Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 121

“I’m not using that name anymore.”

 

Ryu Won said nonchalantly as he looked at Ji Hwa, who had opened her eyes. Ji Hwa’s eyes widened, and she smiled softly. She slowly pushed herself up from the bed.

 

Yeon-young helped her up, nervously wondering if the wind would blow her away. Ji Hwa stared at Yeon-young’s face for the first time.

 

Feeling the stare, she dropped her eyes down. Leaning over the head of the bed, Ji Hwa looked at Ryu Won and opened her mouth.

 

“…You’re Ophir, not just in name, right?”

 

Ji Hwa looked confused. It was as if Ryu Won had denied his old name and mistaken her for another spirit. Ryu Won shrugged lightly.

 

“Yes, I was, but not anymore. I’m Han Ryu Won.”

 

“Hmm, you changed your name, Han…, Ryu Won. Nice name.”

 

She said Ryu Won’s name out loud, slowly. Despite her praise, the name didn’t seem to stick in Ji Hwa’s mouth.

 

Ji Hwa looked awkwardly at Yeon-young beside her. The lines between her brows deepened, as if she was trying to remember who she was.

 

Yeon-young bowed her head slightly and greeted her first.

 

“Hello, I’m Yeon-young Kim, the newest member of the 1st Division Special Team.”

 

“Wow, you must be the newest phantom. I’m Ahn Ji Hwa.”

 

“And my girlfriend.”

 

“Oh my…! Who are you dating?”

 

“We live together, we just need to get married.”

 

Yeon-young sighed. Ryu Won’s words startled her, and she turned around to glare at him.

 

Ryu Won’s warm, large hand casually caressed her side. He smiled at her with a look that said, “What’s wrong with you?”. It was a cheeky attitude.

 

Of course, he wasn’t wrong, but it was condescending. When had she ever given him a definite answer about marriage?

 

Seeing Ryu Won’s relaxed smile, the corners of Yeon-young’s mouth twitched up as if she had an idea.

 

“Who’s going to marry me?”

 

“It’s either me or you.”

 

“You can live without getting married.”

 

Ryu Won’s reaction was immediate, just as Yeon-young had predicted. His brow furrowed in displeasure, and he sagged like a child.

 

“I thought you said you loved me.”

 

“I love you.”

 

“You love me, but you’re going to marry someone else?”

 

“I said no.”

 

“Then marry me, not this. You’re ditching me because you’re drunk?”

 

“I told you, I’m a Confucian, and I don’t think marriage is easy.”

 

“Tell me what you want, and I’ll do anything.”

 

A laugh escaped her lips as the lines between his brows deepened with worry. Seeing his confusion, Yeon-young decided to enjoy this moment a little longer.

 

“I want you to think about what you want, and when you find it, I’ll marry you.”

 

“You don’t think I’ll find it?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“I’ll definitely find it and put it in front of you, then go and don’t regret it.”

 

Ryu Won’s eyes were filled with heat. It was as if Yeon-young’s playful question had struck a spark in his firewood.

 

Ji Hwa searched them silently, the corners of her mouth twitching upward as she found the situation both awkward and amusing.

 

Eventually, Ji Hwa’s gaze settled on the mess inside the chairman’s office. Yeon-young followed her gaze and wiped the smile off her face.

 

Saeri died at the same time as Ji Hwa came to life. After a moment of silent contemplation, she asked a question.

 

“How long was I asleep?”

 

“Probably quite a while.”

 

“…Has the world changed at all?”

 

“I don’t know. I’d say it’s changed for the worse. We’re in wartime.”

 

“With Snarl?”

 

“Uh, with Snarl.”

 

“I see…”

 

Ji Hwa replied with a hint of bitterness in her voice. Her gaze naturally turned to the sky outside the window.

 

Seeing the longing in her eyes, Yeon-young somehow knew who she was thinking of.

 

She felt like she was back in the present. She had found a memory of the past, but it didn’t change reality.

 

The world was still falling apart, and there was no intrinsic way to undo it.

 

There was silence once again in the chairman’s office.

 

*Beep*

 

Ryu Won’s ring beeped, breaking the silence. It was from Zhaolin.

 

It was about the siren that had suddenly sounded earlier. She asked to meet her in her office and ended the call.

 

Ryu Won looked puzzled, while Ji Hwa looked excited.

 

“See, I did a good job of stopping you, didn’t I?”

 

“Ah…, I should have turned off all the center communications.”

 

“Why don’t you just go see Ms. Zhaolin?”

 

“I’ll be waiting for a while, and I’ll also deliver the Ahn Ji Hwa case.”

 

Yeon-young nodded once in understanding. Ryu Won disappeared through the teleportation portal.

 

Soon, only Ji Hwa and Yeon-young were left in the room.

 

“Did you say you’re Ms. Yeon-young?”

 

“Yes, feel free to call me that.”

 

“Ms. Yeon-young, since I’m just waking up, I have a lot of questions. Do you mind if I ask you a few?”

 

Ji Hwa’s expression turned serious, and Yeon-young’s smile widened. She sat down on the easy chair next to the bed and answered that she could answer everything. Ji Hwa was relieved to hear her affirmation and continued.

 

“So, how did I wake up?”

 

“Well. First, Chairman… I mean, Tanato returned the borrowed power to you.”

 

“Then the goddess…”

 

“It was extinguished, though you said it was technically reversed.”

 

“The goddess must have gotten what she wanted.”

 

Ji Hwa stared at the hem of the pure white quilt and spoke in a low voice. It wasn’t a question she wanted to hear Yeon-young answer. She remembered the glimpse she’d gotten through Saeri.

 

Surely Saeri had said those words while borrowing Ji Hwa’s body. She wanted to get a closer look. Ji Hwa seemed to recall the conversation.

 

She remembered Saeri’s last words of regret. Even in her fading moments, Saeri was smiling, and from the look of it, she must have seen everything she wanted to see.

 

“I think she probably did, because she’s stubborn.”

 

“After all, she saved my life on a whim.”

 

Ji Hwa let out a small laugh. At the sound of it, Yeon-young’s smile gradually returned.

 

“Ms. Yeon-young, can you give me a brief update on the current war situation?”

 

“First of all, the Snarls are being mass-produced by an organization called Negro.”

 

“…Mass production?”

 

“Yes. They are ruthlessly creating snarls with the aim of eliminating Tanato, and the increasing number of snarls has led to a wartime situation.”

 

“Hah…, things have really gotten worse.”

 

Ji Hwa rubbed her temples with her hands, very shallow wrinkles forming around the corners of her eyes.

 

Yeon-young absentmindedly fiddled with her bracelet.

 

“From what I can tell, the brainwashing experiment was successful, and most of the Snarls are victims.”

 

“…….”

 

“The souls that aren’t fully Snarlized are trying to recover as best they can…”

 

“Wait a minute.”

 

Ji Hwa, who had been listening intently to Yeon-young’s story, opened her eyes wide. 

 

She made a face of disbelief. Yeon-young tilted her head slightly at Ji Hwa’s unfamiliar reaction.

 

“You said healed? How?”

 

“Sly’s powder.”

 

“Wow, it’s so effective…! But isn’t it hard to find?”

 

“Well, I happened to get a lot of it, so it’s being distributed as a potion.”

 

“My God…, it looks like you just woke up from a short nap, and you turned into this.”

 

Ji Hwa exclaimed in pure admiration. Yeon-young suddenly remembered that Ji Hwa was trying to save Snarl, who was just as innocent as she was.

 

After a long pause, she spoke her mind very carefully, her soft brown eyes clear. Ji Hwa couldn’t look away from them, as if mesmerized by something.

 

“I’d like to save more souls if I could, because Snarls can be anyone, and it’ll never end if we just let them disappear like this.”

 

“I agree with you, there has to be a more intrinsic way.”

 

“…Yes, you’re right.”

 

“It’s not easy, isn’t it, because there are so many souls who oppose it.”

 

Yeon-young looked into Ji Hwa’s sincere eyes and realized that she desperately understood the situation.

 

Someone understands how she feels.

 

She felt her heart fill with that feeling alone, and she no longer felt like she was standing alone in her goal.

 

“At least things are looking up. I didn’t have potions back then. Is there anything I can do to help?”

 

“I wish I could unblock the brainwashing, but it’s difficult. I can’t interpret most of Negro’s material….”

 

“Do you happen to have that material?”

 

Yeon-young clasped her bracelet and hologrammed the photos she’d saved. Ji Hwa studied the pictures carefully, then gestured to a spot in the middle of them.

 

There was a logbook of brainwashing experiments.