City of Witches

Inside the thick envelope Albireo gave Siwoo, there was a piece of paper with his current address written on it.

Although he wasn’t sure why, she provided him with ten such houses in Korea. Three of them were located in Seoul and the rest of them were scattered in big cities across other provinces.

Looking at it like this, he felt like he had become an agent for the National Intelligence Service and those houses were his safe houses.

He took a taxi to a newly built two-room officetel located near the Ewha Womans University Station in Sinchon.

The reason why he knew exactly where to go was because the Geminis had given him a briefing about the places. Along with the address, they also included photos and detailed explanations about each house.

For reference, this particular house’s monthly rent, including its maintenance fees, amounted to 140 million won¹Around 1.1k USD.

During the ride, he looked out of the taxi, gazing at the passing scenery, the sight of the changed world.

He hadn’t visited Sinchon much back in the day. The only times he did was when he had vacations to meet up with his friends. Even so, he noticed the noticeable differences in the scenery.

Then again, it was a place renowned for its youthful atmosphere and its tendency to follow trends, so any changes within the place were quite noticeable.

Compared to back then, he could see more singers busking on the streets. People also seemed to be wearing wireless earphones instead of wired ones with cords.

Before he got into the taxi, he actually got himself a new smartphone and the design had changed a lot from what he used to.

His current phone was four generations ahead of his old one.

“It’s a Samsung phone…”

While engrossed in his thoughts as he fiddled with his phone, Siwoo nostalgically gazed at the familiar urban landscape. Before he realized it, he had already arrived at his destination.

His apartment was located on the top floor of the mixed-use officetel.

Although it wasn’t as extravagant as a penthouse, the newly constructed apartment had a clean and well-organized layout that made it comfortable for him to live in.

He was pleasantly surprised to see various furniture and kitchen utensils inside.

“Oh, they even stocked up on beers.”

Siwoo took out two cans of beers from the refrigerator.

Then, he moved to the window in the living room, taking a moment to look at the city below him.

The apartment was located close to the Gyeongui Line and the Line 2 Subway, making it convenient for him to travel around.

However, the view outside appeared rather desolate. It was as if it had exchanged its previous beauty and convenience for a barren landscape.

Still, for Siwoo, who had just returned to his hometown, he didn’t mind it much. It was because his heart swelled just by looking at the cars spinning around in the roundabout.

While casually enjoying the scenery, he tossed his bag onto the couch and took out the new smartphone he got today.

“Home is the best place to be.”

Although Siwoo had registered it using a false identity, he still wasn’t sure if the phone would be affected by the ‘reset’ or not.

But, he didn’t pay much attention to it.

After all, he could just register it again if he needed to.

“Who cares? It isn’t my money anyway.”

‘In any case, it was the Countess who said not to mind it.’

‘As long as I don’t buy a private jet or some shit like that.’

Siwoo hadn’t kept up with the news enough to find out what had changed from back in the day.

Feeling like a newly released prisoner, he indulged himself, searching for things he was curious about while enjoying his beer.

“This game is fucked now.”

He found out that the game he used to enjoy had turned into a dead game.

“I can’t see my name anywhere.”

The various articles that used to proudly show his achievement as a math prodigy had all disappeared without a trace.

Not only that, he also couldn’t find out anything about the plane crash that led him to be stuck in Gehenna.

A plane crash was a big incident, so it was bound to be known everywhere, even in the foreign countries, but there seemed to be no record of that particular plane crash. It was as if the incident had been completely erased from existence.

“Damn, I should have bought some of this before leaving.”

The virtual currency that he had only heard about back in the day suddenly skyrocketed hundreds of times in price, as if a virtual gold rush happened.

‘If I invested five hundred thousand won back then, how much would I have now?’

As he stared at the screen, digging through all sorts of things, he lost track of time.

Chilling on the couch while sipping beer and watching the news.

These simple things were enough to make him happy.

There were a lot of things that he could do.

From catching up on movies he missed, finishing the dramas he was watching back in the day, checking out and groundbreaking research papers that came out and going to places he wanted to visit.

But, among those, the thing he wanted to do the most was…

“Alright, let’s eat.”

To eat.

Although Gehenna’s food was undoubtedly amazing, it still lacked the saltiness, spiciness and invigorating flavors of Korean dishes.

Siwoo immediately installed a food delivery app and selected various dishes that he wanted to eat.

Grilled pork belly, braised kimchi, kimchi stew, boiled pork slices, pig’s trotters, chicken, pizza, beef tartare, tuna sashimi, braised chicken, sushi…

He picked everything that he found fancy.

After a while, the delivery guy arrived and rang the door repeatedly. He received his food, spread them out on the floor, turned on the TV and enjoyed the long-missed flavors of his hometown dishes while keeping an eye on the news.

The tangy and spicy taste of the well-aged kimchi mingled with the tender marinated beef ribs, creating a delightful dance of flavors in his mouth.

He placed five pieces of pig trotters, filled with the pungent aroma of medicinal herbs, on a bed of lettuce. After that, he took a bite, savoring that combination with raw garlic.

Then, he stuffed the pork belly, stir-fried with mushrooms, into his mouth, causing his cheek to bulge.

Mixing the intestines and skewers with pickled garlic chives, he took a big bite with chopsticks and followed it up with a sip of soju.

Normally, he wasn’t a fan of soju, but this time, it smoothly went down his throat.

“Mmm…! So good!”

Since he already had a spiritual body, he didn’t actually need to eat.

Not only that, he also wouldn’t die of old age.

He didn’t realize it right away, but there were immediate advantages that he could perceive at this very moment.

And one of them was, no matter how full his stomach felt, he could still stuff more food into his mouth.

“Damn, it’s so fucking tasty.”

His feast continued for a whopping five hours.

2.

Inside a cabin in the middle of a certain oak tree forest.

On a bed where Siwoo and Amelia often fell asleep together.

With a burning gaze, Siwoo looked at Amelia as their lips met.

His soft tongue, thicker than a woman’s, slipped between her lips. Meanwhile, Amelia clung to him as if she had been waiting for this.

While it might be one way of them displaying their love and affection, essentially it was still an act of exchanging saliva.

An unhygienic and uncouth act.

Yet, strangely, through her racing heart, she didn’t feel any sense of disgust.

His strong arms wrapped around her waist, his thick palms grasped the back of her neck.

Then, one of them moved to cup her breast.

Since both of them weren’t wearing even a single layer of clothing, she could directly feel his touches.

“Siwoo… Siwoo…”

He returned her calls with a gentle gaze.

His tender touch coiled around her body like a snake. HIs fingers that were holding on to her breasts, playfully teased her nipples.

Each time, a tingling sensation surged through her, like an electric current pulsating from deep within her belly.

The swelling sensation and feverish heat escaped her mouth through a sigh.

“Haah…”

Then, Siwoo pinched her nipple with the sharp tip of his fingernail.

“Ah, it hurts…”

At first, she felt a sharp pain that seemed to dig into her chest, but it swiftly transformed into a strong stimulation, causing her to writhe beneath him on the bed.

She didn’t resist his touch.

Instead, she pushed her chest forward, as if begging for more, and forcefully suppressed her trembling waist that had formed a small arch.

“P-Please… Do it more… S-Siwoo…”

She moved her hand to cover her mouth and nose with Siwoo’s shirt.

Out of the five senses, the sense of smell was the one with the closest connection to the memory.

Now that Siwoo was gone, she could only smell the remnants of his body scent that was ingrained deeply in the fabric.

By deeply inhaling it, she could recall the days of happiness, almost deluding herself into thinking that she was being embraced in his arms.

“S-Siwoo… Ahh…”

Her other hand caressed her own breasts while teasing her own nipples. From the simulations she brought onto herself, her body began to tremble slowly.

Due to the light and airy nightgown she was wearing, her smooth legs were revealed under the moonlight. They trembled, as if enduring something. Her tightly pressed knees were twitching, repeatedly.

Each time she made a move, the nightgown made a gentle rustling sound.

“Ah— Hng—!”

She forcefully covered her mouth with Siwoo’s shirt, trying to stifle her moans.

The pleasure made her head and womb throb. It was as if something was being released from her nipples, it washed over her body like a huge wave.

“Haah… Ugh…”

Then, her eyelids, which had been tightly closed, suddenly fluttered open, revealing her hazy sky-colored irises.

Even without any physical touch, thick liquid trickled from her crotch.

As a result, the sheets that were supporting her buttocks turned damp. But, she didn’t have the strength to care about it at the moment.

On the bedside table, one of her unique perfumes was placed, the ‘Perfume of Dream.’

Its effect was to blur the boundary between imagination and reality, inducing a trance-like state upon the user.

Thanks to it, Amelia could feel as though Siwoo was embracing her just by imagining it.

Even Amelia, who usually got lost in the depths of her magical research, would use the perfume whenever the dim night was decorated by the moonlight.

It was those sparse moments that helped her to put aside all her sufferings and pain.

“…”

As her intense flames of arousal gradually faded away, a deep and overwhelming abyss of hopelessness and helplessness engulfed her being. This was a familiar sensation that often followed said arousal.

After Siwoo left, Amelia found herself confined to the cabin once again.

Just like back when she lost her master, she found solace by hunching over in the small cabin while immersing herself in magic research.

The only thing that had changed compared to back then was the moments when she’d occasionally play around with her breasts like what she just did.

Other than that, her daily routine hadn’t changed at all.

Or at least, that was what she felt.

‘I’ve been doing this for more than a century now, haven’t I?’

Using magic to cleanse herself, she plopped down on the bed, all curled up.

Right in her line of sight, on the cabinet where she usually kept her teacups, there was a neatly folded piece of white paper.

Sophia, who visited the cabin a week ago, was the one who gave it to her, telling her that it was a letter left behind by Siwoo.

However, Amelia couldn’t bring herself to open it, much like she couldn’t bring herself to read her master’s last will.

She felt like everything would be decided the moment she read his letter.

It would leave no room for imagination or lingering hope. Everything would be set in stone.

Though, she did wonder what kind of letter did Siwoo, who left her with that much resentment in his eyes, left behind.

She spent the whole day with that thought swirling in her mind, but the underlying anxiety and the fear of closure paralyzed her mind like a toxic substance.

If she were to be honest with herself, she didn’t believe that he’d ever forgive her.

That was why she couldn’t cling onto her final, desperate hope. She didn’t want to see the announcement that would spell the end of their relationship.

“I-I’m…such a coward…”

She understood that Siwoo’s anger was completely justified.

What she had done was akin to finding out that her beloved master, someone that she loved more than anyone, turned out to be someone who had been tormenting her relentlessly over the years.

That sense of betrayal and loss was something she could completely understand.

She was well aware that she had no right to package the horrible things she had done with fancy labels such as clumsy love. Because that would mean she’d be running away from the truth again.

Amelia reached out her arm and grabbed the perfume bottle once again.

Then, she smeared a few drops of it on her wrist and behind her neck and ears before laying her back on the bed.

She closed her eyes as she rested her back against the pillow. At that moment, she could see Siwoo’s face again.

His hands possessively caressed her exposed body as he sent out a tender kiss on her lips.

“Siwoo…”

Her torment and agony deepened with the night.

Not long after, the sound of her poignant breath, filled with an intense emotion, quietly echoed alongside the serene chirps of grasshoppers.

Footnotes:

• 1Around 1.1k USD