Chapter 53 …
EX-Level Reincarnation
I drove into downtown Gwangju.
The day had already broken. It was 10 a.m., and I arrived right on time.
“…Is this it?”
Jin Yeon-hee asked me as we reached our destination.
“Yeah. This is it.”
I answered calmly. Jin Yeon-hee still wore a strange expression. I understood—it felt the same to me.
[Byorobong Atelier]
A signboard with letters that weren’t even English. Below the modest shop, people were already lining up, even at this early hour.
Jin Yeon-hee and I stood together in line.
She wore a mask and a hat pulled down low. Her face was probably well-known, so she had to hide it as much as possible.
“Just wait in the car.”
“…No.”
I was the only one who really needed to wait, but did she insist on waiting with me?
“So… what are we buying?”
I pointed to the menu displayed outside the shop.
Byorobong Cake.
Byorobong Chocolate Cake.
Byorobong Strawberry Cake.
And so on. The menu was just filled with Byorobong, Byorobong, and more Byorobong.
“…We’re here to buy cake?”
“…Yeah.”
Right. That was exactly why I came here.
Apparently, there’s a famous cake shop in Gwangju.
This was the task Irene had asked me to handle.
“…I guess it’s cheap enough to take care of?”
Buying cake wasn’t a big deal—it was the kind of thing you could get permission for.
“You like cake? You’re not fond of sweets.”
Jin Yeon-hee said, and I nodded.
“It’s not that I like it… huh? How did you know I don’t like sweets?”
“…Kyung… told me.”
“That guy… tells everyone everything, doesn’t he?”
I shook my head in disbelief.
“I just had a request, so I figured I’d get it while I’m here.”
“Hmm…”
“They say it’s delicious.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Yeah. It’s been on TV a few times.”
“…Oh, really?”
If even Jin Yeon-hee knew of it, it must be more famous than I expected. No wonder the line was this long at such an early hour.
“At least two hours, I guess.”
“Two hours?”
Two hours for just one cake? That sounded rough.
“Do you really want to wait in the car? Or you can go ahead. I’ll just take the bus…”
“I’m fine.”
“Oh, okay.”
Her tone was unusually firm. Did she really not want to go in?
‘Or maybe…’
Maybe she liked sweets. That could be it.
‘Kyung-bum hated sweets,’ I recalled. He couldn’t stand even a little sugar. Twins could be different, though.
As we waited in line, a loud crash suddenly rang out.
“Ugh!”
Where was that sound from? I turned my gaze.
“What’s that?”
“What’s happening?”
Everyone’s attention was drawn to it. The noise came from the building next to the cake shop.
“Seriously? This is supposed to be a C-grade artifact? Its eyes look like holes!?”
A young man in a suit was shaking someone by the collar.
“Oh, sir… please calm down…!”
“Calm? Come on. It’s clearly above B-grade! You’re trying to scam me right now.”
“No…! I… I didn’t…!”
‘What’s going on?’
I squinted and focused. The man was holding a pen of some sort. He called it a B-grade artifact.
I checked the signboard of the building.
‘Ah, an Enchanter.’
This guy must be an Enchanter—the kind who can see the grade and details of an artifact.
I looked at the pen again.
[■ Eden Brush Pen (C)]
[■ A brush that never dries.]
“….”
The brush was indeed C-grade. Korca’s illusions confirmed it.
“You see why you shouldn’t leave it to cheap Enchanters. There’s a limit to scamming people.”
The young man kicked the wall with a grim smile.
Crack! The wall cracked under his foot.
‘Superhuman.’
That guy was a superhuman.
“What the…? Why’s he doing that?”
“Isn’t this dangerous?”
“Is that even allowed?”
As people murmured, the young man’s gaze turned toward us.
“What are you looking at?”
“Eek…!”
“Speak if you have something to say.”
Why was he so confident? I felt Jin Yeon-hee whisper beside me.
“…That’s the son of the genetic corporation owner.”
“Genetic corporation?”
“Yeah. I think they have a factory in Gwangju. I heard the owner’s son is an A-grade superhuman. Looks like this is him.”
“….”
I looked at the young man again.
[■ Owi-An activated.]
[■ Yu Sung-in (23)]
[■ Martial Arts of Reclamation (A)]
His grade confirmed it: A-grade superhuman.
The others gathered around him were also superhumans, though of lower grades.
“He’s notorious for shady places. I heard he even does illegal things.”
“….”
“If you get involved, it’ll be troublesome.”
Jin Yeon-hee’s words sounded like a warning.
“Look carefully again.”
Yu Sung-in thrust the pen at the Enchanter.
“This is a B-grade artifact, not C!”
“…Ah… but… no matter how I look…”
“You’re just trying to lowball the price, right? You think I don’t know?”
I activated my Hero’s Sixth Sense.
‘This guy…’
He was enjoying it—all of it. The reactions of the man, the situation, the attention from everyone else.
‘Ugh. Annoying.’
He was a real piece of trash. It had been a while since I’d seen someone like this.
“If you’d paid the proper price, he would’ve done it perfectly. Why lie to me…?”
“Ah… I-I know…! I wouldn’t lie…!”
“No. You did lie. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have said that after seeing it.”
“…Ah… n-no. I…”
I silently observed the scene. No one dared interfere; they knew he was a superhuman.
Yu Sung-in seemed to enjoy every bit of it and had no intention of stopping.
“Why provoke someone? Just give him what he wants.”
Exactly.
“There wasn’t supposed to be a problem.”
As Yu Sung-in was about to kick the wall again,
Bam!
His foot hit mine.
“What the—?”
Yu Sung-in’s gaze turned on me.
“…Lee Jin-woo…!”
Jin Yeon-hee gasped my name, but my body had already moved.
“Let’s not do this, shall we?”
Yu Sung-in’s lips curled.
“Huh? Not do this?”
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
“You don’t know who I am?”
“I do.”
“You do?”
“Criminal?”
“What?”
“Breaking into buildings and threatening people? That makes you a criminal, doesn’t it?”
“This brat…”
Yu Sung-in’s expression stiffened. The suited men around him stepped toward me.
“Ah, wait.”
Yu Sung-in blocked them.
“Look, you seem like a superhuman. Just step aside. Interfering will just make things troublesome for both sides.”
“Step aside?”
“Let’s not cause a scene. Everyone keeps face, everyone wins.”
“….”
“If you argue, it’s your fault first.”
Yu Sung-in pointed at the Enchanter.
“You’re trying to scam me, claiming a C-grade is B-grade. That’s a crime, isn’t it?”
“No…! That’s definitely…”
“See? You’re still lying.”
He moved his hand. I immediately grabbed his wrist.
Tight.
“….”
“…What’s this?”
He tried to pull free, but couldn’t.
“Damn it.”
“Let’s not do this, okay?”
A strange energy emanated from Yu Sung-in.
“You wanna try me?”
His strength increased. Veins popped on my arms.
At that moment.
“…Please calm down. You must exercise restraint with superhumans.”
One of the suited men approached him.
“The chairman instructed not to cause a commotion as well.”
“…Tch.”
Yu Sung-in’s strength drained.
“You’re lucky,” he said to the Enchanter as he stepped back.
“I’ll deal with you later.”
He walked toward the car he arrived in.
“….”
I watched carefully.
“Thank you…”
The man said to me.
“No problem.”
I smiled, hiding the slight tremor in my hands.
‘If he hadn’t stepped back then…’
What would he have done?
I quietly contemplated, hiding my trembling arm. Maybe it was from recent gate trips. Something felt off.
“Lee Jin-woo.”
Jin Yeon-hee’s voice.
“…What are you doing?”
“Ah, sorry.”
“If possible, don’t create friction.”
I frowned slightly at her words.
“So you’re saying I should have just let it go?”
“…What?”
“That doesn’t seem right.”
“You… are you saying I should have fought him here?”
“It wasn’t something to fight over.”
But if they attacked first…
“I would have.”
“You…”
“I became a knight for this kind of thing.”
“….”
Jin Yeon-hee was speechless.
Yes, I became a knight for moments like this.
“Sorry, but I don’t want to just ignore these things.”
I said calmly. Jin Yeon-hee pursed her lips.
“Uh… um… over there.”
The man trembled as he addressed us.
“You… are… knights?”
“Huh?”
He grabbed us desperately, his voice trembling.
“Please… help me…!”
A plea full of desperation.
Bam.
The moment I got into the car, Yu Sung-in violently kicked the front seat.
“That bastard…”
His face radiated pure anger.
At the same time, he held my wrist. The area that had been grabbed earlier was swollen and stinging.
“How dare….”
In front of all those people, he humiliated me? Yu Sung-in grit his teeth.
“Director Park.”
“Yes.”
“Check who that guy was earlier.”
“…Young master, as I said before… friction with a superhuman is…”
“Just check! Who said anything about fighting?!”
“I understand…”
Park sighed, overwhelmed by Yu Sung-in’s temper.
“He interfered with my work. That makes him an obstacle to the company, right?”
“….”
“Really annoying.”
I bit my nails. Something that should have been a quick task twisted into a mess.
‘If my father found out…’
It was obvious how that would go.
‘I should have just pushed him aside.’
If he hadn’t interfered, I could have scared him off quickly.
‘Who is this guy?’
He felt… strange.
‘I’ve seen that face somewhere…’
Yu Sung-in scowled.
‘Doesn’t matter.’
Either way, it didn’t matter.
‘Just get rid of him.’
As always, removing obstacles in front of me solved everything.
