Chapter 40: Secluded Training (1)

Three days had passed since Kwon Oh-Jin had healed Song Ha-Eun's eyes with the Demonic Dragon Eye. He finished his morning training as usual and came downstairs to a surprising sight.

In their small kitchen, Song Ha-Eun, wearing an apron, was performing some sort of alchemy rather than cooking.

“I-Is this right?”

Sizzle!

“

Ah!

W-What the hell?! Why is it all charred?!”

“... What are you doing?” he asked in disbelief as the room filled with smoke.

She flinched.

“

O-Oh?

It’s nothing!”

“I don’t think so. Look at the state of our house.”

Cough, cough.

He waved his hand through the thick smoke and opened the window. Staring down into the frying pan at what looked like it used to be meat, he let out a laugh.

“Why are you cooking all of a sudden?” he asked.

Calling it food would be a stretch, but it was the first time he’d seen her cook.

“

Oh

, well... I just kind of,

um

, felt like eating some meat all of a sudden!”

“So you decided to alchemize some charcoal instead?”

“I-It’s not charcoal!

Jeez...

It said that if I did this, it would create a Maillard reaction or whatever...” Song Ha-Eun mumbled, scratching her head and glancing down at her phone. She placed the burnt meat onto a plate and held it out. “Well, anyway, here. Give it a try.”

“... You want me to eat this?”

Is she out of her mind?

“It’s fine if you just cut off the burnt parts!” Song Ha-Eun declared.

After giving her a long look, he picked up a knife.

Well, it is her first time cooking. I should at least give it a try. Plus, I'd be wasting meat if I didn't eat it.

Crack.

As soon as he touched the meat with the knife, it split in half, revealing a solid blackened center.

“...”

He picked it up and threw it out.

“

Hey!

Why’d you throw it out?!”

“How the hell am I supposed to eat this?!”

How could someone even manage to burn it this badly?

“Our stove was too weak, so I used my Stigma a little, and...”

“What the...”

Of course that would burn it to a crisp, genius.

Although her curse had been lifted with the Demonic Dragon Eye, she wasn’t fully back to her original state yet. She was like a child just learning to walk, so it was impossible for her to control her Stigma properly.

“Ugh.”

Having nothing to say, she turned her head. Kwon Oh-Jin noticed something out of place that clashed with the rest of her beautiful features.

“How’s your eye?” he asked.

“

Oh

, this?” she replied, touching her left eye.

Unlike her right eye that was perfectly normal, her left one gleamed an atrocious yellow like a reptilian eye. It was also much larger than her right, and veins spouted around it like tree roots, appearing almost hideous.

“As weird as it looks, I can see just fine. Actually, when I focus with my left eye, I can see much clearer.”

“That’s good, but I hope that isn’t a side effect of the curse.”

He was worried every time he saw the horrendous yellow eye.

Suddenly, with a shimmering flash of silver light, Vega appeared and spun around Song Ha-Eun and asserted, “It’s not, so don’t worry.”

“If it’s not a side effect, then what is it?” asked Song Ha-Eun, gently placing her hand on the eye.

“

Hmmm

... Rather than a side effect, you could think of it as a kind of blessing,” Vega replied.

“... This? A blessing?”

Song Ha-Eun narrowed her eyes, looking skeptical.

"The draconic power within the item mixed with your Stigma, the Stigma of Draco, to create a Draconic Eye."

“Draconic Eye?”

Song Ha-Eun cocked her head and looked at her reflection in the mirror, where she saw the reptile-like yellow eye with a vertically slit pupil staring back at her. Calling it a Draconic Eye sounded cool and all...

“... But it doesn’t feel all that different from my normal eye,” Song Ha-Eun remarked.

She could see slightly clearer with her left eye, but that was about it. Aside from its unsightly appearance, it wasn’t all that special in her day-to-day life.

“That’s only because you’re not used to handling its power yet. When your Stigma returns to normal, you’ll be able to fully utilize the Draconic Eye's abilities.”

“Hmmm.”

Song Ha-Eun thought of the Stigma on her chest. The Stigma of Draco wasn’t one of the twelve zodiac Stigmas, but its power was comparable to them.

Though, the difference in recognition is stark.

There weren’t many Awakeners with the Stigma of Draco to begin with—maybe four or five in Korea and fewer than twenty worldwide. None of them had ever made a significant mark.

No wonder it’s so obscure,

she thought. If she didn’t possess the Stigma of Draco herself, she wouldn’t have known it could rival the zodiac Stigmas in strength.

“So, guess that means I should focus on rehab for now?” she asked.

“There’s no need to push yourself,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

“Haha! Of course I need to.” She smiled, gently pinching his cheek. “I have to recover quickly so I can support you. You know I can’t stand owing someone.”

“Does that mean you’ll keep cooking like earlier?”

“Trust the process.”

“Shit.”

Why are you doing this to me, Ha-Eun?

“Oh, by the way, some package arrived earlier. Did you order something?” she asked.

“Yeah, I did.” He picked up a small box lying on the corner of the floor and opened it. “Here, it’s for you.”

“

Huh?

What is it?”

She looked taken aback as he took out the item and handed it to her.

“... An eye patch?”

“You’ll be uncomfortable walking around with that eye, won't you?”

“I guess so.”

She tried on the black eye patch large enough to cover the entire area of her left eye, hiding the veins around it.

“H-How does it look?” she hesitantly asked.

“You look like someone who never dated until her thirties and then immersed herself in otaku culture as an escape from reality, suffering from a late rebellious phase that should’ve hit her in middle school.”

“I think I’ll try making fried mint chocolate for dinner today.”

“It actually looks so good on you. How could you look this pretty even with an eyepatch?”

“

Hehe

. I know, right?” she laughed, touching her eyepatch.

All jokes aside, she did look pretty with the eyepatch on since she was naturally a beauty to begin with.

I wasn't lying about the rebellious phase thing, though.

“Is it uncomfortable at all?”

“

Eh

, it’s a little uncomfortable since I can only see out of one eye, but it’s alright.”

For someone who couldn’t see at all until recently, it was not a huge bother.

“Anyway, are you sure you’re okay? You spent all the money you’d saved up," she gloomily asked.

“I can just make more money. Plus, there’s no rush now.”

“

Ahem

. R-Right,” she replied, blushing. Hearing those words from him brought happiness that she could barely contain, making her feel like she was being wrapped up in soft feathers. It was hard to keep her lips from curling up.

“O-Oh yeah, who told you to be such an idiot and offer the buyout price? You could’ve saved a ton if you’d just bid normally,” she argued, elbowing him out of nowhere to stop the butterflies in her stomach.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“But what if someone else called the buyout price before me?”

The auction would have ended right away, and the Demonic Dragon Eye would’ve been sold to someone else. Considering it was a rare item that appeared maybe once a year, missing this opportunity would’ve meant she had to spend more time in total darkness.

“I’d rather spend a little more than risk it,” he continued. Money was just a means to an end. As long as he could achieve his goal, the exact amount didn’t matter.

Though, to be very honest, bidding ten billion won all at once was stupid of me.

He hadn’t planned on calling the buyout price right off the bat. He intended on surveilling the other bids before buying the item at the best possible price. However, as soon as he saw Song Ha-Eun crying, some kind of unbridled rage had flared up inside him.

“O-Oh.”

Song Ha-Eun’s face flushed bright red, and she quickly looked down to hide it. She giggled awkwardly like a malfunctioning robot, her shoulders shaking as she did.

“I-I’ll be right back!”

She ran out of the house.

Whoosh!

“...”

Vega watched her run away, then floated over to Kwon Oh-Jin and said, “It seems you truly care for her.”

“Huh?”

“I heard you’ve been protecting her since you were young... Is there a reason for that?”

“What? Did she tell you that?”

It was half true and half false.

“I didn’t protect her, it was the other way around. She was the one who protected me first, or rather... she protected everyone at the orphanage.”

Vega’s eyes sparkled, hearing this side of the story for the first time.

“Hmm?”

“Back then, she was like a leader to all the kids,” he reminisced, a bittersweet smile tugging at his lips. He remembered the fierce girl who stood up to the orphanage director for the sake of all the kids who depended on her, blazing like a brilliant jewel.

“But you know what? She may seem tough, but she’s actually a huge crybaby.”

Every time the director hit her, she would hide under her blanket that same night and cry in secret.

“So...”

“So you took her place? Out of gratitude?”

“Maybe.”

Gratitude... Sure, that's part of it, but that wasn’t the only reason.

He shook his head with a bitter smile.

“I’ll tell you another time.”

“Hmph.”

A little disappointed, Vega pouted and flew up to his head to pull at his hair.

Ouch.

“... Still, I’m glad.”

Vega stopped throwing a fit and ran her fingers through his hair as she continued, “This is the first time I’ve seen you genuinely smile.”

He nodded in response.

“Were you not able to save her in your first life?” she asked.

“That...”

I don’t know, but I probably failed. Maybe that’s why I destroyed the world in my first life.

He had no memories of that timeline. After all, even just the fact that he had destroyed the world before was a hard enough thought. Thinking about why was out of the question.

“Yeah. Back then... I couldn’t protect her.”

I’ll just play along.

“I thought so,” Vega muttered, looking down at him with sympathy. She gently tapped his forehead. “Cheer up. You saved her this time, didn’t you? You’ve already rewritten the first page of fate with your own strength!”

“

Pfftt!

Yeah, you’re right.”

Although he wasn’t really a Regressor and didn’t have the memories of his first life, fate was still something he could change.

“

Ahem!

But don’t forget, Ha-Eun is still your

friend!

”

Why is she emphasizing that word?

“Anyway! Now that you’ve lifted Ha-Eun’s curse, what’s next?” Vega quickly changed the topic.

What's next, huh?

He did have something in mind.

“Vega, can you do me a favor?”

This time, he needed her help for his plan to work. Vega sat down on his palm, sitting up straight with crossed legs.

“As long as it’s within my power, anything.”

Nodding, Kwon Oh-Jin gently wrapped his hand around her.

“A few hours a day isn’t enough.”

“Hmm?”

“I want to be with you, Vega, twenty-four hours a day.”

“W-What?!”

The goddess’s cheeks flushed a deep red.