The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me

Chapter 206 Shi-eon’s casual question about whether I had woken up properly left me dumbfounded. But I was tired of arguing after dealing with too many crazy people at once. I lay down on the bed feeling like giving up on everything. Then Shi-eon began fiddling with the shackle around my ankle.With a click, the metal restraint came loose. “Aren’t you curious why I put that shackle on your ankle?” “Why did you do it?” “So you are curious.” “…….” What was he trying to get at? “It’s meaningless, honestly. I just wanted to try it.” “…Just?”“Yes, just.” Why didn’t I figure it out sooner? He’s crazy too. ‘At least he let me out of it.’ After dealing with so many insane people, I was at the point where I could feel grateful for even this much. “How much time has passed?” “Sorry?” “While I was over there, how much time has passed here? Three years? Five years?” “About a year.” Not as much as I had expected. Still… “Then I guess I got fired from my job.” He smiled gently, trying to comfort me. “You can start over, senior.” “…Start over.” Unlike Sion’s optimistic tone, I felt nothing but a heavy sense of uncertainty. ‘Even so, it’s better than being stuck in that world.’ This was my reality, my world. “Aren’t you hungry, senior?” “…I guess I am, a little.” “Wait here. I’ll prepare the meal.” “…….” While I was still struggling to adjust to this strange situation, Shi-eon moved fluidly, completely at ease. As he prepared food, I took a look around the room. I remembered when I had died as Rosie and woke up here. Back then, I hadn’t killed the Transcendent, which forced me back into that world. As my eyes wandered, I landed on a familiar frame. I slowly got up from my seat and walked towards the frame. Inside the frame was a picture of Shi-eon and I together. ‘When was this taken?’ It was so long ago I can’t remember. After looking into the frame for a while, I lost interest and went to the bed and sat down. A short time later, Shi-eon approached with a small table, having prepared the meal. A spoon and chopsticks were neatly placed side by side. It had been so long since I’d seen them that they felt almost unreal. Now I picked up the awkward chopsticks. ‘So, this is how you use them, right?’ After a few clumsy movements, the technique came back to me easily. ‘Wait.’ A strange thought struck me. “If a year has passed in Korea, does that mean I’ve been lying here for a whole year?” “Is something wrong?” Wouldn’t my muscles have atrophied after lying down for a year?But my movements were surprisingly natural. “Why do you ask, senior?” “…It’s nothing.” Did Shi-eon take good care of my body? My medical knowledge was shallow, so I couldn’t figure out what was weird. He seemed to sense that I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. The first day back in Korea passed strangely peacefully. I had made a long list of things I wanted to do once I returned to Korea, but now I couldn’t remember any of them. “Good night, senior.” “…Thanks.” “You’re welcome. Let’s have a proper conversation tomorrow.” “Alright.” ****  As soon as I finished breakfast, Sion retrieved a box from a corner of the room. “Here are your belongings, senior.” “My belongings?” “The payment on your old place ended, so I brought your things over.” Ah, that made sense—after all, a year had passed. ‘Does that mean I’m now both unemployed and homeless?’ I don’t even have any money saved up. Because I spent it all for my mom’s surgery. “How about staying here for a while?” Shi-eon offered the suggestion as if he had been waiting for the right moment. Of course, I didn’t have much of a choice.Where could I go with no money to my name? So I decided to stay with him for a while. When the important issue was resolved, I turned my attention to the box Shi-eon gave me. It contained items I hadn’t seen in a long time. I stared at them in wonder, unable to even remember owning some of these things. “This is your old phone,” Shi-eon said, pulling it out of the box and handing it to me as I rummaged through the items. “I never thought I’d see this again.” When I returned to Korea, I had been overwhelmed with uncertainty about what to do next. But now, it felt like a decent start. “Try turning it on,” Sion encouraged.“Alright.” I pressed the side button, and the phone powered on. But then… “What was the password again…?” “…….” “…….” We both stared blankly at the lock screen as if time had frozen. “Do you remember anything?” Shi-eon asked. “Let me think…” I entered this and that pattern. I tried a number of things, including the most common patterns ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, ‘d’ and ‘e’, but all failed. After five failed attempts, a message appeared: You can try again in 30 seconds. “Now that I think about it, senior used to use really complicated passwords, right?” “Do you know my password?” “Of course I don’t know. But I do remember catching a glimpse of your patterns once, and they seemed complicated.” “…I can’t remember at all.” After 30 seconds, I tried several more combinations, but… “It’s locked now.” “… I see.” Now I couldn’t try any more. Shi-eon comforted me that it was okay and kindly offered a solution. “Today’s Sunday, so we can go to the service center together tomorrow.” “Okay Reluctantly, I put my phone down. “And here’s something else—your mother’s radio. She gave it to you as a gift, right?” Shi-eon handed me the radio. When I saw the old radio, my mood subsided. “Thanks.” I haven’t touched the radio for a long time and put it down on the floor. In the morning, I spent time unfolding my luggage. In the afternoon, Shi-eon asked me carefully. “Senior, do you have time now?” With nothing to do and no job, of course I had time. “…Sure.” “Would you like to go out for a bit?” “Alright.” It seemed like it would be good to see what Korea was like after a long time. I went out with Shi-eon. As we headed to the parking lot, there was an expensive car. Shi-eon opened the passenger door for me and even fastened my seatbelt, which felt oddly out of place. ‘This is awkward.’ Maybe I was struggling to adjust after spending so much time in that other world. Shi-eon took me and drove the car. Was he planning a casual drive? The scenery I saw out of the window was unfamiliar to me compared to what I had seen before. Tall buildings and loud horns… “Where are we going?” I finally asked. “You’ll see when we get there.” He didn’t give the answer. I didn’t ask twice because I wasn’t really curious about it.As Shi-eon said, I soon found out the reason. We stood in front of an urn containing my mother’s ashes. “This is…” I didn’t need him to explain. I already knew. Mom. “You’ve taken good care of her,” I said softly. Thank goodness. When I first heard of her passing, I’d often had nightmares of her body being abandoned somewhere. Seeing the urn now assured me that those fears were unfounded. Still, if only…If only she had lived. We will never see each other again. “Thank you, Shi-eon.” “… It’s nothing.” “No, really. Thank you.” “…You’re welcome.” Shi-eon’s voice held an odd tone, but I dismissed it as awkwardness, thinking he didn’t know how to handle the situation. After some time, we left the columbarium. Zzzttt- But at that moment, a small crack appeared in the air as if the liquid crystal had cracked. ‘What is that?’ I closed my eyes, wondering if I had seen it wrong, but it was still there. The rift in the small crack gradually widened, and soon swallowed me up.