Chapter 1015. Han Haneul

It was not an auditory or a visual hallucination, and it was even more so, not a dream. I could tell the moment I looked into the man’s eyes. Just as I could tell that it is raining when I look at raindrops falling or that it’s snowing when snowflakes are falling, it was just so natural that I could not describe it any more clearly.

I did not believe in god. When I was young, I believed in an existence that transcends cognition, but ever since my husband fell into a deep sleep, I no longer credited such existences. If there was a god, or any similar beings existed in this world, he, or she, or they, would not have left my good husband to stay like that for ten whole years. If there was a god, I believed that he would be one of those devils that disregard the law.

However, I could no longer deny god. The man in front of me was proof that god existed.

“You should have realized the moment you saw me that you have not gone crazy or are dreaming.”

I nodded. I felt like an invisible, humongous eye was staring at me for a while. It was probably watching from the moment I gave birth, nay, even before that, when very life began. A wordless observer, I believed that to be god.

“What does it mean to live life again?”

I didn’t even want to know what the duty of this self-proclaimed grim reaper was, nor what the intentions of god were. There was just one thing; I was curious about the definition of ‘living life again,’ as well as whether it could be a method to bring my husband back to life.

The man’s finger pointed at my husband lying on the bed. At that moment, my vision blanched before returning to normal. Along with a slight dizziness, I knew exactly what happened. I had a glimpse at my husband’s life. I watched, like a movie, the time he spent before I met him. My heart ached. He was a warm man. He was a man that did not deserve to spend ten years in bed like that.

“I will give Mr. Han Maru a new life.”

“A new life?”

“Yes, a new life.”

I immediately approached the man and grabbed his hand.

“Do it. Whatever it is, it should be better than lying down like that.”

The man shook me off.

“People truly never change. I can never see where their noble sacrificial spirit comes from. You must have realized as well, that nothing is free in this world.”

“I don’t care what it is. Even if it’s my life, so be it.”

“My higher-ups don’t really like that simple kind of trade. The reason my higher-ups chose you and gave you an opportunity is not that you’re lucky, nor is it because they are giving you grace because of their gentle nature. This is a game. My higher-ups enjoy watching people living desperate lives. People like you, for example. Those who never give up and cling on until the very end.”

“And what must I do?”

“It’s nothing that amazing. You just need to live again. First, I will revert that dead person’s life backwards. That will be the starting point. And you just need to enjoy life. That’s all.”

She thought that the condition would be much more dangerous than giving up on her own life, but she realized that there was nothing bad for her when she heard about it. She just needed to go back to the past and enjoy life. There was no reason to hesitate. She quickly asked him to make him come back to life.

“You don’t have to be in such a hurry. We will proceed with things after verbally confirming one’s will. Whether in this world or your world, a confirmation process is quite important to salarymen like me.”

The man gave her a white piece of paper. The paper had nothing written on it.

“Allow me to explain. Mr. Han Maru will return with his memories preserved. Of course, information that can dramatically change his quality of life will be removed. He will not know what kind of stocks will rise nor what regions will skyrocket in land prices. Additionally, acts that aim to strike rich in one go will also be limited. If he does stocks, he will most likely lose money, and if he buys land, prices will most likely decrease. The lottery is no good either. Mr. Han Maru will be made aware of this fact, so there won’t be any problems.”

“My husband does not like gambling.”

“That puts me at ease then. Going back to the past, Mr. Han Maru will be given a few benefits. Depending on how he uses it, he will be able to put himself in an advantageous position in this competitive society. Of course, he will not be given abilities of the supernatural kind, though he might be physically a little stronger than other people, or will have good memorization skills.”

“He’s someone who can use small advantages to his benefit, so he’ll live a comfortable life. That’s good.”

The man closed his mouth and nodded.

“You only seem to be thinking about your husband.”

“That’s the most important thing to me right now. Are you done now?”

“Just a little more. Going back to the past, Mr. Han Maru will be given a choice; whether to live the same life as before or live a different one. He might become an ordinary salary man like he is now, or he might become an owner of a decent company. Nothing is set in stone for his new life. You know what this means, correct?”

“It means things might be different from now.”

I closed my eyes and looked at my husband.

“Indeed. It is entirely up to him whether he looks for you again or lives a new life with another person. Mrs. Han Haneul, are you okay with that?”

“If that can make him live again, it doesn’t matter.”

I didn’t mean that I was okay with breaking up. I had faith that he would look for me again.

“So you have trust in him; You trust that he’ll come to you if he has his memories intact. But you never know. Going back to the past, he might ignore you and live a new life with another woman.”

“I would be extremely sad if he does, but that’s still better than him dying here right now. He’ll be living. It might be agonizing, but I should be happier than if he’s not here.”

“You’re firm, I see.”

“Are we done now?”

“I am done explaining what will happen to Mr. Han Maru. Next, I will explain the karma that will be bestowed onto you.”

“Karma… you say?”

My lips parted heavily. I heard that word often, but it was only today that I realized how heavy that word was. I calmed my nervous heart and asked what this karma was about.

“I should have told you at the beginning of our conversation. Nothing is free in this world. The world operates on a very simple law. Price and reward. The reward is that Mr. Han Maru is given a new life. A miracle that no human can achieve will be given to him. So, there must be a suitable price as well.”

“What is it that I must pay?”

“It’s simple. You’ll simply observe. You’ll watch Ms. Han Haneul’s life.”

“My own life?”

“Yes. From now on, you must become an observer.”

“Does that mean that I’m not allowed to act subjectively when I go back to the past?”

“No, to be precise, you will not be able to do anything other than watch. Though, after some time, you might be able to exchange a few words.”

The man clapped. I felt a sense of elevation, and even in reality, I was starting to float in the air. I looked down. On the bed was my husband, around him were doctors, and then there was me grabbing his hand. The word ‘astral projection’ crossed my mind.

“Now, we’ll go back to the beginning.”

Time flowed in reverse. Just like fallen dominoes standing back up again, all occurrences were returning to naught. I clenched my eyes shut feeling an intense headache before opening my eyes. I saw myself underneath me. It was when I was in high school. It was such a long time ago that I shouldn’t be able to remember it, but it was as clear as what happened just yesterday. It was the day a close friend of mine suggested that I join the acting club. I had just told her that I was more interested in skating than acting and that I planned to join the skating club.

“This is what it means to observe. You will not be able to interfere in this life.”

“Uhm, isn’t that me over there?”

I pointed at myself, looking outside the classroom at my desk. Then who was the girl living and breathing over there?

“That is you, Ms. Han Haneul.”

“Then what about me?”

“You’re Ms. Han Haneul too. You two were just separated. Essentially, you are the same, but you have become two separate entities. You will now watch the life of Han Haneul living her life down there, just like watching a movie.”

The man clapped twice. The world unfurled underneath my feet and changed rapidly. I could see time flowing. I graduated from school, met my husband, and fell in love with him again. I married him, had a child, and we formed a harmonious family just like before. Then, there was another accident. This time, it was a fire. The fire swallowed my husband whole. My daughter and I managed to survive. The moment the tragic accident happened, time reversed again. It was now back to when my husband and I were in high school.

Tears were flowing down my eyes. A torrent of emotions shook my entire body. The experiences had by ‘another me’ underneath my feet crept into my body. I lost my husband twice. It took a long time for my throes of sorrow to stop.

“How does it feel to witness the death of your loved one twice?”

The man asked me with a truly oblivious expression. I stood up, pressing my shaking knees.

“Are you telling me to keep watching my husband die? How is this an opportunity? Isn’t it a punishment instead, if I’m supposed to keep witnessing such a terrible thing?”

“This concerns the revival of a dead person. If you can make that come true with just a little ache in the heart, then it’s a cheap price to pay. Also, my higher-ups don’t wish for you to keep suffering. They have prepared an exit in this hamster wheel. As I told you before, this is a game. There are rules, and there are victory conditions. If the two of you achieve victory, the game will end there. The two of you will win against death and achieve a happy ending where you can love each other again,” the man said with a bright smile.

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