episode_0169

I hated being sick.

I want to live happily.

A little wind.

‘Haha… it hurts…’

However, like everyone else, in order to live, we had to endure pain big and small.

After obtaining the [Black Book], every day was difficult.

‘are you okay. You’re not dead. I also discovered a new means of transportation… I actually like it.’

Rather than avoiding the coming pain, I became accustomed to laughing in the midst of pain.

Maybe it’s a natural procedure.

Grrr…

A bubbling sound coming from a broken neck.

When I fell, I must have accidentally hit the back of my head, so my vision is dark.

In a bathtub covered in blood that splattered in all directions, Eunha clumsily raised the corners of her mouth as she tried to move her sagging limbs.

I thought positively.

It hurts to the point of death, but isn’t it unseemly to be so pessimistic?

“Big…! Wow, it’s okay…! Except for the pain…!”

So please,

I hope that someone else will be happy as much as I am in pain.

Blinking with eyes that have lost focus,

Eunha was thinking about each and every happy holiday.

… … .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crump!

“Ugh…!”

“Wow, what was that sound just now? Eunha, are you okay?”

“It’s okay. It’s cool and nice.”

After a somewhat eventful holiday,

The next morning.

Eunha, who went to work at the cafe, was caught up by regular customer Ban Harin, and was quietly bending her neck from the sudden start of manual therapy.

It’s nothing.

Yesterday evening, I ‘slightly’ hit my head on the bathroom bathtub and broke my neck, and even after a day, my neck was sore… After noticing this, Ban Harin took it upon himself to give me manual therapy.

Pajijikㅡ.

Ban Harin, whose eyes are colored golden, ‘observes’ the galaxy.

She sits close behind Eunha as if giving a back hug, wraps one arm around Eunha’s neck, and lightly twists it while pressing the nape of her neck with the other hand.

Immediately after, Eunha’s joints let out a refreshing scream along with a tingling pain.

“For your information, I do not have a physical therapist license. As always, it’s wild.”

“I like that kind of honesty.”

Ttuduk!

Eunha doesn’t know what to do with Ban Harin’s flexible physical therapy.

She smiled languidly as she remembered the painful last night.

… … .

『It’s frustrating to just stay at home.』

“Let’s hang out.”

“Where?”

[Silhouette] appears in the apartment window.

The moment Eunha answered ‘those’ questions honestly, she fell head first into the bathtub at her house.

Cramping pain in the back of the head and neck bones.

A sharp pain rushed through my body to the point where I felt a little bit hateful for [Bug Princess], who had said that looking up at the apartment would help.

It felt like I was free falling from the rooftop of an apartment building.

A bathtub covered in blood, as if something had exploded.

The back of my head was shaking like a boiled egg with a broken shell.

It is a pain I never want to experience again.

Of course, I also gained something.

It seems that if you tell [Silhouette] where you want to go, it will take you there…

If you just ignore the fact that it hurts to the point of death, it will be of great help to Eunha, as [Bug Princess] said.

‘It hurts too much to use it often… but I can’t stand teleportation.’

I got something good.

Yesterday’s pain was not in vain.

Thinking positively, Eunha smiled as usual.

“Why does someone with recovery skills have such tight neck and shoulders? Did you break your neck bone?”

“It gets better with time anyway.”

“… … I am very worried.”

Ban Harin, who ‘observed’ Eunha’s words, continued the manual therapy with an expressionless face despite feeling reluctant.

Ban Harin’s hands, pressed tightly together from behind, are so efficient that it gives you goosebumps. He moved his hands without hesitation, as if Eunha’s muscles were visible.

Every time a cool sound rings out, comfort spreads across Eunha’s face.

“It seems like this is the only thing I can do for Eunha. So, if your muscles get tight in the future, please let me know.”

Cold touch. A face as expressionless as a mask.

Nevertheless, the affection that comes out of the voice without any accent.

Eunha smiled bitterly and quietly placed her hand on Ban Harin’s arm wrapped around her neck.

After all, cafes are convenient.

Is it because the monster didn’t come to visit?

Ttuduk!

It was a morning where the cool sound of bones clicking together ran through a quiet cafe.

… … .

… … .

Time passes.

Without waiting for us.

“Eunha. If you have time, would you like to walk with me?”

6 pm.

When Eunha finished her work at the cafe as usual and was preparing to return to ‘Saetbyeol Apartment’, Nari Kang approached her with languid movements and spoke to her.

Ban Harin, who was lifting Eunha in her wheelchair, puts Eunha down and quietly steps back.

“I like it. Have you ever had a problem with ‘Potion’?”

“Oh, no! It goes very smoothly there. The ‘blood sample’ that Eunha handed over was really pretty, and Director Go Young-in was also very kind…!”

Nari Kang expresses her opinion with her waist-length blue hair flowing.

She said that she wanted to be with Eunha a little longer and waited for Eunha’s answer.

Eyes resembling sapphires were sparkling with a certain determination.

It seems like he has something he wants to tell only Eunha.

If you go back to the apartment anyway, you’ll just be hanging out with the monsters, and you only have to get home before the sun sets, so there’s nothing to worry about.

Eunha nodded lightly and looked back at Ban Harin.

“… I will leave work first, so please call me if you need to.”

“Thank you always. And Mr. Banharin is not home from work.”

“Do you have to walk to get rid of it to feel relieved?”

Ban Harin swept up his bangs in an exaggerated gesture as if he was dumbfounded and left the cafe with his laptop and briefcase.

She walks backwards without making a single sound… Eunha is the one with a headache, but why is she doing that?

Meanwhile, the face remains expressionless, making it even scarier.

“Tsk… Let’s go, Nari Kang. There is still time until the sun sets.”

“Ah, yes! I’ll push the wheelchair for you!”

Just like that, Eunha said goodbye to Eunbangul, who waved her hand, saying that there was still work left to do in the warehouse, and then left the cafe, led by Kang Na-ri.

… … .

I head towards Euncheon-gu, leaving behind a small cafe with a sign saying ‘Rabbit Latte’.

Nari Kang, who was pulling a wheelchair for the first time, walked with nervous movements, and Eunha laughed at her awkward appearance and massaged the back of her sore neck.

I looked up at the yellow summer sky.

A shadow with its elongated body leads a wheelchair and moves around among the shadows created by the surrounding buildings.

“… At that time, Director Go Young-in said that. Eunha is a woman who might become his friend. It seemed like he had a very good opinion of Eunha.”

“Something like that happened.”

Giving and receiving is a normal conversation.

Kang Na-ri entered ‘Euncheon Park’ while explaining to Eunha the story of her transaction with General Manager Go Young-in.

Pass the public restroom installed near the entrance and head to the central vacant lot.

The stone statue of the blue dragon, the symbol of the [Blue Dragon Guild], was showing off its elaborately carved scales, and benches placed in a circle around it caught the eye.

There is no better place to spend some time than a park.

Eunha let out a light sigh as she followed some people running around the park with her eyes.

“It’s been a while since I was at the park. You came here with Ban Harin before to prepare for the promotion exam.”

“Well, yes… Of course, I trained yesterday too.”

From what I heard, it seems that even after Eunha was promoted to D-class hunter, she devoted herself to training under the guidance of Ban Harin.

I wondered if Kang Na-ri’s goal was to be a hunter, but that wasn’t the case; it was simply for self-defense.

Cafes, potions, even training…

Perhaps Kang Nari is also leading a busy life of her own.

“A few months ago, I had no idea that I would be this busy at work. I thought I would be buried deep in debt and buried in a quiet mountain… Thanks to Eunha.”

Kang Na-ri, who had set up her wheelchair, collapsed on the bench right next to her.

He clenches and unclenches his hands as a habit, thinking deeply about something.

She was wearing the same shabby jeans and sweater as when we first met a few months ago.

The clothes, which have become loose due to previously taking the ‘undiluted solution’ incorrectly, create a slight feeling of disparity.

Eunha looked down at her jeans, which showed signs of being worn several times.

Is it a valuable item?

“You always wear those clothes.”

“Yes? Oh, these clothes? When I became independent from my parents’ house, it was the only thing I brought with me from home. I couldn’t throw it away.”

“… … Are you in contact with your family members?”

“No. Except for my eldest brother who came this time, there is no one.”

loneliness.

Nari Kang, with her hands on her knees, bursts into a bitter laugh.

“But if you find out that I made a personal deal with the head of the Hunter Association, there will be more contact from then on. Those are the people.”

“… … It’s hard to take someone’s side because a debt collector’s answer is to cut off the debt.”

“Take my side.”

“It’s not easy.”

Kang Na-ri, who was glaring at the pumpkin-like Eunha, burst out laughing.

Just chatting with someone like this makes me happy.

Sigh…

Kang Na-ri’s hands move.

He slides across the wooden bench, approaches the wheelchair, and falls down on top of Eunha’s hand.

Warmth.

Feeling like I’m not alone.

I lean in slightly.

Eunha’s body… has a subtle smell of blood, masked by the scent of fragrant body wash.

The fishy smell of iron.

A smell that would have made some people cover their noses, saying it was disgusting.

Excited. Excited.

Kang Na-ri felt that the sound of her own pounding heart was unfamiliar.

“I told you before… There were originally 4 of us siblings… The older brother who forced me was the second born.”

“… … .”

I’m not saying this hoping for an answer.

A simple lament. Therefore, it is a core that cannot be taken out at will.

Eunha quietly leaned against the wheelchair and listened to the woman’s words.

“I was happy when I was young. I could sense how much money there was at home even before I grew up. Eating delicious food, wearing nice clothes… The youngest daughter of a chaebol family was happy.”

“… … .”

“And one day, the day my eldest brother went to the [Crack Market] and came back with only his left hand… As I listened to my father tell me to put my brother’s left hand in the trash can because it was so rotten… I barely realized it. Joe. There is no need for a conglomerate like this.”

Kang Na-ri’s smile was empty.

The face of a person who expects nothing and is not expected of anything.

Lost in thought, she took a quick look around ‘Euncheon Park’.

The park where the sun set was quiet.

People jogging left the park like migratory birds leaving, and the sound of grasshoppers died out against the summer wind.

The only thing that can be vaguely heard is Eunha’s breathing while sitting in a wheelchair.

Kang Na-ri carefully adjusted her shabby sweater.

“On the first day I became independent… my sister who worked as my bodyguard said that.”

The woman left alone closed her eyes and reflected on the past.

When I escaped from my family before I could mentally prepare, and was left alone in an unfamiliar society.

To her, who was kicked out of the house without a wallet or credit card, wearing only her favorite sweater and jeans.

Those words from the bodyguard who always stayed by her side.

(Lady, you must keep this in mind. You should never ask your family for help.)

Even after a long time has passed, it is so clear that you can grab it if you stretch out your hand.

Memories slipping through my fingers.

He reveals a secret to Eunha that he could not tell anyone.

(The head of the security team said that since I was best friends with the young lady, she would definitely ask for help from me when she needed to… I was instructed to report immediately when contacted.)

(If you ask for help from your family, you will end up just destroying your family register instead of receiving help.)

(Rather money than fame, and people rather than money.)

(You can definitely do it.)

(……Cheer up, Kang Nari. Take care of yourself.)

(If you succeed later, hire me.)

The bodyguard’s last greeting.

And the credit card given to me by the bodyguard telling me to use it wisely.

That was the last time.

It was the last mercy and warmth I received from the [Blue Dragon Family].

A few days later, my bodyguard passed away in a mysterious car accident, and I immediately found out that her credit card was frozen.

The current society, where the weight of life has become infinitely lighter due to hunters and monsters, is so cold.

Only then did Kang Na-ri become independent from her family and become alone.

“Thanks to my bodyguard and Eunha… I saw the light in the midst of a mountain of debt. So this time it’s my turn to help.”

I have received a lot.

I don’t know how to return it.

So, I will grab what I can right now and give it to the people who believed in me.

Money, fame, anything.

“You know that I’m the type of person who can’t live with debt, right? I look forward to the task that Eunha has entrusted to me, because I will do it perfectly. I will kick out the older brother who forced me, become very rich, and make Eunha happy.”

“Did you bring me here to say that?”

“There is such a thing as atmosphere. They say that you can help Eunha empathize if you say it while looking at the sunset.”

What you need is a stepping stone to get up from the damp semi-basement to the ground.

Kang Na-ri puts on a pure smile as she steps on the footing she barely found.

… … .

… … .

The galaxy was unknown.

What kind of opportunity did the deal with General Manager Go Young-in present to Kang Na-ri?

What a ripple it caused in her mind.

“… … Someone said It is said that hesitation is hidden among fears… and that determination is born from countless efforts.”

“Eunha?”

“Everything will be fine.”​

Just looking at the setting dusk,

It merely conveys the words that someone wise had left behind.

It’s dusk.

It is time for the wise man to come.

Eunha sat side by side with Kang Na-ri in the park and quietly looked up at the bright yellow evening sky.

… … .

… … .

And, time passes.

next day.

Kang Nari did not go to work at the cafe.