Chapter 10. The result of the Genius Plan (2)?

Author's note: Does it remind you of someone, something?

Ouch!

How painful!

My head....

A gaudy illusion filled with sparks, that had been tormenting Ronan Vercetti instantly shattered. Half-awake, he groaned as an excruciating pain coursed through his skull, as though someone had cracked it open and pulled out his brain. Or it was more like someone had ruthlessly lashed at him with a brick again and again. 

Ouch... he muttered. Ronan Vercetti stood up, attempting to remember what had happened. However, he couldn't recall anything- it was as unclear as words scribbled on wet paper.

Dammit, focus! While still being stuck in stuck in his reverie, whatever he could recall was like a fleeting fog. His thoughts spun like leaves caught in a storm, difficult to control and introspect. No matter how much he tried, they scattered farther, eluding his desperate reach.

Kreeeeeckkk!

With a deafening cracking sound, like two blades clashing in a heated duel, before a crisp snap of fingers, pierced the air getting flashed completely by a bright light blue light. 

Finally, regaining his wits again, he was met with the starlit shining upon the sky, behind the dancing clouds the golden moon welcoming him instead of the familiar ceiling of this house. Beautiful. 

Dazed, turning his head around in confusion, Ronan felt inexplicably nostalgic as he stood up abruptly. However, before his legs straightened- he saw letters floating around like fallen leaves. This....

There, Ronan stood alone, in a vast snowfield, covered in random floating letters. Despite their overwhelming presence, they seemed incapable of engulfing the infinite expanse of snow.

Subconsciously, he looked up shifted his gaze bit by bit to the moon. 

"Where am I? and Who am I?"

His gaze attached to the golden moon, he attempts to recall his past once again. Only being able to remember one sentence of his past. "I am Ronan Vercetti, 21 years old." 

The only sentence he could remember from his past, yet it felt so distant and unfamiliar. As if, it wasn't his sentence. 

The story, engraved from Ronan's life "To Save and be Saved" stopped serializing due to the author losing his memories, leaving its readers puzzled and concerned. Around the world, readers thought "Has the novel reached its end?" "Did something happen to the author?" 

Ronan Vercetti unaware of his true identity, blinded by the card Seojun didn't take away, Ronan lived a life unburdened- free from his sacrifices, his traumas and the weight of his past- without that 'contract'.

Author's note: Could this be qualified as a proper ending? Could be... However, Ronan's- No. Lee Dohyun's life hasn't ended yet.

|||| Those who once knew Ronan no longer remember him. |||||

Kyung-joon, who had fallen asleep beside his sister Hwa-lin's hospital bed, awoke in the middle of the night. A sense of incompleteness gripped him, the feeling that he had forgotten something tormenting him in his sleep.

What had I forgotten?

In a daze, Kyung-joon gently stroked Hwa-lin's hair as she slept.

"Soon, we'll go home and spend time with dad," he murmured, his voice soft but filled with quiet conviction. "Everything's fine now. Don't worry."

Their mother ,Chae-won was a very introverted person, rarely talking about herself, was unable to get a decent education, eventually making a living by baking breads.

Jae-woo, had been a sergeant in the military, but injuries forced him to retire. When he faced life outside the military, Jae-woo found himself helpless, unable to support his family with his limited skills. He had no idea what to do, barely making a living. But one day, fate led him to a bakery where he met Chae-won, fell in love, and married her.. Together, they ran the bakery, but as time went on, their customers dwindled. Chae-won fell ill, and financial hardship followed. Desperate, Jae-woo took on multiple jobs. Desperate, Jae-woo did multiple jobs, such as working at a restuarant, taking care of the bakery shop and working as a taxi job to cake of his wife and kids. However, Chae-won's illness worsened, and she passed away just a year before Hwa-lin's sixth birthday.

Jae-woo sacrificed everything for the kids, took care of them, trying his absolute best to raise them, to shield them from suffering like he did. Jae-woo suffered in silence, blaming the harsh reality, the world for their struggles, constantly grieving over his mistakes...

However, recently Kyung-joon got a job in the "Natural Resource' team in a big company. The monthly salary is 4,200,000 KRW. He'll finally be able to provide for his family, take good care of his father. 

The dazzled Kyung-joon shifted his gaze simultaneously looking for a clock, before he reached for his pockets- pulling out his smartphone. 3:51 AM.

With a heavy sigh, he scrolled through social media.

Novel Recommendations? I got you. 

There might be novels Hwa-lin likes.

Kyung-joon himself doesn't read webnovels. However, her sister is very keen on reading- that's why he watches these kinds of videos, hoping to find something that might catch Hwa-lin's interest.

Hwa-lin might actually like this one.

Within the video, he found a novel that might attract her. "To Save and Be Saved." Strangely, he felt weird sense of nostalgia from that novel, something that filles his void, the incomplete hollow feeling. As if, he was sitting next to an old friend, reading together.

 If it's able to attract just from the abbreviation, it must be good. I'll save this.

In a distant place, Sa-rang found herself grieving for something she doesn't even know. Why do I feel so sad?

She stood up in fluster, slowly making her way to the fridge. However, before she reached the fridge, she froze. "What.... " She screamed reeling back in fear. 

Since when had that photo been there? Who am I standing beside?

On the fridge, there were photos of her standing next to a person, she had never seen before. 

Black hair, sleepy dark eyes, a mole further away from the right side of his lips and on his right temple, average facial features and thinly build wearing a white button-down collar shirt, with a black tie. 

Tears began flooding from her eyes subconsciously, her pale slim hands shaking uncontrollably... She felt inexpressible sorrow consuming her. 

"How come, I don't even know that guy..." Sa-rang muttered as she wiped her flooding tears away. 

Kang Jiyeon had a habit, she picked up almost four years ago. Whenever life felt uncertain, she would always find her way back to ORV. At these times, Kang Jiyeon isn't a kid anymore, she is a college student. She has responsibilities, it is time to shape her future, take a step towards the real world. That's why, Kang Jiyeon felt anxious, she wasn't ready to be an adult. "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint" by SingShong, her eighth time reading that novel. However, this time- the eighth turn felt alien to her. She knew the contents of the novel, however there was something else to it... In her mind, something flickering. Tsuchuchuchu! 

A man's silhouette standing in the distance, sparks circling him around. This...

Kang Jiyeon felt a strong sense of deja vu from that person's silhouette, oddly familiar sight. 

"My name is Dokja. Kim Dokja"

Her gaze stuck upon that sentence within the text, she thought, hard... Perhaps as a result of thinking too hard, a throbbing pain arose in her head. Ouch! My head... Kang Jiyeon mumbled to herself. Shortly after the throbbing pain, was she able to shortly recall the past. That's right... However, the fragment she recalled wasn't contiguous and there were many spots which were clearly missing. For example, memories containing that person's identity weren't mentioned, whether he is someone she knows or not.

Kang Jiyeon's instincts took over, trusting her gut feeling, she stood up closing her laptop. As she subconsciously unlocked her phone, scrolling through her contacts, her eyes widened- shocked and puzzled, she stared at the LCD screen of her smartphone, completely freezing. 

"Lee Dohyun"

There were many contacts on her phone, not to mention the conversation was empty. Then why did this person's contact capture her attention...

This 'Lee Dohyun' must be that person, someone else who read ORV, a person who used to her friend. Why can't I see remember your face? 

His face unseen, a man wearing a white button up collar shirt- his black-tie fluttering in the wind, he stood alone in the corner. 

2025, July 11th. 

During these days, Seojun had spent considerable amount of time trying to take the novel down from the webnovel website, eventually succeeding. However, there were many people who had already occupied a copy version of it, spreading it through the internet. 

Only then did he realize, how amazing Ronan's plan was- a crazy gamble. Ronan Vecetti put his own sanity on the line, risking his memories. He knew, Seojun would eventually take down the novel from the site. However, he also had faith in his readers, hoping for them to hold a copy version. Something that the old Ronan, Lee Dohyun would never do- having faith in someone. 

Someone's note:... Wait, who's releasing these?