The Second Coming of Gluttony - Chapter 96

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 96. Misunderstanding

Beneath the blazing sun, sharp rays of light drummed against his eyelids.
Seol Jihoo stared at the tilted room through bleary eyes. Even when he closed them and pulled the blanket over his head to block out the scorching sunlight, once consciousness had seized him, sleep refused to return.
In the end, he heaved a long sigh, threw off the bedding, and lit a cigarette. He stood by the window, smoking listlessly, then made straight for the bathroom. The shock of cold water over his entire body brought him somewhat back to life.
As he was toweling his hair vigorously, there came a sharp knock at the door. Tap-tap!
“…Who is it?”
— It’s me.
The words were vague enough to lead nowhere, yet the voice alone told him exactly who it was.
‘She’s back again?’
Tilting his head in confusion, he fumbled into his clothes and called out.
“Hold on.”

The Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera. That was the name of the car Kim Hanna had brought.
The engine roared with a high-pitched whine—Bwaaaa!
Listening to the loud exhaust note, Seol Jihoo glanced sideways at the driver’s seat. She wore pale amber-tinted sunglasses that complemented her fair complexion, paired with a blue-toned one-piece dress. Not formal attire like usual, but clearly put together with care.
“Why are you staring like that?”
Kim Hanna asked smoothly as she turned the wheel.
“Just curious.”
“You’re so suspicious. I told you — let’s just have fun today.”
Kim Hanna sang the words out playfully.
“I’m supposed to be your guardian, after all. Part of the job is cheering up a despondent ward like you.”
Coming from the very person who’d made him miserable in the first place. He nearly shot back with that remark, but caught himself. After all, the final choice and action had been his own. He refused to become the type who blames others when a stock tip tanks. So he steered the conversation elsewhere.
“What about the company?”
“I’d like to say your wellbeing is the most important work, but do you know what day it is?”
Kim Hanna stopped the car at a red light and turned to look at him from the passenger seat with a soft laugh.
“It’s Saturday.”
“Even weekends—”
“Work on weekends? Only if you want to. Nobody forces it. By the way, Shin Young Pharmaceuticals operates strictly five days a week, office hours are ten in the morning, and closing time is six in the evening, period.”
Seol Jihoo shook his head, at a loss for words.
“You’re insufferable. Your arrogance is showing.”
“That’s no way to speak to a lady.”
Kim Hanna giggled and turned her eyes back to the road.
“But still, I respect it. ‘I want to be alone. Everyone leave me alone.’ So pathetic, and I knew it right away.”
“I’m not a child.”
“Yes, you are. Didn’t you know? Sometimes you act like a kid.”
Kim Hanna burst out laughing. Seol Jihoo protested indignantly.
“You’re in an oddly good mood today, aren’t you?”
In fact, Kim Hanna had been smiling non-stop since she’d arrived.
“Does it show?”
Kim Hanna asked, pushing her sunglasses down slightly. Seol Jihoo nodded.
“Yeah. Like you just got ten years of indigestion cleared out in one go.”
Kim Hanna affirmed with a delighted laugh. For a moment, he wondered if she’d eaten something that disagreed with her, or if she’d stuck flowers in her hair. But then she straightened up with evident satisfaction.
“I landed a good blow.”
“On who?”
“Oh, those dirty men who covet what belongs to others.”
Kim Hanna spoke in roundabout terms, but Seol Jihoo understood immediately who she meant.
“How did you manage that?”
“It’s nothing special. I just casually let slip a rumor that you might be taking a job at Shin Young.”
Kim Hanna continued.
“They pressed me with all sorts of justified reasons, so I gave them a plausible reason right back. I bet by now they’re like a dog chasing chickens and getting nothing. Ah, that feels so good.”
A rumor? Justified reasons? As Seol Jihoo pondered this, he raised both hands.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’ll understand if you wait and see. For now, just watch and enjoy some rice cakes.”
Kim Hanna spoke with confidence and stretched luxuriously.
“Ahhhh, that’s better. So, where should we go?”
Seol Jihoo looked at her in bewilderment.
“Well, there’s a saying that pretty rice cakes taste better too. How about we start with a beauty salon I know well?”
“So I look like a rice cake to you, is that it?”
Just then the traffic light changed.
“Yeah. A golden rice cake, bro.”
Kim Hanna grinned and pressed down on the accelerator.

After being dragged around all day, Seol Jihoo finally managed to return to his room after dinner.
“Huff… huff…”
The moment he entered, he hurled the shopping bags clutched in both hands onto the floor and stumbled backward against the wall, sliding down to sit.
‘What kind of… what kind of girl…’
He’d lost count of how many department stores they’d visited. Staring at over a dozen shopping bags with an exhausted expression, he suddenly picked up two of them.
The White Sportswear and White Sports Shoes that Kim Hanna had bought him to bring to Paradise. His eyes sparkled at the sight of items worth hundreds of thousands of won. The thought of training in new clothes and new shoes made his heart flutter just a little.
‘Oh.’
In that moment, Seol Jihoo finally remembered his purpose for returning to Earth. The shock of yesterday’s events had been so overwhelming that he’d completely forgotten.
If he had his way, he’d enter Paradise right now.
But he couldn’t do that. To return to Paradise even a day sooner, he had to make the most of every hour on Earth.
Thinking of Paradise sent a rush of endorphins through him.
Seol Jihoo’s eyes lit up as he powered on his laptop.

Seol Jihoo endured his time on Earth sustained by thoughts of Paradise. More precisely, he kept his focus locked on Paradise. Because whenever he concentrated on Paradise, he could forget everything else.
Every morning, he’d put on the sportswear Kim Hanna had bought him and head to the Gym.
‘It’s definitely more convenient having exercise equipment around. The efficiency is better too.’
Now that he thought about it, the urge to enter Carpe Diem had struck him right after seeing the first-floor training grounds. Electronic devices weren’t permitted inside, so there was no treadmill, but equipment like dumbbells and pull-up bars—things that weren’t machines—were well stocked.
Reminding himself to check the list of permitted items when he got back to his room, he gripped the bar of the lat pulldown and pulled it down in a smooth arc. His shoulder blades drew in tightly, and his back muscles became prominently defined.
‘The bar should touch below the collarbone, using the power of the lats, not the arms…’
So absorbed was he in maintaining the form and breathing technique Agnes had taught him that he failed to notice the woman sitting on the blue mat, stealing glances at his lean, muscular frame.

After finishing his workout and leaving the Gym, Seol Jihoo headed straight to the Large Bookstore.
Through an internet search, he’d learned about Javelin Throwing published by the Korean Athletic Federation, Technical Motion Analysis of Javelin Throwing Delivery Section published by the Institute of Sports Science with an included DVD, and Traditional Acupuncture Medicine, a study guide for the acupuncturist exam—he bought one copy of each.
As he handed the three books to the cashier, a woman who looked like a part-timer hesitated before speaking.
“I’ll, I’ll give you a receipt.”
“No, that’s all right.”
“I… I’m sorry?”
“Ah, you don’t need to print one.”
“Oh, well. It’s really better if you do get one.”
“…Pardon?”
She simply handed him the paper bag with the books inside. Though he received it, ultimately it didn’t matter one way or the other, so he walked out of the bookstore.
‘Why are these books so expensive… huh?’
While reviewing the list printed on the receipt, Seol Jihoo noticed a phone number beginning with 010 written below. Judging by the handwriting in pen, it wasn’t printed.
‘What’s this?’
Puzzled, Seol Jihoo pocketed the receipt and made his way briskly to the Community Center Library in his neighborhood.

Seated at the library with Traditional Acupuncture Medicine open before him, Seol Jihoo was taken aback. Complex diagrams of the human body with lines and points, Chinese characters everywhere, technical terminology upon technical terminology. Nothing but paper and ink.
‘Wow…’
He’d heard it would be difficult, but not to this degree.
‘Do I really have to go this far?’
The Acupoints must be quite numerous. Once you acquire them, that’s that.
For a moment such thoughts flickered through his mind, but Seol Jihoo pushed the temptation aside. He really did. Not that it would be easy, but the rewards awaiting him after mastering this wouldn’t be small.
When it came to training, he trusted Agnes’s word implicitly, so he steeled his resolve and picked up his pencil.
‘I don’t need to study everything.’
Just the necessary parts. Just the core concepts among those, and there’s no reason to be afraid already. Besides, he considered himself reasonably capable of studying, so—
‘Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve studied anything.’
A faint smile crossed his face, only to vanish as he threw himself into fierce concentration.
‘If we compare the human body and meridians to trees and plants… the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are eight qi channels connected to the governing and conception vessels… Governor, Celestial Prominence, Central Abyss, Small Sea, Central Cavity, Sea of Qi, Sea of Meeting—’
Bright sunlight streaming across the desk, a handsome young man with his sleeves rolled up studying intently—the air around him naturally grew warm and pleasant.
As an aside, Seol Jihoo was a graduate of one of South Korea’s four most prestigious universities, standing shoulder to shoulder with Yeongju University, Hayeon University, and Haesol University—he’d graduated from Soyoung University.

Except for one bathroom break, Seol Jihoo never left his seat, spending a productive stretch of time there until evening came and he rose from his chair.
His pace quickened on the way home. The material on the human body proved challenging as expected, but the javelin book was less difficult than anticipated. True, there was a certain vagueness to reading text alone, but the book had thoughtfully included a DVD.
While thinking he should hurry home to watch the DVD, his eyes continued to scan the book even as he walked.
‘I see… throwing with just your hands isn’t the only form of javelin throwing. Using an auxiliary device called an Atlatl multiplies the efficiency by more than threefold…’
“Maybe.”
Seol Jihoo, who had been muttering to himself, lifted his eyes from the book at the sudden voice blocking his path.
“Are you Seol Jihoo?”
He was almost at his apartment. The problem was a man in a black suit standing in front of the parking lot entrance.
“Yes, I….”
He caught himself. A man in formal wear waiting outside his building at this hour? He activated the Nine Eyes immediately.
‘Colorless.’
After confirming the color and raising his guard, he opened his mouth.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, I’m someone like this.”
The man handed over a business card with polite decorum. At a glance, it was as expected—the letters “Shin Young” were visible.
“What business does Shin Young have with me….”
“I know it’s rude, but would you be able to come with me for a moment?”
The man cut straight to the point and gestured toward a sedan parked across the lot. Seol Jihoo simply stared at it.
“Why?”
“Well, it’s about the fake employment matter….”
Seol Jihoo shook his head.
“Even so, isn’t this a bit much? Showing up out of nowhere like this.”
“I’m asking as a favor.”
“I have something urgent to attend to right now. I’d like to postpone this.”
“It won’t take much of your time.”
At the man’s words, Seol Jihoo closed his book audibly.
“It sounds like you’re saying you’ll drag me along no matter what.”
“If it came across that way, I apologize.”
“And it’s not just about the employment thing.”
“I won’t deny it. But—I promise you this. Just come meet with me for a moment.”
The man, who spoke with glib persuasiveness, seemed oddly anxious. Seol Jihoo asked flatly.
“If I say no, will you force me to go?”
“Not at all. I was instructed to invite you as politely as possible, and I have no intention of forcing anything. But if at all possible, I really would like you to come.”
“But what if I still refuse?”
“Then….”
The man’s words trailed off, and a bitter smile crossed his face.
“I can withdraw from here, but that person will be very disappointed.”
‘It’s her, then.’
As Seol Jihoo’s eyes narrowed, the man bowed deeply.
“Please. Even just time for a cup of tea would be fine….”
Seol Jihoo clicked his tongue.
He didn’t want to go. More precisely, he didn’t want to get tangled up in this. But Kim Hanna had told him not to create situations that would invite suspicion. If he stubbornly refused here, there was a chance Shin Young would view him unfavorably.
‘Because of the fake employment matter… damn.’
Either way, he had to meet about that issue at least once. The only problem was that Kim Hanna wasn’t here.
‘I don’t want to burden her any more than this.’
She was already struggling enough lately. After mulling it over, Seol Jihoo put his book away.
‘Just meeting shouldn’t be a problem.’
His crisis detection hadn’t triggered. As long as he conducted himself carefully, there should be no danger to his life. He could simply nod along and come back.
“…Let’s go.”
The man straightened up as if he’d been waiting for exactly this.
“I’ll escort you.”
He guided him courteously to the sedan. The man, who opened the door himself, sat in the driver’s seat, started the engine, and spoke.
“I know it’s presumptuous, but I’m truly grateful you’ve agreed.”
Seol Jihoo said nothing. The man continued as he stepped on the accelerator.
“In fact, Team Lead Kim Hanna warned me. She said you’re struggling a lot with family issues these days, so I shouldn’t contact you carelessly. That person respected her wishes too, but….”
Vroom—! The rest of his words were swallowed by the sound of the engine.
“Sorry?”
He asked again because he couldn’t hear, but the man took it differently and spoke more loudly.
“It’s the truth. Because you haven’t been sleeping well, day by day you’ve become thinner and more gaunt….”
“?”
What was he talking about? Seol Jihoo blinked, his expression blank with confusion.
He’d never met Yoon Seohee, but the image he conjured up was close to that of a mastermind—a woman in a black dress, crossing her legs in the darkness, tilting a glass of red wine, whispering to herself, “Hehe, when will that little toy fall into my grasp?” with a bewitching smile, a vampire incarnate.
But she couldn’t sleep at night because she wanted to see him? It was less like the behavior of a mastermind and more like a girl lovesick and pining.
‘That’s quite an exaggeration.’
Perhaps this too was a ploy to lower his guard. Seol Jihoo sharpened his focus.

The man led him to a high-end Chinese restaurant.
‘Just tea, you said?’
Seol Jihoo had suspected as much, but when he glimpsed the menu posted in the corridor, he nearly reeled. Tea was there, certainly, but….
‘Sixty thousand won per cup?’
The world really did seem to have changed since his time.
The man guided him to the top floor and knocked softly on an octagonal latticed door.
“I’ve brought him, as requested.”
Then,
– Thank you for your trouble.
A sweet, melodious voice floated out—pleasing to the ear. The pitch was high, yet the tone was clear and refreshing.
– You may go.
“But—”
– It’s fine.
The man glanced at the young man, bowed silently, and withdrew with courtesy.
‘Like a well-bred maiden from an old yangban house.’
The thought had barely crossed his mind when,
Screech!
Perhaps the man had gone far enough. Suddenly the door burst open violently. What emerged was neither a vampire nor a graceful maiden dressed in formal hanbok, but rather—
The moment Seol Jihoo’s gaze met those bloodshot eyes, his mouth fell open.
Clatter. A woman with crimson eyes—a phantom, or rather a living, breathing woman—came rushing out in nothing but stockings and planted herself before him, tilting her chin upward.
Despite the severe redness, her upturned eyes gleamed with an almost luminous clarity.
“Ah….”
She seemed desperate to speak. Her pomegranate-red lips moved urgently as she rose onto her toes and seized both his arms in a sudden grip.
“At last….”
Her voice, so different from the dulcet tone he’d heard moments before, was tinged with a tender yearning. It pulled him back to his senses, though his eyes remained wide with shock. How could they not?
He’d been certain it would be her. Yet the woman before him, wreathed in brilliant golden light that rippled across her entire form, was not Yoon Seohee, but rather—
“I’ve missed you so much….”
Yoon Seora.

(To be continued)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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