The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 129

129. The Promise

Late afternoon, the sun hung low on the horizon, painting the ruined city in a warm, red glow.

The rooftop of the Manan Police Station.

A vintage sofa sat squarely in the center.

It was Kang Si-On’s favorite spot.

From there, he could survey the entirety of Anyang, a symbolic place marking where he first rose to become the Monarch of Mangyeong.

And now, Jin Jae-Hee occupied it, chain-smoking cigarettes.

“……”

Already her fifth in a row.

Cigarette butts formed a small heap around her feet.

Jae-Hee’s body, though wounded in the battle with Park Ji-Soo, was healing quickly.

It hadn’t even been a serious injury to begin with.

But the mental scars lingered.

When she tore through Park Ji-Soo’s body, fragments of her past life resurfaced.

Her father. And her dream.

It was a memory steeped in regret and pain.

She thought she had buried it all in her past life, but its sudden reemergence was jarring.

Jae-Hee struggled to steady her trembling hands as she took a long drag from her cigarette.

The smoke burned its way down her throat, filling her lungs, and her chest expanded.

Just then, the rooftop door creaked open, and a man stepped out.

“You were here.”

Thump.

Kang Si-On, fresh from his bath, walked over and sat down beside her.

The moment he settled in, Jae-Hee’s body gave a barely perceptible flinch.

Si-On gazed out over the cityscape and asked, “Have you been drinking?”

Jae-Hee sniffed at her own clothes and replied to Si-On, “A little.”

“Doesn’t seem like a little to me.”

In truth, she had downed three bottles of soju [a Korean distilled rice liquor] mixed with water.

Moreover, the more she smoked, the more potent the alcohol seemed to become.

But she was reluctant to reveal her drunk 모습 [Korean for ‘appearance’ or ‘state’] and denied it.

“Really… I only had a little.”

Jae-Hee took another puff of her cigarette.

The smoke that escaped her lips dissipated into the air.

Si-On glanced at her as he continued to survey the city.

Then he asked, “Why do you smoke?”

“……Cigarettes?”

Startled by his question, Jae-Hee looked down at the cigarette pinched between her fingers.

In fact, even she didn’t truly know.

Why she smoked.

It wasn’t pleasurable, and it certainly wasn’t beneficial to her health.

But she couldn’t explain it.

Why she smoked.

She had started smoking as she lived, and before she knew it, she felt like she couldn’t function without cigarettes.

Jin Jae-Hee took another drag and exhaled the smoke.

Then, his next words caught Jae-Hee completely off guard.

She never expected Si-On to broach such a subject.

He hadn’t smoked in his past life either.

“Can I have one?”

“……Huh?”

Jae-Hee stared at him, surprised.

“Let me try one. Give it to me.”

“……”

It wasn’t that she was unwilling to share her cigarettes.

But for some reason, Jae-Hee felt a pang of guilt at the thought of him smoking.

It felt like introducing a friend who had always abstained to the habit.

No, it felt more akin to offering a cigarette to a family member.

But cigarettes were, technically, Kang Si-On’s property, so she couldn’t exactly forbid him.

Jae-Hee hesitated, looking at the cigarette she was holding, then reached for a fresh one.

But Si-On stopped her.

“Just a puff is enough.”

“……Okay.”

She handed him the cigarette she was smoking. Si-On gingerly took it and awkwardly inhaled.

But he couldn’t draw the smoke deeply, merely holding it in his mouth before exhaling.

Then, Jae-Hee cautiously offered, “You have to draw it into your throat……”

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Draw it into my throat?”

“Yeah, uh.”

Si-On followed her instructions and inhaled the cigarette fully.

Almost immediately, he erupted in a fit of coughing, smoke billowing around him.

Si-On returned the cigarette to Jae-Hee and said, “It’s not good. It tastes burnt.”

Seeing Si-On cough, Jae-Hee covered her mouth and giggled.

Jae-Hee felt a strange surge of happiness from his actions.

“Of course, it doesn’t taste good. But there are tasty ones too.”

“What’s tasty about cigarettes?”

Si-On smacked his lips, feeling a dryness in his mouth as he spoke.

Jae-Hee leaned slightly closer to him and said in a slightly raised tone, “It’s true. There are sweet-tasting cigarettes. And cool-tasting cigarettes. There are also very strong ones, but I can’t smoke those either. They’re called Reds.”

Si-On coughed a couple more times and looked at Jae-Hee’s face, now alight with laughter.

It was the first time…… he had truly seen it.

Jin Jae-Hee, laughing freely and without reservation.

She was someone who knew how to laugh.

Laughing when she felt like laughing.

Talking when she felt like talking.

After the war ended, Si-On had been concerned by Jin Jae-Hee’s persistent gloom.

He worried if some fundamental shift had occurred within her.

But thankfully, she seemed to be alright.

“What did you do in your past life? I know you exercised.”

This kind of conversation was unusual for people who had been together for so long.

But until now, they hadn’t even had the opportunity to talk.

After the war ended, Si-On, finally with some free time, found himself curious about her life.

Jae-Hee tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and replied, “I…… didn’t do much. Just a freeloader.”

Si-On placed the water bottle on the table in front of the sofa and pressed, “Didn’t you do anything at all?”

“……What I was doing… Singing?”

“Singing?”

Si-On was surprised and turned to look at her.

It was an unexpected revelation.

Jae-Hee was listlessly pressing her cheeks with her hands.

Her lips protruded slightly with each press.

“What kind of singing? Were you a singer?”

“No, no. Not at all. I wasn’t a singer. If I had to say, an aspiring one?”

“Singing……”

Si-On also held fond memories associated with singing.

Listening to music was an enjoyable activity that required no payment.

“……It wasn’t a big deal. I wasn’t famous. I released a few songs. About two thousand views on YouTube. But a video of me busking went viral…… and that was it.”

“Do you want to be a singer?”

“I want to be a singer. I want to be a singer, but……”

Jae-Hee turned away from Si-On and looked up at the sky.

An unidentified creature soared through the air.

Watching it, she sighed deeply.

“I gave up.”

“……Why.”

“I didn’t have the talent.”

No talent.

That word sounded so cruel.

Si-On had lived his life without even understanding what talent truly meant.

He hadn’t even been given a chance.

“Sing a song, once.”

Si-On said, almost to himself.

But Jae-Hee immediately shook her head.

“No, no. I can’t. I don’t have a guitar either.”

“Why? It’s just me here. And the guitar is over there. The Minister of Labor brought it because it’s his hobby.”

Si-On pointed to the guitar leaning against one side of the rooftop.

Right now, Jae-Hee felt a surge of annoyance towards the Minister of Labor.

“……No, still.”

“I want to listen.”

With that, Si-On fixed her with an unwavering gaze.

It was true that he genuinely wanted to hear her sing.

He was also curious.

He wanted to understand the life she had lived until now.

Why, wasn’t there a saying that to truly know a person, you had to see the path they had walked?

Kang Si-On wanted to know more about the person Jin Jae-Hee.

But more than he anticipated, asking someone who sings to sing, the person is a bit burdened.

Even if that is their job and what they are good at.

Moreover, it would be even more so in front of Kang Si-On.

“……”

She hesitated for a moment.

If he asked… No, if he said he wanted to hear her voice with those eyes, it was difficult to refuse.

‘It’s been too long since I sang.’

When alcohol rises, you tend to do things you wouldn’t normally dare to do.

People say that’s making mistakes while drunk.

But there are times when such mistakes are necessary.

Kang Si-On’s words were refreshing to Jin Jae-Hee.

Because he had approached her.

Kang Si-On, who had never opened his heart to anyone, was now opening his heart to her for the first time.

Jin Jae-Hee decided to make a mistake.

“Then, just one verse……”

In the end, she picked up the Minister of Labor’s guitar and sat down.

* * *

She tuned the guitar and cleared her throat once.

A beautiful melody flowed from the guitar strings she plucked with her fingertips.

Even though it was just one syllable, it calmed her heart.

Soon, she started playing.

At first, she sang softly, as if a little shy.

Most of her voice was masked by the guitar, but she couldn’t hide her beautiful tone.

Now she slowly started to project her voice.

Singing along to the guitar melody, slowly. And slowly began to melt her heart.

It was warm.

The expression ‘warm’ was accurate.

A gentle warmth filled the space where she and I were sitting, enveloping our bodies.

Until she made this voice, until she played the guitar and sang in front of others.

I felt like I knew a little about what kind of life she had lived.

Climax.

She was now singing out loud, with full force.

Whenever the note wavered slightly, she smiled faintly, raising the corners of her lips.

In the middle of a phrase, she quickly swept the flowing hair behind her ears.

The left hand holding the chords moved quickly here and there, and the right hand touched the guitar strings with a constant rhythm.

She, who had promised only one verse, was now launching into the second.

At the same time, she displayed a smile that she usually kept hidden.

It was a happy smile.

The more she sang, the more an uncontainable smile spread across her face.

I lay comfortably on the sofa and listened to the song until the end of the performance.

How long has it been since I felt this comfortable?

It was truly relaxing.

And I felt a flicker of happiness.

* * *

Jae-Hee pressed down on the guitar strings and finished the song.

Then she looked at Si-On’s face.

“How was it……?”

“……”

Si-On was silent for a moment.

Jae-Hee felt a pang of anxiety, wondering if he hadn’t enjoyed her song.

But Si-On smiled and said, “It was good. It was so good.”

Only then did Jae-Hee allow herself to smile too.

“……Really?”

“What song is it?”

“British singer. Mellon Five. Lost Dream.”

“……It’s good. That. Is it because you sang it?”

“No. The original song is crazy good. The singer’s unique tone is incredible. Honestly, I can’t even match half of the original.”

“Still, it’s good.”

Si-On plucked the guitar strings on the sofa once or twice.

Then he looked at her and said, “If you keep singing, you’ll definitely be successful.”

Jae-Hee smiled at Si-On’s encouragement.

Then she said in a subdued voice, “……If I can keep doing it, that is.”

His words, that she would be successful if she continued to sing, sounded like a hollow joke for some reason.

But Si-On was not joking at all.

“Someday, I want to hear your song on stage.”

Si-On said as he rose from the sofa.

At those words, Jae-Hee smiled slightly and said, “It’s my dream. To sing in front of an audience.”

“Quit smoking first. It’s contradictory.”

“Huh? What is.”

Jae-Hee habitually reached for a cigarette, then turned around in surprise.

Thump.

Si-On leaned his arms against the back of the sofa and said, “You say you want to go back, you want to go back to the original world and live. Why don’t you take care of your voice? Did you unconsciously give up? Thinking that you can’t go back, you don’t even take care of your voice. Your voice is good. Honestly, I don’t know much about music. But your song is definitely good. So take care of your voice. It would be a waste if you actually went back and lost that voice and couldn’t sing.”

Jae-Hee turned her head and looked up at him.

She was silent for a moment, then lowered her head and said, “If…… we go back. Will we be able to remember each other? Going back means forgetting all the memories we have until now.”

Returning everything meant returning to the original life, erasing all memories.

Of course, it wasn’t certain.

The victors could return with their memories intact, or everyone could forget everything and return to the beginning.

To the old Republic of Korea, which looks peaceful but is not entirely peaceful.

In any case, the process the two are doing now does not change.

Fight.

Win.

Move forward.

These are the only three processes.

“Whatever it is, nothing changes. We promised. If you let me find my brother, I’ll fulfill your purpose.”

Thump.

Si-On pushed off the back of the sofa slightly and moved away.

“The Suwon expedition starts in 6 months. Prepare for it by then. Rest well today.”

Si-On walked towards the rooftop door.

Jae-Hee crushed the cigarette pack she was holding and grabbed Si-On, who was turning back.

“Si-On.”

“?”

Si-On turned to look at her, his hand on the rooftop doorknob, and their eyes met.

“Then, after everything is back to normal, if I have the memories of now, be sure to come to my stage. Even if I lose my memory, I’ll become a really famous singer enough for you to come to my stage naturally.”

“……”

“……So be sure to come. I’ll sing properly for you then.”

It felt like a distant future.

A promise to attend her stage, whether she retained her memories or not.

It was a promise that couldn’t be made lightly.

Even if Si-On emerged as the victor, there was no guarantee that he would return with his memories intact.

Si-On would have refused if it were normal.

Because he is a systematic and planned person.

He doesn’t even dream of dreams that can’t be achieved in the first place.

Because he doesn’t even make promises that can’t be kept in the first place.

But this time it was different.

He decided to meet her on her terms.