘magic’ that had existed as naturally as breathing.

‘Why is there suddenly magic here?’

His body shuddered with unease.

In that ominous moment, he suddenly felt his body disappearing. Poof!

“What, what is this!”

The next moment, Choi Hyeon-su was floating around in a quiet, dark space. Could this be the outer space he’d only seen in movies?

The cube in his hand burst with tremendous light like a bomb had gone off. Afraid of the vibrating, glowing cube, he let go, and the light that had been stretching further gathered together to form a planet. In that moment, Choi Hyeon-su realized.

“Don’t tell me I’m going back?! I don’t want to!!”

All sorts of colors and memories extending from this planet he was seeing for the first time. He struggled desperately, thrashing about like crazy. The dimensional rift was breathtakingly beautiful, but to Choi Hyeon-su, who had already adapted to modern society, it was nothing but a terrible nightmare.

“I like Korea! You want me to go back to a world without TV, smartphones, idols, or 3D movies?! I can’t! I won’t do it! Leave me alone!! Your Excellency Supreme Leader!”

***

“And then, I think I was born here.”

The ‘real’ Lucas Redan, who had finished his long story, swallowed nervously while watching my reaction.

“Ha, I’m really. This is so absurd.”

A hollow laugh escaped my lips. Right, I hadn’t even thought about what happened to Lucas Redan.

“Our two different stars mixed together to create a new star, and we were reborn there. Whether this is the reincarnation I’ve only heard about, or dimensional travel to a parallel world, I don’t know.”

I muttered while pressing my throbbing temples.

What kind of providence was this? The world where Choi Hyeon-su lived and the world where Lucas lived had merged. Both South Korea and Schufaben exist, a world where both magic and technology are highly developed.

My soul was reborn as Choi Hyeon-su again and lived a life similar to the original. Lucas Redan’s soul, which didn’t exist in this timeline, was born as a baby with a new name and lived a completely different life.

“But wait, you even cashed out your savings and housing subscription?”

As the story became somewhat organized, anger suddenly surged, and I grabbed Lucas by the collar. How much I had carefully saved that money!

“Ah, no, it doesn’t matter anyway! It’s a different world’s story now!”

“Well, that’s true…”

I muttered, then suddenly realized.

“This might not be just us two who were reincarnated.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“It might not be just your soul and mine that were transmitted here. I don’t know what the conditions are, but maybe.”

I jumped up and rushed out of the cafe.

“Hey! Where are you going!”

I retraced my steps back up the shopping street I’d eagerly run down and arrived in front of the store where I’d bought flowers. The blonde, blue-eyed young man was organizing flower pots. The moment I saw him, I was certain.

“Ah, why didn’t I notice earlier?”

I hesitated for a moment, then walked over and tapped the florist on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, excuse me.”

“Yes, customer. How may I help you?”

“Um…”

What should I say here? Do you know me? Haven’t we met somewhere?

‘Again, that sounds like a pickup line!’

While I was confused about what to say, or rather, what I even needed to do, I just stared blankly at him. The young man’s business smile wavered slightly.

“You… bastard!”

For a moment his face twisted in pain, then turned vicious.

“Oh, so seeing each other’s faces does bring back memories. Thanks for the verification.”

“Lucas Redan?!”

“That’s what I used to be, though not anymore. More importantly, Johann Werner as a florist? That’s disgustingly unsuitable.”

“……”

He muttered a quiet curse.

“Your wiki said your activities were unclear too, so you must have done a good job with the cover-up. But what was it again?”

“Get lost. From my life.”

“Yes yes, as you command.”

I was about to back away, then took out a business card from my wallet and shoved it into his shirt pocket.

“If you have anything to talk about, give me a call.”

Johann’s face soured completely. For some reason feeling amused, I waved at him and walked away. And the thought that clearly came to mind was this,

Someone needs to be found.

***

I rode the surface train all around Schufaben.

While frantically taking in the much-changed scenery, I personally confirmed places where my memories were buried.

The reincarnated Lucas Redan had lived a new life, but when you really looked at it, he ultimately couldn’t escape the trajectory of fate.

‘Look at him still working as a bartender in the end. And at that same bar I established.’

If that’s how this world works, wouldn’t everyone be the same?

Johann Werner becoming a florist was somewhat shocking, but maybe after Ossel was disbanded in his previous life, he really did open a flower shop or lived buried in wildflowers in the countryside.

Thinking like that, I went everywhere I could go.

Mrs. Schmidt’s boarding house was empty. Ossel headquarters had become some kind of stadium, and the factory Oscar attended and Richard’s hospital had changed into a park and a produce store respectively. Daniel’s newspaper office was still there, but I couldn’t meet anyone since it was the weekend.

The sun was gradually setting. Completely exhausted, I trudged into the national cemetery.

“At least this place is still the same.”

I sat down in front of the old gravestone.

Compared to the surrounding graves surrounded by flowers and fruit, this spot was uniquely empty.

“Hmm, Oliver. Did you reincarnate in this world too? I really don’t understand the rules. If it includes me and the real Lucas Redan, that’s fine, but what about Johann?”

Though the name Oliver was still more familiar to me than Damier. The sunset light quietly colored the gray gravestone.

After spending time in a daze for a while, I came out to find stars already rising.

“Ah, there’s no time left.”

Thinking about going to the airport early tomorrow morning, I had less than 12 hours left. I still had to attend to Executive Director Seo before that.

“Where should I go last…”

I hailed a taxi in front of the cemetery. Among the several options in my head, I blurted out the first place that came to mind.

The taxi drove for quite a while before entering the wealthy district of the 8th ward.

Why didn’t I think to come here when I was checking Richard’s hospital earlier? It’s so close, yet I took this long detour.

The mansion was exactly as I remembered it. There seemed to be some kind of party going on, with gorgeous lights and music and laughter flowing out. The side paths and garden of the mansion were quiet and dim, befitting a wealthy district.

I checked the nameplate attached next to the mansion’s front gate.

“It’s different, the name…”

It’s not Brightner. An unfamiliar surname was written there. I hesitated, then peered through the bars into the garden.

“Excuse me, who are you?”

A voice suddenly flew over, making me nearly jump out of my skin.

“Are you a party guest?”

I slowly turned around to see a woman with a slender figure wearing a light summer dress standing there.

“Ah…”

“Or are you a tourist? Did you get lost?”

“Woof! Woof woof!”

A large black dog started barking while wagging its tail, and the woman panicked and pulled on the leash.

“Wait, Titi! Calm down! Kyaa!”

“Aah!”

But the black dog leaped over and knocked me to the ground. A damp nose against my cheek, a wet tongue frantically licking me with joy.

“I’m sorry! He’s not usually like this! Titi, stop it!”

Looking at the woman frantically stamping her feet and the dog spinning its tail like a propeller, I burst out laughing.

“Hahaha! You came too, Colin? My instincts really are accurate.”

I hugged the black dog tightly and looked up at the flustered woman. After a moment’s hesitation, a whisper escaped my lips.

“Erika.”

“I’m really sorry—, what?”

“It’s Erika, right?”

“What are you talking about? My name is Mathilda…”

“Um, no, it’s just.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Was this really okay to do? But with the helium balloon in my chest constantly inflating until it felt like it would finally burst, I felt suffocated and muttered again.

“Erika.”

She was looking at me with those dark blue eyes. A face that was a little less cold and less hardened than in her previous life.

“You…”

The woman who had been backing away stopped abruptly. Her expression gradually changed. She opened her mouth, then trembled her lips, then drooped her eyes like she was about to cry.

“Lucas!!”

She screamed and staggered, then collapsed onto me as if falling.

“What the hell are you!!”

She punched my chest where she was pressed down on top of me.

“Ow, that hurts!”

“Why did you suddenly disappear?! And why are you showing up now!”

Tears welling up in her eyes, she sobbed and shouted.

“After I aged and died, after I forgot everything! Why are you making me remember those memories again…!”

“Sorry, did I come too late?”

Moisture began seeping into my voice too.

“I only realized today, about what happened in that world. If I’d known sooner, you…”

“When you disappeared, hic, do you know how shocked I was?! What was I supposed to tell my friends, sob!”

“I’m really sorry.”

This was truly something I should apologize for a hundred times and it still wouldn’t be enough. A person vanishing right before your eyes—how shocking that must have been.

Also, I knew well how crushing it was to recall an entire lifetime’s worth of memories. How those terrible memories changed you into a completely different person.

“I’m really selfish, aren’t I? It wasn’t like there were only good things in our past life. There must have been much more difficult and painful things, yet I made you remember them. I’m sorry.”

“If you know that, then you…!”

“But still, I just wanted to see you.”

I whispered while wiping away her tears. Erika sniffled and punched my chest again.

“Lucas, you know what.”

She glared at me with reddened eyes.

“You’re too selfish. You have no plan, you only do dangerous things, and you’re the worst as a man. Previous life or now, you’re exactly the same.”

“Really? That bad?”

A bitter smile escaped.

“Then I guess I should take back what I wanted to say.”

“What? What were you going to say?”

“Marry me, Erika.”

Ah, I said it. I wasn’t thinking about it at all, but it just came out.

In my previous life, at the moment I parted with her. When I was being an idiot and my whole body was crumbling just before being summoned to this different dimension. That’s what I was trying to say then.

The moment those words left my lips, Erika froze completely. Like time had stopped. I watched her nervously, and then she lowered her head. Just when I’d finally gotten her tears to stop, she started wailing again.

“You’re 100 years late…”

“Because I’m 100 years late, I wanted to say it before it got any later.”

I whispered in her ear while pulling her waist close. Erika, who had been lying on top of my chest, trembled like she’d been electrocuted, then closed her eyes. Nearby, Titi—no, Colin—whined and circled around us. I smiled slightly and bit those soft lips.

“Haa, uh, you…”

“I love you, Erika. I’ll stay by your side from now on.”

“……”

Erika’s face flushed bright red as she covered her eyes with both hands.

“I haven’t forgiven you.”

“Whether you forgive me or not, decide when I die. I’ll make up for everything I couldn’t do for 100 years in this lifetime.”

“Don’t talk about dying!”

“Then we’ll just meet again in the next life, right? I’ll keep searching for you forever.”

I wiped away her flowing tears once more. I kissed her again. Finally, Erika cried with what seemed like relief mixed with laughter.