episode_0019

Yoochan, still feeling a lingering pain in his wrist after parting ways with Mayeonseo, applied a patch to it.

He didn’t think he could easily forget about her, but at least until his wrist healed, she would come to mind every moment.

“…I hope it heals quickly.”

While lost in thought, he happened to witness Ryeowon coming to bring him some side dishes…

“Huh? What’s wrong with your wrist? Did you hurt yourself somewhere?”

“Uh… It’s nothing, just had a little accident.”

“What? Let me see! Is it serious?”

“It’s nothing. Just my muscles got a bit startled.”

“That’s nothing?!”

Yoochan tried to hide the issue with Yeonseo from Ryeowon, but due to Ryeowon’s persistent concern and her poking at his forearm, he couldn’t help but confess.

The fact that he had parted ways with Mayeonseo after their argument.

“…That’s how it turned out.”

“So, are you completely done now? Really…?”

“Well… I guess so.”

Although there hadn’t been any contact since then, Yoochan, who had experienced her all this time, couldn’t completely let go of his worries.

Because she had always gone beyond his expectations.

But Ryeowon could tell.

“She gave up.”

Mayeonseo had completely left his side.

Realizing this, she comforted Yoochan.

“Sigh. Our Yoochan must have suffered a lot…”

“Suffered? What…”

“Forget everything like this happened, and let’s meet someone better! There are plenty of women in this world! There will only be good days ahead!”

“…Yeah. Thanks for worrying about me.”

Yoochan forced a smile at her sincere encouragement.

For a while, he felt like he wouldn’t even want to dream of dating.

Naturally, Ryeowon changed the subject by bringing up the side dishes she had brought earlier, avoiding any mention of Mayeonseo.

“But, what did you bring earlier?”

“Oh, right. My aunt made them for us…”

So, the two of them shared a meal together with the side dishes Ryeowon’s aunt had prepared.

After managing to stop Ryeowon, who insisted on doing it herself when she found out there was no rice, Yoochan quickly made some instant rice.

“Why didn’t you just use the rice cooker?”

“Nah. It tastes better when it’s well stirred.”

“Hehe. Right? Even using the microwave is a skill, you know.”

“Just because you’ve used it once doesn’t mean you know everything.”

Feeling down for the past few days, Yoochan was able to catch his breath for a moment thanks to Leywon’s positive energy.

“Thank goodness Leywon is here.”

For Yoochan, she was a grateful presence in many ways.

“Take care. Make sure to tell your aunt that I’ll enjoy her side dishes.”

“Yeah, yeah. Eat well…! I’ll contact you again.”

Leywon, who had to go to the academy, left the villa with Yoochan’s send-off…

“Hmm hmm….”

With light footsteps, she even hummed a tune, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Worried someone might see, she quickly covered her mouth, but she couldn’t contain her laughter.

“Hehe.”

She was so happy that she couldn’t control herself.

*

Time passed relentlessly, and before they knew it, warm spring arrived.

Around that time, the suspect who had harmed her mother was caught.

“A-a body? So, the culprit is dead?”

More accurately, his body was found.

“Based on the discovery in the mountains, we’ve concluded it was suicide. This decision came from higher up…”

“Detective Kim.”

“Oh, sorry…”

“Anyway, it’s regrettable, but it seems the case regarding your mother will end like this. Sorry for not being of help.”

According to the police who came to deliver the news, the investigation concluded due to lack of jurisdiction resulting from the suspect’s death.

With no one to investigate, it just ended abruptly.

“Why…?”

It was a case full of questions from beginning to end, but as an ordinary citizen, there was nothing I could do but accept it.

Just our sacrificed mother, pitiful.

It was a bitter and regrettable reality.

“This is unbelievable! Is it really going to end like this?”

“…Yes.”

“What are we going to do…?”

Upon hearing this news, Han Leywon couldn’t contain her astonishment and comforted me.

Since being alone, she had occasionally come to bring side dishes, saying she felt gloomy when alone, and sometimes we spent time eating or studying together.

It was a relationship where gratitude fell short, no matter how much I repaid it in the future.

“Oh, right! What are you going to do about this house?”

“For now, I think I’ll keep living here until I graduate.”

“Ah, I’m really relieved. So, we’ll continue going to the same school?”

“Yeah.”

Fortunately, everything fell into place timing-wise, and I quickly received government support, so I didn’t need to move by receiving various kinds of assistance.

Naturally, there was no need to force myself to drop out just to earn a living.

It was truly a stroke of good luck.

“What? You already finished the braised spicy chicken?”

“Oh, that. It was so delicious, so I ate it first. As expected, Aunt’s braised spicy chicken is the best.”

“If you finished it, you should have said so. I would have brought more…”

“That’s why I’m doing it now.”

“Really…!”

Gradually, I was getting used to the new life.

Slowly, as the hot summer necessitated an air conditioner, I declined the suggestions of my newly made friends and was having dinner with Hanryeowon after a long time.

“Hey!”

But suddenly, while Hanryeowon was eating, she widened her eyes and pointed at the TV.

“That…?”

“What is it?”

Without much thought, I shifted my gaze to the TV and unexpectedly heard news about my ex-girlfriend.

[The youngest S-rank Awakener in the country has changed after 70 years.]

It was none other than Ma Yeonseo being reported on the news flash.

[Ma Yeonseo has been judged as the 18th S-rank Awakener domestically. She is the youngest in the country and ranks within the top 12 globally, a remarkable achievement… ]

And it was about her achieving S-rank.

“Wow… S-rank! Wasn’t she supposed to be C-rank?”

“….”

While Hanryeowon marveled and expressed amazement, I couldn’t help but feel a strange emotion upon hearing news about her for the first time since our breakup.

It was a mix of emotions.

Feeling relieved that things worked out well, yet momentarily recalling the last moments with her left me feeling choked up.

“…Yeah. Better than something bad happening.”

Anyway, her good news was almost like good news for me too.

If I had heard that she had encountered something bad, my heart wouldn’t have been at ease either.

That’s how the human heart works.

“Things will get better from now on.”

In reality, Ma Yeonseo’s life was bound to be successful.

She was pretty, came from a wealthy family, was intelligent, and awakened a rare ability.

Her life was one that couldn’t fail even if she wanted it to.

What about me?

I have nothing, an uncertain future, and a troubled household.

Even possessing any special abilities is out of the question.

Honestly, I wonder if I wasn’t her only obstacle.

…That’s what I thought.

*

Time flew by quickly once again.

Before we knew it, Hanryu and I, who were preparing for the college entrance exam, were spending busy days.

“Ugh, I really don’t want to go to the academy.”

“Just a few more days and it’ll be over.”

“Ugh, even those few days are unbearable.”

Both of us were aiming for the rolling admission, so we were relatively more relaxed than the students aiming for regular admission. However, as it was the biggest event in our school lives, we were inevitably quite sensitive.

It feels even more intense than puberty.

“Oh, right. Yoochan, did you see that?”

“See what?”

Then one day, out of the blue, a piece of news broke out, causing a stir in the world.

“The Primordial Stone! It was all over the news yesterday.”

“Oh, I saw it too.”

Out of the blue, it was a story about an ancient relic.

[ The Primordial Stone exists. I have seen it with my own eyes. This is a picture of the stone, and you have the right to know. I repeat, the Primordial Stone exists. ]

The middle-aged man, identified as “Daniel Kiesling” affiliated with the European Awakening Association, made a serious claim.

He asserted that the “Primordial Stone,” an ancient relic, indeed exists.

In modern terms, ancient relics refer to special items generated from the Tower.

In other words, the Primordial Stone is one of the items found in the Tower… This content was quite mind-boggling.

It is said that there are several Primordial Stones across all the Towers.

These stones each possess different powers and symbolize the origins of the world.

Among them, ‘Power’ and ‘Light’ have been revealed.

It was claimed that the United States possesses the Stone of Power, and the European Union possesses the Stone of Light.

Up to this point, it already sounded like something out of a comic or a movie.

But the reason for the revelation was even more astonishing.

[ The Primordial Stone is not just an ancient relic imbued with ‘Power.’ It is a ‘weapon’ that must not be handled lightly. We must absolutely prevent this weapon from falling into the hands of our enemies. ]

The fact that there is an evil organization somewhere in the world targeting these stones was truly shocking.

Expanding on this, he claimed that governments around the world were seeking to monopolize and weaponize this stone, and through this revelation, he aimed to prevent the reckless use of the stone.

“Isn’t this too grand in scale?”

People didn’t take his claim seriously. Weren’t they dismissing it as mere fantasy?

Surprisingly, many people supported his claim.

“Wow…! Impressive!”

Han Lyewon exclaimed beside me.

“Sacrificing oneself for a righteous cause…! Admirable…!”

As a member of the Awakening Society, her admiration for Daniel Kiesling’s selflessness soared.

It was an emotion that I found hard to understand.

“What if he dies for nothing?”

“Nah. He won’t die. It would be too ironic if he did.”

Soon after, Daniel Kiesling died.

The cause was a simple robbery by an awakened individual with greed in mind.

Naturally, no one believed that he simply fell victim to a robber.

His death made everyone realize something.

That there was “something more.”

“Look, he’s dead.”

“But, but… now we know for sure that the stone exists!”

While I remained skeptical, Han Lyewon, even amidst preparing for college entrance exams, continued to show great interest in researching about the stone.

And not long after…

“Yuchan! Yuchan! It’s real!”

“Why all the fuss so early in the morning?”

“The Primordial Stone! It really exists!”

“…Really?”

The existence of the stone was officially acknowledged in the United States for the first time.

[ This is the ‘Stone of Power’ possessed by the United States. ]

The President of the United States announced the true nature of the stone at an official ceremony.

“Wait, is this for real?”

Even I, who had been skeptical about the stone itself, couldn’t help but show interest when the United States stepped forward.

“Um…?”

As I watched the announcement video on my phone alongside Han Lyewon, I felt a strange sense of familiarity as I zoomed in on the greatly magnified form of the stone.

Somehow, it felt oddly familiar.

“Is it just my imagination?”

The ‘Stone of Power’ revealed on the screen looked quite ordinary compared to its abilities.

A flat, egg-shaped black stone with a beautiful red gem embedded like a pattern.

Just like the gem that the ‘uncle’ promised to give me when I was young.