The Novel's Extra - Side Story 42 – Dream in a Dream (42)

Rachel called EXTRION’s CEO, who was supposed to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony today.

Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring…

A crease formed on her forehead. The ceremony would begin at 6:00 P.M. and it was already 5:50 P.M., but the man still hadn’t arrived.

Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring…

She didn’t like people who took promises lightly and especially those who took their sweet time answering a call.

Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring…

The dial tone kept ringing. It was the only sound that echoed in her ears and began annoying her.

— Hello?

“Yes, hello.”

The CEO finally answered, but his voice continued to echo.

Rachel tilted her head in confusion at the poor connection.

“Hello?”

— Yes, hello.

“Yes, hello.”

She was hearing his voice for the first time, but it sounded oddly familiar for some reason. Not only that, the people around her suddenly began acting strange. Everyone froze and looked at the same place in horror.

Rachel also looked in the same direction when…

“Huh?” she gasped without realizing it.

Kim Hajin looked at her with a mischievous smile and spoke into his smartwatch.

“Nice to meet you, Rachel. My name is Im Jinha.”

— Nice to meet you, Rachel. My name is Im Jinha.

The sound echoed again.

Kim Hajin ended the call and looked at Rachel, who remained flabbergasted.

“Im Jinha. Jinha in reverse is Im Hajin, right?”

“…!”

An exclamation mark literally appeared on top of Rachel’s head and she suddenly recalled the messages she sent the CEO. She slowly grimaced as tears welled up in her eyes and glared at Kim Hajin. Then she covered her face and ran away.

“Excuse me…” the prime minister carefully said as he approached Kim Hajin after Rachel left.

“Yes?” Kim Hajin replied with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you… Haha… Haha… Ha…” the prime minister awkwardly greeted him and bowed with cold sweat forming on his forehead.

“Ah, it’s fine. After all, I was the one pulling a prank. Shall we proceed with the ribbon-cutting ceremony? Of course, we’ll have to call back the person who ran away,” Kim Hajin nonchalantly said while pointing at Rachel.

She hid behind the ornamental plants decorating the venue. Her bright red ears and cheeks stood out among the greenery.

***

The ribbon-cutting ceremony proceeded smoothly.

Kim Hajin explained his plans to develop not only the English Royal Court, but all of London. The prime minister nodded in awe along with the other officials as they agreed to his plans.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony ended without a hitch and Rachel guided Kim Hajin to a famous restaurant she booked in advance.

“…”

“…”

The entire restaurant was empty except for the two of them.

Rachel stole glances at him amid their silence. Only the sound of their clinking cutlery could be heard. She had a hard time lifting her head from the embarrassment.

“Don’t worry about it too much. It’s my fault, so you don’t have to be self-conscious about it. I never expected you to take it so seriously,” Kim Hajin said as he bitterly laughed.

Rachel glared at him and retorted, “That’s right! How could you pull… such a… mean… prank…”

Her voice slowly grew quieter until she hung her head again.

“I think I gave you a lot of hints though. I mean, was the name not enough?”

“Korean isn’t my native language. I didn’t think of rearranging the name.”

Kim Hajin warmly smiled at her and set down his knife. The two of them barely touched their food. Rachel simply felt too nervous, but Kim Hajin felt the same too.

“There’s something serious I want to tell you today, Rachel,” he said in a deep voice.

Rachel looked up at him and her cheeks blushed when he mentioned something serious.

Don’t tell me… Is it that?

“Ehem… Ehem…” Kim Hajin cleared his throat a few times and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

Rachel hid her trembling hands under the table, but her heart kept pounding faster.

“This… will you take a look at this?” Kim Hajin said as he showed her his smartwatch gallery.

Rachel held her hands together and looked at the hologram projected from his smartwatch. It showed a small and cute girl who looked like a smaller version of herself. She immediately recognized the little girl.

“Oh, it’s Evandel,” she said.

“This little girl is… Huh? Eh? Eh? What did you just say?” Kim Hajin asked. His eyes widened in surprise as if he had seen a ghost.

Rachel tilted her head in confusion before replying, “You told me in our dream, right?”

“Hmm? Oh…”

Kim Hajin couldn’t exactly remember what he said or did in his dream. It wouldn’t be a dream if he remembered everything in the first place.

“Did I? I can’t remember what happened in the dream…”

“You told me that you fed a seed my blood and nurtured it.”

“Huh? Ah… that sounds about right. I guess I did tell you in the dream,” Kim Hajin said with a nod.

“Then, where is the child right now?” Rachel asked. She really wanted to meet Evandel. An unexplainable joy and urge welled up inside her.

“Give me a moment…” Kim Hajin said as he called someone on his smartwatch.

He said a few things over the phone and exactly three minutes passed before a child entered the restaurant only occupied by them.

Rachel immediately recognized her. The little girl wore a hat and sunglasses, but she was certainly Evandel.

Evandel carefully walked over to their table with Hayang in her arms.

“Ah…” Rachel gasped before she immediately stood and walked over to Evandel.

It definitely felt strange. They had just met for the first time, but it felt like reuniting with a long lost relative.

“Are you Evandel?” Rachel asked.

Evandel looked up at Rachel and blinked a few times. Tears began welling up in her eyes.

Could she somehow instinctively tell that she came from Rachel?

“It’s alright. You don’t have to cry… Heup!” Rachel smiled at the little girl, but a sharp pain suddenly struck her. It felt like a sharp object had stabbed her in the forehead.

“Excuse me…” Evandel meekly muttered.

Rachel grimaced from the pain, but immediately smiled at the girl.

“It’s been a long time. I missed you.”

Why did she say it’s been a long time and why did she say that she missed her?

Rachel couldn’t understand it herself after saying those words. Perhaps she felt too nervous about meeting the girl that she made a mistake? She decided to ignore it and knelt to look the little girl in the eyes.

“I… missed you… too…” Evandel said as she slowly stepped towards Rachel and hugged her.

Kim Hajin watched them hug and couldn’t help but smile. He felt somewhat proud of himself. He was also in disbelief that the issue he thought to be insurmountable was solved so easily.

***

“Wow! Wow!”

I went to Clancy Islet with Evandel and Rachel.

Evandel exclaimed as she looked around here and there. The luxury island seemed like a mystical place for a curious and energetic child like her.

“But don’t you think people will misunderstand? Evandel looks so much like you,” I asked Rachel while holding a balloon and looking at Evandel.

“Hmm? Let them misunderstand if they want. I decided a long time ago not to be so conscious about what others think of me. Besides, there aren’t that many people today since the island’s reopening is tomorrow,” Rachel nonchalantly replied.

“I see…”

“Rachel!”

Evandel approached Rachel and extended her hand out. Rachel looked at me before grasping Evandel’s hand.

The two began walking while holding hands and I watched them from behind.

“Hmm… I wonder what it is…” I muttered and shook my head.

It felt like I was forgetting something important. This feeling at the back of my mind kept telling me that, but Evandel’s voice snapped me out of it.

“Hajin! Hajin!”

Rachel turned around and looked at me too. She brightly smiled and motioned for me to come over.

I walked over to them with a smile and held Evandel’s hand. I held Evandel’s left hand while Rachel held her right hand and we walked with Evandel between us.

***

“Nice to meet you all. My name is Rachel and I am the vice leader of the English Royal Court guild…” Rachel greeted the Britain Academy students at the hall in Raid Ark.

“Your efforts will never betray you! Negative thoughts will only hamper your growth and lower your self-esteem!”

She conducted her speech in a stern voice and stressed the importance of training to the students.

“Do you understand?!”

She tried to imitate the infamous tiger instructor from Cube and it seemed to work as the students tensed up.

“Now, we will start with a very simple test.”

Rachel began to search if anyone among the students could also use spirits like her. She summoned her wind spirit, Windy, and asked it to sniff out the students.

— There is one person here who possesses quite the talent.

Windy transmitted to Rachel, who nodded in response.

People talented with spirits were uncommon, but not as rare as they were believed to be. The only reason they were thought to be rare was because of other selfish elementalists.

The first elementalist only took in one disciple, Shin Yeohwa. Likewise, Shin Yeohwa only took in one disciple, which was Rachel.

“You, what’s your name?” Rachel asked the girl in a strict voice.

The brown-haired girl began trembling after Rachel showed a completely different attitude from her public persona.

“My name is Jerin!” the girl replied.

“Follow me,” Rachel said.

“Eeek! I apologize!”

“You did nothing wrong, so be quiet and follow me.”

Rachel planned to separate her and enroll her in the Elementalist Academy she created.

She spent almost half a day at Raid Ark before returning to her guild office.

“Hoo…” Rachel sat in her chair and sighed in relief. She blankly stared at the ceiling for ten minutes before leaving her office again.

She walked along the corridor before stopping at an office with a nameplate that read, [EXTRION Hathshire – Kim Hajin].

“Ehem…”

Rachel created an actual office within the guild for Kim Hajin, who now became an important partner to the English Royal Court.

Knock… Knock…

She composed herself and knocked on the door, which suddenly swung open.

Rachel flinched and jumped back in surprise, “Hiiik! That surprised me…”

“Huh? When did you get here? Did I ask you to come? Rather, are you alright?”

“Ah…

I got here just now… just now…”

“Well, that’s great. Come on in.”

Rachel grinned and entered his office. Kim Hajin sat in his chair and Rachel took a seat across from him.

She felt good looking at him like this. It helped to recharge her energy for some reason.

“How’s the office? Do you like it?” she asked.

The English Royal Court went all out while building this office for him.

Kim Hajin also stayed here with Evandel at a luxury penthouse he bought a while back. This sixty-floor building boasted one of the most expensive price tags in all of London.

Rumors said that Kim Hajin, as EXTRION’s CEO, owned a unit in every major city in the world or something like that. Fermin mentioned that he looked more attractive because of his wealth.

Rachel shook her head and tried to forget the mischievous things that Fermin mentioned.

“I like it. Going to work is fun too. Oh, right,” Kim Hajin suddenly stopped mid-sentence and brought out a sack.

Whoosh!

A Pomeranian with golden fur suddenly jumped out from it.

The puppy momentarily surprised Rachel, but she caught the cute furry creature and hugged it.

“Wow! So cute! I really like animals. This one looks so cute and innocent!” Rachel exclaimed and showed her feminine side.

The cute furry creature huffed a few times before opening its mouth and talking, “Hehe… It’s Rachel… Hehe…”

“Huh? Kyaaah!”

Rachel screamed and jumped back from the puppy, but the puppy only giggled and walked towards Rachel while calling her name.

“Rachel.”

“What… What is… this?”

Kim Hajin and the puppy both had mischievous smiles on their faces.

“It’s one of Evandel’s tricks,” Kim Hajin told her.

“Evandel?”

“Yes.”

The puppy slowly transformed and turned into Evandel. She proudly stood with both hands on her waist and said, “Hehehe, I bet you were surprised!”

“Geez… really…” Rachel sighed in relief and hugged Evandel, who continued giggling in her embrace.

Rachel patted the little girl’s soft golden hair and looked at Kim Hajin.

He smiled and walked over to them. The sight of Rachel hugging Evandel reflected in his eyes. He felt a sense of happiness and sadness at the same time deep within his heart.

Wiiiing! Wiiiing!

A siren suddenly blared. This particular siren meant an emergency had occurred.

“Let’s go,” Kim Hajin spoke first.

Rachel nodded and looked at the little girl in her arms. “Evandel, you stay here.”

The two of them ran out as soon as they received the coordinates on their smartwatches.

“Wait a minute!” Kim Hajin shouted.

He went to an empty area and opened a briefcase that suddenly turned into a helicopter.

Rachel took a few steps back in surprise as Kim Hajin called out to her, “Hop on. This will be much faster than running.”

She stood there flabbergasted and couldn’t believe a mere briefcase transformed into a helicopter. Soon, she snapped out of it and hopped into the helicopter along with other guild members passing by.

“Hold on tight. We’ll be there in two minutes,” Kim Hajin said as he skillfully maneuvered the controls.

***

Beep… Beep… Beep…

Beep… Beep… Beep…

“Ugh…”

Rachel groaned as her alarm woke her the next day. Her head felt like it would split in half. She grabbed her aching head and sat on the bed only to find Kim Hajin sleeping beside her.

“…”

She absentmindedly stared at the man sound asleep next to her when her eyes suddenly widened and she looked around her surroundings. She was in a penthouse, on the same bed, and under the same sheets as him. Then, she suddenly recalled what happened last night.

She went to a bar with her guild members after feeling good about making quick work of the monsters that appeared. They drank… and drank… and drank… and… she couldn’t remember anything after that.

However, she found herself in bed with him now.

Rachel’s face turned bright red as she tried her best to remember if anything happened. However, she could only recall drinking and chatting with her guild members. There was also the part where she wanted to get drunk, so she purposely drank some hard liquor…

“Haangmm…”

“…!”

Kim Hajin rolled over and she almost jumped out of bed when he moved. He looked so peaceful while sleeping. He was certainly still asleep.

“Phew…”

He showed no signs of waking up and slept like a baby.

Rachel stretched and got out of bed.

She decided to look around Kim Hajin’s house. The penthouse wasn’t just huge, but also luxurious. Every piece of furniture in the unit had a certain brand.

Huh? Jinzel? Is this really Jinzel? Is this for real? That Jinzel that costs billions of won and is only sold at auctions? Rachel doubted her eyes.

“Wow… It’s my first time seeing one in person…” she muttered while staring at the furniture.

Jinzel was considered a premium among premium brands and even Rachel knew them. No wonder she didn’t feel tired at all despite drinking so much last night.

Rachel nervously gulped and looked at Kim Hajin.

One second passed… two seconds… three seconds…

“Yaaawn…”

Rachel contemplated for three whole seconds before yawning and lying back down next to him. Her heart pounded, but she forced herself to fall asleep.

However, she felt somewhat uncomfortable and tossed and turned for a bit. Then, her head finally found the perfect place on his arm.

“Hehe…”

Rachel giggled in satisfaction after resting on his arm. She slowly closed her eyes with a smile and feigned ignorance.