Chapter 57
Terminally Ill, but It's Okay — Episode 57
A night when rain not in the forecast pattered down.
A bolt of lightning crashed down, and the resulting white flash illuminated the man standing by the window.
And in that instant, a ghastly hidden face was revealed.
Eyes bloodshot with excitement and a twisted mouth.
KABOOM.
Sheltered beneath the thunder, the laugh he let out was grotesque enough to sound like a demon's.
But this was only the bare face beneath a mask no one could see, a private truth.
"...Mr. Roberto."
When a shy woman's voice called for him, it soon dissolved like a mirage.
Roberto turned around, once again the picture of a polished gentleman, and marveled at the female student nervously clutching the hem of her red dress.
"Lovely. Enough to make the heavens jealous."
"R-really? I feel so awkward. I'm worried I'll be a discredit to your work......."
"No, not at all. I think your unique charm, Hye-jin, has come through beautifully. Your shy smile is like a rose moss blooming hidden in a crack in the rocks."
"Ah......."
Roberto extended his hand toward the female student, whose cheeks were flushing red.
He guided her as she walked with short, quick steps, worried she might step on her hem, and seated her in the prepared chair.
"Excuse me."
That brief courtesy was all he gave before sweeping her hair aside.
It was an artist's touch checking her condition, but the female student couldn't control her pounding heart and bit down hard on her lip.
"I think a fine work will come of this. If we add music to match the mood......."
The hand that had come down as if it might or might not touch the female student's face moved toward the turntable on the table.
As the sharp needle spun round and round along the LP, solemn music settled over the room.
Paganini, 24 Caprices
Amid the violin melody surging onward, Roberto whispered.
"You said you have a sick younger sibling, didn't you? You'll have a dream you won't want to wake from."
And a moment later.
Caprice No. 9, its high and low registers ringing together like bells; Caprice No. 13, variations upon variations evoking a demon's laughter.......
Scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch
The hand holding the pencil moved violently in time with the circling melody.
Lines resembling the model were drawn across the canvas, and once line met line to form a single shape, the studio was soon engulfed in red, viscous smoke.
Roberto's hallucination-inducing Demonic Energy had settled over the room.
RUMBLE-
Outside the window, the world was again in an uproar with pouring rain, flashing lightning, and thunder.
Inside, Roberto's eyes flashed even more fiercely, while the female student's half-unfocused eyes, sobs, and gasps made her look as though she truly were dreaming.
Meanwhile, the performance raced toward its end.
The long-awaited Caprice No. 24.
It was just then, when a brilliant arpeggio worthy of a finale was about to ring out.
Clack-
Roberto set down his brush.
The Demonic Energy that had been encroaching on the space, and the surging madness, all vanished in an instant.
All that remained was the female student slumped as if out of her mind, and the portrait of a red woman who had taken her as a muse—but was grotesquely distorted.
"Was it a satisfying dream?"
Roberto asked, his expression colder than before and all the more indifferent for it.
At that, the head of the female student sprawled on the floor bobbed down, then up. A single tear streamed down beneath her vacant eyes.
"You chose well. A dream before you is better than a reality you can never attain......."
With this, an irreversible contract was established.
The female student chose the revival of her dying younger sibling.
In exchange for being immersed in the fantasy she had longed for, she chose eternal subjugation.
Soon, a massive old castle rose up behind the portrait of the red woman.
As the castle gate opened and swallowed her up as if devouring her, the canvas returned to a blank state as if nothing had happened.
"There is one thing you must do tonight."
Roberto, wearing a sly smile, called Kim Hye-jin in.
* * *
A night when late spring rain pattered down.
"Ah, I'm hungry."
As soon as I left the hunting ground and returned to the dorm, I opened the dresser first.
All I had were a few cups of instant ramen, but that was better than nothing.
I'd practically starved all day, my stomach was about to stick to my back, so I grabbed one at random.
I quickly boiled water, poured it in, and sat down at the table.
After waiting three minutes that felt like thirty, I opened the lid and steam rose up.
First, I shoved in a mouthful of noodles and chewed noisily.
Once I slurped down the hot broth too, I finally felt like I might live.
I sucked in another mouthful of noodles and checked my phone.
It was not as though I was expecting anyone to contact me; I checked it out of habit.
"Already?"
What was this, KakaoBank or something.......
It had only been two hours since we parted, and a settlement notification had arrived.
[After fees, 28,000,000 won has been deposited.]
[You worked hard, Limited Lifespan. I'll treat you as a VIP for life, so contact me anytime you need access to a hunting ground. —Poison Snake]
Well, well.......
It was such clean work that any prejudice about gangsters would vanish on the spot.
Chew chew.
I grinned while keeping my jaw muscles moving without rest.
I was in a position where I'd have to scrape and scramble to prepare for the future succession ranking battle, but still, earning money was a pleasant thing.
"How much is in there?"
While I was at it, I opened the banking app to check my balance.
Soon, numbers appeared over the familiar yellow window.
But how much is all this?
One, ten, hundred, thousand. Ten thousand....... Four hundred million?
[Balance: 429,500,000 won]
I thought I'd misread it, but then a certain memory flashed through my mind.
"Insurance payout."
They'd said they'd compensate me double the winning bid of the Lorelei Necklace from the auction house, and 400 million had been deposited.
I looked at the balance with a proud heart.......
"No. I can't just leave it at this."
My thoughts flipped, and I shook my head.
Because simply accepting whatever they gave me didn't sit right, given the effort I'd put in and the contribution I'd made.
If I hadn't been the winning bidder for the necklace, then whoever it was...... would have died.
Even if it had been Cheon Seo-yoon, she would have been hurt badly enough to threaten her life.
But 200 million?
Wasn't that too cheap for the price of a life?
The Cheonjam Thread, the club, the evaluation, the hunting ground.
I'd been too busy to think about it, but I couldn't just back down like this.
"I should squeeze out at least another 200 million."
It was just then, as I sat in front of my cup ramen making this oddly timed resolution.
Bzzzz.
My phone suddenly rang.
[Bro. You got back safe, right? Let's meet again if we get the chance. ......And stay healthy.]
Cheon Seo-yoon had sent a note through Gumanet.
It was such an unusually polite message from her that I considered replying, but I just let it go.
I didn't think we'd meet again anyway.
"More importantly......."
When the homework I'd been putting off came to mind, I hurriedly finished my meal and opened my subspace pouch.
I carefully reached in and took out the unidentified object, the Star Flower bud.
[A flower bud containing the ?? of a star.]
[Grade: ???]
[Description: The placenta of a ?? containing a star's essence. It can bloom by absorbing a specific person's ?? and ??.]
An item(?) not in my memory, and an unknown setting containing high-purity mana.
On top of that, something evil disliked.......
['Greed' says that if you back down now, there won't be any bloodshed......]
I'd been wondering why it wasn't saying anything.
"No."
I cut off the creature's message in one stroke.
I focused on the flower bud again, carefully placed my hand on it, and activated Appraisal.
Fwoooosh—
Then, far more mana than expected drained out all at once, and complete information was revealed.
[A flower bud containing a star fairy.]
[Description: The placenta of a fairy containing the essence of a star. It can be made to bloom by feeding it blood. Its completed form changes depending on what emotions it absorbed during its growth period. Everything else is shrouded in mystery.]
But what is this thing?
It's not an Armament, not a spiritual elixir...... a fairy?
I knew about Divine Beasts, but this was the first time I'd heard of a fairy. What is this, Tinker Bell?
If I had to classify it, this thing seemed to be in a similar category to Greed.......
[How dare 'Greed'.......]
"Shut up."
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I decided to give it a try.
Feeling an odd sense of déjà vu, I manifested the Chungyongwi Warrior's Dagger.
I considered cutting my right hand where Greed resided, but to at least observe proper manners, I made a cut on my left hand.
Drip drip-
I let the flowing blood fall.
Red droplets seeped into the pink-tinged flower bud.
[The flower bud absorbs your blood.]
[Preparations for blooming begin.]
[Once a day, please give it blood until the flower bud is fully colored.]
[It is expected to take a minimum of 40 days to a maximum of 60 days.]
[Please place it in a sunny spot, and set the indoor temperature to 20 degrees. If it seems cold, turn on a light and hold it close.]
[Please tell it it's pretty and that you love it with positive emotions.]
.......
I wondered if all this was really necessary, but since it involved caring for a living thing, I couldn't just ignore it.
I cradled the flower bud as if handling a precious heirloom, moved to the desk, and placed it under the light of the desk lamp.
It had gotten quite chilly now that evening had come.......
['Greed' says it is so dumbfounded it's practically choking with rage.]
......Is that so?
I didn't appreciate the sarcasm, but I couldn't deny this one either.
Still, I had to finish what I'd started.
I cleared my throat and murmured quietly.
"Oh, how pretty."
* * *
Meanwhile, Joo A-rin, who had just finished showering, was drying her hair.
As the pleasant scent of shampoo wafted through her fluttering hair like black silk dancing, she felt her tangled mind clear considerably.
Knock knock knock
Just then, she heard a knock.
It was quite late at night. Was there someone who would come by?
With a question in mind, she opened the door a crack and saw a familiar face.
"How about a late-night snack for the first time in a while?"
Cheon Seo-yoon was grinning and shaking a bag of fried chicken.
"Today's a little......."
Joo A-rin, tired and about to refuse, suddenly spotted another bag clutched in Cheon Seo-yoon's hand.
It was a bundle of beer with droplets beading on it, as if just taken out of the fridge.
"You were in the dorm all day. If you don't want any, I guess I can't force you......."
"No. Come in."
Joo A-rin hurriedly switched gears. As if to prove her words weren't empty, she opened the door wide and stepped aside.
"Then excuse me."
Cheon Seo-yoon slipped inside and headed for the table.
And so a modest spread of chicken and beer was laid out.
Cheon Seo-yoon, who had been on an empty stomach, was busy tearing into the chicken, while Joo A-rin savored the beer she'd been craving—it had just run out, so there was none at home—clutching it in her hand.
"But didn't you say you hate beer?"
"I just drink it for the cold, refreshing taste."
"Ah......."
There had been an obstacle, but fortunately it passed without issue.
But what good thing could have happened?
Cheon Seo-yoon seemed different from yesterday again. Joo A-rin couldn't hold back her curiosity and was about to speak up.
"Are you okay now? You seem happy."
At that, the hand holding the chicken leg paused for a moment.
Cheon Seo-yoon seemed to ponder for a moment, then downed her beer in one long gulp, nodded, and opened her mouth.
"Kyaaah, not completely. About 70%? Sip. Actually, I went out somewhere today."
"Where?"
"A hunting ground."
"Oh, hunting....... Hunting?"
"Yeah, Surisan Hunting Ground."
"Hey, are you crazy?!"
When Joo A-rin cried out in alarm, Cheon Seo-yoon urgently waved her hands.
"Just listen first. I met a bro there, and......."