Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 125

“Huh?”

 

Yeon-young repeated, trying to understand Jaeho’s advice.

 

BANG-!

 

But the ear-splitting roar that followed left her with no answer. At the same time, a torrential downpour of rain blinded Yeon-young’s vision.

 

She could feel the wall of water blocking her path was gone. At the same time, a familiar hand grabbed her waist and pulled her back.

 

Even without seeing the face, she knew who it belonged to, so she wasn’t surprised. Seeing the relief on Yeon-young’s face, Jaeho’s brow furrowed slightly.

 

Through the rushing water, Jaeho’s face, which looked as if it might cry, receded further and further away. Yeon-young reached out for him, but she couldn’t touch him.

 

“I underestimated you so much, Jung Jaeho. I didn’t think you’d make a wall to hide.”

 

“Mr. Ryu Won…, are you here?”

 

Ryu Won buried his nose in the nape of Yeon-young’s neck, checking to see if she was okay. 

His scent mingled faintly with her warm breath.

 

Ryu Won’s breathing was uncharacteristically ragged. He seemed startled by her sudden disappearance from his sight.

 

Ryu Won turned Yeon-young’s body to face him, then pulled her back into his arms. Now her vision was filled with Ryu Won, not the barren field and Jaeho. A gust of wind blew overhead.

 

“I missed it, I should have seen it end here.”

 

A sweet, languid voice rang in her ears. Ryu Won slowly released Yeon-young from his embrace. She looked back, clutching the hem of his uniform coat.

 

“Ah…”

 

Everything disappeared without a trace-the water, Jung Jaeho, and the white slys. A sigh escaped her as she stood in the field, just them.

 

Yeon-young dried her face and checked for any sign of the white slys. But she could feel nothing. With the Sly gone, the space was like a ruin.

 

Yeon-young looked at the desolate landscape and said in disbelief.

 

“Jung Jaeho won, he managed to take them all without leaving a trace.”

 

“He was smart, because he only took the slys away after he separated us. Was everything okay when you were together?”

 

“Just a little… He seemed confused, like he’d get emotional and then crash to the ground.”

 

Yeon-young remembered the virtual space Jaeho had created. She thought back to the conversation they’d had in there.

 

Somehow, she felt uncomfortable, even though she knew she shouldn’t take Jaeho’s side anymore after what happened today.

 

‘Was it because she considered Jaeho a colleague of sorts?’

 

‘Or was it because of the past between him and Yeon-young?’

 

She was especially bothered by the last conversation she had with him while he was in hiding. It felt like he was threatening her to scare her, but it also felt like he was giving her advice.

 

‘Stay away from the water…’

 

Yeon-young pushed the jumbled thoughts out of her head and stared at Ryu Won. His glassy eyes searched her intently, and she realized she’d kept her mouth shut for too long.

 

“There was something Jung Jaeho said at the end, and I’ve been thinking about it.”

 

“What did he say?”

 

“Something about avoiding the water, but I didn’t quite understand what he meant.”

 

“Hmm, I’m sure the water’s edge is rarer to see near District 1 anyway, so why would he say that?”

 

“I don’t know, I don’t know if it was meant to be taken straight or interpreted.”

 

There was a moment of silence between them. Even if Jaeho’s last words were meant for her, he had crossed the river of no return. He took the white slys as if to say, “I’m sorry,” after disturbing Ryu Won and Yeon-young.

 

She remembered his desperate confession. The meaningless words he’d thrown around made sense now.

 

If Jaeho, like Ryu Won, had been following Yeon-young from the past… She stole a glance at Ryu Won, who was looking at Tanato.

 

If she’d gotten out of line and stopped thinking about Ryu Won. If she’d stopped loving him. If Ryu Won had forgotten her forever. Just thinking about it hurt like her heart had been smashed with shards of glass.

 

“This is the price I pay for sticking my nose into someone’s life. It hurts.”

 

“Where does it hurt, do you want me to ho-?”

 

At the mention of pain, Ryu Won reacted with alacrity, but he was also teasing. Yeon-young pressed her right hand to her chest, catching her breath. Ryu Won leaned down slightly and made eye contact. He looked like he could blow her away at any moment.

 

Looking into his tender eyes, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She reached out and covered Ryu Won’s eyes. He turned his face to her.

 

“Mr. Ryu Won, I don’t want to regret what happened between now and then.”

 

“Like when you hid Jung Jaeho here?”

 

As expected, Ryu Won had discovered Jaeho’s past before Yeon-young did. It also seemed to explain why they had been bumping into each other ever since Jaeho found his memories.

 

Ryu Won’s mind had already been read by Yeon-young, and she could clearly feel his eyes moving in her palm.

 

“I don’t think I can do a good job. In a way, I’m just repeating what happened back then.”

 

Saving one more person, whether it was Sly, Phantom, or Snarl, was the priority. But seeing Jaeho suffer the chaos of Yeon-young’s intervention in his life, his confidence faded for the first time.

 

Ryu Won reached out and grasped Yeon-young’s thin wrist. He brought it to the corner of his mouth and opened his eyes.

 

He could distinctly feel the soft touch of her lips on his palm. Ryu Won’s lips dug deep into her palm and kissed her soundlessly, each time making her hand tremble with a tickle.

 

After a long kiss, Ryu Won slowly pulled away.

 

“Ms. Yeon-young, do you think I wouldn’t have stopped you back then?”

 

“…I would have.”

 

Now she knew what he prioritized most. Ryu Won was a man who would do anything to ensure Yeon-young’s safety, and if he’d been told that he was going to try and save a Snarl, he would have been against it, because it would have meant the end.

 

How callous he had been, especially in Jaeho’s memory.

 

Ryu Won knelt down on one knee and took Yeon-young’s small hand in both of his, and looked up at her with eyes that shone like summer sunshine.

 

“I always promised myself that I would get in your way, Yeon-young, but you always managed to convince me otherwise, in the past and now.”

 

“…….”

 

“And you planted the doubt in my mind that maybe your way could be right, even if it took time.”

 

Yeon-young pressed her lips together and squeezed his hands. Ryu Won seemed to respond in kind, squeezing her hands until they were invisible.

 

“How was that possible?”

 

“Because I kept going my own way?”

 

“Yes. It doesn’t always work out for the best, but somehow, the world is changing in your favor.”

 

Ryu Won slowly rose from his seat, now forcing Yeon-young to look up at him. Ryu Won fiddled with his ring and opened the teleport to the center. He took her hand and led her toward the teleport.

 

“Let’s go back to the center and figure out our next plan together, but for now, I want you to think about how to get the white slys back from Jung Jaeho.”

 

“Okay. I’ll do that. Thank you, Mr. Ryu Won.”

 

“Ms. Yeon-young, think about it. How could Jung Jaeho, who was a snake, be able to face you in this life?”

 

At the unexpected question, Yeon-young’s eyes were colored with doubt. Just then, a single flower petal flew in the wind in front of Yeon-young’s eyes.

 

The pale pink petals flying over the barren field seemed so alien. She instinctively clutched it tightly. Then she heard a familiar voice.

 

“Jaeho, you need to get away from here now. The Goddess has been alerted to your presence.”

 

“What about you? Come with me.”

 

“If I follow you now, you’ll be in danger, so you go first.”

 

She stood in the center of the field, talking to Jaeho. Ryu Won, watching them from a distance, looked up at the dry, lightning-streaked sky. He muttered something about running out of time.

 

Yeon-young reached out and touched Jaeho’s body. She closed her eyes and concentrated, and a ray of sunlight began to emanate from her palm, which slowly enveloped Jaeho’s body.

 

“Are you coming with me?”

 

Jaeho asked Yeon-young, who simply smiled at him. Jaeho’s body slowly rose into the air.

 

Without realizing it, Jaeho extended his blackened hand toward her. With surprised eyes, Yeon-young hesitated for a moment before clasping his skinny hand.

 

At that moment, the light that enveloped Jaeho’s body became even more radiant. It was a glare so intense that no one dared to look at it.

 

The light faded, and a faint figure was visible in it. Yeon-young furrowed her brow and looked inside. There in the light was Jaeho, his entire body transparent.

 

Seeing his purified form, they gasped and stiffened.

 

“Iris, we must meet again.”

 

The spirit disappeared into the sky, leaving only the echo of his voice behind.

 

The memories ended there. For the first time, Yeon-young was alone in recovering her lost memories.

 

The first soul she succeeded in purifying was Jaeho, so he could be reincarnated as a phantom again.

 

Jaeho was the first evil to enter the world of Tanato, and the first good to return.