Chapter 12 : Forever One

♪ Look at this eye, ♪

♪ Tell me it’s prettier than flowers. ♪

♪ Just once more, whisper it like it’s your true feeling. ♪

Sandohwa hummed the song softly.

Her hands moved like she was assembling a toy, picking up pieces of Lee Mina’s remains scattered on the floor.

♪ If I smile, it’s not scary, right? ♪

♪ If I cry, will you come closer? ♪

♪ A flower resembling you in the mirror, ♪

♪ will soon bloom for me. ♪

Sandohwa’s gaze was intense, and her fingers carefully pieced the fragments together.

Seriously, like creating a work of art, she molded a human body into a flower.

♪ Come inside me, ♪

♪ You are my spring. ♪

♪ Bloom together, forever. ♪

♪ With me… ♪

… Stay here.

And then, the completed sculpture.

It was none other than a flower made from assembling a human body.

Sandohwa gazed at her creation with a satisfied look.

Only then did she notice the surroundings.

Another ‘flower’ came into view.

Special Forces member Song Mintae.

Like Lee Mina, he too became part of Sandohwa’s work, in the shape of a flower.

One of the remaining members, Kwon Hyuk-min, was nowhere to be found.

Had he already fled, or… was he somewhere, still undiscovered, transformed into a flower?

“Sandohwa… Sandohwa… Countermeasure…”

Jaden shakily pulled out the manual.

His voice was already filled with fear, and he mumbled to himself while flipping through the pages.

The scene before him was telling him:

Our future would soon be like that.

I quickly opened the manual too.

But before I could read, Jaden let out a defeated groan.

“This can’t be…”

Jaden knelt down.

His eyes were hollow, as if crushed by despair.

…

“We’re finished. We can’t escape.”

“Why? What does it say?”

Seo Yuna asked urgently.

Jaden shakily showed his manual and said,

“Countermeasure: If peach blossoms bloom against the season and a woman’s song is heard, immediately retreat. In situations where survival of the majority is impossible, leave a few people as sacrifices, and the rest should escape.”

“This is all.”

He added helplessly.

“What we need now is… someone to buy time. They say compliments on appearance might distract them for a moment…”

In the end, a manual based on someone’s sacrifice.

I swallowed hard and opened my manual.

‘There might be different information than Jaden’s.’

And indeed,

I found information I had never seen before.

[Entity: Sandohwa]

Danger level: C

History:

• Sandohwa is a ghost-like entity created when the vengeful spirit of a woman who drowned in a mountain pond in late spring merged with a peach tree.
• In life, she was abandoned by her lover and met death in loneliness.
• The wound was so deep, it became an unhealable scar throughout her life.
• Sandohwa has never received true love even once in her life.
  Characteristics:
• She is pleased when complimented on her appearance.
• She takes great pride in her nails.
• She searches for an eternal companion.

What caught my attention was the record of the creature’s past that I hadn’t seen before.

And then, one striking detail:

‘Eternal companion…?’

This was information not found in Jaden’s manual.

But…

What exactly are we supposed to do with this?

‘Compliments on appearance are enough?’

I thought, looking down at the manual.

It says she’s happy when complimented on her appearance, but this isn’t some dating strategy to seduce someone.

This is… a survival issue.

A ridiculous laugh escaped me.

Meanwhile, from across the room, Sandohwa stopped singing.

And she began to slowly walk toward us.

“AAAHHH!”

Jaden screamed in terror.

Sandohwa, who had been quietly admiring her creation, was now standing right in front of us.

She slowly, but without hesitation, grabbed Jaden’s arm.

“Am I pretty?”

“… Yes, you’re pretty! You’re beautiful! You’re really gorgeous!”

Jaden screamed almost like he was begging.

The desperation to live was evident in his voice.

“Really?”

Sandohwa’s pupils narrowed.

It seemed like a smile was forming.

“Haha…”

Jaden let out a slight sigh of relief.

Sandohwa was weak to compliments about her appearance.

If that was true, Jaden’s current approach should be effective.

But…

“Liar.”

Sandohwa’s voice turned cold.

“You… You’re a liar too. In the end, you’ll abandon me.”

Screeeech!

Sandohwa twisted Jaden’s arm.

A scream erupted.

Crack!

The sound of a bone breaking mixed in.

“AAAHHHH—!”

The arm was ripped right out.

Sandohwa silently stared at the severed limb, then hummed a tune as she raised her nails.

“No!”

This couldn’t go on.

I reflexively shouted.

“Your… nails, they’re pretty!”

It was an awkward line, but I said it anyway.

“Really… ?!”

Sandohwa’s movement stopped.

She slowly turned her head and looked at me.

Her expression was strangely shy.

With the same hand that had just ripped a person’s arm off, she cupped her cheek and bowed her head.

As if… truly embarrassed, like a shy girl.

Did it work?

Jaden had just complimented her too.

Why was she reacting differently to me?

“Say it again. What did you say… about my nails?”

“Y-You’re pretty.”

“Really… really?”

Sandohwa bit her lip slightly, her eyes sparkling.

She was both embarrassed and delighted.

“Well then… tell me more. What else do you think of me?”

…

“You’re cute.”

“… Cute?”

It was strange, but it worked.

Sandohwa stopped her attack and gently lowered Jaden’s severed arm.

“More… tell me more.”

Sandohwa started begging.

Like a child starved for affection.

She wanted more attention.

More love.

More compliments.

But before that, I spoke.

“How about you give it back to its owner? Then I’ll tell you more.”

Sandohwa tilted her head, then slowly nodded.

“Okay. I’ll give it back.”

A strange compliance.

She no longer seemed interested in Jaden’s arm, dropping it without a second thought.

Fortunately, she was listening.

“…”

A sigh of relief escaped me.

“Then, will you become my companion?”

Sandohwa closed the distance in an instant.

A blood-red face was smiling right in front of me.

‘Companion.’

The line from the manual flashed through my mind.

‘Sandohwa is searching for a companion to be with forever.’

I instinctively nodded.

For now, I decided to trust the manual.

“Really… you said I’m beautiful, right?”

She asked again.

“Yes.”

I swallowed, nodding as gently as I could.

“Then… let’s become one.”

Sandohwa’s hand slowly reached out toward me.

The ground was stained with blood-red petals, and a sweet peach scent began to fill the air.

“You’ll bloom like a flower too, and we’ll be able to be together forever.”

Sandohwa pressed close to me.

I slowly backed away, but…

There was no more space to retreat.

“You’re the one… who was sincere. You’re… truly special. I’ll leave my mark on you.”

A chilling premonition filled me.

This was dangerous.

Sandohwa grabbed my arm and tried to pull it off.

At that moment.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind rushed from behind me.

Seoyuna, as if she had been there all along, stepped forward.

Her small hand blocked Sandohwa’s fingertip.

“Stop.”

Her voice was short and low, but firm.

Sandohwa narrowed her eyes and glared at Seoyuna.

“Don’t interfere.”

“I won’t. Minwoo, I won’t let you… you can’t have him!”

Yuna silently took her stance.

At that moment, something soft and delicate swayed behind her.

A translucent black silhouette.

Smooth curves.

It was a cat’s tail.

Sandohwa’s expression froze for a moment.

“…What are you? How is a human… Could it be, a contract…?”

Seoyuna didn’t answer.

Instead, she swung her arm.

Slash!

Sandohwa’s petals scattered like blades, and the figures of the two clashed, causing the mist-filled forest to shake.

“Stop your nonsense. That man is mine.”

“Not gonna happen.”

Yuna’s eyes burned with determination.

“I know. Minwoo belongs to our cat!”

I couldn’t help but gasp.

“Our cat?”

What was she talking about?

The opponent was the C-class anomaly, Sandohwa.

Yuna’s movements were sharp and precise, but the rhythm of the fight was starting to tip in Sandohwa’s favor.

Bang!

Sandohwa’s palm struck Yuna’s chest squarely.

“Ugh…!”

Yuna collapsed to the ground in pain.

The shock of being hit in the chest seemed to steal the breath from her.

I tried to get up, but Sandohwa was holding me down.

“Now, it’s just the two of us, isn’t it?”

Sandohwa whispered, leaning in slowly.

Her blood-red smile twisted wickedly.

“You’re mine. I won’t let anyone else have you. Now, you’re with me.”

Her fingers moved closer to my chest.

A cold, eerie energy brushed against my skin.

As if my heart dropped,

Whoosh.

A strange vibration filled the air.

Stop.

A low, deep voice.

It wasn’t coming from anywhere in particular, but seemed to spread as if the space itself was whispering.

Sandohwa turned her head.

At the end of the line of sight,

Seoyuna, who had been lying on the ground, slowly started to rise.

“…That male… is mine.”

The voice was certainly Seoyuna’s.

But there was an alien resonance mixed in.

Seoyuna braced herself on her hands and knees.

Then, slowly, she rose onto all fours.

Two shadows slowly began to emerge from behind Yuna.

Dark luster, soft curves.

Two tails.

The shadow-like silhouettes grew clearer, and finally, as Yuna lowered her body toward me, she let out a low growl.

“…Grrrrr.”

It was a familiar sound.

I knew it.

The very familiar sound of a cat’s meow.

It was undoubtedly… a butterfly.