Episode 14: Galaxy Agora (Part 2)
Fizz.
The crisp sound of carbonation echoed through the air.
"Here you go."
Lee Yoojung held out an opened can.
Simoon felt profound dissonance watching this scene.
How could he not?
This was the Poison Maiden of the Seongsam Family.
Someone so incongruous with bubbly drinks personally offering one naturally jarred his senses.
But the greater dissonance lay elsewhere.
These hands.
Jade-like hands that deserved the idiom seomsom-oksu.
Hands that could rival any celebrity’s.
Yet the last time Simoon had seen them, they’d gripped not a soda can but a bloodstained hammer.
That hammer...
The one that shattered Chairman Lee Soon-chul’s skull.
And not just him—every high-ranking official at that banquet had lost their heads.
The catalyst for South Korea’s descent into ruin.
More shocking still?
Yoojung had livestreamed it all on her personal channel.
The visceral horror of that moment remained etched in Simoon’s mind.
Why did she do it?
The image of Yoojung methodically crushing pleading dignitaries’ skulls clashed violently with the girl he’d once known.
"How odd," Yoojung remarked, observing Simoon’s intense scrutiny of the can. "Oppa always loved cider. Did your preferences change?"
She tilted the can playfully, her smile soft.
Simoon jerked his gaze upward from her hands. "Ah! Sorry. I was... distracted."
"Hoho, some things never change." Her laughter chimed like wind chimes. "Still the man who forgets the world when focused."
"Was I really like that?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, I learned how compelling devoted men can be."
Yoojung’s radiant smile drew an answering one from Simoon—though his carried a faint bitterness.
"You haven’t changed either, Yoojung."
"Eh? Are you mocking me now?"
"I mean it."
The Simoon of his past life—steeped in pessimism after losing his magic—had eventually found renewal post-Korea’s collapse.
He’d even reconciled with his estranged brother Kim Sihyuk...
But Yoojung wasn’t there.
Now faced with this elegant woman, this other little sister he’d failed to reconnect with...
Plck.
A cold surface kissed his cheek.
"Eek! Cold!"
Simoon flinched back as Yoojung pressed the cider can to his face.
"Oppa, must you drift off while I’m right here?"
"...My apologies."
"No need~"
Her sunny laughter hung in the air until—
"Miss Yoojung."
A woman in a white blouse and H-line skirt approached. "The deposit records."
"Thank you."
Yoojung’s brow furrowed slightly as she synced the data to her Player Watch. "Dayoung unnie? This doesn’t match what I requested."
"This is correct, miss."
Yoojung closed her eyes briefly, lips pressed thin, before forcing a smile. "Very well. Your efforts are appreciated."
She projected a hologram before Simoon displaying [50,000,000 KRW].
"Your settlement for selling the [Hobgoblin’s Battle Axe]. Plus... compensation for our employee’s error."
"Fifty million? This exceeds market value."
"Consider it consolation." Yoojung’s smile tightened as she shot Dayoung a sidelong glare. "Though still inadequate, I’m told."
Simoon recognized the signs—
She’s furious.
The slight lip bite, the sharp glance.
A decade-old memory surfaced: Not even her grandfather Lee Soon-chul could restrain Yoojung once her temper ignited.
"I’d prefer to give more, but..." Yoojung began.
"Yoojung-ah." Simoon raised a placating hand. "You must separate personal and family matters."
"...Truly, Oppa hasn’t changed at all."
Her lips quivered before melting into a wistful smile.
"But that’s reassuring. Your constancy lets us converse like this."
Simoon stiffened.
Why this sudden shift?
Though they hadn’t met in ten years, he’d known her since childhood—or so he’d thought.
But the girl had become a woman. Time had rewritten her script.
Noticing his discomfort, Yoojung’s expression cleared. "My apologies. I’ve made a scene."
"Hardly a scene." Seizing the chance to redirect, Simoon asked, "Why still call me ‘Oppa’?"
"Did I?" She tilted her head, then giggled. "Force of habit, I suppose. I started when I was seven—you were eleven. Remember our make-believe games at the villa?"
"Ah, yes."
Memories surfaced of their childhood—Kim Sihyuk playing father, Yoojung refusing mother roles.
"You threw fits about being ‘too young-looking’ to play mom."
"I never threw fits! I just... preferred being the sister."
"Sihyuk certainly approved. Thrilled he didn’t have to marry you."
"...Oppa!"
As laughter subsided, Simoon ventured carefully:
"How is... your mother?"
Yoojung’s smile gained a brittle edge.
"Still unconscious, but stable. I visit regularly."
"Must be difficult as a senior."
"Exhausting. Though..." She scratched her cheek sheepishly. "I may use hospital visits as an excuse to access the Arena. Mother’s room has a dedicated terminal."
Her demeanor shifted as she leaned forward.
"Oppa... When you said you obtained that item in the Arena..."
"Does that mean your body...?"
"Yes." Simoon’s nod carried the weight of lifetimes. "The magic incapacity is gone."
"Truly?!"
"Recovered just before the tutorial summoning. Lucky timing."
Yoojung clasped her hands, eyes shimmering. "This is... I’m so..." She caught herself, shoulders hunching. "Forgive me. May I ask... how?"
Silence.
‘I regressed and fixed it’ would get me institutionalized.
"Luck. Gradually felt magic returning until... full recovery."
Yoojung exhaled deeply. "I’d researched treatments endlessly, but..."
"Yoojung-ah." Simoon’s interruption was gentle yet firm. "Your care was enough. Don’t blame yourself."
"But—!"
"Enough."
His finality silenced her. "My choice then, my choice now. Even if time rewound."
Internally, he scoffed.
Liar.
Why had he ghosted both siblings after the accident? External pressures? Partly.
An illegitimate son rendered magically crippled—the Kims wanted him gone.
But severing ties with Yoojung and Sihyuk? That had been his cowardice.
Pathetic.
Regret curdled in his gut.
If I’d stayed by her side...
Would she have avoided becoming one of the "Three Madwomen," dying branded a traitorous witch?
Yoojung’s voice snapped him back.
"...Never dreamed you’d say that." She dabbed her eyes. "But it changes nothing. Had we been stronger back then..."
"Yoojung-ah."
"Still." She rose abruptly. "You’ve just started in the Arena, yes? Not done with placement matches?"
"Right. Why?"
She gestured to his Player Watch. "Yet you’re cashingashing out fully. No guild?"
"AP isn’t urgent. My class doesn’t need fancy gear."
"Alchemist, right?" Her nod held approval. "Cheap materials explain it."
"Using the funds for reagents. Got some ‘lucky’ recipes."
Yoojung brightened. "Perfect! I need materials too!"
"You? A combat specialist?"
"Combatants don’t just swing swords! We brew training potions."
Before Simoon could question this oddity—
Squelch.
Yoojung latched onto his arm.
"We’re late! I’ve hospital visits!"
"Y-Yoojung? My arm—"
"Magic classes are slow! I’ll tow you!"
As Simoon stiffly let himself be dragged away—
Sigh.
Kang Dayoung watched them go, H-line skirt swaying.
Flirting while playing innocent? Our Yoojung’s full of surprises.
Or was this her true self?
Shaking her head, the assistant followed.
