Chapter 39

I Am Not a Reincarnator Chapter 39

Paradise (6)

"......"

In an instant.

Silence descended upon the auction hall as if it had frozen.

Breaking the brief silence.

"Uh... 100 billion! 100 billion has been bid!! Since the bid was called out immediately, the auction for the Dragon Horse Eye is now closed!"

The auctioneer shouted in a flustered voice.

"I will take the item immediately."

Thud, thud.

Oh Jin walked towards the Dragon Horse Eye placed on the stage.

A relic shaped like a blue crystal carved to the size of a ping-pong ball.

He turned his body while holding the Dragon Horse Eye in his hand.

"Why, why are you here…."

Song Haeun, whose face had turned pale, was seen trembling.

A repeated question, like a broken machine.

Step by step.

He descended from the stage.

His steps followed the ashen gaze.

"What are you doing here?"

A man sitting next to Haeun glared at him with a menacing look.

"......"

His hand was seen resting on Haeun's thigh.

"What are you doing, interrupting the auction…."

"Move it."

"What?"

"Hand, move it."

His eyes, cold and hard, turned to the man.

In an instant.

A blue ghost fire flickered in Oh Jin's black eyes.

"......!"

Startled!

Choi Jongchul hastily removed his hand from Haeun's thigh without realizing it.

'What, what is this?'

For a moment.

The auction hall was shrouded in pitch-black darkness as if a power outage had occurred.

A chilling shiver ran down his spine.

"Ah!"

But it was only for a moment.

Choi Jongchul, looking around the now brightly lit auction hall, pushed his chair back and stood up.

He glared at Oh Jin with a fiercely red face.

"What are you, a brat, daring to order me around…."

"Didn't you hear me just now?"

He casually waved his Association Special Agent ID.

Choi Jongchul sneered at the Special Agent ID.

"Hah! Just a dog of the Association, and you're picking a fight with the Starlight Lake Guild?"

He sneered and glared at Oh Jin.

No matter how powerful a Special Agent might be, they couldn't touch the Starlight Lake Guild, one of the top 10 guilds.

'But was there such a person among the Special Agents?'

The faces of Special Agents were well-known due to their extensive authority.

'Surely, he wasn't on the list— Ah.'

At that moment.

A newspaper article from a few days ago came to mind.

The commotion at Seoul Station.

The news that a single Awakened from the Association had defeated a monster from the underground without any casualties.

The young man in front of him was undoubtedly the face he had seen in the photo.

"Wait, wait. Could it be... No-rang?"

Stumbling.

Choi Jongchul, like a fish out of water, stammered and took a step back.

In fact, if he had merely been the Awakened who defeated the monster at Seoul Station, it wouldn't have been so shocking.

—But.

'No-rang's constellation mark is unmistakable.'

The constellation mark of the Lyra constellation.

The constellation mark of the North Star, which even the 12 constellations of the zodiac bow to.

'Crazy!'

Choi Jongchul's face turned pale.

Currently, Vega's Apostle was an Awakened who was being watched not only in Korea but also worldwide.

A rookie among rookies, to whom dozens of 'super' prefixes could be attached without exaggeration.

That was the true identity of No-rang standing before him.

"Seems like that's what they call me."

His cold gaze turned to Choi Jongchul.

"Was it the Starlight Lake Guild?"

"Uh, that, that's... I..."

Choi Jongchul stammered with a pale face.

Immediately after the news of the North Star's Apostle appearing in Korea spread.

Most large guilds went into emergency meetings.

The Starlight Lake Guild, one of the top 10 guilds, was no exception.

The official notice after a long meeting was as follows:

—Maintain a friendly relationship with the North Star's Apostle at all costs.

It was a reasonable notice.

There would be no good coming from making an enemy of the North Star's Apostle, not just any Awakened.

"Is there some misunderstanding...?"

"Ah, was it a misunderstanding?"

He chuckled coldly.

"Let's ask the Starlight Lake Guild leader what he thinks."

"......!!"

Choi Jongchul's eyes widened.

-Thud!

He hurriedly knelt and bowed his head.

"I, I didn't know you were part of the group, I apologize for my rudeness!! Please, please don't say anything to the guild leader!"

"Alright."

"…What?"

"If you do one favor for me, I'll let this incident pass quietly."

"Ah…!"

Choi Jongchul's face brightened.

"Thank you! Whatever you need…."

"Get lost."

"Excuse me?"

"Get out of here right now."

"......"

Choi Jongchul's face turned red and then pale.

The veins in his clenched fists stood out.

A look of humiliation.

'So what are you going to do?'

Oh Jin looked down at him with a dismissive expression.

Right now, Choi Jongchul might have more experience and a higher star rating.

But that's all.

Looking to the future, Choi Jongchul's value was nothing compared to the North Star's Apostle.

"Hehe. I'll leave it to you, then."

Not stupid enough to not understand, Choi Jongchul got up with a servile smile and left the auction hall.

"Tsk."

After the commotion settled down.

"Let's go."

Oh Jin placed his hand on Haeun's shoulder.

"O, Oh Jin, why are you...?"

She was still stammering, unable to understand the situation.

"Follow me."

"Wait, wait!"

He pulled her by the shoulder.

Haeun's urgent voice was heard.

"Why are you here? No, hey! Kwon Oh Jin!"

He ignored her.

"Where are you going? Hey!"

He firmly held her arm and led her.

Their destination was the rooftop garden of the Yongsan Auction Hall, known for its excellent view in Seoul.

-Whoosh.

A cold night breeze brushed against their cheeks as they arrived at the rooftop garden.

"Ha, ha."

Perhaps due to the sudden situation, Haeun's breathing was heavy.

"O, Oh Jin, you...?"

Her ashen eyes searched the air.

"How did you get the residency rights to Paradise and buy that?!"

She shouted as if scolding him.

The 100 billion he had paid for the Dragon Horse Eye was money that should have been used elsewhere.

"Paradise?"

He chuckled.

Paradise.

He had been desperately saving money for the past five years to get there.

To be precise.

She had made him believe that he should do so.

'If not, she would have caused a fuss again.'

Even in the past and now.

She was a woman who would never be able to live with debt, a tiring personality.

'But that's part of her charm.'

He slowly raised the Dragon Horse Eye in his hand.

A blue crystal the size of a ping-pong ball.

Inside the translucent crystal, a yellow pupil reminiscent of a reptile's eye was embedded.

"Right! What about Paradise, why did you...?"

"Stay still for a moment."

He reached out and held her cheek.

Startled.

Her trembling was felt through his hand.

"O, Oh Jin."

As if sensing something, she called him by the nickname she usually used.

Tears welled up in her ashen eyes.

-Hum.

As he brought the Dragon Horse Eye to her left eye, the translucent blue crystal emitted a soft light.

Like ice melting.

The Dragon Horse Eye flowed into her pupil.

-Sizzle!!

Smoke, like oil splattering, rose from her eyes.

"Ah!"

A sharp pain was felt.

A burning sensation as if her eyes were being seared.

—But.

"Aaah."

The pain was so intense that she couldn't even think about it.

Her heart raced, thumping as if it would burst.

"It's okay. Just a little longer."

A warm voice flowed into the pitch-black darkness.

Her racing heart calmed down a bit.

The intense pain in her eyes gradually subsided.

With it.

Rumble!

The solid darkness that had confined her began to crumble.

The long night that seemed to have no end.

Like a sandcastle being washed away, it gradually collapsed.

"Ah."

The brilliant night view spread before her eyes.

The city was lit up like a galaxy of lanterns, as if the night sky had been flipped upside down.

"Aaah."

She rubbed her eyes, disbelieving.

She could see.

The delicate streetlights illuminating the park, the neatly arranged branches and leaves.

Most importantly.

"How is it?"

Seeing him after five years.

His face, slightly thinner.

"What about Paradise?"

"You, you...?"

Haeun stumbled backward.

Too many emotions mixed together, making it hard for her to speak.

"Oh, right. There's one more thing."

"What?"

Oh Jin took out an elegant black case.

"What, what is that?"

Haeun asked in a trembling voice.

"You'll see."

Click.

Oh Jin smiled and opened the black case.

Inside was a prosthetic leg of the highest quality, indistinguishable from the real thing.

"This is."

"Extend your right foot for a moment."

"......"

Haeun blushed slightly and extended her right foot.

Oh Jin, kneeling on one knee, removed the cheap prosthetic she was wearing and fitted the one from the case.

"Wow."

An involuntary exclamation.

It felt as soft as touching skin, a warm sensation.

She moved her leg back and forth, worried it might slip, but it felt as natural as if she had grown a real leg.

"How is it? Isn't it much more comfortable than what you're using now?"

"......"

Haeun bit her lip tightly.

She saw Oh Jin's face, beaming with a smile.

—The fact that she could see his smile.

For some reason, it felt unbearably painful.

"...Why."

Her voice trembled.

"Why, why, why!"

Too many emotions mixed together, impossible to define with a single word.

But the most vivid emotion she felt now was unbearable 'anger'.

"Why did you do such a useless thing!!!"

She shouted as if crying.

"It was precious money!! Money you had saved so desperately!!"

She knew how bitterly he had lived for the past five years, no, his entire life.

Only she knew.

His appearance before he became an Awakened.

His miserable life.

She had watched it all.

Suffocating in the heat, shivering in the cold.

Eating a cheap calorie bar for a meal, wearing worn-out clothes.

Enduring, enduring, enduring.

Struggling desperately to save money.

"You said you would buy the residency rights to Paradise for me! You said you wanted to live comfortably at least once!"

Five years ago.

The day she lost everything.

Oh Jin approached and said.

He wanted to go to Paradise.

He didn't want to live like this anymore.

He would save money and leave.

"We agreed to stay together until you saved enough money, didn't we!!!"

"Ah, that?"

Oh Jin shrugged.

He turned to her and smiled.

"Ah."

Haeun's eyes widened.

A memory from over 15 years ago resurfaced.

-Oh Jin!! You, you need to get out of here quickly!! The kitchen is on fire!

-Ah, that?

Just like then.

Just like always.

Just like before.

He burst into laughter and replied.

"—It was a lie."