Chapter 182: Interlude - For a Better Yesterday than Tomorrow (1)

A sharp static rang in Kwon Oh-Jin’s ears.

Bzzzzzt.

As his vision altered, Lee Shin-Hyuk’s memories flooded into his mind.

“H-Ha-Eun’s little brother went missing?”

Lee Shin-Hyuk nodded with a stiff expression.

“Yeah.”

Lee Woo-Hyuk’s eyes widened in shock.

“Then, Ha-Eun...”

Lee Shin-Hyuk deeply sighed and sat across from Lee Woo-Hyuk.

“She’s in full panic mode. It looks like she’s been running around trying to find him since yesterday. She’s not answering any calls either.”

Lee Woo-Hyuk touched his forehead in disbelief.

“Damn, but didn’t she say he couldn’t even get out of bed?”

“Seems like he took off the moment he could walk again.”

Lee Shin-Hyuk bit his lip. He recalled how Song Ha-Eun had lit up like a child, overjoyed that her little brother could finally stand again. That bright smile would never be meant for him. Every time he saw that smile, a part of his heart felt like it was being carved out with a knife.

“Why did he leave?”

“That’s...”

Lee Shin-Hyuk trailed off. He lowered his head, lips clamped shut as if the words were too hard to say.

Seeing him like that, Lee Woo-Hyuk frowned.

“Wait, but even with all this going on, why hasn’t Ha-Eun reached out to us? Isn’t that weird?”

If someone’s little brother went missing, wouldn't asking others for help be the obvious thing to do? And yet she hadn’t said a single word about her brother. Not his name, what he looked like, or even his age.

“What the hell is she thinking—”

Lee Shin-Hyuk slowly raised his head.

“This is just my guess, but I think her brother might’ve joined the False Star Cult.”

Lee Woo-Hyuk’s eyes widened.

“What?”

Just hearing about the False Star Cult made him release a murderous aura.

“So you’re saying Ha-Eun is keeping quiet because her brother joined the False Star Cult?”

Lee Woo-Hyuk asked.

Lee Shin-Hyuk nodded.

If her brother really was connected to that cult, it was understandable why Song Ha-Eun would go so far to keep his identity a secret. After all, the False Star Cult was a common enemy of the world right now.

“Think about it. How else could someone paralyzed suddenly get up and walk again?” Lee Shin-Hyuk said.

“Awakening... is the only way.”

Lee Shin-Hyuk nodded.

The False Star Cult had the power to grant Stigmas to regular people who hadn’t awakened. Of course, the price that followed was horrifying, but what did a little price matter for someone bedridden and paralyzed?

Lee Woo-Hyuk heavily sighed and chewed on his lip.

“I can’t believe Ha-Eun’s little brother is part of the False Star Cult.”

Song Ha-Eun was currently one of the core members of the Guardian Stars alongside Lee Woo-Hyuk and Lee Shin-Hyuk. If word got out that her little brother had joined the False Star Cult, the shock would extend far beyond Korea and rattle the entire world.

“So that’s why Ha-Eun hasn’t said anything,”

Lee Woo-Hyuk said.

“It’s still just a theory. I’ll look into it more and get back to you.”

Lee Shin-Hyuk stood up and turned to leave.

Lee Woo-Hyuk asked,

“Where are you going?”

“To help her, of course.”

“But...”

“I know.”

Lee Shin-Hyuk sadly smiled. He knew that no matter what he did for her, she would never look his way.

“Even so, I’m going. Let me know if something urgent comes up.”

Lee Woo-Hyuk bitterly stared at his retreating back.

Lee Shin-Hyuk stepped outside and headed up to the Valhalla Guild’s rooftop. He wanted to rush out and help Song Ha-Eun find her brother right away, but he needed to clear up the tangled mess in his head first.

“Haaa.”

He often came up here to clear his mind, get some fresh air, and think. For some reason, the rooftop didn’t help untangle his thoughts today.

“What’s the point of being a high-ranking Awakener when she won’t even look at me once?”

He had clawed his way up to nine stars and endured brutal training just to protect Song Ha-Eun. She had been keeping her distance and barely spoke to him after turning down his confession.

A sharp, aching pain stabbed at his heart. His heavy sigh drifted out like a heat haze.

Just then, something caught his eye.

“Hmm?”

A neatly placed envelope sat in the corner of the rooftop.

“What’s this?”

It was too perfectly placed to have been dropped by accident. Actually, no one else could have dropped it since Lee Shin-Hyuk was the only Valhalla Guild member who ever used the rooftop.

“To Mr. Lee Shin-Hyuk... Huh? Me?”

His eyes widened as he spotted his name on the envelope.

“What the...?”

He cocked his head in confusion and opened it. Inside was a single sentence written on a sheet of white paper.

—Please take good care of my big sister.

It didn’t take long for him to realize who the message referred to and who had written it.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

“Ah.”

Lee Shin-Hyuk’s eyes trembled.

He clenched his fist tightly, struggling to hold back the smile creeping on his lips.

“Yes. I’ll protect her no matter what. I promise,”

Lee Shin-Hyuk vowed.

He didn’t even know her little brother’s face, name, or age. However, determination filled him again.

The familiar static noise returned, and Kwon Oh-Jin’s vision altered again.

Bzzzzzt.

The Valhalla Guild’s rooftop faded away, replaced by a foggy dock soaked in smoke and a burning smell.

Kwon Oh-Jin stood with his lips pressed tightly together, staring down at the half-melted corpse of the Living Armor.

What the hell?

He bit down on his lip, and his clenched fists trembled.

What the hell was that? Damn it.

It wasn’t hard to understand the situation. In the first timeline, he had been paralyzed and cared for by Song Ha-Eun. He probably thought long and hard about how he could protect her and what he could do to save her.

And the conclusion I came to was to disappear from her life? To leave her side and put Lee Shin-Hyuk in my place?

“Bullshit. Don’t give me that crap.”

Blue lightning crackled around his fists.

A furious glow flickered in his sunken eyes.

“I said don’t give me that crap, you bastard!” he shouted at his past self, or rather, his future self.

He knew exactly who Song Ha-Eun needed by her side better than anyone, and yet, the best he could come up with was to abandon everything and run away?

You motherfucking idiot.

Rage boiled within him, scorching his mind. He was so angry at the stupidity of his behavior that it made him wonder if they were even the same person.

He understood how hopeless the future him probably felt. Paralyzed and forced to live each day under the care of the woman he wanted to protect. It would’ve been humiliating and devastating. He probably couldn’t forgive himself for staining her brilliant life with his broken existence.

“Still, you... weren’t supposed to give up.”

A twisting pain gripped his insides, and his legs almost gave out. He swayed from side to side.

“O-Oh-Jin? Are you okay?”

Song Ha-Eun grabbed his arm.

Feeling her warmth, he looked into her face. An overwhelming, uncontrollable impulse stirred within him.

“Oh-Jin—

mmpf?!

”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Her eyes went wide like a startled rabbit. She tried to pull back, but he held her tightly.

“

Hngh... mm.

”

He slipped his tongue between her slightly parted lips. Frozen at first, she then gently sucked on his tongue as it brushed past her lips. He tightened his embrace as if he would never let her go and continued kissing her.

Song Ha-Eun finally pulled away, her cheeks bright red.

“

Puhah!

W-What the heck was that?!”

She rubbed her thighs together like she was holding a bathroom trip and fidgeted shyly.

He watched her endearing little gestures while shaking off the bitter, unpleasant memories that had just entered his mind. The blue flames dancing in his eyes flared fiercely.

“I’m not going to be like you,” he firmly stated to the future version of himself.

The one who had abandoned everything and ran, unable to protect her.

“What do you mean—

Hmph!

”

He pulled her in again by the waist with no intention of ever letting her go.

“Y-You, seriously!”

Blushing like a red apple, she pinched his side.

His greedy kiss, as if he were starving for her, made her heart race. Still, there was a time and place for everything.

“S-Something like this... s-should be... done at home...” Song Ha-Eun quietly said as she lowered her head.

Honestly, if it were up to her, she would’ve dragged Kwon Oh-Jin home right this second to continue what they started.

“

Haaa

. First, we need to report back to the Heaven’s Grace Guild,” she said.

They had to report a mountain of things like the Living Armor and the Bufo faction. Not to mention, some of their members had died during this operation. The debrief would be messy.

Any reasonable person would say they needed to return to the guild immediately, but Kwon Oh-Jin shook his head.

“No. Isabella can take care of that.”

He acted completely different from his usual meticulous, calculated self.

Song Ha-Eun looked at him in surprise.

“You said things like this should be done at home, right?” He grabbed her wrist roughly. “Let’s go home.”

Song Ha-Eun yelped as he yanked her forward. “

Kyaa!

W-Wait, Oh-Jin!”

She nervously glanced around, but soon followed close behind him.

He led her toward the bike she had arrived on, still holding her wrist.

You couldn’t protect her, but I did.

He kept talking to his future self even though those words would never reach him.

You couldn’t save her, but I did.

He held the elixir bottle safely tucked in his jacket. The one who gave Song Ha-Eun her eyes and leg back was not Lee Shin-Hyuk, but him.

You gave up, but...

His glowing blue eyes looked up at the pitch-black sky.

“I won’t give up, you bastard.”

For a better past than the future. For a better yesterday than tomorrow.

Kwon Oh-Jin tightened his grip on Song Ha-Eun’s arm.