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Chapter 248

"No, uh, I don’t want to cry. I just... why is this happening..." In-Ah blurted out.

Sun-Woo remained silent. He simply looked at the crying In-Ah.

She tried to hold back her tears, but they wouldn’t stop. She hurriedly went to the restroom. She stopped crying only after washing her face.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red. She still couldn\'t figure out why she had cried. Was it because she was envious of Sun-Woo doing better on the test than her? Or was it because she hadn’t achieved the results she had hoped for despite her efforts? Was it the regret of not coming in first if she hadn\'t collapsed on the last day of the test?

She thought about it, but none of these reasons could accurately explain why she had burst into tears. In-Ah wiped her face dry and left the restroom. Right when she was about to pretend nothing had happened and step back into the classroom, she stopped in her tracks.

"Ha."

She didn\'t want to go back there. Embarrassment caught up to her when she burst into tears, and above all, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to control her expressions. She thought that she might cry again if she looked at Sun-Woo.

Maybe it would be better to go to the teacher\'s office and ask for an early dismissal.

"Where are you going?"

As she passed by the classroom towards the teacher\'s office, she happened to run into Sun-Woo coming out of the classroom. His expression was neutral, neither happy nor sad.

It seemed he wasn’t happy at all, even when he had earned the top seat in the midterm exams. In-Ah had been in that situation before, where she had put in too much effort, so no matter how good the results were, she would think nonchalantly, ‘I got what I worked for.’

Perhaps Sun-Woo had studied and worked harder than anyone else during the time he hadn’t shown up at school. However, In-Ah didn\'t want to acknowledge that. She wanted to believe that she had worked harder than anyone else.

"Why do you want to know?" In-Ah replied curtly.

It wasn\'t Sun-Woo\'s fault. The reason she hadn’t been able to secure the top spot was simply because she had lacked in her efforts and hadn\'t properly managed her conditions until the last day of exams.

In-Ah was well aware of this. However, she couldn’t help but blame and resent Sun-Woo. She wanted to belittle his efforts when she knew nothing about how hard he had worked. At the same time, she felt pathetic and miserable for having such thoughts.

"What do you mean, why would I want to know..? I was just asking a question." Sun-Woo replied, somewhat flustered as if making an excuse.

In-Ah silently watched his reaction. Hearing the aggressive words ‘Why do you want to know?’ would have made anyone angry, but she was impressed that he had held back his anger. His patience just made In-Ah even more miserable.

"Why ask if you\'re not even curious?"

"I asked because I am curious."

"Are you? Do you even want to know me better?" In-Ah\'s tone was particularly aggressive.

Her emotions overwhelmed her, sharpening her words.

‘This shouldn\'t be happening. This wasn\'t his fault...’ she thought every time she spoke aggressively to Sun-Woo. Yet, she couldn\'t keep her mouth shut.

"Why are you pretending to be interested now? Do I look pitiful in your eyes? Have you ever looked at me straight until now?"

"..."

"No, am I even visible to you?" In-Ah spat out words as they came to her mind, not even knowing what she was saying.

She was simply anxious. Sun-Woo had always excelled in many fields. From practical exams to training, he lacked in no area. He even performed public services such as rescuing lives outside of school. Many students looked up to him.

On the other hand, In-Ah lacked in many areas. She was average in practical skills and training. The only thing she was good at was studying, so she devoted herself to it even at the expense of her health. However, she lost to Sun-Woo in studying, too. She no longer had any edge to be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him. She no longer had a reason to be friends with him.

Even if their relationship grew distant, In-Ah was the one who would take a loss, not Sun-Woo. That thought made her anxious and mad.

Sun-Woo’s expression suddenly hardened. "Did you hope I would fail the exam?"

It was almost as if he could see what was going on in In-Ah\'s mind.

In-Ah was surprised to see that expression, but at the same time, she was also angry.

‘Yes, you can make that expression because you have nothing to lose,’ she thought with a sense of wonder and childishness.

Sun-Woo approached In-Ah. She stepped back in surprise. The distance between them was close.

He glared at In-Ah menacingly. "Did you want to come and comfort me while I was whimpering about failing my exams? Or did you want me to revere you for doing well on the exam?"

"..."

"Do you wish I was lacking so that I would rely on you?"

It wasn\'t like that. In-Ah didn\'t want Sun-Woo to rely on her. She simply wished he wouldn\'t leave her behind. However, she felt anxious because she no longer had any advantage to hold onto him. In-Ah didn\'t possess one of the Seven Holy Names like Jin-Seo or Ha-Yeon, nor did she have any exceptional qualities. She wanted to say that, but the words wouldn\'t come out.

"Did you talk to me out of pity when you first approached me?"

"..."

"Did you talk to me because I was always alone and had made a mistake during the practicals? Did you talk to me out of pity? Out of sympathy?"

She hadn’t. She had talked to him back then because their way back home had been the same. At that time, she didn’t know their relationship would lead to so many expectations and disappointments.

Perhaps Sun-Woo wasn’t looking for anything at all. Maybe it was only In-Ah who had hoped and expected something from the other party. Her pride was hurt. Unidentifiable emotions bubbled within her.

"Yeah, I talked to you because I felt bad. It seemed like no one would be your friend other than me," In-Ah said, glaring at Sun-Woo.

These weren’t her true feelings. The sole purpose of these words was to hurt Sun-Woo.

Sun-Woo widened his eyes in surprise. He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

"Apologize for what you just said."

"No. I wasn’t the only one in the wrong."

"Don\'t regret it later."

"I won\'t. I absolutely won\'t. Even if you tell me to, I won\'t." In-Ah said.

She thought that after hurting Sun-Woo, the bubbling, unknown emotions inside her would dissipate a little, but that was not the case. Instead, the feeling in her chest grew bigger.

"Yeah, let’s see about that," Sun-Woo said and started walking away.

In-Ah thought about trying to catch up with him, but his steps were too fast to follow.

"What have I done?"

In-Ah looked at the hallway where Sun-Woo had been. Despite claiming not to regret her choice, she already regretted what she had said. She felt empty rather than relieved after spitting out words carelessly while her emotions swept her up.

***

"Damn it."

I had reported that I would be leaving school early in a fit of anger. It was too late, but I regretted what I had said to In-Ah. I could have endured it, but I had been too emotional instead.

Ironically, I told her not to regret her decision, yet I was the one regretting mine.

[Do you feel relieved now that you’ve poured out your emotions?] Legba asked when we were almost at the underground chapel.

I shook my head. "I don\'t know why I said that."

[You were probably expecting a reward subconsciously. A reward for the effort that you put into her sister.]

I closed my mouth. He was right. I had nothing to say.

I had desperately tried to treat Yoon-Ah. I vomited blood on a daily basis and collapsed multiple times from excessive use of the reverse spell technique. Ji-Ah had called my actions not effort but sacrifice. She told me that I needed to put in effort, but I did not need to make sacrifices.

"I guess so. I shouldn’t have."

[There\'s nothing wrong with feeling that way. It\'s natural to expect a reward proportional to the effort you put in,] Legba said calmly.

[You just chose the wrong person to claim your rewards from.]

"..."

He was right. It was inevitable to have hope that my efforts would be rewarded. However, my mistake was looking at In-Ah for that reward.

In-Ah didn\'t know what efforts I was making for her sister. She couldn\'t have known because I never told her. I couldn\'t tell her, not yet.

Regardless, I still looked for a reward from In-Ah. I secretly hoped that she would acknowledge my efforts. I thought that she shouldn’t be angry at me when I worked so hard for In-Ah and her sister. I thought I was in the right for compensation. I had been in the wrong. I had to apologize soon.

"You\'re here early again today."

Ji-Ah greeted me as usual when I set foot into the underground chapel. Uncle wasn\'t there, and Soo-Yeong was eating quietly at the table. Judging by her dark expression, something was wrong. But I didn\'t feel like asking, so I just passed by.

Holding my staff, I entered the room where Yoon-Ah was. It had become a routine now: I would unleash Voodoo magic, cast the reverse spell technique, and ask Yoon-Ah a few questions to check how she was doing.

Her condition hadn\'t improved, but I didn\'t give up. I believed that if I didn\'t give up, things would eventually get better. The best reward I could hope for was for Yoon-Ah to get better and reunite her with In-Ah.

"..."

To achieve that, I had to heal Yoon-Ah first. Then, I needed to find a way to reconnect In-Ah to Yoon-Ah smoothly.

I had a plan. I told the Paladin Order that I wanted to participate in the long-term missing persons search operation, so I would soon be able to help out in their searches.

When that time came, I would instruct one of Yuk Eun-Hyung\'s mercenary corps members to escort Yoon-Ah and get them to hide in a building. I would then enter the building and rescue Yoon-Ah completely by chance.

The reason I had the mercenary corps member escort Yoon-Ah was because it seemed more natural that way. Yoon-Ah was in decent condition because she had been under my and Ji-Ah’s care. Someone kidnapping and raising her would make more sense than her wandering lost on the streets for months.

[You have a lot to prepare for.]

"You’re right."

As Legba said, I had much to prepare for the plan. Even if I hurried, it would take at least a week to get everything in order. Since we didn’t know when Yoon-Ah would recover, we need to start preparing slowly from now on.

But realistically, it seemed like we could prepare leisurely. Yoon-Ah didn\'t seem like she would recover any time soon.

Thud.

At that moment, the staff struck the ground by itself.

"Huh?"

Before I could be surprised, the staff emitted a purple light. I felt something draining from my body. The staff was siphoning Voodoo magic from my body like crazy.

"This crazy stuff! Not again!"

Thud, thud, thud...

The staff struck the ground several times as if it were angry. Then, it drew a spell array on its own. The flowing Voodoo mist covered Yoon-Ah\'s body, and she calmly accepted the mist. I tried my best to control the staff, but it didn\'t listen to me at all and continued to strike the ground several more times.

I only realized later that the Voodoo mist also swept me away.

Splash.

I could hear the sound of water dripping down. At the same time, my field of vision turned black. The pitch-black darkness that obscured my view gradually dissipated, revealing an unfamiliar landscape.

\'Unnie, I\'ll be back in a moment. I’m just going in front...\'

\'Who are you? Wait, who are you? No...!\'

\'Unnie, unnie!\'

These were Yoon-Ah’s memories from just before she was kidnapped.

Her other memories unfolded in front of me as well. The day when she had gone on a spring picnic with In-Ah. The day she had walked home from school together with In-Ah, telling her about what had happened at school. The day the two had fought over who would eat the chicken drumstick.

In Yoon-Ah\'s memory, In-Ah was often smiling. Unlike the smile she had shown me up until now, her smile then was endlessly bright, pure, and clean. I wandered through Yoon-Ah\'s memories for a while. Although it was a very short time, I caught a glimpse of her entire life.

Until now, Yoon-Ah had been happy and should have stayed happy—if only Han Su-Yeop\'s Voodoo Revival Church hadn’t kidnapped her.

"..."

When I opened my eyes, tears dripped down my cheeks. Yoon-Ah had lost consciousness and collapsed. As I approached to check on her condition, I stopped in my tracks.

Her skin, which had been overly pale with prominent blue veins, had regained a normal complexion like that of any other ordinary person. Before fully grasping the situation, Legba spoke up.

[She lost consciousness due to the sudden rush of memories.]

"..."

[When she wakes up, she\'ll be a person, not a zombie.]

"When will she wake up...?"

[Probably in three days,] Legba said.

In three days, Yoon-Ah would fully recover and regain consciousness. From then on, Yoon-Ah would no longer be a zombie. She would remember everything she heard and saw, just like an ordinary person.

[It seems like you have to get everything ready in three days.]

If I delayed the preparation, Yoon-Ah might find out that I was the Cult Leader of the Voodoo Cult. If that happened, then I couldn\'t reunite Yoon-Ah with In-Ah.

There was no time.