"I think the first life you went to wasn't real. It could have been manmade," Lee Ji-Hye said, offering her theory.
"..."
"Let’s just think of it as a dummy world prepared by the system," Lee Ji-Hye suggested.
"Why not just say we’re in someone else's brain?" I said sarcastically.
“...”
“...”
I saw Lee Ji-Hye's smile.
“That sounds interesting, too. How about we just say that everything never happened? At least there’s no reason to assume that the people who went to the first life are trapped in some cliché scenario where they're in someone else's brain,” Lee Ji-Hye said.
“That’s nonsense, noona,” I commented.
“Who knows? Instead of going to the first life, what if you, Rafael’s party, and Hye-Jin were sent into a completely empty black space and had simply been seeing illusions there? Wouldn’t the inside someone else's brain hypothesis fit perfectly then?” Lee Ji-Hye suggested.
“What...” I muttered.
“I’m not joking. I’m being serious. The situation isn’t the same as with the Mole Saint, but there’s no explanation for why a time paradox hasn't occurred. At this point, the first life shouldn’t exist at all. Who knows if it’s a world temporarily created for this event?” Lee Ji-Hye said.
“First of all, I wasn’t sent to the past. Noona. I was sent to a different life. There’s no need for time paradox conspiracies or dummy world conspiracies; there is no reason for them to exist, either. The reason a time paradox hasn't happened is that Kim Hyun-Sung is the only person affected. The regression has already occurred, and it’s a big hole in this continent. I made it that way. And that fact cannot be changed,” I explained.
“Hmm...”
“The continent’s system doesn’t want to change the second life. We’ve already been approved as the administrators. This process is nothing more and nothing less than filling in those holes,” I added.
“Is making that story consistent really necessary? Can you really conclude that the system didn’t design this continent? Isn’t it right to keep all possibilities open?” Lee Ji-Hye suggested.
“...”
“I know what you heard from Benigoa, but you can’t just assume that Belial or Benigoa is correct. They are transcendent beings who have lived far longer than us, but they’re not perfect either. This is unprecedented. Even if there were other cases, it seems like nothing like this has happened in other dimensions. There are no references to refer to,” Lee Ji-Hye said.
‘This noona is something else.’
I knew what she was thinking. She probably thought I was paying too much attention to the first life. It seemed like she was throwing out the idea that the first life could be fake rather than real to keep me from getting too absorbed in it.
However, her theory didn't really have any weight behind it.
‘I’m not stupid.’
“...”
“...”
“I’m not so dumb that I can’t tell what’s real and what’s fake,” I told her.
“This isn’t the same as the dummy world we created for fun. Especially if we assume the system had created it personally. I trust and like you, but... apart from that, can you say for sure you haven’t been deceived?” Lee Ji-Hye questioned.
Perhaps she just wanted to throw out the topic. She probably knew the answer herself from the start. Her conspiracy sounded plausible, and it gave me something to think about, but there was clear evidence that the first life really existed.
‘Oshman.’
The pig we had picked up in the first life. The pig locked away deep inside the Blue Guild’s innermost prison was the most solid proof.
“Let’s say your theory is right, noona. How do you explain Oshman then?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. At the very least, it won't be that clichéd theory. But just that one isn’t enough proof. Do you have any evidence that Oshman isn't fabricated?” Lee Ji-Hye asked back.
“I’ve already checked everything, noona. At the very least, Oshman isn't a homunculus,” I told her.
“...”
“...”
“So that means you have doubts, too,” Lee Ji-Hye said.
“It’s worth thinking about. But even so, there’s no real controversy here, noona. Most of the strange phenomena happening on this continent or across dimensions are things that can’t be explained anyway.
"Like you said, even Oshman might have been fabricated by the system, but from the system’s perspective, that’s not a profitable move at all. And if a power governing dimensions had interfered, then that alone makes it the reality instead of fake,” I explained.
“I can agree with that, to some extent. It depends on perspective, though...” Lee Ji-Hye remarked.
“And to continue what I said earlier... the reason a time paradox hasn't occurred is that the system and my interests are aligned,” I said.
“...”
“...”
“Just look at how urgently I was recalled,” I added.
“So you thought that Lust Ki-Young could have made the hole even bigger,” Lee Ji-Hye said.
“I don’t care about the so-called balance of dimensions or any of that nonsense, but we’re not going to be pawns forever. I don’t even know if the system can think, or what it actually is, but it’s clear that it wants something.
"We didn’t sit at a negotiation table and talk, but... I think the process of me going to the first life and being recalled was equivalent to me standing up from the negotiation table,” I explained.
“That’s interesting. The idea that it can think or that it attempts to negotiate instead of simply sitting there is just..." Lee Ji-Hye trailed off.
“Of course, I’m not certain, and maybe you’re right, noona. Maybe even that pig was just a device to make me believe that the first life is real.
"If the system isn’t just a set of rules but something that can think and truly exists, then your theory will make sense, but I don’t see it that way. The system just exists. It’s nothing...” I told her.
“I think so, too. A law is just a law, but what I’m trying to say is...” she paused.
“You’re telling me not to get too engrossed, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Well... you could see it that way. According to what you said yourself, you’re the only one who hasn't realized what’s truly important. You literally said it out loud earlier. The system doesn’t want the second life to be influenced or overturned by the first life. It only wants the administrator’s role to appear consistent,” Lee Ji-Hye said.
“...”
“The first life is just a means—a means for the second life. The system knows that, and I know that as well. Everyone knows it, except for you, even though you understand it better than anyone else,” Lee Ji-Hye added.
I couldn’t help but realize that she had been building up to this point.
“Have you been building this up?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t plan it, but somehow the conversation just ended up here,” Lee Ji-Hye answered.
I noticed Lee Ji-hye smiling gently as she sipped her coffee.
‘Not planned, huh...’
At the very least, she had steered the direction of the conversation.
‘And the way she carefully circled around what she already knew...’
As I expected, the earlier conversation was probably her way of gauging my state.
‘Even though I knew, I couldn’t help but fall into it.’
I didn’t want to think that what I experienced was fake.
Anyway, from my point of view, I couldn’t help but deny what she said.
‘They weren't some dummy.’
Those people were definitely alive, real humans.
“We’ve always liked passing time with these kinds of talks, haven’t we?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
“Yeah, we have,” I answered.
‘It’s actually kind of nice.’
It felt like I was having a good time for once. The topic had been heavy and pointless, but chatting with Ji-Hye noona was genuinely enjoyable.
Just sitting in a café, drinking coffee, talking about pointless things, controversial topics, work stuff, or debates that didn't really matter; it was fun.
I knew she was skilled at adjusting her conversation to match the other party, but even without that, we clicked naturally.
“But the clichéd brain—”
“Stop it, noona. I got it,” I interrupted her.
“Wait, what do you mean? I was just trying to tell an interesting story. By the way, aren’t you hungry? Should we move soon?” Lee Ji-Hye asked.
Of course, I knew this event with her wasn’t going to end here. I noticed Ji-Hye quietly rising from her seat. She looked relaxed, but I knew she must have something planned. I could see the confidence in her stride.
“Noona, where are we going now?” I asked.
“Where? To a nice restaurant, of course,” Lee Ji-Hye replied.
“...”
“...”
I saw her gently tug at my hand. Her stride was unusually brisk, so I found it hard to keep up with her.
The problem was that...
‘There’s something off...’
She didn’t seem all that eager to go to our destination. Moreover, this place was definitely different from the spots Ji-Hye noona liked. It wasn’t quiet, atmospheric, or classy; it felt more like a market alley.
Most of the stalls were street vendors. Naturally, people selling their goods caught my eye everywhere I looked. One could perhaps call it trendy, but it was certainly not made for people like us.
‘Is this really Lindell?’
I had never heard of an alley like this. To put it bluntly, it looked undeveloped. Every city had its light and dark sides, but this place looked like it hadn’t been touched by the capital. It was probably at the very fringe of any development plan.
Drunken thugs were roaring around me.
“One more drink here!”
“You bastard!”
“Hey, hey, hey! You guys! Come over here! I said over here!”
“Hurry up and take the order! What the hell are you doing?”
“Ughhh...”
“Two more rums over here!”
“...”
“...”
‘Has this noona lost her mind?’
“...”
“...”
“I-I’ve been waiting, Miss Lee Ji-Hye!” someone exclaimed in the distance.
“...”
“Right.”
“And... F-Father Lee Ki-Young...”
It wasn't a face I often saw, but he was familiar enough to me.
“I’m Alex from the Continental Protection Management Committee’s Inspection Team. It’s... an honor to meet you again. I-I’m not sure if you remember me, but...” Alex paused.
‘Right. Alex.’
He looked excessively tense, and he was shaking. I couldn't remember it clearly, but he seemed to have had the same face when we first met. Wait, I felt like I had seen his face during the first life.
“...”
“...”
‘This noona really... she really drags me into the most useless situation...’
“Ah... Mr. Alex. It’s been a while,” I said, greeting him.
Obviously... I finally understood why noona had dragged me to this miserable place.