916

 [Chapter 227]

[Relife (2)]

Ariel came to her senses.

Sitting on a shabby roof, she blinked her eyes.

"So... that's how it is."

"What is?"

Next to her sat a friend known by the nickname Sun.

The friend with an always bright face like his nickname tilted his head.

"I remember everything now. Sun Sun, I was dreaming, wasn't I?"

Ariel gave a bitter smile.

The friend she once admired was actually dead.

This world was a dream where her deeply hidden desires had come true.

"Heh, this Ariel almost got fooled for a second there!"

"What's with that gesture? I told you to smile brightly, not to get weird like that..."

"This is my charm! Don't you know people are crazy about my charm?"

Ariel jumped up.

Standing on the roof, she had grown from a child to an adult.

Even so, she hadn't grown much taller.

She was quite small for an Ein.

Nevertheless, Ariel didn't care and puffed out her chest proudly.

"How about it? I've become glamorous now too, right? Even Eun-ha fell head over heels for me."

"Isn't that just your delusion?"

"Tch, Sun Sun. You've become too realistic without me knowing."

"And you've become too out there. So? What are you going to do now?"

"About what?"

"Are you going to stay here like this? Or go back to reality?"

"..."

"If you go back to reality, you'll regret it. Are you okay with that?"

Sun asks.

Ariel looked at him as he gazed up at her with a worried face.

"Hmm..."

Ariel tapped her lips with her finger.

Then she smiled brightly and said:

"Sorry, I don't know much about that kind of thing!"

"..."

"But I don't think I'll regret it. If I thought I would regret it, I wouldn't have come here in the first place."

Ariel stretched.

It was an enjoyable time.

She was really glad to see her dead friend again.

She expressed her gratitude to him.

"But it's a bit of a shame."

"What is?"

"If you had died a little later, I could have introduced you to the taste of dew." "Dew?" "Yeah! The driving force of my life!"

"Don't drown yourself in alcohol just because things are hard." "Don't worry. I don't do that anymore."

"Really?"

"Yeah! There are lots of good people around me now. I won't be drinking miserably alone, so don't worry!" "Well, that's good then."

Ah, I want to drink some dew.

Ariel smacked her lips and bid farewell to her friend.

"Well then, I'm going. Bye-bye."

"Yeah, bye-bye."

Her friend waved.

Ariel turned away from him and focused her consciousness.

Before she knew it, a spear had appeared in her hand.

"When it's all over, I'll have to suggest we have a company dinner."

With that, she shattered the dream.

Starting with Ariel, people woke up from their dreams one by one and stepped out into reality.

☆

I am different from others.

From a very young age, Bong Gu-rae had held such thoughts.

And when he realized what that 'difference' truly was, it felt like falling into a bottomless swamp.

I must be strange.

The world, society, did not welcome such an existence kindly.

So he couldn't help but feel like he was being denied.

The sadder fact was that he was denying himself too.

It felt uncomfortable, and at worst, disgusting.

Because that was society's stance.

Growing up in that environment like others, he had to undergo confusion about his identity.

No, I'm not strange.

I'm just a little different.

Nevertheless, he was strong.

A secret he couldn't tell even his closest friends, or even family.

As he suffered alone internally, one day he suddenly had a thought.

Why should I be depressed?

Am I really wrong?

Should I not exist in this world?

Then why was I born?

Questions leading to more questions.

For him who had been endlessly falling downwards, there was only climbing up left now.

Through self-questioning, he reached the conclusion that the reason all beings are alive is to pursue happiness.

Then his mind cleared and strength surged through his body.

There must be a reason why I was born this way.

So I'm not wrong. I'm part of the world too.

Life is only once.

Even if spending the same day, it should be spent joyfully and specially.

There's no time to be depressed.

At that time, he was able to rise above despair.

And so─

"─This is why being a popular man is so hard. How are you all going to live without me?" """"We can't live without you, Gu-rae!!""""

In this world.

Bong Gu-rae had built his paradise.

Inside a cafe in Jung-gu.

Many men were clinging to Bong Gu-rae sitting by the window seat.

Bong Gu-rae embraced them with both arms and was immersed in happiness.

"Oh my."

It's tiring having men clinging to him.

Bong Gu-rae contemplated parting with them and going home to rest.

Just then, a man who naturally caught his eye passed by outside the window.

"Sorry, darlings. Something urgent came up so I'll leave first today. Bye!"

It was a man who perfectly matched his taste.

Bong Gu-rae immediately stood up from his seat and decided to try talking to the man passing in front of the cafe.

The man's orientation didn't matter.

If he's not into guys then they can just be friends, and if he is then they can get to know each other deeper.

"Excuse me."

"...Yes?"

Bong Gu-rae quickly manifested mana and grabbed the man.

The man whose shoulder was suddenly grabbed tilted his head as if puzzled.

At that moment, Bong Gu-rae looked at the man and felt his head go cold.

"...<Thunder God> sir?" "Haha. I'm not a player anymore, but I used to be called that."

"..."

A handsome man with sculpted features.

Former Twelve Seat <Thunder God> Lee Do-jin smiled as if embarrassed.

But Bong Gu-rae couldn't smile.

"...So that's how it is."

He was dreaming.

The moment Bong Gu-rae recognized that, the street scenery disappeared.

Everything was an illusion.

A pure white space.

In the world where nothing existed, only the two of them stood.

"If it's hard, you don't have to wake up from the dream. You can sleep more... But are you really okay with that?"

"..."

"Are you confident you won't regret it?"

Lee Do-jin asked kindly.

Bong Gu-rae couldn't answer readily.

But it was only for a very brief moment.

<Double Penetration> Bong Gu-rae.

He was a very strong man.

Quietly looking down at the pure white floor, he lifted his head boldly.

"There are people waiting who think of someone like me as a comrade. So I should wake up from this dream." "You have precious comrades." "Yes, extremely precious people."

To others, he would be seen as a strange existence.

There would be those who hate him.

No matter how strong he might be, he sometimes feels intimidated before those gazes.

But─

'─Gu-rae? Even so, the fact that you're the same person as me hasn't changed. It's okay! I got discriminated against a lot when I was young for being an Ein too!'

'Hmm... As a man it's a bit eh, but as long as you don't bother me it's fine. You said I'm not your type anyway, right? Then it doesn't matter.'

Ariel and Kang Si-hyeong.

Many other friends sent unbiased gazes towards him.

Because they were by his side, Bong Gu-rae could pursue happiness.

So─

"─I need to wake up from this dream."

He steps out into the world for himself.

He gripped the rifle that had appeared in his hand before he knew it.

Then he shot a huge hole into the world above his head.

Starting from that hole, cracks began to spread through the world.

The world shattered like glass fragments.

"Nice shot."

Bong Gu-rae confirmed his skill and smiled contentedly.

"I guess there was no need for me to come after all. Well then, I should go wake our clan members now..."

Lee Do-jin shrugged his shoulders.

His body turned into mana and disappeared.

"I wish you luck. Since I'm gone now, please create a wonderful world instead."

It was the wish of <Thunder God> Lee Do-jin, who was once counted among Korea's strongest.

☆

『Congratulations! <Valkyrie > Cha Eun-woo Photo Exhibition』

"..."

Cha Eun-woo blinked at the wreath placed in front of the photo exhibition.

Then she pinched her cheek.

It hurt.

It was real.

"Teacher! What are you doing there? You need to come inside quickly! There's going to be an autograph session later!"

"...Ga-in?"

"Yes, what's wrong? Ah, this isn't the time... Let's go inside first!"

"Oh oh!?"

Just then, a woman suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

Cha Eun-woo was startled to realize she was Choi Ga-in, direct descendant of Galaxy Group, and surprised again to learn she was her manager.

Ah, right. That's how it was...

Then she recalled her memories.

The <Dungeon of the Abyss> had been conquered.

Peace came to the world, and she began focusing on what she wanted to do.

Before she knew it, she had become a photographer everyone recognized.

Today was the day of her photo exhibition.

"Teacher, when it's time you just need to sign autographs for people over there."

"Okay, I see."

She half-listened to Choi Ga-in's words while looking at the photos hanging on the walls.

They were all photos she had taken herself.

She remembered each and every one.

...There were times like that too.

Cha Eun-woo gazed at the photos for a long time, lost in memories.

The friends in the photos were all smiling with joyful faces.

She felt proud to have captured those smiles.

The reason for taking photos?

This is precisely why.

To capture the happiest moments in life.

...There's nothing after this?

The photos continued chronologically.

Cha Eun-woo walked down the hallway and soon stopped where the photos ended.

The photos that started from academy days ended before conquering the <Dungeon of the Abyss>.

"..."

"...Teacher? The autograph session is starting soon..."

Only empty frames were hanging.

The hallway stretched far ahead, but the photos were lacking considerably.

Cha Eun-woo turned away from the empty frames and the end of the hallway.

"This is inside a dream." "..."

A world reflecting her own desires.

Cha Eun-woo realized the truth of the world and asked Choi Ga-in as if confirming.

Choi Ga-in's face, wearing ill-fitting glasses, hardened.

Then she threw off her mask.

"Yeah, that's right. This is inside your dream." "..."

"Hah, this doesn't suit my temperament at all. I'm definitely not someone who would be anyone's manager." "Ga-in?"

"So what if I am? Are you going to hit me or something?"

"..."

Choi Ga-in snorted.

She folded her arms and glared as she retorted.

Cha Eun-woo looked at her like that and unconsciously felt her neck.

The red choker wasn't there.

Confirming that, she laughed.

"Wh-What!? Why are you laughing!?"

"No... I just realized I'm not afraid of you anymore, Ga-in."

"...Hmph, the kid's gotten cocky. How annoying." "And you've changed a lot too." "..."

"Did you come to wake me up?"

"...I just came because I wanted to see you struggling at the end. I didn't want to see you die so meaninglessly."

"I see."

Cha Eun-woo had lived a life staying by Choi Ga-in's side since childhood.

So she could notice Choi Ga-in's changes.

"Since then, I've seen a lot in various ways too."

What could she mean by having seen a lot?

Cha Eun-woo didn't bother asking Choi Ga-in, who had turned her head sharply as she spoke.

She just felt glad to meet her after a long time.

Even though the relationship between herself and her could be called close to a bad fate.

"It was nice to see you after a long time. Well then, I'll be going now." "...Do you know the way out?"

"I think I do."

Cha Eun-woo nodded gently.

She looked out into the hallway.

A hallway with no photos hanging.

Beyond that is the way out of the dream.

If she follows those frames she hasn't filled in yet, she should be able to get out.

So she turned her body.

It was then.

"Cha Eun-woo."

"...What?"

Choi Ga-in suddenly called out.

Cha Eun-woo asked back, puzzled.

Choi Ga-in was hesitating.

It was a somewhat strange expression.

Then she spoke gruffly.

"If there's a next life."

"..."

"Will you be my friend then?"

It was unlike Choi Ga-in to say such a thing.

She really had changed a lot.

Cha Eun-woo paused for a moment hearing the unexpected words, and seeing her anxiously waiting for an answer, she burst out laughing.

The answer was obvious.

"Yeah, no!"

"...Tch, how unlucky."

"I'll think about it after seeing how you treat me then."

Honestly, to her heart.

The girl who killed herself and pretended to be a good child no longer existed.

Cha Eun-woo showed her pure white teeth and answered as her heart urged.

This is how she will live.

Together with precious people.