novel
| ← Ch.272 | Ch.274 → |
***
Ho Sung Lee was so bored he felt like he was going to die.
It was as if a bug was crawling through his head and his entire body.
On top of that, since he was in the middle of a white space, he was afraid his mind would blank out, and he was annoyed and in pain.
How long would he have to be here?
At this point, he was okay with going to Hell or the Demonic Realm as long as he could get out of here.
Meanwhile, a dark dot began to form in the white space and began to widen.
Then the white room slowly turned black as the light completely disappeared.
'Is it time for me to go to Hell or the Demonic Realm?'
Such thoughts scared him.
Just a minute ago, Ho Sung Lee wanted to go anywhere, but as soon as darkness fell, he suddenly missed the white space.
While his heart began to grow weak, a small light began to form from the middle.
The light grew larger, and then a bright light poured on Ho Sung Lee.
And at that moment...
Flash!
His consciousness drowned in the white light, and he felt himself getting sucked into somewhere.
At the same time...
Ho Sung Lee jolted his eyes wide open.
"Huff... ! Huff! Huff!"
Ho Sung Lee huffed and puffed like crazy.
He looked around him with big eyes.
The ground around him was in ruins and in the middle of it all was Min Sung standing with his arms crossed.
"Huff! Huff! Sir! Huff! How did this happen... ? Cough, cough!"
Ho Sung Lee coughed and stood up with his mind still confused.
Ho Sung Lee blinked his eyes dozens of times.
"Why am I alive? Is this a dream?"
"No, this is real life, " replied Min Sung.
Bowl crawled out of Min Sung's pocket. He landed on the ground. He looked up at Ho Sung Lee and snickered.
"How does it feel to come back to life after dying?" Bowl playfully asked.
But Ho Sung Lee still couldn't believe it was real.
He had been killed by Krok.
So how was he alive now?
"Bowl, did you bring me back to life with your Undead skill?" Ho Sung Lee asked with a shocked face.
That was the only explanation Ho Sung Lee could come up with.
Ho Sung Lee scanned his entire body.
But his body was free of wounds, and that was what was even weirder.
"Yeah, I did. So from now on, you're my undead, " replied Bowl.
"No way!"
Ho Sung Lee screamed. He grabbed his head with both hands and plopped down on his knees.
The slight of Ho Sung Lee's despair made Bowl shake his head and snicker.
"You damned Bowl! If I died, you should've just left me alone! How could you bring me back as an undead?! You damned Bowl!"
Ho Sung Lee grabbed Bowl by the neck and shook him.
"I saved you, " Min Sung said as he stared at Ho Sung Lee pathetically.
"... Sorry?"
Ho Sung Lee, who was shaking Bowl with tears in his eyes, stared at Min Sung with a confused look on his face.
"How?"
"I have the revival power."
"Revival power? Seriously?"
Ho Sung Lee could see that Min Sung wasn't lying from the look in his eyes.
"Wow, that's crazy... That means you're a god. Sir, you're a god now."
"Shut up and get up."
"Anyway, thank you."
Ho Sung Lee got up with Bowl's neck still in his hands and bowed.
"You startled me, you skeleton!"
Ho Sung Lee shook Bowl again, but Bowl snickered as if he was having fun on a roller coaster.
After putting Bowl down on the ground, Ho Sung Lee looked up at the starry sky and sighed.
"I really came back to life."
Ho Sung Lee continued to stare at the stars in the sky and let out a long sigh.
Ssol, who was playing nearby, ran over and rubbed his face on Ho Sung Lee to greet him.
***
They returned to Marie's house.
Krok had killed every single person in the village.
The same went for Marie.
Ho Sung Lee was happy he had come back to life, but his face fell heavy after finding out that everybody else had died.
"... We can't bring her back to life, right?"
In response to his hopeful question, Min Sung explained the conditions of his power.
"That makes sense... Even if you bring her back to life..."
Ho Sung Lee shook his head and trailed off.
That little girl wouldn't have been able to handle the fact that all of the villagers had died.
It was possible that living would have been Hell.
***
While Ho Sung Lee looked out the window while cooling off his coffee, Min Sung took out the scroll of paper that Krok gave him and looked over it.
Bowl sat on Min Sung's shoulder and looked with him.
As soon as he opened the scroll, he saw the names that were inside.
Since it was the 12 signs, a total of 12 names were written on it.
Every single name was so long that it was difficult to memorize them all.
And under some of the names were explanations, and through that, he was able to find out a few things.
First of all, the 12 signs were just a nickname for the players.
Second, it was a story about their activities.
There was a large territory fairly far away from where they were, and the 12 signs were the ones who ruled over that land.
That land was ruled over by a total of 12 players.
It seemed like each person ruled over one of the 12 cities, and seeing from the system map, they were all very large.
"... How troublesome, " mumbled Min Sung while looking at the scroll.
The fact that the land was vast meant that it would take a longer period of time.
Min Sung rolled up the scroll and put it back in his item window.
"Ho Sung."
Ho Sung Lee, who was sitting blankly, immediately woke up to Min Sung's calling.
"Yes, Sir."
Ho Sung Lee stood up with his hands put together.
"Let's eat."
"How about Korean food?"
"Sure."
Ho Sung Lee flashed a smile.
"I'll start preparing right away."
***
While he was trapped in the white space, Ho Sung Lee thought about what to make Min Sung if he happened to get the chance.
Since he had nothing to do, that was what came to mind.
There was one dish in particular that stood out, so Ho Sung Lee began to prepare it right away.
As Ho Sung Lee took out the ingredients and began cooking, the thought of Marie enjoying his food, smiling, and crying, pained him.
He tried to erase the memory from his head, but since she was a little girl, it was difficult.
He tried to slice the Kimchi, but his hands kept stopping as his mind drifted off.
Ho Sung Lee swallowed back his sadness. He got back to his senses and focused on his cooking.
***
"It's finished, " Ho Sung Lee said as he put the main dish in front of Min Sung.
This time, Ho Sung Lee made braised pork with aged Kimchi.
Large pieces of meat and aged Kimchi were boiling inside the pot.
White rice and braised pork with aged Kimchi.
There were only two dishes on the table, but in Min Sung's eyes, the meal was plentiful.
The meal looked so delicious that he drooled before taking a bite.
Min Sung picked up his chopsticks and picked up a piece of Kimchi.
The aged Kimchi had been set up perfectly.
Min Sung wrapped the aged Kimchi around some rice and put it into his mouth.
The sensation of the aged Kimchi being chewed in between his teeth was pleasurable and soft.
There were scents of the aged Kimchi and the meat inside, and the sweet and sour flavors of the aged Kimchi together with the white rice attacked his tastebuds.
Since the rice disappeared instantly, he began to eat faster and faster.
The way the aged Kimchi made the soft meat and white rice disappear in an instant made it taste addicting.
The aged Kimchi was almost like a sword.
It was so fast that it was hard to follow with eyes, and it emptied his mouth in a flash.
That was the magic of the aged Kimchi.
The meat was delicious as well, but Min Sung focused more on the aged Kimchi.
The meat was a little heavy on the stomach, but the aged Kimchi wasn't like that at all.
By putting a piece of Kimchi on top of the rice and sprinkling some of the juices on top, the hot pepper flakes spread throughout and the broth made it nice and moist, making it the most perfect food to eat.
Min Sung scooped it all into his mouth, naturally and softly as if it was a flowing river.
The bite of the braised pork with aged Kimchi was fantastic, and it allowed him to empty his bowl of rice in the blink of an eye.
"One more bowl."
In response to Min Sung's request, Ho Sung Lee immediately passed him some more rice as if he had been waiting.
***
After the delicious meal, Min Sung drank a cold Americano to settle his stomach and took some time to get some rest.
Once Ho Sung Lee finished the dishes, he came to Min Sung.
"Um, Sir."
"Why aren't you eating?"
"I don't have an appetite. Anyway, is it okay if I step out for a while?"
"Why do you need my permission for that? Where are you going?"
"I need to collect the bodies of the villagers that Krok killed. Marie is there, too."
Ho Sung Lee spoke carefully so that he didn't tick off Min Sung.
"Do what you want."
"Thank you. Can I bring Bowl with me?"
Min Sung nodded.
After paying his respects to Min Sung, Ho Sung Lee put the sleeping Bowl under his armpit and left the house.
It was night time.
Ho Sung Lee walked as he processed his emotions.
With the sleepy Bowl under his arm, he arrived at the scene of the festival in order to announce a new beginning to the villagers.
Ho Sung Lee looked at the bodies and the sight that resembled a tornado site. He then lit a cigarette in his mouth.
| ← Ch. 272 | Ch. 274 → |