The director carefully looked at the necklace he stole from Jinseong.
“Anyway, because of you, our orphanage is going to work. I was lucky to have you.”
Jinsung nodded at the director’s statement and wondered what the hell was going on.
It was because the director of the orphanage, who had died long ago, appeared out of nowhere in front of him. Is he a ghost? However, to be called a ghost, he had a good complexion and looked happy.
Is this a dream? Or is it the scene that you see before you die? Or maybe a hallucination?
Lee Jinsung pinched his cheek as hard as he could and he felt the pain.
' Then it's not a dream.'
It's too vivid to be a dream.
'Then it could be a hallucination...
Jinsung calmly looked at the situation.
“Ah, yes. Honestly, who would have thought that an old man hiding in such a small house could have such an expensive thing? Good job. You may get out now."
He has a lot of questions, but he decided to leave for now. He was about to leave when he realized that he needed to know the date today.
"Master...Excuse me, what day is it today?" He asked. Usually, the director would kick him out and tell him not to bother him.
But since he is in a good mood today because of the necklace he found, he glanced at the calendar on his table.
"Today? Well, today is the 11th."
Thursday, February 11, 2066.
Jin-seong confirmed this and left the director's office.
He closed the door and stared blankly into the hallway of the orphanage.
A place where most of the windows are broken to the extent that it is difficult to find shabby, worn-out, and strong glass. It was an ugly sight that he used to look at when he was a teenager until he got sick of it.
'Why am I here? I should’ve been dead.’ Jinsung thought and walked down the hallway.
At first, I had an interview with the manager in a mess.
No matter what you think about it, this was a very unrealistic situation.
However, no matter how much time passed, the atmosphere and sights of this place were the same as in the real world.
Creaky, unwaxed, barbed hallway windows and broken glass all over. And even a musty smell of something unknown that pierces the tip of the nose is present.
Jinseong Lee entered the dormitory according to his vivid memories of the past.
The sight of the second-floor iron beds lined up on either side appeared.
It is a narrow space with a low ceiling enough to reach the top of the head if you climb up on the bunk bed and straighten your back.
Looking at it again, it's suffocating. Lee Jinsung had stayed here since he was 5 until the age of 17. He spent his life here so can find it even with his eyes closed.
He stood in the bunk of the bed, staring. He then touched the mattress and of course, it was as hard as he remembered.
'It's natural.'
The feel of the spring was also not different from the real thing.
If this was a hallucination, he thought that there would be a foreign sensation whenever he touched an object and moved his body, so he was touching this and that. However, there was no evidence that this was an illusion.
'It's all in memory. However...
Jinsung went to the bookshelf in the corner of the dormitory.
'Even if it is a fantasy created based on my memories, it will not be able to perfectly reproduce even the typeface.'
The content of the book is different.
The letters of the books that have been completed even before printing are sentences elaborately crafted with magical relationships. Therefore, no matter how sophisticated the hallucinations were, the sentences had no choice but to appear blurry or awkward.
Jinsung took out the books and quickly read them down.
But the sentences were all well-crafted. On the contrary, things that had been forgotten were brought to his mind.
Jinsung’s only refuge as a child was this old bookshelf with fewer than 20 books.
Jinsung used to read the books stuck here, either after working hard or after stealing.
In the corner of the bookshelf was a book he had never seen before.
Lee Jinsung opened the fairy tale book. First, he looked at the table of contents.
This was to examine the symbolism and win-win results of the subheadings in the table of contents.
Then, the text was read quickly. The content didn't matter.
A lion returning from the dead kills the elephant that was oppressing his herd. It was a fairy tale about becoming the true king of beasts.
Jinsung Lee closed the book.
So, it really means back to the past. It is also February 11, 2066.
Just a week before leaving this damn orphanage.
'I was going under the same guys.' As he thought about that, the things that were about to happen flashed through his head...
But still, a question remained in my heart.
‘There is evidence that I am now back in the past, but who, how, and why made me return to the past?.
‘Tuk’.
A card fell from the gap in the storybook he was holding in his hand.
"...what?"
The card that fell to the ground had a black blue star on a brown background.
It was a tarot card.
Jinsung Lee picked up the card and turned it over.
It was just a blank space with nothing drawn on it.
Where did this card come from?
This children's book was only about 20 pages long. He read the contents without skipping a single page.
So there's no way you haven't seen this tarot sandwiched between pages.
Until...
"...uh?"
-Tsususu...
The pictures began to float on the front of the card as if the paint was unraveling.
Based on the horizontal line dividing the top and bottom.
Above, a man with an ordinary face is holding a bag. Below, a man in a clown mask was smiling with a sword hidden in his sleeve.
And the name of this card appeared at the bottom of the card.
"...Joker?" He whispered.
The figures in the paintings drawn with delicate brush strokes looked like living people.
The hair and sleeves of the characters were flowing as if blown in the wind.
It was Jinsung Lee.
He realized that it may be a medium to explain the situation I was going through.
-Sussusu...
The paint on the picture came loose.
This time it became black type and began to show the sentences.
(You are the second returner, who broke into your destiny. You have been given a once-in-a-life chance to start over, according to your fervent will for life.)
"Start over?" Jinyoung thought. “Return?”.
There was a time when the world was buzzing with regressors.
The Opener, the Awoken one, who returned from the destroyed future to the past, foretold the catastrophes to come in our world. Thanks to this, mankind was able to suppress the many tribulations that would occur in the future and succeed in the fight against the demons.
'...Did I receive that power?'
If so, it may be somewhat understandable. If you had never seen it, you would not have believed it, but Jin-sung Lee already knew the performance of the returner.
"...But why did I return?”
The card explains it this way: he has returned because of your fervent will to life.
Jinsung Lee tilted his head as he read the sentence.
Everyone regrets their own life at the moment they stand at the end of their lives, and he didn't think that the regrets they had were more intense than the feelings others would have at the end.
'So, there must be a reason why I returned to the past.'
The letters on the card were erased and new letters came to mind.
(You have to do one thing. This is to prevent Kim Jun-oh from having a purple heart.)
"Of course.." It was then that Jinsung Lee could understand.
'This is enough reason for me to return.'
An ancient artifact commonly called 'Purple Heart'.
The reason the returner of the original world died before climbing the Black Tower was, after all, because of the purple heart.
Later, the villain Kim Jun-oh, who took this gem, acquires power comparable to that of the Demon King and commits atrocities to destroy Seoul.
In the process, they killed not only many civilians, but also government officials, high-ranking openers, and even regressors, and humanity was in great danger.
And that is because that crazy Kim Jun-oh has that purple heart.
'It was because of him.' Jinsung took a deep breath.
The evil deeds he had committed in the past flashed through his mind once again.
His thoughts were interrupted when the director entered the dormitory.
“Jinsung Lee, weren't you sleeping?"
He wasn’t alone.
“Is it that guy?”
“Yeah, one skill is great, right?”
Behind the director, a man in a leather jacket, with a long cut on his face, narrowed his eyes.
“Lee Jin-sung, You have something to do.”
"What happened?" He asked.
“You’ll know when you go. Come out now.”
It was a blunt reply, but Jinsung knew what they were going to do.
'I'll have to get a purple heart tomorrow.' He thought and followed them quietly, putting the tarot in his pocket.
“You, let's do something." The man with a cut on his face said so suddenly.
This man is Director Kim. He was the leader of the organization run by Jun-oh Kim.
"It's not difficult, just bring one thing and come out. Then I will grant you one wish you want.”
The manager was startled by the words of the man sitting at the table.
"Wish? What a wish, all of a sudden, he doesn't have to!"
In the meantime, the director, who hired Jin-seong Lee for no pay, was furious.
'Why did I work for a guy like that?' He thought.
The man ignored the director and showed him a picture of the dungeon, a bird's eye view, and a drawing one after another on the table.
"You go in here and get some of this.”
And he showed me a picture. There was a jewel the size of a fist that glittered in purple.
It was stamped with a purple heart.
"Right now, this ruin dungeon is being occupied by the Gwangmyeong Guild, and they said they are going to pick up this purple heart during the day. You will go and get it.”
"Wouldn't it be expensive?” He asked.
"Do not worry. Your uncles will help you."
Lee Jin-seong pondered and thought about the events that were proceeding in the same way as in the past.
'This time, we must make up for all our mistakes.' He thought.
“Well, I guess I can do it. All I need is a single dagger."
"Why? Do your uncles carry rifles?” The manager intervened. Director Kim spits out swear words.
“Deokgu, don't interfere and shut up. We are in business now."
“Hey, you say you know how to shoot? Why a dagger?”
“The ruins dungeon has already been attacked once, isn't it? You'll have to deal with people rather than monsters, but it's better to go in secret."
Director Kim nodded in response.
"Hmm, okay, do as you please. It doesn't matter if it’s a body-builder like you..."
Then, Director Kim's eyes flashed sharply “But don't you have other thoughts?"
This guy has always been like this. No matter what he sees, he is a human being with a lot of suspicions...
So, unlike Director Deok-gu, I had to think and talk about it once more when I got involved with this man called Director Kim, who had a leather jacket.
Then, the manager intervened again.
“This guy has nothing to worry about. He's a guy who does everything he asks, no matter how dirty and filthy, so don't you remember seeing it?"
"Hmm."
Director Kim then nodded his head.
"Well, anyway, if you betray, you will die. If you swallow a purple heart, I will cut you off and kill you, and decide your fate."
He was a man who didn't mind saying terrible things.
Even with those words, Jinsung nodded expressionlessly.
“So, when do we start?" He asked with a smile.
The moment Lee Jin-sung enters the dungeon he is planning to kill them both.
The director carefully looked at the necklace he stole from Jinseong.
“Anyway, because of you, our orphanage is going to work. I was lucky to have you.”
Jinsung nodded at the director’s statement and wondered what the hell was going on.
It was because the director of the orphanage, who had died long ago, appeared out of nowhere in front of him. Is he a ghost? However, to be called a ghost, he had a good complexion and looked happy.
Is this a dream? Or is it the scene that you see before you die? Or maybe a hallucination?
Lee Jinsung pinched his cheek as hard as he could and he felt the pain.
' Then it's not a dream.'
It's too vivid to be a dream.
'Then it could be a hallucination...
Jinsung calmly looked at the situation.
“Ah, yes. Honestly, who would have thought that an old man hiding in such a small house could have such an expensive thing? Good job. You may get out now."
He has a lot of questions, but he decided to leave for now. He was about to leave when he realized that he needed to know the date today.
"Master...Excuse me, what day is it today?" He asked. Usually, the director would kick him out and tell him not to bother him.
But since he is in a good mood today because of the necklace he found, he glanced at the calendar on his table.
"Today? Well, today is the 11th."
Thursday, February 11, 2066.
Jin-seong confirmed this and left the director's office.
He closed the door and stared blankly into the hallway of the orphanage.
A place where most of the windows are broken to the extent that it is difficult to find shabby, worn-out, and strong glass. It was an ugly sight that he used to look at when he was a teenager until he got sick of it.
'Why am I here? I should’ve been dead.’ Jinsung thought and walked down the hallway.
At first, I had an interview with the manager in a mess.
No matter what you think about it, this was a very unrealistic situation.
However, no matter how much time passed, the atmosphere and sights of this place were the same as in the real world.
Creaky, unwaxed, barbed hallway windows and broken glass all over. And even a musty smell of something unknown that pierces the tip of the nose is present.
Jinseong Lee entered the dormitory according to his vivid memories of the past.
The sight of the second-floor iron beds lined up on either side appeared.
It is a narrow space with a low ceiling enough to reach the top of the head if you climb up on the bunk bed and straighten your back.
Looking at it again, it's suffocating. Lee Jinsung had stayed here since he was 5 until the age of 17. He spent his life here so can find it even with his eyes closed.
He stood in the bunk of the bed, staring. He then touched the mattress and of course, it was as hard as he remembered.
'It's natural.'
The feel of the spring was also not different from the real thing.
If this was a hallucination, he thought that there would be a foreign sensation whenever he touched an object and moved his body, so he was touching this and that. However, there was no evidence that this was an illusion.
'It's all in memory. However...
Jinsung went to the bookshelf in the corner of the dormitory.
'Even if it is a fantasy created based on my memories, it will not be able to perfectly reproduce even the typeface.'
The content of the book is different.
The letters of the books that have been completed even before printing are sentences elaborately crafted with magical relationships. Therefore, no matter how sophisticated the hallucinations were, the sentences had no choice but to appear blurry or awkward.
Jinsung took out the books and quickly read them down.
But the sentences were all well-crafted. On the contrary, things that had been forgotten were brought to his mind.
Jinsung’s only refuge as a child was this old bookshelf with fewer than 20 books.
Jinsung used to read the books stuck here, either after working hard or after stealing.
In the corner of the bookshelf was a book he had never seen before.
Lee Jinsung opened the fairy tale book. First, he looked at the table of contents.
This was to examine the symbolism and win-win results of the subheadings in the table of contents.
Then, the text was read quickly. The content didn't matter.
A lion returning from the dead kills the elephant that was oppressing his herd. It was a fairy tale about becoming the true king of beasts.
Jinsung Lee closed the book.
So, it really means back to the past. It is also February 11, 2066.
Just a week before leaving this damn orphanage.
'I was going under the same guys.' As he thought about that, the things that were about to happen flashed through his head...
But still, a question remained in my heart.
‘There is evidence that I am now back in the past, but who, how, and why made me return to the past?.
‘Tuk’.
A card fell from the gap in the storybook he was holding in his hand.
"...what?"
The card that fell to the ground had a black blue star on a brown background.
It was a tarot card.
Jinsung Lee picked up the card and turned it over.
It was just a blank space with nothing drawn on it.
Where did this card come from?
This children's book was only about 20 pages long. He read the contents without skipping a single page.
So there's no way you haven't seen this tarot sandwiched between pages.
Until...
"...uh?"
-Tsususu...
The pictures began to float on the front of the card as if the paint was unraveling.
Based on the horizontal line dividing the top and bottom.
Above, a man with an ordinary face is holding a bag. Below, a man in a clown mask was smiling with a sword hidden in his sleeve.
And the name of this card appeared at the bottom of the card.
"...Joker?" He whispered.
The figures in the paintings drawn with delicate brush strokes looked like living people.
The hair and sleeves of the characters were flowing as if blown in the wind.
It was Jinsung Lee.
He realized that it may be a medium to explain the situation I was going through.
-Sussusu...
The paint on the picture came loose.
This time it became black type and began to show the sentences.
(You are the second returner, who broke into your destiny. You have been given a once-in-a-life chance to start over, according to your fervent will for life.)
"Start over?" Jinyoung thought. “Return?”.
There was a time when the world was buzzing with regressors.
The Opener, the Awoken one, who returned from the destroyed future to the past, foretold the catastrophes to come in our world. Thanks to this, mankind was able to suppress the many tribulations that would occur in the future and succeed in the fight against the demons.
'...Did I receive that power?'
If so, it may be somewhat understandable. If you had never seen it, you would not have believed it, but Jin-sung Lee already knew the performance of the returner.
"...But why did I return?”
The card explains it this way: he has returned because of your fervent will to life.
Jinsung Lee tilted his head as he read the sentence.
Everyone regrets their own life at the moment they stand at the end of their lives, and he didn't think that the regrets they had were more intense than the feelings others would have at the end.
'So, there must be a reason why I returned to the past.'
The letters on the card were erased and new letters came to mind.
(You have to do one thing. This is to prevent Kim Jun-oh from having a purple heart.)
"Of course.." It was then that Jinsung Lee could understand.
'This is enough reason for me to return.'
An ancient artifact commonly called 'Purple Heart'.
The reason the returner of the original world died before climbing the Black Tower was, after all, because of the purple heart.
Later, the villain Kim Jun-oh, who took this gem, acquires power comparable to that of the Demon King and commits atrocities to destroy Seoul.
In the process, they killed not only many civilians, but also government officials, high-ranking openers, and even regressors, and humanity was in great danger.
And that is because that crazy Kim Jun-oh has that purple heart.
'It was because of him.' Jinsung took a deep breath.
The evil deeds he had committed in the past flashed through his mind once again.
His thoughts were interrupted when the director entered the dormitory.
“Jinsung Lee, weren't you sleeping?"
He wasn’t alone.
“Is it that guy?”
“Yeah, one skill is great, right?”
Behind the director, a man in a leather jacket, with a long cut on his face, narrowed his eyes.
“Lee Jin-sung, You have something to do.”
"What happened?" He asked.
“You’ll know when you go. Come out now.”
It was a blunt reply, but Jinsung knew what they were going to do.
'I'll have to get a purple heart tomorrow.' He thought and followed them quietly, putting the tarot in his pocket.
“You, let's do something." The man with a cut on his face said so suddenly.
This man is Director Kim. He was the leader of the organization run by Jun-oh Kim.
"It's not difficult, just bring one thing and come out. Then I will grant you one wish you want.”
The manager was startled by the words of the man sitting at the table.
"Wish? What a wish, all of a sudden, he doesn't have to!"
In the meantime, the director, who hired Jin-seong Lee for no pay, was furious.
'Why did I work for a guy like that?' He thought.
The man ignored the director and showed him a picture of the dungeon, a bird's eye view, and a drawing one after another on the table.
"You go in here and get some of this.”
And he showed me a picture. There was a jewel the size of a fist that glittered in purple.
It was stamped with a purple heart.
"Right now, this ruin dungeon is being occupied by the Gwangmyeong Guild, and they said they are going to pick up this purple heart during the day. You will go and get it.”
"Wouldn't it be expensive?” He asked.
"Do not worry. Your uncles will help you."
Lee Jin-seong pondered and thought about the events that were proceeding in the same way as in the past.
'This time, we must make up for all our mistakes.' He thought.
“Well, I guess I can do it. All I need is a single dagger."
"Why? Do your uncles carry rifles?” The manager intervened. Director Kim spits out swear words.
“Deokgu, don't interfere and shut up. We are in business now."
“Hey, you say you know how to shoot? Why a dagger?”
“The ruins dungeon has already been attacked once, isn't it? You'll have to deal with people rather than monsters, but it's better to go in secret."
Director Kim nodded in response.
"Hmm, okay, do as you please. It doesn't matter if it’s a body-builder like you..."
Then, Director Kim's eyes flashed sharply “But don't you have other thoughts?"
This guy has always been like this. No matter what he sees, he is a human being with a lot of suspicions...
So, unlike Director Deok-gu, I had to think and talk about it once more when I got involved with this man called Director Kim, who had a leather jacket.
Then, the manager intervened again.
“This guy has nothing to worry about. He's a guy who does everything he asks, no matter how dirty and filthy, so don't you remember seeing it?"
"Hmm."
Director Kim then nodded his head.
"Well, anyway, if you betray, you will die. If you swallow a purple heart, I will cut you off and kill you, and decide your fate."
He was a man who didn't mind saying terrible things.
Even with those words, Jinsung nodded expressionlessly.
“So, when do we start?" He asked with a smile.
The moment Lee Jin-sung enters the dungeon he is planning to kill them both.
