I am Destined to Die

As soon as I nodded, there was a sudden knock on the door. Unlike me, who looked back at the door in surprise, Ju Shin-hwan said with a relaxed smile as if he knew.

“That’s just right. I’m sorry to make Shin Ha-jae tell the same story twice.”

“What’s that…”

“Come on in.”

It was a woman who appeared to be a secretary who opened the door. As she moved aside, someone walked out from a place hidden from view by the wall. The man looked even blacker against the white gallery,

“Why are you…”

It was Simeon.

Why the hell is Simeon here?

It’s not every day that an apostle appears in front of someone who isn’t also an apostle without a mask, and while I wondered if he and Ju Shin-hwan were playing games, I suddenly changed my mind when I saw Simeon’s expression. His indifferent face was suddenly contorted into a fierce expression.

“Why are you here?”

“That’s what I’m going to say.”

He responded bluntly and glanced at Ju Shin-hwan. Only Ju Shin-hwan was smiling leisurely in an atmosphere as if walking on thin ice.

Is it his sole action to bring us together. I knew he was an unusual person, but he was a much bigger writer than expected.

“You’re just in time. Please sit down.”

Simeon reluctantly entered the room at the suggestion of Ju Shin-hwan. He never took his eyes off me until the moment he sat on the opposite sofa. I couldn’t help but notice the suspicion in his dark eyes as he stared down at me.

“Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t know you were coming here.”

“Really? You didn’t get caught investigating me?”

Simeon twisted the corners of his mouth and laughed. But I didn’t do anything to be laughed at. Simeon was the one who told me to find out if I was curious about the purpose. Unlike before, it is a background investigation allowed by him.

“What do you mean I got caught. I just did what you told me to do.”

“Ah, you’re curious about the purpose…?”

“Yes. I’m glad you remember.”

When Simeon came out with a confident attitude, he slightly bowed his head and burst into laughter. Then he put his elbow on the armrest of the sofa and crossed his legs and jerking his chin. The appearance was as natural as a movement.

The black gaze, which stayed on the floor for a while as if thinking of something, soon flew sharply to me and stuck.

“I underestimated Shin Ha-jae too much.”

Simeon’s one eyebrow raised slightly as he looked at me straight in the eye without averting his gaze, pressed by the fierce momentum that lurked beneath the friendly smile. It was as if he was saying, ‘Let’s see how far you’re willing to go.’

Just then, Ju Shin-hwan interrupted the conversation with a small cough.

“Excuse me. I was wondering if Shin Ha-jae was really the one who was with the Apostle. Looking at your reactions now, it must have been true.”

You suspected me, too. Indeed, the public’s attention is focused on <Blue Hope>. How many people like me send an e-mail to Ju Shin-hwan to get information. However, I never dreamed that the way to resolve doubts would be to bring the person in front of me without saying anything.

Simeon expressed a subtle displeasure as if the situation was ridiculous.

“Couldn’t you have given me a heads up?”

“I’m sorry, but I had a feeling you wouldn’t come if I told you in advance.”

Simeon sighed quietly, as if it were not mistaken. It was honestly amazing that he didn’t say much after that. I thought Simeon would be even angrier. The appearance of being obedient quickly reminded me of the virtual image in front of John. He’s very polite to older people……

While I was thinking about something else for a while, Ju Shin-hwan pointed at me with his hand and said.

“Anyway, he said something interesting, that it’s useless to seal the in the same way as before.”

“Hmph….”

Simeon glanced at me curiously, and so did Ju Shin-hwan, who stared back. I could feel the anticipation in their crescent-shaped eyes.

“Right? Shin Hajae.”

“…What?”

“Please continue what you were going to tell me earlier.”

The unexpected increase in the audience doubled the burden. One is the owner of <Blue Hope>, and the other is the guild leader of the Apostles. I wondered if my speculation would sound convincing to them, but since we were discussing possibilities, I opened my mouth.

“If what wants is a reenactment of the incident, surely the countess must die in an accident. But <Blue Hope> has shown its owners the same landscape over and over again. As if to remind them of what happened back then, so I think that’s why…….”

When I said it out loud, I was nervous, so I took a deep breath and continued.

“It may sound a little funny, but I thought it was because <Blue Hope> is haunted by the spirit of the countess.”

I glanced up at the reaction. But no one laughed. Of course, I didn’t mean to be funny, but even Simeon, who I thought would laugh at me right away, seriously listened to me, which made the burden even more burdensome. The ensuing silence seemed to tell me more, so I said calmly.

“The gate was closed by reenacting the incident, but the original soul is preventing the awakening of the spirit. So how about we change the flow without changing the ending, which is that the owner of the necklace dies.”

“That means… Do you want to sacrifice someone else?”

I answered Ju Shin-hwan’s question with a slow nod.

“The maid who was Ector’s affair partner.”

The person who would replace the countess as the owner of the <Blue Hope> and meet tragedy. The one who would be willing to go to sea hoping to find <Bluue Hope>, and the one who would be greedy for it, is the maid who wanted to be the countess of the Winston family.

“The maid was so crazy of <Blue Hope>, she wandered around the sea alone to find a necklace after the countess died. So, there’s nothing strange about her being the owner of the necklace.”

The terrace suddenly collapses, and the owner of <Blue Hope< falls under the cliff. This is the most important part of the tragedy. Therefore, it is enough to hold <Blue Hope> in the hand of the maid until the accident takes place. Of course, I know that if you do something strange inside the gate, you will be kicked out immediately. Therefore, you need to plan your behaviour and movements from one to ten.

“Of course it will be difficult. But there’s nothing wrong with trying.”

Unlike Ju Shin-hwan, who touches his chin and thinks about it, Simeon shakes his head firmly.

“No, it’s too risky.”

“But…”

“There are no buts in the face of danger.”

Simeon said, narrowing his brows.

“Do you remember when we sealed <Codex Gigas>?”

“…How could I forget.”

“It was only one page. Only one out of 300. and yet the power of the spirit was immense, and you know that best.”

I know. Of course I know it very well. The bizarre hallucinations Fenex showed that day are still vivid. When I shut up at the memory, Simeon narrowed his eyes and asked in a quiet voice.

“The <Blue Hope> is A-rank, like the <Codex Gigas>, or even higher. Have you thought about what would happen if it went wrong?”

“I know how dangerous it will be if I fail.”

“And someone who knows that would go ahead with a plan that has no basis in reality?”

He’s right on all counts. Simeon always said the right things. It wasn’t that I didn’t think that far either. In the first place, I had no intention of making others follow my reckless plan.

“I’ll go alone.”

Simeon’s face contorted violently as I spoke.

“…What?”

“The risk is high, so let me get into the rift by myself.”

I have a body that doesn’t die no matter what I do. No matter what risk lurks, it doesn’t pose much of a threat to me. It’ll hurt a little, but I’ll live somehow. It was a conclusion that completely excluded the possibility of death, which can be made because I have already experienced many hardships.

Simeon, however, seems to think my resolve is a fool’s errand.

“Shin Hajae-ssi.”

He furrowed his brow in disbelief, then gave a wry smile.

“I appreciate the effort you put into getting here, but it’s not your place.”

“I’m sorry, but isn’t the current owner of <Blue Hope> is Prof Ju Shin-hwan? I’m asking him, not you.”

Simeon was left speechless by this terse response.

In the meantime, I left my seat and stopped in front of Ju Shin-hwan. His wrinkled face showed signs of embarrassment at the sudden action. Nevertheless, he put his hand on his heart and spoke what he wanted to say.

“Sir. Please use me to seal the <Blue Hope>. I won’t hold you back.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Simeon, who had been late to the party, grabbed me by the arm. I couldn’t help but turn around with the strong grip. As I looked at him disapprovingly, I saw a pair of piercing eyes that looked as if they could eat me at a moment’s notice.

“…Are you kidding me?”

“I mean it. As you said, I didn’t intend to lead anyone else to an uncertain plan from the beginning.”

“Beause you have a body that can’t die, so I guess you can’t see anything anymore, right?”

“Yes. That’s why you used it so well during the <Codex Gigas>.”

A stifling tension washed over me. I thought I was going to get punched, but Simeon instead drew a long arc with his lips as if he was amused. The eyes that glared at me, on the other hand, weren’t smiling in the slightest, and the gap sent a chill down my spine.