episode_0225

Long, long ago. Once upon a time.

There was the happiest kingdom in the world.

… … .

“What hurts you?”​

“Saint, my son died of illness. I don’t have the confidence to live any longer.”

​

A father who had lost his son came to see the saint.

Could the epidemic have spread?

The saint took pity on his suffering.

“Tell me.”

Take away your son’s memories.

The next day, Abi drove the carriage with a smiling face.

The sight of his back as he left was full of refreshment.

Leave all your worries and concerns in front of the Saint’s house and leave.

I saved someone today too!

The saint is happy.

… … .

A man who returned home.

He discovers the ‘unremembered grave’ and frowns.

“What is this tomb?”

Nameless grave.

It should be enough to filter it out.

The father dug up his son’s grave and tilled the field over it.

… …

… … .

“What is causing you pain?”

“Saint. I have found out the secret of my family… I would rather have never known, for the rest of my life…”

A skinny nobleman came to see the saint.

There are secrets that you shouldn’t know.

The saint took pity on the nobleman who was lying on the floor and weeping bitterly.

“Tell me.”

Takes with him the memories of his family’s secrets.

The next day, the skinny nobleman returns home and hugs his wife with a smiling face.

I saved someone today too!

The saint is happy.

… … .

Clang!

The next day, the skinny man drinks poisoned wine and falls into an eternal sleep.

“… … Why on earth?”

Until I closed my heavy eyelids in my wife’s arms.

The skinny nobleman, although only for a short time,

I lived happily without knowing anything.

​

… … .

… … .​

This is the happiest city in the world.

A kingdom where people forget their pain and live with laughter.

​

​

“Saint, save us who are weeping in pain.”

​

A woman called a saint.

Her most famous face in the kingdom is,

It was said that there was no one in the world who did not know it.

“Please, bless us.”

They all praised him with one voice.

Forgetting is salvation.

The saint was happy.

… … .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Someone once said, ‘Wisdom comes with time.’”

Daaengㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

The paper rings.

[Euncheon Park] covered in fog.

Beyond the thick fog, the silhouette of a huge ‘bell tower’ is faintly visible.

『Oh my… I really don’t like the old things mixed in.』

“What is it?”

“I realized one day that forgetting is a curse.”

Daengㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

The sound of bells ringing from the giant bell tower scatters the sunset waves.

The waves containing ‘Mana’ break through the pure white fog, pass through [Euncheon Park], and stretch out to the ends of the distant world.

A wave of mana that sweeps through your entire body.

Eunha swept back her hair, which was a mix of sunset and twilight.

“Is there anything more insignificant than wisdom that has been forgotten by all?”

“You have to forget things moderately so that each day is new and exciting. How can a person live while remembering everything?”

“I wonder if I’ll repeat the same mistake if I forget.”

“You’re saying that you don’t want to just forget it.”

Daaengㅡㅡㅡ!

The bell rings to signal the end of dusk.

Eunha took a deep breath of the cold air, as if it were winter, and tightly gripped the claws in her ‘left hand’.

… … .

( “We recommend that you do not misuse our items, Miss.” )

One day, Eunha came to the security office with a saw without any fear.

This is what the old security guard said with a kind smile.

A normally quiet person is scary when he gets angry.

It was a precious time that made me realize that fact again, and it was also one of the reasons why Eunha didn’t use the real saw very often.

It’s dangerous when used on people, and it’s not very effective when used on monsters.

At some point, [Red Woman]’s real nails became a cornered person who had no intention of coming out of her carrier.

A real nail that I haven’t used in a while.

And recently, it just occurred to me.

How well did he listen to the old security guard?

Let’s just use it, it’ll be okay since we’re closer to the monsters than before.

“I wonder if you just put it aside and forgot about it.”

“Ah, I didn’t have any reason to use the saw.”

Daengㅡㅡㅡ. Daengㅡㅡㅡ.

The sound that signals the end of dusk.

The sound of time passing by.

Eun-ha approaches [Grandpa Park] against the sound of the bell.

Pass…

I took three steps,

I caressed the wrinkled back of my hand.

I caught my rapid breath.

Twilight is the time of the wise…

As I approached with the intention of fighting ‘that thing’, dusk was about to end.

The pain of each and every cell in your body growing old.

The [Self-Recovery] skill repairs the empty space left by necrotic and crumbling cells.

Eunha grips the claws with the frail strength of an old man, and approaches ‘that thing’ with creaking joints.

‘I’m going to have a cool time sawing today.’

Galaxy blinks her blurry eyes.

She took a step forward, putting strength into her wobbly legs.

… … .

The reason why you go all the way to the park to buy it.

It’s nothing.

Because that crazy old man sacrificed an unrelated person,

Especially since the reason was ‘because I was lonely’.

If I had visited [Euncheon Park] often, wouldn’t this have happened?

Will Do Jong-ha’s subordinates be able to survive?

If only I had done a little better. If only I had made a little better choice.

Such regret moved the galaxy.

“That would be foolishness, that would be foolishness.”

“I’m getting annoyed by the way you’ve been blurting out words from time to time.”

“It is a bad habit to wish for pain in order to forget pain.”

Take a step.

Pass! My right foot is broken.

The galaxy, struggling to keep its balance, grits its teeth and increases its speed.

Daengㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

A gasp of breath in pain.

The sound of a heart beating so loud it feels like it might go out at any moment.

It is so difficult to approach someone who is outside the laws of the world.

Pass…

But it moves.

Because it is a problem that only you can solve,

At least, I plan to give the old man in front of me as much trouble as Do Jong-ha’s subordinates.

“Grandpa. You said you were lonely.”

The galaxy laughed.

Deengㅡㅡㅡ.

The depth of time is contained in one footstep.

Incorporating life’s wisdom into your steps,

I crossed [Euncheon Park], kicking the ground with my broken legs.

『… … He’s a poisonous guy. He’ll appear in my dreams.』

Swish.

[Grandpa Park], who was quietly watching the galaxy approaching him,

I take a step back to avoid ‘that thing’.

Galaxy smiled happily after seeing that sight.

‘Okay. I can bear it.’

Little by little, you will gain know-how.

Isn’t this the wisdom of life?

How to move with a broken body.

How to pump oxygen into damaged lungs.

The galaxy learned wisdom through suffering.

As expected, he is a wise old man.

If you respect your elders, you can learn something from them.

If you attack an old person, you will lose more wisdom.

The worries were short.

‘You have to try things that others haven’t done before to gain experience and increase your knowledge.’

How long did it take?

Eunha, who had walked to the center of the empty lot, took a breath while leaning against the ‘Blue Dragon Statue’ erected in the center.

[Grandpa Park], still halfway there.

I was half-conscious from the excruciating pain and felt like I would lose consciousness at any moment.

Well, in terms of a game, isn’t it like struggling to catch the boss when ‘time is over’?

Did the galaxy that stopped walking look pitiful?

[Grandpa Park] who was far away spoke to me.

“That’s enough. Shouldn’t we go and save the ants that have ‘opened their eyes’?”

“… … .”

Only half.

Was the park this long? Or was it just my old body that was as slow as a bug?

Eunha gritted her teeth.

“… … Phew. Arrived! ”

And then,

The galaxy that reached the center of the empty lot, not [Grandpa Park],

He looked up at the sky where darkness had fallen and let out a mischievous laugh.

“Friend. Help.”

[Euncheon Park].

A statue of a blue dragon erected in the center of an empty lot.

A ‘doll’ made of metal.

Eunha, who was touching the ‘leather choker’ around her neck, swept away the blue dragon statue.

Gugugugugugu……

The blue dragon opened his eyes at his friend’s request and raised his heavy body.

『… … I realized one day. Even as you get older, romance remains the same.』

“How’s my friend?”

“The dragon is recognition.”

As expected, he is a wise old man.

We are in sync.

Eun-ha, whose affection for [Grandpa Park] had increased, pointed at ‘that’ with her broken and then healed finger.

Wow wow wow!!

The blue dragon runs, breaking the ground.

The guy who closed the distance in an instant hits me in the head.

Ugh…!

And then, like a wild animal hit by a train,

The upper body of ‘that thing’ was torn by a metal statue, rolling around on the dirt floor, oozing black blood.

『… There was a man. His job was to go to the clock tower and ring the bell when it was time.』

The shattered upper body spoke.

The foul-smelling blood is as black as the color of resentment.

Wriggle, wriggle… Moving its twisted arms, ‘that thing’ roughly pieced together its torn body raises its body with strange gestures.

“The man wanted to be wise. He wanted to be the wisest man in the world.”

Pass…

Time goes by.

The statue of the blue dragon crumbles into dust.

The fog covering [Euncheon Park] is clearing, and the ‘giant bell tower’ that had been hidden by the fog is slightly revealed.

『Certainly… I won’t be lonely when you come.』

An old man scratching his dry skin with his fingernails.

He puts the eyeball that fell off his face into his mouth.

‘That thing’, with its severed left arm roughly attached to its thigh, gets up on all fours.

Monster.

A being that only has dark resentment left.

You are truly a monster.

Wisdom has increased.

‘If ‘that thing’ escapes from here and appears in reality…’

It’s terrifying to even imagine.

“But, I’m sorry. I’ve never fought before, I just rang the bell…”

“Head!”

And, thanks to the Blue Dragon statue, the galaxy was out of [Grandpa Park’s] sight.

He swung his saw behind ‘that thing’s’ back.

Gyaruruk~!

The clear laughter of a child.

An old saw cuts through the body of ‘that thing’.

“Cluck…! Oh, I finally caught it.”

『… … Someone said. Wisdom will be the seed that makes us grow.』

“I don’t know what you mean when you say it like that.”

『Honestly, I’m surprised. How much has been mixed up in just a few months… You’re teasing yourself so much.』

An old woman.

He doesn’t care about his body breaking apart, and uses the claws he holds tightly to cut through his flesh.

“Wow. It’s cut… but I won’t die, right?”

“yes.”

“Okay then.”

Galaxy, who was on top of [Grandpa Park], moved her claws with a mischievous smile.

Kkeuggeuk!

With an old grudge.

Put all the pain from that time into a nail.

I hope something like today never happens again.

For the annoying old man who sent me all the way to Jeonseo-gu because I was lonely.

Swish swish swish.

… … .

… … .

Kagak! Kagak!

A quarrel that can’t even be considered a fight.

Without any mysterious swordsmanship or body movements, he simply vents his resentment on the opponent.

Maybe that’s why.

The monster named [Grandpa Park] was torn to pieces and had its head sawed off.

『… … .』

No matter how many times his whole body crumbled, he got up and looked up at the woman who was on top of him…

He frowned like a person blinded by starlight.

… … .

… … .

“Really… he’s a bad guy.”

Time goes by.

Without waiting for us.

The twilight that had finally arrived disappears from the old man’s eyes.

“After causing such a fuss, you left right away, saying you would save the ants… Do you still want to be with the ants?”

The twilight when only pain remains for both of them.

An old man sitting on a wooden bench let out a small grumble.

As if the ‘quarrel’ just now had been an illusion, [Euncheon Park] had returned to its original clean scenery.

Are you glad that you could help your friend?

The ‘Blue Dragon Statue’ coiled in the middle of an empty lot lets out a relaxing breath.

『The North Star will shine on the lonely park, and the ants, who do not know how to cherish their lives, will forget today’s events… It will be a happy ending for everyone.』

An old man sitting on a bench.

‘It’ smiled happily, caressing the crown that had been cut by the galaxy.

In the end, it was the galaxy that suffered the most.

But the one who smiled the most refreshing smile was Eunha.

What a strange woman.

A smile spreads across the wrinkled face of an old man.

Soon, the hand that was caressing the back of the hand where the black mushroom had grown picks up ‘something’ placed next to it.

(You said you were lonely. I’ll leave this behind… I was looking through my bedroom drawer and found an old model.)

The cell phone that Eunha left behind.

“I’ll ask you something if I have any questions,” said Eunha, who was covered in black blood, with a bright smile.

(Never call anyone else but me! Don’t use a strict person like a messenger just because you’re lonely! Do you want to get hacked?)

Who the hell is the weirdo…

[Grandpa Park], who was massaging his sawed-off scalp, plays with an old-fashioned cell phone.

“Where. What is this thing…?”

Something unknown.

Curiosity towards new things.

No matter how much wisdom you gather, the passage of time brings yet more wisdom.

The wise old man’s eyes lit up at the new things the galaxy had left behind.

“Ah… Aah…!”

The potato puppy, who had been hiding under a wooden bench to avoid the galaxy, runs towards the old man, flapping his long legs.

Daengㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

By now, Eunha must have gone to erase the memories of Do Jong-ha and her subordinates.

It’s a natural progression once you open your eyes.

But I left the park with all that crap and a worn-out body and mind…

There will be no peaceful dialogue.

I wonder if he’ll pick up the saw right away.

It would be in their best interest to not resist and just quietly give up their memories.

“I pray for your souls. Ants… no, humans.”

The old man, recalling the galactic claws, quickly corrected his words.

That sawing was pretty painful.

Is that what happens when your obsession with a relationship reaches the sky?

If anything happens to me that I don’t like in the future, I’ll come looking for you with that saw.

Galaxy is always welcome to visit the park…

Still, I want to see you approaching me with a bright smile.

“I’ll try to live a little wiser… Thanks to you, I learned something.”

A life filled with dark resentment, where you couldn’t see even an inch ahead.

One North Star shining there.

The old man reflected for the first time in a long time.

It’s a new experience.

Daengㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

So, the old man wisely navigated the galaxy’s claws.

I was looking up at the beautiful night sky while fiddling with my thick, budget phone.

Daengㅡㅡ. Daengㅡㅡㅡ.

The solemn sound of a bell.

A cry to the world, saying that I am here.

Daengㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

For those in a ruined world, there is nothing more frightening than loneliness.

Daengㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ.

But today.

I wasn’t lonely.

… … .

… … .

… … .

“Dojongha~ Mr.~.”

Massage your recovered body,

With a brighter smile than usual, he goes out to find Do Jong-ha and his subordinates.

Today was a particularly eerie day for the Milky Way’s back view.