TINL Ch 11

Sunwoo’s mind, bleached white, replayed his conversation with Wol on the plane like a broken film reel.

“It’s not like someone climbed on top of you and poked you while you were sleeping, Mr. Sunwoo, so what’s there to explain?”

Her image, questioning him with a puzzled look, overlapped with Wol’s current lifeless form. Sunwoo’s eyes, now fully aware of the kind of nights and nightmares that had been eating away at Wol, turned to the three aides. He simply stared at them with a cold gaze, as if he might transmit it to Wol, but gray smoke began to rise from their skin.

“Aagh! Aaaah!”

The flames, starting from the man clutching Wol’s ankle, quickly spread to the one grabbing her hair, and then engulfed the third, who was pinning down her shoulders. In an instant, their throats were ablaze. Sunwoo kicked away the three aides, who writhed, mouths agape, unable to even scream, and scooped Wol into his arms. Something dropped from her limp, thin body.

A syringe.

“What did I just see?”

A calm, toneless voice escaped his lips, causing Mago to raise an eyebrow. In her experience, the reactions of those who witnessed her punishment of Wol usually fell into two categories: frowning and looking away, or joining in the punishment.

‘Of course, there was that Wolgungju who went crazy with anger… but this kind of indifferent reaction is a first.’

Mago, massaging her hand throbbing from Woljeop’s poison, observed Sunwoo as if he were a curious object. He was regenerating Wol’s body, calmly staring at the syringe that had fallen onto the bloodstained carpet. The power of purification and regeneration emanating from him, so strong that it was even freshening the stale air of the room. Mago tilted her lips, uttering an admiration that wasn’t quite admiration.

“I heard you burned Haemoseu and Gusang. And you still have power left?”

“Me? Burn them? I think you’re mistaken.”

Sunwoo denied it without a moment’s hesitation. Facing his unwrinkled face, Mago finally realized her preference. She couldn’t stand those who weren’t wary of her. Those who grew up receiving endless love and knew nothing of the world’s dangers. Or, those arrogant ones who believed that nothing could frighten them if they only set their minds to it.

Sunwoo was the former, Wol the latter. A long sigh escaped Mago at the thought of having to repeat the years and effort she invested in teaching Wol awe, now with Sunwoo.

‘If I step on that guy like I did Myungwol, Grandma Seolmundae will throw a fit. What should I do?’

Sunwoo calmly met Mago’s scrutinizing gaze as he removed his hand from Wol’s abdomen. Even though her body was restored without a single scar, Wol’s unfocused eyes continued to stream with tears. Sunwoo spread his hand, gently covering Wol’s trembling eyes, filled with pain, fear, and disgust, and asked Mago,

“Are you staying because you have something to say to me or my senior?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Mago merely frowned, unable to find a suitable answer. When Mago’s eyes went to her aides, still convulsing and sparking at his feet, Sunwoo let out an “Ah” and smiled innocently.

“You were waiting to leave with your aides. I thought you were waiting because you had something to tell me and my senior.”

“…….”

“It seems like it will take a little longer for the flames to die down. Should I make you a cup of coffee while you wait?”

He asked in a most friendly voice, with a kind smile. As if he really intended to make coffee, Sunwoo carefully laid the sleeping Wol on the now-clean bed, covered her with his jacket, and picked up the electric kettle.

“Please wait a moment. I’m quite good at getting the temperature and time right for this sort of thing.”

Mago’s bewildered eyes followed his movements. Sunwoo’s laughter as he filled the kettle with water. The clear, gurgling sound of the water. The crackling sound of the aides burning like firewood. Sounds that didn’t belong together were all mixed up. It was a dissonance that Mago, in her immeasurably long life, had never encountered before. Perplexed by the man’s serene composure, Mago asked uneasily,

“Trainee Bae Sunwoo… you realize you’re acting very strangely right now, don’t you? Is that your usual personality?”

His flawless face tilted slightly. Blinking silently with his head tilted, Sunwoo glanced several times between the flames flickering at his feet and Mago’s bloodstained bandages before his eyes crinkled into a smile.

“Ah. You’re saying I’m acting strange because I’m too calm. Right?”

“…Right.”

“This is a side effect that appears when I suddenly increase my purification power. Grandma Seolmundae says I haven’t mastered my power yet, so it seems to purify even my mind. She said ‘Tranquility’ will probably be my symbol when my name is recorded in the Divine Registry.”

“Tranquility? Purifying your mind…?”

“Yes. Thoughts disappear from my head, and my heart becomes very peaceful. It’s funny that this is a side effect, isn’t it?”

As Mago spoke with the handsome man, laughing cheerfully with such innocence, a different kind of discomfort than she felt with Wol twisted in her gut. Purification and regeneration were abilities usually bestowed upon fire-wielding deities, but Mago had never heard of purifying thoughts and emotions.

‘If his emotions are purified, then why are the flames burning my kids getting fiercer…?’

As Mago’s eyebrows furrowed with discomfort, Sunwoo tore open a packet of yellow instant coffee mix and added shyly,

“Grandma Seolmundae also hated it whenever I was like this. She said I looked like a monk pretending to be enlightened.”

Mago’s eyebrows furrowed even deeper. Burning aides on the floor, Mago nervously dabbing at her bloodstained bandages in front of him, and Wol lying unconscious on the bed, yet Sunwoo remained completely relaxed. Wearing a chillingly static smile, he handed Mago a mug of coffee and returned to Wol’s side.

“Since I’m still getting used to the workings of the Celestial Realm, I’m wondering why this kind of thing happens.”

“This kind of thing?”

As Mago shrugged, as if she didn’t understand, and accepted the cup, Sunwoo added a more detailed explanation.

“It seems like this isn’t uncommon, so I’m curious why my senior told me to ‘take my time’ when she sent me out, and why Ms. Mago would repeat this.”

“…Even I’m a bit taken aback when you ask so directly.”

“Hmm. I asked because I thought it would be better to know clearly, but if it’s difficult to answer, you can pretend you didn’t hear me.”

He smiled pleasantly, as if he genuinely didn’t mind, and touched Wol’s forehead to check her temperature. Mago, displeased by his nonchalant attitude, drained her coffee and subtly probed Sunwoo.

“Trainee Bae Sunwoo, isn’t there something more important you should be concerned about right now?”

“Uh… is there something else I should be aware of?”

At his nonchalant reply, Mago kicked her aides with the tip of her shoe, lifting her chin.

“You did this to my aides. You know you don’t have immunity, right, Trainee Bae Sunwoo?”

“Why would I need immunity?”

“…You’re not really asking because you don’t know, are you?”

“I really don’t know.”

Sunwoo blinked innocently, as if he were even more confused. Mago, staring at him in disbelief, suppressed a chuckle and replied in a tone used to admonish a child.

“Trainee Bae Sunwoo, you just messed with the aides of Mago Halmang, the highest deity in the Celestial Realm. This won’t end with just ordinary punishment.”

“Ah. Now that you mention it, I understand clearly why you haven’t left. You were contemplating how to deal with me.”

He continued, speaking innocently with a bright smile, as if he were finally relieved.

“Strictly speaking, this fire isn’t my fault, so there’s no reason for me to be punished, right?”

“If it’s not Trainee Bae Sunwoo’s fault, then who else would set a fire here?”

“I only planted a small spark on my senior’s clothes to fulfill my duty. Protecting my senior is my job. It’s not the security company’s fault if a burglar sets off a noisy alarm, is it?”

“What a cute lie. If you planted a spark on her clothes, my hand should have burned first, shouldn’t it? Since I stabbed Director Myung.”

“Normally, that would be the case, but as you know, I haven’t been registered in the Divine Registry yet. I don’t have good control over my power.”

Sunwoo raised his arms and sighed lightly. At his gesture, as if showing off his irritatingly calm demeanor, Mago became irritated. He spoke brightly, as if everything would be alright.

“Don’t worry, I can restore burned bodies as long as they’re still breathing. See.”

Sunwoo sat up with sparkling eyes and abruptly tore off an aide’s arm. A new arm sprouted from the severed spot like a new bud. He tore off the other arm and detached the legs one by one. He spread his hands like a child showing off a toy, then furrowed his brows and shook his head.

“Oh dear. I forgot to regenerate the torso.”

Then, before Mago could stop him, he yanked out the burning head and restored the charred torso to its original form. He did the same to the other two aides, leaving a pile of burnt limbs and a head piled up in a corner of the room. The aides, gasping in pain from the reconstruction, which was several times more excruciating than being burned, stared in horror at the limbs that had just been attached to their bodies. Mago’s expression wasn’t much different. Only Sunwoo was genuinely pleased, crunching the piled-up limbs under his feet.

“Since both my senior and your aides have been restored without any damage, there’s no need to hold anyone accountable, right?”

He asked for confirmation, grinding the charred limbs into dust. Mago’s lips tilted.

“Unlike Director Myung, who doesn’t react no matter how you poke her, Trainee Bae Sunwoo definitely has a fresh, trainee-like charm.”

“Really? Thank you for the compliment.”

“It’s not a compliment. Director Myung, even if she’s quiet, must have had a reason for not screaming. I’m mocking you for being naive, taking your anger out on the wrong people without thinking about that.”

Mago tapped the single glass left on top of the refrigerator and sighed.

“Even the cheapest motel provides more than one glass, you know.”

“Ah, I see. Thank you for letting me know.”

Contrary to Mago’s expectation that he would be shocked and check Wol’s mouth, Sunwoo simply nodded his thanks with a low murmur. At the same time, the air in the room became refreshingly clean. An uncomfortable tranquility surrounded Sunwoo, to the point that the aides, who were creeping closer to Mago, exchanged uneasy glances. Mago, trying not to show her unfamiliarity with this strange feeling, elegantly lifted her nose.

“Well. I suppose this is enough of a warning to stop messing around. Fix your precious senior’s mouth. And behave yourself so I don’t have to come back.”

“Yes. I’ll let her know as soon as she wakes up. Please be careful on your way out.”

Sunwoo, who had escorted her to the door, bowed politely. After the uninvited guests had left, Sunwoo, still with a calm smile and voice, spoke gently to the unconscious Wol.

“It seems Ms. Mago never had a senior who taught her not to swallow what others give her so carelessly. Pitiful.”