Chapter 57: IF-017-1 Part 10

Kang Hana was completely disoriented by the confusion of her senses.

With his armor and scales, Lug, who had come into her arms, resembled a hedgehog.

Kang Hana was now hugging a hedgehog.

However, she couldn’t bring herself to let go of Lug, who had come to her on his own.

Just the thought of it overwhelmed her with an indescribable sense of loss.

With a tear slipping down her cheek, Kang Hana tightly embraced Lug.

A cold wind blew from somewhere, unknown.

Her body shook with the cold, but deep within Kang Hana’s heart, a warmth continued to spread, slowly melting her into a languid comfort.

The more Kang Hana held Lug, the more the heat in her chest intensified, and she lost herself in it.

Her body screamed with intense discomfort.

Yet, the overwhelming happiness that flooded her left her head empty, without a command.

The heat spread from her heart.

Drowsy.

Kang Hana fell asleep.

‘How long had it passed?’

“Eh?”

Kang Hana opened her eyes to the warm sunlight beneath her, lying on a mat.

It was a familiar mat.

Raising her body, Kang Hana looked at the scenery and let out a cheer.

“Wow!”

It was the same lake she had seen in her dream before.

Beyond the green fields, stretched a brilliantly colorful lake that seemed to have no end.

Thinking it might be another dream, Kang Hana pinched her cheek.

It didn’t hurt.

“Definitely a dream, huh.”

Kang Hana glanced around.

Unlike before, she clearly remembered falling asleep with Lug in her arms.

In the dream, she had realized it was a dream.

That meant it was a lucid dream.

“If it’s this clear of a lucid dream, then hehehe…”

Kang Hana grinned mischievously as she turned to her side.

If it were the same dream as last time, Lug would surely be lying next to her mat.

This time, she was determined not to miss him and do everything she couldn’t in reality.

However, to Kang Hana’s dismay, there was no one beside her.

“He’s not here..?”

Kang Hana scratched her head awkwardly.

But she still felt confident.

It was a lucid dream, after all.

She could do anything.

Kang Hana desperately wished for Lug to appear right in front of her.

“Come out, come out, come out..!!”

But, unfortunately, despite her strong wish, Lug didn’t show even a hint of himself.

***

After a while, under the warm sunlight, a human knelt on the field in despair.

“Nooo!”

Surrounding Kang Hana were various items scattered about.

There were simple things like small snake pajamas, penguin pajamas, and dragon pajamas, as well as dinosaur pajamas, large snake pajamas, ghost pajamas that almost didn’t qualify as pajamas, unicorn pajamas, and glow-in-the-dark ninja pajamas.

These were all things Kang Hana had made based on her excited imagination.

But they were meaningless.

The model to wear them wouldn’t show up.

“I even added a combine function…”

Kang Hana slumped down, dejected, as Lug still didn’t appear.

And then, Lug finally showed up.

“… Lug?”

Somewhere, a small, hot Lug appeared.

‘Angnyangnyang.’

The identity of the one who appeared, having heard her prayer, and nipping at her finger was a tiny, flame-like Lug.

Kang Hana beamed and placed the little flame Lug on her hand.

“So it’s you…! I missed you!”

At that, the first flame Lug that appeared on Kang Hana’s hand giggled.

Although they hadn’t been apart for even half a day, the reunion felt more meaningful because Kang Hana thought she’d never see him again.

Soon, many more flame Lug gathered from all around.

At a glance, there must have been more than thirty, close to a hundred.

As before, the flame Lug ran around, playing tricks on Kang Hana and frolicking among themselves.

One flame Lug poked Kang Hana’s cheek and then ran away.

“Ah!”

Because of their tiny size, it wasn’t so much a poke as a headbutt.

But even with their small stature, their mischievous smiles were clear.

“Why do you keep poking my cheek? Is there something on it?”

Kang Hana pondered, but she couldn’t find an answer.

She didn’t have time to worry about such things, as the little tail of the running flame Lug was simply too tempting.

“I don’t know, but I won’t let you get away this time…!”

Kang Hana chased after the little flame Lug with excitement.

As Kang Hana’s pursuit grew, more and more flame Lug joined in, trailing behind her.

And when more than thirty flame Lug had joined the chase, “More… I can’t run anymore.”

After a grueling race of 31 versus 1, Kang Hana collapsed in exhaustion.

‘Divine punishment.’

‘Judgment!’

Kang Hana panted heavily as the flame Lug hopped around, celebrating their victory.

Among them, one particular flame Lug stood out.

Although all the flame Lug looked the same, Kang Hana could tell them apart because of the different vibes they each gave off.

The one who had first poked her cheek and ran away was smiling mischievously, just out of Kang Hana’s reach.

Kang Hana’s breath quickened as she stood up and lunged at the flame Lug.

She was planning to yank his cheek.

But the flame Lug, who had been laughing at her, flew into the sky.

Kang Hana didn’t feel upset, though.

The distance between them was so great, it didn’t even matter.

“Come down…!”

No matter how hard she ran, it was a height she couldn’t reach.

As Kang Hana kept jumping, other Flame Lug gathered around her, hopping along in sync with her.

They must have thought it looked fun, even though she had no idea what was going on.

“Eh, why are you jumping?”

“Judge!”

“Judge!”

“Judge!”

Kang Hana tilted her head in confusion, and the Flame Lug cheerfully sang in chorus.

Their innocent reaction made a smile unconsciously spread across Kang Hana’s face.

‘What am I doing right now,’ she wondered.

Kang Hana decided to forget about scolding the Flame Lug who had pinched her cheek and ran off, and instead gently petted the ones gathered at her feet.

The Flame Lug, receiving her touch, smiled happily and slowly slipped into her heart.

Kang Hana, with a satisfied expression, felt the familiar warmth.

Except for the one Flame Lug floating in the air.

Kang Hana had been petting the Flame Lug one by one when she noticed that only a few remained.

She looked around to see how many were left, and she spotted one Flame Lug, who looked strangely sad.

“Huh… Why is that Flame Lug so sad?”

There were no other Flame Lug nearby, and he was alone, drifting aimlessly.

He seemed like a new student who had just transferred in at the end of the semester, lost and without friends.

Having moved frequently as a child and not having many friends, Kang Hana could relate to that feeling.

“Are you sad because you couldn’t make any friends…? Do you want to be friends with me?”

Just as Kang Hana reached out to comfort the Flame Lug, the little creature suddenly glared at her and bite her finger.

“Ouch!”

Unlike the affectionate nibbles from the other Flame Lug, this one was a sharp, stinging pain.

‘Why does it hurt in a dream?’

Feeling unjust, Kang Hana shot a sharp look at the Flame Lug that had bitten her finger.

It was the first time she’d seen such an expression from any of the Flame Lug.

Drops of tiny, fiery tears fell from the Flame Lug.

The creature, still biting her finger, was crying uncontrollably.

Kang Hana met his gaze.

“Ah…”

Kang Hana felt that the Flame Lug’s eyes looked familiar.

She had seen that expression before.

Right after her parents’ funeral, in the mirror—she had been wearing that exact same expression.

It was a look that only came when someone precious was lost.

Seeing her own high school self reflected in the Flame Lug, Kang Hana gently began to stroke him with her other hand.

“You must have been through something hard.”

The Flame Lug flapped his small arms in protest, but Kang Hana didn’t stop.

He was crying as if he had recently lost someone important, and she knew that leaving him alone would only make things worse.

“It’s okay, it’ll get better.”

As if he had felt her sincerity, the Flame Lug slowly stopped crying and accepted her touch.

Kang Hana comforted him for a long time.

Eventually, the Flame Lug, now dry-eyed, grabbed her finger tightly.

It seemed to be apologizing for biting her earlier.

“It’s okay. It’s normal to be sad sometimes.”

Kang Hana gently petted the Flame Lug again, and he smiled brightly, disappearing into her body with a soft sigh.

Kang Hana looked around.

There was nothing unusual except for the various burned pajamas scattered about—leftover toys of the Flame Lug.

“Phew… I guess I’ve said goodbye to them all now?”

Wiping the sweat from her brow with satisfaction, Kang Hana suddenly felt something strange.

Her hand, resting on her forehead, was warm.

And then, an annoying giggle echoed from above her.

“Huh?”

Just as Kang Hana voiced her confusion, her vision blurred.

It felt like she was about to wake up from a dream.

The last thing Kang Hana saw was the mischievous smile of the Flame Lug that had pinched her cheek and run away.

“Wait, just a second. There’s still one more…!!”

Just as Kang Hana hurriedly reached out to say her last goodbyes, her eyes opened.

She found herself in the ruins of a concrete wasteland.

Had her emotions become too intense in the dream, or was it her body that felt unwell?

Kang Hana had woken up much earlier than expected.

“…Ugh…”

Thanks to the last mischievous Flame Lug, she failed to say her final goodbyes.

Kang Hana let out a tired sigh.

But then, she closed her mouth tightly again.

Thinking about it, she realized the Flame Lug was still in her arms.

Once she realized that, a warmth spread through her.

“Hehe…”

It felt like the total warmth she felt now had increased by about 1/100th compared to before she fell asleep.

Though she was disappointed not to say her final goodbyes, Kang Hana smiled happily.

Then, suddenly…

She felt a gaze on her.

Having recently become sensitive to the eyes of Lug, who had always been watching her through the isolation room glass, Kang Hana turned to see who it was.

“What is it…?”

She turned her head to the side.

And there, she met the eyes of Senior Giselle, who had been watching her from a distance.

“…Gasp!”

Giselle quickly turned her head, but their eyes had definitely met.

It was a gaze that seemed almost envious.

‘…Wasn’t Senior Giselle supposed to dislike Lug?’

Kang Hana was left puzzled.