Chapter 688 – The First Wish, Lee Eunsol (2)
—
For some, it is the highest place in the universe.
For others, it is a stifling, prison-like cage without bars.
Observatory.
“Yikes!”
Han Kain couldn’t hide his shock as he briefly pulled his eyes away from the telescope.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just now, I found out Eunsol met a retired agent.”
“A retired agent? Oh, is that the person Mr. Lee Seokhwan got help from to erase memories about his ‘wife’?”
“That’s probably him. Wait!”
In the next moment, a strange book wriggled in the air like a living creature.
Though Kain unexpectedly summoned the Book of Incarnation, the others in the back didn’t blink an eye.
That was because Kain had shown them that “trick” a few times already.
Soon, the second sentence of the Book of Incarnation gained power, and “another Kain” appeared.
Naturally, Kain began observing again as the hazy apparition approached the teammates to explain.
Sanghyun muttered with mild admiration, “You’re getting better at these bizarre tricks. Splitting your focus to observe and explain—what a talent!”
Miro couldn’t help but throw in a question at the same time.
“Are you going to, like, eventually have one body enter while the other stays back to observe?”
“That’s impossible.”
“Really?”
“Now, where was I?”
“You were saying something about Eunsol meeting an agent.”
“Right! This agent spilled some fascinating info. It seems both the Chairman’s eldest son and youngest daughter—Eunsol’s older brother and sister—don’t exist anymore?”
“Wait, what?!”
“What do you mean? Are they dead?”
“The precise meaning is unknown. In any case, they seemed to have been absent for the past few years.”
“Were we tricked into believing the King of Ise exists while they’ve been missing?”
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen any other siblings except for Eunsol’s second older brother, Jinwook. Not even at home. Ugh… Should’ve paid closer attention!”
Kain sighed, realizing this too late.
Meanwhile, Miro shook his head.
“No way! If Eunsol lived in a little pea-sized house like Song-yi, we would have noticed immediately—”
“That phrase, never use it around Song-yi ever again.”
“Seriously, no house is that small…”
“But Eunsol’s room was bigger than the whole of Song-yi’s house?”
“That’s just because sis is unique. But hey, you do have a point.”
Lee Seokhwan’s mansion was more fittingly described as a ‘castle’ than a house.
Eunsol was at a level where she could casually use phrases like ‘my personal living room, my private lounge, my own bathroom,’ which ordinary folks would never need in their life!
It was no wonder the observers felt nothing odd about never having seen Eunsol’s older brother or sister.
They thought those two must be spending their time in some vast corner of the sprawling mansion.
“I will focus on the observation now.”
With that, Kain’s clone disappeared.
*
– Lee Eunsol
“Hey, everyone, have you seen either of the other two siblings even once in the last few months—no, years?”
It felt like thunder had struck from the sky.
This was the truth that Eunsol’s life was woven from lies and deceit, forming a script!
The impact was also the key to opening a mysterious vault.
I envisioned a vault deep within my soul that had been locked away for ages suddenly opening.
Hidden within that vault was certainly the treasure of long-lost memories about my ‘first wish.’
Then, a wave of intense memories crashed over me.
*
…
…
…
“Hello, S!”
“Chairman, it’s been a while. Are these your children?”
“Indeed. Come on, you all should say hi. This person is an agent from the Bureau—”
“Not anymore.”
“—Let’s just call him a former agent. He’s an old friend. What’re you all doing?”
In the awkward atmosphere, everyone exchanged timid greetings.
By the time everyone had made their introductions, the pale-faced man simply replied.
“Call me S.”
I understood very well why Dad brought us to a place like this.
He wanted to establish connections with the precious network known as ‘former agents.’
I wasn’t too young not to get this much.
However… something about that man raised my suspicions.
When we were left alone, Heeyoon whispered softly.
“Is that guy really an agent?”
Jinwook nodded instantly. “Look at him; he can’t be older than thirty. He doesn’t have a sparkle in his eyes or horns on his head—”
What kind of nonsense is this?
Sighing, Jinwook added, “Agents are said to be immortal beings. Their actual age probably exceeds that of our dad! And… sparkling eyes? Horns? Have you been watching too much weird anime?”
After saying this, Jinwook cautioned everyone.
“You’re all tired from climbing, right? Let’s just rest quietly in the room. No strange talk, alright? I think… that’s enough.”
I could tell what he left unsaid.
We thought we could talk freely about the agent, but was he eavesdropping with some special means?
I always felt Jinwook was incredibly perceptive.
“Ugh~ I’m starving. Is there anything around?”
Unlike this dumbass!
*
Mom was such an elegant person.
I had never seen her raise her voice or lose her temper even once in my life.
She always spoke gently, yet nobody ever brushed off what she said.
The second brother, the most clueless one among us, couldn’t get a word in front of Mom, and neither could Dad.
I wasn’t an exception either.
“Hey, kids, how about a little walk?”
“Sounds good!”
Of course, I didn’t really feel like it.
Since Agent S’ house was halfway up Mt. Seorak, we had been hiking since morning, and my legs were still trembling.
I just couldn’t say, “I don’t want to,” to Mom.
As the four of us strolled around the mansion, Mom suddenly asked in her soft voice.
“Why do you think we came here?”
Jinwook immediately replied, “Dad probably wants us to connect with the agents.”
“That’s your dad’s thinking.”
“Huh?”
At that moment, Mom smiled elegantly.
I’ve always tried to mimic that smile but never succeeded.
It seems strange, but when Mom isn’t in front of me, I can’t remember how she smiles.
“Jeongho, you’re quite smart, but you tend to worry too much about what your dad thinks.”
“Re-really?”
Mom often spoke like she was evaluating us.
Having experienced this since childhood, we were used to it, but…
I thought it was a rare way to speak.
“Try looking at things with a broader perspective. Perhaps your dad knows nothing at all.”
“Huh?”
“There’s a saying—‘Above Buddha, there’s Sun Wukong.’ Someone might be playing with your dad like he’s on the palm of their hand.”
At that moment, I unknowingly blurted out, perhaps out of mild annoyance from hiking since morning.
“Couldn’t that ‘someone’ also be on someone else’s palm?”
Oddly enough, Mom fell into a brief silence, contemplating deeply.
As if she had been pondering my comment for a long time.
“… Just keep walking forward. Even if things around seem strange, try not to worry too much about it.”
Those were strange words.
At the same time, it felt like they carried a powerful weight.
*
We walked in silence for quite a while.
After a long day of hiking and an unexpected night stroll, we were all quite tired, but none suggested we return to the mansion.
Suddenly, Jinwook exclaimed, “Where are we?”
“Uh? Hyung, isn’t this Mt. Seorak?”
“What’s going on? Where are we?!”
“Guys! Hold on—”
At this moment, Jinwook hesitated for a second.
It was clear he wanted to say something like “stop,” but the words wouldn’t come out.
Strangely, I understood his feelings, as I too had been struggling to say, “Let’s take a break” since earlier.
It felt as though an obligation filled our hearts to keep moving as if the sky was falling and the earth splitting apart.
Just then, someone appeared ahead.
“I should’ve come to escort you sooner, but I’m late. My apologies.”
The person who appeared was a middle-aged woman with salt-and-pepper hair, but at least in appearance, she seemed perfectly ordinary.
Jinwook looked nervous, but the younger siblings seemed prepared to step forward.
“Excuse me, who are you? More importantly, where exactly is this? We were just at Mt. Seorak a moment ago!”
“Your Highness, this is a type of relic secretly preserved by the Bureau.”
Your Highness?
“A relic?”
“Also, legally, it is the land belonging to your father, the prince.”
So this relic preserved by the Bureau also legally belonged to Dad?
When I tilted my head in confusion, the woman smiled as if to ease my worries.
“Come along, Your Highness.”
Another “Your Highness.”
The first time I thought I misheard, but it seemed I wasn’t mistaken.
Jinwook squinted his eyes and said, “Your Highness? I’m not a kid anymore. Next year—”
Like they were dealing with a child, the woman simply smiled in response.
“To me, all of you are indeed princes and princesses. Now, please follow me.”
*
The silver-haired woman quickly introduced herself as a “high-ranking member of the Bureau.”
At this point, Jinwook felt the awkwardness and said he’d contact Dad, but…
“Oh my, weren’t you the ones who wanted to build connections with the Bureau in Seorak?”
“W-well yes, but…”
“This is part of that process.”
“What do you mean by that?”
At that moment, a story that piqued the curiosity of all four siblings came out.
“Do you know how to become an agent?”
In an instant, everyone’s eyes went wide.
How to become an agent!
Who wouldn’t be curious about that?
Some say it’s because some elite university graduates are specially recruited, while others say they scout soldiers who have fought in war.
Then there are those who claim that you’re destined to be an agent from the moment you’re born.
There are plenty of rumors, but very few know the truth.
Even Dad, who knows more secrets than the average person, doesn’t seem to have the answers.
The woman, a high-ranking official in the Bureau, is one of the few who knows.
Soon, she pulled out an unidentified book from her bosom.
“If this book is the world, normal people are those living just one page.”
What on earth is she talking about?
I couldn’t help but interject.
“Excuse me?”
“Every so often, someone can leap across pages. Those who do become agents.”
“Are you not going to explain this properly?”
Then the woman chuckled softly.
“I just gave you a proper explanation.”
“…”
The next part was even stranger.
“There are folks even more impressive than agents. You could call them higher agents. Once they reach that upper tier, they automatically gain the agent position.”
“Higher agents?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“… Participants, as they say.”
“Participants?”
“People who can move around the book itself. They can even observe the book from outside!”
Just as we were trying to figure out what she meant, Jinwook couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked, “Um, how does one become a participant?”
“Usually, it’s said to be a matter of fate.”
“Fate?”
“No one knows the exact reasoning. It’s just that someone who weeps for the world has granted blessings….”
As things were getting increasingly complicated to understand, she added.
“However.”
For the first time, a firmness appeared on the woman’s face.
“We have figured out how to create fate.”
“Huh?”
“It requires… delicate and intricate adjustments.”
“What do you—”
“For example, individuals like you.”
“Huh?”
At that moment, all four siblings widened their eyes in astonishment.
She just mentioned “You like us”—how could we understand that?
Before we could react, the woman delivered what felt like a profound declaration.
“Today, only one among you will receive fate.”
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