A Suspiciously Familiar Fragrance
Marie walked slowly along the darkened sidewalk, parting her lips at last.
Cars drifted past now and then, stirring the night air as they went.
"You've probably already guessed, but this is my Awakened ability."
Of course.
Seo Ji-hyuk nodded as if he had expected exactly that.
"It looked that way. Did the color of your hair and eyes change because of the Awakening as well…?"
"That's right. They changed when I Awakened."
Marie Antoinette syndrome.
The condition named after the queen whose hair turned pure white overnight from extreme stress on the eve of her execution.
The term flickered briefly through Seo Ji-hyuk's mind.
He asked,
"Hair color changes aren't all that rare, are they?"
"No. They're fairly common. There are plenty of stories about an Awakened ability affecting hair color."
Like turning red under the influence of fire, or blue under the influence of water.
"Right. So if it's white… does that mean light?"
Seo Ji-hyuk tilted his head. Marie answered,
"No. It doesn't have much to do with the usual elemental categories. I'm in the mutant class."
Awakened fell into three broad groups.
Those whose bodies and physical power were especially enhanced—like the martial artists or knights of fantasy novels.
Those who resembled mages.
And lastly, the mutants who belonged to neither of the first two.
Mutants were especially rare. The vast majority either gained physical reinforcement or became mages who handled one or several attributes.
"Is it brainwashing?"
"No. Not brainwashing… though it can incorporate that concept. That's one of the reasons I've kept it hidden."
"I can't even begin to guess."
"That's understandable. Outside of me, no one knows exactly what it is. Even the Association people only think of it as an ability that stops people."
She was going to tell him an ability no one else knew about? Why?
The natural question rose in Seo Ji-hyuk's mind.
"You're telling me something like that? Is there a special reason?"
"Because you saw my ability with your own eyes."
"If that's the reason… wouldn't erasing my memory with your Awakened ability be faster?"
Of course it would.
If she ordered him to forget, he would wake from sleep with no memory at all.
Marie knew better than anyone that that route would be the most convenient.
She had erased every trace that way until now.
And yet.
From his speech patterns to the tone of his voice, the words he chose, the way he turned a glass, even his tastes—he resembled someone she knew far too closely.
A precious friend who had lived under crushing tension and died young, who had never once taken a woman into his arms despite his beautiful features.
He's too much like him.
Anyone would have said she was insane, that it couldn't be.
The fishing line she had cast just to test that impossible thought had hooked a fish with perfect accuracy.
That was why she could not give the usual order.
"Somehow… you feel so familiar and comfortable. That's why I thought you were someone I could trust."
"That seems like an awfully shaky basis. From the receiving end it also feels heavy. If you can erase my memory, wouldn't it be better to just do that?"
Yes. Even this side of him was too much like the other.
The more Marie experienced him, the stronger her absurd conviction grew.
The act of living a new life as a new human after death.
Perhaps she was not the only one who had undergone reincarnation.
"I just wanted to get it off my chest. So please keep this a secret."
And so, softly yet stubbornly, Marie revealed what her true ability was.
In a tone far too casual, as if she were merely mentioning something in passing.
"My ability is Dominion."
Perhaps because it was night, the conversation they had shared a few days earlier rose in his mind.
Dominate.
It meant "to dominate" in English, and it was also the single word that most cleanly described Marie's ability.
Fascinating.
Because it was Dominion, she could impose her will even when language failed.
It resembled brainwashing, yet seemed like a superior version of it.
If she wished, she could take control of a body on the spot.
"The construction is all finished. What do you think?"
While his thoughts wandered, a middle-aged man approached and announced that the work was done.
The moment the practice-room renovation had been requested a few days earlier, he had rushed over to take measurements and had finished everything in a matter of mere days.
Having an Awakened among the workers had made that speed possible.
"It looks good. Thank you."
He brushed the events of a few days ago from his mind and transferred the payment by phone.
Living in an age when bank transfers could be done from a mobile phone still felt both surprising and convenient.
A dry electronic tone rang out. The man pulled his phone from his pocket.
The money had arrived; that was the alert.
"That's right. It came through cleanly. Thank you."
The man nodded and wrote out a handwritten receipt.
He kept receipt paper and a pen in the belt around his waist, so it was easy enough.
"You've worked hard."
"I'm the one who should be thanking you. If you ever need anything else, please call me anytime. We'll provide free A/S for six months."
Once the receipt was in hand, the man delivered his sales pitch and left.
The six-month free service was especially appealing.
Time to clean.
Once the workers were gone, the slightly dirty practice room came into view.
They had done a basic cleanup, but it still looked insufficient.
He brought tools from the utility closet in the parking lot and began to clean.
He wiped the glass walls.
He paid special attention to the floor, polishing it with care.
Whoever used this practice room, and whenever they did, they would use it.
It deserved a good first impression.
Once the cleaning was finished he let out a long breath—not from frustration, but from the clean satisfaction of a job well done.
Looks good.
The floor shone enough to reflect light; the walls were free of blemishes.
Even the glass walls were spotless.
A single speck of dust would stand out immediately.
Time to put things away.
Carrying the quiet pride of another task completed, he walked back to the cleaning closet.
It still bothers me.
As he put the tools away, stray thoughts rose and faded.
Among them was the lingering impression of Marie, who was still staying at Valerie's place.
Even her name felt painfully familiar.
On top of that, her manner and bearing had something of Marie about them that kept catching at him.
And then there was that distinctive atmosphere—soft, deep, and somehow maternal.
The "what if" thought rose on its own.
Is it really her?
Joan of Arc had reincarnated; why would Marie Antoinette be impossible?
Reincarnation itself was a miracle, yet for him it was relatively common, so the suspicion felt natural.
He himself had already lived four lives, after all.
Of course, there might be a special reason that only he had gone through multiple reincarnations—like those novel protagonists who get possessed for no clear reason.
But given that someone who had shared a bond with him, even Janet, had reincarnated as well, the doubt felt reasonable.
He steadied his breathing and stepped out of the building.
A glance to the side showed Valerie's shop glowing with light.
Her Korean was still awkward, yet somehow free of frustration; her striking looks and the novelty of being a foreigner had steadily drawn more customers.
It's starting to get warmer.
Summer was approaching; he could feel the heat building day by day.
Even the air against his skin felt heavier.
Summer meant naengmyeon.
And naengmyeon without grilled meat felt incomplete, so his mouth watered at the thought of cooking some together.
He was already considering getting a grill ready.
"Enjoying the breeze?"
A voice came from behind him. When he turned, his eyes met a pair of violet irises.
Normally it would have been Janet who appeared at a moment like this.
Instead, the unexpected figure of Marie stood there.
"Ah—yes. Did you come out for some air as well?"
"Staying inside the shop was starting to feel a bit stuffy. The air-conditioning is cool, but the outside air still feels fresher for now."
"Once summer arrives it will get extremely hot. The climate here is different from Europe."
In the modern world he had known, even Europe had grown hellishly hot.
In this modern world, where specters and Awakened openly existed, summers were different.
They were the mild, cool summers of old Europe.
Korea alone, however, remained much the same—only the seasons were a little sharper because abnormal weather patterns were milder here.
"Oh my? Then experiencing it once might be nice."
"You plan to stay that long?"
"Hearing you talk about it made me curious. Does that bother you?"
"No. Not at all."
Her staying longer was not a problem in itself.
It simply left a residual unease that he could not quite shake.
"That's a relief. Still, continuing to stay at Valerie's place forever isn't ideal… I should look for somewhere suitable."
"Finding separate lodging will cost quite a bit, won't it?"
"It can't be helped. I'm the one who wants to stay, so spending money is only natural."
Was it, though?
It was not a lie, yet something about her manner suggested another reason beneath the surface.
"Well… for now, just stay and think it over slowly."
"Thank you. But may I ask one thing?"
"Of course. Go ahead."
He nodded, though he felt a quiet jolt of surprise.
It was a perfectly ordinary thing to say, yet the flow of the conversation had turned slightly awkward.
And then—
"Grow hazy. As if you are dreaming."
The moment the command—not a question—struck him, his mind filled with thick clouds and a violent drowsiness poured down.
Marie looked at Seo Ji-hyuk standing dazed in place and let out a short sigh.
She had never used Dominion this way before, and the guilt cut deeper for it.
Even so, she could not simply let the matter rest; greed won out.
It was not as though an oracle had descended announcing that Seo Ji-hyuk had reincarnated the way it had for someone else.
And if she simply asked, he might well lie.
"Answer every question I ask you honestly."
"Yes. Please go ahead."
Even half under hypnosis, Seo Ji-hyuk replied with clear, polite precision.
Exactly as he always did, as if he had never been under Dominion at all.
"What do you think of reincarnation? Is it pure nonsense? Or do you believe it is something that could actually happen?"
"I believe it is something that could happen."
If he had not been under Dominion he would have made a dubious face and hesitated.
Under Marie's influence he answered without the slightest pause.
Marie asked again, one hand pressed over her heart that was hammering so hard it threatened to leap from her chest.
"Then… do you know the name István?"
István.
She spoke the name of the friend who, though eccentric, had stayed by her side to the very end—who had swum through the storm of revolution with her.
"Yes, I know it."
Seo Ji-hyuk nodded, his eyes still hazy.
His previous life was István; of course he knew the name.
Yet a flicker of doubt still remained in Marie's gaze.
István's name had been recorded in history—as the loyal retainer who protected the queen to the last during the revolution and then died for it.
So she voiced a fact that only the person involved could possibly know.
Even if he answered "yes" to the question "Are you István?", she would have found it hard to believe without this.
"When István learned that Marie Antoinette would be married off to France… do you know what he said?"
"He said that ordinarily one must behave with the utmost humility—like a beggar."
That was it.
A conversation that had never been written into any history, known only to those who had been there.
Marie's eyes shook violently from the shock.
Even the lush curves of her hips and thighs trembled.
Could it be—could it be—could it be—
Nine-tenths certainty rocked her, yet the remaining one-tenth of doubt still clung to her reason.
"Do you know… what István's final words were?"
Her lips quivered as she forced out the last of her composure.
She was desperately pressing down the expectation that had swollen beyond control.
Please.
If he is right this time as well.
If you speak those words that were never recorded…
Anxiety and hope.
The opposing emotions made her heart thunder while she waited.
At last the mouth of Seo Ji-hyuk, who had been sifting through the past, opened.