Chapter 11

As soon as he crossed through the gate, the entrance was in sight, and with an intense headache, he barely managed to crawl to the bed. Since he had arrived around 7 AM, he had only managed to sleep for about two hours.

Seo-un followed his trail step by step and then looked back at the entrance. Although this was his first time using the gate, he had a hunch.

The first time he was thrown into the netherworld, the gate had activated as soon as he opened the entrance. When he regained his senses, he found himself at the crossroads of the netherworld.

It seemed that when moving from the current world to the netherworld, one would gather at the crossroads gate, but when moving from the netherworld to the current world, one would be summoned to the last place they were in.

Seo-un, holding Matahari in his arms, hurriedly searched for his phone.

Where did I put my phone last...?

It had been more than three months, so he couldn't remember clearly.

[Your line is receiving a call from 'Father.' Would you like to connect?]

While searching under the sofa, the AI speaker woke him up.

"Where is my phone?"

[Master, I don't know where it is. Would you like to connect?]

"No."

[I will handle it as a missed call.]

Seo-un tried to recall where he had put his phone, squeezing every bit of his memory.

"Ah!"

Why didn't I think of that?

The reason he was standing at the entrance when he first fell into the netherworld was, of course, to go outside. Since he didn't have his phone in his pocket at the time, it was likely on the shoe rack.

Rushing back to the entrance, Seo-un found his phone on the shelf where he usually put his car keys. Contrary to his expectation that it would be dusty, the screen was clean. Upon closer inspection, the house was surprisingly comfortable despite being vacant for a long time.

It then occurred to him that he had allowed a housekeeper to visit twice a week. Since the contract was still valid, the housekeeper had been cleaning diligently even in his absence.

Seo-un pulled out the charging cable embedded in the living room table and plugged it into his phone. He tapped his fingers like playing the piano, waiting for the phone to power on.

Before long, the phone screen lit up, and messages poured in like a carpet bombing. Ignoring the messages, Seo-un touched the call log.

Since the day he was isolated in the netherworld, the变异灾害控制中心的电话就不断打来。父母和朋友们的联系也不少，未接来电记录排成了长队。

[厕所 (83次)][李有成]

……

……

[父亲 (21次)]

[母亲 (11次)]

[塔川公会 茶夏]

在查看未接来电时，Seo-un 皱起了眉头。

12月31日至1月1日，与茶夏的通话记录显示通话时间大约在午夜前后，持续了约10分钟。

那天晚上我跟茶夏说了什么……？

无论怎么想也想不起来，这可能只是关于公会运营的普通对话。

‘塔川公会 茶夏’

光看保存的名称就感觉有距离感。

仔细想想，在公会度过的6个月里，似乎只维持了商务关系。与高中时不同，与茶夏个人联系的次数屈指可数，如果不是公会活动，见面的机会也很少。这大概都是源于自己的自卑感。

正打算将‘塔川公会 茶夏’改为‘茶夏’并给她打电话时，‘父亲’的电话更快地响了起来。

父亲不接电话的话，会打几千个电话也不嫌多。

“……是的，父亲。”

[车秀云！你知道我和你妈妈有多担心吗？]

父亲的声音里确实充满了对孩子的担忧。

[回来了就应该马上联系家里，让父母先联系你，这是从哪里学来的家庭教育？我们是这样教你的吗？我从新闻里才知道你的消息？]

本想说一句“对不起，让您担心了”，但话到嘴边又咽了回去。

[为什么只有你这样？别人来来往往的，你为什么这样？这段时间你到底做了什么？]

虽然不想情绪化地回应，但作为一个人，作为父母，还是感到心酸。

“我差点死了，父亲。”

直到父亲喘了口气，Seo-un 才勉强说出一句话。

[车夏也这样，别人来来往往的，你为什么这样？你这段时间到底做了什么？]

感情上不想回应，但作为一个人，作为父母，还是感到心酸。

“我差点死了。”

[……]

“你只要说一句‘回来了就好’就够了。”

以前，即使得了普通的感冒，连说一句“我生病了”都不敢。

只会听到“你身体管理不好才会这样”的唠叨，结果连没病也会得病。

“换妈妈接电话。”

听到长长的叹息声，随即传来母亲微弱的声音。

[秀云，你身体还好吗？有没有受伤？]

似乎在忍着泪水，声音比平时更小。

“嗯，我没事。你很担心吧？还有，别因为换了门禁密码而生气。之前请家政阿姨时换的。”

[秀云，你真的没事吗？妈妈……现在过去吗？]

母亲是我唯一无法放弃的家人。

“我有事过来的。停留时间不会很长，等有空我会去看你们。”

[有什么事比父母还重要？]

不出所料，父亲插了进来。在换到母亲之前，他可能已经切换到了免提模式。

“我有什么事可做。为了像父亲这样的人能安心睡觉，去打怪物。”

[车秀云，你这小子说话……如果不是精神失常了。]

为什么，说两句反驳的话就不行吗？二十三年来，我一声不吭，听话地做事，不就该这样吗？父亲不仅说唱得好，其实我也很厉害。23年来积攒的怨气，你愿意尝尝吗？无论父亲说什么，我都非常优秀，那个了不起的车秀，我靠吃草活了三个月。我终于理解了为什么僧侣会通过绝食来寻求觉悟。当肚子饿到极致时，无念无相，世间烦恼皆成空。但问题是，即使获得了觉悟，回到俗世后，烦恼又找上门来。

“南无阿弥陀佛。”

[什么？]

“妈妈，我一会儿再打给你。”

咔嚓，Seo-un 有生以来第一次单方面挂断了父亲的电话。即使在屏蔽时，手也在颤抖，心脏也扑通扑通跳。对付怪物时毫不畏惧，但面对比自己弱的父亲时却做不到。

就像马戏团的熊。比人强壮得多，但在控制和压迫中长大，不敢反抗的愚蠢动物，我与它有何不同？

如果车夏是父亲的儿子，而不是我……

Seo-un 勉强停止了这种过度悲观的自我客观化。这次，他终于按下了给车夏的通话按钮。

[你已经醒了？]

车夏的声音前所未有的亲切。

“你怎么知道我睡着了？”

[本来一开始就是这样。不过我不一样。]

充满笑意的声音听起来也很悦耳。

“你在哪里？在家吗？”

说起来，这段时间他都不知道车夏住在哪里。

[在家。]

“我过去。去哪儿？”

[和叔叔一起住的地方。]

差点脱口而出“难道你还住在那个半地下室？”但还是咽了回去。

[要我告诉你地址吗？]

“我又不是健忘症患者，我只去过一两天吗？我知道在哪里。”

[那就在目的地见吧。]

“……好吧，那我洗个澡就过去。”

Seo-un 一直等到车夏挂断电话。这段时间，他心里充满了对之前疏远车夏的愧疚。

[你信吗？我现在不住那里了。]

“你开什么玩笑。”

[我高三快结束时，因为拆迁搬走了。]

“……”

这次真的无话可说。那时他正全力准备高考，完全不知道这件事。

[车秀云，你对我根本没兴趣，对吧？]

还好车夏轻描淡写地回应，让他松了口气。

“解开。我给你买旋风薯条。”

[100个。]

“啊，主题公园的旋风薯条都归你。”

[一会儿见。]

“嗯，准备一个小时。出发时再联系。”

这次，Seo-un 按下了通话结束按钮。

虽然因为变异，之前没能去的游乐园这次能去了，感觉有些奇妙。记得春游那天早上也是用“一会儿见”结束了电话，但不太确定。

虽然是5级变异，不能过于兴奋，但脚底还是痒痒的。仿佛回到了高中时与车夏的关系。