Chapter 36: The Second Desire Quest (3)
Seo Juhwan and the two high school girls boarded a bus heading to the concert.
'It's my first concert. I bet it'll be boring.'
Truth be told, there was no real need to go to the concert together.
If he just picked them up on time, nothing would happen.
'I need to be thorough about this.'
Seo Juhwan didn't want to create any risks. That's why he'd gotten black market tickets as soon as he took his leave.
When booking the tickets, he'd specifically targeted seats next to Seo Juhui and Han Soo-ah. And just like the misfortune from before his regression was a lie, he was able to get a seat right next to Han Soo-ah. Since he'd normalized his karma, luck seemed to follow him in this life.
"Oppa, we're sitting right next to you? Perfect!"
"Hmm. How could we end up right next to each other when we didn't even coordinate our bookings? Did you investigate us or something?"
Han Soo-ah bouncing happily, while Seo Juhui looked at him with suspicion, her eyes narrowed like a flounder's.
Seo Juhwan shrugged.
"That doesn't make sense. If you investigated us, could you even book the same seats? It's just a coincidence."
"True. I guess I was being ridiculous for even suggesting it."
Fortunately, Seo Juhui accepted this easily. She probably hadn't even considered that he'd bought black market tickets.
The three of them arrived at the concert venue and took their seats.
While waiting, the lights in the hall suddenly went out and the stage lit up.
The concert had begun.
"Ah, it's starting now! Please, please don't let this be their last concert...!"
"What will we do if our Swing Girls disband... sniff."
The two girls stared straight ahead with their hands clasped tightly as if praying.
Meanwhile, Seo Juhwan shrugged and sank into his chair.
From his memory, the Swing Girls didn't disband according to the girls' wishes.
However, the leader who had the most fans would quietly leave the group sometime later this year.
'What was the leader's name again?'
He couldn't quite remember.
It seemed like the leader was the one who sang well.
Seo Juhwan didn't think too deeply about it. Since he'd never been interested in celebrities anyway, drowsiness quickly began to wash over him.
*
"Hey, wake up! It's over!"
"Oppa!"
"Huh? Oh, uh. Wow, that was fun. Right?"
Feeling his body being shaken, Seo Juhwan reflexively clapped and stood up.
"What are you saying? You just kept sleeping."
"Oppa..."
The response that came back was cold.
Seo Juhwan felt embarrassed and quickly stood up properly.
"Ugh. I guess I've been working out too hard lately. I didn't want to sleep but I dozed off."
"Dozed off? You were in deep sleep the whole time."
"Oppa, did you push yourself too hard and hurt your health?"
"Soo-ah, you believe that? You're too naive."
"But what if he's really sick?"
"Ahem. I'm just a bit tired. Come on, let's go home."
Seeing Han Soo-ah genuinely worried about his makeshift excuse, he felt embarrassed.
Seo Juhwan mumbled something and led both girls outside.
On the bus ride home, the two girls chattered away happily.
"I'm glad they didn't disband. Right, Soo-ah?"
"Yeah! I'm so glad we can keep seeing our leader Yoon."
The leader would retire in less than a year... but he couldn't tell them about the future.
Seo Juhwan quietly gazed out the window from the back seat.
Beyond the moisture-laden glass, he could see rain falling softly.
- The next stop is Gwanghyun Industrial High School.
They'd reached their destination. The three got off the bus and walked home.
"Ugh. It's so sticky. I want to shower quickly."
"I'm cold... I'm glad oppa brought an umbrella like he said."
"Really. How did you know and bring it? It wasn't even in the weather forecast."
"I just had a feeling it would rain."
"Are you a shaman?"
"Oppa's the best."
Her younger sister looked at him incredulously, while Han Soo-ah grinned widely and gave him a thumbs up.
At her bright expression, Seo Juhwan smiled bitterly.
How could he not know today's weather?
'Annoying weather.'
Despite being mid-January, the depths of winter, a sticky humidity like that of summer monsoons rose up. Between the cold and the stickiness, his discomfort index rose.
The three of them soon arrived in front of Han Soo-ah's house.
"Soo-ah, hurry inside. Your mom will worry."
At his words, Han Soo-ah waved goodbye.
"Oppa, thank you for taking me."
"What's with the formal speech all of a sudden?"
"Hehe. Because I'm grateful?"
"Bland. Hurry inside since it's cold. And don't forget what I told you."
"Okay! Oppa and Juhui, have a safe trip!"
"Soo-ah, bye!"
The two watched until Han Soo-ah went inside, then turned to leave.
Their house was about 15 minutes in the opposite direction from Han Soo-ah's. They used to be neighbors living right next to each other, but they'd moved and the distance grew.
When they arrived near their house, Seo Juhwan summoned the Desire System.
『Save Han Soo-ah!』
▶ You've been regretting it all along.
'If I had picked her up on time, that incident would never have happened.'
The incident wasn't caused by you, but you could have prevented it. That's why your trauma has only deepened with each passing day. Despite not blaming anyone, you cursed yourself for your misfortune.
But now you are different from then.
You know the future, and you have more than enough ability to save Han Soo-ah.
Now, overcome your trauma.
▶ Completion Condition: Han Soo-ah's Safe Return Home
▶ Reward: 20,000 LP
Han Soo-ah had safely made it home, so now her safety was certain. Just to be sure, he'd told her not to go outside. Even with that, he was worried, so he insisted that if she needed anything, she should call.
Perhaps because of his fussiness, Han Soo-ah had shown an expression he'd never seen from her before.
'Is this it?'
It was just past 10 o'clock now.
Once he got home, showered, and lay down, his day would be over.
There was no longer any danger to Han Soo-ah.
"...Something feels off."
But why didn't he feel reassured?
Hearing his murmur, Seo Juhui spoke.
"Right? You feel it too, oppa? Anyway, I'm going to shower first, okay?"
"...Sure."
"What? Why are you being so lukewarm?"
"What do you mean?"
"Tsk. Forget it. Anyway, thanks for today, oppa."
"Huh?"
- 175 Advanced Chapters of {The Desire System: Reincarnated with a Demon God's Gift}: patreon.com/aristo0_0