4. RETRY

At my question, Choi Dohyun looked at me with surprise, lips slightly parted. I met his gaze in silence, as if to say I’d wait for an answer. He blinked several times, flustered, then touched the corner of his mouth and narrowed his eyes.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I explained.”

“……”

“I don’t mean you’re not capable of understanding. I mean you literally won’t be able to.”

Was he just trying to avoid the question? My expression hardened. Seeing that, Choi Dohyun looked down at me, then finally opened his lips as if he had no choice—but no sound came out. A sensation both familiar and foreign crept over my entire body.

It felt like time had stopped, or like someone was controlling me—an all-too-familiar feeling. I frowned, and Choi Dohyun clicked his tongue sharply, as if to mock my reaction.

“I just explained it.”

“…You explained it?”

“Yes.”

Had my memory been wiped? Or had I simply failed to perceive it? I was rattled. If this was how it worked, it made perfect sense why I’d never heard those words before—and why Choi Dohyun could speak them so freely. If I couldn’t understand them anyway, there was no reason for him to be careful.

Watching my confused expression, Choi Dohyun ran his hand messily through his hair and opened his mouth.

“I can’t really explain it properly… Honestly, I don’t even know. How can you remember that…?”

An error? His voice faded, scattered, and my eyelids trembled slightly, like a tic. My chest felt tight—so tight I wanted to scream. What do you mean? What do you know? Why aren’t you shaken by any of this?

What exactly am I to you?

Before I could ask, a loud thud shook the ground. Like an earthquake, the shaking was intense. I barely kept my balance as I turned my head. The monster had grown even larger and was rampaging.

It opened its mouth and devoured the zombies and corpses swarming on the floor, growing bigger with every bite.

“…This is driving me insane.”

Was it angry because it had just lost us? The monster roared furiously and began smashing all the pillars in the train station.

Boom, boom, boom!

The building swayed violently, as if it would collapse at any moment. Choi Dohyun, who had merely scowled earlier, now looked genuinely flustered and reached out toward me.

“Are you—”

But before he could grab me, the building tilted sharply from the external impact. I fell, unable to find balance, and reached out to grab anything within reach. But all I caught was the cold, damp air.

“Hyung!”

Clunk—the sound of a door swinging open. The space behind me felt hollow. A strong wind roared past my ears, and I let out a short gasp as my body was lifted. I looked up. The ceiling that should’ve been white was now replaced by a sky full of clouds. Rain fell ceaselessly onto my body.

Rrrrip—the sound of something tearing, and then sharp teeth appeared above me. A blast of humid air and the stench of rotting corpses filled my nose. By the time I realized I had fallen, I was lying on a slimy tongue, and the building collapsed without resistance.

Everything appeared to move in slow motion. It felt distant, like it had nothing to do with me. Countless screams echoed behind me like whispers, and the last thing I saw was Choi Dohyun reaching out his hand—then came the sensation of my entire body being crushed by unbearable pain.

In that moment, it felt as though the world had stopped. As if a massive meteor had flown toward me, everything in front of me turned blood red. A searing heat blazed through my body like it was being burned alive, and my eyeballs throbbed as if they were roasting. Gasping from the shock, I drew a deep breath—but the scorching air that filled my lungs made me shudder and take a step back.

Beeeep.

A sharp mechanical noise rang out. I hurriedly covered my ears, trying to block the piercing warning tone, but the sound didn’t stop. Boom, boom. Something thudded against my chest, as if trying to hammer through, while screams and wailing from unknown sources erupted around me in a deafening roar.

I felt like a worthless ant. Helpless, as if my whole body could be crushed with the slightest pressure. Panting, I clutched my chest, but the suffocation didn’t let up.

Beeep, beep, beeep…

The sharp mechanical tone, which had continued unbroken, slowly faded, giving way to a rhythmic pattern before disappearing altogether.

Haaah… Only then was I able to lift my head. The red text that had been glowing now turned a deep, blood-like shade and flickered threateningly before my eyes.

Error in progress: 28%
Error in progress: 29%
Error in progress: 30%

The numbers changed rapidly. The higher they climbed, the more violently the text shook.

Clatter, clatter, clatter…

The ground trembled accordingly, and everything I could see began to shatter. The sound of things splitting apart was far from pleasant.

Error in progress: 51%

And when the numbers finally stopped, I clenched my fists tightly against the sensory overload. It felt like someone who had only ever seen in black and white was suddenly exposed to every color in the world. I could hear sounds that shouldn’t exist, feel the flow of air with hyper-sensitivity. My stomach churned, and I felt like I would vomit.

At 99% progress, deletion will be executed.
Forced shutdown is not possible during update.
[ Rebooting program… ]
Reboot failed due to critical error.
A temporary program will run instead.
[ Time remaining until program starts ]
<< 71 : 59 : 59 >>

Until execution, ▒▒▒ mode will continue.

Countless messages appeared and vanished in waves. The only difference was that, for a brief moment, I could actually read and understand some of them. But it didn’t last long—the once-legible text suddenly shattered into unreadable characters, emitting a blindingly sharp light.

QW5hbHl6aW5nIGVycm9yIGNvZGV
QW5hbHlzaXMgQ29tcGxldGVkCg==
RXJyb3IgY29kZQoK : ▒▒▒▒ / ▒▒
U29tZSBwcm9ncmFtcyB3aWxsIGV==

With the final line of indecipherable code, my vision went dark. Like someone who had gone blind, I couldn’t see a thing—but my heart was calm. The burning heat that had seemed to engulf me was gone, the pounding headache had vanished, and those disturbing sounds were no longer present. No more smell of rotting corpses, no more crushing pain.

The calm didn’t last. In the distance, I heard the sound of water. A fishy, musty stench accompanied a strong gust of wind. Reflexively, I squeezed my eyes shut at the low hum that followed. When the wind stopped, I finally raised my gaze.

The first thing I saw was instant noodles and snacks on a desk. Empty wrappers and half-full water bottles were scattered around, along with grimy control panels resting beneath them.

I quietly lowered my head and checked my hands. I opened and closed my fist, confirming that it moved according to my will.

“Um… I thought you were about to leave… Should we stay a bit longer instead?”

At Yoon Seohwa’s voice, I calmly looked up. Not far from me, Choi Dohyun was staring at a sheet of A4 paper, and she was glancing between the two of us nervously while holding the doorknob.

“…I think I finally understand now.”

Choi Dohyun muttered as he set the A4 paper down. Yoon Seohwa quietly let go of the door and cautiously stepped back. Ah. I raised a hand to my eyes and stumbled before barely managing to sit on a dusty chair.

“Hyung.”

“…….”

At the sound of footsteps approaching, I weakly let my hands fall and lifted my head. Choi Dohyun was already standing in front of me, looking down with an unreadable expression, as if studying my face.

I quietly opened my mouth and said,
“I remember.”

At my words, he let out a long sigh and knelt on the floor. Gently holding my hand, he patted it softly as he began to speak. It felt like he was comforting a child.

“We need Yoon Seohwa.”

We need her… I glanced toward the door where Yoon Seohwa was standing. She stood still, staring out the window as if she couldn’t hear us at all. A chill ran down my spine, and I exhaled slowly before asking Choi Dohyun,

“Did you turn back time?”

“……Yes.”

“Using a save file.”

“……Yes.”

He didn’t deny it. He didn’t even ask how I remembered. The voice that had muttered something about an error resurfaced clearly in my mind, yet Choi Dohyun simply… simply looked like someone who was waiting for me to accept all of this.

“This place is…”

My thoughts were a chaotic mess. It felt like someone had shoved me into a small container and shaken it violently. Dizzying, voiceless, breathless—like I was dying.

My lips moved, but no words came out. Choi Dohyun met my eyes and held my hand tighter.

“Hyung, this place is—”

“No. You don’t… You don’t need to say it.”

The words fell heavy, and I hurriedly shook my head as I interrupted. My head throbbed. I lifted my hand to my neck, as if trying to soothe a constriction there, and gasped for breath. Choi Dohyun stared at me in silence and sighed, while I flinched and tried to pull my hand away, but he wouldn’t let go so easily.

“It’s okay.”

What was okay? Was what I was thinking really right? Or had I misunderstood something? But I couldn’t bring myself to ask for clarification. Because if it turned out to be true, I didn’t know how I was supposed to respond.

Things that had seemed strange were beginning to make sense. A dead person doesn’t just come back to life. You can’t rewind time to just before your death. Time travel isn’t something people can do.

Even if I considered the idea that he might have some kind of supernatural ability, the doubts I had never voiced were now crawling all over my mind like swarms of insects.

I let out a groan and barely lifted my head. Each word I forced out felt like it drained a massive amount of energy. And even then, Yoon Seohwa stood by the window, her gaze vacant like a lifeless doll. She looked unreal.

“Why did you turn back time to this point?”

“…Because we need Yoon Seohwa.”

“What do you need her for?”

“She used to work at the train station, so she probably knows the layout well. She’ll know where the keys are too. It’ll be easier to clear this.”

It’ll be easier, he added. I moved my sore throat and swallowed hard. The word “clear” felt like a blade carving straight into my chest.

I bit the inside of my lip. I wanted to ask why he hadn’t turned back time sooner. While he spoke so calmly, he kept glancing at me, gauging my reaction.