episode_0034

“Yustia, eat slowly. What if you get indigestion? And drink some cola.”

“Huh? Thanks!”

Yustia guzzled down the cola Mira handed her, enchanted by the thrilling coolness and fizziness of the carbonation.

“Kyaah~ So refreshing~♡. Your name was Han Mira, right? You’re a good person!”

Then Yustia eagerly resumed devouring the food.

Watching her, Mira offered an awkward smile.

For Mira, it must have been an unprecedented experience to have a child who looked at least three or four years younger speak to her so casually and call her by name.

But Mira didn’t show any signs of being bothered or displeased.

Her nature was so pure and gentle that Yustia’s words and actions felt like a cute, playful child’s antics to Mira.

“Yustia is a very unique friend. How did you meet someone like her?”

Receiving Mira’s question, Yunyoung quickly ran through excuses in his head. Unable to think of anything suitable, he ended up blurting out something not very convincing.

“She’s a distant relative, and somehow… Haha…”

“Relative…?”

Mira tilted her head. Yunyoung, feeling awkward, felt as if sweat was pouring down his back, fearing his lie might be exposed.

Common sense dictates that relatives should generally share a similar ethnicity.

If he were to say he had relatives in America, their ethnicity and appearance shouldn’t differ significantly from his own to be convincing.

But calling Yustia, with her silver hair and appearance resembling a white person from a Nordic country, a relative would naturally raise suspicion.

“What country is she from?”

“N-Norway.”

It wasn’t that he had any particular image of Norway; it was just the Nordic country that suddenly came to mind, so he said that.

“Norway! Isn’t that super far? Did Yustia live there all this time?”

“Probably.”

It was fortunate, perhaps, that Yustia was so engrossed in eating that she didn’t interject into the conversation.

“Considering that, she speaks Korean really well.”

Yunyoung felt sweat profusely.

“She learned it somehow? I heard she studied it in school or received special tutoring.”

“That’s amazing! If she can speak so fluently without even coming to Korea, she must have studied very hard. She’s impressive.”

“Is that so…. Ahahaha!”

Thankfully, Mira seemed to believe him, allowing Yunyoung to inwardly breathe a sigh of relief. Since he seemed to have avoided suspicion for now, he needed to apologize.

“I’m sorry. Even if she was bored, I shouldn’t have brought her on our date without asking.”

“No, it’s fine. I actually enjoyed it; it was fun. This kind of experience is refreshing and enjoyable.”

She truly was his girlfriend. Her heart was kind, and her words were beautiful.

Thinking about how she would have suffered and agonized after his death, despite having such a pure and warm heart, made him feel bad.

‘Even if that future no longer exists… it’s still true that Mira went through a terrible tragedy and struggled.’

He wondered if he could truly say it never happened, given that Yunyoung remembered all of it.

Just as Yunyoung’s worries were deepening, Mira’s voice was heard.

“By the way, Yustia is a really pretty child. It’s my first time seeing someone who looks like a doll in real life.”

Drawn by her words, he turned his gaze from her, and the worries he’d harbored just moments before vanished absurdly quickly.

‘Mira is here. The woman I love is right before my eyes. The most important thing is that I want to protect this woman for life.’

Making this resolve, Yunyoung found himself staring intently at Mira. Feeling his gaze, Mira flushed, slightly flustered.

“Yunyoung…? Is there something on my face?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, what were we just talking about?”

“I said Yustia was really pretty…”

Mira spoke with a slight awkwardness. Yunyoung, realizing his unusual demeanor was making her uncomfortable, thought he should be more careful in the future and spoke.

“Her appearance may be like that, but her personality is just as you’d guess.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a voice interrupted.

“What’s wrong with my character?!”

Yustia, in the middle of eating, flared up and shouted.

“You’re spitting out food. Talk after you’ve finished eating. You look like a pig.”

“What?! A pig?!”

Yustia glared, questioning him displeasedly.

“Yustia, calm down. Yunyoung probably didn’t mean anything bad by it.”

Mira wiped the food Yustia had spilled with a napkin.

Watching that scene, Yunyoung suddenly burst out laughing. Everyone stared at the unexpectedly laughing Yunyoung in confusion.

“Yunyoung?”

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m happy.”

“Huh…?”

Both women questioned him back.

“It’s nothing. Let’s all eat quickly. Mira, you eat too. I’ll pay today.”

Yunyoung realized that what he wanted to reclaim was this kind of ordinary life. Becoming a king or ruling the world was merely a fleeting fantasy.

When it was time to pay, Yunyoung realized he didn’t have his wallet and felt awkward.

Because he had come straight after spacetime travel, he had no belongings other than the clothes on his back.

He belatedly realized that he hadn’t been able to buy Yustia anything from the convenience store due to lacking money.

“It’s okay. I’ll pay today.”

Mira took out her wallet and paid with her card. Yunyoung asked awkwardly,

“How much was it?”

“It wasn’t much.”

“That can’t be right. That kid ate an awful lot.”

Yustia, whom Yunyoung pointed at, was currently busily scooping ice cream. About a minute ago, Yustia had said this:

“Oh ho? This is free ice cream? There’s even a sign that says ‘Scoop as much as you like~!’ I’ll eat well!”

The three people left the store.

Mira never revealed the exact amount of the bill. Of course, when she first saw the amount, she felt like she’d been hit in the head, but it was still acceptable.

Besides, Yustia was cute and felt like a fun younger sister.

They went to the movie theater, watched a movie, and then walked in a nearby park. Yustia subtly spoke to Yunyoung.

“Send Mira back.”

“What?”

“Right now. You need to hurry.”

“You’re not planning anything foolish, are you?”

“Trust me a little. If I’m lying now, I’ll starve tomorrow.”

Given that Yustia, who seemed to love food, added such a remark, it was clear that something urgent had happened.

Yunyoung had no choice but to tell Mira that their date would have to end here.

He wanted to see her off, but based on Yustia’s words, it seemed like something was up, so he couldn’t.

“Today was really fun. I hope I can see Yustia again sometime too.”

“I think Mira is good too.”

Yunyoung lightly tapped Yustia on the head.

“I told you to call Mira ‘Unnie’ when you address her.”

“It’s fine. Yunyoung, she doesn’t care about things like that.”

“Why are *you* making a fuss when the person herself says it’s fine?”

“If you keep doing this, I won’t give you any food.”

“Ugh, that’s unfair.”

Anyway, after this brief commotion, they sent Mira off. Yustia’s playful face suddenly disappeared.

“Hey, why don’t you guys show yourselves now? You were probably waiting for us to be alone, weren’t you?”

“Who are you talking to?”

Yunyoung asked, puzzled, but Yustia didn’t bother to answer.

Soon, just as she said, two individuals, a man and a woman, appeared before them. With their white silver hair and white eyes, they clearly looked out of the ordinary at first glance.

“Those people are…?”

“Angels.”

“Angels? You mean those guys who tried to catch us in the spacetime tunnel?”

“They’re a bit different, but they’re on the same side. Those guys specialize in dealing with those who defy time. That’s why they’re incredibly strong.”

“So it wasn’t over?”

“Of course not. The angels wouldn’t just leave those who escaped alone. By the way, I didn’t expect their pursuit to be this fast.”

The angels looked at Yunyoung and Yustia and spoke.

“You have committed the ultimate taboo. You killed a god, seized its power, and even returned to the past to alter it.”

“We shall deal with you and pass judgment here and now.”

Yunyoung felt an immense power emanating from them. He instinctively tensed, and his muscles contracted; he felt a chill.

Just as the thought that he might die entered his mind, Yustia, who had been listening to them, smirked and spoke.

“Who are you to talk like that? You’re merely 9th or 10th-tier angels. I, Yustia, was a 12th-tier Archangel.”

“Die, Yustia.”

The female angel rushed at Yustia, and the male one rushed at Yunyoung. It happened with astonishing speed, in the blink of an eye, and Yunyoung almost couldn’t react, but

Suddenly, both of their necks were gripped in Yustia’s hands.

“Slow. Slow. Sloooow~!! To send only two such low-level angels to catch me, Yustia! It seems you gravely underestimate me, don’t you?”

Yustia showed no signs of effort at all. Meanwhile, the angels were being choked and were practically dying.

Among them, Yustia first tightened her grip on the male angel in her right hand and strangled him to death.

When the angel died, its form scattered like light, dissolving into thin air and disappearing. Only the female angel remained.

“Yunyoung, what about this female angel?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“If you want to sleep with her, I’ll let you.”

“I’ll decline.”

“Really…?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I thought you’d say yes, of course. It’s rare to get a chance with an angel.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Alright. Then, Angel-nim? Goodbye.”

The female angel, without even a scream, vanished just like the male angel who had died before her.

“You’re incredibly strong.”

“Yeah. So if the two of us combine our strength, becoming the king of this world wouldn’t be impossible.”

“Are we talking about that again?”

Yunyoung sighed, briefly lowered his head, then raised it again seriously.

“Are those kinds of guys going to keep appearing from now on?”

“Looks like it.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“It’s fine. I’ll protect you♡. In return, you just have to give me delicious food.”

“If you eat like you did at the restaurant earlier, our food budget will be wiped out.”

“Then if you become the king of this world, food expenses won’t be an issue, right?”

“Stop talking about that already~~.”

“Hehe. What’s wrong with that?”

Thus, the story of Yunyoung and Yustia, two people who transcended time and space, begins anew here.

(End)