< 2nd Life >
I instinctively realized that this was an opportunity that would never come again.
‘I’m going to be the luckiest guy since the beginning of time?’
A mild excitement washed over me.
“Is that luck like winning the lottery if you just buy it, getting a perfect score on an exam if you just pick it, or getting hit with a windfall on the street? That kind of thing?”
[Hahaha, if you live long enough, you might get a windfall like that. But you can’t always hope for that to happen, right? That’s not how life is.]
So that’s what I’m asking.
[When you were punished by heaven. You were always hindered in everything you did. But this time, it will be the opposite.]
oh!
[If good connections gather, and opportunities big and small arise from them, and if luck is on your side, life will become quite enjoyable. That is great fortune.]
King Yeomra smiled broadly.
[So please be careful when forming relationships. The fortunes of human life are derived from relationships.]
“I will keep that in mind.”
I bent down.
These were words engraved in my bones.
I really had no luck.
[How do you want to live in your next life?]
I want to enjoy things I couldn’t enjoy in my past life.
A life of pride where I live proudly in front of others, putting my name on the line.
A healthy body free from overt contempt and loathing because of visible scars.
A happy family that received lots of parental love from a young age and grew up living happily with their children.
It’s better if you’re born with a silver spoon in your mouth.
[What kind of blessing do you want?]
King Yeomra spoke confidently.
[Wealth, fame, outstanding talent, good looks, beautiful women, precious children, health and longevity. Choose from any of them.]
“thank you.”
I expressed my gratitude with my whole body.
I decided not to mention the unjust punishment I received and the hardships I had to endure because of it.
‘It’s a guest to argue about the rights and wrongs of the weak. You should make a claim when you have the ability to handle the other person, not when you have a just cause. I’m in a position where I need to be treated with leniency right now.’
King Yeomra is an absolute ruler who unilaterally decides my fate.
“Please choose the one that King Yeomra thinks is okay. I will trust and follow it.”
[Well, if it’s a blessing in the next life, everyone’s eyes will roll over and they’ll run to it. Can I really choose?]
“Of course. I hope you choose wisely.”
[Hahaha, smart. Good. Very good!]
King Yeomra banged the table and declared refreshingly.
[I promised to take responsibility in my name. I will make sure to give you all the blessings I mentioned earlier! Of course, all of them will be of the highest grade.]
It was literally a windfall.
If I had chosen them myself, I would have had to give up some, but I ended up getting all five blessings.
“thank you.”
[Hmm, but why is your expression like that? What’s bothering you?]
I hesitated for a moment and then opened my mouth.
“It may be presumptuous of me to say this, but it is because I still have regrets from my past life.”
[Foolishness. Is it the adoptive son’s side or the parents’ side?]
“Both.”
They say there are three deep connections that even the heavens cannot separate.
People called it the law of nature.
Relationships with parents, couples, and children.
Since I didn’t have a marital relationship with any of them, I can’t help but be attached to the remaining two relationships.
“Will I be able to see my deceased parents? There is no other way to meet them except in the afterlife.”
My mother passed away when I was seven, and I never met my father even once in my life, although I only knew that he used the Cha surname.
In that way, my parents became the longing and regret of my life.
[Hmm.]
But for some reason, King Yeomra had a troubled expression on his face.
“Please.”
dump.
I got down on my knees.
“Please be lenient and forgiving to this poor soul. I beg for mercy.”
If this wasn’t enough, I was also willing to do a five-point prostration.
I didn’t want to waste my pride and lose the opportunity to meet someone precious.
That’s something only a loser would do.
I am a person who would do anything for my son’s happiness, if only I could see my parents again.
“If there is a price to pay, I will pay it. Is that not okay?”
Exactly.
King Yeomra snapped his fingers.
Then the time of the deceased stopped.
*
King Yeomra spoke to the grim reaper who brought Cha Jeong-hyeok.
[Teaser.]
[Yes, Your Majesty.]
[I think that guy looks like a top-quality jewel that will be hard to come by again.]
The grim reaper raised his head.
‘How can the great king praise a mere human soul like this!’
It was the first time in thirty thousand years that I had lived as a hermit.
The grim reaper looked at Cha Jeong-hyeok again with wide eyes.
[Your Majesty, are you serious?]
[Of course.]
King Yeomra said.
[You must know about the divine punishment given to traitors.]
[Yes, you will be subjected to the most horrible punishment in the afterlife.]
[All kinds of disabilities and illnesses, betrayals and frauds, groundless accusations and humiliations. And on top of that, poverty and misfortune.]
You will literally have to go through hell.
[The words of those who have been punished by heaven are usually similar. Not only do they torment themselves and those around them, but they also commit all sorts of sins using their fate as an excuse. In a word, they are beyond help.]
[Yes.]
[But that guy is different. They say that it is harder for a rich man to go to heaven when he dies than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. That guy overcame even the punishment of heaven and bought his own ticket to heaven.]
Life is essentially what you sow.
[The only wealth allowed was black money, and his life would have been filled with bad relationships. That guy really is good at something.]
King Yeomra rested his chin on his clasped hands.
The gaze looking at Cha Jeong-hyeok was hot.
[It would be a waste to erase all my memories like this. Wouldn’t they just turn back into raw materials?]
[Your Majesty, the memories of a reincarnated human must be erased. That is the law of the underworld!]
The grim reaper shouted in horror.
[No! Are you going to commit a mortal sin because of a little curiosity?]
[A grave sin? You mean the incident where you mistakenly classified a national hero as a traitor and treated him accordingly.]
[Ugh······.]
[Shouldn’t we take responsibility and handle this properly?]
The grim reaper shut his mouth tightly and bowed his head.
[As it turns out, there’s a good way to handle this situation.]
King Yeomra snapped his fingers.
Exactly.
The time of the dead began to flow again.
*
King Yeomra nodded.
[Okay. I will grant your wish. I will let you meet your parents.]
“Really?”
[I will continue the relationship with your adopted son. This time, with your biological son.]
“thank you!”
I was so happy that I thought my heart would burst.
I heard that I can see my mother who passed away after 45 years!
They say you can meet the father you’ve only imagined!
I can see my son again!
I was just so touched.
Exactly.
King Yeomra snapped his fingers.
Then a golden light flashed from my body.
[In the name of Yeomra, I give you a special eye. I hope you find it useful.]
Special eyes?
[One more thing. I didn’t know, but you were actually the third generation of a conglomerate. You just couldn’t enjoy it because you were punished by heaven.]
“yes?”
[Ask your mother yourself. Who your father is.]
Wait a minute!
[This time, I’m going to visit my maternal grandparents.]
Wayla Minute!
[Then, let’s live happily in the second life and meet again in a hundred years.]
Whew!
As King Yeomra opened his sleeve, a fierce wind blew.
I was swept away by the whirlwind, helpless.
The grim reaper who brought me also screamed and was sucked into the room in circles.
[That’s your guardian angel. It’s a bonus.]
That was my last memory from the afterlife.
*
“Huh!”
My breath, which had been suffocating, was released.
I sat up with a start.
A cold sweat broke out.
My body shivered in the cold air outside the blanket.
“Ugh! My head!”
I was clutching my head with a terrible headache.
As I was dying, 52 years of memories that I had seen in a flash came rushing back like a waterfall.
It felt like even the phrases from flyers, newspapers, TV, and books that I had only vaguely seen in my life were being forcibly engraved into my mind.
The amount of information coming in was so overwhelming that I felt dizzy and my stomach was turning.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh······!”
Everything was too clear.
My head was also in a mess.
With King Yeomra’s words, the terrible headache ended.
‘I thought I was a carefree person because my parents were orphaned, but I’m actually the third generation of a conglomerate? And I have a maternal family? Why on earth has my mother never said anything like that to me······.’
A snicker came out.
‘Was there such a thing as adult circumstances?’
Anyway, the fact is that no one came to see me after my mother passed away.
He couldn’t even enter an orphanage and suffered all kinds of hardships.
A life in the back alleys that was lonelier and more cruel than I could have imagined began.
‘When I see my mother, I’ll have to ask her what’s going on? Where is she?’
I looked around for my mother.
The room glowed blue in the dim moonlight shining outside the window.
Floral wallpaper, aluminum sash, yellow cheap paneling, colorful tiger blankets, vinyl wardrobes and folding iron dining tables.
There’s even a light switch hanging from a string of fluorescent lights.
“uh······?”
As soon as I realized where this was, I got goosebumps.
‘Isn’t this the shack in Kuro-dong where I lived with my mother when I was young?’
It was just as I remembered.
However, this place must have disappeared a long time ago, having been forcibly demolished right after my mother passed away.
My eyes stopped for a moment when they caught sight of the calendar hanging on the wall.
“······!”
A day I will never forget in my life.
I lost my mother on this day when I was seven years old.
‘Could it be that the second life was not reincarnation but regression? Then I am with my mother not in the afterlife but in this world······.’
I immediately lifted the blanket.
“mom!”
My mother was sleeping with her body curled up like a shrimp, snoring softly.
I felt the warm body temperature along with the smell of my mother that I missed.
< 2nd Life> End
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