episode_0009

I blinked my blurry eyes. It was as if I was looking out the window on a rainy day, but what was clear was what was in front of me.

I looked around, wondering.

Moldy and worn wooden furniture scattered around. Empty bottles rolling on the floor and black garbage bags roughly tied up and left alone.

A chilly wind that felt like it could cut through flesh, broken windows, and somewhere, angry shouts and screams mixed with rage.

As I absentmindedly looked around, I turned my head. I saw a bug moving frantically in the corner over there.

A foul stench wafted in with a dull nose. It was an indescribable, disgusting smell made up of dozens of dirty odors.

Familiar scenery, noise, and stench.

“Ah.”

I blinked absentmindedly. Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve blinked like this. Since entering the gaming world, my eyes have just stayed closed.

It’s an old house.

Then this must be a dream.

The moment I realized it was a dream, the situation just before fainting came back vividly.

The tackle and apology from Hong Yeonhwa.

Baek Arin, who was scared of smiling.

The freshman welcome event that started somehow.

Countless attention received.

Childish jealousy and envy.

Hong Yeonhwa and Yoo Sei… A showdown between supporting characters.

Spatial perception and the synergy effect of being an all-rounder, affinity for magic.

Thrilling excitement and flickering spatial perception.

And finally, Yoo Sei’s new model thrust into me like a baseball…

“Ugh…”

It was unbelievable. A sigh came out involuntarily.

Of all things, it had to come flying at me and cause chaos. And at a time when I was focusing on spatial perception…

It seemed like I was about to realize something profound. To faint right there. It seems like the world dislikes me.

More accurately, does Hong Yeonhwa dislike me? Either way, it’s just sigh-worthy.

What’s even more absurd is that I’m having such a dream.

“Geez.”

Is this the only sweet dream I can have? Are there no other episodes? I heard that dreams are mainly made up of stimulating memories.

…Come to think of it, the strongest memory is from childhood, so it makes sense. After that, it was somewhat spectacular, but still not as good as childhood.

“Cough, cough…!”

As I took a deep breath, a dry cough erupted as if my throat was tightening. Through blurry vision, I saw my skinny arms and legs.

My body still bore the scars and wounds from childhood. Additionally, my bony frame was clearly visible.

However, there were no burns on my right arm from before the fire.

“…So how do I get out?”

For a moment, I felt a strange sensation at the sight I hadn’t seen in a long time.

If this were a dream, wouldn’t I be thrown outside upon realizing it? Why, in internet stories, did people wake up shivering after realizing they were in a dream, with all the dream characters turning to look at them?

– Thud! Thud!

At that moment, the door shook roughly.

– Thud! Thud! Thud!

The rusty iron door, devoid of any courtesy, creaked as if emitting a scream. The latch seemed about to fall off, sounding like a castanet performance.

“Ah, damn it. Hey! Come out quickly! The deadline has passed by several days.”

Judging by the rough knocking, it seemed to be a loan shark. Since my biological parents had borrowed money from various sources, a visit from a loan shark was nothing short of a ritual.

Initially, when the loan sharks were met with only stern looks and turned away, their patience wore thin, and later they started coming more and more aggressively.

“Hey, it’s not working. Open the door.”

“Huh? Do we really have to do that, sir? It’s easy to take off, but hard to put back on.”

“Why should we care about that? They’ll figure it out themselves.”

– Thud!

The knocking ceased. Instead, not long after, a loud noise accompanied the door handle shaking wildly.

“Wow… How much trouble did they cause to come and try to break down the door? In terms of blood relations, they were my parents, but they were idiots, fools, and failures.

I was an even bigger fool for hoping for affection from such idiots.

– Thud!

“Hey~ You picked a good house. It’s so sturdy.”

Bang! I had disliked the sound of knocking since I was young. Whenever someone knocked on the door, it meant something bad was happening to me.

– …Huh?

The old, worn-out door was detestable. It couldn’t protect me at all from the outside world. Instead, its creaking made me deeply fearful.

– Ouch…

Bang! The wall itself vibrated. The tower of beer cans stacked on one side collapsed with a clatter.

A busy insect collided with the wave of beer mixed with cigarette butts.

– Clang.

…The movement of the handle, creaking as if mad, abruptly stopped. Soon, the twisted handle split into two and fell to the ground.

– Yul-ah…

A hole was punched where the handle used to be. Through the gaping hole in the door, black go stones met my gaze.

“There’s only a kid here?”

“What? Damn, these bastards borrow money and then wander around like that?”

Ah, was that the moment?

The point when mounting debts and the change to a daily routine brought the visit of the loan shark who had abandoned me, leaving me to face the consequences.

The black go stone disappeared. The rusty hinge let out a groan.

With a creak, the door opened──

.

.

.

“-Ha Yul!”

“…! …?!”

The sound that struck my ears brought me back to consciousness. Someone was shaking me gently by the shoulders.

The sensation of the soft bed against my back. As I became aware of my trembling mind, spatial perception expanded, flooding me with information.

Red, orange, white, and green.

‘Ah.’

It was different from before. It wasn’t the outline drawn in green on a black background.

The orange light of dusk piercing through the window, white and yellow flower petals and green stems contained in a jar, and the clean, well-maintained space of the hospital room.

Unconsciously, it elicited a sigh within me, the sight of various colors.

And Hong Yeon-hwa urgently gripping my shoulders and shouting…

“-Yul! Wake up!”

‘What?’

I’m lying in a hospital bed right now, and isn’t Hong Yeon-hwa half on top of me, shouting something?

“Ha Yul! Are you okay?! Breathe! Breathe!”

“…!? …?”

Breathe? What is she talking about? Feeling puzzled and trying to move, my body wouldn’t respond. My chest felt tight. Something was wrong…

“Cough, cough…!”

“Ha Yul…!”

Ah, I’m not breathing right now.

The moment I realized it, my throat tightened. It’s a suffocating situation where I can’t exhale the air filling my chest or take in new air.

“Ugh…! Cough…”

What’s wrong with me? Why am I suddenly like this? My stomach feels queasy. My breathing doesn’t come easily.

Before I could find an answer to my question, Hong Yeonhwa, who had been anxiously watching me, suddenly hugged me.

My body stiffened at the unexpected gesture.

“It’s okay! It’s okay… Breathe in, breathe out…”

“…Huff, cough…”

“Right. Once more…”

As my rigid body met her warm temperature, it relaxed as if soaking in warm water, spreading warmth throughout my body.

I wondered if Hong Yeonhwa naturally had a high body temperature. But even so, it’s too high.

Puzzled, I found the answer. It’s not that Hong Yeonhwa has a high body temperature, but rather that mine is extremely low right now.

“Again, breathe in…”

She held me tightly and gently guided my breath, whispering by my ear.

And then I exhaled.

It’s an instinctive action, but it’s incredibly difficult. It feels like there’s a huge rock on my chest.

My body was too cold. A sudden fear of freezing and shattering overwhelmed me.

Unconsciously, I clung tightly to what was in front of me. Being embraced by something soft made me feel a kind of warmth I had never experienced before.

“Uh, huh…?”

“It’s okay.”

Being enveloped here felt like I would be protected indefinitely. It was a comfort that I couldn’t feel from a creaky iron door.

“Cough… Hoo… Ugh, hoo…”

“It’s okay. Everything’s okay…”

While calming my breath, Hong Yeonhwa kept whispering quietly in my ear about what was okay. Her hand, which had slipped behind me, was gently stroking my head.

My body, which had seemed on the verge of collapse, gradually calmed down. The series of abrupt stops were being followed by a gradual calm.

“Hoo… Ha…”

“Are you feeling better…?”

I looked at Hong Yeonhwa’s expression as she asked, her eyes filled with concern, as my breathing slowly steadied.

‘Ah.’

Color (hue) and light and shade.

Something I had forgotten for about ten days.

And even this moment is nothing more than information obtained through spatial perception, not real eyes.

But…

Like a precious gem, the bright red bobbed hair that settled down tickled my face. It wasn’t a waste to say it was like a painting meeting an orange sunset.

If the world’s rarest quality ruby were meticulously crafted by the world’s best artisan, would my eyes twinkle like that?

…The world that regained its color was incredibly beautiful.