Upon waking, I immediately returned to the shop.
“You’ve arrived.”
Instead of responding to the shop, I immediately opened the book.
Even a brief exchange felt like a waste of precious time.
Only by opening the book as swiftly as possible could I grasp the future that lay ahead and, crucially, manipulate it to my advantage.
While I had refrained from opening the book within the library, uncertain of what variables might emerge, here, in the safety of the shop, no such danger existed.
As the book unfurled, the characters within its pages seemed to lift, weaving themselves into existence and shaping the very space around me.
Two colossal pillars slowly materialized from above, eventually plunging into the ground to form a floor of polished marble tiles.
When I finally lifted my gaze, the shop had vanished, replaced by an expansive library stretching into an indiscernible distance.
“Greetings. Welcome to Label’s Library.”
Standing in an empty alcove between the towering bookshelves was a silver-haired girl, clad in a retro-style dress.
She was one of Label’s Library’s Three Sisters, the librarians of this realm.
“I am a librarian of this place. Specifically, I am the Present.”
The reason for one body embodying three sisters was remarkably simple.
Three distinct entities shared this singular form.
Just as I anticipated, an entirely different voice soon emanated from her lips.
“I am the Past! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
The dignified demeanor she had held moments before vanished entirely, replaced by an exuberantly cheerful voice.
“I am… the Future. A pleasure, I suppose?”
And finally, there was the Future, whose presence carried an air of subtle enigma.
“Hello. I am the Merchant.”
“Oh! That much is clear!”
It was the Past again, with her characteristic lively voice.
I couldn’t fathom how they could deduce such a thing merely from my plain attire.
Each of them, it seemed, perceived a different aspect of me: my past, my present, and my future.
To put it simply, the Past saw my childhood self, while the Future perceived a version of me from an even more distant point in time.
“But your past… it’s empty, isn’t it? Like it’s riddled with holes.”
“Pardon?”
“Past, allow me to speak first.”
“Alright! But you have to be quick!”
Though it outwardly resembled a monologue, they were, in fact, conversing amongst themselves.
“So, Merchant. For what reason have you sought out this library?”
“Future, I require the optimal future.”
“Me! Me! I knew it!”
“Past.”
“Ahem. My apologies…”
“Hah… Merchant, I apologize. Precisely what kind of future do you require?”
“Oh? Ah, the business card—”
I concisely relayed the future I currently sought.
“Hmm. You are requesting quite a lot. Past, if you would be so kind as to explain.”
“Mhm! The business card is… a map showing the shop, and the shop is—”
The Past, having seemingly ‘read’ me, offered a background explanation on my behalf.
“I understand. Thank you. Future, is this feasible?”
“Yes. Just one. There is a way.”
The Future delivered truly hopeful news.
“Is it truly possible?”
Honestly, given the stringent conditions, I hadn’t even dared to hope for both outcomes; I would have been content to salvage even one.
“Yes. It’s possible. However, there isn’t much time left.”
“Time?”
“Time doesn’t flow here, so it’s not strictly an issue within these walls. However, it would be wise to act immediately upon leaving the library.”
“Ah.”
“Since the feasibility has been confirmed, then.”
As there is no free lunch in this world, acquiring knowledge of the future demanded a substantial price.
“We shall now commence the transaction. The cost will be—”
The cost, it turned out, was a fragment of my past memories.
“Waaait!! I’ve been trying to say something for a while now!”
“Past! Why have you been interrupting the conversation this whole time! Ah, ahem. Please, state your point. However, it must be of significant importance.”
The Present’s demeanor seemed to shift instantaneously, though I deemed it of no particular consequence.
“Ugh, fine! Do you remember what I said earlier?”
“Pardon? About your past being empty.”
“Exactly! That’s what I meant. Your past is empty in places. It’s like it’s riddled with holes.”
‘What is this?’
‘Do I lack memories from before I was transmigrated here?’
“No, to be precise, it’s more like they’re jumbled together, perhaps? It’s truly fascinating! How is your mind even holding up? Don’t your memories feel strange?”
This only deepened my confusion.
“For instance, I can clearly see you visiting the convenience store, but what you did at home afterward is completely obscured. It’s as if that specific segment has been overwritten by other memories. Think carefully. There must be something strange…”
‘Something strange, she says.’
‘I don’t recall anything particularly amiss.’
‘The only thing I’d considered unusual lately was a slight increase in my mistakes.’
‘And if memories were gone, they were gone; what did ‘overwritten’ even mean?’
‘Hmm… No matter how much I pondered, I couldn’t grasp it.’
As I remained lost in contemplation, the Past delivered an unfortunate revelation.
“Anyway, about that. Your past cannot serve as payment for the future.”
“Pardon? But couldn’t you at least take a reasonable portion?”
“Would you deliberately purchase and read a novel with missing chapters?”
“That’s…”
“That was indeed crucial information. Thank you, Past. Merchant, I regret to inform you that a transaction would be difficult to facilitate under these circumstances.”
‘A failed transaction was absolutely unacceptable.’
‘I needed to think carefully.’
‘In the game, such an option simply didn’t exist, meaning transactions were impossible through any means other than memories.’
‘Yet this was reality; any transaction was possible, provided it was justifiable.’
‘Why did they demand memories as payment?’
‘It was to fill the books within the library.’
‘The Three Sisters of Label’s Library were such beings—librarians and collectors of stories.’
‘So, for story collectors, what would be the most ideal transaction?’
‘An unending supply of stories.’
“Excuse me. Then, what about a different kind of transaction?”
“What kind of transaction are you proposing?”
“If you assist me this time, I will come here every month and recount the tales of the customers who visit my shop.”
“That is certainly an impressive offer, but I cannot be certain that your stories would hold such value.”
‘Damn it.’
‘Even I thought it was far too little a price for knowledge of the future.’
“The tales of my customers are bound to be captivating. Should this transaction be properly concluded, I assure you, they will bring you stories beyond your wildest imagination.”
“However—. Wait, Present. It would be wise to accept that transaction.”
Just as the Present was about to elaborate, the Future interjected.
“Pardon? Future, what do you mean— Ah, no, that’s not it. The Future’s words cannot possibly be mistaken. Very well. We shall proceed with the transaction.”
I had no idea what the Future had perceived in me to prompt her acceptance of the transaction, but for now, that was sufficient.
“We shall provide you with information about the future, and in return, you will visit this place once a month to share your stories with us. Is this acceptable?”
“Yes, that is acceptable.”
“Excellent! Then, shall we draft the contract?”
With that, the Past pulled a book from one of the shelves.
“This is both proof of your contract and the book in which your future stories will be inscribed.”
‘I know this. Simply put, it’s a contract.’
‘However, it’s not a mere contract; it’s one that uses my past as part of the agreement.’
“Sign your name here, using your real name.”
I lightly penned my name.
“Now the contract is complete! See, it wasn’t as big a deal as you thought, was it?”
“As a point of reference, should you violate this contract, your existence will vanish along with the Past.”
‘I am aware of that too.’
‘This means if I don’t come here every month from now on, I will cease to exist.’
‘It’s a little unsettling, but since there are no particular dangers here, it’s not a huge burden.’
‘Of course, I’ll have to return this book in two weeks, so I need to prepare for that in advance.’
“And finally.”
A single sheet of paper tore itself from the middle of the book.
“This is… the future you desired. Again, act immediately upon leaving.”
With those words, the library dissolved, and I found myself back in the shop.
“Why are you just standing there?”
Lightly disregarding the shop’s words, I read the paper, intent on following the Future’s advice to act as quickly as possible.
[Yesterday at 9:07 AM, I connected a door to Sweetie’s Snack Shop and gave a business card to the first customer.
Today at 11:23 AM, yesterday’s customer will return. Afterward, another customer will purchase an item.
Tomorrow at 1:47 PM, an agent from the Urban Legend Management Bureau, who acquired a business card, will visit.]
Sweetie’s Snack Shop was not some special urban legend; it was merely a snack shop that appeared as a background element in the game.
The fact that the content included past, present, and future didn’t bother me much, as it was the same in the game.
I also knew that ‘yesterday’ in this context referred to today.
However, wasn’t the content a bit sparse?
I felt a little cheated.
“Shop, what time is it now?”
“It is 9:02 AM. So, what happened and why are you like that?”
Well, it wouldn’t be a lie, at any rate.
Looking at the time, it seemed I needed to act immediately.
“Connect a door to Sweetie’s Snack Shop.”
“Understood. So, what exactly happened?”
I fell into deep thought, trying to grasp the implication of this information.
****
As warm sunlight streamed through the window, The Girl, who had been deep in slumber, awoke.
This was Choi Yu-na, Choi Seong-min’s daughter.
Yu-na glanced at her side.
The clock showed 8:40 AM, and her grandmother was still asleep.
Yu-na carefully got up so as not to wake her grandmother and stepped out of the room.
Perhaps due to the guest who had visited last night, the living room was quite messy.
Yu-na walked towards the master bedroom.
She wanted to check if her parents were awake.
Through a narrow gap in the door, Yu-na heard her mother’s voice.
“What are we going to do about the candy— What on earth is that— How could you do that to your mother—”
Though she couldn’t hear clearly, even young Yu-na understood that the atmosphere was tense.
From what she could vaguely discern, the word ‘candy’ seemed to be repeated continuously.
Yu-na soon realized and spoke.
‘It must be that Dad secretly ate candy, just like Grandma ate snacks by herself.’
‘Mom must have wanted candy too!’
Yu-na then had another brilliant idea.
‘If I buy some candy, both Mom and Dad will be happy!’
Yu-na had her pocket money, which she had saved little by little, and a snack shop she frequently visited alone.
Quietly changing her clothes, Yu-na soon left the house.
