Chapter 497. Different From Then (2)
Chi-Woo had spoken reflexively because he thought he needed to say something. But it wasn’t like he was just sputtering anything thoughtlessly. After hearing Chi-Hyun’s genuine feelings for the first time in his life, Chi-Woo was truly shocked. Until now, Chi-Woo had thought of himself as the sorrowful lead of some kind of tragic tale. He wondered if anyone would’ve lived a more unusual life than him, but that wasn’t the case.
His brother wanted to go to school, make friends, and hang out with them. He also wanted to date and have a family. These were normal things that anyone could fulfill, and Chi-Hyun’s dream wasn’t much different from Chi-Woo’s. No, instead, one could say that Chi-Woo had lived a better life than Chi-Hyun regarding this dream. Chi-Woo at least completed elementary, middle, and high school, had some friends, and overall, lived the life that Chi-Hyun dreamed of.
That was why this was a huge shock for him. Chi-Woo had only thought about things from his perspective and never considered Chi-Hyun’s situation. There was no way Chi-Hyun would truly want this dull, repetitive life similar to running on a hamster wheel.
‘Is that why…?’ Thinking this, Chi-Woo began to understand the rumors surrounding Chi-Hyun. He now understood why Chi-Hyun had a cold ruthlessness about him unlike an archetypal hero and abided by the doctrine of the results justifying the means. It wasn’t because of some great sense of duty or responsibility that he forced himself to do things he didn’t want to. He must’ve felt like he was swimming in a vast sea with no end in sight.
He would’ve lost his mind if he became too immersed and involved in what he was doing, and as the same thing happened again and again, it was no wonder he would adopt the mindset that saving a world was all that mattered in the end. Chi-Woo understood how much Chi-Hyun would’ve wanted to stop or quit midway and empathized with his brother more than anyone else.
Thus, Chi-Woo genuinely meant it when he said, “Thanks for telling me. You should’ve told me earlier. Yeah, let’s do that. Let’s return to Earth after saving Liber. Then we’ll recover our parents’ memories and tell them of the situation…and you can live the life you want.”
Chi-Woo looked up at the night sky and continued, “Since it’s too much for you to go back to elementary, middle, or high school, you should take the GED. Then, you will be able to go to college. You can be those freshmen who enroll later.”
“Wh—"
“Or you can go to the Korean National Open University. There will be plenty of people older than you, so you won’t have to feel self-conscious about your age.”
Chi-Hyun looked baffled like he hadn’t expected Chi-Woo’s response at all.
“Well, if you really don’t want to miss out on those elementary or middle-school years, just tell me, and I can turn back time for you. It wouldn’t be so bad for you to become my younger brother.”
Chi-Hyun looked beyond baffled now. He seemed to be wordlessly asking what Chi-Woo was going on about.
“Just to be clear, you can’t turn me down,” Chi-Woo said firmly like he was putting a seal on a contract. “I already set my mind to make this happen as soon as you told me your genuine feelings. This is what I want to do, so even if you raise all sorts of fuss saying you’ve changed your mind, I will forcefully make you live a life like that.” Chi-Woo said this knowing that Chi-Hyun would refuse even if he suggested that Chi-Hyun lived the life he wanted. Chi-Hyun would snort at Chi-Woo and tell him to stop uttering nonsense and focus on his own life. Thus, it was definite that Chi-Hyun’s future wouldn’t change even if they resolved everything here and returned to Earth.
No matter what Chi-Hyun really wanted, he was put in a situation he couldn’t break out of. Even if he wanted to free himself from all responsibility and duties, he couldn’t do it. Thus, Chi-Woo vowed to forcefully change Chi-Hyun’s situation and make him live the life he had been seeking.
Chi-Hyun looked speechless. Did he dislike Chi-Woo’s proposal? No, there was no way he would hate the idea of living the life he yearned for so much, but Chi-Hyun knew better than anyone else that this wasn’t a matter that could simply be solved with words. In the end, he couldn’t bear it any longer and opened his mouth to protest.
“Ah, I know what you are going to say.” But Chi-Woo cut him off before he could get a word out. “You’re probably gonna say, ‘Who do you think you are? You think someone like you can make that happen?’ Right?”
Chi-Hyun closed his mouth and pursed his lips in response. Chi-Woo smirked.
“This is why you can’t be a Challenger,” Chi-Woo continued.
“W-What did you say?”
“The Grandmaster tier is perfectly fitting for you. In other words, you are just a GM. Ever heard of it?” Chi-Woo fake-coughed. “But I’m different from you. I’m a Challenger.”
“Are you really trying to show off your tier right now—!”
“But have you ever tried it?” At Chi-Woo's sudden question, Chi-Hyun’s eyes widened.
“Have you ever challenged your fate?”
“…”
“You never did. Crushed by reality, you always accepted your situation and gave up. That’s why you remain at Grandmaster tier. Isn’t that right?”
Chi-Hyun couldn’t deny it. This was a truth that he had to accept.
“…In the first place, you don’t even know what I decided to challenge.” Chi-Woo’s voice settled down. Chi-Hyun was silent for a moment. But soon afterward, his eyes gradually opened wider, and he stammered.
“Did you…perhaps…?”
“The Legend? The Celestial Realm? All of that will become meaningless the moment the war with the Sernitas is over.” Chi-Woo gave him a meaningful smile. “Because at the end of this war, I will become great.” So great that no one could force anything on him. He would be able to exert so much influence that he could even save his other selves from other parallel worlds, and he would be able to grant someone’s wish at the flip of his hand. He would be able to accomplish what even a ninth or tenth celestial rank god wouldn’t dare to do as easily as breathing.
“The greatest existence in this whole universe.”
Chi-Hyun’s jaw slightly dropped at Chi-Woo’s declaration. He was at a loss for words as he stared at Chi-Woo.
“So, I’m telling you. Don’t overexert yourself too much, and just think of the future that’s waiting for you on Earth.” During his conversation with his brother, Chi-Woo could see the overwhelming exhaustion in Chi-Hyun. While running in this endless cycle to who knows where, his brother’s footsteps seemed to have slowed down noticeably. Chi-Hyun was almost stopping like a general choosing to die on a battlefield.
[If you must really know, basically, what had all been red suddenly changed to all green.]
[But if that happened because of the ‘cause’ you talked about, it’s understandable.]
[And I have a good guess on what I need to do then.]
Chi-Woo didn’t know what his brother had meant back then, but he didn’t like how relieved and self-deprecating his brother sounded at that time. Thus, Chi-Woo would break this cycle by force if he had to. Perhaps his brother would change his mind if his future life changed and he was given a reason to return to Earth alive other than things like snacks. In other words, he would gain the proper hope to continue living.
“So, don’t act out unnecessarily and just quietly support me from behind—just like what you have done until now.”
Chi-Hyun’s mouth opened and closed again. He wanted to ask, ‘what about you?’ but there was no need to ask that. He had already heard the answer to that question during the war with the Abyss. No, he had heard it again just now. Whether they were legends or the Celestial Realm, Chi-Woo would make them all meaningless and control the whole universe himself. It was an idea and task so great that Chi-Hyun couldn’t even picture what would happen then, but he couldn’t simply laugh at his brother.
“Why? Do you think I can’t do it?” Chi-Woo glanced at Chi-Hyun as he blankly stared at him. “Come on. I’m still your younger brother. You think I can’t do at least that much for you?”
Chi-Hyun shook his head. He knew that Chi-Woo’s fate was to make a new beginning and order in the universe. And Chi-Woo crossed his arms and nodded at Chi-Hyun’s silent agreement.
“How is it?” Chi-Woo asked. “How does it feel to have such a good brother?”
“…”
“Why don’t you answer me now? Do you still think that I shouldn’t have been born?”
Chi-Hyun was caught off guard by the question.
[You…shouldn’t have been born.]
Chi-Woo couldn’t forget those words because hearing them had felt like getting stabbed in the back by his brother. It was the same for Chi-Hyun at that time. Though he wasn’t the one who heard these words, he had felt the same as Chi-Woo.
“At that time, I—” Chi-Hyun opened his mouth instinctively and closed it again. No matter what reasons he had, he had still uttered those words. He couldn’t take them back once he said them. Yes…they would only be excuses now.
Knowing why Chi-Hyun was hesitating, Chi-Woo spoke up.
“It can’t be helped that I was already hurt by those words, but…there’s a way to stitch that wound,” Chi-Woo said more forcefully when Chi-Hyun hesitated. “I know that you didn’t truly mean it.”
Chi-Hyun let out the sigh he had been holding. The sigh came from deep within him, and he said, “I didn’t say those words…because I truly disliked you.” He spoke in a quiet tone. “Instead, I said it because I hated myself—the me from very long ago, when I was still very childish.”
Chi-Woo wondered what his brother was going on about now.
“Since you were born…because of me.”
Chi-Woo looked at his brother questioningly.
“It’s all because of me,” Chi-Hyun repeated. “It’s because of me that you were born into this damn family and had to suffer because of it.”
Chi-Woo frowned, but he didn’t know how to respond.
“It’s just that you and I are the same. I didn’t want you to suffer because of me. More so because you are my family and not some random person.” It appeared that for the first time, Chi-Hyun was going to reveal a bit of what he had been keeping as a secret. “I…wanted to return everything back to square one. In order to do that, I needed to bear much more responsibilities than before since it all happened because of me in the first place.” It almost sounded like a confession.
“But everything became meaningless…with your entry to this world. Thus, I couldn’t help but despair.”
Though Chi-Woo didn’t know what exactly his brother was saying, he understood that Chi-Hyun truly despaired because of this mysterious reason.
“That’s all…because…I…to you…” Chi-Hyun’s voice grew faint until his lips curled into a bitter smile. He thought he had made up his mind and cemented his determination, but it all broke down because of a few words from Chi-Woo.
Chi-Woo stared intently at his brother, who seemed unable to continue. ‘Is that all?’ he seemed to say.
Seeing this expression, it suddenly occurred to Chi-Hyun that his brother truly never changed.
[I will help you.]
[Let’s return to Earth together since I will help you save Liber.]
Thinking about it, that spirit was right. Chi-Woo was the same as before and as he was now. He entered Liber for one person alone and came all this way for that one goal. He was still striving for the same thing after somehow finding out about its true cause. Chi-Hyun tried to recall what he had said in response at that time.
[Then you wouldn’t have done something so foolish like this.]
[Stop. You are going to help me? Stop uttering complete nonsense. I don’t need it. Just shut up and stay put quietly somewhere!]
He had pushed his brother away. He ignored Chi-Woo and insulted Chi-Woo because he didn’t trust his brother. Now that Chi-Woo had progressed and grown so much, however, he couldn’t say those words. It was unexpected. He didn’t dream of such things happening. Of course, Chi-Hyun thought he was in the wrong for speaking to his brother so harshly at that time. No matter how angry or how much despair he felt, he shouldn’t have said those words. But he didn’t apologize even till the end because as Chi-Woo said, Chi-Hyun had left behind everything and given up.
He planned to live with that guilt all his life. Though he had been a great hero, if he went to hell because of this one statement, he planned to accept it willingly. But if that wasn’t what his brother wanted and though words that had already been said couldn’t be erased, Chi-Hyun was willing to make an opportunity to turn things over.
“…Thank you.” Chi-Hyun finally broke the silence. “Thank you for coming all this way…for a terrible brother like me.” Then, he continued, “Let’s save Liber together…and return to Earth together.”
Chi-Hyun inhaled slightly, and Chi-Woo closed his eyes. After putting his hands on the left side of his chest, he smiled faintly. It was because his heart, which had kept pounding nonstop to the point it worried him, was finally calming down and beating normally again.
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