How the Reincarnation Seat Destroys the Original - Chapter 95



Only Noblemtl

Episode 95. Unquenchable Thirst (3).

The phone call came while she was in the middle of her workday. When she saw the caller name ‘Father’ on the LCD screen, her face turned pale so quickly that everyone around her noticed.

“–ssi, are you okay?”

“Look at that cold sweat…! Where does it hurt? I’ll tell the team leader, so do you want to leave work today? There’s nothing urgent. I’m sure he’ll let that go.”

She quickly came to her senses at the worrying words of her coworkers. She felt dizzy and her stomach ached sharply, as if it had been twisted.

She left the office, saying she would take her lunch break to visit the hospital. She looked down at her cell phone, which had an absent message, took a deep breath, and tried calling again.

– Thump thump… .

There were a few times when a constant ringing sound continued without any music. Soon even that ringing sound was cut off.

[You!!! Why are you answering the phone now?!]

The voice that came as soon as the connection was disconnected was rough and loud enough to make me drop the phone I was holding to my ear.

“mother?”

She must have called her father. But it was her mother who answered the phone. She took the phone away from her ear for a moment, took a deep breath, and then put the phone back to her ear.

“I was working at the company so it was difficult to answer the phone.”

She felt a small sense of relief at the voice that sounded so peaceful even to her.

[company?]

“Yes. I have been working at the same company for three years now.”

[That’s fine. You have to come up to Seoul for a bit.]

That’s okay… .

From the time she was 20 to now 28, she had not heard from her mother in 8 years. Mabel could not help but let out a silent laugh at her mother’s words when she finally did.

You’re still the same. You don’t even answer the phone when I call you.

During holidays like Lunar New Year or Chuseok, she would often call her parents to say hello. However, in the past eight years, her parents have not answered the phone even once.

“Why in Seoul? No. No. It’s a busy time for the company right now, so I don’t think I’ll be able to make time for it.”

She briefly questioned whether she should go up to Seoul or not. She refused.

[You’re saying that now…!!!]

[Give me your phone so I can talk.]

Was your father with your mother?

Soon, I heard my father clearing his throat and his voice.

[It’s been a really long time since we last contacted each other.]

“… That’s right. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard your voice.”

[I haven’t heard from you in a while… We had our own circumstances. After sending you down to Busan like that, it was really hard for us to contact you.]

I remember my father as always being a blunt person. He didn’t press me like my mother did, but he never gave me a single smile.

Was he originally like that? No, he wasn’t.

He would give my older sister and brother a faint smile, and he would clumsily pat the heads of children with his big, rough hands.

Those smiles and touches just didn’t reach me or touch me.

“As I said before, it seems like it will be difficult to go up to Seoul.”

[Of course. You are now an adult living in society.]

When the answer came back mixed with a positive answer instead of a negative one right away, Mabel felt a little weak and closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again.

Make sure you’re focused.

I’m not a seventeen year old kid anymore.

“I’m glad you know. Well, I guess we’re done here and I’ll hang up.”

[Your sister’s situation is not good.]

Her hand stopped as she was about to hang up the phone.

Although she didn’t answer, her father continued talking as if he knew she was listening.

[I don’t know if you know, but… your older sister passed the bar exam and is about to join a large law firm.]

It wasn’t a bad situation at all.

Isn’t it rather a blessing?

“That’s good.”

[But your sister recently hit someone while driving drunk.]

“… … .”

Is it such a regretful thing to not hang up the phone?

She couldn’t figure it out.

All she knew was that my sister had been in an accident, that she had contacted me after eight years to sort things out, and that my parents were now trying to frame me for the crime my sister had committed.

“… So you’re saying that it doesn’t matter to me that I have a criminal record?”

[Since the other person didn’t die, you’ll only get a fine. You’re working at a company, so you’ll be fine. If you quit your current company because of this, I’ll take responsibility.]

Always… always has been like that.

The mistakes my older sister and brother made became my own fault even though they were not part of the situation, and the scale of the problem that had been limited to within the home gradually spread outside.

There were times when I was somehow involved with myself and became the one who did the most wrong, and I was forced to apologize for things I didn’t do.

“As a student, I was never a bully, but I became one. I was never a bully, but I became one. As an adult, I’m told I should become a criminal…”

Have you ever thought of me as your daughter?

The words I couldn’t bring myself to say burned my heart, made my throat tingle, and made my lips tremble.

[Your sister has a criminal record now, so all the preparations you’ve made so far will go down the drain, but you’re the younger sister, so why does that matter?! Even though you can’t be grateful that you can be of help to your family in this way!!!]

Did you steal the cell phone from your father?

My mother’s voice came sharply into my ears again.

“Yes. It’s important. I don’t want to become a criminal. I don’t want to quit my current job. So… Could you tell my sister to get the appropriate punishment for the crime she committed?”

[you…!!!]

“I hope you don’t contact me again. Like you did before.”

[How could you do that to me…!!!]

She didn’t want to keep listening to her mother’s words. Her mother’s voice was like a sharp thorn that stabbed her indiscriminately.

“Is it because of me that your mother couldn’t become a manager? That’s why you’ve always endured and accepted all the absurdities. Don’t contact me anymore. Even if you do, I won’t answer.”

With those words, she hung up the phone.

The hands holding the phone began to tremble slightly. As the vibration continued, she blocked the phone and let out a long breath through her trembling lips.

She slowly closed her eyes as she looked down at her silent cell phone. Her throat was parched and sore, as if she was thirsty. Her eyes were burning, and if someone touched her, she felt as if her tear ducts would burst.

“…let’s change the number.”

After a long time, she opened her eyes and spoke as if talking to herself, then raised her trembling lips and smiled.

At the same time, I realized.

One of the plans I made when I became independent was to change my cell phone number, so why didn’t I do it? Why did I keep putting it off?

And when she returned to the company, she stayed late into the night working. She had to do some work. She had to concentrate on her work so she wouldn’t have to recall the conversation.

On my way home after working late.

That day, she was hit by a reincarnation truck.

* * *

“That’s my story. It’s long, but there’s nothing special about it, right?”

Mabel, who had been lying down and telling her story, turned to the side and looked up at the god Janus while still lying down.

Mabel smiled broadly as she met the clear golden eyes looking down at her.

“Do you feel bad? Do you feel sorry?”

“It’s just a shame.”

“F-yeah-.”

“F?”

“You say emotional! Kael is a T! He’s so rational, I tell you. If you listened to my story, you’d be 100%… .”

Mabel trailed off, sat up, crossed her arms, changed her expression to a blank one, and lowered her voice.

“I was stupid in my past life too.”

“… … .”

“That’s what it must have been like!”

“You’re not stupid. You just wanted your parents’ love until the end.”

Mabel didn’t respond to the god Janus’s question right away. She just stared at him blankly.

After a moment, Mabel uncrossed her arms and nodded.

“That’s right. I just wanted love. But it was a thirst that couldn’t be filled.”

“A thirst that cannot be quenched….”

“But I’ve never felt thirsty since coming to this world. Rather… I’m scared, afraid of whether I can drink this much.”

Because he himself was not a dry desert.

Just a thirsty deserter. A tiny person, no more than a needle in the vast desert.

In this world, there was a large tree next to him to block the scorching sun, to lean against and rest, and his own oasis to quench his thirst.

“It was because you didn’t grant my wish that I met Kael. At first, I was angry because I felt like I was being scammed… But now, I’m grateful. Because it was thanks to you that I met Kael.”

Mabel opened her mouth as she continued to look at the god Janus, who was silently listening to her words.

“So I wonder. Why do you want to keep Kael in this world? Why do you hate Kael so much?”

Janus did not answer Mabel’s question. He simply looked at the child, just as the child had looked at him before.

In response to his silence, Mabel did not press or force his answer.

A long silence followed.

After a long silence, the god Janus slowly opened his lips.

“First of all… I’d like to correct a misunderstanding.”

“misunderstanding?”

Finally, his mouth opened. Before Mabel could be delighted at the sound of his voice, she questioned what he had said in bewilderment.

What was the misunderstanding?

In fact, does he not want to keep Kael in this world? Or does he not hate Kael?

As Mabel began to have one or two questions centered around Kael, the voice of the god Janus continued to be heard in her ears.

“It’s not that I didn’t grant your wish.”

None of the questions Mabel posed had a correct answer.

Her clear purple eyes filled with doubt at the words that it was a misunderstanding that her wish was not granted.

Meeting his eyes, the god Janus continued to speak about the ‘misunderstanding’ he wanted to correct.

“Because you are not originally a soul of this world, you are not loved by your blood relatives. I made you born among those who would bring you to my temple. Originally… you were destined to be taken in by the high priest of my temple and loved as his adopted daughter. As a saint.”

Mabel blinked her round eyes at the words of the god Janus.

… What does this mean?