* * *
The suffocating silence stretched between Seo Woohyun and Erdian, neither knowing what to say.
Even though Erdian had gone as far as sending a quest, he remained silent, and Seo Woohyun couldn’t think of an easy way to break the ice either.
Eventually, the awkwardness became too much for Seo Woohyun, and he forced out a question.
“About the quest you gave me today… Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead,” Erdian replied.
“Is there something more I need to know about your past? I’m not sure what the completion criteria for the quest are.”
“Oh.”
“If I need to recall everything about someone named Ciel to complete it, then…”
“No. There’s nothing more you need to know about the past. I’m aware you dislike remembering your past life,” Erdian said.
Seo Woohyun decided not to ask how Erdian knew that. There was no point in dwelling on it.
“The quest was just a way to prompt you to investigate some uncomfortable matters about my family that I couldn’t explain directly. As you probably noticed, it also involved Ciel.”
To Seo Woohyun, his past self, Ciel, was someone entirely separate.
Even though he had regained some of those memories in the form of dreams, he thought of them as intrusions rather than parts of himself.
Erdian understood this and resolved to treat Ciel and Seo Woohyun as distinct individuals from then on.
“Does this mean you’ll mark the quest as complete?”
“…Yes.”
A notification window confirming the quest’s completion appeared before me.
Not only the “Reflection” quest but also the “Conversation” quest had been marked complete.
“So this counts as a conversation, huh?”
Regardless of the reasons, completing the quest was undeniably a good thing.
Nine stamps were already collected—just one more, and Seo Woohyun would be able to make a wish to Erdian.
Even if things went south and he somehow got ousted from the position of the temple’s saint, having a wish in reserve would be reassuring.
Unless Erdian decided not to issue the final quest, which would render everything pointless.
While idly glancing at the reward card newly stamped after the last quest, Seo Woohyun scratched his cheek awkwardly, struggling to adjust to the strained atmosphere.
Judging by the fact that the dialogue quest had been marked as complete, it seemed they’d said everything that needed to be said.
But he couldn’t just sit around in the room forever.
Just as he was about to suggest getting up and leaving:
“Woohyun.”
“…Yes?”
“You seem to be doing well even without staying by my side. That puts my mind at ease.”
Erdian’s words carried a significant undertone.
Ever since the distance between them had grown, Woohyun had suspected Erdian might leave.
Erdian’s interest in him had always felt more like a persistent curiosity than anything else, and since his romantic advances had been rejected, there wasn’t much reason for him to linger.
No matter how deeply Erdian might have cared for Ciel, his lover from a past life, Woohyun had made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t interested.
With his rejection, Erdian had little choice but to either observe the reincarnated soul from a distance or let go of his attachment entirely.
“Are you… planning to leave? Back up there?”
Woohyun cast a fleeting glance upward, recalling the time he had briefly stayed in the realm of the gods.
Erdian had described his home there—a lush garden with no buildings, just flowers and greenery.
“I told you before, didn’t I? That I took a vacation to come here.”
Erdian’s tone was casual, and Woohyun remembered the day they’d had that odd, tension-filled conversation.
Erdian had left abruptly, citing urgent matters, only to return shortly after, saying he’d extended his leave to stay longer.
When Erdian had displayed jealousy over Habios, Woohyun had hastily explained, saying he didn’t want to become a “thieving old man” interested in someone much younger.
Erdian’s response back then had been teasing but loaded with meaning:
“So what do you think about those with ‘unspeakable reasons’ for liking someone over ten years younger?”
Their relationship was complicated.
Piecing together memories of his past life, Woohyun realized that Ciel and Erdian’s age gap hadn’t exceeded ten years.
But in his reincarnated form, the gap between Woohyun and Erdian spanned well over 1,200 years.
Whenever Woohyun replayed their conversations, Erdian’s casual clues became apparent.
At first, he berated himself for missing them, but as the clues accumulated, he felt increasingly miserable.
It was as if the universe was confirming that no one in this world truly cared for the human Woohyun.
His very name, so distinct from the naming conventions of this world, was a constant reminder of his otherness.
Each time his thought process, shaped by 29 years in a different world, clashed with the norms here, a wave of loneliness and alienation struck.
To cope, he threw himself into the role of a diligent newcomer—jotting down notes, asking questions, even choosing a pseudonym to blend in.
‘…And yet, here I am.’
Pushing aside his stray thoughts, Woohyun focused on Erdian’s words.
“I haven’t been gone for too long, but things are already falling apart.”
“So… you have to leave, right?”
“Yes. It’ll be hard to see me for a while.”
Erdian’s face was devoid of humor as he spoke.
At least he was letting him know before leaving—it was a courtesy, after all.
Woohyun nodded and mumbled the safest response he could muster.
“You must be busy.”
Telling him to “take care” seemed too presumptuous, and “good luck” felt even less appropriate.
He didn’t know what gods did all day, so there wasn’t much else to say.
Gods were supposed to be omnipotent, yet Erdian didn’t seem like it.
He had work to do, and restrictions that kept him from speaking freely.
The memory of asking Erdian a multiple-choice question—only to have sparks fly from his body in response—still made Woohyun’s hair stand on end.
Knowing he wouldn’t see Erdian for a while made it harder to leave, so he hesitated and stole a glance at his face.
“…To be honest, I never wanted to be a god.”
Erdian suddenly dropped a bombshell statement that would’ve made any devout follower gasp. Woohyun’s eyes widened.
‘What the—what kind of abrupt, out-of-context statement is that? He really has no sense of how to explain things….’
There was no flow to the conversation, no natural segue.
One moment he was talking about leaving, and the next he was confessing his inner turmoil as if discussing last night’s dinner.
‘I should’ve just said, “See you next time,” and left.’
He’d already claimed his quest rewards; there was no reason to stay.
And yet, here he was, stuck listening to this shocking confession.
Part of him wanted to blurt out, “Well, you’re a god now, so what can you do? Just keep being magnanimous and looking after humanity, okay? Bye!”
But he held his tongue, knowing it would only make things more awkward.
A cold sweat ran down Woohyun’s back as he carefully watched Erdian’s expression.
* * *
woohyun u can be a bit more understanding, you know?
🤣 both are bad to communicate.
Lmao, he wants to not be concerned but cant
👍