Chapter 7 …
Sejin stumbled out of the dim forest, panting, and his appearance was a complete mess.
So bad, in fact, that if a beggar saw him, they might accuse him of encroaching on their begging territory.
Grrr—!
As if the exhaustion from the battle with the Divine Vassal weren’t enough, his stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl.
‘At this rate, I could probably set sail.’
Starving and unusually sentimental, Sejin gazed at the sun as it slowly sank.
Ah… how miserable.
“What am I even doing with my life?”
Sejin stared blankly at the red mark on the back of his hand.
There was still only one—Pagun.
Would anyone ever recognize that he was running himself ragged, sacrificing everything to stop the world’s destruction?
Well… of course not. Not even his mom or his younger sister, Sea, had any idea what he was up to.
To them, he was just a pathetic unemployed bum who’d bombed the CSAT and given up on retaking it.
His CSAT score—so bad it was practically a random guess—had left both his mom and Sea horrified.
‘You… you did read the questions before answering, right?’
His mother had openly questioned her child’s intelligence.
‘You didn’t just fill it in randomly, did you?’
Sea’s voice had risen, unable to believe her sister’s astonishingly low score.
It was such a disastrous ranking that even the suggestion of retaking the exam had died on the spot.
‘Everyone… I laid the groundwork for you. Please step on me and climb higher!’
Sejin had left the exam hall scattering tears, fully expecting the result—unlike her family.
They thought she’d come to her senses eventually, but Sejin shattered that hope and had now been a useless freeloader for two full years.
Worse still, she was the type to quit part-time jobs after only a few attempts.
What was the point of getting a job anyway…? Every time an undetectable gate appeared, Pagun would nag her nonstop, making steady employment impossible.
Her mom, who had tried gently coaxing her at first, now seemed half resigned.
‘Fine… as long as you’re healthy. As long as you’ve got all your limbs… that’s enough. That’s good enough. At least the kid’s kind-hearted…’
It went on for so long that Sejin couldn’t even tell whether her mother was saying it to her—or repeating it to herself.
That final confirmation that her mother had given up on her left Sejin unable to cry or laugh.
A healthy, unemployed person destined to prevent the end of the world swallowed a secret she could never tell anyone and sniffled.
Everyone! I’m not even asking you to appreciate my hard work—just please don’t come after me and try to catch me. Sob.
Suddenly, Sejin stopped whining and screamed into the empty air.
“Aaaah!”
Clutching her head, she hopped around in place, overwhelmed by the sheer misery of her situation.
“I am stopping the apocalypse, right?”
What if she was the only one putting on this pathetic, tearful solo performance? Sejin clenched her lips tightly.
[You poor thing… tsk.]
Pagun clicked his tongue, clearly just as pitiful toward her, but cut himself off before launching into a lecture.
“Whatever. Let’s just eat.”
Complaining wouldn’t change anything, and getting angry wouldn’t improve the situation. Still—being able to stop the apocalypse by sacrificing just herself wasn’t nothing.
She tried stuffing her head with positive thoughts, but her energy was already completely drained.
Dragging her feet, Sejin headed back toward the gukbap restaurant she’d left midway through her meal earlier.
They say a ghost who dies full looks better, after all.
[Wouldn’t it be better to move somewhere else?]
At Pagun’s worried tone, Sejin shook her head. She understood his concern, but right now, going to another area might actually be more dangerous.
“They’ll obviously start searching from the direction I ran. That guy’s persistent, you know?”
[True.]
Last time, she’d panicked and fled in one direction without thinking—only to nearly run straight into Han Gitae, who’d already set up a blockade ahead. She’d almost gotten caught after escaping so well.
Sejin shook her head violently, as if still traumatized.
“It’s better to lie low nearby.”
[Agreed.]
Pagun echoed her decision, clearly thinking it was the right call.
“Man… I really look like a beggar now.”
Sejin frowned irritably at her reflection, recalling how messed up she’d gotten while fighting the Divine Vassal.
At the foot of the mountain, where few people passed by, Sejin opened the black backpack she was carrying.
Inside were clothes she’d prepared beforehand. After glancing around, she quickly changed into a clean outfit.
It was just a switch from a black hoodie to a gray one, but she looked far more presentable than before.
Still, there was nothing she could do about her hair, flattened under her cap. She took off the black cap and shook it against her thigh.
She’d rolled around so much while fighting that it was caked with dust.
After fixing the cap back on her head, Sejin resumed walking at a slow pace.
“Haa… I’m exhausted.”
Constantly being on edge, wondering when government hunters might come after her, had left her whole body aching.
Maybe it was stress-induced muscle pain or something. She wandered along with such pointless thoughts.
“Man, nothing doesn’t hurt.”
Despite her age-inappropriate groaning, Pagun stayed silent—perhaps his own way of offering comfort.
They’d been together for ages. Of course he knew her personality. He knew this was just venting.
Just as Sejin understood Pagun well, Pagun understood her too.
Feeling that consideration, Sejin let out a deep sigh.
Bad thoughts, go away!
She forcefully erased the image of her ragged appearance from her mind, recalling her mom’s nagging about someone her age wandering around looking like a beggar.
Even as she walked sluggishly, Sejin kept brushing dust off her clothes.
Before she knew it, she’d reached beneath a bridge and glanced around.
The river flowing beneath was already dyed yellow by the sunset.
“My whole body hurts.”
Muttering to herself, Sejin trudged along after narrowly avoiding Han Gitae yet again.
[Just hang in there a little longer, Sejin… One day, this lonely and exhausting fight will come to an end.]
Even with Pagun’s reassurance, her slumped shoulders refused to straighten.
What kind of sin did I commit in a past life?
Wait—did I even commit one?
If this life’s difficulty setting is this high… I’d have to have sold out my country or something for it to make sense.
Don’t tell me… was I a traitor in my past life?
Sejin abruptly stopped walking at the fundamental question.
No… They said I was Cheonhee’s soul, so I couldn’t have been a traitor, right?
“Ha, damn it. The more I think about it, the angrier I get.”
She’d definitely been trying to think positively. But the moment her mind wandered, anger bubbled right up.
[J-Just calm down! You’re just hungry, that’s all!]
Did he think she was some kind of glutton? As Pagun tried to placate her, her stomach let out another loud protest.
Clutching her twisting gut, she groaned.
“Ugh… my stomach’s killing me.”
She should’ve eaten the gukbap instead of watching the news earlier.
And seriously—why did Han Gitae have to suddenly pop up on screen like that…? He couldn’t even let her eat in peace.
That wasn’t all.
Thinking back to the attack that had flown at her earlier sent chills racing down her spine.
‘That was a real killing blow.’
If it had hit, she’d have died instantly.
If she hadn’t caught—kyu-kyu…—the Divine Vassal today, she might’ve been captured for sure.
Maybe catching the Divine Vassal was actually a good thing?
‘It was a good thing… right?’
No matter what, she couldn’t get used to that appearance.
Probably never would.
‘How am I supposed to adapt to a gigantic hornet?!’
[Honestly… just thinking about what might’ve happened if you hadn’t caught it today makes my blood run cold.]
Pagun agreed—it really had been a stroke of luck.
‘Luck… right?’
She had a feeling she’d flinch every time she summoned the Divine Vassal from now on.
‘Now’s not the time to be picky. Let’s not discriminate against spirit creatures.’
Sejin tidied up her stray hair and steeled herself.
[Let’s eat first. Sejin—there’s a shop up ahead!]
As she arrived, the delicious smell wafted out from the storefront.
Sejin opened the glass door—then froze with her hand still on the handle.
‘Wow… I think I’m seriously screwed.’
She blinked in disbelief, but the bright red hair stubbornly refused to disappear from her vision.
‘Why are you here?’
Thunk-thunk. A familiar, upbeat rhythm and song automatically started playing in her head.
The moment their eyes met, Sejin stiffened.
[H-Heeek! Th-that guy!]
At Pagun’s panicked voice, Sejin quickly schooled her expression.
But her wide pupils betrayed her, her eyes trembling like reeds in the wind.
[Isn’t that the Silver Spirit Guild Master? Do Jaegyu, was it?]
‘This is… seriously not okay.’
Just as Pagun said, sitting inside this fifty-year-old traditional gukbap restaurant was none other than Do Jaegyu.
The words “Hyung, why are you here?” almost slipped out on their own.
The day was already hard enough. Why you too…?
‘I’m screwed.’
It was too late to quietly back away. She’d already made direct eye contact with Do Jaegyu.
A red alert blared inside her head, sirens screaming in warning.
‘I’m really, truly screwed!’
