Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Is the Author Omnipotent?
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“Huu-!”
A dark room.
The man let out a sigh.
He sat up and gazed out the window.
‘One moon.’
It had been a long time since he’d seen it.
Lowering his gaze, he saw the densely packed buildings below.
‘I’m back.’
It was the familiar sight of the city he’d missed.
Lost in reminiscence at his long-awaited return, he was interrupted.
Wuuung-!
A resonant hum filled the room with brilliant light.
A sacred glow and energy enveloped the space in an instant.
And then, an archangel with eight wings appeared.
“Gabriel.”
“It’s been a while, Tae-seong-nim.”
“Tae-seong... It’s been ages since I’ve heard that name.”
Gabriel smiled.
It had been after a whopping 999 reincarnations.
The word “ages” fit perfectly.
“As you know, you must refrain from speaking about your reincarnations.”
“I know.”
“If you break the promise...”
“My ticket to heaven will vanish, right? But you know I never broke my promise in any of my 999 lives.”
“Of course I do.”
No one knew better than Gabriel just how extraordinary the man called Tae-seong was.
Watching over his lives had been her mission, after all.
“Also, for the balance of this world, most of your abilities have been sealed for this life.”
“All of them?”
“Yes. Aura, mana, ki, chakra, and so on. You won’t be able to use any fundamental energies.”
“What an inconvenient life this’ll be.”
“It’s for the sake of balance, so I hope you’ll understand.”
“Got it. Is that the end of the explanation?”
“Yes.”
“Say hi to God for me.”
“Understood. Then, I hope you enjoy this life as well...”
With those words, Gabriel dissolved into mist and vanished.
Left alone, the man collapsed into his chair and sorted through his thoughts.
His first life.
He’d lived as an ordinary office worker.
Then, while saving a child, he was hit by a car and died.
Through that act of self-sacrifice, he earned his ticket to heaven.
But heaven had no space, so instead of going there, he reincarnated.
His second life was as a prince.
Blessed with immense talent, a happy family, and a loving woman.
Everything had been perfect.
It was a so-called perk given to Tae-seong, who couldn’t enter heaven due to circumstances there.
His third life was as a mage.
He lived as a wanderer but left his name in history as a grand magus.
Fourth, fifth.
With each repeated life, he learned how to live.
In every life, he made his mark in history and built fame.
He picked up new skills, absorbed cultures, and honed his tastes.
After 999 such lives.
His mind and body had transcended humanity.
But still, heaven was out of reach this time.
God apologized and offered him a chance to return to his original life.
Living one more life held little meaning for him.
It was no longer exciting or novel.
But returning to his first life sparked a bit of interest.
And so, he returned to his first life.
An ordinary office worker.
The life of 28-year-old Jeong Tae-seong.
“What should I do from now on?”
Tae-seong had experienced most of what humanity could.
Sometimes as a warrior, sometimes a mage, a scholar, an athlete, a doctor, a painter.
He’d lived many lives.
So nothing immediately came to mind.
‘No need to rush.’
He had plenty of time, after all.
Sorting his thoughts, Tae-seong lay down on the bed.
Though he’d returned to his original life, the first night passed without much emotion.
* * *
Sizzle-!
Dawn at 6 a.m.
A delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen.
The smell of sizzling and stir-frying filled the house.
The first to wake was Lee Hye-jeong.
‘What’s this smell?’
She was always the first up, preparing breakfast.
Married for 30 years now, she’d never once left morning meals to anyone else.
Puzzled, she put on her glasses and stepped out of the room. Her eyes landed on the kitchen scene.
There was a familiar back in training clothes, moving deftly around the kitchen.
“Tae-seong?”
“Oh, you’re up?”
“Yeah, but... starting so early in the morning... Oh my, what’s all this?”
Lee Hye-jeong’s eyes widened at the food on the table.
Starting with doenjang jjigae, there was grilled fish and braised tofu, all plated invitingly.
The menu wasn’t extravagant, but the presentation evoked high-end cuisine.
“I woke up early and made some breakfast.”
“You made all this, son?”
“Yeah.”
In 28 years, the only food her son had ever made was half-burnt kimchi fried rice.
And now he’d made this?
Unbelievable.
But right before her eyes, her son kept preparing more.
The way he wielded the knife on ingredients was no joke.
It rivaled the knife skills of the star chefs on TV lately.
No, it was better.
From handling the fire to the precision of plating.
Everything was flawless.
Could she even come close if she tried?
No way.
The taste might be similar, but not the presentation.
“Breakfast smells amazing already.”
Then her father-in-law, Jeong Gi-yong, emerged.
Scratching his belly, he gaped at the spread on the table.
“Showing off your skills after so long?”
“No, it wasn’t me...”
“Huh? Tae-seong, why are you in the kitchen?”
“I gave it a try.”
“You?”
Jeong Gi-yong was just as shocked.
He reached out, grabbed some braised tofu, and popped it in his mouth.
Crunch crunch-!
“Whoa! You really made this?!”
“Honey! Even so, eating it with your hands?”
“You try it too. It’s seriously good!”
He fed her some braised tofu.
After a few chews, Lee Hye-jeong’s eyes widened.
“Oh my! It’s delicious.”
“Not bad, right?”
“Wow! Since when could our son cook like this?”
“Right? Better than most restaurants.”
Watching his delighted parents, Tae-seong smiled.
One of his many lives had been as a chef.
It had become second nature after making countless dishes.
‘I can’t use strength, but skills are fair game.’
For his long-lost parents, he’d put his heart into the meal.
* * *
Hanul Design.
It was the company Tae-seong worked at.
His first day back after regressing.
The long absence made it feel a bit unfamiliar.
‘I should quit soon.’
Working at a design firm no longer suited him.
But he couldn’t just quit right away.
For one, he had no immediate plans.
He’d done so many jobs across his lives.
At first, it was fun.
Learning new things.
Picking up new skills.
But after countless reincarnations, the thrill dulled.
Eventually, in later lives, he felt no drive for grand pursuits.
Same now.
Nothing he wanted to do.
Quitting in that state would leave him aimless.
He hated that.
“Jeong, got the samples done?”
His boss, Section Chief Choi Ji-min, asked.
She wore horn-rimmed glasses, the picture of a career woman.
Her expression was stern, dark circles under her eyes.
As prickly as she looked, her personality matched.
‘She used to scare me a lot.’
Not anymore.
She just looked like a tired woman.
“Jeong?”
“Ah, sorry. I’ll finish and send them before lunch.”
“Still not done? When did I ask for them? Ugh, hurry up.”
“Got it.”
Exhaustion and frustration were piling up on her.
No wonder she was irritable, and her skin was breaking out.
‘She should rest for her health.’
No reason to tell her, though.
He kept it to himself and opened the work files.
Finding them was easy.
He’d always been organized, even as a kid.
He kept files tidy at work too.
So locating the file was no issue.
‘Hmm...’
The problem was the design itself.
The client was a cosmetics company.
They’d commissioned packaging design for baby products.
‘Way too amateurish.’
From the font to the main illustration.
Everything was a mess.
Colors were off too.
They’d tried warm pastels like light green, but it clashed with the image.
‘I was really sloppy back then.’
Recalling the past, he’d gotten chewed out by Section Chief Choi plenty.
It had hurt at the time, but now he saw she’d been right.
Handing this to a client would’ve meant complaints for sure.
‘I need to fix it up.’
It was 10:30 a.m.
Lunch started at 1, so plenty of time.
Tae-seong dove into the revisions.