* * *
After washing up and stepping out, I found a menu waiting for me that served as a fresh reminder that we were by the seaside.
“Sashimi and spicy fish stew for breakfast? Your tastes have changed a lot, Mr. Kang Yigeon.”
“It’s not morning.”
“Right. It’s high noon—the perfect time for sashimi.”
I wasn’t particularly hungry, but the thought of how long it had been since I’d shared a meal with Kang Yigeon in my true form made my appetite return.
Kang Yigeon ladled out some spicy fish stew for me.
I took a sip; it wasn’t overly spicy, just perfectly hearty.
I placed a piece of sashimi dipped in red chili paste on a lettuce leaf, added a slice of pepper and garlic, and held the wrap out to him.
“You eat first.”
“I’ve been wanting to make a wrap for you since the hotel buffet. Please, eat.”
Kang Yigeon silently leaned forward to accept the wrap, then made one himself to feed back to me.
Only after we’d taken turns feeding each other did we start our own meals.
Despite his formidable eating speed—he’s a man who could usually clear this feast in five minutes—he paced himself to match me.
Little Snake was still coiled around the fingers he used to pick up the sashimi.
“That must be uncomfortable. Little Snake, come down.”
-Kkyuung…
“It’s fine. I can eat with my left hand.”
“Ooh. Ambidextrous. Impressive.”
A good piece of teasing came to mind.
I’d made a joke about this in the first timeline, but I hadn’t done it in this one yet.
I really wanted to.
However, to maintain the peaceful, harmonious noon atmosphere, I stuffed a piece of sashimi in my mouth and held it back.
After chewing on a single piece for quite a while, I finally couldn’t resist and threw out the joke anyway.
“So, if our Mr. Kang Yigeon is ambidextrous, which hand do you use to masturbate?”
“I alternate.”
“……I didn’t expect such a prompt answer.”
“Is this reaction not fun?”
“No, it’s fun. There hasn’t been a single moment where you weren’t fun to me. I hope I’m a fun person to you, too.”
“Would ‘fun’ be the only word for it?”
Kang Yigeon smiled softly.
It was surreal.
Sitting across from him like this, sharing a meal in such a kind and warm atmosphere.
A man who smiled and replied even to my crude jokes.
It was something I hadn’t even dared to hope for in my dreams.
I wondered if this really was a dream and purposefully bit the inside of my cheek.
It hurt, which meant it was reality.
“Why did you bite your cheek on purpose?”
“You could see that? Did you get X-ray vision?”
“I can just tell. Don’t hurt yourself.”
“I was confused if this was a dream or reality.”
“If that’s the case, I’ve already checked several times while watching you sleep. It is reality.”
“You told me not to hurt myself, but did you hurt yourself, Mr. Kang Yigeon? Where did you pinch?”
“It is also a wonder to me. To be sitting here with you like this.”
I didn’t need a mental trait to tell.
I could feel a joy bordering on ecstasy enveloping his entire body.
He wasn’t laughing out loud or red-faced with excitement, but the fact that this ice-cold man had been smiling the whole time was enough to understand his feelings.
“Were my ‘proofs’ to lure you out fun as well?”
Cough.
I coughed while sipping the spicy stew.
Kang Yigeon handed me a tissue and water.
I gulped the water down and tidied my mouth, but I couldn’t find the words immediately.
“I should have asked after we finished eating.”
“Not a single one was fun. Especially the potion overdose—that was truly stupid.”
“Didn’t you appear because of it?”
“…I wouldn’t blame you if you resented me. But I had my reasons, too. Can’t I get some credit for mitigating circumstances?”
“It wasn’t a criticism. I just wondered if you knew. About my futile efforts.”
Kang Yigeon had tried so many things, in so many ways.
The countless public confessions in the media.
Checking into the hospital multiple times claiming he was severely injured.
Spreading rumors about a Grade 7 dungeon appearing.
The potion overdose, and even the “love rival” tactic.
I couldn’t call all those desperate, almost childish efforts “fun.”
“I know it all. I worried a lot. I’m sorry.”
“There is no reason for you to be sorry. As long as it proved the fact that I love you, it’s fine.”
My ears turned a bit red at the sudden confession.
I silently poked at the stew he’d served me.
As if not wanting to interrupt the meal, he didn’t say anything else to make my ears turn red.
After the meal, Kang Yigeon explained how the situation had been settled.
Danbaek, having learned of the New Humanity and Enterra bombing plot in advance, sent the elite secret unit, Team Dongbaek, to stop it.
Several casualties occurred in the process: cult members, some NPCs, and the mercenary Lee Yuje.
It was settled that Lee Yuje died caught in the elder’s self-destruction.
He started with nothing but mockery for being a “poison mushroom,” but he ended with the heroic title of “Killed in action during a classified mission.”
The method for entering the Market early became known to everyone.
Team Dongbaek officially stated they entered through the door the cultists had opened.
Yoon Youngin’s special skill was kept hidden.
In the process, the fact that the engagement between Kang Yigeon and Yoon Youngin was fake was also revealed, but no one was surprised.
Despite the incident, the Market opened its doors as usual and sold items.
However, when it closed:
There was an unfortunate accident (•́ ̯•̀)
We will take a short break for NPC training and performance improvement.
The next Market will open in 3 months.
Goodbye for now (´._.` )
The system announced a temporary closure.
“I reported that I left the Market to pursue the remnants of the terrorists.”
“Did Yoon Youngin say he didn’t see me?”
“Agent Yoon Youngin only witnessed the moment the elder blew himself up. Lee Yuje died as Lee Yuje, so do not worry.”
If the fact that Lee Yuje was Seohwa were revealed, it would also become known that I have a skill to create fake identities.
To avoid suspicion when I act under a different identity later, it was better if Seohwa’s name wasn’t mentioned at all regarding the Market incident.
“Since there were casualties, I will suggest increasing the personnel for the Incheon Port dungeon from three to five. You can enter with a new identity then.”
“It would be better if it’s a high rank.”
“Yes. A-rank or higher.”
“Guild Leader Shim Jin or Vice Director Choi will likely know all the A-rank or higher mage talents by heart. If a mage they don’t know suddenly appears, they’ll definitely be suspicious.”
“A mage trait again, I see.”
“Magic is all I know how to do. Even with a new identity, my skills and traits stay the same. Should I say I lived abroad, awakened there, and recently moved back to Korea?”
Kang Yigeon thought for a moment before asking, “How much foreign language do you speak?”
In this era where Korean had practically become a global language, the only foreign words I knew were “Hi,” “Hello,” and “Do you want to sleep with me?”
“The computer network is always a headache.”
The South Korean Awakened network was developed when the Soul System first appeared, combining the special skill of an S-rank Awakened with the power of the AI Alpha-N.
With a skill called [Hide and Seek], it detects the presence of Awakened within its range—and that range covers the entire Korean Peninsula.
The Bureau permanently stored this skill in a special storage device developed by Alpha-N, and it remains active 24/7.
When a new Awakened appears within the peninsula, the network detects them immediately and automatically records their name.
At this point, the network only shows the name; the Bureau must manually enter various information such as the rank, traits, skills, and history of that Awakened.
For example, if an Awakened who awakened in Korea gave up their nationality and emigrated, their name would not disappear from the network even after they left.
This is because they were already registered.
Conversely, if foreign Awakened stay on the peninsula for even a brief moment and leave, their names are automatically registered and cannot be deleted.
For the Bureau, it’s a very useful system for managing Awakened; for Awakened, it’s a meddlesome system that hinders their freedom.
“There is exactly one way to delete it.”
“Wow… I never knew that even after repeating the timeline five times. What is it?”
“You apply physical force.”
Physical force.
In short, he meant smashing it.
If you want to handle information you absolutely don’t want found, it’s cleaner to shatter the stored hard disks and burn them all.
The network is stored in a computer server format somewhere in the Sejong Hunter Bureau building. It is an object, a thing that can be shattered and burned.
“That… would have a pretty big fallout.”
Destroying the network would terrify many non-Awakened.
While some Awakened might feel relieved, most would worry about social chaos.
I was in the latter group.
Although being permanently recorded was annoying, I could tolerate the discomfort if it meant our country’s non-Awakened felt safe.
Even the Awakened who used the [Hide and Seek] skill stated that they created the network specifically to put non-Awakened at ease.
I respected that intention.
* * *
