Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Interlude–The Price
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“Ugh…”
After freeing Vega from the shackles of the law.
Oh-jin returned home and slept for a solid ten hours.
‘I’m still a bit tired.’
With his eyes still closed, Oh-jin pulled the fluffy blanket closer to him on the bed.
He was awake, but his entire body felt stiff and sore, making him reluctant to get up.
‘Hydro-Affinity doesn’t heal this kind of fatigue or internal damage.’
It was probably wiser to just sleep some more.
‘That said, the aftereffects aren’t too severe.’
Oh-jin shifted slightly, eyes still closed, to check his condition.
Of course, his whole body ached as if it were being torn apart, and he was so exhausted he could barely move properly.
But for a penalty resulting from using an unconventional skill like ‘Gaecheon,’ this was practically nothing.
“Oh-jin, you still sleeping?”
*Creeak.*
The door opened cautiously, and Ha-eun’s voice drifted in.
Oh-jin kept his eyes shut and his mouth firmly closed.
“You’ve already been asleep for ten hours… This kid isn’t dead, is he?”
Ha-eun crouched beside the bed and held her hand in front of Oh-jin’s nose.
After feeling the tickle of his breath on her fingers, she let out a sigh of relief and gazed down at Oh-jin’s face.
She stayed like that, completely still, for over five minutes.
‘What is she doing, staring at a sleeping person like this?’
Feeling her persistent gaze, Oh-jin cracked his eyes open just a sliver.
He could see Ha-eun resting her chin on the edge of the bed, watching him intently.
“Hehe. Oh-jin looks cute when he’s sleeping.”
Unaware that he was awake, Ha-eun giggled as she studied his sleeping face.
After watching him for more than five minutes, she seemed to get a little bored and began poking his cheek with her fingertip.
“Heehee.”
She poked his cheek with a mischievous laugh.
“If he doesn’t wake up from this… he must be completely out, right?”
She gulped, a sly smile spreading across her lips.
After a quick glance around, Ha-eun lifted the blanket slightly and slipped inside.
He felt the sensation of her arms and legs wrapping around him like a snake.
Hugging him like a body pillow, Ha-eun gently rested her head on his chest.
“*Sniff, sniff.*”
Ha-eun buried her face in his chest, sniffing like a puppy.
After taking a deep breath of his scent, as if it were a drug, her body shivered.
Ha-eun’s cheeks flushed red.
She squirmed in his arms, as if she desperately needed to pee.
“Haah…”
A faint, breathy voice reached his ears.
‘This is insane.’
Oh-jin’s body went rigid, his eyes still closed.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
There was no way he could sleep peacefully in this situation.
But opening his eyes now would be incredibly awkward.
‘So much for getting any more sleep today.’
A deep sigh escaped Oh-jin’s lips.
In the midst of this intimate (?) moment with Ha-eun.
[It is I!]
“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!!”
*WHAM!!!*
Lying in the same bed, Ha-eun screamed and kicked out.
“Keuk!”
Oh-jin’s body slammed into the wall, bounced off, and hit the floor like a rubber ball.
“W-What? What’s going on?!”
Oh-jin feigned a panicked expression, as if he had been suddenly woken from a deep sleep.
Ha-eun gave him an awkward smile.
“Uh… V-Vega just appeared out of nowhere and scared me.”
[What sort of wicked deed were you committing to be so startled?]
Vega narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Ha-eun shook her head so fast it looked like a fan.
“W-Wicked? What are you talking about! I was just watching Oh-jin because he wouldn’t wake up, wondering if he was sick or something!”
[Hmm.]
Still suspicious, Vega glanced over at Oh-jin.
Oh-jin rubbed his head where it had hit the floor and shrugged as if he had no idea what was going on.
[Well… I shall let it pass for now.]
Vega zipped through the air and landed neatly on top of Oh-jin’s head.
[Are you feeling any better?]
“I’m still a bit tired, but much better.”
Oh-jin stood up and stretched lightly.
The muscles that had been dormant for over ten hours began to move slowly, like a rusty machine being oiled.
[…]
Vega watched Oh-jin stretch, her lips pressed into a firm line.
With a complicated mix of emotions in her eyes, she clenched and unclenched her fists.
“What’s wrong?”
[…There is something I wish to confirm.]
“Confirm? Confirm what?”
Vega flew over and gently pulled down the collar of Oh-jin’s t-shirt.
The Stigma of Lyra was clearly etched on his left chest.
She reached out with her tiny hand and traced the Stigma.
*Crackle!*
A small spark flickered from her hand and seeped into the Stigma.
Vega, who had been staring at the Stigma with a serious expression, broke into a faint smile.
“W-What was that?”
[Phew.]
Instead of answering, Vega let out a sigh of relief.
Oh-jin frowned at her strange behavior.
“Is something wrong?”
[No, it is nothing. It seems I was mistaken.]
Vega shook her head quickly.
Perhaps she thought he was lying about being fine when he was actually in pain.
“You’re not just forcing yourself to act okay, are you?”
Ha-eun also eyed Oh-jin with suspicion.
“I’m really fine.”
It wasn’t an empty platitude to reassure her.
His body was still stiff and ached here and there, but the pain wasn’t severe enough to hinder his movement.
It felt like the day after a long shift of loading and unloading trucks.
Of course, it was still a bit difficult to move properly, but considering it was the price for using an unconventional skill like ‘Gaecheon,’ he was in remarkably good shape.
‘I think the aftereffects were much worse when I first used Exceed.’
Back then, he had been unconscious for three straight days. This time, he hadn't even passed out.
[That is a relief.]
After carefully examining Oh-jin’s body, Vega offered a gentle smile.
[Still, you must not have fully recovered your strength, so rest well for a few days.]
“Alright.”
If it were up to him, he would have run to the training room to loosen up, but he decided to obediently follow Vega’s advice, just in case there were other side effects.
“Now that Vega’s back, let’s have a celebration party!”
Ha-eun’s eyes sparkled as she proposed the party.
[Hoh. I did not expect you to welcome me with such fanfare.]
“Well, even a buzzing little fly gets missed when it’s not around, you know?”
[A f-fly! How insolent!]
“Hmph, you look just like a fly when you’re zipping around.”
[You scoundrel!]
“It’s scoundrel-ess to you, lady~”
Ha-eun giggled, bickering with Vega.
After a while of raising their voices at each other.
“I’m glad you’re back safely. And about before… when you saved me. Thanks.”
Ha-eun smiled brightly and held out her hand to Vega.
Vega snorted with a ‘hmph’ before flying over and landing in Ha-eun’s palm.
[Do not misunderstand. I was not protecting you, but my child.]
“What’s with the sudden tsundere act?”
[Tsundere? What is the meaning of that?]
“It’s when you act all prickly on the outside but you’re actually happy on the inside.”
[W-What? I have never done such a thing!]
Vega, who had been sitting elegantly on Ha-eun’s palm with her legs crossed, folded her arms and turned her head away sharply.
Ha-eun’s lips curled into a grin as she poked the cheek of the averted Vega with her fingertip.
“You’re acting just like a tsundere right now.”
[Did I not say I am not!]
“Aww, is our little goddess pouting~?”
Ha-eun cackled and tickled the side of Vega, who was still sitting in her palm.
She was probably the only person who could treat a Constellation so casually.
[Honestly… you are an impudent child.]
“Hehe. Sorry. I was just so happy to see you after so long.”
[Well, seeing you after some time is not an entirely unpleasant feeling for me either.]
As if they had never fought, the two women began chatting animatedly, asking each other about what they had been up to.
‘I can’t tell if they get along or not.’
Still, watching them chat like that, their relationship didn’t seem too bad.
“Oh-jin, you don’t have anything to do tomorrow, right? Want to go somewhere with Vega and Riak?”
“No. I have somewhere to be tomorrow.”
“Huh? Where are you going?”
Oh-jin took out a box he had carefully stored in his drawer.
Inside was a rectangular card that looked like a passport.
Oh-jin held up the card and said.
“I’m going to visit Paradise.”
“Paradise? Why there?”
“There’s something I want to talk to Cheon Sang-gil about properly.”
He was curious about the ‘enlightenment’ Cheon Sang-gil had supposedly given Sakaki.
But more importantly, he needed to know the identity of the ‘snake.’
‘I have to find out who this snake is that he warned me about.’
Oh-jin placed the residency permit for Paradise on top of the snake-emblemmed token from Cheon Do-yoon’s room and the one he had gotten from Sosuke.
“Hmm. Then let’s go there together. I’m damn curious about what Paradise is like, too.”
“Alright. Let’s go together tomorrow.”
[I shall accompany you as well.]
A party was formed on the spot.
“Well, going to Paradise is for tomorrow, so…”
Ha-eun grinned and lifted Vega up with both hands.
“Today, let’s eat and drink to our hearts’ content with our goddess!”
[Aah! What are you doing!]
“While we’re at it, call that bastard Riak too!”
[Hmph. Very well.]
With Ha-eun’s enthusiastic drive, excited to be reunited with Vega, a welcome party was held.
With Riak also in attendance, Ha-eun recounted her sightseeing adventures in Osaka with Oh-jin like a heroic tale, gleefully teasing Vega.
“Oh-jin and I had this thing called takoyaki? It was so~ delicious!”
[Me too! I want to try it too!]
“Hmph! A true warrior should be swinging his fists rather than wasting time on food… So, where can one acquire this takoyaki?”
After the boisterous party, where Oh-jin, Ha-eun, Vega, and Riak had gathered together for the first time in a while, finally came to an end.
“Phew! That was fun~!”
Ha-eun patted her full stomach and plopped down on the sofa.
Riak and Vega had already returned to the Sanctuary for the night.
She turned to Oh-jin, who was cleaning up, and spoke.
“Anyway, about that technique of yours, the one that spews poison farts like a Weezing?”
“It’s Gaecheon.”
Seriously, calling a power that held the fate of the world a Weezing fart was a bit much.
“Oh, right, that thing. I’m glad it doesn’t seem to have many side effects.”
As she said.
The price for using Gaecheon wasn’t that steep.
“It’s a bit dangerous while I’m using it, though…”
The sensation of his soul melting into the dense, dark clouds.
The feeling that he would be swallowed whole by the Black Heaven if he lost focus for even a moment was certainly bone-chillingly dangerous.
“Still, I think I can use it as a sort of ultimate move.”
He had used it twice without any issues, so a third time should be fine, right? That’s what he thought.
“Our Oh-jin has become a total cheat character. With that, you can wipe the floor with any 9-Star, can’t you?”
“Well, yeah.”
He only had to think back to his fight with Cheon Do-yoon to know just how unconventional Gaecheon was.
He couldn't imagine any 9-Star Awakener at his current level being able to defeat him while he was using Gaecheon, unless they were a 10-Star or higher.
‘And I’ve even gotten stronger since then.’
For some reason, the power of Gaecheon had also intensified.
“Those Black Star Organization bastards will be a piece of cake now!”
“Still, I have to be careful when I use it. There could be Awakeners who are 10-Star or higher.”
Isabella alone was at least a 10-Star Awakener.
Against someone of her caliber, he couldn’t guarantee victory even with Gaecheon.
“Still, it’s reassuring to have a super-cheat skill, isn’t it!”
Ha-eun giggled, picked up the remote, and turned on the TV.
On the screen, a bald, middle-aged man was striking comical poses and performing various gags.
“Ah, shit.”
Watching the middle-aged man, Ha-eun frowned and let out a curse.
“Why?”
“Doesn’t that bastard look like the director?”
“Really?”
Oh-jin turned his gaze to the TV and looked at the bald man.
‘Does he look like him?’
He tilted his head, trying to recall the director’s face from his memory.
The man who had beaten him every day.
The face of the director he had despised so terribly.
“—Huh?”
And then.
He realized.
‘What…?’
No matter how hard he tried to remember.
No matter how many times he retraced his memories.
He couldn’t remember the director’s face.
“……”
Oh-jin’s expression hardened as he stared blankly at the TV.
No matter how long it had been since he left the orphanage, it made no sense that he couldn’t recall the director’s face.
“Ah, ugh.”
It wasn’t just the director’s face he couldn’t remember.
The fiery, reddish-brown hair.
The face of the beautiful girl who had changed his entire life.
He.
Could.
Not.
Remember.
‘So this… was the real price.’
Oh-jin clenched his fists tightly and bit his lip.
A wave of self-loathing washed over him, making him want to laugh hollowly.
After living such a dog-eat-dog life, how could he not have known?
That there was no such thing as a convenient, easily obtained power in this world.
“What’s wrong, Oh-jin?”
“It’s nothing.”
Oh-jin managed a faint smile and sat down next to her.
“He really is the spitting image of that bastard director.”
“Right?! That smug look on his face is exactly like that bastard’s!”
Oh-jin stared intently at Ha-eun’s face as she chattered on, cursing animatedly.
As if superimposing her face onto the face of the girl he could no longer remember.
Again.
And again.