episode_0126

126.

“Ah.”

Yoo Seol-hyun’s words felt like a dagger piercing deep into Jin So-yeon’s heart.

A sharp blade seemed to pierce through her chest, causing a sensation of intense pain.

Jin So-yeon, overwhelmed by the deep-rooted agony surging from within, involuntarily bit down on her lower lip and shuddered her shoulders.

Did I make Jinhyuk die?

Yes, I did.

I made Jinhyuk die.

I know.

I know, but…

Listening to it directly from someone else’s mouth makes it impossible to regain composure from the guilt and sense of responsibility. My heart, my heart hurts so much.

“Of course, I know you said you didn’t need to help Jinhyuk. But…”

Yoo Seol-hyun’s eyes flashed sharply.

“You knew how Jinhyuk would react to those words, right? He would never leave you alone.”

“That… ”

It was an undeniable fact.

In reality, Jinhyuk did say those words.

– No, you’re risking your life fighting that snake, and you’re telling me to stay in a safe place.

– Haah, So-yeon, think about it the other way around. If I told you to stay out of danger while I fight the snake alone, would you just nod obediently? No, right?

“You used Jinhyuk for your heroic ego.”

“…I, I didn’t mean to.”

It wasn’t about heroism.

It was definitely not about using Jinhyuk.

I just wanted to save people.

With great power comes great responsibility.

I just wanted to help because I had the power to help people.

Why did it end up like this?

Why.

“The extermination of Ouroboros, which was not originally planned, was nothing short of a gamble.”

Jinhyuk was well aware of Ouroboros’ weaknesses.

But judging by his surprise when Ouroboros appeared, it seemed that Ouroboros’ appearance at this time was completely unexpected.

In other words, fighting Ouroboros was truly a gamble with his life.

“But you gambled with Jinhyuk’s and other people’s lives, Jin So-yeon.”

Suddenly, a certain phrase popped into Jin So-yeon’s mind.

– Maybe protect me first when it’s dangerous later.

Half-jokingly, Jinhyuk had said one word.

It was Jinhyuk who had asked to be protected first when it was dangerous.

But Jin So-yeon ended up prioritizing the lives of the citizens over Jinhyuk’s.

It wasn’t intentional, but ultimately, she ended up exchanging the lives of the citizens and Jinhyuk.

“…”

“Jinhyuk died because of you.”

“…”

“You forced Jinhyuk into this situation with your foolishness!”

“…”

“You think you’re a bit stronger now, a bit talented! Do you think you’ve become something, Jin So-yeon? At best, you’re just an aspiring hero! Why did you do such a stupid thing, making Jinhyuk! Die….”

“…”

“Yes.”

Yoo Seol-hyun momentarily pursed her lips.

The burning emotions subsided.

The sight of Jin So-yeon, shedding tears and hanging her head desolately, suddenly came into view.

“Your words… they all seem right, Yoo Seol-hyun.”

“No, I…”

Yoo Seol-hyun hesitated for a moment.

Then she bit her lip tightly.

She hadn’t intended to say such harsh words.

But in her excitement, she ended up saying everything she shouldn’t have.

What did I say to the one who is already in sorrow?

I didn’t mean to do this.

“It’s all my fault, my fault….”

“So-yeon.”

Trembling shoulders and tears falling drop by drop, Jin So-yeon soon raised her head.

Tear stains were very distinct.

“No, that’s not it.”

Yoo Seol-hyun hesitated for a moment, pondering on what to say.

Eventually, Jin So-yeon slowly pursed her lips.

“Can you leave now…? I want some time to gather my thoughts.”

“….”

Yoo Seol-hyun hesitated for a moment at Jin So-yeon’s weak words.

Would it be okay to leave Jin So-yeon alone like this?

What if she does something strange…?

“Don’t worry. I won’t have any strange thoughts. I just want to be alone for a while.”

Although Jin So-yeon seemed to reassure Yoo Seol-hyun not to worry, her attitude only made Yoo Seol-hyun more concerned.

“So, Seol-hyun, please leave for today….”

But it was hard to ignore Jin So-yeon’s continued words.

After a moment of contemplation, Yoo Seol-hyun finally let out a deep sigh and nodded.

Staying here in this atmosphere wouldn’t be good for either of them.

“Fine. I understand for now….”

“Okay.”

“So-yeon, I’ll come back around lunchtime tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah.”

Yoo Seol-hyun took a few steps, then casually looked back.

And hesitated for a moment, pursing her lips.

“About what I said earlier… I think I was too harsh, I’m sorry. It wasn’t sincere. It just came out wrong.”

“I understand, I said some harsh things too. I’m sorry too.”

“…Okay.”

Suddenly showing such a friendly attitude only brought about an unknown sense of unease.

Yoo Seol-hyun hesitated for a few seconds on whether she should leave like this.

But soon, she took a step forward.

She watched Jin So-yeon’s back for a moment.

She watched her until she left the house, then let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh.”

And wiped away her tears.

Jin So-yeon, who was murmuring weakly to herself, took out a ring from her pocket. A simple designed ring.

It was the Agong ring.

It was an artifact and a memento that Jin Hyuk had worn until his death.

“Jin Hyuk.”

Jin So-yeon tried on the ring. It was a bit loose. She clenched the hand wearing the ring tightly and whispered his name.

Every time she looked at the ring, his face came to mind.

So, she always carried it with her since Jin Hyuk’s death, but she rarely took it out and held it like this.

Her memories of Jin Hyuk were filled with longing and pain.

“Sigh, Jin Hyuk.”

Jin So-yeon sniffled again.

As she tightly held the ring, it felt like she could feel his warmth.

If Jin So-yeon hadn’t acted like a fool back then, would Jin Hyuk still be alive?

Then she wouldn’t have to long for him like this.

But why, why.

Why did she make that choice back then?

Why did she make Jin Hyuk, Jin Hyuk, die?

“Revenge, I have to do it.”

Revenge.

Revenge for making Jin Hyuk die.

The target of that revenge was clear.

“How long are you going to mope around the house, Jin So-yeon? You have to seek revenge for Jin Hyuk.”

Being cooped up in the house like a coward was enough for a month.

It was time to start going out.

But ‘I might be pushing it alone.’

Without information on those bastards and with Jin So-yeon relatively weak, she was too inadequate to face the villains who could even summon monsters.

Without the help of others, she wouldn’t even dream of revenge.

That’s how formidable the organization called Rebellion that Jin Hyuk mentioned was.

Especially Yoo Da-hee.

She recently made headlines for killing even a high ranker hero.

It seems like she has gotten stronger than a month ago.

“If it’s not someone else’s help, then who… Yuseolhyun? Would that kid help? Or…”

Swoosh, swoosh.

“…Ah, this is…”

Was it because she was wearing the spatial ring?

She accidentally opened the spatial ring.

Not knowing how to use it properly, it caused a mishap.

Items fell out from the crack in the space.

Black bow, special grenades, smoke bombs, special arrows, giant flashlight, sticky bombs, location trackers, radars, giant beast absorption sword, shield, casual clothes, and more.

As the items stored in the spatial ring by Lee Jinhyuk fell out mercilessly, the house turned into a mess in an instant.

Fortunately, not all items were spewed out.

Because there were so many items stored in this spatial ring.

“…There’s a lot of stuff. Jinhyuk, this kid carried all these things in the spatial ring.”

She faintly remembered Lee Jinhyuk, who had been taking care of her by carrying various items throughout the summer vacation.

Jin Soyeon recalled memories of Jinhyuk as she put the items back into the spatial pocket one by one.

And then.

She found a thick notebook.

A notebook with a lot of fingerprints. What on earth is this notebook? Jin Soyeon reached out to the notebook without thinking.

And slowly started flipping through the notebook.

It was hard to read because it was written in handwriting.

But still, she could understand it to some extent.

But this.

What is this content?

“…Locations of villains to be wary of? Times when monsters appear? Composition of rebellion members? Academy goals by semester?”

This notebook was filled with information about the future timeline, monsters, and villains.

Could this be a notebook where Jinhyuk recorded future information through precognition abilities?

“The names, locations, abilities, weaknesses of rebellion members… If this is it.”

There is a lot of detailed and specific information.

Can you really know this much through precognition abilities?

Well, who cares. With this, she could find out information about the villains who made Jinhyuk die.

If she only had this notebook, she might be able to.

For revenge against those bastards.

“…Wait, wait a minute. What is this? This? Huh?”

But something strange caught her eye.

Because of the hastily scribbled handwriting, she thought she had seen it wrong, so she read it carefully again, but she hadn’t seen it wrong.

“…Jinhyuk’s death? Harassment? Huh, huh? What is this?”

This notebook had Jinhyuk’s death already planned.

It was a slightly later future than now, but Jinhyuk in the notebook was definitely destined to face death.

But the problem was the process leading to Jinhyuk’s death.

No, what is this?

“…Being harassed due to lack of ability? Followers of Siwoon and Daehyun? And I am… huh?”

There were countless unbelievable contents written in the notebook, and Jin Soyeon couldn’t calm her bewildered heart.

“No, no, that can’t be.”

The process, causes, reasons, problems, solutions leading to Jinhyuk’s death, everything was clearly laid out.

The jealousy and harassment of Siwoon, Kang Daehan, and other half-children, as well as Jin Soyeon’s insensitivity, were clearly marked.

“I, I would never do that.”

Especially, the aftermath of Jinhyuk’s death was outrageous.

The ones who indirectly harassed Jinhyuk out of jealousy were none other than Siwoon and Kang Daehan.

Although they didn’t directly intervene, they didn’t even bother to stop the actions of their followers.

However, Jin Soyeon, unaware of this fact, received comfort and encouragement from Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan as they went together to seek revenge on the Rebellion members.

Was this unbelievable content the future that Lee Jinhyuk saw through his precognitive abilities?

This kind of thing?

Really?

If so, did Jinhyuk see this future and…

“Ah, ah.”

Suddenly.

Very suddenly.

The time when Lee Jinhyuk’s behavior began to change subtly came to mind.

Since shortly before entering the academy, there had been a slight discomfort in Jinhyuk’s actions and words.

At that time, it seemed a bit strange, but it was dismissed as insignificant.

Judging from the timeline in the notebook, Jinhyuk probably started seeing the future shortly before entering Union Academy.

After entering the academy, he showed a different pattern of behavior from what was written in the timeline.

“So, did you distance yourself from me since entering the academy…? Was it because you wanted to get involved with Siwoon?”

Jin Soyeon bit her lip tightly.

Blood dripped from between her lips.

The taste of the metallic blood stimulated the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t even flinch.

“So, did you reject my confession… because you couldn’t believe it…?”

Thud!

Jin Soyeon unconsciously struck her fist down.

The living room floor sank in.

“Is this really the future? Don’t be ridiculous, there’s no way…! I wouldn’t do that…!”

Ring, ring.

Her phone rang.

It was a message alert.

Jin Soyeon frowned as she checked the message.

It was a message from Lee Siwoon. He kept sending messages regularly after Jin Soyeon refused to meet him.

Worried messages from Siwoon.

Normally, she wouldn’t have thought much of it, but after seeing the contents of the notebook, Jin Soyeon couldn’t bear it.

She reflexively clenched her phone tightly and threw it against the wall.

The phone cracked with a crunch.

“…Forget it, I don’t need anyone’s help.”

Originally, she had received help from Siwoon, Kang Daehan, and others, right?

But now, Jin Soyeon didn’t need it.

She didn’t need anyone’s help.

“I’ll do it alone.”

Even if she had information about the future, facing the Rebellion members alone would be nearly impossible.

But Jin Soyeon was confident.

She had figured out a way to grow rapidly after the summer vacation.

“I’ll do it alone.”

A fight for her life.

She realized that battling powerful villains and monsters would exponentially accelerate her growth.

As if absorbing the opponent’s strength.

Fighting strong opponents would allow her to grow faster.

‘This notebook lists the danger levels, locations, and weaknesses of various dungeons, villains, and monsters. So, my task is simple.’

Using the information in the notebook, she would systematically defeat her enemies and grow quickly.

She would fight and fight again to seek revenge on them.

Of course, she knew that Yoo Dahee’s growth rate was unbelievably fast.

But I’ll be faster.

Someday, I’ll catch up to her.

“…”

Jin Soyeon finally took a shower, fixed her hair, packed her clothes, food, money, notebook, Vigilante’s Sword, Aegis Shield, and slowly stood in front of the front door.

And then, she slowly stepped outside.

The outside world she hadn’t seen in a month was incredibly dark and cold.

Jin Soyeon absentmindedly looked up at the moon before suddenly stepping into the darkness.

And with that, Jin Soyeon’s new form disappeared into the darkness.