Chapter 195: Just a Trivial Story (2)
After school, students wearing the same uniform rushed out of the gate. The school gate was crowded and tight like a subway station during rush hour because everyone was leaving at once.
Amid the chaos, one student squeezed through and shouted, "Wait a second! Sorry! I need to get out!"
The girl wore a pristine white tracksuit and a white cap with long black hair flowing beneath it.
It was an unusual sight for a high school student finishing classes. What was even more peculiar was the desperation in her voice.
"I'm in a rush! Please let me get through here..."
So-Yeon was grateful to be in her senior year and managed to break through the dense crowd as she successfully ran out.
Thump.
When So-Yeon's white sneakers finally stepped on the pavement, she shot forward like a bullet.
'Is she on the track team?'
'Looks like she's getting ready for sports university.'
'Damn, she's really fast.'
Her running speed left other students in awe.
As expected, So-Yeon was part of a sports club, but that club had nothing to do with running.
"Huff... Puff..."
Perhaps that was why So-Yeon started catching her breath almost right after running a short distance. It seemed like she didn't have much stamina.
Tap.
Someone's hand landed on So-Yeon's bustling shoulder.
"So-Yeon!"
It was a female student with a shiny name tag written as Cha Hyeon-Ju.
"You need to calm down!"
"... Why did you follow me?"
"Obviously, because of you! Look at you right now, So-Yeon. I'm not even sure if that was Sang-Hyeon!"
"That's why I'm gonna go check it out."
So-Yeon pushed away Hyeon-Ju's hands and headed toward the roadside.
She waved her hands and called out for something.
Zing.
The taxi came and smoothly stopped in front of So-Yeon. It was one of those new self-driving taxis.
"So-Yeon!"
"Don't get in here!"
Thud.
So-Yeon pushed Hyeon-Ju away again and locked the door. She looked around in the taxi.
"Um..."
The taxi had an empty front seat and unnecessarily flashy ambient lights.
It was So-Yeon's first time riding in a self-driving taxi that was first introduced almost a year ago. Still, as a student who often took the bus or walked, she was unfamiliar with this taxi.
.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
So-Yeon could hear the sound of knocking on the window.
It was Dong-Su this time. He must've run from the classroom because his face was red like a tomato.
So-Yeon rolled the window down out of pity.
"What."
"Hey! I bet Sang-Hyeon quit archery because he thinks it's lame! Why are you so obsessed with him?"
"... You don't know anything about Sang-Hyeon."
"Are you serious?!"
"Sang-Hyeon..."
So-Yeon hesitated for a moment.
"Sang-Hyeon... he can't quit archery. There must be a reason behind it."
"Hey, you crazy—"
Zing.
The window closed again.
"Please go to 74-8, 3rd Street, Hoogye."
"Departing from Cheonggye High School. Heading to 74-8, 3rd street, Hoogye."
***
Inside the self-driving taxi, Sang-Hyeon heavily sighed.
"... Why is it this car again?"
Self-driving taxis had become quite a sensation and disappeared for a while, but they recently reappeared.
Sang-Hyeon considered just getting off the taxi, but he couldn't keep doing that forever. He closed his eyes tightly and ordered with accurate pronunciation, "Creek Memorial Park."
"From Hoogye, heading to Creek Memorial Park," the AI voice echoed, and the map appeared on the screen beside Sang-Hyeon.
Sang-Hyeon closed his eyes tightly once more. It felt like his heart was crazily pounding. His hands instinctively gripped the nearby handle.
"Starting departure. Please fasten your seatbelt."
The steering wheel started to turn.
Wooong!
The sound of the electric motor filled the air as the trees and buildings outside the window swiftly passed by.
Ziiiing...
The vibration from his phone felt similar to the electric taxi noise.
[Kim Ju-Hyeok]
The call was coming from Ju-Hyeok.
Sang-Hyeon took a deep breath and took out his phone.
"What's up?"
“Hey, where are you? I've got something to tell you, but I couldn't find you.”
"Oh..."
Sang-Hyeon hesitated for a moment and answered after checking his attire.
"I'm at a wedding."
“A wedding?”
"Remember that colleague I met last time? Today's his wedding."
“Oh, no wonder. I guess that's why he contacted you. Anyway, you know about the interview, right?”
"The interview?"
“Yeah, with Police, the game developers. We arranged it in our schedule before."
"Oh, right."
The scheduled interview was with Police, LIL's developers.
“I just postponed it after the league. And I also asked them to make it a victory interview too!”
"I'm the one who's playing, but why are you being so enthusiastic?"
“Well, they'll probably take it as a joke. Hahaha,” Ju-Hyeok laughed. “We also have a meeting with the developers of The Lazy Soldier. It'll be like a preview event. The open beta will officially begin starting next week. We need to participate and do video ads there.”
"But I'm in the middle of a tournament right now."
“Do you think the other streamers are playing around? An ad is an ad, and a tournament is a tournament.”
‘True.’
Sang-Hyeon scratched his head. He forgot who he was. He wasn't a player, but just a streamer.
Ads should be his priority, not gaming tournaments.
"Hmm, understood."
“Okie~”
His schedule was tighter than he imagined. Sang-Hyeon thought he made the right choice to come and see them today.
"Detecting traffic changes. Changing the route."
The steering wheel in front of the empty seat smoothly turned itself, shifting through the lanes.
***
So-Yeon made a phone call.
After a while, the call was finally answered.
“Hello.”
It was Sang-Hyeon.
"Where are you?" So-Yeon asked, clenching her teeth.
“Why?”
"School's over. You're home, right? You still live there, right? I know you do. There are plenty of people who claimed to have seen you."
“... Are you stalking me?"
"No, I'm hunting you down right now. You got into the national athlete village and received all the sponsorships and privileges from the association. Now you're just running away because archery isn’t your thing? You can't quit before you pay back all the money you used up."
“... Sigh.”
"Are you sighing? Do you think I'm joking here?"
“You're being so childish. It's unlike you. Just go back home.”
"What?! You—"
Click.
The call abruptly ended and left So-Yeon stunned.
"Ugh…!"
So-Yeon dialed the number again. Instead of Sang-Hyeon responding, a mechanical sound echoed in the taxi.
"Detecting traffic changes. Changing the route."
Only the dial tone echoed from the cell phone, and So-Yeon couldn't hear Sang-Hyeon's voice again.
"... What is wrong with him?"
Beneath So-Yeon's white cap, the tears she held back finally streamed down.
The reflection of her lonely figure in the rearview mirror was heart-wrenching.
So-Yeon quickly wiped away her tears, mustering her determination as she always did. She believed that she could convince him.
"Detecting traffic changes. Changing the route," the voice echoed for the second time.
So-Yeon fidgeted with anxiety, lightly touching her white cap, but she didn't pay much attention to the navigation.
The taxi seemed to be going fine on its own.
So-Yeon learned in school that the self-driving system automatically switched to faster routes based on traffic conditions.
"Detecting traffic changes..."
As the voice echoed for the third time, So-Yeon finally noticed something strange.
"?"
It dawned on her that she had yet to see the buildings she was supposed to be nearing.
'Should I switch to manual guidance?'
So-Yeon glanced at the empty driver's seat.
There were a few buttons, but she had no clue how those worked. She didn't even know which way to go. As a student with no experience in driving, So-Yeon had no proper knowledge of road conditions.
"The route has been changed due to... d-d-detected…"
Bzzzzt…!
There were suddenly static noises.
"!"
So-Yeon urgently tried to release the seatbelt and locate the emergency stop button. However, the belt wouldn't unlock.
"You cannot release the seatbelt while the car is in motion."
'What...?'
The emotionless tone of the AI sounded cold and kept repeating itself.
"Detecting traffic changes. Changing the route."
"Detecting traffic changes. Changing the route."
"Detecting traffic changes. Changing the route."
"Detecting traffic changes. Changing the route."
So-Yeon quickly grabbed her phone and dialed 911.
"H-Hello, the taxi is acting strange! Please help!"
The operator tried to locate So-Yeon based on her phone number, but the location kept changing rapidly.
"This is a speed enforcement zone. Please slow down."
Ping! Ping! Ping!
Red lights flashed everywhere, warning the driver to reduce their speed. However, there was no driver in the car.
It was going 80 km/h, 90, 100...
HOOOOOOOONK!!!!!
The last sound So-Yeon heard was the urgent honking of the vehicle ahead.
***
"You have arrived at your destination."
The voice from the taxi echoed as Sang-Hyeon tapped his credit card to complete the payment.
Shaaaa...
A familiar scent wafted toward him from the breeze as Sang-Hyeon stepped out. It was the refreshing aroma of moist soil and the fragrance of the surrounding evergreen trees.
Sang-Hyeon turned his head slightly.
There, in neat lettering, was his destination: Creek Memorial Park.
It was hard to realize that this place was Memorial Park if anyone passed by without knowing. Perhaps the children hanging out here wouldn’t even know that this place was meant to honor the deceased.
The Memorial Park was structured to let anyone enter if they took a wrong turn while wandering near the creek. This space claimed to be nothing more than the final destination of human life, not something to fear or anything extraordinary or agonizing.
That was why this memorial space was clean and adorned with the names of the deceased on black marble.
As Sang-Hyeon passed by, he saw his reflection in the dark marble. The names covered his reflection. One day, his name would also be on there. It was neither sad nor frightening.
They were simply making way for the next generation.
Sang-Hyeon brushed his hand against the distant marble wall and stopped at one spot. A name was engraved like a stamp.
'Han So-Yeon.'
'2007.12.03 ~ 2025.06.27'
Even her short life was detailed on the stone. So-Yeon had been born in the winter when all life was frozen and melded together. Her death, on the other hand, occurred during a vibrant early summer when all life exuded vitality.
'June 27, 2025'
The gaze of Sang-Hyeon lingered deeply on those numbers. He could never forget that day.
Just as summer was about to start, a season of vibrant beginning for all life, So-Yeon's life was taken away.
Sadly, So-Yeon was also the victim of a vehicle accident. The accident was a significant issue as it was caused by a self-driving vehicle. It was the same kind of accident that happened to Sang-Hyeon.
'If only I had properly made that phone call with So-Yeon that day...'
Right before the accident, So-Yeon had called Sang-Hyeon. What if Sang-Hyeon had properly explained why he was quitting archery? What if he had warned So-Yeon to be careful of self-driving cars because Sang-Hyeon was also the victim of a self-driving related accident?
'Would things have been different then?'
These cruel what-ifs flipped Sang-Hyeon's mind upside down. Emotions he usually kept locked away in a corner now tormented him.
He suddenly felt dizzy.
Thud.
Sang-Hyeon leaned his back against the marble and slumped down as if collapsing.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry I couldn't come last year because I was busy."
A long sigh emerged along with regret. Even after ten years of visiting, Sang-Hyeon's heart felt heavy every time. Fortunately, Sang-Hyeon no longer shed tears.
"So-Yeon," Sang-Hyeon whispered toward the wall even though he knew his words would never reach her.
"I met Dong-Su yesterday."
Narrating stories of his life was one of the routines Sang-Hyeon always did when he came here to see So-Yeon as if she was still alive.
"Dong-Su gained a lot of weight. He seemed to be doing fine. He didn't mention you. I think that was because of me."
Sang-Hyeon knew that Dong-Su was being considerate toward him.
"But… I'm a little scared."
Sang-Hyeon confessed to So-Yeon the words he had never told anyone before.
"I'm afraid if they find out what kind of accident I had… that I.. could have saved you..."
This was what Sang-Hyeon feared the most.
The public discovering Sang-Hyeon's vulnerabilities was also frightening, but the sentimental ups and downs related to So-Yeon were equally terrifying.
However, it had already been over ten years. Those things didn't matter as much now, but what still weighed heavily on Sang-Hyeon's heart was...
"That I'm basically the reason you were killed..."
The guilt. So-Yeon died in the same kind of accident that Sang-Hyeon experienced.
Sang-Hyeon was the last person So-Yeon spoke to before her death, yet Sang-Hyeon didn't say a word to her.
If he had given So-Yeon at least some explanation or even just a word of caution about self-driving vehicles, things would have turned out differently.
The fact that Sang-Hyeon's former colleagues would come to know that he not only failed to protect someone he cherished, but also inadvertently led her to her death was what Sang-Hyeon feared the most.
That was why Sang-Hyeon deliberately showed no interest in his former colleagues. He lived without knowing that Hyeon-Ju became a gold medalist.
However, when Sang-Hyeon received a DM from Dong-Su, he realized he couldn't avoid it. He realized he would have to face it eventually if he was going to live as a streamer.
"But what's funny is that I was actually glad when I received the DM. I guess I missed them too. Time flies."
At that moment, a voice came from the black wall.
"So you're really here on her birthday instead of her memorial day."
Surprised, Sang-Hyeon looked around anxiously.
"People say that anyone who still has lingering attachments to the deceased often comes on their birthday instead."
The stranger slowly turned around the corner and appeared at the end of the wall.
It was Cha Hyeon-Ju, the Olympic gold medalist and the junior who was closest to So-Yeon.
"Or maybe you didn't want to run into us?"