episode_0207

After a nightmarish day.

I had a dream.

I guess it’s because of stress.

I don’t know if it was my mood, but the more tired I was, the more vividly I remembered my dreams.

“… … No problem today either.”

One night’s dream.

Or a nightmare.

A memory that has already passed more than three years ago.

… Now, I guess it’s a good story.

ㅡ It’s so peaceful, team leader. I like it because the ‘target’ is a quiet person~. Because it’s F grade, it’s not noticeable.

“Chat during work is prohibited.”

About 3 years ago.

[Rare Hunter Protection – Kill Section] Team 1 leader, Ban Harin.

She was a woman who personally expressed the word boredom.

– I heard the team leader is really cold. How have you never seen someone make a joke?

“… No customers entered Target’s cafe. ‘Owls’ are requested to focus on monitoring the back door of the cafe and investigating people around them.”

– Yes~.

The voices of team members can be heard.

In her humorous response, he ‘observes’ the discomfort towards himself.

With his usual expressionless face, Ban Harin watches the entrance to the cafe where ‘Target’ works, and gives the same instructions to other team members as usual.

ㅡ This is ‘Badger’, and we have completed investigating the personal information of residents near the target’s residence.

ㅡ This is ‘Bear’, I have sent the target’s call records.

ㅡ This is ‘Mouse’, I woke up because it was so noisy.

ㅡ Here…

Team members work like machines, following the instructions of the machine-like team leader.

And the discomfort ‘observed’ in their voices.

A person’s facial expressions and voice contain more than you might think.

“… No problem.”

But it doesn’t matter.

Because they’re all the same anyway.

The number of hypocrisies and lies that Ban Harin, who had better observation skills than others, ‘observed’ as he rose to the level of team leader of the secret department was not small.

Therefore, it may be natural for her to have a mild distrust of humans.

What I observed was the ugly inside of people,

What I learned was how to hide my inner self.

Because in the eyes of others, your insides will also be ugly.

Like adding pure white paint to black, burnt drawing paper,

Ban Harin wore an expressionless face like a mask and monitored the cafe where ‘Target’ worked.

“… … .”

Do surveillance. From afar.

So that the ‘target’ does not notice,

(Bul, how do you like this coffee? Do you think it’s well made?)

(Wow, you’ve improved a lot! Try adding syrup this time!)

Making Osondoson coffee with a cute bunny girl in a cafe with no customers,

I watch the F-class hunter who is always smiling languidly.

“… … .”

don’t approach

If you stay close, problems will only increase.

This guy will be eliminated anyway if the kill order is given.

So from afar,

I watch quietly.

“… … .”

Sigh…

But, why?

Ban Harin, who was quietly looking at the ‘target’,

Frowning as if my eyes were dazzling, I started walking towards the cafe.

… … .

“A cup of coffee, anything.”

In the end, I came to the cafe again today.

While uttering the same spell at the same time.

I don’t know why.

This cafe just looked warm.

Is it because it was a dream?

I can’t quite remember why.

“It’s the same order today. This time, I recommend the cafe latte.”

“… … .”

“Cheer up today and have a nice day.”

Just the image of ‘target’ who never loses his smile,

Eunha’s positive voice was just dazzling.

Banharin is something that has been lost.

‘… … ‘He is full of lies, but he is as white as a fool.’

like that,

Ban Harin observed Eunha’s ‘fake smile’ closely.

I felt the clusters of lights resembling the Milky Way being engraved one by one on the pitch black drawing paper.

“… … … This is Ban Harin. I work at a nearby company.”

Like wax wings soaring toward the dazzling sun.

I told my first lie for the galaxy.

… … .

… … .

-Team leader! Strange! The owner of that cafe, a woman named Eunbangul!

-There is nothing! Identity and past!

dreaming

It is a nightmare filled with regret.

ㅡ What should I do? What do you think, team leader?

“… … .”

In the memories that are cut off as if eaten by bugs,

Ban Harin designated the rabbit girl Eunbangul as a dangerous molecule that interferes with the protection of the ‘target’.

The conflict that continued like that.

brawl.

The sound of someone pushing the table.

Taang!

And then, the sound of a gun piercing my throat.

The body of the rabbit girl is revealed in the broken memory.

“Haa…haa……”

ㅡ Ugh…! Damn, I almost died… Cough! Why is such a monster next to the ‘target’… What kind of ‘skill’ is this?

remove risk factors,

It was handled silently.

To protect the target.

… … .

… … .

“Hello, Mr. Banharin. You came today too.”

“… … … .”

“… … Shhh~.”

And, the next day.

Ban Harin entered the cafe with a heavy heart,

Clinging to Eunha as if nothing happened,

I made eye contact with Eunbangul, who put her index finger to her lips and smiled brightly.

… … .

A ten-year F-class hunter,

A rabbit girl full of secrets,

Head of the association’s secret department,

Three people who had nothing in common started to become friends.

It’s a part of memories.

… … .

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

ㅡ Mr. Banharin. wake up. What time is it now?

ㅡ Mr. Banharin. wake up. Now’s the time…

Beep–.

6:30 am.

Ban Harin woke up listening to Eunha’s voice through the wake-up alarm.

My head feels refreshed.

All my worries seemed to have been swept away by the waves.

A strange refreshing feeling that gives you goosebumps.

I tossed and turned as a chill ran up my spine.

‘… … Is this Eunha’s home?’

Room 904 of ‘Saetbyeol Apartment’. The living room of Eunha’s house.

I get up from the soft sofa I was lying on just a moment ago.

If you look around quietly, you will notice the unlocked veranda window and the raw meat on the living room table.

Plates filled with pure white salt are placed in every corner of the living room, and amulets with strange writings are attached to each passage leading to the bedroom or entrance hallway.

Unusual items.

Anyone who sees it might think it’s the home of someone obsessed with a strange pseudo-religion.

‘The plants planted in this pot appear to be weeds brought from [Cheorwon Crack Farm]. There are traces of insect bites here and there.’

An ordinary family home where the everyday and the extraordinary are mixed.

After visiting Eunha’s house for the first time in a few months, big and small changes had occurred.

It’s quite different from watching from afar.

Even though I’m being harassed by a ‘weird’ entity, I still have the energy to clean up.

Throbbing…

At that time, Ban Harin, who was observing the flower pot next to the TV, inadvertently wiped his face.

A bloody bandage covering his left eye,

I can feel the ‘inverted cross-shaped hairpin’ attached to the bangs.

‘… … Wasn’t it a dream?’

Then, the ‘unusual’ experience from yesterday comes to mind and causes an exhilarating headache.

‘Owl’, who nailed a wooden cross to his temple.

A strange voice coming from the radio.

(Mr. Ban Harin… you’re good at shooting guns, right?)

And, galaxy.

A terrible gunshot sound.

Ban Harin clenches his fists as he remembers what happened yesterday.

The sight of himself covered in bright red blood and Eunha falling helplessly,

It appeared before my eyes like a hallucination.

Eunha’s expressionless face, which never lost her smile, seemed as if she had fallen into an eternal sleep.

When will I wake up?

I said I would wake up again, but when will I wake up?

One minute like that. 2 minutes like that.

As if reconnecting the sound of breath that had been cut off by one’s own hands,

4 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes…

Holding Eunha’s slowly cooling body in my arms forever.

like that,

Because I can’t breathe.

“… … .”

Coo!

Ban Harin, who regained his senses, hit his thigh.

When I hit my thigh, which had been pierced by the wooden cross, with all my force, I came to my senses with a stinging pain.

“Phew…… Positively.”

The house in Eunha that I always dreamed of.

But what I saw at the end was a pitch-black nightmare.

“Let’s think positively…”

Ban Harin wipes the cold sweat from his forehead and repeats Eunha’s speaking habits.

… … .

Words that came to mind to overcome the pain.

What covers the pain towards Eunha is,

As expected, those were Eunha’s words.

… … .

Sarah… Sarah…

Ban Harin gathered his distracted mind and got up from the sofa.

To come to her senses, she headed to the bathroom to wash her face.

Eunha is probably still sleeping in the bedroom.

But I don’t necessarily go to the bedroom.

If I see her sleeping on a soft bed, yesterday’s trauma will definitely recur.

I don’t want to see Eunha quietly with her eyes closed anymore.

Ban Harin entered the bathroom and immediately put his face in the sink and turned on the water.

I felt a little better after soaking my face in cool water.

‘Three years ago, I shot Eunbangul, and yesterday I shot Eunha… Now all I have left is to atone.’

Ban Harin thought positively.

It’s already happened.

If so, don’t regret it. Let’s move forward positively.

There is still work to be done and much that can be done.

Eunha would definitely say that.

And in the end, now that we know the secrets of the galaxy through this incident, we just have to protect it more closely from now on.

‘So… Eunha said last night that when a monster comes, we must follow the ‘rules’ written in the [Black Book]?’

I think as I dip my face into the sink.

I heard the general story.

About [The Black Book] and strange things. It’s about rules. He also said he was sorry for hiding it all this time.

(It’s a secret from Bell.)

(I will continue to worry. I would rather give the hairpin you gave me to Eunbangul…)

(Of course, if Bell recognizes ‘things’, I have to somehow get the hairpin and give it to him… Still, if possible, it’s better not to know about their existence.)

(…….)

(The more strangers around you, the safer Mr. Banharin will be.)

(……Eunha, why does it get frustrating when people get involved with Eunbangul?)

( what? )

( what. )

The secret of the galaxy I discovered unintentionally.

From now on, Ban Harin must also survive the approaches of ‘weirdos’.

The good news is that thanks to the ‘hairpin’ I received from Eunha, I only have to worry about the ‘recognized guides’ rather than all the guides.

The ‘guide’ she recognizes now is the [Guide to Safe Home Living] that she learned while staying at Eunha’s house for a day.

And ‘something’ lurks in the Hunter Association.

Of course, if you are with Eunha, ‘weird things’ in other guides will pop out, and the number of guides you have to memorize will increase every day…

By then, Van Harin will have also finished adjusting.

An inverted cross-shaped hairpin.

It is not a talisman that blocks ‘weird things’, but something closer to a buffer.

‘In the end, my life depends on Eunha… It worked out better.’

Ban Harin put his face in the sink and calmed his anxiety.

Then, Eunha herself opens the [Black Book] and reflects on each and every detail of the [Home Living Guide].

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

※Guide to living safely at home※

1. If someone knocks on the front door of your house.

​

2. We recommend that you refrain from going out at night.​

– Darkness is a place where all kinds of life lives and breathes.

– What did your eyes see in the dark?

– If you have to leave your home for any reason, looking up at the night sky is prohibited.

– If a problem arises, please knock on the window of the security office at the entrance to the apartment and explain the situation to the security guard.

​

​

3. When going to bed, close the balcony window, but do not lock it.​

– Anyone would feel bad if a door that was always open was locked one day.

4. Cognition is the connection of existence.​

– Have you heard the saying, ‘Knowledge is power’?

– With every action you take to recognize and get to know each other, ‘they’ will become closer to you.

​

​

5. Sometimes the person next door knocks on the wall■■ ■■■ ■■■■.

– I have a lot of worries.

– ■■■ ■■■…. ■■ ■■■ ■■

– You are not my child.

6. Prolonged bathing may be harmful to your health.​

– Bathing is good for recovering from fatigue and improving blood circulation.

– However, it is best to avoid bathing for more than 30 minutes.

7. Store cutlery in a designated place.​

– Kitchen knife holder, bedroom drawer, etc… It is recommended to store cutlery at a height where ‘children up to 40 cm tall’ cannot touch it.

– Children tend to have accidents when they look away for a moment.

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

A guide from ‘Ban Harin’s perspective’.

‘Rules’ that make it impossible to survive without knowing the guide.

It’s better than I thought.

This is enough to survive.

‘So, I need to adapt to the ‘rules’ as soon as possible… and share more guides with Eunha. ‘It’s always easier to do things together when you’re going through hardships together.’

Sigh!

I looked up from the sink.

The water droplets running down my cheeks fall into the water in the sink and make a noise.

“… … .”

Banharin looked at himself in the mirror.

A face that is more haggard than before. My hair feels refreshed, but the dark circles don’t go away.

The left eye was hidden behind a bandage…

Is it fortunate that it ended like this after encountering a ‘monster’?

“… … ?”

Ban Harin adjusted his expressionless face and smoothed his bangs.

She blinked her right eye at the sudden sense of discomfort she had discovered.

A small and small feeling of incongruity that is easy to overlook.

“… … .”

There are no hairpins.

To be exact, at your own reflection in the mirror.

Obviously, if you touch your bangs, you will feel an ‘inverted square-shaped hairpin’…

‘Ban Harin’ in the mirror does not have a hairpin.

“… … .”

There are days like that.

Late at night, when I close my eyes to wash my face,

Suddenly, a scary thought comes flooding back, so I rush to finish washing my face.

Sometimes, I would alternately wash the left and right sides of my face to keep at least one eye open.

When I lower my head to wash my face, I wonder if I am still looking down at myself in the mirror.

I imagine doing it at least once.

It’s that kind of feeling.

Ban Harin wipes away his goosebumps and takes a step back.

『… … .』

and,

‘Ban Harin’ in the mirror did not move.

He just looked at Ban Harin, who was retreating, with a subtle look on his face.

Unlike Ban Harin, who was always expressionless, ‘Ban Harin’ in the mirror had a rich expression.

A monster appears again.

Ban Harin bites his lip and glances at the bathroom entrance.

The persistence that comes in less than a day makes me tremble.

『… You are easy to move around.』

“… … ?”

『Every time I turn, I don’t bump into anything.』

‘Ban Harin’ touches his chest, saying that his body is light.

What on earth are you talking about? An inexplicable feeling of defeat passes over Ban Harin’s shoulders.

‘It feels similar to the ‘Owl’ I saw yesterday… but the conversation is easier than I thought.’

Myself in the mirror moving at will. Are the laws of physics okay?

The thought of having to deal with guys like that from now on makes me feel dizzy.

Ban Harin had the courage to talk to ‘that’.

“… … What is your purpose? Is your goal, as Eunha said, to resolve resentment?”

『At least, it’s not a question that can be answered at first meeting.』

‘Ban Harin’ speaks in the mirror.

Slowly, as if to show off.

『Apostle or whatever, I don’t care.』

“Apostle…?”

『How long were you in the sink just now?』

Wiping off the water on his face, he asked a subtle question.

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

6. Prolonged bathing may be harmful to your health.​

– Bathing is good for recovering from fatigue and improving blood circulation.

– However, it is best to avoid bathing for more than 30 minutes.

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

bathing

The act of washing one’s hair and washing one’s body. ​

Does that include face washing? I don’t know. How do I fit it all together to be included?

Resentment felt in a strange twist… But it hadn’t even been 10 minutes since I entered the bathroom.

Ban Harin felt an eerie energy and used ‘skill’.

Puzzle!

As her right eye glows golden, things that were previously invisible begin to be ‘observed’ in her eyes.

‘Banharin’ without a hairpin, reflected in the mirror.

By observing each of its movements, we derive the ‘possibilities’ that may occur in the future.

~~.

~~.

One possibility.

If you stayed in the bathroom and washed your body without knowing the existence of ‘Ban Harin’ in the mirror.

『Not you.』

“… … What do you mean?”

『What I want to become.』

Suddenly. Suddenly.

‘That’ moves its hand.

Open your mouth wide, put one hand in your mouth with the palm facing up,

Push your finger deep into the roof of your mouth.

And, slowly,

With strength in your hands,

Start pulling your hair upwards.

Suddenly……

‘Ban Harin’ in the mirror.

‘That’ pulling one’s hair.

Banharin couldn’t stop ‘that’ from doing so.

How can you stop yourself from looking at yourself in the mirror?

Creep… tremble…

Eventually, the head of ‘that’ in the mirror tilts back,

As if pulling out a radish buried deep in the ground, twisting it around,

The cervical vertebrae, stretched to their limit, fell one by one,

Banharin’s neck exists in reality,

It slowly starts to tear…

Wow!

~~.

~~.

“Cough…!”

After a while.

After finishing ‘Skill’, Ban Harin took a deep breath.

I saw something dangerous.

After confirming that her torn neck was properly attached, she coughed repeatedly and held her neck.

Then, he hides himself under the sink to avoid seeing his image in the mirror.

Can not be done. That doesn’t work.

These are people you shouldn’t interact with.

How did Eunha survive with these monsters for so many months?

The more I encountered the ‘weird’ being, the more my awe towards her grew.

『… … just now. I did something fun.』

“Ha…”

‘Ban Harin’ smiles in the mirror.

He taps the corner of his mouth, which is still intact, and pretends to clap like an audience member watching a magical magic show.

“it’s a shame. see you again.”

“… Seeing you again, what the hell…”

“Shh. 』

Then, ‘Ban Harin’ disappeared with meaningful words…

Then, familiar footsteps come closer outside the bathroom.

“Haaum… Ah, Mr. Banharin. Did you sleep well? Why are you squatting in the bathroom… did you see something?”

Eunha, who had just woken up and was not wearing any clothes, was standing at the entrance to the bathroom, looking at Ban Ha-rin.

Soon she looked down at her body and quickly covered herself with her arms.

“Wow, I’m sorry. I live alone at home so I don’t even know.”

“… … Eunha.”

Wow!

Ban Harin runs out of the bathroom and hugs Eunha.

Her soft skin touches your skin, and you wrap your arms around her waist and bury your face into her large chest.

A sense of comfort that is difficult to express comes flooding in, gently melting away Ban Harin’s tension.

good night.

Is this happiness or what?

“What are you doing this morning…”

“Eunha. I’ll stay like this for a while.”

“Let me wear clothes.”

“… … .”

“… Tsk. I have to get ready for work, so just a moment.”

What is it? Did you fall and hit your head in the bathroom?

It seems that he was shocked by the existence of the [ghosts] he encountered for the first time.

Eunha patted Ban Harin’s back in her arms.

‘The bathroom… isn’t there anything other than the crap in the mirror?’

That guy is such a slob, what did he see?

I need to check the guide right away.

… … .

… … .

A morning with Ban Harin, who quickly opened his eyes.

A different start than usual.

“Mr. Ban Harin. Let’s go somewhere after finishing the cafe today.”

“Where do you mean?”

“Hunter Association. They said they saw a ghost there.”

But obviously,

Today will be a happy day too.