Waiting For Your Reincarnation

Yeon-Young opened her palm and squeezed and released it a few times. 

 

Suddenly, the power core that connected her to Zhaolin was no longer visible.

 

She tapped her shoulder.

 “Ms. Zhaolin, you need to wake up.” “Ugh.” 

Yeon-Young’s squeaky voice echoed through the pit. 

 

Zhaolin’s brow furrowed and she cradled her head in her hands.

 

Yeon-young checked her carefully to make sure she wasn’t injured in any other way, then slowly helped her to her feet.

 “Are you awake?” “What? Why are we here?” “We fell into a sinkhole. I guess it wasn’t as deep as it looks from above. Are you hurt anywhere?” “What I mean is, why are you down here, weren’t you supposed to go to the center?” “Oh… I fell down too.” “Ha, seriously, you’re useless… If you had followed your principles in the first place, none of this would have happened.” 

Standing up, Zhaolin put her hands on her waist and looked at the height of the pit.

 

Sitting on the ground, Yeon-young thought about the word principle. 

 

Fragments of the memory of what she had seen while running towards Zhaolin came back to her.

 

How Zhaolin had lost her twin brother because she hadn’t followed her principles. 

 

Yeon-young wondered if the pain remained in the heart even when the memory was lost.

 

Only now did she understand Zhaolin’s soul a little better.

 “I was wrong.” 

Yeon-young apologized for not fulfilling her responsibilities as a team member. 

 

Zhaolin, not expecting her to apologize, coughed and looked away.

 “Next time, follow the rules. Do you understand?” “I can’t make any guarantees or promises.”

she replied.

 “So you’ve decided to ignore what your boss says now?” “To be honest, I don’t like you that much either, but still…” 

Yeon-young hesitated, biting her lip a little as if embarrassed, then clenched her fist and held it out in front of her.

 “I don’t want to pretend that I don’t know what I’m doing when my teammate is in danger, so I’ll do everything in my power to save you if the situation comes up again.” 

Looking into Yeon-young’s eyes, so bright and full of life, Zhaolin felt nostalgic.

 

Looking at her eyes, smooth and beautiful like black pearls, Zhaolin clenched her fist as if mesmerized by something.

 

And when Zhaolin met her fist with Yeon-young, Zhaolin’s necklace responded with a glow.

 

***

 “Elpias.” 

In the darkness of the night, Zhaolin could see the room of Elpias, her twin brother.

 

She didn’t even look surprised when the cloaked figure stepped through the window unnoticed.

 

She stiffened at the sight of a face that bore an uncanny resemblance to her own.

 “It looks like the enemy has targeted Elita as you suspected, and I’m afraid we’ll end up at the Telene border this time.” “Good work.” 

The cloaked man bowed once, then stepped back out the window.

 

Elpias sat on the other side of the window, clad only in his nightgown, letting the cold breeze blow in and collecting his thoughts.

 

After a long moment of silence, he stood up and closed the window.

 “I think we should switch places.” 

The amber necklace around Elpia’s neck sparkled in the starlight of the night sky.

 

Yeon-young let out a puzzled breath as she pulled her fist away from Zhaolin’s, while Zhaolin stared at the necklace in the air with grave eyes.

 “I wonder how Elpias’ memories of… Ah. I’ve been wearing this necklace since I first came here.” 

The context of his memory finally made sense.

 

If Zhaolin had always worn Elphias’ belongings, he would have come here in the same outfit after his death.

 

She had spent many years with him, even though she had lost her memory.

 

Strangely, she wanted to keep this necklace.

 “Elpias.” 

There was a hint of bitterness in Zhaolin’s voice as she spoke his name, a resentment at how she could forget it.

 “You’ve read the memories of it.”

Zhaolin said.

 

The confusion in her eyes told Yeon-young that she had regained all her memories of her former life.

 “Ms. Zhaolin, you have your memories back, right?” “Yes. I remember everything in vivid detail.” 

Zhaolin sat down on the floor and rubbed her face roughly with both hands.

 

It was as if she was slowly burying the emotions that rose from the deepest depths.

 

Yeon-Young rose from her seat and sat down on Zhaolin’s left side, patting her on the back.

 “I finally understand why you reincarnate so quickly.” “Why?” “From the moment I remember, I feel like everything from my past life is weighing me down. It’s painful to realize that I’ve been so comfortable for so long, forgetting my loved one.” “His death wasn’t your fault, Ms. Zhaolin, it was just a choice he made to save your life.” “…” “I believe Mr. Elpias would have made the same choice I did, given the same circumstances.” 

Before she knew it, the necklace had descended from the air. ZHaolin gripped the amber necklace tightly, then released it.

 

As her eyes cleared, Yeon-Young dusted herself off and stood.

 

It was time to work together and figure out how to get out of this pit.

 “Come on, get up. We have to get out of here, reincarnation or not.” 

Zhaolin agreed with Yeon-Young’s logic and stood up, her fingers tracing the wall.

 

Watching her, Yeon-Young suddenly had a question.

 “But why is your name Sun Zhaolin?” “What?” “I thought you weren’t Asian in a previous life, your name is Elita?” “That’s right. Elita Ware. My name is Chairman… whatever. Does it matter?” “It doesn’t.” 

Yeon-Young scratched her cheek lightly with her hand, breathing in and out. For some reason, the air in the sinkhole felt different.

 

Whereas before it had felt stale and stifling, with the air blocked on all sides, now she could smell the fresh, circulating air from outside.

 

Removing her hand from the wall, Zhaolin spoke.

 “I don’t think I have all my memories back.” “What?” “I just don’t remember my master’s face. He seems to have been quite important to Elpias and me.” 

Suddenly, she realized why she couldn’t see the Emperor’s face in her memories: she couldn’t see it because Zhaolin couldn’t remember it.

 

She blinked slowly, trying to remember him.

 “I wonder what kind of man he is.” “He was a man who was not blinded by power, and who strove to make the right choices, which made him so beautiful. One that Elpias and I would be honored to serve.” 

At the memory of the Emperor, Zhaolin smiled very faintly.

 

Even though she, a person of the 21st century, knew nothing about him, she felt as if she knew what he was like.

 

Even hearing it from Zhaolin’s mouth, she could feel how great the Emperor was.

 BANG! 

At that moment, a loud boom rang out above her head.

 

After the explosion passed, the black smoke that covered the ground slowly dissipated.

 

It only lightened slightly, like white paint, but it didn’t disappear completely.

 “The smoke is going away.” 

It was a relief to see a little more clearly. 

 

Zhaolin twisted her wrist this way and that, hiding Yeon-Young behind her back. 

 

She was ready to use her powers if necessary.

 

***

 “Don’t go in this time. It could be very dangerous.” 

Zhaolin was not wrong.

 

There was another explosion, and the sinkhole shook violently. 

 

She realized that someone was deliberately trying to break it open.

 

Dark blue flames rose in her palm. Yeon-young tensed as well, preparing herself for the coming danger.

 “Huh?” “What’s wrong?” “I can see the sky.” 

Sunlight poured into the sinkhole. 

 

Yeon-young stared blankly into the warmth of the light.

 

The atmosphere was peaceful despite the imminent situation.

 

She tilted her head back to absorb more sunlight. 

 

Then a refreshing, light breeze wrapped around her body. It was a familiar breeze.

 “Ms. Zhaolin, don’t you feel that breeze?” “What breeze are you talking about?” 

As Zhaolin answered her question, the sound of the wind could be heard in the sky.

 

Someone was standing at the mouth of the sinkhole.

 

It took one look at the bottom of the sinkhole and jumped in without hesitation.

 

When Yeon-young saw someone falling further and further with its back to the sun, she stretched out her arms and pushed forward.

 “It’s dangerous.” “No, we know him.” 

The face shadowed by the backlight became clearer as they closed the distance.

 

For a moment, she could see the fear in his eyes dissipate like smoke when he spotted Yeon-young.

 

He used the wind to slow his descent and reached for her hands.

 

Hot, hard fingers intertwined. Soon he had Yeon-young in his arms, holding her tightly.

 

Ryu Won had come to her aid.

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