(TL: No Eminem jokes, please!)
Even if he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again….
Even if he deactivated and then reactivated Nine Eyes….
It remained the same no matter how many times he repeated those actions.
The contract with Kim Hahn-Nah"s name on it glowed in a golden hue, while Sinyoung"s was devoid of any.
"And why are you s.h.i.+ning in gold, of all things…?"
He got to learn a new fact that this "Golden Commandment" didn"t only apply to humans, but to objects, too.
In any case, he couldn"t be sure of what to do here, based only on what he was seeing and hearing.
He lacked enough information to make up his mind on one contract, while for the other one, he couldn"t even figure out what it all meant.
He couldn"t be sure of anything, but….
"I"ll sign on this one." (Seol)
After a lengthy deliberation, Seol chose Kim Hahn-Nah"s contract.
"Huh?"
s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung"s expression showed how stunned he was by Seol choice.
"Ahh!"
Meanwhile, Yun Seo-Rah was completely taken by surprise and became quite fl.u.s.tered.
"Can you tell us the reason?" (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung raised his voice, and Kim Hahn-Nah didn"t try to stop the curly-haired youth. Instead, she lowered her head a little as her expression hardened, showing how shocked she was at the moment. Of course, she was putting on a performance, though.
"Do you not like the terms offered?" (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
"No, that"s not actually it. Your terms are so amazingly good that it"s to the point where I"m feeling burdened by their weight." (Seol)
"It is alright if you are honest with us. Such as, if there"s a clause that you don"t like, or…." (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
"Not at all. I"m truly grateful that you have evaluated me so highly. However…." (Seol)
As Seol blurred the ends of his sentence, he sneaked a glance in Kim Hahn-Nah"s direction. He only continued on after confirming the corners of her lips arching up ever so slightly.
"….I"ve a certain personal reason for this choice. I can only feel remorse at refusing to sign such a wonderful contract. Not to mention, I should apologise to you as well." (Seol)
He tried to condense his explanations to as few a word as possible. His considered but firm refusal implied that they should stop here before things got any more awkward than necessary.
s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung of course knew that, but he couldn"t back off like this. He leaned forward with a determined expression on his face.
"Please, hear me out. It would be a lie if we didn"t consider your future potential, but more than that, we also truly appreciate what you"ve done for us." (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
"Sinyoung is an organisation that strictly rewards those who deserve it. Especially, your selfless actions of aiding this Miss, the last born of the President, we will definitely not forget about it. And actually, there are quite a few of us looking at you favourably within the organisation, too. Myself included." (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
The sweet words of temptation began pouring out from s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung"s honey-dipped tongue. Too bad for him, Kim Hahn-Nah had already placed her hand on one of the contracts.
"Doesn"t that also mean there are some people who don"t want me there, too?" (Seol)
He had roughly figured out that the relations.h.i.+p between Yun Seo-Rah and Sinyoung was a complicated one.
Out of the blue, Seol felt the sensation of touch softly wrapping around his right arm.
"Go with us, please…." (Yun Seo-Rah)
A pleading voice entered his ear ca.n.a.ls. Yun Seo-Rah"s stare trying to penetrate into Seol"s soul was dyed in the emotions of anxiety.
"I, I"ll do my best…." (Yun Seo-Rah)
"Your best in what exactly….?" (Seol)
What could she even mean by that? Seol reined a fit of laughter almost breaking out of his mouth. Yun Seo-Rah"s expression was far too serious for him to use a smile as his reply.
"This is a meaningless dilemma, isn"t it?" (Seol)
He didn"t base his decision on Nine Eyes. And no, he didn"t rely on his emotions, nor on logic, either.
However, there was this one reason, something hard to describe in mere words.
"….Gula."
[Come closer, my child….] ….The lingering memories from that dream. By this time, he had almost forgotten most of the contents. But the last moments still remained vivid in his head.
The final moments. The man he suspected to be himself made a request, yet it was denied. But in the end, Seol received "emotions" in the form of a dream.
He was curious. He wanted to find out how the request of his dream version was met.
Of course, that wasn"t all. He took into consideration both the warnings of Kim Hahn-Nah, as well as the golden stamp belonging to the temple of Gula.
Also, there was this hard-to-understand fear in his heart that, once he signed up with Sinyoung, he"d get to live a life that was not much different to the one he experienced in the dream.
He sure as h.e.l.l didn"t want to be abused like a slave, and also didn"t really feel like being used as well.
Even if the road ahead might get hard and arduous, he wanted to live this life on his own terms.
So, he just had to shake his head to say no.
"We, we can really treat you well…." (Yun Seo-Rah)
Yun Seo-Rah"s voice entering his ears sounded more tearful than before. s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung let off a soft sigh.
"Why don"t we do this, then?" (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Just as Seol picked up the pen with some difficulty, Kim Hahn-Nah broke her silence and spoke up.
"Give us some time." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
"Time?" (Seol)
"Yeah. Well, we will need some time to adjust the contract, and you"ll also need more time to dwell on things, right? And, you also need to go back home, too." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol was about to sign on the dotted line, but the mere mention of "home" sobered him right away.
"Home."
He realised that over three months had pa.s.sed by already. What happened back home on Earth? His family? What about Yu Seon-Hwah? Were they worried about him after he disappeared without telling them anything?
"That"s right. It"s not a bad idea to give yourself some time to think things over." (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung quickly voiced his opinion.
Seol nodded his head to express his consent. Kim Hahn-Nah pocketed the contracts and stood up from her seat.
"Seol and I will be heading to the temple, but what about you two?" (Kim Hahn-Nah)
"I shall take Miss Yun back to Sinyoung"s HQ. After all, the President is waiting for her there. We"ll just go our separate ways at the city of Scheherazade." (s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung)
As s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung stood up, Seol too vacated his seat. He hadn"t a clue on what this temple and that Scheherazade were all about, but it seemed that he could go home for sure.
When he looked around, the negotiation talks were still ongoing everywhere.
He couldn"t spot s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah anywhere; Hyun Sahng-Min was in the middle of an important-looking talk, his arms moving about to ill.u.s.trate his points.
Yi Surl-Ah was also in the middle of a lengthy talk with an unknown male. When her gaze met Seol"s, she tried to stand up from her seat, but he simply waved his hand at her to indicate she shouldn"t. He didn"t want to interrupt her negotiation, after all. She must"ve understood his intentions, because she sat back down while giggling to herself.
"Should we wait for them?" (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah asked him, but Seol slowly shook his head.
It wasn"t as if he didn"t want to be around them anymore, but…. Their own paths were being laid out now, and he didn"t want to insert himself into their lives when it wasn"t really necessary anymore.
"I"m sure we will see each other again." (Seol)
As long as they survived, they should, in the future.
Seol took in the sights of the Neutral Zone for one last time, before slowly turning around to leave.
Since he heard that the method of transportation was a carriage, he thought it would be nothing more than a wooden cart being pulled by a couple of horses. But he got a pretty big surprise after seeing the actual thing.
This four-wheeled carriage was far closer to a luxury coach as it was covered in all four sides.
Seol dazedly stared at the leather and velvet-like fabric covering the roof section, before s.h.i.+fting his curious gaze over to four strange animals tied to the front of the coach and studied them with some interest.
Their overall appearance was similar to a horse, but their sharp ears and humped back gave off an impression of a camel, instead.
s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung forced the two people tied up near the driver"s seat of the coach to drink a certain substance, and in the meantime, Kim Hahn-Nah climbed aboard.
"What are you two doing? Come on up." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol and Yun Seo-Rah exchanged glances as they climbed aboard the coach. There were two bench seats facing each other inside.
Kim Hahn-Nah parked her rear on the spot facing Seol, while Yun Seo-Rah sat down right next to the youth.
Shortly afterwards, Kim Hahn-Nah closed the door, and body of the coach shook a little, indicating that they were setting off. It only shook around in the beginning, and once they were on the move, the ride had become much more comfortable.
When they gained some speed, Kim Hahn-Nah opened her mouth.
"We will need around 40 minutes to get to our destination. We just have to travel along the path of Zahrah, you see." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
"Zahrah?" (Seol)
"It"s just the name of a road leading to Scheherazade. Don"t worry about it, though! I haven"t heard of news of monsters or other races attacking travelers on the Zahrah for the past year or so." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol tilted his head slightly. He still had no idea what was what, but these were things he had to learn about eventually.
*SFX for hooves beating on the ground*
The coach speedily crossed the barren wasteland. During the ride, Seol was kept entertained by his companions.
Kim Hahn-Nah told him to let her know the place on Earth he wanted to teleport back to as soon as they arrived at their destination, before explaining things such as what he had to do after arriving there, the method of coming back once back on Earth, etc, etc.
There were many things that caught Seol"s interest among them. And one of those was the revelation that the flow of time here was different to that of Earth"s with the ratio of 3:1.
Meaning, Seol spending three months inside the Neutral Zone would equate to a month on Earth.
Besides those, Kim Hahn-Nah also talked about stuff that could be brought back from Earth to Paradise. And, perhaps staying vigilant of Yun Seo-Rah"s presence, she didn"t forget to sell Sinyoung"s advantages every now and then as well. Every time that happened, Yun Seo-Rah looked at him with pleading eyes and/or tried to encourage his decision making with her soft voice. Seol couldn"t help but feel a bit of pressure from this approach.
"Looks like we"re almost there." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah opened the coach"s door and peeked outside before muttering out.
Seol too peeked his head out past the open door, and as fierce winds whipped his hair about, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
The enormous earth-coloured fortress walls blindingly reflected the sunlight as they stood tall.
After confirming Seol"s expression, a smile crept up on Kim Hahn-Nah"s face.
"Welcome to Scheherazade." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
The coach slowed down and continued on for another five minutes after going past the tall wall"s entryway, before eventually coming to a halt.
They then heard light knocks against the door, and s.h.i.+n Hahn-Sung"s voice telling them that they had arrived.
"We should disembark here, then." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah sent him a signal with her eyes and climbed out of the coach first.
Seol was about to follow after her, only to promptly realise why she sent him such a signal. Yun Seo-Rah was still holding onto his arm, that was why.
"I should get going now. Thank you for the past three months. It"s been fun." (Seol)
How could she block him, since he was trying to go home? When he carefully extracted his arm, she didn"t try to stop him. But, only until his wrist, though.
Just as Seol"s right hand was about to leave her grasp, she carefully held onto him.
"Uhm…." (Yun Seo-Rah)
"M, Miss Yun Seo-Rah?" (Seol)
"….I"d like to see you again." (Yun Seo-Rah)
Unlike before, she let her desire be heard in a clear voice.
The first time he met her, her eyes seemed so cold and distant, yet for them to be this wet with emotions - Seol felt rather lost and hesitated slightly.
"Yes, me too." (Seol)
Only then did she let his arm go. She never stopped looking at him even until the moment he finally left the coach for good. Seol closed the door behind him while licking his dried lips.
"It"s like I"m abandoning a kid or something…." (Seol)
The coach started and moved away. Seol"s gaze continued to linger on the back of the coach as it slowly gained distance, before turning away to take in the sights of Scheherazade, the most prosperous city within the territory controlled by humanity.
Kim Hahn-Nah was waving her hand at him from the top of a stone staircase. And Seol could see behind her a spire so tall and upright, it seemed to pierce the heavens above.
While mounting the steps, Seol realised that the spire, or the tower, was made up of a strange construction material that emitted this pale hue that didn"t seem quite right to be called white.
"That is the temple of Luxuria. Out of the seven G.o.ds, she"s the one in charge of healing skills used by the Priests." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Upon hearing that, Seol could see that countless people going in and out of the entranceway supported by huge pillars. Most of them were wearing the same ice-white robe Maria wore when she prepared herself for the Ceremony.
"In that case, could Maria be still here?" (Seol)
"I think she"s already left, though? Well, her recovery has ended already, and she can"t return to the Neutral Zone, anyways." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
"Okay. To where?" (Seol)
"To the South." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah waltzed straight past the entrance. Upon entering, Seol was greeted by long corridors to both his sides, and in front, a slightly darkened a.s.sembly hall. He spotted a woman sitting behind a counter of some sort before the hall.
That woman lifted her tired eyes and stared as Kim Hahn-Nah approached her.
"What brings you here?"
"We came to use the transfer gate here." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah presented a piece of paper to this woman.
"A Level 1…. The place he"s returning to is Area 1…. Oh, it"s his first time using this service?"
"He exited the Neutral Zone today." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
"Aaah. That"s right. Today was… In any case, we have to establish a new return point, then. Over here!"
The woman read the paper with squinting eyes, before suddenly raising her hand up high. An Asian man with black hair appeared from somewhere beyond the corridor and hurriedly came over. The reception lady (?) asked this new guy.
"You"re from the Area 1, correct?"
"Yes."
When she asked while handing over a piece of paper, the Asian man nodded his head.
"Then, help me to set the coordinates."
"Let"s see. Area 1, Seoul, the district of Seodaemun, the suburb of Hongeun… Ah, this shouldn"t be too hard."
The Asian man smiled.
"I have a place in the suburb of Eungam, you see."
"I"ll be relying on you, then. And, also…."
The woman stared straight at Seol.
"You weren"t planning to head back to Earth looking like that, yes?"
"We"d like to utilise the storage service." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah replied as if it was par for the course.
"Since you"re Level 1, it"s for free. Here. Please use room number 8. You know how it works, yes?"
"I"ve explained to him already." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
"You"re a commendable guide, then."
The woman handed over a small key with a plaque while looking rather relieved.
Seol received the key and walked down the path to his right. The interior further in was divided into several tall floors with walls glowing in an amber hue. And he saw many doors, each easily exceeding over two metres in height. He found a door with a silver "8" s.h.i.+ning on the front and entered the room.
The items of the Lost Paradise couldn"t be taken back to Earth, with the exception of a few. Which meant that he had to store his things away before leaving, and temples happened to be the most secure place to do so. While the asking fee was exorbitant, as his stuff would be protected by the divine power, the security was pretty much the best out there.
However, only up to Level 2 could use this service for free. Once he became a Level 3, at which point he"d be considered as an actual, true combat force, he"d have to spend something called "achievement records" if he wanted to use either the transfer gate or the storage service.
He propped his two spears against the wall, and took off his armours. He still had the clothes he wore from Earth, but they were far too tattered now. What a relief it was, since Kim Hahn-Nah and her discerning fas.h.i.+on sense brought along some clothes and underwear for his usage.
"I forgot to thank her." (Seol)
Seol finished getting dressed and checked his items one last time. He had to leave behind Elixirs as well as the Divine Stigmata. He was slightly worried about them being stolen, but since a G.o.d was personally protecting the temple, he thought he should believe the security of this place for now.
He finished sorting through his articles and left the storage room before locking the door. The silver "8" on the door then changed its colour to gold. From here onwards, only Seol could open this door. Even if someone else came in possession of the door"s key, it would still not open.
While walking on the corridor, Seol fell into a deep thought.
He couldn"t really believe that he was returning to Earth this easily. Why? Back inside the dream, "he" couldn"t return to Earth even after a considerable length of time pa.s.sed by since his departure from the Neutral Zone. The dream version of him missed home a lot during the early part of his life here. Was this yet another difference between Contracted and Invited?
Seol couldn"t help but feel a bit of regret. He may have accepted the fact that he had to leave the Neutral Zone. But, leaving behind the attachments formed through interactions proved to be another problem altogether.
"What are the kids doing now, I wonder?"
Did they sign their contracts alright? They probably wanted to go back home, too. Should he have waited for them to finish and leave together?
At least, he should"ve said goodbyes before leaving. He only signaled to them with his eyes because he didn"t want to disturb them, but now, he was feeling a bit of regret doing that.
When Seol got back to the reception, the Asian man was no longer there. Only Kim Hahn-Nah and the reception lady (?) were waiting for him.
The lady beckoned the youth to come closer.
"Show me the back of your hand, please."
When Seol wordlessly presented his left hand, she placed another paper with a complicated diagram drawn on its surface there and pressed it tightly to his skin.
"And with this, your return coordinates have been set. Whenever you use the transfer gate from here onwards, you will always arrive at the address you provided us. If you plan to move house, you need to tell us right away. Or we might end up causing an unnecessary chaos on Earth."
"I understand." (Seol)
Seol replied and returned the key. Kim Hahn-Nah explained previously that he needed to do that once he was done with storing his items. The lady opened her eyes slightly wider before giving him a slip with a number "8" written on it.
"Hmm…. I"m sure you heard the explanations already, but still, don"t forget to take good care of this slip. And also, you know that, after retrieving your stored items, you need to confirm the colour of the number on the door, yes?"
"Yes. From gold to silver." (Seol)
"Correct. If the colour remains gold, that means you left something behind. Unless you wish to extend the period of the storage service, things will get mighty complicated for both sides, so please, check thoroughly."
The reception lady (?) sounded rather resentful about something. She then handed two more pieces of paper to Seol.
"One of these is used when you wish to return to the Paradise. You"ve performed missions back in the Neutral Zone, so you should know that when you tear this in half, a transfer portal will open for you. People who doesn"t possess any Markings whatsoever won"t be able to see the portal nor feel its presence, but still, I recommend finding a quiet place with no one else nearby."
"What about the other one…?" (Seol)
"It"s the list of items you can bring back from Earth. It"s your first time, so peruse the list and familiarise yourself with the contents."
Seol carefully tucked both papers inside his pocket.
"Whew, whew, whew, whew! All finished! Now then, you just need to sign over here…."
The lady pushed forward yet another paper, a doc.u.ment this time, for Seol to sign while sounding as if they were finally near the finish line. It was a non-disclosure agreement, forbidding Seol from revealing anything even remotely related to the Lost Paradise to other people on Earth.
Such an agreement was also covered by the divine powers, so the moment it was signed, the G.o.d"s powers ensured that the terms would be enforced no matter what. One could tell how much thought had been given to maintaining the secrecy.
He already knew as much from the dream. And Kim Hahn-Nah explained it too during the coach ride, so Seol signed the doc.u.ment without too much fuss. Honestly, there were a few things that irritated him slightly. But as these processes had to be performed for someone wanting to use the transfer gate for the first time, he said nothing and endured.
"Very good. Please head inside the a.s.sembly area behind me and use the gate there."
Finally, he was allowed to leave.
"You finished much faster than I thought." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
"Well, there wasn"t anything too complicated, after all." (Seol)
"Okay, let"s go." (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah stepped forward first.
Just before he entered the a.s.sembly hall, Seol took the last lingering look behind him and sighed out softly. But, before he could enter….
*SFX for rushed footsteps*
Suddenly, echoes of hurried footsteps rang out, and….
"Wait for me!" (Yun Seo-Rah)
….And, a familiar voice called out to him.
Seol turned around in surprise. Kim Hahn-Nah too was rather puzzled as well.
"Why is she here….?" (Kim Hahn-Nah)
They saw her leave with the coach not too long ago, so….
The woman supporting her body with her arm against the wall near the entrance while panting heavily was none other than Yun Seo-Rah.
She looked relieved after finding out that Seol hadn"t left yet. She regulated her heavy breathing, swallowed her saliva, and shouted out a question.
"Your name!" (Yun Seo-Rah)
"Please… tell me your name!" (Yun Seo-Rah)
Seol"s expression hardened considerably, then.
"Seo…."
His mouth opened reflexively, before closing shut again. His lips quivered uncontrollably.
"Seol…."
"But that… Isn"t that your surname?" (Yun Seo-Rah)
He was about to say his name was Seol. But suddenly, his eyes grew wider and wider.
His heart was beating wildly now. His sight blurred.
"B, but, how?" (Seol)
"When you entered the second floor in the Tutorial, there was an alert. I heard your name then, but I forgot…. The alert said, Mister Seol….. something, had arrived on the second floor." (Yun Seo-Rah)
"Ah."
So, in the end, someone did hear the alert.
"I always thought it was strange. Your name was definitely three words, yet you kept calling yourself "Seol" all the time…." (Yun Seo-Rah)
"T, that is…." (Seol)
Her words. .h.i.t the bullseye, and Seol began stuttering.
"You name…. Can you please tell me your full name?" (Yun Seo-Rah)
Seol closed his eyes shut.
Quite inexplicably, the days he spent in the Neutral Zone brushed past his consciousness.
In the mornings, he ate breakfast with Yi Surl-Ah, Yi Sung-Jin, and Yun Seo-Rah.
Then, he met with his teammates on the first floor and discussed the day"s schedule and battle tactics.
They did their best to complete various missions.
When they successfully cleared missions, they would head off to a lounge and chat over refres.h.i.+ng drinks.
He sometimes met with s.h.i.+n Sahng-Ah and Hyun Sahng-Min, and asked them how they were doing.
He then returned to his quarters, share the day"s activities with his roommates, before falling asleep……
Didn"t matter how many times he recalled them, those were good memories.
When he opened his eyes, he found Yun Seo-Rah quietly waiting for him, her breathing now normal.
"M, my name, it"s…." (Seol)
His throat dried up. If his heart pounded any harder, it might explode out of his chest.
It"d be three, maybe four years since he willingly revealed his full name.
An all-too familiar sensation of vertigo finally left him, allowing Seol to take a deep breath.
His trembling lips parted and let the air out.
"My name is…." (Seol)
And, finally….
Seol…
"….Ji-Hu."
….Was now Seol Ji-Hu.
"My name is Seol Ji-Hu."
He stared straight at Yun Seo-Rah and smiled dimly.
As he was walking past the a.s.sembly hall and towards the gate.
"Was there a reason to hesitate telling her your full name?" (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Kim Hahn-Nah asked him.
"Now that I think about it, I was getting kind of curious, too. Why did you always say your name was Seol? I mean, that"s your surname, right?" (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol Ji-Hu kept on walking resolutely for a while, before slowly opening his mouth.
"….I was Seol."
"Ng?"
"For the last 3-4 years, I was Seol."
Kim Hahn-Nah"s expression reflected how confused she was. She wouldn"t know, of course. It was the story from the days when he was still addicted to gambling, after all.
His family disowned him.
His t.i.tle gradually changed from "son" to "idiot", then to "b*stard", then finally, even a "lying as*hole". In the end, never mind being referred to his name, he wasn"t even treated like a human being anymore.
The distance between him and his love also widened.
And he even got called a son of a b*tch by her.
Before he knew it, no one was calling him by his name.
And he stopped telling others what his full name was, too.
Only that, back in the casino, some people called out to him using Mister Seol, Seol hyung, etc, etc.
And so, Seol began accepting that as his name.
"Mm… Okay. So, why did you decide to reveal your full name, then?" (Kim Hahn-Nah)
Seol Ji-Hu momentarily stopped walking.
"Not sure." (Seol Ji-Hu)
His gaze drifted up to the ceiling, unable to come up with a sound explanation even though he tried.
"I"m not sure. It"s just…" (Seol Ji-Hu)
"Just?"
"I thought that, now I can… No, maybe I can"t be certain of that, but…" (Seol Ji-Hu)
Seol Ji-Hu slowly lowered his gaze back down.
"At least, I thought that, if it"s Miss Yun Seo-Rah…." (Seol Ji-Hu)
He swept up the back of his long hair and smiled wryly.
"…..I should be able to tell her my name without being embarra.s.sed about it." (Seol Ji-Hu)
< 41.="" my="" name="" is….=""> Fin.