7. Two Possessors (10)
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-Seong Masi-Woo: When I look through the chat room, there are a few Si-Woos I haven’t chatted with yet.
-Seong Masiu: What are these people?
-Zombie Siu: Aren’t you unable to chat at all?
-Seong Masiu: No way. Even in a vegetative state, you can chat as long as you are conscious.
-Zombie Siu: I don’t know. It’s like a test subject, so it might be unconscious, or it might not be in a normal state of consciousness like the fisherman.
-Seong Masiou: Well… I’m feeling a bit itchy to be a unicorn right now.
-Seong Masiu: This is a bit strange.
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*
Next day.
As always, Si-woo went to school with Seo-yeon. The two were lucky enough to have seats left, so they sat in front of each other, and Seo-yeon, who was sitting in front, turned around and started chatting with Si-woo.
The topic of conversation was mainly the performance evaluation that took place yesterday. The virtual battle evaluation itself is something that can only be done at prestigious academies like Stella Academy, and since it was Seoyeon’s first time experiencing it in person, she had a lot more to say.
“When I first encountered it… What should I say? To live? I felt the same thing. “When I first saw your eyes, I thought your heart would stop.”
“That’s right. “At first, I couldn’t believe that something like that existed in reality.”
There was still an aftereffect of shock in Siwoo’s voice as he answered.
The shock was great because Siwoo had thought of the academy world as a peaceful and comfortable world.
On the other hand, I was a little concerned that other Si-Woos had to risk their lives fighting against things like that.
“Right. “I heard there are a lot of such demons, especially in places like Amazon, and the people who work there seem to be really great.”
“So. “I should just live in a safe place for the rest of my life.”
“Me too.”
“But you got an A on the performance evaluation.”
“Huh? No, I was lucky with the team…”
“Well. No matter how I look at it, I think you did a good job?”
“Hi. “That’s right.”
As we continued to talk like that, the bus soon arrived in front of Stella Academy. Even after the two got off the train, their friendly atmosphere blossomed to the point where I wondered if this was actually their way to school.
On the other hand, in the classroom, there was Eugene, who was giving off a gloomy atmosphere that seemed to penetrate all the way to the basement. The dark circles under her eyes were evidence that she had not been able to sleep at all last night. To the point where Elia was shocked when she saw her appearance.
Si-woo, who arrived at the classroom, was equally surprised to see Eugene’s haggard face. I thought he would be in quite a bit of trouble, but I never thought it would go that far in just one night. Siwoo belatedly realized that Eugene’s feelings for Elia were deeper than what he had read.
Eugene must have felt Si-woo’s gaze, and slowly turned her head in Si-woo’s direction. Her sunken eyes showed lethargy caused by an overload of thoughts.
From Noble mtl dot com
-See you at lunch time.
As Yu-jin spoke with her mouth, Si-woo closed her mouth tightly and nodded her head.
This issue had no choice but to be resolved anyway.
*
＜Br＞
Lunchtime when all the other students are eating.
Only Siwoo and Yujin remained in the empty classroom. Si-woo was sitting on a chair with her arms crossed, and Eugene, who was looking at Si-woo with disapproval, struggled a few times and opened her mouth in a hoarse voice.
“Why?”
“… ?”
“Why is Elia broken?”
As Eugene said that, it seemed as if she would explode and oxidize if touched even slightly.
Seeing that dangerous look, Siwoo also carefully considered his answer. I wonder what I should say so that they will understand most clearly.
After much deliberation, what Siwoo chose was to talk about the most fundamental cause.
“Because Elia is the next saint.”
“This crazy… !”
As soon as Siwoo said the word ‘saint’, Yujin gasped in shock. When she found out that Elia was a saint, her reaction was even worse because Eugene had first-hand experience with the possible bad ending route.
Eugene, shocked, pressed himself against the desk and spoke almost in a whisper.
“Hey… ! Are you crazy? Why do you say that? “Don’t you know that’s a secret?”
“Are you okay. “I came to make a deal.”
“Negotiation? What… No, with whom?”
“National Intelligence Service. So you don’t have to worry about that.”
Siwoo spoke calmly and recalled yesterday’s conversation.
‘Teacher. ‘Can you trust the National Intelligence Service?’
‘If I see an NIS agent and ask if I can trust the NIS, what should I say?’
‘The question is, is it possible for not a single NIS agent to have different thoughts?’
‘…’
‘It hasn’t been a day or two since the National Intelligence Service had an accident, right?’
‘Well, I admit that I do a lot of stupid things. Still better than the CIA.’
‘Then tell me to stop wiretapping right now. The fewer people who know, the better the information is, so listen to it first and decide whether or not to report it to the National Intelligence Service.’
‘It’s hard to do that right now… Instead, I have another way.’
‘That’s fine too.’
In fact, she initially tried to hide Elia’s identity until the end. Even in the original work, only Eugene knew Elia’s identity until the end.
However, after some deliberation, we finally decided to make it public.
I thought there was no way that an agent of Cheolsu’s level would not be able to see through Siwoo’s lies, and even if Elia knew her identity, she was not someone the National Intelligence Service would dare to touch, and she was better off when she was not touched.
Since there are many terrorists in the world targeting the next saint, the biggest worry was that she might be transferred to another school for the sake of other students and national security, but fortunately, this matter was resolved through withdrawal and an amicable agreement.
They argued that if a future saint could experience even a little bit of Korean culture, she could be of help to the national interest.
“I’m still talking about using the soundproofing magic artifact I received when building the fence. So, you can speak more comfortably.”
“Whoa… Okay. That aside. So what’s wrong with Elia being a saint?”
“You really don’t know?”
“If you knew, would you ask?”
“You play so many games and still don’t know… “There is no way for Elia to repay your favor.”
Elia cannot accept Eugene’s feelings. Her false love is strictly forbidden by the Church of Eden.
But other than that, she had no way of repaying Eugene’s favor. Because Eugene wanted nothing else from Elia other than that.
That was the cause of all the problems.
“For me, it’s enough for Elia to be happy.”
“Well. Is that really the case? Will you still be able to say that after Elia leaves three years later? “Your favor has been fully repaid?”
“…”
“Ellia is not so foolish as to not know what you think. So even in the original, she somehow figured out a way to repay the favor, even if it meant circumventing it.”
“What is that?”
She said, “She shows who she is, not who she is, but who you think Elia is.”
More dependent, more immature, and more in need of Eugene’s help.
Showing something like that.
“That was the problem. Because you don’t know Elia very well. “Because the real Elia is different from what you want her to be.”
“I… !”
Eugene, who was about to get angry, was unable to continue his conversation and fell silent. This is why the story I heard during the last stray cat runaway incident seemed to overlap with the current story.
Hearing the same story again, I, as Eugene, felt something.
Siwoo looked down at Eugene, looked at the desk, and spoke quietly.
“Okay. The Elia you know is not the real Elia. Not knowing much about the world and being truly clueless are completely different things. Making Elia sad doesn’t necessarily have bad results. Because of the illusions and foolishness you have, the length of time for Elia to grow mentally in the original work-“
“… “Then what about me?”
A crying voice. Siwoo looked up at Eugene.
Her whole body was shaking like an aspen, as if she would collapse at any moment, and she was shedding tears of sadness as if she had lost her entire world.
“I endured it just by looking at Elia. She was able to survive thanks to Elia. Now if even Elia is not allowed to me. Then what about me? Where on earth am I supposed to find a reason to live?”
Then Eugene cried bitterly for a long time.
Siwoo had nothing to say about that, so he just quietly closed his eyes.
I hope that his discomfort will subside a little.
*
That night.
Eugene lay on her dorm bed and looked up at her ceiling. Low-resolution thoughts were floating in her dazed mind.
Does this mean wandering? Eugene said she felt like she had lost her way in an instant.
When she first became possessed by this world, she thought she could just live for Elia. Because that was something she didn’t want.
But when she first put that idea into practice, when a stray cat ran away, she failed for the first time, and now…
I couldn’t find out anything. What is right and what is wrong? Are her thoughts correct?
She was afraid to approach Elia because she was not sure if her actions were really good for him. I wonder if Siwoo’s prophecy will actually come true. He was afraid that he would see a broken Elia.
So Eugene just told Elia, who was worried, that she was okay, and locked her in the dormitory, where she suffered alone.
But despite the pain, she couldn’t find an answer.
She suddenly felt that this world was unfamiliar. She felt as if she had been left alone in an unfamiliar place.
An emotion as an outsider that she had never felt because she had only ever looked at Elia.
Perhaps this feeling was the fate of the possessed.
At the moment when that empty loneliness was eating away at Eugene’s heart, a call came on Eugene’s phone. It was a phone call from my mother that came every other day.
It was an uncomfortable phone call for Eugene, but he eventually answered the call. Because it was obvious that she would do more if she didn’t take it.
-Hello?
“… Hello?”
-Huh. My daughter Why is my voice so weak? Is it very difficult?
“No, I’m just a little tired…”
-Isn’t that a tired voice? Is something very bad happening?
“… “It’s not like that.”
-Okay. Then you don’t have to say anything. Because everyone has stories that are difficult to tell.
And what her mother said next.
It was so kind and warm that it brought me to tears.
– Instead, when you are really having a hard time. When you feel like the whole world is your enemy and there is no one on your side. Don’t forget that your mom is on your side even then.
That’s why Eugene felt even more resentful.
She realizes that she is not the ‘real Eugene’.