He turned away and leaned against the window railing, letting the words hang like smoke. Yue Lan stood frozen, still reeling. Hye Won flushed with emotion, her body trembling under the weight of tangled emotions and the new secret he'd just dropped.
Han Chen felt it all, through his spirit sense. But he said nothing more. After a long, tight silence, Hye Won finally broke it.
"You really need to work on delivery, Han Chen." Her voice was quieter, but regaining spirits. "You lay your cards down first. Get us hooked, then come clean. You just dropped us into an emotional roller coaster by juggling in between."
He scoffed. Why? to appear as admitting mistakes? or to make another love interest? but he didn't say it out.
***
"Sir, I remember you said your death isn't a precursor to being reborn here, that soul connection not a technique of this lifetime, our fates are not tied to earth, you having these martial powers stronger than any other on earth, your academic achievement of perfect records, these all show something happened in between...what happened?" She slowly asked and even called him sir...
"How old do you think I am?" The sudden question landed like a stone in water. "Not this body. My mind."
Yue Lan blinked. "You're… twenty-one now? Maybe in your forties in the past life?"She tried to calculate. "Near seventy, total?"
"Near seventy years? Gods, my boyfriend is an old man..." Hye Won took the time to break the serious atmosphere. Seeing her exclaiming, treating 70 as old, he sighed...looking at Hye Won, he said in private through soul corridor.
Han Chen (through soul corridor):
<( This was supposed to stay in the back of my mind. My mind carries memories for over a much more years ...the previous joke of relationship with thousands of women... wasn't me joking)>
<(You...don't tell me you also did a side business of being a prostitute too for helping her?)> Her reply was her first thought.
<(How are you still able to joke with that serious face...)> Looking at Hye Won clueless, Han Chen sighed. Hye Won suddenly remembered what Yue Lan just recalling about how this death wasn't exact precursor to his rebirth earlier. <("...How old are we talking about?")>
<(" Like have sex for each of those women, twice over and still able to wait 100s of years in between each act, kind older...like your modern human species' entire history wouldn't cover half my...experiences - older...")>
The revelation struck like a guillotine's blade. Hye Won jolted back in her seat, her hands shooting up to clamp over her suddenly gaping mouth, all pretense of composure shattering.
<( This stays between us. It is also restricted in our soul corridor; I am just informing you. And don't ask how or why, as it is danger. Danger as high that make this reality cease to exist next moment.)> Yue Lan sat confused seeing Hye Won's sudden change and understood Han Chen must have shared something truly shocking related to his age or another possible life. Hye Won face had all sorts of micro expressions rapidly changing into concerned look.
Yue Lan watched her with concern. "What…? What did he say?"
Han Chen replied coolly, "They're not for you to hear."
"But—"
Hye Won was staring at his face like she was seeing him for the first time again. The table had gone quiet again. Yue Lan finally broke the silence.
"Besides tying me to you and turning me into some obedient puppet, do you have any options that aren't... so intrusive but gentle?"
"Yeah, I do," Han Chen replied. "I can give you talismans that protect against physical harm, but they're one-time use. If danger hits again, you're on your own. I can't monitor your situation outside my domain—it only extends a few dozen miles. And you? You fly off to other place for business. How would I know if something happens then? For now, think of us as your backups. You can rely on us for anything—physical support, technical help, or decision-making if you're incapacitated."
"By 'monitoring,' you mean I won't have privacy?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
He shrugged. "You don't have anything more private than half the population here, right? So I don't see the issue."
"…" She wanted to get furious but everything is in others control.
Hye Won chimed in. "He can see right through us—like X-rays to the bone—even from miles away. Honestly, I don't think he sees people as anything more than cats or dogs walking around."
Yue Lan raised an eyebrow. "And you're okay with your boyfriend being… whatever this is? Doesn't it bother you?"
"Well, it might've," Hye Won said. "But some things are beyond my control. And considering what he just told me about himself, I don't think it's something you need to worry about either. He's lived long enough that things like that don't even faze him anymore."
Still thinking about what Han Chen had revealed about his true age, she trailed off. "Alright, enough of your questions," Han Chen cut in. "I'll show you how I plan to lend you my power." He picked up the empty cup Yue Lan had used, placed it in the center of the table and sat again.
"Lending power means giving you access to my internal energy, soul force, or abilities. But your bodies are weak, lacking the spiritual organ—the spirit root—that can handle power from someone like me. Unless you both reach Grandmaster level soon, I can't transfer raw energy. But I can share my soul power. It puts pressure on other beings' souls."
He let a small wave of it out. Both of them again went still. "See? That heavy feeling, that creeping fear? That's my soul power suppressing the shen acupoint near your brain. Leave it like that for ten minutes and you'd die."
He paused.
"And then, there are my abilities. Like she said, I can see through things—but not because I see the full light spectrum. I perceive things through spirit sense. When we're connected, it makes you into a kind of node. That means I can let you tap into my telekinetic abilities."
He gestured toward the cup. "Focus on it."
After guiding them through telekinetic mechanics—force vectors, grip calibration, flow dynamics —Yue Lan's brow furrowed. The cup trembled, then rose shakily before a gust toppled it. "It's impossible!"
"You're modeling physics in real time. Of course it's supposed to be hard with the processing power of your brain." Han Chen stated. "But you can offload calculations to me. Instead of reaching for your chest symbol, push past it. Find my avatar. State your intent."
The cup hung perfectly still in midair this time. Heart racing, Yue Lan imagined lifting herself—and cried out as her body floated upward, weightless. Han Chen's invisible grip steadied her before her head could brush the ceiling, lowering her gently back down.
"Remember," he said, eyes glinting with dark amusement, "when you connect to me this way, I'll know exactly what you're planning to do." His voice dropped to a conspiratorial murmur. "And yes... this particular skill has creative bedroom applications. Though I'd advise against getting too... enthusiastic without supervision."
Yue Lan's cheeks burned. "Shameless!"
"What? It's the best motivator for quick learning. Okay I won't joke, I already limited your self exertion to normal levels." Han Chen corrected after seeing Hey Won's look, unfazed he said. "Let me spell it out—if you lose control during private moments, you could accidentally exert twenty tons of force. Orgasm might literally kill you." He shrugged. "Not the worst way to go, but terribly messy."
Hye Won rolled her eyes so hard her head tilted back. "Listen to him," she interjected, voice laced with reluctant experience. "Your lizard brain will absolutely try to 'explore' this. And trust me, calling us to scrape you off the ceiling mid-crisis would be far more embarrassing than taking precautions." She leaned in, deadly serious now. "This isn't normal human level pleasure anymore. It rewires you. So for your sake—be careful."
He continued further , "Next: accelerated healing. The energy I'm sharing is law-based—wounds close in real time. Hide injuries unless you want stares. Last one's tricky."
He paused, then continued.
"The next part's harder for your brains to handle. Again, reach out to me, not the symbol. I'll do the calculations. You'll experience similar to what I feel—sight and tactile feedback within a 13-mile radius. But I restricted it to sharing via me only no self exploration or your brain will fry from the sensory overload,."
They tried. Their eyes widened as a flood of sensory input poured in—refined, calibrated. They saw the ocean beneath them, the sea floor, the creatures swimming in it, the distant city up close, in perfect clarity. They zoomed in and out of everything, seeing through flesh and bone, then slowly returned to themselves.
Both were silent, stunned. "You're turning our subconscious thoughts into real-time actions and then adjusting two streams of information covering nearly 21 kms back to us? and everything within the area is under your absolute surveillance?," Yue Lan whispered. "Are you even human anymore?"
"…He is. I can vouch for that," Hye Won said softly. "But Han Chen—why can't I see you?"
He grinned. "Girl, you're making your intentions very clear. We'll 'see' each other later." Then, with a calmer tone: "You can't see me because one, my soul power is strong enough to negate any exploration. Two, I'm controlling what feedback you get."
Yue Lan blinked. "Why are some areas brighter, like in sunlight, while others are dim? And the sea's darker… I can also feel buzzing noise. wait. Are those radio waves but why there are colours surrounding Hye Won and people in this ship elsewhere?"
"Yep," he said. "That's the reason. Those chromatic vision around people is you seeing through their emotions. They can appear friendly to you on sight, but now their intent and emotions will be clear to you... from worst to best."
"You see where I'm going with this, right? Don't worry—these calculations don't require me to be actively awake. You'll still be able to use it even if I'm asleep. It runs subconsciously.
Now go deeper—find out who's harboring ill intent toward you. Expose the traitors buried inside your company. Track your enemies. If you're willing, bait them by showing vulnerability… then eliminate them.
And be mindful—there are eyes everywhere, surveillance watching constantly. It'll show up clearly in your vision. I've trained my mind to automatically detect and highlight those first. You'll know.
Even so, don't act obvious in public if you slip up. And if someone confronts you one day about your abilities—well, you're on your own."
Hye Won's phone buzzed suddenly at this time. It was her mother.
"She's worried," Hye Won mumbled, breath still uneven. "I lost track of time."
Han Chen checked the hour, gave a faint nod. "We should go. Thanks for the dinner. I have gifted you a lot of things and be mindful of what you are doing. Oh and I marked you a rune for immediate protection like shield against sudden mortal death, like say sniper bullets. You probably are more safer than any nations leader at this point. Lets discuss anything else through the soul corridor"
"There's still an hour before the yacht docks," Yue Lan pointed out.
Han Chen smiled faintly. "Just tell them we left during the next docking stop. No one will question it. Come on, Hye Won."
They moved toward the edge of the deck, where a narrow, surveillance-free path curved out of view. Before they disappeared, Han Chen threw a smirking glance over his shoulder."If either of you are entertaining harem fantasies, I'm fine with being in polygyny. Just ask her—she's the leading wife.." A nod toward Hye Won. "Take it up with the board."
Hye Won turned red. "You absolute—" She punched him in the gut, though hard enough to really hurt a human and it only tickled him. Her glare was undercut by the color rising rapidly to her cheeks. His grin widened smugly, returning back to their usual selves.
They both stood in the void blurred to near invisible. Just before stepping out of view, Hye Won turned back to Yue Lan, gentler now. "Don't mind him. If you ever need anything, you can reach us through the link. Anytime."
And then—they were gone.
Yue Lan stood alone on the deck, the night air cool against her skin and smell of mild alcohol. What a night of whiplash, she thought, her fingers tightening around the railing. One moment, terror; the next, absurdity and overpowering abilities. And now… silence.
She tilted her head back. Empty sky. No sound, no shimmer—just the moon's pale glow and the distant pulse of city lights.
"…He can fly so effortlessly with her!" The words slipped out, half-laugh, half-disbelief. "OfCourse he does. Must be nice."
She replayed the discussion held this evening like a trauma victim examining bruises: the cult's slaughter in news, his secrets, those impossible demonstrations, how her righteous anger had bounced off like BB pellets against tanks and finally how her life is tied to him, x.
Her knuckles whitened. "All that power... and he plays a normal 21 year old? No wonder I lose my composure in anger" The bitterness surprised her. A deep breath. The practical part of her mind—the boss lady —was already calculating. Her thumb brushed the hidden mark beneath her blouse. Ultimate lottery indeed.
She shook of the thought and activated the intent sight and her exploration started from her bodyguards she hired. Time to audit loyalties.
***