It had been several years since I last saw Seo Hwa-gyeong.
But when I saw her after a long time, she looked just like old times, as if time had frozen in time.
Even though it had been a long time since Seo Hwa-kyung met her disciple, she still had an inexplicable look on her face.
Longing, and regret.
As Seo Kang-rim stood there without saying anything, Seo Hwa-kyung smiled and said.
“What? You don’t seem as surprised as I thought.”
“… … Because I thought you were alive.”
There were many questions surrounding Seo Hwa-kyung’s death.
A corpse damaged beyond recognition.
Seo Hwa-kyung, who did not respond even when trying to summon her spirit.
To begin with, choosing suicide was not like Seo Hwa-gyeong.
Because she was a person who would fight against her opponents without running away, no matter what the situation.
That’s why it was being speculated that there was a high possibility that Seo Hwa-kyung was alive.
Even so, when I actually met him, I felt a variety of emotions.
Seo Hwa-kyung smiled diagonally after hearing Seo Kang-rim’s answer.
“Really? You knew I was alive. Then did you also know that I was the leader of the clown gang?”
“I thought there was a possibility.”
A group that has been active against the Protectorate for several years, the Clowns.
Anyone who could lead such a cult had to be quite the superhuman.
And one of the superhumans that Seo Kang-rim knew was Seo Hwa-kyung.
‘But is it really true that the teacher was the leader of the clown gang?’
I had thought that I would meet Seo Hwa-kyung someday, but seeing it in person was a new experience.
I was happy, but my feelings were complicated in many ways.
Swallowing those feelings, Seo Kang-rim opened his mouth.
“Let’s get the people out first. There are a lot of eyes watching here.”
Seo Hwa-kyung also seemed to agree with that opinion, glancing at the clowns.
They left the ward without saying a word, and Yohan and Lee Su-ho also left with the injured.
When everyone left, only Seo Kang-rim and Seo Hwa-kyung were left.
Seo Kang-rim opened his mouth while blocking the entrance, afraid that she might run away.
“Now we can talk more comfortably.”
“……okay.”
They faced each other.
When the two of them were left alone, Seo Hwa-kyung approached Seo Kang-rim and stared intently at his face.
“You’ve grown so much, Kangrim.”
There was an indescribable longing in her voice.
Seo Hwa-kyung caressed Seo Kang-rim’s face and looked at every part of it.
Like a mother reunited with her dead child.
Seo Kang-rim also wanted to break up with her, but there was something more important.
“Teacher, please tell me what happened. Why did you pretend to be dead, and how did you end up becoming the leader of the clown gang?”
Seo Hwa-kyung answered Seo Kang-rim’s question with a slightly troubled expression.
After a long moment of choosing her words, she opened her mouth.
“… … Because this was the best path among the fates I could choose.”
It was the same words as what was left in the will.
That pretending to be dead was the best course of action she could take.
“I have been looking into my own destiny for a long time. Thanks to that, I was able to read that the Fate Protection Agency would come to scout me.”
Before the Day of Awakening, the Fate Guardians began to recruit capable Awakeners as messengers.
It was an obvious situation that someone with the ability of Seo Hwa-kyung would come looking for.
“And given your personality, the teacher probably wouldn’t have accepted that.”
“You know a lot.”
Seo Hwa-kyung smiled brightly.
When I saw that appearance, I thought it was really Seo Hwa-kyung.
Seo Hwa-kyung, who had strong self-esteem, was not the type of person who would be under someone.
“As you said, I tried to reject their offer. But the problem started after that. If I rejected their offer, I could read that my future would be divided into two major categories.”
The laughter died down, and Seo Hwa-kyung spoke with a bitter smile.
“There were two destinies prepared for me: being killed by the Fate Protection Agency, or being falsely accused of being an Awakened Criminal.”
As Seo Kang-rim listened to that story, he recalled what Team Leader Gongju had said in the interrogation room.
When he was interrogated about the Choi Pil-young manipulated video, they said they could reduce the charges depending on the conditions.
This means that, conversely, it can also increase sin.
“I also imagined that if I were to enter the Protectorate, I would become a dog of the Protectorate and be destined to do dirty work.”
“… … .”
“Within the fixed choices, I had to find a way to change my fate.”
So the best fate that Seo Hwa-kyung chose was to pretend to be dead.
That was the only way to be free from the protectorate, even if only for a little while.
“But I couldn’t pretend to be dead and live my whole life. I organized a clown gang to destroy the Protectorate.”
“How did the other clowns gather?”
“We brought in people who were falsely accused of being criminals by the Protectorate, or who were in danger of being killed.”
“Did the Protectorate make everyone who refused to be recruited like that?”
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“That’s not it. In some cases, they don’t touch you even if you reject a scout. It seems like they judged that even if they left you alive, you wouldn’t cause any harm to the Protectorate.”
In other words, it meant that if Seo Hwa-gyeong were to be kept alive, it would be detrimental to the protectorate.
She said, crossing her arms and staring into space.
“We made a clown group like that, but the Protectorate used us against us. Before we knew it, all the evil deeds were ours to do. Well, our popularity did go up though.”
She said it half-jokingly, but there was a bitterness in it.
Seo Kang-rim listened to the story silently and then opened his mouth.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“what?”
“You could have told me or my brother the truth. That you’re alive, and that you’re being chased by the Protectorate.”
If that had been the case, things would have been different.
Seo Hwa-kyung was silent for a moment and then opened her mouth.
“Kangrim-ah. Do you remember the story you told me when you were young? You asked me if I could avoid all misfortunes if I had the ability to foresee.”
Seo Kang-rim clearly remembered the question he had asked.
Also, the answer that Seo Hwa-kyung gave.
“And the teacher said that even if you try to read the future and change fate, some fates are nearly impossible to change.”
“Yes. For me, the Protectorate is that kind of destiny.”
Seo Hwa-kyung’s prediction of the future tells us what crossroads lie ahead and what obstacles lie ahead.
But what if every path ahead has pitfalls?
There was no way to get off the road itself, so we had no choice but to choose a less dangerous path among the ones with traps.
“I’ve created a clown group to try and change my fate, but my future is still dark. That’s why I didn’t tell you that I’m alive. If I told you, you would have said you’d join the clown group too.”
Seo Hwa-kyung still looked at Seo Kang-rim with a childlike gaze.
“I couldn’t stand to see my sons die in the protectorate.”
Seo Kang-rim was speechless when he saw Seo Hwa-kyung calling him her son.
Seo Hwa-kyung looked at him as if telling him to step aside.
But Seo Kang-rim had no intention of backing down.
“We may have been weak back then, but things are different now. If we help, we may be able to change fate.”
“That’s why I didn’t want to meet you, but it’s really strange. The future where I would meet you here today wasn’t read… … . I don’t know why this future happened.”
Hearing those words, Seo Kang-rim suddenly recalled his life before his return.
Did Seo Hwa-kyung come to the Messiah Monastery before her return?
Seo Hwa-kyung let out a long sigh.
“Just pretend you didn’t see anything from today and forget about it.”
“That can’t be. I too am being targeted by the Protectorate.”
“What? Why? They’re trying to scout you?”
“No. To be exact, I’m being targeted by a person named Baek Young.”
Seo Kang-rim said he saw the future and explained about Baek Young.
There is also talk that Baekyoung may be connected to the protectorate.
Seo Hwa-kyung’s expression became one of bewilderment.
“You’re going to have that kind of future? Come here for a moment. I need to take a look at you.”
Seo Kang-rim obediently extended his hand to Seo Hwa-kyung.
As she held his hand tightly, he felt something intervene in his soul.
The moment Seo Kang-rim accepted the intrusion, a strong spark rose from the hands they held.
“Ugh… … !”
“Teacher! Are you okay?”
Seo Hwa-kyung frowned while holding my hand.
In that short time, Seo Hwa-kyung’s hand was burning and scarred, with red blood dripping down.
However, Seo Hwa-kyung seemed more surprised than pained.
It was the first time in my life that I saw Seo Hwa-kyung so flustered.
“Your future is unreadable. This has never happened before… … . Why are the past and future flows distorted?”
“It’s distorted?”
“Yeah. This is a ridiculous flow. Time can only flow from the present to the future, but this is as if… … time has gone backwards.”
The moment I heard that time had gone backwards, the word regression immediately came to mind.
Seo Kang-rim literally returned from the future to the past.
While looking at the confused Seo Hwa-kyung, he was silent for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“That’s probably… …because I regressed.”
Seo Kang-rim had to persuade Seo Hwa-kyung and get her help.
It would be better to say that I experienced the future rather than to say that I saw the future.
Seo Hwa-kyung seemed to be greatly shocked by the word ‘regression’, but only then did she seem to understand.
She said, looking at her tattered hands.
“Yeah, that’s right. Actually, I’ve always thought it was strange. When I was young, the future I saw of you was actually living as a mediocre hunter. But you’ve become so strong… … .”
Seo Hwa-kyung looked at the most praised hunter standing in front of her.
Seo Kang-rim, the third-ranked person born with the weakest and most unfortunate fate.
What kind of things did Seo Kang-rim have to go through to get to this level?
Seo Kang-rim opened his mouth while facing Seo Hwa-kyung.
“The Protectorate is not just your enemy, Master, but an unusual opponent. Even if you are strong, you cannot stand against the Protectorate alone.”
Seo Hwa-kyung did not refute.
Because I know it’s impossible to do it alone.
But I didn’t want to put Seo Kang-rim in danger.
While she was silent, Seo Kang-rim’s voice was heard.
“The teacher said that some fates are nearly impossible to change. For the teacher, that fate is the protectorate.”
“… … .”
“That fate is Baekyoung to me. Even if I meet her again, there’s a high chance of me dying. If both you and I are going to die even if we struggle, wouldn’t it be better to struggle together and die?”
Seo Kang-rim was talking about dying together with a dry face.
But unlike his words, his eyes were so vivid and alive that I didn’t feel like I was going to die while listening to his story.
Looking at those eyes, Seo Hwa-kyung snickered.
“You’ve become more talkative since I last saw you, Kang-rim.”
Seo Hwa-kyung’s expression became much more relaxed.
She said, tapping Seo Kang-rim on the shoulder.
“Okay, I understand. I will cooperate with you. But there is a condition.”
“What is it?”
“How much do your colleagues know about this?”
Seo Kang-rim remained silent at those words.
Seo Hwa-kyung said as if she had known this would happen.
“Given your personality, you probably tried to solve it on your own without telling anyone.”
Seo Hwa-kyung, who had been watching Seo Kang-rim since she was young, knew him well.
No matter what happens, I am the type of person who never asks for help from those around me and always tries to shoulder the burden alone.
“I will cooperate with you. But you must tell your colleagues everything about your situation. And ask for their cooperation. That is my condition.”
