NOVEL NEXT Episode 28
Episode 28
Lindsey continued to dream.
Sometimes she saw the childhood of Lindsey Kesion, and sometimes she saw memories of Han Ji-yoo.
Occasionally, she regained consciousness, but when she did, she felt a fever so intense it seemed as if her brain might melt. It was likely a trick of the black magicians who had attacked Mikhail.
Dreaming was better.
When she woke up, all she saw were the faces of Kenyan and Raysis. Occasionally, she saw Rosalyn’s face too.
‘Rosalyn probably wants me dead.’
She could imagine what Rosalyn was feeling.
Lindsey found it horrifying to see Kenyan and Raysis looking more devastated than she was.
It seemed like they were worried. Like they were terrified she might die at any moment.
‘It’s ridiculous. They never cared whether I lived or died.’
Lindsey knew how dangerous it was to heal Mikhail.
‘Am I really going to die?’
Just as she had found freedom after her first death, if she died this time, maybe she could return to Korea.
Lindsey could feel herself dying a little more each time she woke from her dreams.
Yes, Lindsey Kesion’s body was dying.
She had no choice but to heal Mikhail. Perhaps dying would be better.
If she died, her name would be erased from the family register, and she would be free.
It was the easiest way to escape this insane world.
‘I might really go back to Korea…’
It was when she thought this.
Lindsey frowned.
‘Baek Ji-hyuk?’
Baek Ji-hyuk was standing in front of her.
She couldn’t see his face clearly, but his towering height and overwhelming presence were unmistakably Baek Ji-hyuk.
He was crying.
Silently, tears streaming down his face.
Realizing this, Lindsey looked around. People were dressed in mourning clothes, their heads bowed in solemnity. Lindsey realized where Baek Ji-hyuk was crying.
‘At my funeral?’
It was Han Ji-yoo’s funeral. She had thought she might be dead, but seeing the funeral with her own eyes brought a wave of desolation.
Even though she knew it was a dream, she also knew it was something that had actually happened.
Guides with high resonance sometimes dreamed of things their Espers experienced. It was the same for Espers.
This was something Baek Ji-hyuk had experienced. Crying at her funeral…
Time in the dream flowed quickly.
Lindsey had thought Baek Ji-hyuk would be fine without her.
He had always been a strong person. But she was shocked.
Baek Ji-hyuk couldn’t forget Han Ji-yoo. He couldn’t accept guiding from other guides and became a high-priority target for the association.
An S-class Esper without a guide.
A monster that could go berserk at any time.
The Baek Ji-hyuk Lindsey knew was a perfect person. Many people talked behind his back, saying he had no humanity because of his flawless demeanor.
But Baek Ji-hyuk was falling apart.
‘How foolish. Why are you doing this…’
Baek Ji-hyuk refused to guide with other guides and maintained his body with guiding drugs. Meanwhile, he began to focus on one thing.
To meet Han Ji-yoo again. Baek Ji-hyuk traveled the world. He began to meet Espers with unique abilities.
He got injured and faced near-death situations. There were times he almost died. Eventually, he succeeded.
He found an Esper who could locate Lindsey.
“Can I really meet her again?”
At those words, Lindsey opened her eyes.
⋆★⋆
Lindsey gasped for breath.
Her head felt like it was going to explode from the fever. But her heart hurt even more.
‘Why did you let me see that?’
If only she hadn’t seen it, if she didn’t know. She wouldn’t have been in such pain.
She knew her Espers would be sad, but she didn’t want to see it.
Seeing Baek Ji-hyuk, who she thought was perfect and would never cry, in pain made Lindsey suffer too.
It was a world she didn’t even know if she could return to.
She had never heard of anyone successfully traveling between dimensions. Baek Ji-hyuk must have dedicated his life to a near-impossible task.
He probably didn’t succeed in the end.
He must have searched for Han Ji-yoo forever. What she had seen were memories of the past.
Baek Ji-hyuk’s past, now gone.
Tears fell steadily from Lindsey’s eyes. Then Kenyan Radian’s voice broke the silence.
“Lindsey Kesion?”
This was the worst.
Of all times, Kenyan Radian had to come in now.
‘This is horrible, truly.’
Lindsey covered her eyes with both hands. Even moving her hands was exhausting. But more than that, she found it unbearably distressing that Kenyan was standing in front of her.
“Are you okay? Why are you crying? Is it because you’re in pain?”
“……”
“They said your body would gradually stiffen. You’re clearly not in your right state.”
As he said, Lindsey found it hard to move her body.
If they didn’t bring a magician in time, she would stiffen completely and die.
She would be trapped in eternal dreams, unable to live or die.
“Ge…t… lo…st…”
Kenyan’s warm hand touched her forehead. He and Raysis were using their powers to suppress the manifestation of the curse as much as they could.
But there were limits. Their abilities were entirely different from magic. They were barely holding it back with their strength, but it was only a matter of time before Lindsey’s body completely stiffened.
Lindsey glared fiercely at Kenyan.
“Why are you looking at someone who’s worried about you like that…!”
Lindsey’s eyes widened. It was the first time Kenyan had seen such intense emotion from her.
Her eyes were filled with pure anger. They blazed with hatred as she stared at him.
“Do you hate me that much? Shouldn’t you be resenting Mikhail Dweisi? He’s the one who did this to you.”
“……”
“Mikhail didn’t care about you at all. He left as soon as you finished healing him.”
Lindsey was a foolish woman. Kenyan found her exasperating. She should have let Mikhail go berserk.
“He’s just a man, like any other. How is he different from my brother?”
“And you…?”
At Lindsey’s question, Kenyan fell silent. He didn’t know.
He hadn’t realized the schemes his mother Sylvia had orchestrated. But that didn’t erase what he had done to Lindsey.
He had no right to criticize Mikhail.
“Do you hate me that much?”
Lindsey closed her eyes tightly, not answering.
It was a question not worth answering.