A faint beam of light filtered through the window. Maybe it was the alcohol taking effect, but even though the sun was still high in the sky, my vision was already starting to blur. I blinked a couple of times to clear my sight, and the messy state of the room came into focus.

Empty bottles were scattered around where we sat, and the snacks that had been in bowls were now strewn all over the place. The cloth on the floor was sticky with spilled alcohol. It was a complete disaster. Both my brother and I were usually neat freaks, so this was a scene we would never tolerate under normal circumstances.

“If Jin-ha saw this, she’d probably faint.”

Jin-ha, who had been all smiles and winks when she brought us snacks, calling me “young master” behind my brother’s back—would she still be so cheerful if she saw this mess? Or would she still try to charm us with her smile? I chuckled at the thought.

I let out a long sigh, feeling the sweet scent of alcohol linger in my mouth as I exhaled.

“Tired?”

My brother must have mistaken my sigh for a yawn. I smacked my lips a couple of times and turned to see him looking as lively as ever. He was sitting comfortably on the bed, holding a nearly empty bottle.

Thinking back, I remembered that my brother could always hold his liquor better than me, whether in the present or back in the Hall Plain.

“If you’re tired, you can take a nap. There’s an empty room here anyway.”

He spoke with such gentle concern, but I shook my head slowly.

“I’m not drunk.”

“I know. I wasn’t asking if you were drunk, just if you were tired.”

“Ah.”

He chuckled softly, and I felt like I had been outmaneuvered. I turned my head back, reached out, and grabbed a new bottle that hadn’t been opened yet. With a pop, I removed the cap, and suddenly felt a warm presence against my back.

“So, why did you want to come here? I get the drinking part, but… was this really the place you wanted to visit?”

“Just… it reminds me of the past.”

“The past?”

“Do you remember anything from when we were in the modern world?”

I changed the subject without any real reason, and my perceptive brother caught on immediately.

“The modern world? What about it?”

“Remember when we were obsessed with American TV shows? We even set up our room like a mini-theater to watch them.”

“Oh, right. Was it The Big Bang Theory? Haha, we were so into it back then.”

“I loved it. We even filled a popcorn container with snacks and tilted the monitor so we could watch while lying down…”

“And then the monitor fell and cracked.”

We couldn’t see each other’s faces, but I could feel the slight tremor in his shoulder, indicating he was laughing. I smiled lightly and took a swig from the bottle. After wiping my mouth, I spoke quietly.

“Did we make it to season four? I wonder how many seasons there are now…”

“Probably more. If we ever get back, we can binge-watch them all… But is that why?”

“Hmm? Why what?”

“Why you chose this room as the place you wanted to visit. To relive some nostalgia from the modern world?”

He paused, as if surveying the room, then continued in a low voice.

“It doesn’t really look the same, though.”

And then, it happened.

”…No, that’s not it.”

Suddenly, my mind went blank. I stared at the wall, feeling as if I were in a trance, and continued speaking.

“This place…”

“Yeah?”

“This was the room I used when I was a member of the Haemil Clan.”

”…What?”

“It’s been almost a year now… I joined the Haemil Clan nine years ago.”

“Suhyeon?”

I felt a prickling sensation at the back of my neck. My brother must have sensed something was off.

“What are you…”

“Hyung.”

I cut him off and finally turned to face him. He looked at me with a puzzled expression, our faces so close that I could see my reflection in his eyes.

“I know it sounds strange. But please, just listen to me without interrupting.”

“You…”

“Please. I’m begging you.”

”…”

He didn’t respond.

Unable to bear his gaze any longer, I turned back to stare at the wall.

”…”

”…”

The silence stretched on, uncomfortable yet somehow soothing. As I sat there, I realized that maybe I had been hesitating all along, even though I knew I needed to speak.

“Alright, I’ll start.”

I didn’t need to wait for his response.

With that decision made, I began to speak quietly but steadily.

“There was a young man. He had just completed his military service and fell asleep on a train ride home.”

This was the story from eleven years ago, just before I entered the Hall Plain.

“When he woke up, he found himself in a strange place. Before he could grasp the situation, he was thrust into a trial by ordeal, forced to flee from monsters he’d never seen before. After barely surviving for seven days, he earned the right to enter a place called the Hall Plain, completely against his will.”

At some point, our backs had come together again. Feeling the warmth from behind, I felt a strange sense of comfort and resolved to continue.

I needed to get to the point. I had to draw a line so I couldn’t backtrack with a simple “just kidding.”

“And after ten years, the young man… no, the man, after countless trials, reached the pinnacle of the Hall Plain. He finally earned the right to return to Earth.”

”…”

“But he didn’t go back. Instead, he chose to turn back time and return to the moment he first entered the Hall Plain. Why? Because he had a purpose.”

”…”

“That man is me.”

I spoke without pause, fearing I might lose my nerve.

Only after I finished did I realize how hard my heart was pounding. I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. At the same time, I felt a jolt through my back, as if my brother had been startled.

I turned to look at him.

His face was expressionless, his eyes fixed on me, revealing nothing of his thoughts.

We held each other’s gaze for a while, and I noticed a slight flicker in his eyes. His lips parted slowly.

“Suhyeon.”

“I… I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Hearing those words, I closed my eyes tightly.

Of course, even I knew how unbelievable it sounded. But why did I feel so deflated?

Then it happened.

“So…”

When I realized he wasn’t finished, I swallowed hard.

“I’d like to hear more. Much more than what you just said.”

His words, spoken with a hint of curiosity, made me blink a few times.

Yes, just as I expected. Instead of dismissing it as nonsense, he was willing to listen. It meant he didn’t take my words lightly. He might not fully believe me, but his willingness to listen was enough for me.

I blinked again, biting my slightly trembling lip, and nodded slowly.

Finally, I spoke in a low voice.

”…So I decided. Rather than returning to Earth alone, I’d start over. I’d change the past, save everyone, and return with them.”

After finishing my story, I lifted my gaze from the floor to the window.

When we first arrived, the light was bright, but now the sun was setting. Watching the soft glow of twilight on the floor, I let out a long sigh.

It had taken just one word. Just one word asking for more details gave me the courage to recount everything I’d been through from start to finish.

Of course, I didn’t tell him everything. I left out the parts that were too shameful to admit—murder, theft, assault—and focused on the major events.

Even so, there was more than enough to tell, enough to overwhelm my brother. In fact, I worried that I had summarized too much, leaving some parts inadequately explained.

But it couldn’t be helped. Condensing ten tumultuous years into less than a day was no easy task.

Despite talking for hours without pause, my brother listened intently. He interrupted only a few times, mostly when I mentioned getting hurt.

When I told my brother about being stabbed in the stomach by Belphegor and passing out, he interrupted me with a furious, “What?”

Anyway.

I felt I had done my best to explain everything I could.

After I finished, my brother spoke first for the first time.

“I see. So that’s the story.”

He began tapping the floor with his index finger, a habit we both had when our minds were racing.

His face was calmer than I expected, but there was a stiffness to it, as if he was trying hard to appear unfazed. I knew the details I had shared were likely causing turmoil inside him.

Watching him for a while, I finally spoke up.

“It’s okay. Say whatever you need to.”

“I don’t know. It’s just… hearing all this at once… it’s too much to process.”

He answered honestly.

He sighed deeply, pausing his tapping.

“Suhyeon, it’s hard to believe everything you’ve said. But considering the things you knew before you came in… and your actions since… it does add up.”

“Adds up, huh…”

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you.”

He was firm in his response.

“But…”

He hesitated, not finishing his thought.

Feeling parched, I reached for a bottle of liquor, its amber glow catching the twilight. The liquid moistened my dry throat, but the thirst remained, like a drought-stricken field.

I looked at the now-empty bottle and spoke with effort.

“But?”

He stared at the floor with that familiar, solitary gaze. His face was flushed in the sunset’s glow.

After a moment, he finally spoke.

“I don’t know. Ever since I heard you were back, my heart’s been heavy with anxiety. I don’t even know why. Why does it feel so suffocating?”

I nodded a couple of times, understanding his mixed feelings. He was caught between acknowledging the truth and struggling to fully accept it.

I could empathize. If someone like Ansol suddenly claimed, “I’ve turned back time from the future!” I’d be skeptical too, no matter how much sense it made.

After a brief pause, I sighed and reached into my pocket. I pulled out the ‘Crystal of Truth’ and showed it to him. I didn’t want to use it, but…

“You know what this is, right?”

“That’s… the Crystal of Truth.”

“Exactly.”

I placed my hand on the crystal and infused it with magic. A small, pale flame flickered to life inside, signaling the activation of the ‘Crystal of Truth.’

Watching the gently wavering blue flame, I slowly spoke.

“What I said is true.”

”…You.”

He frowned briefly, then looked down at the crystal. His eyes widened as he confirmed the color hadn’t changed.

I spoke again for confirmation.

“I’ll say it again. Everything I’ve told you since I came in is true. I saw the end of the Hall Plane, turned back time, and returned here to change the past.”

The flame continued to burn blue.

Finally, his demeanor shifted.

From the moment we met outside the building until now, his attitude had been consistent. His voice and actions unchanged.

But now, his expression had clearly altered. It was as if he was both frozen and relieved.

How much time passed like that?

He finally covered his face with both hands. Through the gaps, I could hear his breath.

Without removing his hands, he spoke in a weak voice for the first time.

“So, it was true.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah? Ha. Haha… It was true. You really cleared this world.”

“That’s right.”

The ‘Crystal of Truth’ was about to run out of time.

“And for some ridiculous reason, you threw away the chance to go back.”

“Yeah… yeah?”

He slowly raised his head, lowering his hands to look at me. His intense gaze made me feel like he had come to some conclusion.

“Now I understand why I was anxious. Kim Suhyeon. Even if you did all that, even if you came back, did you think I’d be happy…?”

He stopped mid-sentence, lost in thought, then spoke again.

“No… never mind. Since the ‘Crystal of Truth’ is active, let me ask one more thing. Keep your hand on it.”

”…”

I was still mulling over his unfinished words when I realized he was waiting for my response.

“What is it?”

“You said I died trying to save you. Tell me about that part again, in detail.”

“Uh, which part?”

Even as I spoke, I felt a sting of guilt. I hadn’t lied, but I had omitted certain details.

But he pressed on, leaving no room for evasion.

“Suhyeon, did I beg you to save me when I was dying? Or ask you to find a way to bring me back?”

”…”

“Answer me.”

“No. You didn’t.”

I answered calmly, but my heart sank. I reached for the bottle again, but it was already empty.

“Then.”

“You told me not to save you. You told me to survive and see it through.”

Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

At that moment, the ‘Crystal of Truth’ reached the end of its duration.

I slowly, very slowly, removed my hand, feeling a sense of finality. As I lifted my head, I saw him standing upright, approaching me.

I was about to study his face closely.

Crash!

”!”

“What…?”

What just happened?

I looked down in shock to see the ‘Crystal of Truth’ shattered into pieces. Confusion overwhelmed me, but when I saw his face, I instinctively held my breath.

And he was the same.

He seemed about to say something, but upon seeing my face, he clamped his mouth shut. His expression was complex, filled with emotions I couldn’t quite name.

Then he spoke.

“Why, why…?”

“Why… what?”

I reflexively touched my face. What kind of expression was I making? What did he see that made him react like that?

“Ugh…!”

He kept trying to speak, but each time he suppressed it, letting out a pained groan. Then, suddenly, he sat down, meeting my gaze at eye level.

“You… idiot…!”

His voice was strained, trembling. I could instinctively tell he had much more to say, but he had poured it all into that one sentence.

Then I felt his warm hand gently rest on my head.

And at that moment.

”…You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”

I clenched my teeth. Suddenly, his image began to blur, and I reflexively closed my eyes.

I can’t fully describe the feeling. It was as if all the pain I’d endured over the past ten years was being compensated for with just those words.

I could finally understand a bit of what he felt earlier. Not exactly the same, but perhaps the opposite.

Like him, I suppressed all the words I wanted to say and managed to utter just one.

“No. It’s okay.”

I felt his hand softly stroke my hair. I opened my eyes briefly, then closed them again as the image wavered.

Feeling his gaze sweeping over me, I wished for this moment to pass quickly, yet also hoped it would last a little longer.

In that mix of emotions, I quietly thought to myself.

Confessing wasn’t such a bad choice after all.

---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=

I’m sorry. I felt refreshed after a nap, but my condition worsened while writing. I kept lying down, writing, lying down, and eventually fell asleep. I apologize for the delay due to my poor health. (__)

PS. When I clicked to upload, there was a sudden surge in traffic, causing connection issues. After about four attempts, it finally went through. I noticed four chapters went up at once, so I quickly deleted three.