I Don’t Want This Reincarnation

Clack, the sound of the keyboard echoed through the darkroom.

Hyde moved his fingers incessantly as he was hit head-on by the blue light from the monitor. On the five monitors, the screen continuously flickered, various images appeared and disappeared.

Squeak.

The door across from Hyde’s room opened and a man in only training pants came out with a towel over his head. Kim Woo-jin lowered the towel as he closed the bathroom door that leaked out of steam.

“Are you okay?”

Hyde, who was looking at the screen, opened his mouth as he turned his chair around. Kim Woo-jin blinked as he brushed his wet, dripping hair.

“……”

“Would you like to eat something?”

He asked again to Kim Woo-jin, who had no answer, but he shook his head with an expressionless face. Hyde let out a suffocating breath.

“You are much skinnier than the last time we met. Do you even eat properly? Your complexion now is totally…”

“Enough.”

Kim Woo-jin, who roughly threw the towel he was holding, cut off Hyde’s words and sat down on a nearby chair.

“Tell me more about what you said on the phone.”

“Kim Woo-jin.”

“That, China… was it China? Right? Are you sure?”

Kim Woo-jin, who had rubbed his red bloodshot eyes roughly with his hand, stuttered and asked.

Hyde, who had been staring at Kim Woo-jin, who looked unstable for a while, bowed his head and answered with a tired voice.

“Right.”

“Where in China?”

“A small market street in the city of Nanjing. I saw a man who looked like Han Yi-gyeol.”

“Is this reliable information?”

“Well. I don’t know either. He looks like Han Yi-gyeol, but with dark hair and black eyes. It said he was wearing glasses and was holding a small child.”

“Glasses… a small child…”

“We have to consider the possibility of them using a changing item.”

“Give me the coordinates. I have to pass it on.”

“To whom?”

“……”

“Master Requiem?”

“No.”

At Hyde's words, Kim Woo-jin remembered the day he visited the representative office.

* * *

He believed in Han Yi-gyeol, so he was confident that he would be able to wait calmly until he returned. But as time went by, he became more and more in pain.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake the thought that Han Yi-gyeol had abandoned him.

He remembered Han Yi-gyeol from time to time and when he fell asleep, the back of Han Yi-gyeol, who poured out painful words to him and left coldly, appeared like a nightmare.

He could neither relax nor sleep. Kim Woo-jin, who had reached the limit, ignored Min Ah-rin and Kwon Jeong-han, who were worried about him and went to the representative office recklessly.

The attendant stopped him, but Woo Seo-hyuk helped him enter with a complicated expression.

“I’ll do anything.”

“……”

“Han Yi-gyeol…”

The words that came out aimlessly towards Cheon Sa-yeon, who was looking at the documents, were distorted without being able to finish them. The blood was cold.

What was he asking for? He knew best that Han Yi-gyeol had left without anything he had so that he wouldn’t be caught by the Cheon Sa-yeon. Even so, why was he…

Cheon Sa-yeon, who was silently looking at Kim Woo-jin, who had hardened without uttering a single word asking to find Han Yi-gyeol, closed the documents he was looking at and slowly leaned his back on the chair.

“As far as I know, that the gate is scheduled in two days.”

Kim Woo-jin’s eyes trembled at the cold voice.

“You have to be in good shape if you don’t want to die or get injured at the B-grade gate, Kim Woo-jin.” (고작 B급게이트에서죽거나다쳐나오면꼴이볼만하겠군)

“…I am.”

“You’re going to do anything? Then get a hold of yourself and do your job properly. I’ll make sure you don’t have time to think uselessly.”

* * *

Kim Woo-jin slowly closed his eyes and opened them. After finishing his thoughts, Hyde, not Cheon Sa-yeon, appeared in front of him.

Headaches that hadn’t stopped for the past few days had started to stir in his head again. His exhausted body shouted begging for rest.

As he wiped his forehead from the fatigue that weighed on his mind, Hyde asked with a nervous look.

“Kim Woo-jin, you… are you really okay?”

“Give me the data.”

Kim Woo-jin listened to Hyde’s words and was handed the material he had placed on his desk.

Team Leader Park Geon-ho said he would send a team member on behalf of himself, who couldn’t leave his seat if the location was confirmed properly. China wasn’t far away, so it was probably possible.

“I heard you’re going to enter the gate again in three days. You didn’t even rest properly now…”

At Hyde’s nagging, Kim Woo-jin smiled. As Cheon Sa-yeon said, it was better to enter the gate.

“I’m going.”

Kim Woo-jin, wearing his upper garment, turned his back on Hyde with his material in hand.

“Ya, Kim Woo-jin!”

Hyde’s shouts were interrupted by the harshly closed front door.

* * *

The fox that came up on the table looked at me and wagged its rich tail. It seemed that he was still pissed off from the last time I threw a branch and ran away secretly. Ignoring the gaze, I drank the milk Elohim had given to me.

Elohim, who was looking between me and the fox, with an awkward air flowing somewhere, asked with a smile.

“You still haven’t decided on a name.”

“Yes.”

After taking a sip of cold milk, I lowered the cup and said bitterly.

“I don’t think it would be a bad thing to just call him Fox.”

“Fox (여우라, Youra). Isn’t it too simple?”

“A simple name is best. How is it?”

The fox lifted his head without making a sound. It meant he didn’t like it.

“I have a question.”

Anyway, it wasn’t the fox’s name that mattered.

“You said you couldn’t show more about Cheon Sa-yeon or Ha Tae-heon.”

“Yeah.”

“Then… what about Han Yi-gyeol? Can’t I see about Han Yi-gyeol?”

At my question, Elohim gave a subtle expression for a moment.

“Do you want to know about Han Yi-gyeol’s past?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

Why? Elohim continued to say to me, who reflexively frowned slightly.

“What value is Han Yi-gyeol’s past to you? You must have thought you didn’t understand.”

“Understand…”

It wasn’t that I didn’t know what it meant. When I first entered Han Yi-gyeol’s body, I definitely thought so.

I couldn’t understand Han Yi-gyeol, who was swayed by Cheon Sa-yeon because of his younger sister. It even looked stupid and pathetic.

But actually… so did I.

The image of me risking my life for the life of someone who didn’t know whether they were dead or alive… because he was so similar to me.

You should have forgotten and lived your life. You should have run away without looking back and be happy. You should have done that…

The words I wanted to convey to my past, covered in Han Yi-gyeol’s skin, were scattered empty. I smiled bitterly and shook my head.

“Even so, I will see it if I can. The more I know, the more it will definitely help.”

“Hmm…”

Elohim touched his lips and let out a long, troubled breath. It was then. The screen was switched from the news that was turned on to the guild management headquarters.

[The meeting to decide the ownership of the newly appeared gate after the SS-grade gate six months ago is held at the Guild Management Headquarters today. We will try to connect with the reporter at the scene. Reporter Park Soo-jin, how is the situation there?]

New gate? At the first hearing, I turned my gaze away from Elohim and focused on the TV screen.

[Yes. Here at the guild management headquarters, a meeting about the new gate will be held an hour later. Currently, there are reporters waiting for the arrival of the guild representatives at the entrance of the headquarters, so it is a busy situation.]

[Who is the representative attending the meeting?]

[Currently, it is known that Requiem Guild’s Master Cheon Sa-yeon, Roheon Guild’s Master Lee Joo-ha and Deputy Master Ha Tae-heon, and Jayna Guild’s Master Hong Si-ah are attending.]

While watching the news, I suddenly remembered the conversation I had with Ha Tae-heon.

He mentioned that Elohim gave him a reason to put forward the SS-class coat. If so, then he meant…

“Did you inform Ha Tae-heon about the new gate in advance?”

“I did.”

“…That’s why you said Ha Tae-heon had to go back to Korea.”

In order to announce that the SS-class coat was obtained from the new gate, Roheon must own the gate.

I didn’t know the details of Requiem or Jayna’s current situation, but if Ha Tae-heon attended the meeting, the probability of going to Roheon would increase. Above all, Ha Tae-heon must enter the gate himself.

“Although there’s a problem with the coat.”

In the atmosphere that suddenly became heavy, the fox looked at Elohim with a small cry. Elohim gently stroked the fox’s head and opened his mouth.

“Ha Tae-heon, that child should be with Cheon Sa-yeon.”

“Pardon?”

I asked, surprised by the unexpected answer.

“Ha Tae-heon-ssi and Cheon Sa-yeon?”

“That way, fewer people will die.”

“……”

“These two children are about to have a dangerous fight now. And I’m sure Cheon Sa-yeon must have guessed that. The time is slowly approaching.”

“What time are you talking about?”

“Time for Kali’s minions to start working.”

My heart sank. Elohim smiled sadly as he looked at me, who had hardened my mouth shut.

“Until now, it was just a joke, but now that Kali is awake, they will start moving in earnest. To get Cheon Sa-yeon down on his knees and to clear out other obstructions.”

“Why… why is it that Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon-ssi are?”

At that moment, a gust of wind blew through the open window. The wind was strong enough to shake my body for an instant.

Kugugung—!

“What the…”

Pii.

In an instant, dark clouds filled the darkened sky and thunder roared. The fox hurriedly climbed onto Elohim’s shoulder and curled up his tail.

Elohim, who grabbed my shoulder, bewildered by the sudden change in appearance, lowered his eyebrows and said.

“You have to be strong, Se-hyun-ah.”

“El?”

“Otherwise, millions of people will die again and perhaps this world will no longer…”

“……”

“If you want Han Yi-gyeol’s past, I’ll show you. Because that child is no longer a ‘stranger’ to you. I think maybe this is a necessary procedure.”

“…is that okay?”

“Yeah. But not right now. You have to dream at least two more times.”

“What does my dream have to do with seeing Han Yi-gyeol’s past?”

Black candy was eaten every day before bed, but the second dream had yet to come.

“The more you dream, the stronger Kwon Se-hyun’s energy than Han Yi-gyeol. Only then will you be able to withstand the power of the book we will give you.”

“The power of the book?”

“Right. You’ve already experienced it once, so it’s easier to understand.”

“Ah.”

The red book where I could see Cheon Sa-yeon. As I nodded, Elohim gave me a slightly relieved look. His long, silvery hair gently swayed in the breeze behind him.

“Let me tell you ahead of time, we are an important figure in the fight against Kali for a long time… I left detailed records about Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon, but there’s only one book about Han Yi-gyeol.”

“……”

“The child’s past may be very different from what you expected, but will you really see it?”

Very different from what I expected? These words were difficult to understand, but it was impossible to refuse them now. I made up my mind and answered firmly.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Right. If that’s your will, I won’t stop you either.”

Elohim brushed my forehead with a warm hand and fixed my messy hair. Suddenly, the wind stopped and the sky was shining bright blue with no dark clouds as usual.

“The day the third dream ends, come to the library. I’ll be waiting.”