Chapter 438: Lies (11) |
Through Cassia’s shadow, the group transported Kwon Oh-Jin to Vega’s temple. They carefully began assessing his condition.
Kwon Oh-Jin furrowed his brow slightly, as though trying to recall his memories, and swallowed hard. “So… you’re saying my name is Oh-Jin?” After a moment of struggling to think, he shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember.”
“You don’t even remember your own name…?”
“No.”
Two years after his disappearance, Kwon Oh-Jin had returned without a single memory as if his mind had been wiped completely clean. He remembered nothing about them or even himself.
“I don’t know who any of you are… or who I am.”
A heavy silence hung over them like a curtain.
Isabella stumbled forward and approached him. “M-Mr. Oh-Jin… It’s me, Isabella.”
He looked at her with the blank unfamiliarity of a stranger. “Ah… Okay.”
“I’m sorry.”
Song Ha-Eun reached out, her trembling hands gripping his shoulders. “Oh-Jin, you’re lying again, aren’t you? Right?”
He was Kwon Oh-Jin, wasn’t he? This could all just be another one of his lies to prank them. Rather, it had to be a lie.
“Again…? Have I lied to you before?”
“H-Haha… Come on, Oh-Jin. This isn’t funny at all. You’re just going to say ‘I was lying’ again later, right?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand what you mean.”
Watching him shake his head, Song Ha-Eun bit her lip until it bled.
She somewhat knew and had braced herself for this. Even if he came back, she knew he wouldn’t be the same Kwon Oh-Jin.
“Still, this is… too much.”
She never imagined that he would forget everything, even the fact that he was Kwon Oh-Jin. No, perhaps it wasn’t that she had never imagined it. Like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, she had simply refused to face the inevitable tragedy, clinging to the foolish hope that everything would be fine if it were him.
“H-How could this happen?”
“Calm down.” Vega placed a hand on Song Ha-Eun’s trembling shoulder. “He has just emerged after two years of being trapped within the Black Heaven. Once he regains his strength and composure, his memories will surely return.”
“Yeah… You’re right. Of course, they will. They have to.”
As Vega said, he had only just come back. It was too soon to assume that all his memories had disappeared.
“You’re right.” Isabella added, “If it’s Mr. Oh-Jin, he’ll surely remember everything soon. For now, we should just be thankful he’s alive, shouldn’t we?”
Thankful, huh?
Could they really call it a blessing when he didn’t even remember who he was?
Swallowing the rising dread that threatened to choke her, Song Ha-Eun nodded weakly. “Yeah… I’m thankful.”
A somber air filled the temple.
Vega sighed deeply and said, “I have already summoned Aries. She will be here soon.”
“Aries, as in the Celestial of Aries?” Song Ha-Eun asked.
“That’s right.”
“Wouldn’t the Celestial of Aquarius be more suitable to examine his condition?”
“We are not exactly treating a wound, are we?”
Kwon Oh-Jin had no visible injuries or any internal damage. He needed stability and rest, something the Stigma of Aries could best provide.
Speaking of the devil, a golden-haired goddess entered the temple.
“I’m here, Lady Vega. What did you summon me for—Huh?” Aries froze, her eyes widening as she spotted Kwon Oh-Jin. “W-Wait. Didn’t Alkaid die in the fight against the Heavenly Demon?”
“I shall explain later. For now, help my child get a good rest.”
“Hmm… Understood.” Still looking slightly bewildered, Aries nodded and stepped closer to Kwon Oh-Jin. She placed her hand gently on his forehead and softly said, “May tranquility find you.”
A gentle golden light began to flow into Kwon Oh-Jin’s head. He had been trembling with unease like a stray cat picked up off the street, but finally relaxed.
“Then, I’ll be going now.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ll explain what’s going on later, right?”
“I will.”
Just like that, Aries left the temple.
“How are you feeling, Mr. Oh-Jin?”
“I’m feeling a bit sleepy…”
“Do you feel any discomfort?”
He turned to Isabella and shook his head. “No.”
Seeing him speak to her with polite honorifics as though she were a stranger, Isabella forced a smile. “Are you hungry at all?”
“No, not really.”
“Still, you should eat something. Just wait a moment. I’ll make you some spicy pork stir-fry that you really like.”
“I like spicy pork stir-fry?”
“Sorry?”
“I mean… I know what spicy pork stir-fry is, but I don’t remember whether I liked it or not.”
“Ah… R-right, of course.” The smile she struggled to hold began cracking like a broken mask. “You… liked it, and I cooked it for you often.”
“I see.”
“T-then I’ll go make it now!”
Isabella practically fled to the lower level of the temple.
Normally, Celestials didn’t need to eat and didn’t require a kitchen inside their temples. However, Vega had one built downstairs because Kwon Oh-Jin and Song Ha-Eun often stayed to train for long periods.
While Isabella cooked, Cassia approached him carefully. “Lord Oh-Jin, may you take off your shirt for a moment?”
“Right now…?”
“Yes.”
“Alright…”
After a brief pause, Kwon Oh-Jin took off his shirt. His upper body was carved with firm, well-defined muscles like a sculptor’s masterpiece.
Cassia gently brushed her fingers over the Stigma of Lyra engraved on his left chest.
“Eleven stars…”
Next to the Stigma of Lyra, eleven strokes could clearly be seen.
“Lady Vega.”
“What is it?”
“You said before that the Stigma of Lyra can control the Black Heaven, right?”
“That’s right.”
Even Vega didn’t fully understand how the Stigma of Lyra could control the Black Heaven, but she had indeed seen Kwon Oh-Jin using that power against the Black Heaven before.
“Then, maybe his memories will return if he uses the Stigma of Lyra again?”
“Oh!”
“T-that’s right! Why didn’t we think of that?!”
Vega’s and Song Ha-Eun’s eyes sparkled like stars.
If the Stigma of Lyra could control the Black Heaven, then perhaps using it could also restore his lost memories.
Trembling with excitement, Song Ha-Eun shouted, “Oh-Jin! Try using your Stigma, quickly!”
He only cocked his head in confusion. “My Stigma? How do I use it?”
Had he forgotten that too?
Song Ha-Eun bit her lip hard and looked at Vega, who nodded and stepped toward him.
“This mark on your left chest is the Stigma of Lyra.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Close your eyes and focus on the Stigma.”
“Alright.” Kwon Oh-Jin obeyed and closed his eyes.
“Now, imagine blue lightning blazing to life.”
He scrunched his brow, concentrating.
“Hmmm… Blue lightning. Blue lightning.”
He imagined violent blue lightning exactly as Vega had instructed.
“Why is nothing happening…?” he asked.
Not a speck of light shone from the Stigma on his chest.
“Y-You’re just not used to it yet. With practice, you’ll be able to—”
Vega interrupted Song Ha-Eun. “No. That’s not it.”
“What do you mean?”
Vega’s expression darkened. She gently brushed her hand over Kwon Oh-Jin’s Stigma and bit her lip. “I cannot feel the Stigma’s energy at all.”
“Then…”
“No matter how much he practices, he will not be able to use it.”
The light in Song Ha-Eun’s eyes disappeared as if covered by dark clouds.
Just then, Isabella returned from downstairs with a steaming hot pot. “Dinner’s ready.”
Kwon Oh-Jin stopped trying to activate his Stigma and took a bite of the spicy pork stir-fry.
“Does it taste alright?”
“Ah, yes. It’s delicious.”
He wasn’t particularly hungry, yet the spicy pork stir-fry’s perfect balance of heat and sweetness amazed him.
“It’s fascinating,” he said.
“Fascinating?”
“Well… Miss Isabella, was it? You’re a foreigner, yet you know how to cook Korean food.”
“Ah… Yes, I-I practiced.”
“You must like Korean food.”
“I don’t…”
You’re the one who likes Korean food.
She wanted to say it out loud, but forced the words back down her throat.
“Considering that, it tastes very—”
“L-Let’s not talk about that!”
If the conversation continued, she worried that her fragile smile would crumble.
“Ah… yes..” Kwon Oh-Jin nodded and quietly continued eating.
He hurried through the food, looking uncomfortable under the weight of all their stares, then stood up. “Um… May I sleep for a bit? I’m a little tired.”
“Y-Yeah. Go downstairs. There’s a bedroom there,” Song Ha-Eun said.
“Thank you.” He bowed politely and went down to the lower level.
Once he disappeared downstairs, a suffocating silence filled the temple.
Then, a small sob broke out.
“Hic…” Isabella collapsed to the floor, tears streaming down her face. “D-Did he really forget everything? All of it?”
That unfamiliar look in Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes as he looked at her, as if she were a complete stranger, stabbed her heart.
“Calm down,” Cassia said.
Isabella glared at Cassia. “How?! How am I supposed to calm down when Mr. Oh-Jin lost all his memories?! Of course, you’re fine! You barely knew him compared to us!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Am I wrong? Isn’t this actually better for you? Since Mr. Oh-Jin lost his memories, you get a fresh chance, don’t you?”
Cassia’s eyes darkened with murderous intent bleeding from her gaze. “Do you have any idea what you’re saying right now…?” Her shadow expanded, and black serpents slithered out across the floor. “You… You think I would be fine?!”
Isabella wrapped herself in a crimson aura, refusing to back down. “Liar!”
Song Ha-Eun flatly and coldly said, “Stop.”
She sharply gazed at Isabella. “She’s fine because she hasn’t known him long? Do you seriously mean that?”
“Ah…”
If that logic were true, the person suffering the most right now would be Song Ha-Eun herself.
Isabella bowed toward Song Ha-Eun and dispelled her red aura. “I’m sorry… I was too upset and said something I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry, Cassia.”
Cassia also withdrew her shadows with a deep sigh. “Haaa… It’s fine. I understand how you feel.”
Looking exhausted, Song Ha-Eun trudged downstairs. “I’m going to rest for a bit…”
Song Ha-Eun looked toward the bedroom, where Kwon Oh-Jin lay fast asleep. She approached him and gently brushed his hair.
Memories flooded her mind like a passing panorama.
The day she had first met him at the orphanage. The days after they had left and began living together. The time she had lost her sight and leg, relying on him just to get by. The day she had seen him for the first time again after years, once her curse was lifted. The day she had confessed her feelings after Cheon Do-Yoon captured her.
She recalled the countless memories they had spent together.
“Ah…”
Only then did she finally realize.
I was with Oh-Jin the whole time.
No matter where she looked in her life, he had always been by her side, always and everywhere.
Now, she no longer existed at all in his memories.
“Did you really… forget everything, Oh-Jin?”