Waiting For Your Reincarnation

Veronica jerked upright in her seat and stared at the Sly hovering at her feet. The tip of her chin trembled slightly and her eyes filled with tears.

 

She could hear the voice calling her,

“Marie,”

in a choked voice, but it sounded the same as before.

 

She scooped Sly into a hug. Sly squirmed in Veronica’s arms as if it were Marie, unable to keep still.

 “I’ve been waiting here for you.” 

She had no idea how long she’d waited.

 

How long Veronica had waited for Marie, now that she had her memory back.

 

Marie rubbed against Veronica’s face. After staring at her for a long time, Veronica opened her mouth.

 “Yeon-young, what happened? How did you know it was Marie?” “Well… When I collapsed earlier, I wasn’t dreaming, I think I saw a memory of Marie.” 

She scratched her cheek with a finger as if to say, “I don’t know.” My answer surprised both Veronica and Ryu Won.

 “Veronica in her armor and a brown puppy. Marie is attached to Veronica’s left breastbone, which is her habit, right? And the only other thing I remember is… Veronica said she was going somewhere and left Marie with the lady next door, but I don’t know much more than that.” “That’s my last memory of Marie. She died in the war after that, I think.” 

Veronica apologized to Marie in an affectionate voice. I was jealous of Veronica and Marie.

 

No matter how often I thought back to her life, there was no one like that waiting for me.

 

I turned my eyes to Ryu Won. Our gazes met in the air for a long moment. His transparent eyes like rainwater looked at me, but I felt that he was looking at something else beyond me.

 

I wondered what they were looking at.

 

Even though we were facing each other, it felt like we were looking at different places.

 

Ryu Won stepped closer to me and deftly put his arms around me.

 “Congratulations, Ms. Yeon-young, you’ve manifested your power.” “Thank you.” 

Hearing Ryu Won’s words, Veronica also offered her congratulations. It was embarrassing to be congratulated for an ability that everyone had and was only now manifesting.

 

I wondered if I had ever received such heartfelt congratulations. Whenever I accomplished something, I was always alone.

 

When I stood up without saying a word, Ryu Won patted me on the back with a thick hand. Veronica looked away as if she had seen something she couldn’t bear to look at.

 

The patting slowed down and then stopped. Ryu Won, who was standing next to me, suddenly bent down and leaned close to my face.

 

Startled, I tried to step back, but I couldn’t move because my back was pinned.

 

He quickly regained his relaxed posture. He smiled, the corners of his eyes curling into a pretty smile, revealing his sculptural beauty.

 “So, Ms. Yeon-young, can you read my mind?” 

It was a playful question. I clenched my eyebrows and tried to summon my powers again, but to no avail.

 

As I relaxed, Ryu Won’s eyes moved to my lips.

 “Ah, now’s a good time to kiss.” “Ryu Won, you crazy bastard.” “You’ll learn to read one day.” 

It was Ryu Won’s talent to make flippant remarks without making them sound flippant.

 

Veronica’s profane sentences could be heard. Ryu Won could not answer her because he remembered my last words in his dream.

 

When I didn’t answer, Ryu Won left. I had already figured out that he wouldn’t do anything if he didn’t want to.

 “Yeon-young manifests her powers and meets Marie. It’s a happy day.” “Soul Protection Law, Article 1, Section 2.” “Oh, I know. I know…” 

As Ryu Won recited the clause, Veronica’s face fell. Her pace of stroking Sly slowed down drastically.

 “Just wait a little longer. No matter how cold-blooded you are, you should know how it feels to wait for someone.” 

I nodded my head slightly. Seeing her like that, Ryu Won pulled out a random chair and sat down.

 

Marie felt an unusual current and burrowed into Veronica’s arms. Veronica hugged her very hard.

 

Ryu Won pulled a small, finger-length capsule from his pants pocket, squeezed it in his hand, and it grew larger than his hand. He handed it to Veronica.

 “You put it in when you’re ready.” 

Veronica didn’t take long. With a final farewell, she unscrewed the lid of the capsule and carefully placed it inside, taking care not to hurt Marie’s soul.

 

The capsule containing Marie’s soul glowed red for a moment before closing with an iron clang and shrinking in size.

 “What’s the Soul Protection Law?” “It’s a decree put together by the five branches, and there are penalties for not following it.” “Ah.” “Article 1, paragraph 2, Sly’s reincarnation must be completed within two weeks, and he must be on probation in the forest while he’s in Tanato. Sly is the most fragile and pure soul, so the protection laws are strict.” 

I was speechless. Both Veronica’s position and Tanato’s laws made sense to me.

 

Ryu Won stroked my head a few times and then suggested that we return to the center. He left the main store first, leaving me and Veronica alone.

 

Veronica handed me the capsule with Marie inside.

 “Veronica, are you okay?” “Yes, I’m fine, I knew it, I’m just glad to see her. Should I go back to the center now?” “Yes, I’ll check in.” 

Veronica offered me her hand to shake, and I gladly took it. Unlike Ryu Won’s hand, it was a little damp and cold.

 “Take care of Marie, it was nice to meet you. See you soon.” 

I could feel the tension in her wet hand. I nodded sincerely.

 

***

 

As soon as we returned to the center, Ryu Won grabbed me by the throat and dragged me somewhere. Certainly not to the upper floors where there was a party to report to.

 “Shouldn’t we go to the chairman’s office?” “It’s more urgent than that.” 

After passing through the lobby on the first floor of the center, we walked a short distance into a room that looked like the emergency room of a general hospital.

 

When Ryu Won and I entered, the spirits in white coats jumped as if they had seen a monster.

 

One of them, a spirit with chocolate-colored fluffy hair, approached them and spoke to them.

 

His name tag said Daeheon Lee, the head of the rescue team.

 “Mr. Lee, what are you doing here? Are you injured? Did the center get hit by a snake or something? Are we all wiped out?” “Kim Yeon-young, the youngest member of our special team. She was sent to the village earlier. She suffered soul damage from the impact and may be close to being wiped out. Save her.” “What?” “If you don’t save her, the center will explode and I will die.” 

Ryu Won smiled brightly. Crazy. Veronica’s words came to his mind. He really is crazy.

 

His words threw the emergency room into chaos. Daeheon was dazed by the flood of information.

 

I looked at Ryu Won with a blank stare. Even though I didn’t know much about ghosts, I knew that my situation wasn’t too serious.

 

How could he lie to them without blinking an eye?

 

The ghosts in the emergency room scurried around the room, each bringing their own items.

 

I freaked out when I saw Daeheon coming from a distance in a wheelchair.

 “Ms. Yeon-young, I know this is uncomfortable, but please sit here. We’ll get you to your bed comfortably.” “I’m really fine, I want to walk.” “We’re going to die!” 

Daeheon shouted, as if leaving a direct message. I looked at the wheelchair with a slight frown.

 

All the souls in the emergency room were waiting for me to meekly sit down in the wheelchair.

 Crunch! 

The cracking sound suddenly broke the silence. I stared in disbelief at the source of the sound.

 

Only one window, the one closest to the exit, was broken. As if someone had broken it on purpose.

 

Instinctively, I looked at Ryu Won. He had his hands in the pockets of his uniform coat. There was amusement in the corners of his eyes.

 “Yes, the wheelchair can be a burden. You may not like it.” “It is a burden.” 

He looked at the surface of the broken window and thought for a moment. Then he put his arm around my shoulder.

 “Now that I think about it, I don’t like it either.” “What?” “The idea of leaving you in that flimsy thing makes me sick.” 

The smile faded from his face, as if he felt bad just thinking about it.

 

I was looking forward to it.

 

I wondered if my remorse would allow me to escape the ghosts’ gaze.

 “So grab my neck and hug me.” “What?” “I’ll pick you up and carry you myself.”Visit my Ko-fi for discounted advanced chapters!!