Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 124

“…Come back?”

 

Jaeho’s soft voice pierced Yeon-young’s ears. It sounded like a questioning tone of disbelief.

 

Yeon-young nodded her head once, as if to confirm once more. Jaeho’s eyes turned as clear as ever at that movement.

 

His sea-like pupils trembled slightly beneath his blue, pale lashes. The glassy pupils were filled with nothing but Yeon-young’s image. Jaeho was shaking.

 

“Yeah, there’s still a chance.”

 

“Ugh.”

 

Jaeho let out a confused groan. He let go of Yeon-young’s hand and shoved her back roughly. 

 

Naturally, Yeon-young, who had been holding Jaeho’s earlobe, also lost her grip.

 

Yeon-young wrapped her left hand around his right hand, unable to do this or that. She glanced at Jaeho with confusion in her eyes.

 

He clutched his head with both hands, as if a strong headache was coming on.

 

“Jung Jaeho…, are you okay?”

 

“Ugh…, black.”

 

Jaeho let out a sobbing breath. The plaintive sound reminded him of his old self.

 

She almost patted him on the shoulder. She clenched her fists to control her impulse.

 

His chest rose and fell erratically, looking precarious. She couldn’t bring herself to touch his earlobe anymore.

 

After a while, he stabilized, though Yeon-young couldn’t tell from his glassy eyes if this was any better than before.

 

He stared at the ground, then turned his head to look at Yeon-young.

 

Jaeho looked calmer and more composed than ever.

 

“Kim Yeon-young, you’re always busy forgiving me.”

 

“…Me?”

 

“When I die, will you run away with me?”

 

“Not that again.”

 

Yeon-young frowned. Jaeho might think he was speaking with a straight face, but she could see right through his complicated mind.

 

He looked unstable. He couldn’t understand why Jaeho was so obsessed with running away.

 

And he couldn’t figure out why she was always in the middle of it, or where he would run to if he did.

 

So she had to come up with the same answer.

 

“No, I’m not going.”

 

“If it was Han Ryu Won, you’d go.”

 

Jaeho spoke as if he had expected it, and he squeezed her soft hair hard again.

 

Something unseen seemed to be bothering him, and he gently touched his earlobe where Yeon-young had touched it.

 

Then he asked a question in a self-help tone.

 

“Why can’t I?”

 

“What’s wrong with you… You’re weird.”

 

“I’ve always been a weirdo.”

 

Jaeho replied nonchalantly. The conversation felt a little off. No matter what Yeon-young’s answer was, Jaeho seemed to be hesitantly blurting out what he wanted to say.

 

The smile that had been on his face disappeared. He pulled the piercing out with both hands and tossed it haphazardly onto the grass. The piercing disappeared into the dry grass. 

 

Yeon-young watched him with a slight frown on her brow.

 

Jaeho seemed to be holding back something simmering by keeping his voice low.

 

There was a longing in his blue eyes, and it was directed at Yeon-young. Yeon-young paused, her breath caught by the sudden change in the air.

 

Jaeho spoke strongly, like he was chewing each word.

 

“I love you.”

 

He took a step toward Yeon-young. At the same time, Yeon-young took a step back. The confession was too sudden.

 

*Thud*

 

Something crunched underfoot. It was probably Jaeho’s piercing.

 

“I don’t want to give it to Ryu Won, I want to keep you for myself.”

 

“…What?”

 

It was a childlike complaint. The more she thought about Jaeho’s words, the more confused Yeon-young became.

 

Tsk.

 

Something touched her back, and as she felt a cold sensation soak through her clothes, she realized that Jaeho had blocked her escape route with his powers.

 

“You were the only one who saved my life.”

 

“…….”

 

“So it’s only natural that I’d want to be greedy.”

 

He stretched his arm out to the side of Yeon-young’s head, and she swallowed hard. 

 

Yeon-young swallowed dryly, but she wasn’t afraid.

 

This was a fight, and the one who showed fear first would lose. She wasn’t afraid of him, and Jaeho was afraid that he couldn’t hold her.

 

He pressed himself closer, his impatience showing. He could smell the cool scent of water that made his nose tingle. Yeon-young stared at his actions.

 

His head, which had been moving toward her face, suddenly turned to the right. She took a small breath in and out.

 

His icy hands still gripped her shoulders, but Jaeho’s body sagged. His forehead rested on one shoulder.

 

“Remember me.”

 

His voice was a ragged whisper, and the uncharacteristic warmth continued to creep into Yeon-young’s shoulder, the only warm, untainted part of Jaeho’s body.

 

Instead of pushing it away, Yeon-young drew it in, ever so slightly, like spring after winter.

 

Then the night sky, the space in Jaeho’s memory, appeared. The sky was blindingly black, with nothing but stars that had changed colors like obsidian. She let out a sorrowful breath.

 

“What more did I have to do with Jaeho Jung?”

 

Jaeho had a history with Tanato from the past. Iris/Yeon-young was taking care of Jaeho, and Ryu Won didn’t like it.

 

‘What else was there to find here?’

 

She slowly raised her head and scanned the entire night sky. The breathtakingly beautiful space was gone. All that remained was a lonely, cosmic landscape.

 

“Uh…, there…!”

 

It was then that one memory stood out to Yeon-young: unlike the others, which had lost their light and become corrupted, it stood alone in the sky, luminous and present.

 

Its intense light convinced her that she had to get it. Yeon-young ran across the night sky and grabbed the memory high in the air.

 

The warmth from Jaeho’s body was radiating from it.

 

“A, I finally have a name.”

 

She could see herself lying on her back in the warm field, her hands reaching for the sky as if she were drawing. She slowly scribbled something in the air.

 

“I recently asked a reincarnated soul for his name.”

 

“…….”

 

“And he told me that in some worlds, each syllable has a meaning, and that seemed pretty good to her.”

 

“…….”

 

Tanato’s sunlit eyes shone brightly. Like black pearls, they were beautiful and desirable in their mere existence.

 

Smiling faintly, Yeon-young glanced to the side for a moment before continuing. She didn’t seem to be expecting an answer.

 

“Um…, I’ve come up with new names for everyone. Ryu Won…, Saeri…, and Jaeho. How do you like it? Of these, your new name is Jung Jaeho. A being who will shine bright and clear.”

 

Rustle-

 

Yeon-young felt a tug on the side of her head. She smiled brightly and turned her gaze back to the sky.

 

“Do you like it? They say people live up to their names.”

 

“…….”

 

“So you’re going to have a better life this time, and I’ll make sure it happens.”

 

“Really? There’s a next for me?”

 

“Yes, you will be purified.”

 

“…….”

 

“And if you don’t, I’ll take you and run away with you!”

 

The rustling sound came again, accompanied by an urgent voice. It approached Yeon-young, keeping a certain distance so that their body didn’t touch. She moved in the direction of the sound as if she understood.

 

The spirit that had been at her side all this time was revealed.

 

A corrupted aura that had lost its transparent glow, a body composed of turbid smoke, a core as dark as a black hole behind a familiar face.

 

It was Snarl, who should not be in  Tanato.

 

‘No way… My punishment is…’

 

The goddess’s command that the Snarl be destroyed immediately.

 

And Iris is with Jaeho, who violated that order and became a Snarl.

 

Only now did Yeon-young realize why she was being punished.

 

She had broken the taboo to protect Jaeho, who had become a Snarl in the past.

 

“Hmph.”

 

Yeon-young snapped out of the memory, startled. Her heart felt like it was going to break at how surprised she was.

 

Nervously, she looked up at Jaeho’s face. Jaeho lifted his head with a knowing look.

 

The heavy weight that had settled on her shoulders faded.

 

Jaeho touched Yeon-young’s forehead lightly with his index finger. His eyes seemed to return to their normal color for a moment.

 

“You know my ability, right?”

 

“…Water? I know it’s water.”

 

“Get as far away from the water as you can.”

 

“What?”

 

“Because I have no reason to keep you alive any longer unless you’re on my side. So go away, out of my sight. This is my last piece of advice to you for saving my life.”