CHAPTER 93: ANCIENT CONSTELLATIONS (4)

“What do you want to eat?” Song Ha-Eun asked, tugging at Kwon Oh-Jin’s sleeve.

“I’m not sure.”

Although he didn't crave anything in particular, he vaguely recalled an article about tteokbokki[1] ranking as the favorite food among women in their twenties.

“How about tteokbokki?” he suggested.

She'd recently turned thirty but could easily pass for someone in their early twenties.

They say the higher someone’s star level is, the slower they age. High-ranking Awakeners supposedly don't age at all, but she can grow into a wrinkled old lady, and not a thing will change.

“Tteokbokki? We could have something fancier, though.”

“I just feel like it.”

“Hehe. Alright! Tteokbokki it is!”

Together, they headed to a nearby restaurant to order a mix of tteokbokki, sundae, and assorted fried food.

While they ate, Kwon Oh-Jin could overhear two men sitting at a nearby table.

“Did you hear? They opened a Non-Awakened Security Management Center in the Daerim-dong area too.”

“Oh, really? Did the association set that up?” a darker-skinned man asked.

“Of course. The guilds don’t care about anything outside their territory.”

“True.”

“Honestly, the association's the only one that cares enough about supporting non-Awakeners like us.”

“Well... that’s not exactly true.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

The tanned man sighed. “The board of directors runs the centers, but the chairman wants to reduce the number of centers because of budget complications.”

“What?”

“Originally, they were going to set up centers in both Guro-dong and Daerim-dong, but the chairman’s opposition forced the board to fund the Daerim-dong center out of their own pockets.”

“Haa. Is that motherfucker saying our lives aren’t even worth the extra costs?”

“Exactly. The chairman’s so busy walking on eggshells around the big guilds that he doesn’t even realize whose fucking taxes are going to them.”

The men continued venting their frustrations and cursing the chairman.

The chairman opposed expanding the centers? Kwon Oh-Jin thought. He hadn’t heard anything regarding this from Han Jun-Man. I’ll need to ask him about it later.

He needed to verify whether it was just a baseless rumor or if there was a legitimate reason for the opposition.

In any case... the chairman’s image among non-Awakeners isn’t great. Given the Black Star Society’s agenda, they likely implemented policies favoring non-Awakeners. The problem is that they aren’t helping with pure intentions.

He recalled the documents he had received from Jang Seok-Ho. Non-Awakeners who had accepted the Stigma of the Black Star in turn suffered a drastically shortened lifespan.

Kwon Oh-Jin frowned. They’ll be lucky if that's all they have to pay in return.

Jang Seok-Ho’s documents detailed numerous cases of members who had failed to adapt to the Black Star Stigma—the darkness either consumed their minds or deformed them grotesquely. One way or another, they turned into monstrous abominations.

It’s only natural that there are side effects. Every Awakener has a specific type of Stigma suited to them, and forcing an unsuitable one can cause their life force to collapse, killing them like it did with Lee Shin-Hyuk.

Non-Awakeners weren't chosen by a Celestial in the first place because they were particularly incompatible with Stigmas.

“What’s up?” Song Ha-Eun asked, dipping a hot piece of fried food into the tteokbokki sauce before popping it into her mouth.

“It’s nothing.”

Kwon Oh-Jin helped finish the rest of the tteokbokki. After settling the bill, they stepped outside.

Song Ha-Eun patted her stomach. “Ah! That was good! What should we do now?”

“We should go home, and I should get right to training. What else would we do?”

He hadn’t trained properly today because of the association visit.

“Aw, we’re outside anyway. Going straight home would be a waste,” she said, pouting and pinching his side. “Let’s go for a drive!”

“Hmm.”

Given how hard he trained regularly, the occasional break couldn't hurt. He replied, “Alright, let’s bring Vega and Riarc along too.”

“Huh? Why?”

“We haven’t really shown them around Seoul yet. They must be tired of being in the Sanctum all the time. This is a good chance for them to explore.”

“Ugh.” Song Ha-Eun puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction and mumbled, “I wanted to spend time with just the two of us.”

“Hmm? What was that? I couldn’t hear you,” he lied. Thanks to his enhanced hearing as a five-star Awakener, every word had come through crystal clear.

“Ahem! I-It’s nothing!”

My god, why is she so cute?

She regained her composure and giggled. “I’m going to call them then!”

Inside the parked car in the lot, Kwon Oh-Jin touched his silver necklace, which emitted a bright light as Vega and Riarc materialized.

Woong!

“Did something happen?” Vega asked.

Kwon Oh-Jin started the car. “I’m gonna go on a drive with Ha-Eun, so I figured I’d take you two along.”

“A drive?”

“Yeah, you know, riding in the car, gazing at the scenery, or going somewhere fun.”

“Ooooh! That sounds delightful! I’ve been wanting to observe the human world!” Vega’s eyes sparkled as she perched atop his head. “But... are you the one driving?”

Vega's eyes filled with worry as she recalled his nightmarish driving in the past.

“I’ve gotten pretty good at driving, so don’t worry,” he replied.

She gulped before nodding. “H-Hmm, okay. I’ll take your word for it.”

Riarc growled. “I thought it was something urgent, but this is what you called me for?”

Clicking his tongue and shaking his head, he added, “A true warrior should never neglect their training, not even for a single day! What is this sightseeing nonsense?!”

Despite his words, he quickly opened the car door, hopped into the backseat, and pulled the window down to stick his head out.

Kwon Oh-Jin scoffed. “Stop pretending like you’re not excited."

“E-Excited?! Do you think a true warrior would get excited over something as trivial as this?!”

Sway, sway.

His wagging tail said otherwise.

He quickly tucked his tail down. “Ahem! I’m just... ever so slightly intrigued by the human world, that’s all!”

“Well, you’ve been watching TV a lot at home lately, haven’t you?”

Riarc and Vega would sit in front of the TV often, watching dramas, movies, and the news under the pretense of "studying" the human world. Riarc had taken a special liking to sports, spending days binge-watching baseball, soccer, and other sports played extensively before gates appeared.

He said they roused his fighting spirit as a warrior or whatever, Kwon Oh-Jin recalled. Honestly, I'm not even sure he understands the game rules.

“Hehe. But it’s different experiencing things in person, isn’t it?” Vega snorted, gently tugging his hair.

“Pfft! True.”

He drove slowly through the streets of Seoul with tightly packed high-rise buildings and bustling pedestrians animating the cityscape.

“So this many children live here?” Vega muttered.

“Is this your first time seeing these streets?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“It’s my first time observing them so closely.”

“Hmm. Didn’t you say before that Celestials were administrators of Earth?”

Doesn't that mean they should know Earth better than most?

“Celestials only oversee broad matters like the fate of stars or imminent peril. The specifics of everyday life on these planets are less significant.”

Ah, that makes sense.

“Some with many apostles are well-versed in human society, but since I had none before you... this is my first time witnessing how humans live.”

“Maybe I should’ve shown you sooner.”

If I'd known, I would’ve taken her out more often.

“Haha, don’t let it bother you. What matters is that I get to spend time with you like this. Let’s do this more often and explore the world together.”

She gently patted his forehead with a soft smile.

“Of course.”

In the past, he'd avoided spending time with her, burdened by the pretense as a Regressor, but that had diminished now that their trust had deepened. Rather, he felt guilty from how much she trusted his lies.

Maybe... I should just tell her everything.

He wondered if he should tell her he wasn’t a Regressor and possessed the Black Heaven instead.

... No. I've already passed the point of no return.

The knife of betrayal cut deeper the stronger the trust between them. Even if they were closer now, he couldn't afford to reveal the truth.

“Ooh! My child!" she exclaimed. "What is that ‘PC Cafe’ I see over there?”

He decided to set the dilemma aside for now and just enjoy the drive. “It’s a place where you can play computer games.”

“Computer? Games?”

“Yeah.”

Explaining this is going to take forever.

“Grrr! Hey, kid!" Riarc called out. "What's that place called ‘Ramen Heaven’ over there?”

“It’s a specialty shop that sells all kinds of ramen.”

“Is it Valhalla?!”

“No, it’s not.”

When did this guy turn into such a ramen freak? Kwon Oh-Jin wondered. He looks like he'd just bite into raw meat and chew it up.

“My child! What is ‘Slurp Slurp Slurp’?” Vega asked.

“It’s a kalguksu[2] restaurant.”

What the fuck is up with that name though? he wondered.

“What about that ‘Kock’ over there?” she asked.

What the...

“Ah, they sell kimchi and cockscomb tea.”

“Ohhh. Then, what is that place called ‘Porn Firm’?”

... I’d like to know, too. What kind of things do you have to sell for such a wild-ass name? he wondered.

“There are so many interesting places around!” she exclaimed.

Tell me about it. I’m still stuck on Porn Firm.

Song Ha-Eun rubbed her forehead beside him. “Why do you only manage to find places like that?”

He sighed. My thoughts exactly.

“My child, my child! What about...”

Vega suddenly fell silent as she squinted intently at something in the distance. “My child, there’s smoke rising over there.”

“Huh?” He spotted dark smoke rising into the sky where she pointed. “Is there a fire?”

Song Ha-Eun rolled down the window and stuck her head out. “That’s near Guro-dong, isn’t it?”

Just then, cars began driving in the wrong direction away from the source of the smoke as loud horns sounded.

Beep! Beep!

“W-What the hell?” Ha-Eun exclaimed.

Crash! Bang! Screech!

The road instantly turned chaotic as cars collided and drivers jumped out furiously.

“What the hell are they doing?!” one yelled.

A young man, pale with terror, scrambled out of one of the cars that came the wrong way. “H-Help.”

“What?”

“Help me!”

One of the drivers chased after him. “S-Stop him!”

However, the rest of the cars driving in the wrong direction ran straight into the driver before they continued speeding down the road.

Beep!

“Move! Get out of the way, damn it!”

“Don’t block the road, motherfucker!”

Song Ha-Eun was left aghast. “O-Oh-Jin, this is...”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s face hardened as he pulled over to the side of the road. “Let’s go.”

“O-Okay!”

“Alright!” Vega chimed in.

Together, they raced toward the source of the smoke, where they saw people screaming and running for their lives from thousands of rampaging monsters.

“Aaahhhhh!”

“H-Help me!”

“Ahhhh! M-Monsters!! Why are there monsters here?!”

“There’s not even a gate around here!”

Song Ha-Eun gaped at the swarming creatures that filled the streets. “Holy shit! Where did so many monsters even come from?”

Kwon Oh-Jin shook his head and narrowed his eyes. “No. These are demonic beasts.”

His face twisted with fury as he recognized the distinct aura of the Black Stars emanating from them.

1. A popular Korean street food that’s spicy and made with rice cakes ☜

2. Korean noodle soup that is known for its name, which means “knife-cut noodles” ☜