Waiting For Your Reincarnation

“Why do you have this face? “What kind of face do I have?” “My favorite face.” “Don’t be ridiculous.” 

Yeon-young cooled her burning face with her cold hands.

 

As the fountain show began, cheers and gasps echoed throughout the park.

 

Yeon-young touched her lips, which were swollen and dry.

 

She was nervous that she might have blurted out something from memory.

 

A loud cheer from the crowd around her snatched away the last of her sanity. Not yet.

 

He smiled a noble smile and said, “This is a fight I will win, even if it takes a while.”

 “When did we fight?” “I’ll wait, I promised.” “Promised? Did we?” 

The water in the well grew weaker and the commotion died down.

 

Ryu Won’s meaningful words hit a nerve.

 

Conversations with him never seemed to end.

 “Has news of this lake reached Tanato yet?” 

At that moment, an unfamiliar female voice came from near the lake. Yeon-young’s ears pricked up and she turned her head in that direction.

 

The woman was sitting on the iron railing in front of the lake. Her long silver hair caught the moonlight and attracted attention.

 

Yeon-young was drawn to her mystery and wondered what a moon fairy would look like in human form.

 

Ryu Won covered her eyes with his hand as he lowered his palms to examine her more closely, noting the uniform she

w

as wearing.

 “Idelia.” 

At Yeon-Young’s whisper, Idelia jumped down from the railing and came closer.

 

She looked up at Ryu Won’s face, then back at Yeon-Young.

 

Her eyes widened slightly as she saw Ryu Won put his arms around her.

 

Then she continued with a bitter look in her eyes.

 “At first, I came here hoping to find some trace of Partiul, but… When I saw the fragment of Partiul’s soul in the lake, I knew I couldn’t miss this opportunity.” 

In Idelia’s left hand lay a black, goblin-fire-like soul fragment.

 

What was unusual was that she could see blue light inside the black soul.

 

Her body trembled spontaneously from the eerie aura. Ryu Won put his hands on her shoulders and hid behind her.

 “I followed our memories together. I bought baguettes, ate noodles and ended up here at the lake.” “…….” “The more I think about it, the more I realize that nothing really matters.” 

There was sadness in Idelia’s deep blue eyes.

 

She was smiling, but it looked like she was crying.

 

Suddenly, Idelia’s arms snapped behind her back and she seemed to be tied up somewhere.

 

Ryu Won had used his power to capture her alive.

 “Ouch, that hurt.” “Don’t you know it’s a crime to leave without permission?” “You know that and you keep going down? Don’t you remember that I unlocked the door for you?” 

Yeon-young looked back and forth between Idelia and Ryu Won with startled rabbit eyes.

 

The conversation between them was like that of siblings, unlike the harsh atmosphere.

 

The longer Idelia and Ryu Won talked, the more the atmosphere relaxed.

 

Yeon-young relaxed a bit and concentrated on the conversation.

 “Let’s finish this here, we don’t want the other branches to know.” “Ryu Won, do you know what’s the hardest part about using the ability to erase traces?” “Cut the crap and let’s go upstairs.” “Erasing yourself is the hardest part. I didn’t expect you to follow me this far.” 

Idelia’s expression, which had been uncomfortable since the wind had squeezed her hands together, relaxed.

 

She wondered if Ryu Won had deactivated his ability, but he hadn’t. 

 

Ryu Won looked at her ring finger and then at Idelia.

 “Uh, Idelia…!” “You…” “No!” 

Idelia’s body began to become transparent, turning to dust from her toes and disappearing.

 

Her soul shattered and scattered. At the same time, the shard of Partiul’s soul she was holding lost its form.

 

Idelia destroyed herself.

 

Ryu Won reached out to stop her, but there was nothing he could do.

 

His eyes flashed with panic, and the corners of his eyes trembled.

 

Idelia stared at him with eyes as deep and blue as the dawn, inescapable as they seemed to pierce him one by one.

 “Ryu Won found you, didn’t he?”

Idelia asked Yeon-young.

 “Yes. I’m…” “Then I lose the bet. Because I found out that he can’t find you.” “Stop.” “I have no reason to stay in Tanato anymore.” 

Idelia untied the blue ribbon and blew it at Yeon-young.

 

The ribbon fluttered through the sky like a paper airplane and landed in Yeon-young’s hand.

 “I think you’re the one who can deliver this, for the first and last time.” 

The moment the blue ribbon touched Yeon-young’s hand; memories of Idelia flooded her mind.

  

* * *

  

In the mirror of the library, Idelia greeted the man returning to Tanato.

 

The man’s body was covered in a blue ribbon.

 “This mission has been complicated, hasn’t it?” “There are a lot of snarls down there that didn’t make it to Tanato, and I’ve been working to remove them.” “Hmm, they’re becoming more and more numerous. What is it with Snarls and their reproduction rate?” 

When she had nearly brushed the powder off the man’s body, Idelia noticed something strange.

 

There was an unusual blue and black piece of soul stuck to the man’s shoulder.

 

Normally, the marks would be there and not there, like fingerprints, but not this one; it was too clear.

 

Confused, Idelia reached out to touch the blue soul trace. And at that moment, she had to swallow a groan.

 “Ugh.” 

She could feel it through the trace. It was the soul of Idelia’s old lover.

 

Partiul, the only lover she’d ever loved, the one she’d waited for even after finding her memories in Tanato. It was his soul.

 “Oh, no!” 

She hastily stopped erasing the traces, but there was nothing left in her hand.

 

The moment she touched his soul, she realized that he was dead, and she knew immediately that he had turned into a snarl and shattered.

 “Aaah…!” 

It was the moment when Idelia’s reason for being there disappeared.

 

Her despair melted into Yeon-young’s bones.

 

Cold tears formed in Yeon-young’s eyes as she snapped back to reality.

 

Idelia turned to transparent ash and floated through the sky, disappearing completely.

 

Ryu Won stared at his palm where the fragment of Idelia’s soul had touched. The emotions that had risen violently calmed down.

 “Mr. Ryu Won, is there another way?” “There isn’t, because she destroyed her soul fragment.” “I have seen the memories. The soul Ms. Idelia was waiting, became a snarl and was extinguished.” “That’s why she said she lost the bet.” 

Yeon-young looked down and Ryu Won looked very tired.

 

He hadn’t looked like that when he had unleashed the tornado on the center and pushed back the Snarl energy that had covered the sinkhole.

 

Silence fell between them. Ryu Won sighed deeply.

 

Still lost in thought, Yeon-young opened her arms and approached him.

 “I’ll give you ten seconds.” 

Staring at her arms, he returned the favor.

 

Ryu Won rested his head on her shoulder and took deep breaths.

 “Ms. Yeon-young.” “Yes?” “Ms. Yeon-young.” “Why are you calling me that?” “You’re alive, right?” “I think I’m dead.” 

Ryu Won laughed flirtatiously at her joke.

 

With a careful touch, Yeon-young stroked Ryu Won’s shaggy hair.

 

The fluffy feeling of his hair was the first thing she felt.

 

They stayed like that for a while. Suddenly, Yeon-young had a question.

 “Mr. Ryu Won, the chairman told us to bring her back alive, what should we do?” “Don’t worry, we can’t bring back the destroyed ones, so we have to say it well.” “Then I guess we should go back to the center first.” 

Ryu Won nodded at Yeon-young’s words.

 

He pulled away from her, touched his ring finger and took out the stone from his pocket.

 

He threw the stone to bridge the path as before, but there was no reaction.

 “What’s wrong?” 

Ryu Won threw the stone again.

 

But it only rolled on the ground with the force of his throw, as if it had become an ordinary stone again.

 

It didn’t move any further.

 

Ryu Won picked up the stone and remained silent. Yeon-young stared at him with worried eyes.

 

When he finished thinking, he looked back at her, unable to erase his confusion.

 “I don’t think we can go back to the center.”Visit my Ko-fi for discounted advanced chapters!!