Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Interlude - For a Better Yesterday than Tomorrow (1)
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*Screeeeeech.*
The static rang in my ears.
My vision twisted as Lee Shin-hyeok's memories flooded my mind.
"Ha, Ha-eun's brother is missing?"
"...Yeah."
Lee Shin-hyeok nodded, his expression stiff.
Lee Woo-hyeok's startled eyes turned to him.
"Then Ha-eun must be..."
"A complete wreck."
Lee Shin-hyeok let out a deep sigh and sat down across from Lee Woo-hyeok.
"She hasn't been answering her phone since yesterday. It seems she's been out looking for her brother."
"...Hah."
Lee Woo-hyeok, looking shocked, let out a hollow laugh and pressed his forehead.
"But didn't you say her brother couldn't even get out of bed?"
"It seems he left as soon as he recovered enough to walk."
Lee Shin-hyeok gently bit his lip.
The image of her, overjoyed like a child, telling him her brother had finally gotten out of bed, flashed through his mind.
A radiant smile that wasn't directed at him, one that never would be.
Every time he saw her excited smile, a corner of his heart ached as if sliced by a knife.
"Why did he leave?"
"That's..."
Lee Shin-hyeok's voice trailed off.
As if he couldn't bring himself to say it, he lowered his head and pressed his lips together.
Seeing this, Lee Woo-hyeok furrowed his brow.
"But still, why hasn't Ha-eun contacted us in a situation like this? Isn't that strange?"
If her brother was missing, wouldn't it be common sense to ask for help from those around her?
But even now, Ha-eun hadn't said a single word about her brother.
His name, his appearance, even his age—she remained silent about it all.
"What on earth is Ha-eun thinking...?"
"This is just my guess, but."
Lee Shin-hyeok, who had been lost in thought with his head down, slowly raised his head.
"I think... that brother of hers might have joined the Satellite Cult."
"...What?"
Lee Woo-hyeok's eyes widened.
At the mention of the 'Satellite Cult,' a chilling killing intent naturally flowed from his body.
"So, you're saying Ha-eun isn't saying anything to hide the fact that he joined the Satellite Cult?"
Lee Shin-hyeok gave a slight nod.
If her brother was involved with the Satellite Cult.
It would make some sense why she was so desperately trying to hide his identity.
After all, the Satellite Cult was literally the 'public enemy' of the world.
"What reason could there be for someone who was paralyzed to suddenly recover enough to walk?"
"Awakening... there's nothing else."
Lee Shin-hyeok nodded.
The Satellite Cult had the ability to bestow Stigmas upon unawakened ordinary people.
Of course, a terrible price would follow.
But for someone paralyzed and unable to move from their bed, would such a price even matter?
"To think Ha-eun's brother... was part of the Satellite Cult."
Lee Woo-hyeok bit his lip with a deep sigh.
Ha-eun was a core member of 'Guardian Star,' along with the brothers Lee Woo-hyeok and Lee Shin-hyeok.
If the fact that her brother was in the Satellite Cult got out, the repercussions would shake not just Korea, but the entire world.
"So that's why Ha-eun didn't say anything."
"It's still just a guess. I'll check a bit more and let you know."
Lee Shin-hyeok stood up from his seat.
As he turned to leave, Lee Woo-hyeok called out to him.
"Where are you going?"
"I have to go help her."
"But..."
"I know."
Lee Shin-hyeok gave a sad smile.
He knew. No matter what he did, she would never look his way.
But.
"I'm going. Call me if anything urgent comes up."
Lee Woo-hyeok watched his retreating back with a bitter expression.
*Click.*
After opening the door and stepping outside, Lee Shin-hyeok went up to the rooftop of the Valhalla guild house for a moment.
He wanted to rush off and help Ha-eun find her brother right away, but untangling his complicated thoughts was the priority.
"Haaah."
He usually frequented the guild house rooftop to clear his head and organize his thoughts.
But for some reason, even coming up to the rooftop today didn't help sort out his tangled thoughts.
"What's the point of becoming a high-ranking Awakened... when she won't even give me a second glance?"
He had reached the 9th Star through grueling training to protect Ha-eun.
But ever since she rejected his confession, she had been keeping her distance, barely even speaking to him.
A heart-wrenching pain.
A deep sigh escaped his lips, spreading like a haze.
"Hm?"
As he was moping on the rooftop.
He spotted a single envelope placed neatly in a corner of the rooftop.
"What's this?"
It was placed too neatly to have been dropped by accident.
Besides, no one from the Valhalla Guild used the rooftop except for him, so it was unlikely anyone had dropped it.
"To Mr. Lee Shin-hyeok... Huh? Me?"
Lee Shin-hyeok's eyes widened when he saw his name written on the envelope.
"What is this?"
Tilting his head, he opened the envelope.
Written on the pristine white paper was a single sentence.
-Please take good care of my sister.
It didn't take long to realize who the sentence was referring to, or who had written it.
"Ah."
Lee Shin-hyeok's eyes trembled as he held the letter.
He clenched his fists, desperately suppressing the corners of his mouth that threatened to rise on their own.
"Yes, I will definitely protect her."
To her 'brother,' whose face, age, and even name he didn't know.
He steeled his resolve with a voice full of firm determination.
With that final image of Lee Shin-hyeok steeling his resolve.
*Screeeeeeeeech.*
The familiar static returned, and his vision distorted.
Instead of the Valhalla guild house rooftop, he saw a pier shrouded in hazy smoke and the stench of burning.
"......"
Oh-jin stared blankly down at the half-melted corpse of the Living Armor, his lips pressed into a firm line.
*'What the hell.'*
He bit his lip. His clenched fist trembled.
*'What the hell was that just now, what the fuck.'*
It wasn't hard to grasp the situation.
His first-life self, paralyzed and being cared for by Ha-eun.
He must have thought.
Worried, agonized.
About how he could protect her.
How he could save her.
*'And that conclusion was.'*
To disappear from her side?
To place Lee Shin-hyeok by Ha-eun's side in his stead?
"Don't, fuck with me."
*Crackle!*
Blue lightning coursed over his clenched fist.
A blue will-o'-the-wisp flickered in his sunken eyes.
"I said, don't fuck with me."
To his past self.
No, he shouts at his future self.
Even though he knew better than anyone who she needed by her side the most.
The best he could come up with was to throw everything away and run?
*'You pathetic bastard.'*
Anger burned hot in his head.
The act was so unbelievably stupid that he felt sick, doubting they were even the same person.
He knew how desperate the situation must have been for his future self.
Paralyzed, living miserably day by day while being cared for by the very woman he wanted to protect.
He must have despaired.
He must have been crushed.
He couldn't have forgiven himself for being a black stain on her brilliant life.
But.
Even so.
"You can't just... give up, you stupid bastard."
A gut-wrenching sensation.
His legs gave out, and his body swayed.
"O-Oh-jin? What's wrong?"
Ha-eun approached and grabbed Oh-jin's arm.
"......"
Oh-jin felt the warmth on his arm and took in the sight of Ha-eun's face.
An unknown emotion, an unstoppable impulse, boiled up inside him.
"Oh-ji... Mmph?!"
He roughly pulled Ha-eun by the waist and kissed her.
Her eyes widened like a startled rabbit's, and he pulled her in forcefully as she tried to step back.
"Mmph... mm."
He slipped his tongue between her slightly parted lips.
Ha-eun, who had been tense, carefully sucked on the tongue that slid between her lips.
Oh-jin tightened his arms around her as if to never let go, continuing the kiss.
"*Gasp!* W-what, what, what was that all of a sudden?"
Ha-eun, finally free from his arms, asked with her cheeks flushed red.
She rubbed her thighs as if she had to pee, her hands fidgeting shyly.
"......"
As if washing away the unpleasant memories that had flooded his mind, he took in her impossibly lovely gestures.
The blue will-o'-the-wisp flickering in Oh-jin's eyes burned fiercely.
"I will be different from you."
To his future self.
To the self who couldn't protect her, who threw everything away and ran.
He spoke, as if making a declaration.
"Different how... Mmph!"
He pulled her in by the waist once more.
This time.
As if he would never let go.
"O-Oh-jin, you really...!"
Ha-eun, her cheeks red as apples, pinched Oh-jin's side.
Her heart pounded at the way he kissed her so greedily, as if he craved her.
Still, he should at least consider the time and place.
"Th-that kind of thing, sh-should be done at home."
Ha-eun said in a barely audible voice, her head bowed low.
If it were up to her, she'd want to go home with Oh-jin right now and continue where they left off.
"Whew. First, let's report to the Cheonhye Guild."
There was a mountain of things to report about the Living Armor and the Toad Faction.
There had even been a death during the operation, so the reporting procedure was bound to be complicated.
Common sense dictated they return to the Cheonhye Guild as soon as possible.
"No. Isabella will take care of that."
Oh-jin shook his head as if it wasn't necessary.
It was an action completely out of character for his usual meticulous and calculating self.
Ha-eun looked at Oh-jin with a surprised expression.
"You said we should do this at home, right?"
Oh-jin roughly grabbed her wrist.
"Let's go home."
"Kyaa! W-wait, Oh-jin!"
Ha-eun yelped at the force of Oh-jin's pull.
After a moment of looking around in bewilderment, she scurried after him.
Oh-jin pulled her along by the arm, walking toward the bike Ha-eun had ridden.
*'You couldn't protect her, but I did.'*
To his future self.
He unleashed a shout in his mind that could never be heard.
*'You couldn't save her, but I did.'*
He gently touched the elixir bottle in his pocket.
It was he, not Lee Shin-hyeok, who had restored Ha-eun's eyes and legs.
*'You gave up.'*
His blue eyes turned toward the dark, night-fallen sky.
"I won't give up, you motherfucker."
For a past better than the future.
For a yesterday better than tomorrow.
Oh-jin tightened his grip on Ha-eun's arm.