Waiting For Your Reincarnation

I cupped my hands over to my ears, wondering if I had heard something wrong.

 

Ryu Won smiled and tapped the contract with his white, palm-sized hand, his fingertips hovering exactly where I should sign.

 

It was a kind of signal to sign quickly.

 

They say it’s a comedy from a distance, but a tragedy up close.

 

I wondered how this situation was any different from having to sign a body waiver.

 

Saeri mistakenly assumed that I was rejecting Ryu Won’s behavior.

 “You don’t trust Ryu Won’s words, do you? I’ll be good to you, Yeon-young. Trust your sister and sign it.” “My sister?” “You don’t like big sisters? Then you can call me by my first name. I’m not an idiot, I don’t have a concept of age.” 

Saeri answered my question with a flourish. At that moment, her body jerked backward. 

 

She almost fell backwards but managed to center herself and stand up.

 

It seemed that Ryu Won had pushed Saeri’s body with the wind.

 “Saeri.” “Ryu Won, do you want to die?”

Saeri has a threatening look in her eyes.

 

Then she added,

“If an outsider enters the Forest of Iris, what is the disposition?” “What? Um…. If it’s trespassing and damaging, they’ll be extinguished to the ninth degree.”

Ryu Won answered.

 “Right. That’s what happens when an “outsider” enters the forest. Entering the forest without permission and eating forest food are both punishable, right?” “You said the fruit was fine.”

I said to Ryu Won.

 

Ryu Won stiffened at the word

“outsider”

and looked at me. His gaze was gentle, but when his white eyes locked with mine, I couldn’t move.

 

He let out a small sigh. It was as if those gentle eyes had seen and read all of my numbers.

 

The threat was that if I did not sign the contract, I would remain an outsider, a punishment so severe that I would soon be extinguished.

 

I didn’t see any way out. I realized that I was slowly walking into Ryu Won’s trap.

 

Ryu Won seemed relaxed, as if he had predicted that I would sign the contract. He rolled his eyes and stalled for time.

 

I picked up the contract with a sharp intention. I pondered over each sentence, trying to understand the words, but they didn’t quite register.

 “There will be no bad terms. You’ll be replacing me in the special class, so you’ll have the best benefits and the least risk.” 

It wasn’t a sugar-coated lie, to be sure. Having written employment contracts a few times, the language wasn’t unfair.

 

In fact, the salary and benefits didn’t seem too bad.

 

But my touch was tense.

 

I felt like a pawn in a well-orchestrated game. The lines between my eyebrows deepened.

 “Am I missing something…?” “The condition for reincarnation is that the soul has memories of a previous life.” 

Just then, a part of Saeri’s explanation of the soul flashed through my mind.

 

A tiny hint that I had missed. I looked into Ryu Won’s eyes.

 “I want to ask you something before I sign.” “What is it? Tell me, I can answer anything.” 

Ryu Won opened his arms wide, welcoming me. It was clear that he thought I was completely over it.

 

I feel guilty for breaking the relaxed atmosphere, but I shook my head. It was better than being forced to bind my soul to a cheap job.

 “If the condition for reincarnation is that the soul has memories of past lives and I am a soul with memories of past lives, shouldn’t I be able to reincarnate immediately?” 

Ryu Won didn’t seem surprised by my sharp question, just frowning slightly.

 “You escape like this every time, so we decided to keep you,”

he answered.

 

From the looks of it, Ryu Won had already figured out that I was a reincarnated soul. A muffled laugh escaped from between his stiff lips.

 

Ryu Won was definitely not in a good mood right now.

 

Feeling his throat dry up, Ryu Won swallowed hard. He was deep in thought. 

 

Perhaps because of the heavy atmosphere, Saeri could only stare at us alternately.

 “Ms. Yeon-young.” “What?” “Working with us won’t prevent your reincarnation, it will only delay it.” “I see.” “So, you don’t have to make a rash decision. Are you sure you want to be reborn? Don’t you know how bad the next life will be?” “I still want to.”

I nodded firmly. 

 

There was no guarantee that this place wouldn’t be the worst anyway.

 

There was no telling how much work they would demand for such a good deal. 

 

I tried to ignore his fierce gaze and endured the stiffness in my body.

 

If I could be reincarnated, it would be best to be reincarnated as anything.

 “Han Ryu Won, she’s one of the souls we have to protect.” “I know.”

Ryu Won answered.

 “You have a reincarnation plan for today, right?” “Not until you test her.” 

Despite Saeri’s protests, Ryu Won pulled a palm-sized glass ball from the inside pocket of his black uniform coat. Inside the orb, purple smoke and liquid floated chaotically.

 

He removed the contract from in front of me and placed the orb.

 

I stared mesmerized at the inside of the orb as the smoke floated around. 

 

Ryu Won reached out and squeezed my hand. A firm, warm hand touched the back of my hand.

 

Like a snake swallowing its prey in a single bite, my hand was completely trapped in Ryu Won’s grasp. 

 

Our fingers intertwined, refusing to allow even the slightest gap.

 

When Ryu Won’s hand touched the surface of the orb, the smoke and liquid in the orb changed color from a deep purple to a pale blue-violet.

 

After the color changed, the chaotic mixture of smoke and liquid was precisely divided, as if someone had sorted it.

 

Smoke up, liquid down.

 

Seeing the two-part division, Ryu Won’s face completely lost all relaxation. 

 

Saeri also wore a serious expression. I took a nervous breath.

 “What’s wrong?” “Ah… This is a reincarnated soul handheld reader made by our team.” “What is it?” Bam! 

The device called Reincarnated Soul Reader shattered with a sharp cracking sound. Saeri was stunned, unable to close her gaping mouth.

 

Until then, Ryu Won was still holding my hand tightly, saving me from getting my hand stabbed by a piece of broken glass.

 “This is expensive…” “There are many defects.” “Han Ryu Won, you crazy bastard. You broke it on purpose because it says she can reincarnate, right?” 

Saeri glared at him fiercely, tugging at her luscious lemon-colored hair. Of course, Ryu Won didn’t even look at her.

 

I didn’t know exactly what happened, but I was sure that Ryu Won had broken something expensive on purpose.

 

I rolled the words that Saeri had just said in my mouth.

 “Can I be reincarnated?” 

A soft, calm voice rang out. Ryu Won loosened his grip on my hand.

 

As the touch of the hot hand faded away, the ventilated hand felt cool. At the same time, it also felt empty.

 

Unconsciously, my eyes followed Ryu Won’s firm hand.

 Pah! 

The contracts and glass shards on the ground disappeared without a trace with a few gestures of his hand.

 

There was a moment of silence.

 “It says that you will be reincarnated. It’s a pity.” 

A clear voice broke the silence. Saeri patted my forehead with an affectionate touch, as if she was truly sorry.

 

I rubbed my forehead in response to Saeri’s touch. 

 

Even though I just met them, they genuinely felt sorry for me as if we had been colleagues for years.

 

For some reason, I felt a strange awe in the pit of my stomach as I absorbed the atmosphere.

 

Ryu Won’s face had been dark the whole time as soon as it was revealed that I was a reincarnated soul. Even though I had decided to reincarnate, I was unnecessarily bothered by him.

 “I have a reincarnation appointment today, Ryu Won, so take charge and take her to the forest.” “I would have done it even if you hadn’t ordered me to.” “I just met the youngest, and I missed it like this again…” 

Saeri whined in a low voice. Ryu Won fiddled with the ring on his ring finger and opened the teleport again.

 

I sighed, wincing at the thought of having to get back into that thing.

 

As much as I wanted to avoid it, I quickly realized that I had no other choice.

 

Placing his feet on the border between the teleportation and the room, Ryu Won stood still and studied me. It wasn’t a flirtatious look, but a real one.

 “Thank you.” “If you knew how I felt about taking you back to the forest, you wouldn’t be able to thank me.” “Still, I’m grateful.” “Don’t thank me, because the next time you come back, I won’t give you such a choice.” 

With these last words, Ryu Won quickly jumped into the teleportation portal.

 

He hesitated for a moment, then patted me on the back as if to say goodbye.

 

I waved goodbye to Saeri.

 

It was time to be reincarnated and return to where I came from.

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