I Don’t Want This Reincarnation

I leaned my face on Cheon Sa-yeon’s shoulder, exhausted, and looked at Woo Seo-hyuk, who was dealing with the banshee, through blurry vision.

Hihihik, hihihi!

The banshee raised its wrinkled hands and spread its poisonous spell. Chiiiik! The wall that had touched the poison melted as white smoke rose.

To Woo Seo-hyuk, who hurriedly backed away, Cheon Sa-yeon said,  “Grab its attention. I will attack it from behind.”

“Yessir.”

“Han Yi-gyeol. Calm down and use your ability on Woo Seo-hyuk.”

With those words, I grabbed hold of my trembling energy and raised my ability.

“Haah, you’re really… using me to the fullest extent.”

“If you want to cooperate with me, you have to do this.”

This bastard. Woo Seo-hyuk’s position came to mind.

Woo Seo-hyuk rushed towards the giant ceiling-tall banshee. To avoid Woo Seo-hyuk’s attack, the banshee’s body leaned slightly back.

Kkiiiiik!

The banshee screamed with its mouth wide open. A sense of dread made my body tense. Cheon Sa-yeon, who moved to the right of the banshee, which was struggling to avoid the rushing Woo Seo-hyuk, blinked at me. I increased the strength of the wind that was wrapping around my legs.

“Ugh…!”

As soon as I used more energy, a headache formed with vengeance. Cheon Sa-yeon flew upwards and swung his sword at the banshee’s neck.

Haaak!

Noticing that it was still alive, the banshee twisted its body. The banshee, who had its shoulder cut instead of its neck, let out the screams in pain from the blazing fire. Woo Seo-hyuk, who was looking for a chance, thrust his sharp claws into the banshee’s face.

Kkiiiiik! Kkiiii—!

Red blood gushed from its eyes and mouth. The fire on its shoulder quickly scorched the banshee’s weakened body.

“Haah…”

What little I had left ran wildly in my body and squeezed my heart painfully. Huuk, I lowered my head as everything became dark.

* * *

“…—gyeol. Han Yi-gyeol.”

Someone tapped my cheek. When I forced my tired eyes to open, I saw the burned-up corpse of the banshee and Cheon Sa-yeon’s face.

“I think you’ve been overworked.”

I kept closing my eyes from extreme fatigue. I heard Woo Seo-hyuk’s voice.

“He’s not in good shape.”

“We don’t have enough people right now.”

“What should we do?”

“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to finish things myself.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, holding his sword, handed me over to Woo Seo-hyuk.

“Wake up the fainted guild members and prepare to exit the gate. In the meantime, I will deal with the remaining monsters and find an exit.”

“I understand.”

Woo Seo-hyuk answered with me on his back. Finally, I lost consciousness.

* * *

A cool breeze blew through the tip of my nose. Feeling a heavy headache, I slowly opened my eyes to see Cheon Sa-yeon talking to someone.

“Han Yi-gyeol. Are you okay?”

“…ah.”

A familiar voice was heard. As I slowly turned my gaze to the side, I saw Kim Woo-jin with a wrinkled brow.

‘Are we out of the gate?’

I remembered Kim Woo-jin’s words that he would come out to meet me. You were really here.

It was then that I came to my senses. I must have passed out for quite some time.

“I’ll leave it to you to clean up.”

“Don’t worry.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who ordered Woo Seo-hyuk, bowed his head and looked at me.

“Sleep more. You’re going to the guild right away.”

It was only then that I realized that I was in Cheon Sa-yeon’s arms.

“Wait, let me down…”

“Be quiet.”

Being carried in his arms was rather burdensome. I would rather be carried over his shoulders like a burden.

“Go to the guild.”

Cheon Sa-yeon, who came out of the waiting car and pushed Kim Woo-jin in, ordered the driver. Tak, the car door closed and the car started without Cheon Sa-yeon getting on.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“My head…”

The hand gently stroking my forehead, while avoiding the wound, was cool. Kim Woo-jin’s hand touched my neck next.

“The heat is rising because of the wound. When we arrive at the guild, we should treat it immediately. That healer woman is waiting for you.”

Healer woman?

“Min Ah-rin-ssi?”

“Yeah, that person. She has been contacted.”

“Isn’t Min Ah-rin-ssi still…”

… On vacation? I mumbled through blurred consciousness.

* * *

I thought I had fallen asleep for a while, but when I opened my eyes, I saw a place I’ve never seen before. I couldn’t get a sense of reality, so I blinked blankly, but the door opened and someone I was glad to see entered.

“Yi-gyeol-ssi!”

It was Min Ah-rin who I haven’t seen in a long time. Walking straight to me, Min Ah-rin  smiled comfortably and said, “Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. It’s been a while, Min Ah-rin-ssi.”

“I know, right? Actually, I need to take a few more days off, but I just came back after hearing the news that Yi-gyeol-ssi was ill. How is your body?”

“It’s much better.”

Except for the IV in my wrist, all the wounds had disappeared and my energy was stable.

“This place…”

“It’s a hospital room inside the Requiem Guild.”

It looked great and the facilities were good. That was why I came back to the guild, not the hospital. I nodded and fiddled with the IV. Seeing this, Min Ah-rin sighed and said, “You need to rest more. It seems to me that you’ve been overworked and your body aches… The fever isn’t coming down at all.”

Oh, so that was why my head hurts. My throat was sore and uncomfortable.

“What about the others?”

“Woo-jin-ssi went up to change his clothes for a while… Master, he must be busy in one way or another.”

Min Ah-rin, who pulled up the chair and sat next to my bed, gently patted me on my chest and spoke.

“Stop worrying about other people and get some more sleep. When the fever goes down, you have to eat. Healers can’t cure colds and body aches, so you have to take care of them yourself.”

“Alright…”

Min Ah-rin looked at me tenaciously. She seemed intent on watching until I fell asleep.

Rest. Okay, that sounded good. I forcibly closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

* * *

The body aches that I thought would get better soon tormented me for three days. It was hard to come to my senses because of the constant fever and vomiting after eating.

‘This is driving me crazy…’

I could feel how weak Han Yi-gyeol’s body was once again. I was shocked in many ways because I didn’t catch a cold easily, let alone get body aches.

Even someone like Han Yi-gyeol was an A-rank. It was terrifying just to imagine how much he would have been bullied if he was an ordinary person.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen an A-rank get hurt this much.”

I was so ill that even Min Ah-rin was puzzled, and on the morning of the fourth day, I was finally able to return to normal body temperature.

“I thought you were going to die…”

“That’s what I was going to say,” I mumbled as I drank the water that Kim Woo-jin had given me.

“Be careful from now on. When I look at you, Yi-gyeol-ssi seems so careless with his body.”

Min Ah-rin, who had been nagging a lot while taking care of my sick self for three days, had been saying the same things. With an awkward smile at the gazes coming from both sides, I said, “I didn’t do that on purpose…”

“Why is it that everyone else is fine, but you were the only one on his back?”

That’s because your boss was working me to the ground… 

“That’s right. Even guild members with a lower rank than Yi-gyeol-ssi were not hurt.”

Everyone else was under the banshee’s spell…

There were only meaningless answers to explain, so I kept my mouth shut and accepted their concerns.

[Breaking news. The return of the Jayna Guild’s clear team which entered Area G21’s gate is being delayed. Experts say that hasty judgment is dangerous…]

Knock, knock.

While I was watching TV leisurely, I heard a knock on the door of the hospital room. Someone said that no one should be coming, but the one who opened the door was none other than Woo Seo-hyuk.

“How are you feeling?”

“Yes, what…”

Woo Seo-hyuk, standing in a black suit and holding a fruit basket in one hand, had the same grim expression as he had a few days ago.

“Oh, Secretary Woo Seo-hyuk. It’s been a while.”

“Yes. Long time no see, Healer Min Ah-rin.”

Woo Seo-hyuk lightly bowed his head to greet Min Ah-rin, who greeted him warmly.

“But what brings you here?”

“I have come under orders from the Master.”

Order from Cheon Sa-yeon? While puzzled, Woo Seo-hyuk pulled something out of his arms and held it to me. Unexpectedly, he took out two cards.

“The white card is a card made under Han Yi-gyeol-ssi’s name and the black card is the Master’s card.”

What’s with the cards all of a sudden?

“The reward for participating as a mercenary at this gate is in Han Yi-gyeol’s card.”

“Pardon?”

“The Master said you can use his card as much as you want if you are short on money.”

I looked down at the black card in a sour mood. A card with a gold number engraved on its black body gleamed gently in the light of a fluorescent lamp.

“Has the Master seen any dramas?”

Min Ah-rin responded in a way that showed her amusement, and Kim Woo-jin had an unwilling expression similar to mine. As expected, Kim Woo-jin knew something. It was difficult to receive such excessive favour.

“Hey, Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi.”

“I’ll tell you in advance, I can’t take it back. I was just ordered to deliver. If you want to refuse, please meet the Master in person,” Woo Seo-hyuk said firmly.

There was nothing I could do. I nodded my head once.

“I understand.”

“Then I’ll be on my way. Have a good rest.”

Woo Seo-hyuk left the hospital room without looking back. I looked at the two cards in my hand.

“How much do you think he gave me?”

“Maybe two thousand? I heard the contract for A-rank mercenaries is about that much.” Min Ah-rin took some fruit from the basket as she informed me.

Two thousand. I took out my phone and installed the app and nodded. Two thousand wasn’t bad.

“That’s enough for me to go shopping.”

“I’m coming, too!”

“M-me too…”

I laughed happily. As expected, the best treatment was financial therapy. I checked the balance with a pounding heart.

“…what the hell is this, fuck.”

I rubbed my eyes and checked the numbers again.

「Balance 100,000,000 won」  (Around $85,000 USD)

Did I count the wrong number of zeros? No, that was correct though?

“……”

“What? What’s the matter?”

“Yi-gyeol-ssi?”

After taking a calm, deep breath, I turned off the app with the balance indicator and said, “I’m sorry, but I think I need to make a call for a moment…”

“Okay. I’ll go to a cafe with Woo-jin-ssi. Is there anything you want to drink?”

“Do you want me to buy you a vanilla latte?”

“Mh. Go ahead.”

Without any doubt, Min Ah-rin and Kim Woo-jin left the room. I immediately pressed the call button.

The ringing tone continued for a long time. He was very busy, so there’s no chance he’ll pick up. Just as I was about to give up, the other person answered the phone.

Clack.

[Mh, Yi-gyeol-ah.]

“Are you out of your mind?”

As soon as the call was connected and I asked a question, I heard a low laugh from the other side.

[Unfortunately, I’m not sane.]

“What are you doing in someone else’s name?”

[How long do you think I can go without paying for an item?]

“So you put such a ridiculous amount in?”

[I expected you to contact me.]

I rubbed my forehead and sighed.

“I don’t need a card or money or anything. Give me the cookies you’re carrying.”

[You’d better take it even if you don’t need it. There is nothing bad about having it. I’ll give you the cookies later.]

“Actually, there’s nothing wrong with the money. The person who gave it is the problem.”

[Han Yi-gyeol.] Cheon Sa-yeon said in a soft, subdued voice, [Didn’t I tell you? Please don’t lose your energy by standing up against me needlessly.]

“Maybe it’s because I’ve been through so many things; it’s not easy.”

[I just paid the price. This gate was especially dangerous.]

“……”

[I hope you accept it comfortably.]

Mmh, looking out the window, I scratched the back of my head.

I was going to return the black card, but I don’t think it was going to be easy.