[Rain-soaked alley.]My body is going cold.My blood flows into the sewer, mixing with the filth.And above it all, that bastard's voice echoed.
"Jo Dalsik. This is where it ends for you."
Han Dohun.
Three days ago.
"This is important. I can't trust the others."
He smiled as he handed me a piece of paper.
It was always like that.That bastard always disguised his commands with a false sense of sincerity.
The night before the operation,Dohun handed me a cup of coffee.
"Thanks for all the hard work. Let's catch up on the rooftop after it's over."
He smiled.It sounded real.So I believed him.
Just for a second, I thought "maybe this time will be different."
And the result?
I died.No one looked for me.All records were wiped.I was thrown away like a dog.
The stench of blood spread—but no,It wasn't just blood.It was the smell of erasure.Like I was slowly vanishing from the world.
When I collapsed in a pool of blood,There were people there.
Some walked past me.Some turned their heads.Some smiled.
The ones I helped, the ones I worked with—In the end, they all stayed silent.
What terrified me wasn't dying alone.It was the fact that no one cared that I was dying.
And just before I died,I opened my mouth.But the words never made it out.
"…I never once enjoyed being in that position."
My eyelids grew heavy.The last thing I saw was a fragment of gray sky.
That's when it hit.A voice, alien and cold, echoed in my head.
[Regression condition met.]
[Unauthorized regressor detected.]
[Subject: Jo Dalsik]
[Date: June 12, 2025]
[Initiating regression—]
"…What?"
The world I knew began to crack and shatter beneath me.
My vision split.My ears rang.My stomach churned.It felt like every organ, from my heart to my brain, was boiling.And then—darkness.
"—Gah!"
I gasped for air.My eyes snapped open.
My hands moved first. I touched my face.The skin was smooth.Even my nails, the scars—everything had vanished.
The bloodied hands I had just moments ago? Gone.This wasn't just a dream.This was proof—my entire body had rewound.
A familiar ceiling.A cramped, humid studio apartment.Peeling wallpaper.The smell of detergent still lingered.
My legs shook.My lips froze.My fingertips were ice-cold.But my head burned—Something inside was on fire.
I grabbed my phone.
June 12, 2025.
I knew this date.Before the world went mad.Before I hit rock bottom.
Then, it appeared.Something floated in the air.
I didn't even know what to call it.But text—layered over my vision—lined up in eerie clarity.
[Unauthorized regressor detected][Link status: Incomplete][Subject: Jo Dalsik][Basic reactive attributes: Enabled][Disclosure: Prohibited to third parties][Violation will trigger enforcement protocols]
And the final line:
[Now then, Mr. Jo Dalsik. Shall we do it properly this time?]
"…Fuck."
Even after the message disappeared,The feeling lingered.A suffocating pressure, like someone was staring straight through my skull.
Just a few lines of text—But my body reacted.
Whatever this was,It wasn't human.
It felt like someone was watching.Not a machine—eyes.
That bastard's face flashed through my mind.Han Dohun.Eyes void of emotion.Bloodstained shirt.
Too damn vivid.
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.I said nothing.I didn't even want to breathe.
I prayed.That this was a dream.That it was just a hallucination.That I wouldn't have to live through it again.
I bit my tongue.Blood.Bitterness.Reality.
This wasn't a dream.
I opened my phone.Gallery.Messages.Call history.
"Mom."
She was still alive.The number was still there.
My finger hovered over the screen.If I pressed it—I might crumble at the sound of her gentle voice.
A memory surfaced.
Of the life I lived before regression.
"The security cam by the entrance.I stood there for two hours straight.Because opening the door for execs—that was my job."
Some called me security.Some called me a guard.But in truth—I was human equipment.
Smile.Get hit.Work.Die.
That was it.
I've been reborn.But the world hasn't changed.
So this time,I will.
I opened my laptop.Typed three lines into a blank notepad:
Trust no one.
Never speak of the regression.
The first move: Han Dohun.
I stood before the mirror.
Again.This time, I faced myself properly.