The Tales of an Infinite Regressor
Chapter 35 – Father and Son I

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 36 – Father and Son Ⅰ

Today, let’s delve into the story of a certain rich man.

Here, ‘rich man’ refers not to a wealthy bourgeois, but rather a father and son.

Although I personally dislike delving into the lives of these two individuals, I have no choice but to go back to at least the 4th run.

During this time, I was a mess of embarrassing memories. It was a period in my life akin to the middle school syndrome in a long cycle of regression.

Even now, having consumed so much time that counting age seems meaningless, recalling the period from the first to the 5th run involuntarily triggers a seizure-like response.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I acquired the ability of perfect memory in the 5th run. As I’ve mentioned before, anything older than the 5h run remained faintly in my consciousness like a dream.

From now on, the past I will describe is therefore all reconstructed or creatively embellished.

“Please… save me…”

“It hurts. It hurts too much…”

The first thing that always comes to mind in the dim shadow of memory is the moaning of people.

Whether it was “click,” “clack,” or “clunk,” the decibel levels varied, but the shorter the sound, the shorter the patience.

Every time, I walked, making the sound of coins jingling. I stopped and questioned the people.

“Do you want to escape from hell?”

“Yes…?”

“Do you want to be forever comfortable?”

You might wonder why suddenly I’m spouting lines like a fake preacher, but what I said was correct.

A brief explanation may be necessary here.

Firstly, at this time, I rarely used honorific language. So, strictly speaking, I should have written, “Do you want to escape from suffering?” and “Do you want to be forever comfortable?”

But if I wrote like that, my fingers would cramp up and probably create a black hole on their own. Please forgive me.

Originally, the memories of the 4th run were vague and blurry. So, isn’t this level of distortion of history acceptable? Historical distortion is better than finger distortion.

Secondly, I never had any intention of spreading false beliefs.

On the contrary, such questions were deeply related to the fundamental reason why I adopted the alias “doctor.”

“What nonsense is this? Get lost!”

“Isn’t this kid a doctor? Well…”

“Bah. Oh, looks like we’ve got a repeater!”

Most people were still alive. Despite crying out that they wanted to die, they still clung tightly to their will to live. So, I would politely say, “Excuse me,” and step back.

But there were always those who had given up hope.

“Yes… I don’t want to be in pain anymore…”

Those whose limbs were torn by the monster’s teeth. Those afflicted with illness. Those who lost their families. Those who realized that all humans were nothing but beasts and harbored nothing but contempt for the world. Those who understood that no matter what happened from now on, the peace of the past would never return. Or maybe all of the above.

These people agreed with my question.

So, I asked again.

“My name is Doctor Jang.”

“Yes. I know…”

“Then the story will be quick. I have the ability to put people to sleep in dreams forever.”

“If you agree, I can help you dream of the happiest moments of your life forever.”

Time seal.

My ability, which I have not revealed while unfolding the story so far.

I knew the grammar of the novel that the protagonist’s unique ability should be presented as soon as possible. However, the reason I remained silent so far was that the use of [Time Seal] was concentrated in the 1st to 6th runs.

After that, I hardly ever used [Time Seal].

Above all, I hated my ability.

The reason I designated this run as a black history was here.

“Okay, then take me into a dream right now…”

“Before you agree, there are things you need to know first.”

I said calmly.

“If you enter a dream because of my ability, everyone else will lose all memory of you.”

“Yes?”

“No one will remember you. Not your family, not your friends, not even those who passed by you. While you are dreaming, except for me, no one in this world will be able to think of you.”

“……”

“You… are you willing to be forgotten by everyone just to live in a dream?”

I didn’t explain this to people, but this oblivion was more powerful than they thought.

Because even if I regressed and started a new life, the [Time Seal] wouldn’t be lifted.

It became an exception to regression. I don’t know what principle it is, but the sealed human remained sealed forever, meaning they were forgotten by the world.

It’s becoming a person who never existed in the first place.

“That’s, too…”

Again, most people hesitated at this point.

No matter how much they wanted to die, there was something unsettling and ominous about the idea of their very existence being erased. They often chose suicide instead.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter. It’s fine.”

But there were always those who had given up hope.

“Being completely erased from the world actually feels comforting. What’s the point of staying in this messed up world anyway? Please, just erase me from the world.”

Today’s rich man, in the role of the ‘father’.

Former professional soccer player Kim Joocheol was like that.

Outcast.

That was the word Kim Joocheol himself used to describe himself.

“I was once a regular starter in the first division. I was even a left-back, a left-back. Being called up was worth something, you know?”

He breathed in the oxygen necessary for living today not from the air of reality, but solely from the glory of the past.

While it was rare for people not to long for their past occupations after the world had become like this, Kim Joocheol had a strong tendency in that direction.

“Hey, kid. Want to watch my awesome highlight reel?”

When he reached a certain point, he would download his own highlight reel onto his smartphone and carry it around.

In this era where self-promotion had become essential, he couldn’t be discounted as a talent optimized for the times.

In the six-minute edited video, Kim Joocheol indeed moved across the field horizontally. His red uniform fluttered like a flag. He was a defender, so scenes of him scoring were rare, the cheers of the spectators for each of his plays echoed vividly across the phone.

“I even got offers from Japan. They even sent an agent to observe me in the Netherlands. People might ignore the Dutch league, but it’s actually a great place, you know?”

He freely crossed the boundary between informal and formal speech, as if dribbling a soccer ball.

“Ugh, seriously. I shouldn’t have been loyal to the club that raised me for nothing. I should’ve just run off to a foreign country. Instead of romance, I just wasted my life.”

Since Kim Joocheol often bragged about his own highlight reel to others, his smartphone quickly ran out of battery.

Unlike others, Kim Joocheol didn’t attempt to contact the outside world with his phone. For him, the purpose of having a cellphone was merely a repository for his highlight reel.

“As a full-back, how important do you think you are in modern soccer…?”

“Hey, mister! Stop talking and walk faster!”

“Oh my, young people are cursing again. Whenever I see them, they remind me of my own son.”

Kim Joocheol laughed heartily as he got up.

“Budge over. The loser’s leaving.”

Despite the grandiose command, his body didn’t move very well.

Kim Joocheol’s left leg was constantly limping.

In a world overrun by monsters, it was never kind to humanity. If you were disabled, you didn’t need to say anything.

Even if you moved faster than anyone else, survival was never guaranteed, and Kim Joocheol was always at a disadvantage.

The fact that he was once a recognized soccer player in Korea was not important at all. Most people rarely heard the names of soccer players unless they were at the World Cup national team level.

“Being elected means nothing at all.”

Kim Joocheol chuckled.

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Perhaps his constant self-promotion was an attempt to raise his own value, even if only slightly.

But the reaction from the survivor group was cold. Except for those who were truly weak, there were no survivors who deliberately cared for middle-aged men who looked healthy. Rations. Redistribution. In every aspect, Kim Joocheol had no choice but to suffer.

“Well, that’s just how the world works.”

Kim Joocheol didn’t particularly resent it. It wasn’t because he had an unusually generous disposition, but he seemed accustomed to how people treated him.

“I have a son too. He should be around the same age as you. Maybe? A bit younger?”

“It seems you don’t get along well with your son.”

“Oh my, don’t even mention it. He ran away with his mother ten years ago.”

Kim Joocheol chuckled softly.

“We used to get along well. Then one day at the stadium, some bastard snapped my left leg and everything went sideways. It’s supposed to be a funny story, but it turned out my knee joint was actually linked to my family’s harmony.”

“…..”

“Well, I’m a bad guy. A bad guy indeed. But understand this, kid. I was a player who had talks of going overseas suddenly retiring, and at that time, I was 26 years old. Huh? A 26-year-old suddenly stumbling through his life. Would he be mentally sound? My left foot was damn it, my lifeline. It was my whole fortune.”

Kim Joocheol’s voice trailed off quietly.

He was one of the first people summoned to Busan Station’s main hall with me. Distorted space that turned into a maze-like altered history. Leaning against a bookstore shelf there, Kim Joocheol muttered.

“I’m in the hospital for rehab, and the bastard who made me disabled comes to visit me. Hey, I realized then that a crutch was such a great weapon. I really gave him a good whack. But that bastard’s parents had some connections in the soccer association. It was all settled at that time, but later I found out there was no place for me anymore. That’s the problem with South Korea. If you look closely, the perpetrators end up thriving in the end, you know?”

“……”

“That crappy shot didn’t hit at all.”

Kim Joocheol was honest about most things, but there were things he hesitated to talk about. For example, that he engaged in drinking and gambling after being discharged from the rehabilitation hospital.

He even seemed to settle down in Macau or Gangwon Province, leaving his wife to take care of their still young son alone, and that his wife passed away two years ago. Just before being summoned to Busan Station’s main hall, he lingered around a convenience store near a casino in Gangwon Province. Thanks to buying two packs of cigarettes at that time, he still had plenty of butts tucked in his socks.

I was with him from the 1st to the 4th run. So, I learned a lot about Kim Joocheol’s personal life.

“Ugh, what’s wrong with the world…”

From the 1st to the 4th run, Kim Joocheol never survived intact even once.

I didn’t remember exactly how he died.

But as far as I can recall, in the 1st run, Kim Joocheol stumbled on the long corridor of Busan Station, which had turned into a labyrinth, and was slowly chewed up by monsters from his toe to his head.

In the 2nd run, I died first, but he wouldn’t have survived long either. In the 3rd run, he likely died from excessive bleeding. Perhaps he lost his arm to a monster to let others escape.

Finally, the 4th run.

“Geez. Life can be really damn miserable…”

Kim Joocheol managed to escape Busan Station with me. But not long after, he was swallowed whole by a monster that looked like a hunting dog, devouring his entire left leg.

Kim Joocheol momentarily lost consciousness, but thanks to my immediate first aid and intervention, he somehow regained consciousness. As soon as he came to, Kim Joocheol gasped for breath, saying:

“I’ve been dragging this damn leg around for my whole life. It’s rather refreshing to see it gone, really refreshing.”

“Young man. Is there a soccer stadium nearby? I’m sorry, but can we stop by there for a moment?”

Probably as the last stop of this life, I carried Kim Joocheol to that place.

The weight of a person with one leg missing was remarkably light. Carrying Kim Joocheol on my back, he repeatedly lost and regained consciousness.

“Huh…”

I carefully set Kim Joocheol down on the spectator seats of the stadium.

The stadium was already in ruins, probably after the monster rampage. Debris from the building was scattered haphazardly across the field and spectator seats.

“Hey, why does that look so wide over there? It used to be narrower. It was narrower.”

Kim Joocheol muttered for a while, “It’s wide, it’s wide.”

“Doctor Jang.”

He spoke with a pallid face. It was the first and last time he addressed me with the title, despite being much younger than me.

“Thank you. Really, thank you. But it’s time. There’s no more time…”

I understood fully what the man in front of me was trying to say.

He took out a silver bead from his pocket and tapped it on his wrist. It was my own ritual.

“Are you sure about this? As you know, if you fall victim to my ability, you’ll be forgotten by everyone.”

“Forgetfulness? Oh, it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. I’d rather disappear from the world altogether. What’s the point of being in this messed-up world? Please, just erase me from existence.”

Kim Joocheol smiled faintly.

“I’m tired now.”

“… ”

“Oh, right. If I enter that dream or whatever, will I become aware that I’m dreaming right now? I mean…”

“You won’t be aware.”

I shook my head.

“The subject simply repeats a blissful day forever, without realizing that it’s being repeated.”

“Well, that’s fortunate. If you kept remembering, wouldn’t that be painful too? No matter how happy the moment is, it would become tedious through repetition… It’s fortunate. So, I just have to close my eyes?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, teacher. Truly.”

In many ways, Kim Joocheol was an ordinary person.

There was no particular reason for me to remember Kim Joocheol among the people I conducted funerals for.

Nevertheless, I remembered Kim Joocheol for a long time. It was because of the last words he left behind.

“Kim Sieun, Kim Sieun. My son… born on November 11th. My son’s name is Sieun.”

People who usually departed into dreams asked me to remember them. However, Kim Joocheol murmured his son’s name until the end.

“Our son.”

Ping.

With the sound of a bead, I activated my ability.

And so, Kim Joocheol bid farewell on my timeline.

It wasn’t until many years later that the inheritor of his legacy and I met.

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]