Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 127

There, Ji Hua was waiting for them, smiling sweetly. Yeon-young set the white slice she was holding down on the floor and walked over to where Ji Hua was.

 

“Ms. Ji Hua, when did you get here, and are you feeling well?”

 

“As soon as I got the message, I thought I’d have to do a little something for myself.”

 

“Your Ji Hua is alive… or is that the right word? Anyway…! Why didn’t you tell me you were back? What happened?”

 

“We were so busy, it’s a long story…, but Ji Hua was able to come back because she didn’t disappear.”

 

“I thought I was dead again when the real Ji Hua walked through the door of the tavern.”

 

Veronica rubbed her arms with her hands in disgust, and they smiled faintly at her terrified face.

 

The spirits gathered around the table were different, but they felt as if they were back at the festival.

 

They watched the light stream in through the window and were momentarily lost in their own world. The warm breeze coming in through the cracks of the slightly open windows, the cozy air enveloping the tavern’s interior.

 

White Sly frolicked on the floor, bumping into Marie. There was something peaceful about this time of day, cut off from the outside world.

 

“So, what do we need to start with to help restore Branch 1?”

 

Ryu Won asked, snapping out of his thoughts. The sweet, soft bass notes drew Ryu Won’s attention to the conversation. Veronica placed her hands on the table and opened her mouth.

 

“Make Branch 1 our greatest weapon of war. The village as a fortress, and the center as a fighting center, just in case. For now, today, I need you to help me build a wall around the outskirts of the village and secure it.”

 

“That’s why you asked me to help.”

 

“That’s right, with your abilities, you should be able to hold off a Snarl attack, right?”

 

Veronica looked at Yeon-young with mischief in her eyes.

 

If Ryu Won had his way… The memory of him sweeping away the Snarl army that had overrun the emergency room in one fell swoop flashed through her mind. Surely, with Ryu Won’s help, the fortress would be built in no time. She let out a laugh of agreement.

 

Veronica spread the map on the table and pointed out the areas they needed to work on first. 

 

Even though they’d been living in the First Division for a while, there were still many areas they hadn’t visited. Yeon-young tried to familiarize her eyes with the unfamiliar terrain.

 

As they chatted for a while, she felt a chill breeze brush against the nape of her neck, a far cry from the temperature of the tavern.

 

She lifted her head and stared at Ryu Won, surely, he had been playing a prank on her to avoid the eyes of the other spirits.

 

But he was concentrating on the conversation, his eyes lowered so that his dense eyelashes were clearly visible.

 

“What is it?”

 

Ryu Won, who quickly caught Yeon-young’s gaze, asked quietly, his aura on his left ring finger seemingly stabilized. If he was in such an abnormal state that he could emit such an aura, the color of the core would have changed.

 

‘Am I sensitive…’

 

She shook her head and tried to push the chill away. But the more time passed, the more it stuck to her back like gum.

 

She chewed the inside of her cheek and looked around once more. As she focused her mind on the energy, a muddy stream slowly appeared in the air.

 

It was coming in through the cracks in the tavern’s windows. Yeon-young rubbed her eyes with her hands and stared outside.

 

In the distance, she could faintly make out the shape of a plaza. Her gaze first fell on the clock tower, which was empty of the phantoms strolling through the square, and then she saw it swaying precariously.

 

“Huh?”

 

Yeon-young let out a short groan and turned toward the door. Everyone turned to stare at her, wide-eyed at her sudden abruptness. She couldn’t help but feel their piercing stares.

 

“I must have been shaken…”

 

“Yeon-young, what’s outside? What’s wrong?”

 

“I think the clock tower in the square was shaken. It must have been closed a while ago…”

 

“Did you see it, Yeon-young?”

 

Ji Hua asked, her eyes narrowing as everyone listened to Yeon-young’s words in disbelief. 

 

Yeon-young quickly turned around and looked at Ji Hua. Ji Hua agreed, saying that she had seen the clock tower shake too.

 

Yeon-young and Ji Hua. If the two of them saw the same thing, it couldn’t be an illusion. 

 

Yeon-young walked cautiously out of the tavern. Ji Hua quickly got up and followed her.

 

On the surface, the atmosphere was similar to when they entered the tavern, but if they were a little more sensitive, they could sense that the mood had changed.

 

“Looks like there’s been a break-in.”

 

“I’ll leave a comm with the center.”

 

The chill trickled through the place like a wave. Veronica stepped back into the tavern.

 

Standing in front of the tavern, she pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Ryu Won. The unspoken question was, “Can we go to the square?”

 

Then she caught the scent of nature on her nostrils, clear and fresh as morning dew. Ryu Won put one hand on Yeon-young’s waist and pulled her into his arms. He blew on the wind to push away some of the chill that was coming their way. “Go ahead, I’ll watch your back,” he said.

 

Yeon-young couldn’t hide her smile.

 

“Ms. Yeon-young, please approach slowly, the energy of the ground is bad.”

 

“Yes, I’ll be careful.”

 

Despite their slow pace, they soon arrived at the clock tower. They lined up in front of the clock tower to see the change. The aura that had touched their bodies so sensitively earlier had vanished, leaving no trace.

 

It was as if someone had deliberately lured them there.

 

Yeon-young chewed the inside of her cheek and stared at the barricaded clock tower. It looked the same as it had when it was closed. No matter how diligently she searched for other signs, there was no evidence that anyone had broken in.

 

“…Ms. Ji Hua, you don’t see anything, do you?”

 

“Yeah, it doesn’t even seem to be moving.”

 

There was no hiding the discouragement in her voice. Yeon-young took a couple steps back from the clock tower. Sure enough, the clock tower was shaking. The vibration was similar to when Nuri opened the door to the clock tower.

 

The hand that was lightly clutching her waist slowly slipped away. At the same time, his body odor disappeared.

 

At that moment, the White Sly, who had followed her, looked at the clock tower and grunted.

 

“Ming!”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

The Sly shuddered at Yeon-young’s question, afraid of the clock tower. It was strange. The White Sly was wary of strangers, but it rarely reacted this way. Only when faced with a truly threatening situation did they become fearful and tense.

 

The Sly’s reaction convinced her that there was something inside this clock tower. As she stared at the motionless clock tower, she came to a simple conclusion.

 

“Why don’t we just try to break it?”

 

“What?”

 

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. We won’t have any use for it for a while anyway.”

 

“Eh?”

 

Unlike Ji Hua, who repeated the question as if she’d misheard, Ryu Won praised the idea as if it was a good one. Ji Hua watched them go, confused.

 

As Yeon-young lifted the white sly, she casually flipped it onto her back. Ji Hua stood dumbfounded, like a puzzle piece that didn’t fit.

 

Checking the safe distance between them and the clock tower, Ryu Won stared at the clock tower impassively.

 

Boom!

 

Then, as if a bomb had exploded, the clock tower shattered and scattered into the air. A thin layer of smoke rose, and Ryu Won frowned. When the acrid smoke cleared, it revealed a hole hidden beneath the clock tower.

 

“Mr. Ryu Won…, wasn’t that hole there before? Didn’t you say that we plugged it?”

 

“I heard the report that we plugged it.”

 

“Who was the case manager then?”

 

Yeon-young asked calmly, like she was weaving together a broken thread. Ryu Won rolled his eyes as he stared up at the crystal-clear sky, then blinked slowly.

 

As the sunlight hit his face, a shadow fell under his nose. The shade represented what was on Ryu Won’s mind.

 

“…Jung Jaeho.”

 

Boom!

 

Kwak-kwak-!

 

After a long silence, Ryu Won answered. As if waiting for his response, the hole regurgitated dirt. At the same time, the figure that had been hiding under the hole revealed itself.

 

Without realizing it, Yeon-young tightened her arms around Ryu Won’s waist, pulling him back. 

 

Ji Hua reached out in the direction of the sound.

 

At the same time, she opened an emergency portal with her bracelet. Ryu Won, on the other hand, was as still as a stone, peering through the smoke. Ryu Won’s head turned in the direction of her gaze.

 

“Snarl…?”

 

Hiding in the closed hole was none other than a mutated Snarl.