Chapter 157: Interlude - Price

After releasing Vega from the shackles of the Law, Kwon Oh-Jin returned home and slept for ten hours straight.

“

Mmm...

”

I still feel a bit tired.

Lying in bed with his eyes closed, he pulled the soft blanket closer around him. Even though he was awake, his entire body felt sore and heavy, making him reluctant to get up.

Even with Water Affinity, I can’t heal things like fatigue or internal injuries.

At this point, it was smarter to just sleep a little longer.

Well, at least the aftereffects aren’t too bad.

Keeping his eyes closed, he moved slightly to check his condition. His entire body ached as if it had been torn apart. The exhaustion felt so severe that he could barely move. Considering the fact that he had used Open Heaven, a technique far beyond his normal limits, this level of penalty was basically nothing.

The door opened cautiously, followed by Song Ha-Eun’s voice.

“Oh-Jin, are you still sleeping?”

He kept his eyes shut and remained silent.

“You’ve been out for ten hours... You’re not dead, right?”

Song Ha-Eun crouched beside the bed and held her hand in front of his nose. Feeling his breath tickling her fingertips, she quietly sighed in relief and simply gazed at his face for over five minutes.

What is she doing next to someone sleeping?

Sensing her persistent stare, he cracked one eye open slightly. She was resting her chin on the edge of the bed, gazing at him intently.

“

Hehe

. Oh-Jin, your sleeping face is kinda cute.”

She didn’t seem to realize he was awake. Grinning to herself, she continued studying his face. After watching him for over five minutes, she probably grew bored since she started poking his cheek.

She playfully giggled as she poked his cheek a few more times.

“

Hehe.

”

“If he’s not waking up even after this... he must be completely knocked out, right?”

She swallowed dryly, a mischievous smirk creeping onto her face.

Glancing around as if to make sure no one was watching, she lifted the edge of his blanket and slipped inside. He felt the sensation of limbs coiling around him, wrapping him tightly like a snake. She pressed herself against him as if he were a body pillow and gently rested her head on his chest.

Burying her face against him, she took a few deep breaths like a puppy catching a scent. She trembled slightly as if intoxicated by the smell.

Her cheeks started to flush red.

As Song Ha-Eun clung to him, she squirmed slightly like holding in the urge to pee.

“

Haa...

”

A faint and oddly suggestive sound escaped her lips.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Kwon Oh-Jin tensed up with his eyes still closed. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. He couldn’t just sleep peacefully in a situation like this, but opening his eyes now would be extremely awkward.

Well, so much for more sleep.

He let out a long sigh.

Just as he was having this rather intimate moment with Song Ha-Eun—

“It is I!”

“

Kyaaaa!

” Song Ha-Eun shrieked and instinctively kicked.

Whack!

“

Kugh!

”

Kwon Oh-Jin was sent flying and crashed into the wall before bouncing off like a rubber ball. He hit the floor with a dull thud.

Kwon Oh-Jin sat up in shock with a confused expression, pretending to be yanked out of deep sleep. “W-What the hell?! What’s going on?”

Song Ha-Eun flashed him an awkward smile. “Uh... I-I just got startled because Vega suddenly showed up out of nowhere.”

Vega narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “And what exactly were you doing that would cause such a startled reaction?”

Song Ha-Eun frantically shook her head like a fan.

“N-Nothing weird, okay?! I was just watching over Oh-Jin since he wouldn’t wake up. I was worried he might be sick!”

“

Hmmm.

”

Vega didn’t seem entirely convinced. She shifted her gaze to Kwon Oh-Jin, who was rubbing the back of his head after smacking it against the floor. He simply shrugged as if he had no idea what was going on either.

“Fine... I shall let it slide for now.”

Vega floated into the air and landed lightly on top of Kwon Oh-Jin’s head.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m still a bit tired, but I feel much better.”

He stood up and stretched. After more than ten hours of sleep, he moved like a machine that had just been oiled and slowly shook off the stiffness.

Vega silently observed him with a complicated look. She clenched and unclenched her fists, hesitating.

“What’s wrong?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“There is something I want to check.”

“Check what?”

Instead of answering, Vega fluttered into the air and lightly tugged down the collar of his shirt. There, the Stigma of Lyra was clearly on the left side of his chest.

She reached out and gently traced the mark with her small fingers. A faint spark flickered from her fingertips, seeping into the Stigma.

Crackle!

With a serious expression, Vega studied the Stigma and soon made a relieved smile.

“W-What was that?”

Instead of answering, she softly sighed in relief, “

Phew

.”

Kwon Oh-Jin frowned slightly, sensing something off about her behavior.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

Vega quickly shook her head. “No, it’s nothing. I must have been mistaken.”

Was she worried that I was hiding an injury or something?

“You’re not pretending to be okay, right?” Song Ha-Eun asked, suspiciously looking at Kwon Oh-Jin.

“I’m really fine.”

It wasn’t just an empty reassurance. He still felt a bit sore with some lingering aches, but it was nothing unbearable to the point where he couldn't move. It felt similar to the morning after a grueling shift of unloading cargo. Of course, moving around too much would still be tough, but the aftereffects were surprisingly mild considering he had used an absurdly overpowered technique like Open Heaven.

Honestly, the aftereffects from the first time I used Exceed were way worse.

Back then, he had been out cold for three straight days. This time didn’t even come close.

Vega smiled gently as she carefully examined him. “That’s good. Still, your fatigue must not be fully gone. You should rest for a few more days.”

“Alright.”

Truthfully, he wanted to head straight to the training hall and stretch properly, but he decided to listen to Vega just in case there were any lingering aftereffects.

“Since Vega is back, how about we throw a celebration party?” Song Ha-Eun’s eyes sparkled as she proposed the idea.

“

Ooh

, I didn’t expect you to welcome me back so grandly,” Vega said.

“Well, you know, it actually felt kinda lonely without a little bug buzzing around and nagging all the time.”

“W-What?! A bug?! How dare you!?”

“

Hmph

. You fly around everywhere, don’t you? Sounds like a bug to me.”

“You!”

“

Oh

, my bad. Should I have said a fly instead?”

Song Ha-Eun burst into laughter as Vega fumed and huffed. The two bickered back and forth. Then, Song Ha-Eun suddenly smiled and reached out toward Vega.

“I’m glad you’re back and... t-thanks for saving me back then.”

Vega let out a small

hmph

and landed on top of Song Ha-Eun’s hand.

“Do not misunderstand. I wasn’t protecting you, I was merely protecting my child.”

“Wow. What’s with the sudden tsundere act?”

“Tsundere? What does that mean?”

“It’s when someone actually likes something but acts all grumpy and standoffish on the outside.”

“W-What nonsense! I have never done such a thing!”

Vega, who had been elegantly sitting on Song Han-Eun’s palm with her legs crossed, folded her arms and sharply turned away.

Song Ha-Eun smirked and reached out, poking Vega’s puffed cheek. “You’re acting exactly like a tsundere, though.”

“I told you, I am not!”

“

Aww

, is our goddess sulking?”

Song Ha-Eun burst into laughter and started tickling Vega’s side.

Honestly, no one else would dare treat a Celestial like this besides her.

“You truly are... an insolent child.”

“

Hehe

, sorry. It’s just been a while. I’m happy to see you again.”

“

Hmph...

Well, I suppose I do not entirely dislike seeing you again either.”

As if the bickering never happened, the two quickly got lost in a lively conversation and caught up on everything while they were apart.

Are they on good terms or not? I can’t tell.

Still, judging from their chatter, they didn’t seem to have a bad relationship.

“Oh-Jin, you don’t have anything planned tomorrow, right? Wanna go somewhere with Vega and Riarc?”

“No, I’ve actually got somewhere to be.”

“

Huh?

Where?”

He reached into his drawer and pulled out a neatly stored box. Inside was a small rectangular card that looked like a passport.

He held it up and said, “I’m going to Paradise.”

“Paradise? Why there?”

“There’s something I want to talk to Cheon Sang-Gil about.”

He was still curious about the so-called enlightenment Cheon Sang-Gil had given to Sakaki. More than that, he needed to find out the truth about the Serpent.

Who exactly is this Serpent, and why did he give me such a strong warning about them?

Kwon Oh-Jin placed the Paradise admission card on top of the serpent requisition tablets he had taken from Cheon Do-Yoon and Sosuke.

“

Hmm

. In that case, I’ll come too. I’ve been dying to see what Paradise is like,” Song Ha-Eun said.

“Alright. Let’s go together tomorrow.”

“I shall accompany you as well,” Vega said.

And just like that, their little party was set.

Song Ha-Eun suddenly grinned and lifted Vega with both hands.

“Well, since we’re going to paradise tomorrow, let’s feast and drink like crazy with our lovely goddess tonight!”

“H-Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“While we’re at it, call that bastard Riarc too!”

“Alright...”

Fueled by Song Ha-Eun’s excitement, they quickly threw a welcome-back party with Riarc also joining in. Laughter filled the night as Song Ha-Eun gleefully recounted their adventures in Osaka while teasing Vega nonstop.

“Oh-Jin and I tried this thing called takoyaki. It was soooo good!”

“I want to try it too! I want to try it too!” Vega shouted.

“

Hmph!

A true warrior should spend that time throwing punches instead of eating... So, where can I get this thing called takoyaki?” Riarc asked.

After the lively reunion party, Song Ha-Eun plopped onto the couch and rubbed her full stomach.

“

Phew!

That was fun!”

Riarc and Vega had already returned to the Sanctum as their time ran out.

Song Ha-Eun glanced at Kwon Oh-Jin cleaning up and said, “By the way, you know that farting skill that puffs out?”

“It’s called Open Heaven.”

Seriously, for something that holds the fate of the world, calling it a farting skill is crazy.

“Oh, right, that. I’m just glad it doesn’t have any nasty side effects.”

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Just as she said, the price of using Open Heaven wasn’t too severe.

The eerie sensation of his soul dissolving into black clouds was certainly spine-chillingly dangerous. It felt like the dark abyss would completely swallow him if he let his guard down for even a second.

“It’s a bit dangerous, but I think it’s fine to use it as a trump card.”

He had used it twice without any major problems, so he concluded that using it again would be fine as well.

“You’ve become a total cheat character. With that move alone, you can wipe out any nine-star opponent with ease.

“Well, yeah.”

The sheer absurdity of Open Heaven’s power was clear just from his fight against Cheon Do-Yoon. Unless they were a ten-star or higher Awakener, no nine-star opponent could stand a chance against him if he was using Open Heaven.

Plus, I’ve grown even stronger since then.

For some reason, Open Heaven had also grown more powerful.

“The Black Star Society bastards are basically dead meat now!” Song Ha-Eun said.

“Still, I have to be careful. There might be a ten-star Awakener among them.”

Isabella alone was at least a ten-star Awakener. Against someone of her caliber, even Open Heaven wouldn’t guarantee victory.

“But still, having a move like that must feel reassuring!”

Song Ha-Eun laughed, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. A bald middle-aged man appeared on the screen, striking ridiculous poses and showing off various tricks.

The moment she saw him, her face twisted in disgust.

She spat out a curse, “

Ah

, fuck.”

“What?”

“That bastard, doesn’t he look just like the director?”

“Does he?”

He turned to the TV and stared at the bald man.

Does he look like him?

Cocking his head, Kwon Oh-Jin tried to recall the director’s face. The man who had beaten him every day, the man he had hated with every fiber of his being.

“

Huh?

”

Then, it hit him.

What the hell?

No matter how hard he tried to remember, no matter how many times he traced his memories, he couldn’t remember the director’s face.

Kwon Oh-Jin’s expression hardened as he stared blankly at the TV. Even if it had been years since he left the orphanage, he would never forget the director’s face.

“

Ah... ugh.

”

It wasn’t just the director’s face that he couldn't remember. He also couldn't recall the younger face of the beautiful girl with fiery red hair who had changed his life forever.

So this... was the real price.

He clenched his fists tightly and bit his lip. A hollow chuckle filled with bitter self-loathing almost escaped him.

How could he have been so blind? After living a life as wretched as his, how could he not have realized? There was no such thing as power that came easily without a price.

“What’s wrong, Oh-Jin?”

“It’s nothing.”

He forced a small smile and sat beside her. “He really does look like the director.”

“Right?! That annoying expression is exactly like that bastard’s!”

Kwon Oh-Jin silently watched as Song Ha-Eun ranted and swore at the TV. He tried to imprint her face over her younger self that he could no longer remember, again and again.