Transmigrated as the Side Top used as an Emotional Trash Can

“Gwonhyeok-ah, someone who’s hurt can’t use this much strength.”

For now, I tried talking to the Jangsanbeom that was imitating Cha Gwonhyeok. It was intelligent, so if I pointed out a flaw, it would probably try to correct it.

Like the fake Kim Jihwan earlier, who had denied being the Jangsanbeom.

“It hurts so much…. Can’t you turn around and look at me?”

I hadn’t expected that. Instead of correcting its behavior, it appealed to my emotions. It sounded so pitiful that I almost turned around for a moment.

Creeeak….

“Gw-Gwonhyeok-ah…! You’re way too strong for someone who’s hurt…!”

The force pulling at me was steadily growing stronger, until I could barely withstand it. I couldn’t easily give up my means of transportation, so I held on for now.

“Look at me. Hanrim-ah.”

I felt like a lump of iron being pulled toward a magnet. I was helplessly dragged backward by an enormous force.

“Please.”

Something ticklish and furry brushed against my back.

Goosebumps prickled over me, and all the strength suddenly drained from my body.

Crash-!

I let go of the bicycle.

I heard something fall behind me.

Clang- Clatter- Rattle….

“Aagh!”

Then came the sound of the bicycle’s metal frame crashing around, followed by a cry of pain.

Wait, a cry of pain?

“Gwonhyeok-ah, are you okay?”

There was no answer. When I moved forward, I didn’t hear anything following me either.

“Gwonhyeok-ah? Are you behind me?”

I cautiously shuffled backward while waving my hands around. My fingertips didn’t catch on anything. As I kept walking backward, my foot eventually bumped into the bicycle. I carefully stood it back up. Nothing happened throughout the process.

“Can I… turn around?”

It was so quiet that it felt strange. I cautiously used the bicycle’s side mirror to look behind me.

“Huh?”

I made a dumbfounded sound in surprise at what I saw through the mirror.

“There’s no one there?”

Because there really was no one there. I turned around properly to check, but there truly wasn’t anyone.

Using a mirror like this, as if I were dealing with Medusa, would make it easier to identify what was behind me, but there was no guarantee it would work. The Jangsanbeom and Medusa were different.

I could infer enough through conversation, so it would probably be wiser to use the mirror only when I had no other choice, like just now.

“For now, let’s keep moving.”

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* * *

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I kept moving.

The sun gradually sank, and flocks of crows flew overhead. The refreshing forest of daytime was beginning to reveal its true nature at night.

“Can I rest….”

My voice cracked from exhaustion.

I parked the bicycle and sat down on a tree stump. After moving nonstop, my thighs felt like they were going to burst. On top of that, the temperature in the forest kept dropping, so it was cold. Maybe taking off my padded jacket had been a mistake.

“Baek Hanrim.”

As I watched the sunset, my ears perked up at the sound. It was Kim Jihwan’s voice again.

“Jihwan-ah, do you know where this is?”

“No. I got dragged here too.”

I stood up from the stump and naturally continued the conversation. The Jangsanbeom had arrived, so I needed to run for now. I wasn’t sure I could lose it in my current condition, though.

“Haa… my legs hurt. Where’s the escape route from this place?”

“Who knows, maybe it sank into the ground.”

I walked while pushing the bicycle instead of riding it. More accurately, I couldn’t ride it. My butt was too numb, and it felt like the insides of my thighs were about to start bleeding, so I couldn’t ride the bicycle anymore.

“Do you think we can get out?”

“You’ve got to find it carefully.”

The more we talked, the more certain I became that it was the Jangsanbeom. Who the hell would be this calm in a situation like this? Unless they were an unusual case like me, they should be shaken.

“I’m so scared….”

“Ah, fuck, don’t make me anxious!”

The Jangsanbeom seemed to act according to the tone of my conversation. If I was calm, it was calm. If I acted scared, it acted scared.

“Jihwan-ah, what do you think about going to Manila this winter?”

“Why are you asking? If we’re going, we’re going.”

Since it wasn’t directly attacking me, was I safe as long as I didn’t look at it? I don’t know. My head isn’t working properly. Why does it keep following me? It won’t even let me rest.

“Can’t you not go?”

“What?”

I can’t walk anymore.

I want to rest. Should I just look at the Jangsanbeom and die?

“Can’t you just not go? Don’t go.”

“Who are you to tell me whether I can go or not?”

Even at such an out-of-nowhere comment, it reacted exactly like the real Kim Jihwan. It felt like I was talking to an AI that had scanned his brain.

“Can’t I even say something like that to you?”

The Jangsanbeom fell silent. Even the timing of its silence was exactly like the real Kim Jihwan’s.

“What am I to you?”

What would the Jangsanbeom say? It needed to deceive me, so it would probably say something the real Kim Jihwan might say, right? When it imitated Cha Gwonhyeok earlier, it spoke so naturally that it seemed as though it had looked directly into his mind. What would Kim Jihwan say in this situation?

I couldn’t predict it. I had never asked the real Kim Jihwan what I was to him either.

“You are… Baek Hanrim.”

Kim Jihwan gave an ambiguous answer. It was too ambiguous. That was why it felt correct. I felt like the real Kim Jihwan would have answered the same way.

“Haa… Kim Jihwan….”

Eventually, I stopped moving altogether and stood there blankly with the bicycle. Not long after, I sank to the ground as if collapsing. I had pushed myself too hard, and all the strength had left my body.

I can’t even run anymore. What do I do?

“I’m just the side top, so why do I have to go through something like this here?”

There was a brief silence after my unhinged meta comment. Then Kim Jihwan indifferently answered my question.

“You crazy bastard, if you’re gonna lose your mind, at least do it quietly.”

I almost turned my head because I thought it might actually be the real Kim Jihwan. That answer was practically the essence of seventeen years of Kim Jihwan. Responding to nonsense with vicious swearing…!

This Jangsanbeom is impressive, huh?