Waiting For Your Reincarnation Chapter 139

“Ugh.”

 

“Fooled again?”

 

Yeon-young moaned lowly. The pain of the core shattering was comparable to crushing her wrist bones. Over Ryu Won’s shoulder, she could hear Daeheon’s mocking voice laughing at her.

 

She bitterly admitted that she had let her guard down in this situation. She had thought Ryu Won’s familiar, natural touch had unlocked his brainwashing.

 

Ryu Won was still firmly in the grip of his brainwashing. At this rate, he would annihilate her. She didn’t want to repeat the horrific past of having her core cracked and having to be extinguished.

 

Clenching her teeth, Yeon-young pushed his grip forward, willing the core to take a little more damage. The sudden counterattack sent Ryu Won’s body reeling backward.

 

Yeon-young seized the opportunity.

 

She infused her energy into the hand that wasn’t holding her, and grabbed Ryu Won’s corrupted core.

 

“Please. Only as practiced.”

 

Her palm stung like a burn, and Yeon-young tightened her grip, pushing through the pain.

 

Eventually, the searing pain stopped completely. When she gingerly removed her hand and lifted her head, she found herself looking into clear, crystal-clear eyes that were filled with bewilderment.

 

“…This. What the hell…”

 

“Ryu Won, are you awake?”

 

“Ah. Shit.”

 

Ryu Won regained consciousness for a very short moment.

 

The hands that had been gently caressing both of her shoulders became fierce once again. He let out a short groan and clutched at his head to regain consciousness.

 

Daeheon watched the scene at a leisurely pace.

 

“If you want to get your hopes up, I won’t stop you, but even if he does come to his senses, it will only be temporary.”

 

“…Leave us alone. Stop harassing us.”

 

“You want me to stop when we’re having so much fun? That’s your greed. It’ll only end when you disappear.”

 

Ryu Won’s broad chest pecs rose and fell wildly. His core was shaking unsteadily under the Snarl’s aura. For a moment, a white aura rose, but then the Snarl’s aura attempted to engulf the core once more.

 

He looked down at Yeon-young’s wrist with a frown. It wasn’t completely shattered, but the damage was considerable.

 

“Ms. Yeon-Young.”

 

“Yes, I’m listening.”

 

“I did this to you, didn’t I?”

 

“Don’t blame yourself for getting me hurt, Ryu Won wouldn’t have done anything about it.”

 

Ryu Won looked at the cracked core of Yeon-young’s with a broken look in his eyes. She couldn’t even tell a good-faith lie, because his question was asking for what she already knew.

 

The silence lengthened. Roughly drying his face, Ryu Won asked in a hoarse voice.

 

“Where’s Jung Jaeho?”

 

“He’s in the back. You have to be careful. He’s Jung Jaeho on the outside, but he’s Lee Daeheon on the inside. If you let your guard down, he’ll brainwash you again.”

 

“Ah…, ugh.”

 

Ryu Won frowned and let out a painful groan. He rubbed his tender temples with his index finger, trying to regain his senses.

 

But Ryu Won’s already blackened body hadn’t regained its original shape. Yeon-young carefully placed her hand on his back and patted him.

 

Ryu Won lifted his head and stared out at the torrential rain that was still falling hard. He seemed to realize that time was running out.

 

“Ms. Yeon-young.”

 

“Yes?”

 

He tugged roughly on Yeon-young’s wrist and pulled her into his arms. Then he grabbed her wrist again, where her core was.

 

If she had a heart, she would have been so surprised she would have felt it go down with a thud.

 

He pressed down harder on Yeon-young’s body, as if he wanted Jaeho on the other side to see. 

 

It didn’t hurt as much as it had earlier, but only because he wasn’t pushing as hard.

 

“… Ryu Won?”

 

“Easy… I need to buy some time to think. He knows I’ve been brainwashed.”

 

She stared at him, her mouth tightly shut. Ryu Won’s intuition was spot on: Daeheon was now firmly under the impression that Ryu Won was attacking Yeon-young because of his own brainwashing.

 

“Ms. Yeon-Young, what can we do now?”

 

It was a casual question. But Ryu Won was serious, asking her in the pouring rain.

 

Understanding the meaning behind his question, Yeon-young recited the thoughts she had organized in her head earlier.

 

“It’s simple, I’m going to smash the core and clean it up.”

 

“That’s what you do best, Yeon-young, you’ve been practicing.”

 

“It’s the only thing I can do right now.”

 

“I’m going to count to three and turn off the water, and I’m going to use my powers to hold Jung Jaeho, while you smash the core.”

 

Ryu Won leaned her face close to Yeon-young’s ear and calmly recited what needed to be done. She organized and reiterated the order of things once more.

 

If Jung Jaeho had really gone to the end of his rope to help her, the first core she should target was the one on his ankle.

 

Once again confirming the location of the cores, Yeon-young gathered her strength. Maybe this was her last chance.

 

The blue eyes that looked at her were filled with questions. Ryu Won’s demeanor, neither attacking her nor letting her go, was slowly becoming strange.

 

“I’m ready.”

 

“Take this.”

 

She could feel Ryu Won’s submerged hand around her waist. Her brow furrowed slightly, wondering if he was playing a prank.

 

But his hand moved past her waist and landed on her left hand. His long fingers slowly traced the back of her hand, and he slipped a ring onto her ring finger.

 

He fumbled with the size, but managed to slip the ring onto her finger.

 

“What is this?”

 

“A ring, my ring.”

 

For once, it was hard to tell what he meant. Yeon-young clenched her hand around the ring.

 

“It’s energized with my power, and you’ll need it to get rid of Lee Daeheon once and for all, so take it.”

 

“…But Ryu Won, how are you going to hold on to it if you give it away?”

 

“You’re not really worried about my abilities, are you? It feels good to know how much Yeon-young loves me.”

 

“…….”

 

“I’ll take care of this, just keep going and don’t look back. You can do it, Yeon-young.”

 

“Okay. I can do it.”

 

A pleasant chuckle rang in her ears. Ryu Won pressed a little more on Yeon-young’s core, lifting her arms into the air.

 

Yeon-young planted the balls of her feet and stood up straight. Ryu Won calmly counted to the promised number.

 

One.

 

Two.

 

Three.

 

*Tsk-tsk-tsk*

 

A strange sound followed the numbers, but Yeon-young didn’t turn around. She remembered her promise to him not to look back.

 

A vibration rumbled from the bottom, and the water rose up into the sky. At the same time, the pressure on her shoulders was released.

 

Ryu Won gently released his grip on her wrist. Yeon-young ran without hesitation, seeing an open path to where Jaeho was.

 

“Ugh! Ryu-won!”

 

Jaeho gasped and shivered, but he didn’t miss a step. The wind seemed to hold his body tightly.

 

Yeon-young squeezed the ring in Ryu Won’s hand. She could feel a strong light emanating from her hand.

 

She stretched her arm out long and squeezed the core at Jaeho’s ankle. It felt slippery and unpleasant, like a hand in oil.

 

His leg trembled like a worm, and he couldn’t keep still. Just touching her seemed painful. A new groan of pain escaped his lips.

 

“Let go of me, let go, let go!”

 

“Daeheon Lee…, please go away.”

 

As much as Daeheon wanted to destroy this world, Yeon-young was just as desperate. She had to get Tanato back. Now she wanted to move on.

 

“Oh, no. No!”

 

Daeheon’s voice was a shriek of death, and he repeated the word ‘no’ over and over again. 

 

Ignoring the tingling sensation of being cut by a blade, she tightened her fingertips. The energy from Ryu Won’s ring continued to flow into Yeon-young.

 

*Thud*

 

With the sound of something breaking, the core’s size gradually decreased. At the same time, Jaeho’s core, which had lost its shape to the black aura, slowly regained its original form.

 

His cloudy eyes shone with a beautiful emerald color, and his pupils widened slightly.

 

“Jung Jaeho, you’re back?”

 

“You…, did you believe me?”

 

“You said you wanted to see me again, so I came. To where you are.”

 

“…Iris.”

 

Shhhh–

 

The sound of rain drowned out Jaeho’s voice, but she recognized what he said by the shape of his mouth. A faint smile tugged at the corners of Yeon-young’s mouth as she heard the name from her past.

 

Then, as if someone had suddenly let go of a taut thread, Jaeho lost his center and lurched forward. At the same time, the water Ryu Won had opened up became choppy, making waves as it tried to regain its footing.

 

Jaeho quickly stretched out his arms and grabbed Yeon-young’s head.

 

But there was no escaping the vast stream of water rushing overhead. As she was swept away, she repeated Ryu Won’s last words.