‘What a pity.’
If only all the evidence could have been presented properly, he wouldn’t have been allowed to bolt like that.
Well, the director’s wishes were what mattered.
Rowoon’s role was only that of helper after all.
Right after the press conference ended, after the staff, who had been split between “absurd” and “refreshing,” had left, Rowoon asked Director Kim.
“Director, are you all right?”
The blank look on his face bothered him.
“Uh… I’m fine. No, rather than fine, I feel kind of exhilarated.”
“Sir?”
A reply he hadn’t expected.
What on earth about that press conference was exhilarating?
When Rowoon looked puzzled, the director explained.
“It’s because you never saw him back in school. That kid… He’s the type who can’t beg for anything. His family had money, teachers bent over backward. He hated having to ask favors so much he started a company of his own. By my standards, what he just did was practically prostrating himself in sackcloth and ashes.”
He regretted it wasn’t normal TV, but said he was delighted the video would live forever on the internet.
“He must’ve thought he could strike and run before I knew. Doesn’t matter. We just have to spread the real story.”
Director Kim, in a breezy tone that would make the culprit blanch, added:
“To be honest, I never wanted to drag everything into a public hearing, so wrapping it up like this is a relief. I’m sorry to you, Rowoon, after you found the evidence.”
“No. What’s important is you, Director.”
“Thanks for saying so. I feel lately… I’m really blessed. If it weren’t for you, Rowoon, I wouldn’t be this calm. I might never even have started the film.”
He scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
Perhaps because, at last, he was free of the stigma of being branded a plagiarist.
From the smile on Director Kim’s face, Rowoon sensed a great release.
A freshness as though everything dirty had been washed away, a light with no more shadows.
“I want to make a movie based on the story I wrote with that friend—have to keep the promise we made.”
Eyes shining, already sketching the future beyond the present.
Seeing that, Rowoon instinctively realized.
‘Ah. Finally.’
The long quest was finished.
That night, as if to confirm his thought, a notification popped up.
[Congratulations!]
Pa-pa-pa-PAM!
Glittering fanfare exploded, and at the same moment, a translucent window opened before his eyes.
The quest-completion notice Rowoon had so eagerly awaited.
[You have successfully completed the commission!]
‘At last!’
A swelling emotion filled him with pride.
If he had to name it, it would be sense of achievement.
His landmark first quest cleared.
It felt like another life when he’d wondered if he would just die.
Dding!
[The commission-completion evaluation has been updated!]
[Would you like to view the details?]
Another new message appeared.
[Yes/No]
First time finishing a quest—everything was unfamiliar.
Rowoon pressed “Yes” without hesitation.
At once the content of the translucent window changed.
[Commission title: You Were Not Wrong]
–Achievement rate: 120 %
–Overall: A result that could not be more perfect!
[Commission fulfilled successfully; virtue points will be granted!]
[Commission fulfilled successfully; vir-@#$□grant□□……]
“…?”
The smile bathing in pride froze on Rowoon’s face.
‘Error?’
The window displayed a few unreadable blanks, then—
[Warning! Unsettled causality exists.]
[Penalty will be applied!]
[Because of unsettled karmic debt, the virtue you receive will be deducted at irregular rates and probabilities!]
“…?”
A bucket of cold water on the celebration.
More horrifying:
[Current karma value: –1,080,000]
The karma figure was astronomical.
‘Is this for real?’
Mere moments after the first quest cleared, a never-before-seen karma metric had appeared and the number exceeded one million.
[So it’s finally over! Well done!]
Even Cheong-hwa, who’d been congratulating him, sensed something off.
[Hm? What’s wrong? You don’t look happy at all.]
“Master Cheong-hwa, this ‘karma value’ appeared. Am I… going to prison?”
[What? Karma, you say?]
When Rowoon explained about the sudden error, Cheong-hwa vanished, saying to wait a moment.
A little later, he returned, sighed as if dumbfounded, and began to explain.
[That karma figure… I didn’t put it there. I checked, and it seems to be residue left behind by your original body. As you know, a human is made of soul and flesh, yes?]
He explained earnestly, but it was complicated and hard to follow.
“So, Master, you’re saying my soul and the original body’s soul-and-flesh mix got weird, and everything’s tangled up?”
[Exactly. Something that shouldn’t be possible, but…]
Several impossible things had already happened.
Nothing was surprising anymore.
But why did this pop up now?
[My guess: because you gained virtue points for the first time. Since virtue and residual karma conflict, the residue stuck to your flesh was stimulated and activated.]
Rowoon thought, ‘Even in the end he dumps crap on me…!’
What had the original done to rack up a negative million?
[From what I can see it’s only trace residue on the flesh. You won’t have to shoulder all that bastard’s sins.]
Only the residue, and still over a million.
What on earth had he been up to?
“If it’s residue, then…”
[Basically, the reputation clinging to that body, and the twisted fates caused by it—you’re responsible for straightening those out.]
In short: repair the body’s reputation, mop up the mess.
Rowoon looked again at the karma display.
[Current karma value: –1,080,000]
A number that made him sigh.
‘As if living day-to-day weren’t enough… Now I have to clear karma, too.’
Came back to life, only to face nightmare difficulty.
One small mercy: virtue and karma were tallied separately.
‘If virtue had to pay off karma first… ugh.’
Even imagining was horrible.
He’d resurrected only to drop dead again.
‘With a debuff like this, the road ahead won’t be easy…’
The joy of finishing the first quest lasted but a moment; worries rushed in like a mountain.
[So, how much virtue did you get?]
“Half deducted—I netted 350.”
He checked the new status window.
[Due to karma, virtue has been reduced by 50 %.]
[Current virtue points: 350]
[What? 350 even after halving? Then Kim Seon-bi spent quite a bit. All those dream visits must have cost a fortune.]
“Is that a lot?”
[Indeed. Virtue doesn’t pile up just by breathing. Only through cultivation or good deeds.]
He grasped roughly that it was valuable.
Another system alert appeared.
[Would you like to convert virtue into life span?]
[Yes/No]
Apparently, he could trade virtue gained from commissions for life span.
No reason to hesitate.
He pressed “Yes,” and the window changed.
[Conversion complete.]
[Remaining life span: 35 days]
Thirty-five days.
A little over a month.
To Rowoon, that alone felt reassuring.
‘If not for the karma, I’d have more than two months…’
A bitter taste of regret.
But dwelling on regret was useless.
Stuck in the past, one couldn’t move forward.
So he decided to focus on finishing this first quest safely.
“Anyway, I’m glad it ended well. I don’t know if I feel relieved or a bit empty…”
Memories of the last few months (or was it torment?) flitted through his mind.
At first, the quest was mere obligation.
Fail, and only death awaited.
Like it or not, he had to do it.
But midway, something changed.
‘It wasn’t just duty, it was fun…’
It had been ages since he felt his heart swell like that.
Helping someone sincerely… that was deeply satisfying.
[Exactly. It couldn’t have ended better. Hmph.]
An achievement rate of 120 % said it all.
‘But what’s the achievement rate for? Requester satisfaction?’
No sooner had he thought it when…
Dding!
A ready-and-waiting alert popped up.
[Achievement rate has exceeded the maximum!]
[Remarkable feat!]
[Additional reward granted!]
‘Huh?’
Before he finished reading, something dropped out of thin air, and plopped into his hands.
Ddirong!
With a short chime, a window appeared.
[Seed of ???]
A seed that has yet to sprout. If you raise it with true sincerity, something good might happen?
“A seed…?”
In his palm lay a seed the size of a fist, but it looked more like a pebble.
‘No matter how I look, it’s stone not seed, right?’
Its name was all question marks. The description was hopelessly vague.
‘Still, Heaven wouldn’t hand out junk.’
[Hmm. I sense spiritual energy. It’s no ordinary thing. Best to cultivate it.]
Cheong-hwa agreed.
Probably a mystic seed beyond Rowoon’s understanding.
Whatever it produced, he decided to plant and nurture it carefully.
[Hmph. Stingy old elders, yet they’re making effort. They recognize your worth, indeed. I, who invested so much, knew your value.]
Cheong-hwa laughed proudly then froze.
Rowoon was startled too.
Because…
‘The water-drop is… glowing?’
To be precise, light suddenly radiated from Cheong-hwa.
[Uh, uh? What’s this? Wait. What is happening?]
The once majestic tone turned short and panicked, but neither noticed.
“W-water—should I get water?”
[It isn’t fire. What would water do!]
“Still, we need to put out the light—!”
[Hold… Wait! Oh… Oooo?]
Their fluster stopped when Cheong-hwa trembled as if feeling something.
[Power… I feel power…!]
The shining intensified, dazzling Rowoon’s eyes.
At last, when the blinding light that seemed ready to burn everything white vanished…
“…?”
Rowoon was confused.
[Oho-ho! Power overflows!]
Cheong-hwa spun around him, voice exultant.
‘…A tail?’
Because there had been a change.
[Power brims! Surely the sign of advancement! Well, do you see something different?]
“Um…”
[If my true body returned, it must be magnificent and splendid! No wonder you’re speechless!]
“You… have a tail now.”
[Huh? What? A tail? Not my true body?]
Cheong-hwa fired question marks like a machine gun and zipped to a mirror.
Behind the tiny, fist-sized water drop trailed a little tail the length of a finger, swaying.
[What… What is this! My dignified body is gone and only a tail came!]
The killer point: the tail, too, was made of quivering water.
From mere droplet to droplet-with-tail…
Cheong-hwa accepted reality, spun slowly, and sighed deep.
[Ugh. Right. Those stingy fogeys would never do a favor all at once.]
After all, he’d struggled to secure this bridge to the human world.
They wouldn’t relinquish it easily. He clicked his watery tongue.
[Still, since I get power when you clear a commission, it seems I share a portion of the virtue you gain.]
“Then I need to work even harder.”
[No, you don’t have to go that far—]
“You’re my benefactor, Master Cheong-hwa.”
Cheong-hwa called Rowoon his savior, but Rowoon thought differently.
‘Even if the past me saved him, that was past me. The present me didn’t know.’
If not for Cheong-hwa, Rowoon would have died right where he slipped.
Cheong-hwa staked his very existence to prevent that death.
Cheong-hwa was Rowoon’s benefactor.
‘And if I can restore his power too?’
Then the answer was one:
‘I just have to work harder…!’
Though a massive karma debt lingered, the commission system that once shocked him with a death countdown had turned into opportunity.
Who could have known?
Life is unpredictable.
But that it would turn out like this…
Truly, the world is worth staying alive to see.
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