Ch.390385 – The Door of the Heart

“What did we do at Desireland?”

“Photo booth, busking, watched the fireworks.”

“What problem happened with the German Artireal company?”

“We forgot to install the translation module and had to spend time downloading it.”

“What are Niel’s measurements?”

“85-59-88.”

“Sob… Adella, it really is you! Waaaaaah!”

Yoonsul asked questions and Adella answered each one without hesitation.

After confirming Adella’s identity, Yoonsul hugged her tightly and burst into tears.

Adella patted her back with an awkward expression.

‘But how do they even know Daniel’s measurements?’

I stood at a distance with my arms crossed, watching their emotional reunion.

* * *

“I went to the café near home and saw a foreigner who looked like Adella ordering honey castella. She seemed friendly with the staff too, so I figured she was a regular.”

“Was Yoonsul unnie near Adella?”

“Yeah, right behind her. Honestly, I didn’t think much of it at first. I wasn’t trying to spy, but yesterday she was applying for Twissy payment settlement at the café. And what do you know, the Safari Dream banner popped up!”

“W-wait! You said it was a month ago! This manager lied to me!”

“You lied first, you thieving cat!”

Yoonsul smacked Adella’s forehead as she was lying with her head on Yoonsul’s lap.

“Gwaak!”

Adella tried to sit up but collapsed back down.

“At first I thought you and NoName were pulling a prank together!”

“Me with Adella? How?”

“Like, seeing how long you could fool me and the viewers. I was really angry at first, thinking you guys were treating the stream as a joke. But the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Even if Adella might do that, there’s no way you would allow it, NoName.”

“That’s true.”

“Why me…?”

Adella pouted her lower lip, expressing her grievance.

“So when she went to the bathroom, I quickly checked her laptop.”

“You snooped through that too? Look how sneaky Manager Ka is.”

“The sneaky one is you, using multiple accounts to manipulate things.”

“Ah!”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know? Delete all those posts before it becomes a problem.”

“Yes…”

“Anyway, I agonized over it for a day. Should I tell NoName right away? What if NoName actually approved this? Who was the stand-in, who looked like a high schooler? So I thought, whatever, I should teach them a lesson before leaving, and sent that email. But then…”

“Oh, that pattern again! Stop pinching my cheeks, it hurts!”

Adella’s hand hesitated as it was heading toward her cheek, then switched to pinching her nose hard instead.

“Argh! My nose!”

“Do you know how shocked I was? You kept saying you weren’t related to NoName, and that you’d quickly arrange to send 200 million won. I truly believed you were criminals. And what? Delete Adella?”

“Time out! That wasn’t me! It was NoName who sent that! NoName!”

Adella flailed like a baby and pointed at me with accusing eyes.

“You did that, NoName?”

“I was setting a trap in reverse. Just in case it was someone we knew.”

“Don’t do that again. You shouldn’t say such things, even as a joke.”

“Okay.”

“I’m sorry for causing trouble like this. From now on, I’ll always consult with you guys before doing anything.”

“This is so unfair. You’re so sweet to NoName. Hmph.”

Adella snorted and turned her head away from me.

Yoonsul kept stroking Adella’s silver hair, fascinated by it.

“You said you got your body in March? That’s already half a year ago. I’m a bit hurt you kept it secret from me too.”

“You were busy with school and streaming back then. It’s not that I didn’t trust you, unnie, but honestly, you tend to be a bit clumsy. Don’t you think so yourself?”

Yoonsul had attended Broadcasting Arts College for one semester before taking a leave of absence.

That’s why she never had a chance to run into Adella by coincidence.

“Hmm, well, that’s not wrong. But it’s still so amazing. You’re really not a robot but a person just like us? 100% human?”

“How many times do I have to tell you! I am a person!”

“You eat and sleep just like us? Are you ticklish too?”

Yoonsul’s hand sneakily moved toward Adella’s armpit.

Adella, stripped of all the sensitive reflexes of a cat-kin, was too slow to react.

“What are you do—hehehe…! Kyahaha!”

“Oh! Wow! It’s true!”

“Tch… Manager Ka, just you wait. I won’t forget this humiliation and will pay you back.”

Adella glared with puffed cheeks.

“NoName, are you really some kind of creator god? How else could you create such magic?”

“Ha. It would be funny if a creator god had to pay for magic. Capitalism above divinity, I guess.”

“How much did it cost?”

“Adella, tell her yourself.”

“Well. About 2,100.”

“2,100 million won?”

“Come on, even an artificial heart costs over 100 million. Obviously it’s 210 billion won.”

“Huh.”

Adella’s statement brought silence to the previously noisy room.

Hearing the breathtaking amount, Yoonsul pressed both hands against Adella’s cheeks.

Adella’s lips protruded like a duck’s.

“210 billion? This is worth 210 billion? Did you blow all that money from the magic power plant on Adella?”

“Mmmmph!”

“Oh sorry, Della! It won’t wear out if I touch it like this, right? Hooo hooo.”

“First you hurt me, then you try to heal me, you’re being ridiculous! Manager Ka, come here!”

“Eek!”

Adella suddenly got up and grabbed Kariri’s wrist in retaliation.

While the girls were playing around, I sat quietly in the chair, lost in thought.

We can’t hide Adella forever. But we can’t rashly reveal her either.

I can’t think of a solution.

Is maintaining the status quo the right answer?

“Be more careful from now on, Cheon Saet-byeol. You should know how lucky you were today.”

I sternly warned Cheon Saet-byeol with a cold attitude.

She just nodded slightly without saying anything.

“Did something happen?”

Noticing the subtle tension between us, Seol Yoon-sul tilted her head and asked.

“Not really. I’m going to get some water.”

I went to the kitchen and took out cold water from the refrigerator, gulping it down straight from the bottle.

Professor Cheon would be home in about an hour.

I looked around briefly, but there were no dishes to wash, and the trash can was neatly emptied.

Instead of returning to the room, I lay down on the living room sofa.

The cool sensation of leather rose up through my back.

The light leaking from the living room lamp was too bright, so I covered my eyes with my arm.

“I want to go back to that time…”

When I close my eyes, a woman’s memories vividly fill the black canvas.

Am I a being that has continued from my past life, or am I a separate being who recalls memories of a past life?

What’s certain is that I had to keep telling myself it was the latter.

Only then—

* * *

“They fought?”

“Yeah. Seems like she’s really upset.”

“Oh no… I shouldn’t have made things worse.”

“No, it’s because I said the wrong thing. It’s all my fault.”

Yoonsul and Saet-byeol put their heads together to figure out how to cheer up NoName.

“My life has been full of lies from beginning to end anyway. What could have been a lie?”

“Did NoName say that?”

“Yes. She said exactly that, word for word.”

“Lies…? What would NoName have to lie about?”

“That’s what I said! She keeps hinting at something but then completely shuts down! Do you know how frustrating it’s been?”

“Hmm.”

“She keeps saying she’ll explain everything someday… Tch, am I that untrustworthy…”

Adella hugged her knees and buried her head.

NoName surely hasn’t forgotten this promise.

A thin wall stood between what they thought was an inseparable friendship.

She couldn’t hide her unsettled feelings and rocked back and forth.

“NoName’s ‘lifetime’ has only been about two years. Since she was rescued from the capsule two years ago.”

To tell a lie, you need someone to lie to.

So Yoonsul guessed her lies must have started two years ago.

“That’s really not long at all.”

“We always think of NoName as amazing, but she’s just a child with a terrible past. If we want her to overcome her trauma and open her heart, I think we need to embrace her with more love.”

“Seven years… well, seven years is quite long. I met NoName unnie just over a year ago.”

“Both of us have received help from NoName, so let’s be patient and wait a little longer. By the way, where did NoName go?”

“She said she was going to the kitchen for water earlier.”

When the girls came out of the room, they found NoName sleeping soundly in the living room.

Her small stomach rose and fell with each breath.

They say children look most beautiful and angelic when they sleep.

NoName was exactly like that right now.

“She’s so cute…”

Her long black hair spread across the sofa like waves in the night.

Saet-byeol unconsciously stroked NoName’s hair.

Because her hair was so long, the ends were quite damaged.

Every time she moved her bright pink lips, it created the illusion of eating wild raspberries.

NoName finally opened her eyes slightly.

As her eyes focused, Cheon Saet-byeol’s silhouette reflected in the child’s black pupils.

Saet-byeol, who had been stroking NoName’s hair, was startled.

“Oh! I’m sorry! You don’t like people touching your hair! I really forgot, it wasn’t intentional at all…!”

Before Cheon Saet-byeol could pull her arm away, NoName grabbed her wrist.

NoName couldn’t adjust to the pouring light and closed her eyes again.

“It’s okay. Stay like this.”

The corners of her rosy lips curved up into a smile.

Surprised by NoName’s unusual behavior, Saet-byeol nervously asked:

“Unnie, is there anything you want to do today? I’ll grant any wish.”

“A wish? Suddenly?”

“Yes. As an apology.”

A faint smile appeared.

NoName lifted her long eyelashes and said:

“Let’s spar.”

“Okay. I’ll quickly turn on the capsule and clear some space.”

“No, in real life.”

That day, Cheon Saet-byeol’s animal instincts kicked in for the first time.

Her whole body was warning her not to go, but she couldn’t refuse NoName’s request.

“NoName, Saet-byeol, have a good time…! I’m heading out now! Bye-bye!”

Yoonsul ran away without looking back.