Chapter 39: Paradise (6)

The entire auction hall froze in silence. Breaking the brief pause, the auctioneer called out in a flustered voice, “

Um...

Ten billion! We have a bid of ten billion! Since the buyout price was called, the auction for the Demonic Dragon Eye will officially close!”

“I’ll be taking the item right now,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

He walked toward the Demonic Dragon Eye displayed on the stage. The Astral Relic looked as if a blue crystal had been cut into the shape of a ping-pong ball. Grabbing it, he turned around.

“W-Why are you here?”

Song Ha-Eun repeated the question like a broken record. As she stared at him, pale as a ghost, Kwon Oh-Jin could see her trembling. He stepped down from the stage and walked toward her.

“Who the hell are you?” asked Choi Jong-Cheol, the man sitting beside Song Ha-Eun. He glared up at Kwon Oh-Jin with narrow eyes.

“...” Kwon Oh-Jin merely kept his eyes fixed on the man’s hand on her thigh.

“Why are you interrupting the auction—”

“Move it.”

“What?”

“Your hand. Move it.”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s glare burned cold, a flicker of ghostly blue fire smoldering in his dark eyes.

Choi Jong-Cheol froze, then instinctively jerked his hand away from Song Ha-Eun’s thigh.

W-What the hell?

For Choi Jong-Cheol, the entire auction hall seemed to plunge into darkness, as though someone had cut the lights. A creeping chill ran down his spine, leaving him breathless.

“Ugh!”

The sensation soon faded, and the auction hall returned to normal. Choi Jong-Cheol stood up abruptly, glanced around, and then furiously glared at Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Who the hell do you think you are, ordering me around?”

“Didn’t you hear me earlier?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked, calmly flashing his special agent badge from the association.

Seeing the badge, Choi Jong-Chul scoffed.

“

Ha!

You’re just a dog of the association, yet you have the nerve to mess with the Starlight Lake Guild?”

He sneered at Kwon Oh-Jin. The weight of the association badge might carry authority, but going up against a top-ten guild like Starlight Lake was a whole different story.

Was there a special agent like him at the association, though?

The association’s special agents were well-known for the authority they wielded.

I’m sure he wasn’t on the list... Ah.

Choi Jong-Cheol’s mind clicked as he recalled a news article from a few days ago. It was about an Awakener from the association who had single-handedly taken down a massive monster at Seoul Station—without a single casualty. The young man standing before him looked just like the one in the photo.

“W-Wait. No way. Are you... Thunder Wolf?”

Choi Jong-Cheol’s mouth opened and closed, like a fish out of water, as he instinctively took a step back. It wasn’t just the feat at Seoul Station that unnerved him. It was the rumors tied to his name that truly sent a chill down his spine.

The Thunder Wolf has the Stigma of Lyra.

Kwon Oh-Jin bore the Stigma of the North Star Celestial, who even the Celestials of the twelve zodiacs bowed down to.

Sh-Shit!

Choi Jong-Cheol’s face turned pale. The Thunder Wolf before him was an Awakener who had gained the whole world’s attention as a top-tier rookie.

“Yeah, that’s what they’ve been calling me,” Kwon Oh-Jin replied with a gold gaze. “So, you said you’re from the Starlight Lake Guild, right?

“

Uh

, w-well,

um...

” Choi Jong-Cheol stammered, his face pale.

Immediately after the news that an apostle of Vega had appeared in Korea, most of the major guilds, including the Starlight Lake Guild, had gone into an emergency meeting. The consensus was clear—to maintain a positive relationship with the apostle of the North Star; no guild would benefit from making an enemy of that man.

“Th-There's been a misunderstanding...”

“

Oh

, a misunderstanding, you say? Kwon Oh-Jin asked with an icy smile. “Let’s ask your guild master if they think so too.”

“...!”

Choi Jong-Cheol’s eyes widened. He immediately got on his knees and kowtowed.

Thud!

“I-I didn’t realize she was with you. I apologize for the disrespect! Please, don’t tell the guild master—!”

“Fine.”

“... Sorry?”

“If you do one thing for me, I’ll let this go quietly.”

“Ah...!”

Choi Jong-Cheol exclaimed as his face lit up with relief. “Thank you! Whatever you say, I’ll—”

“Get lost.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, get lost. Right now.”

Choi Jong-Cheol’s face flushed an angry shade of red as the veins on his fists bulged. He was clearly seething with humiliation. Kwon Oh-Jin, however, simply shot him a dismissive smirk.

What about it?

Sure, Choi Jong-Cheol might have had more experience and a higher star rank, but that didn’t mean much in the bigger picture. Compared to himself—the apostle of Vega—Choi Jong-Cheol was nothing more than an insignificant bug.

Realizing this, Choi Jong-Cheol forced a submissive smile.

"

Hehe

. Alright then, I’ll get going,” he said as he stood up and left the auction hall.

Kwon Oh-Jin clicked his tongue. After the commotion died down, he turned to Song Ha-Eun. “Let’s go.”

“O-Oh-Jin, why are you...?”

She stammered, still dazed by what had transpired. He grabbed her shoulder firmly.

“Follow me.”

“Wait! Tell me why you’re here first... Hey! Kwon Oh-Jin!”

Ignoring her questions, he held her firmly by the arm and led her out.

“W-Where are we going?

Hey!"

They eventually reached the rooftop sky garden above the auction house, one of Seoul's most famous scenic spots. A cold night breeze brushed their cheeks.

“

Hah... hah...

”

Song Ha-Eun was panting, perhaps still flustered. Her gray eyes wandered the sky.

“Oh-Jin, you... How could you buy that?! What about Paradise?!” Song Ha-Eun shouted. The ten billion he used to purchase the Demonic Dragon Eye should have been for something else entirely.

“Paradise?”

The corners of Kwon Oh-Jin’s lips rose.

For five years, he had been tirelessly saving up for Paradise—or rather, he made her believe he was.

If I didn’t, she would’ve made a big fuss. Though, that is part of her charm.

She was the kind of person who couldn’t stand the thought of being indebted to someone—neither then nor now.

He lifted the Demonic Dragon Eye. The translucent blue crystal contained a yellow pupil that resembled a reptilian eye.

“Yeah! Paradise! Why did you—”

“Hold still for a second.”

He reached out and cupped her face with both hands. He felt her flinch and slightly tremble.

“Oh-Jin...” She switched back to using his nickname, anticipating what was coming. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Woong.

The Demonic Dragon Eye emitted a soft glow as he brought it close to her left eye. Then, it seeped into her eye like an ice cube melting away.

Tsssss!

A faint hiss echoed, and purple fog rose from both her eyes. She felt a sharp pain as if her eyes were being seared with something hot,

“Agh!"

However, she could hardly focus on the pain. A warm voice spoke into the boundless darkness, calming her wildly beating heart.

“Hang in there just a little longer.”

The burning pain in her eyes gradually subsided. The dense darkness that had confined her—the long, endless night she thought would never end—collapsed like a sandcastle being swept away.

“Ah.”

The dazzling night view unfolded before her eyes. City lights formed a galaxy across the landscape, like stars scattered in an upside-down night sky.

She gently touched her eyelids, still in disbelief. She could see the lights illuminating the garden and the carefully trimmed branches and leaves. Most importantly, after five long years, she could finally see Kwon Oh-Jin's face, grown a bit more thin than she remembered.

“How is it? The view of paradise?”

“Y-You...”

Song Ha-Eun staggered back, filled with many emotions. She couldn’t find the right words to speak.

“

Oh

, right. There’s one more thing,” he mentioned.

“What?”

Kwon Oh-Jin pulled out a fancy black case.

“W-What is that?” she asked.

“You’ll see.”

Click.

He opened the case with a grin, revealing an exquisitely crafted prosthetic leg, indistinguishable from a real one.

“This is...”

“Lift your right leg for a sec.”

“...”

Blushing ever so slightly, she lifted her right leg.

Kwon Oh-Jin sat on one knee and carefully removed the cheap prosthetic she’d been using. He then attached the one from the case.

“Wow.”

She softly gasped as she felt a gentle warmth, almost like real skin. It was so soft that it felt like it might slip off, so she tested it by moving her leg around. The prosthetic leg responded naturally as if she had grown a new leg.

“How is it? It’s much more comfortable, right?”

“...”

Song Ha-Eun bit her lip. She could see him smiling brightly, but for some reason, seeing that smile felt more painful than ever.

“... Why?” she snapped, trembling. “Why, why, why?!”

The whirlwind of emotions on the inside made it hard for her to speak, but the heaviest emotion surging within her now was the hardest one to control—anger.

“Why did you do something so unnecessary?!” she shouted. “That money was so precious! You worked so hard for it!”

She knew how miserable he had been for the past five years—no, his whole life. Only she knew what it was like for him before he became an Awakener. She had witnessed his pitiful, relentless struggle—the hottest summers and frigid winters he had endured, the cheap protein bars he survived on, and the old, tattered clothes he had scrounged for. She had seen him pushing himself to the greatest extent to save money.

“Y-You told me you were going to buy a spot in Paradise! You said you wanted to leave and be in peace for once!”

Five years ago, on the day she had lost her sight and her leg, Kwon Oh-Jin came to her and said he was going to go to Paradise and that he didn’t want to live like this anymore. He was going to save up and leave.

“You promised you’d stay with me only until you’d saved enough!”

“

Oh

, that?”

Kwon Oh-Jin shrugged and grinned.

“

Ah...

” Song Ha-Eun’s eyes widened as a memory from over fifteen years ago resurfaced.

“Oh-Jin! Y-You need to get out of here fast! You said the kitchen’s on fire!”

“Oh, that?”

Just like back then, just as he had always been, he chuckled, bursting into laughter as he responded, “It was a lie.”