After leaving that house, the system window popped up in front of Jack:
When Jack returned home, anger was visible on his face, and he did not try to hide it because Jack developed his personality to be direct, so he did not think much about his appearance.
There were two reasons for his anger. The first was the fact that he didn't notice that the system didn't react or announce the end of the reward task when he assumed those patients were transmigrants. If he had slowed down and noticed that the system wasn't acknowledging this information, things might have been different.
The second reason is... 'Ah, I feel this headache now. Hey, I heard that friends miss each other, but I didn't miss this comrade with me.'
Jack was feeling that painful headache that he suffered throughout the fifty lives that he lived as an ordinary person in those worlds, and this headache was the reason that he committed suicide several times and did not taste true happiness.
Every time it starts with a painful headache, then develops into hallucinations, and then the pain becomes unbearable. Although there are temporary solutions that he tried previously, he is sure that they do not exist in this world, so he is now in a bad mood.
'I have to finish all my pending affairs in this world before my condition worsens.' Jack entered the house and saw his mother in the kitchen, but he didn't really see her as usual, because when Jack's mood is bad, he treats all the people of the world as NPCs.
It was as if their voice was getting a little muddled, and the colors in the world were getting dim around them, and there was also a black line covering their eyes, making it just unbearable to look at.
'Oh, that's what I'm missing now. I'm back to my old habit of pacing. I need to clear my mind right now.' With this, Jack went up to his room and didn't speak or move for the rest of the day.
At dinner time, the family noticed Jack's condition, and the mother began to worry. 'W-what if he is going through a period of depression?' Sarah said.
'I don't think so, Mom. He just ignores me when I call him, and I don't see any signs of depression on his face,' Emma replied.
'Maybe it's just a bad day,' Asher suggested.
'Oh, honey, can you come early tomorrow and spend some time with him? He won't talk to me no matter how hard I try.'
Asher paused for a moment while thinking; he was supposed to be a little busy tomorrow, but the work plan is ready, and if he made a double effort the day after tomorrow, he might not be harmed if he came back early tomorrow.
Asher smiled warmly as he said, 'Of course, no problem. We men know each other.'
'But you're really old, Dad.'
'Hah, how dare you call your father old! I demand an apology immediately.'
'Hmm? But you always tell me that I am young and strong unlike you and call yourself old.'
Asher straightened his back and changed his sitting position like a respectable man, then said, 'No, Emma, self-flagellation is different from bullying others.'
Those words made Emma feel embarrassed by her father's way of thinking and made Sarah laugh in secret.
The next day, Asher told Helen that he would leave early, but he would make up for the remaining work tomorrow. After obtaining confirmation from his childhood friend, Asher also informed the employees at the site, and of course, their reaction was a bit frustrated because they love Asher, and his presence only motivates them to do the best they can. They understood that Asher needed rest, so they told him to rest well and not worry about production.
Returning to his house, Asher first entered his office to check something, then went out and climbed the stairs to the second floor and stood in front of Jack's room, where he knocked quietly on the door.
'Jack, are you here? Come on, son, let's go hang out together.'
But no response came to him, so Asher repeated the operation several times, and each time he was met with silence.
Of course, he tried to open the door, but it was closed, so he pulled back, pondered a little, and then he sighed deeply while muttering, 'It's been a long time since this move; I hope I don't fail.'
Then he advanced quickly and kicked the door and smashed it, and with this, he entered Jack's room, who was meditating on his bed, but he stopped doing that while looking at Asher with the eyes of the WTF?
Asher rearranged his hair while smiling at his beloved son. 'Come on, Jack, let's go have some fun.'
'No, the time is not right.' Jack's tone was cold because he currently does not see Asher as a real person, but at the same time, he does not want to hurt his feelings, so he kept his words in the safe range.
But Asher did not give up and sat next to Jack, who closed his eyes again, then Asher began pricking his son's cheek with his finger several times without saying anything.
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Then again and again and again and again, he kept doing this until Jack reached his limits.
'God damn it, stop it or I swear I-' Jack stopped speaking when he angrily turned to look at Asher and found that he was smiling strangely bright.
'Here you are, yes, Jack, let out your negative energy, although I will beat you later for your disrespectful words, but for now, let your heart out.'
Hearing this, Jack felt as if Asher's voice was no longer as distorted as it used to be, but rather became more normal.
Jack frowned, noticing this strange change, but he really didn't want to go out because he would go crazy if he was surrounded by all these NPCs. But Asher threatened him that he wouldn't stop until he told him what was bothering him or went out for a walk with him.
Jack paused for a while thinking, then decided to get out. If he went crazy next to Asher, maybe he'd leave him alone and never bother him again."
"Oh, great, if you go get ready, I'll wait for you downstairs," said Asher.
"Uhhhh," Jack was disgusted and in awe of how optimistic this NPC was.
As they wandered around the county, they fortunately didn't find many people outside, perhaps most of them were at work or studying for exams on Monday.
"Ah, that reminds me of how it's studying with you? Do you need any help?" Asher asked.
"No, I'm fine. I don't even need to go to school, and I'll get full marks in all the tests," Jack replied, feeling annoyed. Even with not many people outside, he was already starting to feel uncomfortable.
"What confidence? Wait.... Don't tell me you're one of those once-in-a-thousand-year geniuses or something like that, hahaha," Asher chuckled.
Jack looked at Asher with a cold and murderous gaze.
"Oh, yeah, it was a bad joke, I think it's one of Dad jokes I guess," Asher said, scratching his head, then looking forward and smiling.
"Oh, here we go, come on, Jack, let's go in," Asher said as he looked at the building in front of him and recognized it—a rather large building with a logo in the shape of a sphere and targets.
"Bowling alley," muttered Jack.
"Yes, the bowling alley. Do you hate bowling, Jack? I remember we used to come here a lot when I was little," Asher said.
The current Jack didn't hate bowling, so he decided to give it a shot.
They both walked into the hall after Asher had paid for an hour's play and urged Jack to tell him if he wanted more time.
Even here, there weren't many people, fortunately, so Jack's condition didn't get any worse.
Asher took one of the balls, adjusted his position, breathed deeply, and focused, then moved forward and threw the ball... "A complete failure," Asher felt frustrated as he sat next to Jack, who stood up to play his part, and unlike Asher, Jack had knocked down three of the targets with his punch.
"Oh, cool, Jack! Well then, I'm not going to lose," Asher got excited and got ready to compete with his son in the game, but...
"Five failed attempts in a row, heeeee," Asher's frustration increased to the point that he hugged his legs while he was on the sofa and lowered his head.
"Hey, Jack, how do you do this?"
"Nothing special, just imagine you are sho-" Jack paused, then interrupted his words. "Just imagine you're the ball." Jack spouted the first nonsense that came into his head.
"Oh, I see , hmm, hmm, yes, I understand," Asher got up excitedly, while Jack sat looking at his father.
Jack didn't understand why an NPC would get excited about a game.
He also really made up the illusion that you are the ball.
But even so, Jack watched Asher carefully.
Asher grabbed the ball and brought it close to his chest and head, closing his eyes, and muttered, "I'm a ball, I'm a ball, I'm a ball." Then he kissed the ball and opened his burning eyes while swinging his hands with intensity, releasing the ball straight and hitting all the objectives.
"Shh-shh-sssss- STRIKE"
Asher approached his son, gently tapped his shoulder, and caressed his head while smiling warmly, then began to explain to Jack the amazing feeling he was experiencing.
Jack, who was shocked by the success of the "I-Ball" trick, listened to Asher's words and looked at him in amazement. He couldn't understand what he was seeing exactly, but the headache he felt was increasing when he looked at Asher. At the same time, he couldn't help but look at him, as if he was searching for something, as if...
"Hmmm? What's wrong with you, Jack? Why did you stray?"
"Huh? Oh no, nothing."
"So! Shall we continue playing?"
".... decent."
So they both played for a full three hours, and then when they came out, Jack was looking at Asher, whose background became colorful again.
"Uh, I'm a little tired. Shall we rest in a restaurant?"
"It's okay," Jack replied simply, but Asher looked at him and said, "No, you will choose."
Jack paused, realizing what Asher wanted, just a father who wants to strengthen his bond with his son. Unfortunately, Jack is not Jack.
"Well then, how about some beer?" Jack said, remembering the promise he made to himself when he was at the facility.
"Hell no! You're still young, son. Um? Then we'll go with apple juice, okay?"
“.....Yes,” Jack replied, anticipating Asher's reaction.
......
In a coffee shop in District C, Jack and Asher were sitting, waiting for the apple juice they had ordered.
At that moment, silence prevailed between the father and his son, but it did not bother them.
Until Asher finally spoke with a serious face, "Jack, has anything happened to you these few days?"
Jack was silent as he thought in his mind, "Oh damn, don't tell me this is the part where the classic father-son dialogue takes place."
"Oh, son, are you okay? What happened to you?"
"No, Dad, I don't feel well. Actually, I feel depressed. I feel like I'm suicidal. Blah blah blah.... Ugh. It's annoying for an old monster like me to deal with such silly dialogues, so I have to end this quickly."
Jack's thoughts stopped, and he replied in a deadpan tone, "No, nothing happened. I'm just rebellious. I'll calm down soon." With that, Jack decided to end this conversation before it even started, but Asher kept his serious face.
"You don't understand, my son. If you are going through a bad phase in your life, you must realize that no one will help you, not your sister, not your mother, not even me. You are only able to help yourself."
Silence filled the air for a moment, and then Asher continued.
"The world is bad, Jack. I know you already know that, but you really don't realize how bad it is. One of my friends witnessed the suicide of his widow neighbor's son on Mother's Day, and that son left her a letter... Do you know what they found in the letter?
"Mom, I know you always say that I am the cause of your sadness and that if I hadn't been born, your life would have been happier. So on this Mother's Day, I want you to be happy again. I love you, Mom, and I hope that with my disappearance, the smile will return to your face... This is just a sample, Jack. There are even worse things. You and I live in absolute comfort while many others suffer. People fight over resources and whether the world is a triangle or a square, but they ignore those who suffer in secret, Jack... Love your life, my son, love yourself, and then love others because this life doesn't last forever-" Asher paused for a moment as the apple juice arrived. He thanked the waitress and then lowered his head to take a sip of the juice.
Then he raised his head and continued, "Jack, my son, nothing is worth the trouble in this world, except one thing... Do you know what it is?"
Jack didn't hear the sentence clearly; it sounded distorted.
"J-Ja-Isaac, something i-i-important... Do you know what?"
Suddenly, the voice wasn't like Asher's; it was a strange but familiar voice.
"What-what's happening to me?" Jack reached a critical point of headache suddenly, but the hallucination phase should be far away, so why was he hearing voices and imagining things now?
Jack struggled to look at Asher, whose image was fuzzy like a TV screen, as if transforming into someone else.
Jack was sure that he knew this person, but at the same time, he didn't.
In that moment, Asher continued speaking, seemingly lost in thought, "It's contentment, Jack. If you don't have contentment, you'll live like an animal or worse, like the same people you hated."
"Those words... I've heard them before, but where... where!?" Suddenly, the pain reached a new level that made Jack barely conscious, and he fought against this thing that was tormenting him...
In that moment, Jack saw something, not the usual hallucination, but a whole new scene of a man, a woman, and a child sitting at a dining table, talking.
What was that vision? In his previous lives, he had encountered a few similar scenes, but now he remembered it correctly, not distorted like this...
Jack was in great pain, to the point that he held his head and tried to break it to stop the pain, but a big, strong, yet warm hand held him.
Jack heard a voice calling him, and he opened his eyes to see the boy holding him, but his image changed, and he saw Asher, who showed a worried expression.
"Jack, my son, are you okay? Do you need a doctor?"
In that moment, Jack was able to see them again, those beautiful brown eyes and that elegant, worried face.
The line on Asher's face disappeared, and Jack could see his father better than ever.
Seeing Asher's wide, astonished eyes, Jack sighed and smiled warmly from the heart, not as a pretense or as a son, but as a friend smiling at a friend.
"From the ground to Jack? Hello, do you speak our language?"
Jack snapped out of his trance and looked around for a moment, then looked back at Asher. The headache was still intense every time he looked at Asher, but he felt closer to that hidden thing in that moment, and for the first time, Jack smiled genuinely from his heart.
"Just another dad joke?"
"Oh, come on, it was a good one."
Jack smiled again and said, "Thank you, I think I found something."
"Oh, that's great! Now, shall we enjoy some juice?"