The Gamer's POV-Chapter 229: The Worst Person for the Job

Min-jun looked at Seo-yeon to see that her jaw had dropped.

Without knowing why she looked taken aback, he added with a smile, "I’ve always dreamt of having an ability like that. That ability is so broken, you know." He tapped the side of his head. "And I’ve got a pretty good imagination."

He resumed eating his gimbap.

Seo-yeon blinked and after a few seconds, she covered her mouth with her hand and began laughing softly, causing Min-jun to arch a brow in confusion.

"What?" he asked with a bewildered look.

Between her breaths, she quietly muttered to herself, "Gosh, you’ll be so jealous when you find out that that’s what his power is all about."

"What are you muttering about? Has the stress made you go crazy?" Min-jun asked, setting his chopsticks down.

"No, no," Seo-yeon replied as her laughter faded. Then she waved a hand dismissively as she got back to being serious. "Anyway. Say... what if you suddenly had the power to raise people from the dead instead? I’m talking about restoration and giving people a second chance in life. Especially those you do not know."

Min-jun looked visibly uncomfortable at the question.

"Tsk." He picked up a beer and drank half the can in one go. After setting the can down, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Why would I want a power as bothersome as that?"

"Huh?" Seo-yeon blurted, arching a brow slightly.

But then Min-jun shook his head. "Think about it. Why would I want a power that makes me responsible for other people like that? Most people don’t even deserve the first chance they got, let alone a second one. If I had to use my energy to bring back a bunch of strangers and give them a second chance, I’d rather just have no power at all. It sounds like a headache."

Seo-yeon sat back.

"..."

Min-jun was silent for a few seconds, then he scoffed.

"People are selfish, cruel, and ungrateful. They only look out for themselves until they need something from you. They lie to your face and stab you in the back the moment it benefits them. They take, they complain, and then they forget you even helped them. You’d think that just because some are more powerful, richer, or more influential, they’d be any better. No. If anything, it just gives them more ways to be awful. Second chance? Ha. What bullshit. Honestly, I’d never give a second life to anyone."

Seo-yeon looked at him for a long time with an unreadable expression. Eventually, she broke the silence with a soft sigh. "You really have a low opinion of humanity, huh."

"Yeah." Min-jun replied without hesitation as he resumed eating.

Seo-yeon smiled. "But that’s even more reason why someone like you should have that power."

"What?" Min-jun looked up, and his brows furrowed in confusion. "You just heard me say I’d be the worst person for that. If I ever had such a power, I’d probably just ignore everyone."

"No," Seo-yeon shook her head slowly. "You shouldn’t because you know exactly how ugly people can be. I’m not saying you need to be a saint. You just need to be better than people. If you think everyone is selfish, then being the one person who isn’t... that’s the most powerful thing you could do, you know."

"Come on, babe, don’t do that," Min-jun groaned, gesturing with his chopsticks that had a gimbap between them. "It’s unfair that you know people are trash yet tell me I have to be the one to be the better person."

Seo-yeon’s smile slowly faded as he added, "I’ll never be a hero. And I’ll never be the better person. So no. I don’t need that kind of bullshit power. People should die, and they should stay dead."

He finally ate the piece of gimbap, chewing slowly as if to emphasize that he was finished with the topic.

Seeing that he meant every bit of what he said, and that she wouldn’t be able to convince him otherwise, she sighed.

"Fine," she said quietly. "Let’s just finish dinner."

She picked up her own chopsticks and began eating. Min-jun studied her for a moment, noticing the way her shoulders had slumped just a fraction. He felt a small twinge of guilt, but he pushed it down. He exhaled and asked, "By the way... what’s this nonsense about raising the dead and second chances? Why’d you suddenly ask that?"

She looked at him, then shrugged aimlessly and said in a flat tone, "Nothing. I just read some webtoon today where the main character could heal people, and it got me thinking. You know how I get when I read stuff like that."

Min-jun bobbed his head, then he did a mouth shrug and nodded with a slight tilt of his head, before continuing his meal. Through the corner of his eye, he could see that despite her attempt to appear nonchalant, it was obvious that she was saddened by his reply. She kept moving a piece of pickled radish around with the tip of her chopstick without actually picking it up.

Eventually she murmured, "I’d appreciate it if you did, though."

Min-jun, who was now reaching for another piece of gimbap, looked up and blurted, "Huh?"

"If you ever were in a position to grant a second chance to someone you didn’t know. It would make me happy if you did."

Min-jun stared at her for a beat, while slowly chewing the lingering radish in his mouth. As he watched her adjust her glasses and smile warmly at him, the memory slowly faded like fog until there was total darkness. The warmth of the room and the smell of the food evaporated into silence.

Then, in the next second, Cedric finally opened his eyes, waking up from his slumber.

...

He blinked a few times, and for a moment after, he didn’t move and just kept lying there with a blank expression. He stared up at the ceiling, thinking about that memory which had been his reason for ever even considering raising the dead ever since he acquired the power of Chrysalis.

Eventually, he sighed long and deep, then slowly sat upright. The sheets fell away from his chest, and the cold air of the room settled over him.

"Strange..." he muttered tiredly as a small frown creased his face.

"Thinking about it now, that question she asked was quite... specific. Could it be just a coincidence?"