Ties from My Previous Life (4)

Nothing particularly eventful happened after that.

I hadn't achieved my objective, and I knew I'd need to be more active to resolve it. But I did nothing at all.

I simply prayed that no further incidents would occur.

I knew that to uncover the secrets of this body, I needed to press Lee Jihyun for more information. At the very least, I had to find out the location of the memorial shrine.

Whatever Lee Jihyun thought of me was none of my business. I was Baek Sowol, not Heo Donghyeon. Even if asking those kinds of questions made her hate me...

That would only be because she had cared so deeply for Heo Donghyeon.

But it wasn't easy to do. She'd cut off a life without a second thought, so I had no idea why I was still hesitating like this.

The connection of twenty-five years couldn't possibly be more precious than the life lived over those twenty-five years. It had to be that becoming a woman had made me more emotional.

'Yeah... There's plenty of time anyway...'

There was a lot of time. I wasn't in a position where I was being chased. If not today, there was tomorrow, and the day after that.

There was no harm in not revealing the secret of this body—whether it was reincarnation or possession. I had simply thought that since I was a wizard, it was something I would need to find out eventually.

'…'

Still... the fact that at least one person would continue to hold Heo Donghyeon in their heart for a long time even after his death was a comfort. My previous life, which had been meaningless because I couldn't become a wizard, wasn't completely meaningless after all.

'Jihu and Jihyun. Both of them are really going at it.'

I ended up switching seats at the PC bang. Originally Lee Jihyun had been sitting to my left and Lee Jihu to my right. But since there wasn't a game I enjoyed playing, I changed the arrangement.

With Lee Jihyun in the middle and me and Jihu on either side. It was easier for Jihu and Jihyun to communicate that way.

Once that was done, I had far too much time left. There was no game I wanted to play. I had no intention of getting attached to any game.

But that didn't mean I could just sit here doing nothing. That would be a waste of time too.

I needed to find something to do.

'But I can't study magic... There's no need to learn it if you're not a mage... and Jihyun is right next to me.'

Well, I could just watch even if it wasn't my field, but Jihyun seemed to carry a nuance of overlapping Baek Sowol and Heo Donghyeon.

If she found out I was Heo Donghyeon... it would cause a bigger commotion than finding out I was a mage. So that option was out.

'Then I really have nothing to do.'

It seemed like I'd chosen the wrong place. I'd come here out of old habit without thinking. As I was scrolling through apps on my phone, I discovered the gallery tucked away in a corner.

It was difficult to operate with my fixed nickname, but using a temporary account on Hunma-gal shouldn't be a big problem. I opened the app and immediately entered the forum.

They were talking about the person in question right away. What an interesting situation. The person herself was enjoying her game without even knowing her story was circulating.

The content would be obvious. There was no value in reading it.

So I turned my attention to Gakma-gal. When I entered, there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weren't many posts. As expected.

Galleries with a strong socializing bent usually engaged in what was called "gall journaling"—just posting about their personal lives with no relation to the topic.

But it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a bit different from before. At least I was part of that social circle. I didn't visit often, but that didn't mean I'd be rejected if I claimed to belong.

It wouldn't be strange at all to say that my fixed-nick account was a regular of Gakma-gal. Therefore, posting something personal here wouldn't be a problem.

This seemed like the only way to get advice regarding Lee Jihyun.

There was no way I could confess to Jihyun in this body.

If Jihyun liked women there might be a chance, but since she had liked Heo Donghyeon, she was straight. No hope there.

As expected, suicide by jumping was a bit much. Even so, waiting aimlessly for several months seemed awkward.

I had thought about that. An A-rank was the fourth strongest human among the hunters I'd seen. She was probably similar to or slightly weaker than the masked person who had attacked Han Yeseo.

So there was nothing I could do.

What the hell was this bastard? Looking at what he did, I couldn't tell if it was a concept or if he was serious.

Even if it was a concept, I had no intention of introducing Jihyun to him.

'Hmm... In the end, it sounds like there's no answer...'

Well, what could I do? Human emotions were originally like that. I had to think there was nothing I could do and move on.

"Ah. Sowol-ssi. It looks like it's about time for me to start the broadcast... What should we do?"

"Huh? Jihu, didn't you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say today was okay for you?"

"Well... Noona said it was fine...?"

"No, I didn't know it would be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like this."

Lee Jihyun seemed to realize something was wrong and was flustered. There was a broadcast schedule. But there was also the promise to meet me.

It seemed Lee Jihyun had thought I was just a fan who wanted to see her once. But that wasn't the case, and it had come to this.

"Then why don't I just participate in the broadcast?"

Was there no way? No, there were many. I could just participate in the broadcast.

"No matter if it's a broadcast, what could be the big deal? Since I'm a fan, let's just go on."

My face was already exposed anyway. The fact that I was an Awakener too. Even if they didn't know I was a mage, there was no particular reason I couldn't appear with my face.

"Ah, no. What I'm going to do for the broadcast is run a gate to celebrate my A-rank promotion! No matter if it's Sowol-ssi...!"

"Ah. Sowol noona is a D-rank hunter. She's going to be promoted to C-rank soon."

"...Huh? Sowol-ssi? Jihu, didn't you say you met through guild business?"

"It wasn't guild business. You know Yeseo noona, right? The youngest S-rank in Binghwa. She introduced us."

Hmm. No wonder she had been hesitating. She must not have known I was a hunter since he said it was guild related. If I wasn't a hunter, clearing a gate would be impossible, so she must have been troubled.

"But still, you can't come, Jihu. Um... Sowol-ssi and I would have to clear it just the two of us... Is that okay with you...?"

But Lee Jihu couldn't participate. It was because he was a minor. That meant if we went in, only Jihyun and I could enter the gate...

"It doesn't matter. If anything, it's better because I'm a fan, right?"

There was no reason to pass up a chance to get closer. And Lee Jihyun was a decent broadcaster. She had 340,000 subscribers and averaged 300 viewers per broadcast.

Appearing on such a broadcast would be great advertising. Someday...

"...Ha. What should I do. You're pretty so you'll draw attention, and with that you might even pull in a lot of viewers..."

Lee Jihyun seemed to be contemplating it. She muttered to herself. But I knew her well. She would accept.

Unless my death had shocked her so much that her personality had changed, she would accept.

"Okay."

The acceptance came down like that.

I smiled and said.

"Let's go."

It was time to head out.

"...So exactly what information was leaked?"

At Hermes' headquarters, Kim Jian was suffering from a headache.

"Information on various people. Fortunately, most of the exposed data was already publicly available, so the damage is relatively minor... but there are a few that weren't."

"The faction that stole it?"

"It's estimated to be Ragnos."

"Those contract killer bastards again? Ha. Those guys are a problem, but the ones who make the requests are the bigger issue. Tsk. Don't they realize that using those guys means they could target them too eventually?"

To get straight to the conclusion, the government's security had been breached. It was a personal information leak that had happened intermittently before. But what was slightly different was that the information leaked this time was research data that Hermes had provided to the government.

"Tsk. How are they managing... No. Ha. It wasn't something that could be managed in the first place."

"If there are no mages, it's impossible to perfectly counter Unique Abilities. Hermes focused on contracts that wouldn't matter even if revealed, so we weren't targeted. But the four major guilds have each been hit once."

Of course it was their fault, but there were mitigating circumstances. Mysteries were extremely vulnerable to compatibility. Even Han Yeseo had nearly been miserably defeated by an A-rank masked person when her compatibility was exploited.

Fixed mysteries could be countered even if the level was much lower. That was why the government's security ended up being breached.

Of course, they had to take responsibility.

"Among the exposed information, what's the most important?"

"Almost none of the truly important information was exposed. Those matters weren't shared. However... there's something a bit ambiguous. It seems the prototype of the monster control device we provided to the government and the fact that Assemblyman Baek's daughter... has become a hunter... were exposed."

"The prototype is a prototype that will break soon anyway... and Assemblyman Baek's daughter... would that be Baek Sowol-ssi?"

"That's correct."

Jian frowned at that.

The youngest daughter of Baek Dohan, a four-term National Assembly member. Baek Sowol. If she got hurt, it would be troublesome.

But there was no basis to approach her. She hated her father. She seemed to be going out more these days, but there was still risk in protecting her.

"Do you think they'll target her?"

"If it's inside a gate, kidnapping is easy, so definitely. It's something that will happen eventually."

"Why are there people who condone it when it's that dangerous?"

"Usually they enter with bodyguards. They grow that way and start solo activities from A-rank and above. But Baek Sowol-ssi... isn't like that. Damn it..."

Kim Jian rubbed his head and gave instructions.

"Well, what can we do? It's not related to us, so intervening is risky. If there had been suspicious movements, it would be different, but if not, it would blow back as illegal surveillance."

"Then we just leave it alone?"

"...We'll have to inform Assemblyman Baek Dohan. At least the reason of a father attaching surveillance because his daughter might be in danger is somewhat understandable."

"Understood."

Compared to the information that existed in this world, what was revealed was little. In places Baek Sowol didn't know, stories related to her were being exchanged.