***
I returned straight home and sat on a chair for a moment to organize my thoughts.
When Kang Min-ho, whom I had intended to take revenge on, fell from the motel and died, it was said that a target of revenge had been punished and the required conditions were met. And then, Awakening.
It seemed that if I punished the men my wife would have affairs with in the future one by one, the Awakening Stage would increase. In that case, would it be okay to punish them in advance?
No, that probably wouldn’t work. It would be good to try if the opportunity came up, but for now, it just wasn’t possible.
This was because the future opponents were individuals who required a fair amount of preparation.
For now, I had to sufficiently grow my abilities and my source of funds.
When I thought of the status window in my mind, letters were engraved before my eyes.
First, the Active abilities.
Taste of Regression seemed to be, literally, just a taste. I thought about what I could do in one minute, but no particularly good ideas came to mind.
What I could think of right now was gambling? Stocks? Coins? I didn't even know how to do those things in the first place. There are a few guys around me who are crazy about coins; I should obtain some information from them.
Next was Mental Control. This only stated that I could control an opponent's mind, but there was not a single detail regarding specific content. The standard for whether willpower was high or low was ambiguous, and I didn't know the duration either. It seemed I would only know this after using it frequently. I must make sure to use it once every day.
And the Passive abilities.
Physical Enhancement and Cognitive Enhancement were Awakening abilities that raised my basic stats. To be honest, I was looking forward to seeing how they would improve as the level increased.
By the way, where did my wife go? There was the highest probability that she went to my mother-in-law’s house. Whenever something went wrong and she needed to take refuge, she always went there.
She might come this evening, or perhaps tomorrow.
If I were the person I used to be, I would have been anxious and kept contacting her or gone to look for her. But that was not me anymore—the naive version of myself had already been left behind.
Looking at the time, it was almost lunch. Strangely, my appetite was being whetted. Before the regression, I had merely consumed food to survive and did not know the pleasure of eating.
But now, I strangely wanted to eat Kimchi stew.
My deliberation was not long. After putting my overcoat back on and heading outside, I immediately looked for a snack shop, ‘Mother’s Snack Shop’ was located near the house. This place had not changed much, whether it was ten years in the future or ten years in the past.
The Kimchi stew came out in less than ten minutes, and I picked up my spoon and took a scoop of the high-piled bowl of rice.
Gulp!
It felt as though the salivary glands in my mouth had burst.
As I put the meat, tofu, and Kimchi into my mouth at once and chewed, it felt unfamiliar and delicious, as if it were a food I was eating for the very first time.
However, when I read web novels, the protagonists would shed tears while eating Kimchi stew their mothers cooked for them after regressing, but no tears came to me.
Was it because those protagonists weren't crying because of the Kimchi stew, but because of their mothers?
Come to think of it, having lost my parents early, it seemed there would be no day for me to eat Kimchi stew while shedding tears. I could only remember my parents' faces through photographs.
Crunch, crunch.
Even while I was eating, my mind was spinning rapidly. Was it thanks to Cognitive Enhancement? My head, which would normally have felt clogged, was now clearly and refreshingly open. The things I needed to do right now came to mind in a fluid stream.
“Imo, please give me one order of Kimchi stew to go.”
I lightly raised my hand and spoke toward the kitchen.
By the time I finished my meal, the food came out packed. After finishing the payment and stepping back outside, I caught a taxi.
I intended to meet one of the members of the ‘Eagle Five’ from my childhood.
After traveling for about twenty minutes, I arrived at a certain hillside slum village. I stopped by a supermarket to buy some water and then began to diligently climb the stairs.
The place I arrived at was a certain shabby apartment. It was a place that reminded me of a steep cliff on top of a hill that looked as if it might collapse at any moment. After climbing to the fourth floor while avoiding the trash strewn about on the floor, I headed to the house at the very end.
Thump, thump—
“Open the door. It’s me.”
It was loud, but it couldn't be helped. Since the doorbell was broken, I had no choice but to knock on the door.
Thump, thump—
“Open the door. I know you’re inside.”
Click, clack.
Creaaaak—
As I continued to knock on the door, I heard the sound of the locking mechanism being released, and with a rusty frictional sound, the iron door opened just a tiny bit. A woman was looking outside with a still-wary gaze while the safety chain was engaged.
However, after confirming once more that it was me, she relaxed her vigilance.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“What do you mean, ‘what brings me here’? I came to check if you’re eating well and living properly.”
“Why are you being like this… it’s not like you. What are you going to do if your wife finds out?”
She spoke bluntly as she disengaged the safety chain and opened the door.
“Ugh.”
As soon as I opened the door and stepped inside, a foul stench stimulated my nose first.
The floor was filled with trash to the point where there was no place to step, and all sorts of junk were strewn everywhere. The sink was full of unwashed dishes, and flies were buzzing around.
I turned my gaze and looked at her. Her body, as she trotted back to sit in front of the computer, had become emaciated to the level of a skeleton.
I let out a deep sigh and looked at her.
Her name was Jo Sang-nim.
I didn't know if that was her real name, but she had been called that since we first met at the orphanage. Being two years younger than me, she strangely took good care of me, and thanks to her, I was able to finish my life at the orphanage safely.
In the year 2020, four years from now.
She would die of malnutrition at the young age of 30.
“Eat.”
After roughly clearing the top of the computer desk, I spread out the Kimchi stew. However, her gaze was still directed toward the monitor.
“Does anything change just because you stare at that all day? Hurry up and eat.”
“Don't say things you don't know about. Every minute and every second is important here.”
What she was looking at was coins. Complex graphs, numbers and English words of unknown identity. Those things moved rapidly in real-time. It was dizzying. Would I be able to learn this?
She didn't even spare a glance at the Kimchi stew. I didn't even know if she was living on water. Looking at her posture, it seemed she was about to perform a ritual in front of the food all day long.
However, I had expected that this kind of situation would occur.
Having a mind that works well brings many good points, doesn't it?
‘How should I do this? Is it enough to just think about it?’
I decided to try using the Mental Control ability on her.
She needed to eat, and I needed to test it out, so wasn't it a win-win?
I looked at her and repeated the thought for her to eat the Kimchi stew. The moment I pulled my concentration to the maximum and became lost in the thought.
[The Mental Control ability is manifested.]
Oh? It works!!
“Hmm, the smell is quite something?”
Suddenly, she thrust her nose into the Kimchi stew and smacked her lips. However, because she couldn't take her eyes off the monitor, she glanced sideways, mixed the rice into the Kimchi stew, and began to eat it all at once.
I felt relieved watching that sight.
Right. Even eating like this is better than nothing.
I gazed down at her quietly.
Before the regression, I hadn’t been able to take care of her at all after my marriage. Just how severely had I been gaslighted by my wife? It was because she even hated it when I just talked to Sang-nim on the phone.
But the situation was different now.
I would save her, and we would live by helping each other. Using my abilities, that is.
Specifically, with the Taste of Regression.
‘Huh?’
The reason I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts was because her attire caught my eye.
A bra top that clung to her body and hot pants. The exposure was so extreme that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was wearing almost nothing.
No matter if we were childhood friends.
‘Was her chest always this big? Her body is thin, but what’s with her chest…’
The cleavage visible below was quite deep.
‘Oops, what am I thinking?’
I quickly looked around and refreshed my mind. However, my brow furrowed involuntarily. It was because the environment was not one where my mind could be refreshed.
I rolled up my sleeves. I felt that I should do some house cleaning while she was eating.
And then, an amazing thing happened.
I had usually been good at cleaning, but I never dreamed I would be able to organize things so efficiently. Thoughts about the tasks that needed to be handled followed one after another without any blockage.
Cognitive Enhancement.
It was a truly excellent passive ability.
After the cleaning was done, I sat down beside her and said,
“Teach me how to use coins.”
She immediately narrowed her eyes and glared at me.
“Hey, Na Hogu. Something’s happened to you, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah. I was born again.”
I spoke honestly.
“Bullshit.”
She replied with a snort.
Why is the truth harder to believe than a lie?