episode_0138

138.

“Ji, Jinhuk? How?”

“Lee Jinhuk?”

“No, what is this.”

Roksanu, Ishiwoon, and Kang Daehan, these three people, looked at my face with bewildered expressions and eyes.

My unexpected appearance left them dumbfounded.

To them, I was already a deceased person who had died a long time ago.

It was not surprising at all to see them so shocked.

“It seems like everyone has gathered.”

Suddenly, Yuseolhyun’s voice echoed clearly in our ears.

She elegantly entered the reception room.

Yuseolhyun scanned the faces of the people in the reception room in a quick glance.

She chuckled as she saw the bewildered looks on their faces.

“Oh? Why do you all look like that? Have you never seen a ghost before?”

“…Yuseolhyun, what on earth are you doing?”

Ishiwoon furrowed his brows and turned to glare at Yuseolhyun.

It seemed like he thought Yuseolhyun was playing a mischievous prank.

Yuseolhyun’s behavior of playing around with someone who was already dead made Ishiwoon very uncomfortable.

But Yuseolhyun just shrugged her shoulders, chuckled lightly, and tilted her head as if nothing was wrong.

“What are you doing? What?”

“Is that Lee Jinhuk?”

In an instant, Yuseolhyun raised her voice confidently, cutting off Ishiwoon’s words.

“What?”

Ishiwoon asked in a bewildered manner.

It was the reaction of someone who had just heard something unbelievable.

Although Ishiwoon always had a cold expression, his eyebrows were twitching as if he was quite surprised.

“What did you just say?”

“He’s not fake. It’s really Lee Jinhuk, right?”

Ishiwoon froze for a moment.

Then, he stared at Yuseolhyun’s face for a while.

As if confirming that what she said was true.

Ishiwoon’s sharp eyes were fixed on Yuseolhyun, but she met his gaze calmly without avoiding it.

At that moment.

“…Um.”

While the two were quietly staring at each other, Roksanu, who had been hesitating and watching, timidly began to speak.

“Umm, Seolhyun?”

“What?”

“Is it really him, Jinhuk?”

“Yes. It’s hard to believe, I know.”

“Is it really?”

It was hard to believe that I was alive and well.

Roksanu asked repeatedly with eyes as uncertain as a cedar tree, and Yuseolhyun nodded firmly, affirming that I was indeed Lee Jinhuk.

“Well, it’s not unreasonable to doubt. But I can vouch for it. He is Lee Jinhuk. He said he died and came back to life himself, right?”

“He died and came back to life? No, …how?”

“Can I tell the story myself?”

I couldn’t keep asking Yuseolhyun to defend me.

Thanks to Yuseolhyun, everyone seemed ready to listen, so I decided to explain it myself.

“So, what happened was…”

I explained everything that had happened to them so far.

How much time had passed?

After finishing the story, I looked at Roksanu, Ishiwoon, and Kang Daehan, and they seemed quite shocked by my story, but I could tell that they were not completely disbelieving.

It seemed like my detailed explanation had convinced them.

I could truly consider myself lucky.

If they had continued to doubt and not believe me, I might not have been able to tell them the story today.

“Huh. Unbelievable.”

Kang Daehan let out a short exclamation and shook his head in disbelief.

“An artifact that can bring back the dead? I never thought such a thing existed.”

“Well, yeah.”

With a slightly bewildered expression, Roksan nodded in agreement and then suddenly turned her head towards me.

Placing a hand on her chest, she let out a sigh of relief.

“….Jinhyuk? I’m glad you’re safe. Uh, I mean, I should say I’m glad you’re alive?”

“Thank you.”

I nodded my head lightly in gratitude.

Then, I discreetly shifted my gaze.

The sight of everyone looking at me with expressions of confusion, surprise, and interest was serene.

After briefly observing their reactions, I cleared my throat.

“It’s nice to see you all again like this.”

“….”

“I actually called you all here, not Yuseolhyun. I have something to ask of you.”

“….Ask us something?”

Ishiwoon responded with a hint of confusion.

“It’s about Soyeon, Soyeon.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve heard everything from Yuseolhyun. Soyeon seems to be lost these days, right?”

“…It doesn’t seem like it’s just a matter of being lost.”

“Well, anyway.”

I cleared my throat and continued speaking.

“We can’t just leave Soyeon alone, can we? Right?”

“Right. But…”

Ishiwoon replied with a slightly stiff expression.

“…Even if we put aside other issues, we don’t even know where Soyeon is right now.”

“Hmm.”

“We’ve managed to track Soyeon a few times, but it’s getting harder as time goes on.”

“It seems like Soyeon has gotten better at hiding.”

“We’ve been trying to track Soyeon until recently, but there’s been no news.”

For Ishiwoon, Kang Daehan, and Roksan, tracking Soyeon, who travels around the country dismantling evil organizations, is a very difficult task.

Even if they manage to pinpoint Soyeon’s location, she quickly moves to another place.

Unless they can predict where Soyeon will move to, it’s almost impossible to confront her.

But.

But.

“I know where Soyeon is going.”

To be precise, I could ‘anticipate’ it.

Where Soyeon is planning to go, what she’s aiming for.

“What? How do you know, Jinhyuk?”

Kang Daehan frowned at my words.

It was unexpected for someone who had been dead for a while and suddenly came back to life to know Soyeon’s whereabouts.

But, can I really know where Soyeon is going?

“How did you find out? Well…”

I hesitated for a moment, trailing off.

I had decided to reveal this fact, but when it came time to say it, I hesitated a bit.

It was a fairly important secret to me.

However, since I had already told Yuseolhyun and Roksan, and Yudahee also had some idea, it was no longer entirely a secret.

So, I decided to reveal it in front of Ishiwoon, Kang Daehan, and Baek Yurin.

It could be a useful excuse to persuade them in the future.

“I actually have the ability to see the future.”

“Future vision? You?”

“Yeah.”

Kang Daehan looked a bit incredulous.

“That’s nonsense.”

“Well, is it more believable that I died and came back to life?”

Yeah, logically, being a future visionist is more plausible than believing I resurrected, right?

Why is it so hard to believe when I say I’m a future visionist rather than that I came back to life?

“Hmm.”

I was momentarily speechless at my own words, and Kang Daehan suddenly scratched the back of his neck.

“Hmm. What the heck.”

“…Precognition? …Is that what it was?”

“Hey, Lee Siwoon, do you believe in that?”

“…There’s no reason not to believe it. Considering everything Lee Jinhyuk has shown us so far.”

“Oh, well.”

Kang Daehan clicked his tongue at Siwoon’s words.

“It’s not completely unreasonable when you think about how he immediately identified the weaknesses of the Ouroboros when it appeared and strategized against it.”

“Jinhyuk does have precognition abilities.”

“What?”

Rok Sanu interjected to defend Kang Daehan.

“He told us before. That he has precognition abilities. Thanks to Jinhyuk, we were able to capture several villains affiliated with Rebellion.”

“Yeah, I mean, I was able to gain a lot of information about dungeons, relics, items, based on what Jinhyuk told me.”

“Huh.”

Kang Daehan finally seemed to accept Rok Sanu and Yoo Seolhyun’s words.

“Geez. I’ve heard a lot of strange things today, sigh.”

Letting out a sigh, Kang Daehan turned to me.

“Alright, fine. Let’s just say you’re a precog after all.”

“Yeah.”

“So, did you predict where Jin Soyeon is with your abilities?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s right, I mean.”

…It was a natural assumption, but it wasn’t actually something I found out through precognition.

It was because I realized from the stories told by Yoo Seolhyun that Soyeon’s actions followed a certain pattern.

Currently, Soyeon is systematically destroying evil organizations one by one.

She is targeting the organizations of villains that I had categorized based on difficulty, danger, relics, items, etc., and attacking them in order.

Originally, it was like a nurturing guide I had roughly written to help Soyeon grow quickly.

But it seems like Soyeon is diligently following it.

“I heard recently that she even destroyed a huge drug manufacturing plant in Gochang, Chungcheongbuk-do.”

The drug manufacturing plant managed by Ju Seunghyun, who was notorious under the alias of Geophwa. Since she destroyed that place, it’s obvious where she’ll go next.

Straight to the cult.

She will visit the cult known as the Sinhwekyo in Jeollanam-do.

“Soyeon’s next target is the Sinhwekyo in Jeollanam-do.”

“Sinhwekyo…?”

“It’s a cult that worships monsters and considers themselves as the messengers of God punishing the corrupt world.”

“Insane.”

Kang Daehan cursed at the mention of human sacrifices.

“In this day and age, human sacrifices. That’s why cults are… tsk.”

“Anyway, before Soyeon causes trouble, I plan to try to persuade the Sinhwekyo. What do you think? Can you help?”

Soyeon believes she can persuade them on her own.

But not the Sinhwekyo.

If she makes a wrong move, it could be very dangerous as the Sinhwekyo has a considerable influence in Jeollanam-do. They even have cooperation with local police, military headquarters, high courts, and so on.

That’s why, just in case, I wanted to ask for help from Rok Sanu, Lee Siwoon, and Kang Daehan.

With them by my side, I can feel a bit more at ease.

Moreover, there is a monstrous figure in the Sinhwekyo known as Surapacheon.

Originally, it’s a monster that the protagonist’s group would face around the end of the second year.

As Soyeon is now, it could be quite dangerous?

So I want to persuade Soyeon before she faces Surapacheon.

“When do you plan to go?”

“As soon as you guys are ready.”

“Then how about tomorrow? Let’s go tomorrow.”

“So soon? Tomorrow, you have to go to the academy too. Are you okay with that, Lee Siwoon?”

“Yeah.”

Lee Siwoon replied immediately, as if the academy wasn’t important.

“Then, Kang Daehan, Roksanu. What about you? Will you go, or will you stay?”

“Well… I can’t just sit out on something like this.”

Kang Daehan also showed a positive response.

“I will definitely go with you.”

“Roksanu, you don’t have to push yourself. Your schedule seems quite tight, so it might be difficult to adjust it right away tomorrow.”

“…It’s okay, Jinhuk.”

Roksanu looked at me with clear eyes and said, “I also wanted to stop Soyeon. So please don’t worry.”

“Is that so? In that case…”

If Roksanu comes, naturally, Sinshia will follow along. Traveling with the high ranker Sinshia would be unparalleled.

Of course, the Sura in the Sinhwa Sect is just as strong as Sinshia.

“…Um, do I have to go too?”

“Huh?”

I had been so preoccupied that I had forgotten that Bai Yurin was also present.

Bai Yurin, as usual, looked at me with an unreadable expression, quietly waiting for my response.

“Bai Yurin, you…”

It would be nice to take her along, but if we take Bai Yurin with us while she is on bad terms with the Rebellion, it might raise suspicions about our relationship if she also skips the academy with us.

It’s probably best to leave Bai Yurin behind.

“No. It’s okay, Bai Yurin. Just practice the swordsmanship I taught you.”

“Okay… then…”

Bai Yurin nodded lightly in agreement with my words.

“Alright, then I’ll explain the detailed plan from now on.”

I looked at each of them in turn as I spoke.

“It’s quite a dangerous place to visit without any thoughts.”

Suddenly, I explained various things to the kids.

Points to be cautious of, dangers, things to prepare, and the necessary personnel in detail.

After explaining for a long time, I realized that quite a bit of time had passed.

If we need to prepare everything by tomorrow, it will be quite tight, so I decided to head back for today.

There was a sense of urgency, but to catch up with Soyeon, who had been relentlessly destroying evil organizations, we needed to move as soon as possible.

Otherwise, we might arrive at the Sinhwa Sect later than Soyeon.

And so, the next day.

We gathered at the Sinhwa Sect after completing various preparations.

I looked at the Sinhwa Sect building and thought to myself.

It’s right in front of us.

We’ve all arrived now.

Soon… soon, we’ll be able to meet her.

Soyeon, that girl.

– Don’t leave her alone.

“…I won’t leave you alone, Soyeon.”

Just as the Soyeon in my dream had asked, I firmly resolved in my heart that I would never leave Soyeon alone.