Chapter 535 - 535 (1/2)
”Where did you say this was?”
”Earth. And inside the city called Seoul, located in South Korea of that planet.”
”There are so many people here. I reckon there must be at least one thousand people in this place.”
Currently, in the middle of Seoul's busy Myeong-dong district, Su-hyeun, wearing a surgical mask and a beanie, was quietly walking within the gaggle of a bustling crowd.
A bright ball of light was floating next to him. Although no one else could see it, this ball was Brahma.
”It kind of feels like I've become a criminal somehow,” Su-hyeun thought.
Su-hyeun never had to walk around while covering his face to this extent.
Not only did he not have much free time to roam around busy streets like this, but he was never a big fan of bustling areas to begin with.
Besides, he could directly travel to his destinations whenever needed, making it almost impossible for the others to track him down.
”To think that I now have to work as a guide, even though I've never done it before...”
Since he had lived countless many lives, it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that he worked as a guide in one of them.
But he never expected to act as one during this lifetime. If a guide were needed, it would be him needing one instead.
However, he needed to show Brahma the sights of this world, leaving him with no choice but to leisurely walk around the city.
”It's so crowded and noisy—bustling, too.”
”It sure is.”
”Are other places like this?”
”No, not all of them. Some are a complete opposite, as in quiet and secluded. I prefer those types of places. Even so, this is where you'll find lots of people.”
What Su-hyeun needed to show Brahma was ”people.”
The first and the most important pretext that determined whether this universe should be destroyed or spared was the creatures inhabiting the said universe.
”No, not these people.”
”Mm?”
”I can see things like this whenever I want, you know? Instead of this sight, I was hoping you could show me the world you saw and lived through. Show me the people you've experienced life with so far.”
Brahma spoke with such curiosity.
That made sense, though.
From the get-go, Brahma should've had the ability to check out the world he had created. Su-hyeun could check out the status of his homeworld, after all.
Yet, Brahma insisted on seeing the world through Su-hyeun's eyes. There could be only one reason for that.
It was to see and judge the world not through an omnipotent point of view but as just another person among many.
”Well, that's not a difficult request, but...”
Su-hyeun began scratching his head.
When he heard that demand, a thought suddenly popped up into his mind, ”Wow, my circle of acquaintances is quite small.”
Su-hyeun had lived a hectic life. Needless to say, even back then, as Kim Sung-in, he didn't know that many people personally. He began counting them in his head one by one.
Lee Ju-ho, Choi Hak-joon, Thomas, the other members of the Paragon Guild...
His mother, Shin Su-yeong…
Also...
”I guess the owner of the cafe that I frequent?”
He began wondering whether or not he should include people like that as his group of acquaintances.
Who else did he know?
While Su-hyeun continued to dig through his memories, Brahma suddenly addressed him, ”No need to think too deeply about it. Just think about the people who influenced you the most. It doesn't matter whether in a good or bad way.”
”Someone who influenced me, hmm?”
”Yeah. Just those people who had made an impact in your life so far.”
That sounded pretty reasonable. Instead of the people he thought until now, Su-hyeun began recalling everyone who had influenced him one way or the other.
The Bull Demon King, Sun Wukong, Lee Ju-ho...
And then there was…
”Mother,” Su-hyeun thought.
Not Shin Su-yeong but Kim Sung-in's mother...
He recalled Yun Hui-yeon.
* * *
Su-hyeun met various people afterward—first, Lee Ju-ho, then Thomas, and even Gordon Rohan.
Hak-joon was still stuck in the Tower, so it was impossible to meet up with him and say hello. He was currently second only to Su-hyeun in terms of floor count.
”As for my brothers...”
The Bull Demon King and Sun Wukong should still be back in the Path to Reincarnation. Then, he remembered that the Roc Demon King must be in the middle of the rice-planting season right about now.
”It should be fine to talk to them later.”
With this, he was done with meeting his acquaintances. Since he didn't have many people to meet, it didn't take him long to go through the list.
And so, only one person remained.
”Mother.”
When he recalled his mother, he did not think about Shin Su-yeong but another woman who gave birth to him. That was the thought that abruptly popped up in his head.
”Now that I think about it, I didn't have a father during this life, too.”
During his life as Kim Sung-in, he couldn't even remember his father's face. He passed on just as Kim Sung-in was old enough to remember things.
That was why he couldn't recall a face or any recollection of their shared past. The same thing applied to this life.
”He passed on when I reached 18, right?”
He learned about that fact during his frequent chat with Shin Su-yeong. She used to talk about her husband reasonably often.
Being 18 years old meant that he was not too young to remember. Never mind just their fathers' faces, but ordinary people around that age should have quite a lot of shared memories to recall.
But such a thing didn't apply to Su-hyeun.
”It would've been nice if I got to meet him...”
That thought abruptly popped up in his mind, and he had to shake his head to get rid of it.
It was a useless thought, anyway.
Su-hyeun climbed into a bus. Hoofing it would've been so much faster. Still, he decided to use public transportation after thinking about doing things like how he used to in the past.
His destination was Dong-ha University. He used to attend this place back when he was still Kim Sung-in.
He hadn't been here in such a long time, but the place seemed like it used to be in the past. The campus remained quite crowded even now. Su-hyeun checked the time and realized that classes must have been over for the lunch break.
He suddenly remembered that he hadn't had lunch, either. Although he wasn't hungry, Dong-ha University's cafeteria food was quite tasty if he remembered correctly.
”Should I eat something first before leaving?”
”Not sure what food you're thinking of, but you should eat here if that's what you did in the past,” Brahma urged him.
Su-hyeun wasn't a stranger to the idea of eating alone, but to do that in a crowded university?
He hesitated slightly but chose to head to the university's cafeteria in the end. Since it wasn't possible to eat with a mask on, he had to take it off. He pulled the beanie down and kept his head lowered as much as possible during his meal.
He thought it was a waste of time to come here, but thankfully, the food tasted as good as he remembered. Several students glanced in his direction a couple of times during the meal. Maybe they recognized him or were suspicious of his identity.
And after he quickly finished his meal...
”Hah,” Su-hyeun sighed deeply while walking away.
Brahma asked, ”What's wrong?”
”I'm nervous since it's been a while.”
”But why?”