Chapter 109: I don’t think it’s a situation that needs to be explained

Leah placed the shopping bags she held in both hands on the floor. Then, she shifted her weight to the balls of her feet.

Beyond the railing of the hallway, the second floor was clearly visible.

The building had an open atrium. Stores were arranged in a semi-circle on each floor, centered around the escalators.

Among them, a man stood near a pillar on the second floor.

A smartphone in his left hand.
The lens was undoubtedly pointed towards us.

Her body reacted first.
She inhaled and tightened her abdominal muscles.

And then, she threw herself downwards.

For a moment, her vision sank.
The air rushed past her back.

She tilted her body slightly.
Rotating half a turn, she adjusted her center of gravity. So that she could land precisely, feet first.

Thud.

Her shoes pressed against the smooth marble floor. She felt no impact. As her weight settled, she felt the ground gently receive her body.

She didn’t flinch, nor did she lose her balance. Not even her breath hitched. She stood completely still, silently, in place.

Straight ahead stood the man who had been taking pictures.

He saw her. His eyes widened as if they would tear.

She took a step forward. And without a word, slowly approached him.

He stumbled backward a couple of steps.

“What you just took.”

Her voice resonated, low and clear.

“Could I see it?”

Unable to speak, he frantically pulled his smartphone towards his chest.

She didn’t react to his movement.

She simply stood there, expressionless, her gaze unwavering from behind her sunglasses.

“E-Excuse me…”

An awkward tone. His small voice was like a whisper carried on the wind.

The man’s hand trembled.

The vibration was evident as he took out his phone and his fingers fumbled to turn on the screen.

A picture appeared on the display.

It was a picture of Leah taken when she had slightly separated from her group.

“All the pictures you took of us.”

Only then did he tap the screen a few times, bringing up other photos.

Several pictures.

Not only were her face and body captured, but Koharu, Sara, and Karen were also within the frame.

Seeing this, Leah felt she had been right to act immediately.

She was aware that her appearance attracted a lot of attention wherever she went. She didn’t want to overreact to every instance of someone taking a picture, but…

This time, everyone in her group had been photographed without their consent. That’s why she had to act quickly.

“Would you please delete them?”

Tap. Another tap.

Like a fool, the man obediently moved his fingers. The cold sweat beading on his forehead spoke volumes about the pressure he was under.

“I-I deleted them all… I’m truly sorry…”

The tips of his hair swayed as he bowed his head deeply.

“Your Korean is quite good.”

She replied, then quietly turned around.

She heard the sound of his footsteps receding behind her. The sound of running feet, as if fleeing.

Meanwhile, the surroundings had become quite still.

Everyone’s eyes were on Leah.

People stopped in their tracks on both sides of the hallway, in front of the stores. A woman paused mid-sip at a cafe, a couple stood frozen before a shop window.

Silently, they just blinked, staring at her.

Aside from the music playing in the stores, the only sound was the faint clatter of a dropped coffee cup lid somewhere.

She lifted her head.

Up above.
7 meters up, on the third-floor hallway railing.

Koharu, Sara, and Karen stood there. Still speechless, they stared down at her blankly. Presumably from the exact spot where she had jumped.

She slowly raised her right hand, palm up.

‘I’ll be up soon.’

She didn’t mouth the words, but they likely understood.

The moment she stepped onto the third floor, the members rushed towards her.

“Unniiiiiiiiiii!!”

Koharu was the first to run to her.

She looked as if she was about to spread her arms wide, then hesitated. Her eyes widened, and she stopped in her tracks.

“Did you really, really jump? Really? You just—jumped down from the second floor!?”

“Quiet down. It’s no big deal.”

“No big deal!? How can it be no big deal!? How can someone just thud and whoosh like that… Heeiiiiiiii…”

Koharu spun in place, waving her arms, her expression a mixture of shock and excitement.

Karen approached next. Her face was as calm as usual, but her eyes were shaking.

“…What on earth were you thinking?”

Her voice was low but definitely forceful.

“How could you just… do that without a word…”

Leah tilted her head slightly, meeting her gaze.

“It didn’t seem like the time for explanations.”

Karen closed her mouth. A shaky breath caught in her throat.

And finally, Sara approached.

Slowly. But surely.

“Choeun.”

Her voice was heavy as she called Leah’s name.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve been surprised by you…”

She tilted her head back, looking at the railing Leah had jumped from.

“But this time, it’s truly… unbelievable. How could you even think of jumping from this height?”

“Unni, can you see the goosebumps all over my arms? Really… I thought my heart stopped for a second…”

Koharu whispered beside her.

Sara exhaled softly and looked at Leah again.

“Are you hurt? Shouldn’t we go to the hospital?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“Well, that’s good, but…”

After confirming that people were still staring, Sara shook her head.

“Let’s talk somewhere quieter.”

A quiet cafe nearby.

They settled into a corner booth, a brief silence falling as they placed their drinks in front of them. Karen paused, her hand hovering over her cup.

Leah spoke. She explained that there had been a man taking pictures from afar, and that they were all clearly in those pictures. That’s why she had acted.

The other two were initially surprised, even briefly angry, but…

Eventually, the topic circled back to that moment.

“…Even so, was jumping really necessary?”

“I mean, how did you land like that from that height? Unni, you’re not human…”

Following Sara, Koharu spoke with a mix of admiration. Karen silently sipped her drink through the straw.

It felt strange, thinking about it now.

At the time, it had been too sudden. Surprise had overtaken her, leaving no time to process what she’d seen.

Just lightly recalling the moment brought it vividly before her eyes.

The movement had been so smooth. At first, she hadn’t even realized Leah had fallen.

There hadn’t been any hesitation, any unsteady wobble.

What she’d seen… Could it simply be explained by good athleticism or fearlessness?

Unconsciously, Karen fidgeted with her fingertips.

“…Dohee Unni?”

Koharu tilted her head, calling Karen’s name.

“Why are you so quiet? You were really surprised, right?”

Karen shook her head slightly.

“Yeah, just… I’m still processing it.”

Then, she quietly looked at Leah.

‘Could it be… that there’s something more to this RP that Leah keeps talking about?’

Leah’s face was as if nothing had happened as she drank her beverage. No noticeable smile, no particular tension in her demeanor. She tilted her head as their eyes met.

“Are you still that shocked?”

“Uh, yeah. I was wondering if an elf’s joint structure is that different…”

“Eek! Even Dohee Unni is getting Leah Disease! Run away!”

Koharu exclaimed from beside her, but Leah only offered a knowing smile.

The words Karen blurted out couldn’t possibly be the right answer. While she thought it was absurd—

A larger question mark than before settled firmly in a corner of Karen’s mind.

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[Blooming Core Minor Gallery]

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Title: I think I saw the 3rd gen’s real faces today…

Content: I was waiting for my girlfriend at the department store, and there was this incredibly handsome foreigner with a group of girls…

They were so pretty, I took a few pictures. When I zoomed in, one of them looked exactly like Leah’s avatar? I’m not sure because of the sunglasses, but

If that was Leah, the other 3 were probably her colleagues, which means all of the 3rd gen are blue pills.

But I was a bit away, and the girl who I think was Leah suddenly jumped down a whole floor;;;; It looked like almost 6m? 7m? Something like that;;;

There wasn’t any landing sound, she just appeared out of nowhere;; Like, I blinked and she was right in front of me;;; It felt like a zero-gravity landing?

F*ck I think I spaced out for a sec, like I was possessed by a ghost…

She asked to see my phone, so I just gave it to her, and she told me to delete everything, so I did.
Super calmly…

I could’ve kept one or two, but I regret deleting everything like she said.

Now that I think about it, her voice sounded similar to Leah’s too? It’s so weird, how can someone look exactly like their avatar?

Comments:

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• What is this bull
  ? Is this dude schizophrenic?

• Lol, like the 3rd gen are X-Men or something.

• I lost it at ‘zero-gravity landing’ lmao.

• Every time posts like this come up, I really feel the average intelligence of this gallery.
  └ Real. The desire to see Leah’s real face has destroyed their brain cells.
  └ (OP)Blooming Core Gallery User: I wouldn’t believe it either, but she really jumped;;
  └ Stop, you’re seriously starting to sound mentally ill, it’s scary.

• The 3rd gen did have a group day off today.
  └ Probably wrote this fiction to match the timing.

• If this is real, you’re a
  creep, why are you bragging about it?
  └ (OP)Blooming Core Gallery User: I just took a few because they were pretty… And in other countries it’s okay to take pictures in public places.
  └ Then get out of the country.
  └ Are you insane? Posting a story about secretly filming the members on Blooming Core Gallery?
  └ The lack of guilt is chilling;;
  └ (OP)Blooming Core Gallery User: No, I was a bit scared… I tried to pretend I was a foreigner, but it didn’t work;

• Why are you guys getting mad lol it’s obviously a humor post.
  └ How can you believe that Leah, who looks exactly like her avatar, pulled off some hero landing lol
  └ (Dumbfounded Icon)
  └ (OP)Blooming Core Gallery User: It wasn’t a hero landing, more like a perfect attention stance landing. And I think she was prettier than her avatar.
  └ You need to stop, this is f*cking overkill;;

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Title: What’s with the deleted post about the 3rd gen real face or whatever below?

Content: If anyone saw it, please tell me~

Comments:

• Nothing much. Just a mentally ill troll.

• But what would happen if that story were true? Would the gallery explode?
  └ No lie, every community would explode lol
  └ No, I’m saying, tell me what it said.

• ■ㅇㅇ : Sigh, have you guys forgotten my personality?… I told you not to spread real face rumors in the gallery.
  └ Mods do your job, there are a lot of new users in the gallery because of Leah.