Chapter 50: Awakening Memories
Before we left Mangawon, Lady Sunhwa packed a huge bundle of things for Aize.
Watching her was exactly like watching a mother fill her married daughter’s hands with fruit and side dishes before sending her home.
When we returned to Aize’s apartment and opened the bundle, all kinds of things spilled out.
Tea and sweets from Heaven.
Necklaces.
Earrings.
Various accessories.
Aize happily tried on necklaces and earrings while staring into the mirror.
I wasn’t doing as well.
Maybe the fight with Rakshasa Pokgwi had been harder on me than I realized.
I even felt chills.
Aize looked worried.
She said I might have suddenly consumed too much Black Spirit Energy.
I barely touched dinner.
Then I went to bed early.
The moment my head touched the pillow, I fell asleep almost like I had lost consciousness.
I seemed to be dreaming.
Even in my hazy state, I felt peaceful.
I slowly opened my eyes.
It was a beautiful place.
Thin mist covered a vast field like a carpet.
Flowers of every color bloomed everywhere.
I was resting beneath the shade of an enormous tree.
Its thick branches and countless leaves spread above me like a giant umbrella.
My head rested on a woman’s lap.
She gently stroked my hair with her pale hand.
The woman wore a light pink feathered robe and elegant palace clothes.
Her long black hair was smooth like ebony and reached all the way to the ground.
Her delicate face carried such clear energy that she looked almost mysterious.
“Taebaek, I heard yesterday was very difficult.”
Taebaek?
What is this woman talking about?
She looked down at me warmly.
My mouth began moving without my permission.
“I fought Dae-ryeok Magwi of the Three Evils of the Underworld.”
I heard myself speak calmly.
“She destroyed Blade Mountain Hell and released evil spirits so they could attack Heaven.”
“Fortunately, I think I stopped them.”
The woman smiled slightly.
“Then among the Three Evils, only Gwangsal and Pacheon remain.”
“That’s right.”
I answered.
“Gwangsal and Pacheon won’t be a problem either.”
Taebaek’s thoughts flowed directly into my consciousness.
For this woman, I can do anything.
Taebaek believed that with complete certainty.
Then the woman spoke again.
“Taebaek.”
Her expression became serious.
“If something ever happens to me... you must never lose your reason.”
“Hahaha.”
Taebaek laughed.
“Why are you suddenly saying something like that?”
He seemed completely confident.
Even if something happened to her, he believed he could solve it.
At that moment, Taebaek believed no one in the entire Underworld could defeat him.
“If you lose control and consume all of your Black Spirit Energy, the Heavenly Origin Energy I planted within you may also come undone.”
What does that mean?
Even I couldn’t understand her.
Taebaek asked instead.
“Are you saying I could return to my former form as the Bulgasari?”
“Yes.”
She looked worried.
“If you lose your reason while returning to the Bulgasari, the entire Underworld may be placed in danger.”
She lowered her voice.
“So please promise me.”
“What do you want me to promise?”
“No matter what happens....”
Her eyes trembled.
“Promise me you will never lose yourself and return to the Bulgasari.”
“Hahaha.”
Taebaek smiled confidently.
“All right.”
“That’s easy enough.”
He believed there was absolutely no chance of such a thing ever happening.
Suddenly...
Black darkness rushed over everything like a vortex.
The world disappeared.
Then the darkness slowly cleared.
“Grrrrrr....”
The world looked smaller.
No.
I had become larger.
A beast-like growl echoed in my ears.
Pain so intense it felt like madness crushed my chest.
My heart ached with the desperate pain of wanting to grab something that could no longer be reached.
Far away, the woman was being dragged away by someone.
“GRAAAAAH!”
A monster roared.
Blue lightning split the sky with thunder.
“HWAYEONG!”
Someone screamed.
“YOU CAN’T GO!”
“DON’T LEAVE ME!”
The voice was filled with Taebaek’s despair.
Then rage came.
Hatred.
A curse against the entire world.
“IF ALL OF THIS WAS PLANNED...”
“I’LL KILL THEM ALL!”
“I’LL DESTROY EVERYTHING!”
That was Taebaek’s scream.
“Aaargh!”
I shot upright with a scream.
My chest still hurt as though it were being torn apart.
Tears filled my eyes.
“Hwayeong....”
I grabbed my trembling hands.
“That’s right.”
“Her name was Hwayeong.”
For a long time, I had to calm the anger and hatred filling my chest.
That day, I suddenly developed an extremely high fever.
I had to remain in bed all morning.
Aize stayed beside me the entire time, changing the wet towel on my forehead and taking care of me.
Maybe thanks to her, the fever began to fall in the afternoon.
Once I recovered enough to move, I went downstairs.
I wrapped myself in a blanket and sat in the living room while staring outside.
The early-summer sunlight felt painful on my face.
Maybe because I still had a fever, faint steam seemed to leave my mouth whenever I breathed.
Even though it was daytime, many people were walking along the Han River.
Everyone was simply enjoying an ordinary afternoon.
“Oppa.”
Aize sat beside me.
“This is Dragon Well Fragrance Tea.”
“I brought some from Mangawon.”
She handed me a cup.
“Mom said it’s good when your mind and energy are unstable.”
The tea smelled deep and gentle.
I took a sip.
The warm energy seemed to touch every corner of my body.
“Aize.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know a woman named Hwayeong?”
Aize became quiet.
“Yes.”
“Hwayeong unnie is Arang unnie’s older sister.”
Then she looked directly at me.
“Oppa... do you remember Hwayeong unnie?”
“Yeah....”
I weakly nodded.
“I remember her now.”
Aize studied my face.
“Maybe your fever is a side effect of recovering the Inhwang’s previous-life memories.”
“What kind of person was Hwayeong?”
Aize answered simply.
“Kind.”
“Beautiful.”
“A really good person.”
“That’s it?”
“She possessed a special power called Heavenly Origin Energy.”
Aize continued.
“She was also the person who gave life to me when I was still only a spear.”
I remembered hearing the words Heavenly Origin Energy inside the dream too.
“Aize.”
“Yes?”
“What happened to Hwayeong?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you know?”
My voice became slightly louder.
“You’re Lady Sunhwa’s adopted daughter.”
“You were always Taebaek’s partner too.”
Anger suddenly began rising from somewhere deep inside my chest.
A terrible thought appeared.
What if even Aize is hiding something from me?
“I really don’t know!”
Aize immediately shouted back.
“Normally, I stayed in the Heavenly Palace.”
“I only went with Taebaek when he summoned me or fought evil spirits.”
“So I really don’t know what happened.”
“You didn’t hear anything?”
Fortunately, she didn’t seem to be lying or hiding anything.
“No.”
“Nobody would talk about Hwayeong unnie.”
Aize looked troubled.
“Maybe they didn’t want to.”
“I see....”
I hesitated.
“Taebaek really loved Hwayeong, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Aize’s voice became quiet.
“He loved her very much.”
Then she looked down.
“So I was jealous a lot.”
Her expression looked so depressed that I lifted the blanket and put part of it over her.
“Oppa.”
She looked at me strangely.
“What?”
“It’s hot.”
“Oh.”
I blinked.
“Right.”
“It’s early summer.”
Because of my fever, I had forgotten the weather.
“Hahaha.”
“I thought you might be cold.”
“Sorry.”
I pulled the blanket back.
Then Aize grabbed it again.
“No.”
She smiled.
“I’m not cold, but I like it.”
“I’ll stay under the blanket too.”
We sat close together.
“Aize.”
“Yes?”
“Was I punished by Heaven because I tried to destroy Heaven?”
Aize thought for a moment.
“I don’t know.”
“I was inside the Heavenly Palace at the time.”
“Far away, I heard explosions like thunder.”
“There was lightning.”
“I think even the sky turned dark.”
She lowered her voice.
“And then Taebaek disappeared.”
“I see....”
I could roughly imagine what had happened.
That idiot Taebaek.
He loved Hwayeong so much that when something happened to her, he lost control, transformed into a monster, went insane, and got punished.
Even now, Taebaek’s pain made my own chest hurt.
I drank another sip of Dragon Well Fragrance Tea to calm myself.
My memories were slowly returning.
I still didn’t know what had happened to the woman Taebaek loved and desperately wanted to protect.
But I had a feeling the returning memories would eventually tell me.
Deep inside the Osong Science Complex in Daejeon stood a research facility that had recently become famous worldwide.
The facility belonged to Doctor Kim Hyeongseop, the researcher who had established the world’s first technology for creating cloned humans using somatic cells.
It was already late at night.
Doctor Kim sat in a conference room with several researchers.
They were attending a video conference.
“Why does Daemang Group suddenly want to acquire our research facility, Director Cheonjin?”
Doctor Kim looked at the screen.
Cheonjin appeared from his office.
“Our Daemang Group intends to develop the advanced biotechnology industry as a major next-generation growth engine.”
Cheonjin smiled.
“Your recently announced human cloning technology has been selected as one of the most promising future technologies for our group.”
“That is why we want to invest.”
Doctor Kim’s expression darkened.
“I appreciate Daemang Group valuing my research so highly.”
“However, there are still many obstacles.”
“Life ethics law is one.”
“There are also numerous technical problems.”
He spoke firmly.
“And I oppose a private corporation using this technology for commercial purposes.”
Cheonjin remained calm.
“What if I offer twice the amount of money you currently have in mind?”
The other researchers immediately began whispering.
Cheonjin didn’t even know the number Doctor Kim was thinking about.
Offering double was basically the same as handing him a blank check and telling him to write any amount.
Doctor Kim looked troubled.
“This is extremely difficult.”
“I cannot understand why you want this technology so badly.”
“Besides, it is still merely theory.”
Doctor Kim’s discovery of human cloning technology had been almost accidental.
Originally, he had been researching ways to create nerve cells using somatic cells.
Human cloning technology had emerged during that research.
He had published the results in an academic journal because of personal ambition.
But actually creating cloned humans crossed a line against the sanctity of life.
He strongly believed no corporation should use such technology simply to make money.
Cheonjin suddenly smiled.
“As far as I know, Doctor....”
“You have already created a cloned fetus using that technology.”
Doctor Kim froze.
It was true.
“No matter what you say, I have no intention of transferring the technology to Daemang Group.”
Click.
Doctor Kim immediately ended the video conference.
Cheonjin was right.
The reason Doctor Kim could be sure his human cloning technology was complete was because he had secretly tested it.
And the experiment had succeeded.
Doctor Kim couldn’t understand how Cheonjin knew.
He slowly looked around at the other researchers.
Someone here had clearly leaked information to Daemang Group.
Maybe they had been bribed.
Either way, Doctor Kim became deeply uneasy.
Cheonjin did not seem like a man who would quietly give up.
Doctor Kim slowly stood.
If the truth became public, his career as a scientist could end.
He needed to act immediately.
Having made a decision, Doctor Kim silently left the conference room.
