Chapter 132 - Chapter 129: Episode 127 - Impatience
A woman who looked to be about twenty years old stretched, completely naked.
Next to her, a set of children's clothes—far too small to fit her—lay neatly folded.
Yena, looking relieved to finally be back in her original body, reached her arms toward the sky with a satisfied sigh.
'I used too much magic...'
She had burned through so much power to awaken her father's that she had to revert to her true form just to recover.
She stroked her chest, grateful that she no longer had to worry about hiding her true self now that she'd left that house for good.
Though she felt a sense of relief being away, her feelings toward Yu-rin remained complicated.
She couldn't forgive what Yu-rin had done to her father, Seon-ah.
And yet, she'd already forgiven her for the deception.
The memories they'd shared weren't a lie.
Those days had been real.
Yu-rin's moments of genuine sincerity had melted her heart.
'I wonder what she's doing right now...'
The thought of those days made her curious about Yu-rin's current life.
Part of her even longed to relive those happy moments.
But she quickly brushed the thought aside.
Feeling sorry for Yu-rin was one thing, but defending her would be a betrayal of her father, Seon-ah.
Yena prayed that one day her father would forgive Yu-rin, then carefully folded away those memories and tucked them into a corner of her heart.
.
.
.
Seon-ah had been struggling since dawn, trying to master his magic, but he was only exhausting himself.
A pale blue ripple leaked uselessly from his hands.
He couldn't stabilize the flow, so his power just bled away into nothing.
"Another... failure..."
He understood the theory, but no matter what he tried, the energy wouldn't hold.
"Yena and Sophia make it look so easy... Why can't I..."
Even his mother, Min-ah, had been able to wrap her body in magic before Sophia took over.
The realization left him depressed; he felt like he had absolutely no talent for this.
He'd asked Yena for help countless times, but it was always useless.
Yena had a natural instinct for magic, but she was terrible at explaining it.
'You just have to do it like this!'
'I'm telling you, you just have to fix it!'
She spoke entirely on intuition, which was impossible to follow when magic couldn't even be seen or measured.
"Haa..."
The cycle of failure was driving him insane.
"My magic is drained anyway... I think I'll go for a walk..."
Ever since he'd been awakened by Yena, he'd stopped hiding in his room and started becoming active again.
He'd always liked moving around, even back in the Demon World, where he'd traveled everywhere with Yena.
It was as if the frustration of being oppressed by Yu-rin and Miel for so long was finally manifesting as a desperate need to explore.
He told Yena and Yu-ra he was heading out and left in a hurry.
He planned to practice again once he'd recovered his energy, but for now, he just needed to clear his head.
The walk was just to shake off his gloom.
With that, Seon-ah opened the front door and stepped out to see how the streets had changed while he was gone.
.
.
.
Walking the streets on a weekday was rare for him, even before the Demon World.
It was quiet compared to the weekend, but still fairly crowded.
It was uncomfortable to feel the occasional predatory gaze—the kind that felt like they were licking him—but he could handle that much.
He ignored them and kept looking around.
He'd always wanted to walk these streets with Yena and show her the neighborhood he grew up in.
The thought of her not being there made his heart ache.
'It would have been nice if Yena could have come with me...'
But the magic she'd spent to awaken him had taken a heavy toll.
She was back in her true form, recovering, so he hadn't even considered asking her.
He could have forced her, but he didn't want to do that to his own daughter.
Doing so would only make him feel guilty.
'I came out to feel better, so why am I getting even more depressed? Just stop thinking about it...'
The stares from strangers and the thoughts of Yena were like thorns in his heart.
He forced himself to stop dwelling on it.
He wandered aimlessly, looking at the buildings and shops, trying to trigger old memories.
Restaurants his family used to frequent, his old school, the guys he used to call friends.
He lost track of time, letting the memories wash over him.
Feeling a bit more at peace, Seon-ah turned back.
It was a shame to go back to the grind of magic practice, but he had to do it to protect Yena.
It was the only way to stand against Sophia when she eventually returned.
With that resolve, he headed toward Yu-ra's house.
However, as he walked, a sense of unease crept over him.
As the streets grew emptier, he began to hear footsteps following him.
Every time he stopped, the footsteps stopped too.
He was certain someone was tailing him.
He looked back, but whoever it was was good at hiding.
The streets looked deserted, yet the sound of pursuit followed him every time he moved.
"..."
Anticipating trouble, Seon-ah reached for his phone to call Yu-ra.
Just then, the person following him stepped out and spoke.
"Um, by any chance... are you Seon-ah?"
The voice sounded familiar.
Seon-ah turned around.
It was a timid woman, someone with a soft heart—even weaker than him in this reversed world.
It was Hyun-ah.
Seon-ah relaxed.
She was the one stalking him, sure, but she was from the supply team. She couldn't possibly force him to do anything.
Once his guard was down, curiosity took over.
Why had she followed him?
"Did you follow me?"
He asked directly.
He was certain she had seen him and trailed him.
"That is... I saw you walking, Seon-ah... I wanted to say hello, but I was scared to face you..."
She looked apologetic, likely remembering the incident where she had violated him.
She seemed to feel a sense of camaraderie, glad to see him after so long.
He could understand that.
Back at the Han-il Guild, he'd learned about her personality, her rank, and her position.
She was a lot like him—someone who held back, swallowing her words and keeping her true feelings buried.
'That's probably why Yu-rin did that to her.'
"I see... It would have been better if you'd just said something right away..."
He said it to her, but it felt like he was talking to himself.
He'd decided to be friendly toward her because of that shared sense of camaraderie, but the words hit home.
"Th-that's right. I... I had something I wanted to tell you, Seon-ah... I've been thinking about it for a long time..."
Looking at her, he noticed something strange.
Her timid tone was the same, but she suddenly seemed like a different person.
She looked as if she were about to make a confession.
But Seon-ah couldn't finish that thought.
Hyun-ah suddenly lunged at him, covering his mouth with her hand and hugging him with crushing force.
"Because now, I only need you... No... If I have you, I can become the successor. I need you."
The shyness was gone.
Her face was twisted into a predatory smile, her mouth watering like she'd finally captured an innocent lamb, and he felt his body being squeezed tighter and tighter.
And just like that, Seon-ah lost consciousness.