episode_0291

I like happy endings.

That’s what I thought.

(Oh my, my princess. Come to mommy.)

​

I remember a fairy tale book I read some time ago.

It was a story about a beautiful princess who disappeared into thin air.

Why do stories of parting come across as sad?

It is clear that what remains in our memories the longest is not happiness, but pain.

Isn’t it to remember precious relationships for a long time?

Let me digress for a moment.

(Poor thing. I wish he lived longer.)

A fairy tale book I read when I was young.

I felt sorry for the princess who disappeared like a bubble.

It was an age when there was a lot of sparkle in the world that I looked up to.

The story of the princess in the fairy tale who lived a short life seemed unfortunate enough to a child.

( I see… Then, should we ■■… make one promise with Mom? )

A lump in the heart.

What some might call resentment.

I wanted to live long.

I thought I would be happy if I lived long.

(Later, when ■■ grows up healthy and becomes an adult… I hope he becomes a great hunter that everyone looks up to.)

(Become a hunter who readily lends a helping hand to those in need… Live your life receiving love from many people, making up for the love that this poor mother could not give you.)

Swish.

And then, one day.

One day, I was sitting on a bridge while heavy rain was falling and looking up at the dark sky.

“… … .”

■■, who lost his family and was left alone,

I no longer felt sorry for the fairy tale princess who left before everyone else.

“… … If I become a hunter, will I be loved?”

I hope you live long.

A wish without a given.

I want to be a hunter.

A wish left by a mother.

“If I laugh, will good fortune come to me?”

just,

That’s right.

… … .

… … .

“Mr. Galaxy.”

I had a dream.

A dream within a dream.

Flowers are blooming in the flower bed.

■■ grabbed someone’s hand with a smiling face.

Behind you can see the Saetbyeol Apartment.

“Sister Galaxy.”

Time goes by.

The flowers in the flower bed withered, and a tree grew on top of them.

■■ hugged someone with a smiling face.

Behind you can see the Saetbyeol Apartment.

“Ms. Galaxy… I’m sorry.”

Time goes by.

The tree became an old tree.

■■ closed someone’s eyes with a smiling face.

Behind you can see the Saetbyeol Apartment.

“… … .”

Time goes by.

Time goes by.

Time goes by.

I wanted to live long.

Childhood grudge.

“… … .”

Time goes by.

The old tree has weathered over time and turned into dirt.

■■ looked around with a smiling face.

A weathered world.

A quiet world where nothing remains.

“… … .”

Time just passed.

Behind you can see the Saetbyeol Apartment.

How much time has passed.

I couldn’t figure it out.

“… … .”

■■ turned his back with a smiling face.

You can see the Saetbyeol Apartment in front of you.

“… … .”

And, ■■ is,

With a smiling face,

Put a thick rope around your neck,

Kicked the chair.

“… … .”

■■ is.

“… … hahaha.”

I laughed.

… … .

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

“Haa…! Haa…!”

Galaxy wakes up and clutches her head.

Like a patient suffering from a headache.

He gasps for breath and clutches his hair.

Swish…

It is dawn, the day is breaking.

It was raining outside, and the weather alarm hadn’t even gone off yet.

What woke Galaxy was a pounding headache.

“Haa…! Kkeuhk… Kehek!”

Eunha swallowed a retching feeling and placed her hand on her forehead.

… … .

Early morning.

Looking around, I see the bedroom of her house, room 904.

I was definitely on [Bug Princess]’s bed before I lost consciousness… Maybe they kindly moved me.

Hot and sour.

I lowered my gaze to the sound of castanets.

A soft bed and blanket to wrap around your body.

A tiny bumblebee burrows into her arms, breathing softly.

“… … What is this cute little gumdrop?”

I pressed my temple.

I tried to get up, but my back wouldn’t move, so I lay back down on the bed.

Purur…

The exhaled breath is yellow like forsythia.

Galaxy burst into laughter and looked down at ‘Fly’ in her arms.

“Sigh… ”

I held ‘Fly’ in my arms and held him dear.

Kwaaak…

Although, the expression on Eunha’s face was not visible because it was hidden by her hair,

He’ll probably be smiling languidly as usual.

“My head hurts… Didn’t [Forgetful Saintess] come tonight? She was at [Bug Princess]’s house until late at night?”

I think with a sore head.

The monster from downstairs comes into the veranda every night to refresh my mind.

My head hurts so much it feels like it’s going to split open just because you haven’t come for a day.

If [The Saintess of Oblivion] didn’t exist, would I have to live with headaches like today every day?

Thinking about it makes the back of my neck feel cold.

“… … .”

It was a strange dream.

A dream of smiling endlessly as time passes.

Eunha, who was recalling the ‘nightmare’ that she couldn’t get over, touches the corners of her trembling lips.

What a strange dream.

A nightmare filled with resentment.

Swish…

He spread out his palm.

I see a soft hand without a single scar.

Stabbed with a knife, cut to pieces with a saw,

Even if all the blood in my body is drained and I fall from the 9th floor of an apartment building,

A body that recovers little by little without dying.

“… … How long will I live?”

There was no answer in return.

I carefully hugged ‘Fly’ who was in my arms.

The galaxy laughed.

… … .

( “The hand you extended to me was truly warm.” )

What comes to mind is the story of the ‘black bug’.

The story of the bugs seen at [Goryongsan Crack Field].

at last,

Yesterday’s holiday was an unforgettable day for Eunha.

‘Is this a happy ending?’

I wish that were the case.

Because I hope it’s a happy ending for everyone else.

If the story ends in tragedy, you alone will be enough.

Sagak-.

Hence, the sound of bugs’ footsteps.

Please, as much as ‘I’ am in pain,

Hoping other people are happy.

“[Bug Princess] and our Fly… May you be happy forever.”

Bbong-bbang~ Bbong-bbang~.

The belated wake-up alarm signals the start of the day.

… … .

… … .

“Unnie Galaxy~! How was your holiday? [Crack Field] was closed, you said!”

“It was an unforgettable holiday. First of all, my back hurts.”

The day after the holiday. Eunha went to work at the cafe as usual.

She guarded the checkout counter, fending off a barrage of questions from the rabbit girl Eunbangul, who was hugging her waist.

Swish.

The sound of pouring rain.

A depressed heart due to a useless nightmare.

‘So what? I like it.’

Eunha, who was pulling on the perked up rabbit ears, happily waited for the guests.

I thought positively.

I’ve been in a bad mood since this morning.

If you think about it the other way around,

Today, there is nothing left to do but be happy.

“Anyway, Galaxy Unnie! What happened in [Crack Field]? I’m curious!”

“Um… First of all, there are bugs with lots of legs…”

“I’m not curious anymore!”

“It’s good to be confident.”

Anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

The Milky Way, whose mood was lifted, took in the scenery of the small cafe.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

(『You cannot leave the ‘territory’ yet, so you should support your companion with your eyes.』)

(Your eyes will open soon.)

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

10 am.

Cafe lounge.

“Galaxy, could you please take a look at this?”

When the number of customers visiting Eunbangul’s cafe [Rabbit Latte] started to decrease,

Banharin, who always sat at the same table typing on her laptop, suddenly picked up Eunha and headed to the break room.

She’s wearing a black suit.

Her left eye, which is touching the ‘inverted cross hairpin’ on her bangs, is covered by a black blindfold.

“What happened… Oh, your left eye?”

“Yes.”

Eunha, who had been feeling sore since morning, sat on the sofa in the break room and faced Banharin.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Banharin carefully took off the blindfold.

Her left eyes, which were covered by a blindfold, stared at the galaxy.

Parararararak…

It resembles the compound eyes of an insect.

Ordinary eyes

But inside those eyes, dozens of tiny ‘eyes’ are crowded together and look around.

As Galaxy, feeling curious, approaches her face, numerous eyes ‘observe’ her.

“Umm… You said you got into this situation while fighting monsters at [Goryongsan Crack Field]? Aren’t you dizzy?”

“There is nothing wrong except that the field of view has widened.”

Whirlwind.

Banharin turns her back on Eunha as she says that.

What are you trying to do?

That thought lasted only a moment,

She turned to Eunha and then reached out her finger behind her back and poked Eunha’s large chest.

Ouch!

Galaxy, who was stabbed in a severe spot, hugs her chest.

“I’m going to get angry.”

“Have you seen it?”

“… It seems like there are eyes on the back of the head.”

“This is a very useful change for me, as I have a ‘skill’ that relies on sight.”

A field of vision so wide that blind spots disappear.

It’s like a bug.

I’m not sure, but at least I won’t be getting stabbed in the back of the head.

Parallel!

Eyes rolling around.

A gaze looking at the galaxy.

Banharin, who turned back to Eunha, blinked her eyes.

“I need to check if it has any other abilities other than widening the field of vision, and if there are any hidden side effects, but for now, I’m very satisfied.”

“I see… Just a moment.”

After hearing Banharin’s report, Eunha looked at her left eye once more.

Swish…

This time, closer than before, enough that our breaths touched each other.

I lean out from the sofa and come face to face with Banharin.

“… … .”

Banharin’s face, as cold as ice, seemed to have turned slightly red.

Parallel.

Numerous pupils within the left pupil.

Dozens of gazes moving around bustlingly.

I stared at him quietly.

… … blink.

And, among the countless eyes,

One centrally located gaze.

Blink… Blink…

Unlike other eyes that roll around and look around,

One of the eyes that had been staring at the galaxy all along… curved like a crescent moon and let out a bewitching smile.

An eerie gaze.

Eunha touched the corners of her twitching lips.

“… … Mr. Banharin.”

“Did you find out something?”

The pupils of another’s eyes.

‘Someone’ is looking at the galaxy through Banharin’s eyes…

No, Banharin is looking at the galaxy through the eyes of ‘someone’.

Something resembling a parasite.

“The left eye doesn’t seem to be mine.”

Shhh…

The eyes of the mischievous bug give a gentle greeting.

… … .

… … .

“I have eye disease. I’ll go to the ophthalmologist.”

“Don’t make a big fuss and wear a blindfold. I’ll ask someone I know after I leave the cafe.”

I left the break room.

Eunha returned to the checkout counter and looked around the store while waiting for the next customer.

Kang Na-ri works without a presence today. Eun Bang-ul goes to organize the warehouse.

Banharin returns to her table and performs a ritual by putting her blindfold on the ‘mouse’ sitting next to her and telling it to catch the eye disease…

“Is the team leader crazy?”

“Share good things.”

Is this what a quiet mess feels like?

Soon after, Kim Sa-rang from [Changcheon Swordsman], wearing a fluttering black uniform, entered the cafe and prepared to work part-time.

“Hello, Eunha Doryeo! Yesterday was a truly meaningful expedition! I bragged to Mom that I rode on the back of a bug as big as a train, and this morning, you left for [Goryongsan Crack Field].”

“I see.”

“And I just got a call.”

“What did you say?”

“He asked where I was.”

The day after the holiday.

A peaceful, slightly crazy cafe as always.

Daughter~♪

And after a while,

The door to the empty cafe opens.

Eunha, who had been listening to Kim Sa-rang’s chat with a smiling face, turns her head.

“… … Welcome.”

She was a beautiful woman.

A beauty with jet-black hair that reaches down to her waist that would surprise even the galaxy.

Is he slightly taller than the Milky Way?

The black one-piece suit that fits the woman’s curvy body perfectly has a design that is exactly like the suit that Eunha wore in [Crack Field].

The softly flowing hem of her skirt falls to her ankles, slightly revealing the tips of her black shoes.

The squinted, wide eyes drew soft curves, and the pupils were not visible.

I just feel an inexplicable eerieness at the occasional gazes.

Sagak-.

Like a princess from a fairy tale… no, a queen,

Or someone like a butterfly with its wings spread wide.

The ‘cross necklace’ around her neck sways with her footsteps.

Was there such a beauty in Euncheon-gu?

Eunha looked at ‘her’ who was approaching with graceful steps with eyes filled with admiration.

“… … .”

Sagak-.

Light footsteps.

A joyful laughter.

Soon, the woman with squinted eyes approached Eunha with a charming smile,

“Clerk. Bring out the confident menu.”

​

​

In a playful voice,

Galaxy’s admiring gaze was tinged with bewilderment.

It’s a pretty familiar tone.

Someone who resembles [the bug princess] somewhere.

But you’re not that kind of kid who likes to play with fire.

I just thought he was a bit of an odd person.

“… … Are you a packager?”

“Yeah. I just came today to test it out.”

Galaxy, who took the order skillfully, made coffee and handed it over.

The woman accepting the coffee with an elegant gesture gives a slight smile.

“Hmm… Yeah, milk coffee… Were you confident in the milk?”

“It’s milk coffee.”

“I will make sure to drink your milk well.”

“Goodbye.”

The sound of insects chirping caught in the flowing laughter.

So, the nameless woman looked at Eunha’s face for a long time,

I left the cafe with the words, “See you again next time.”

Daughter~♪

“… … Galaxy. That woman just now…”

“No… I don’t think so. Maybe.”

Is it my imagination that the cafe is getting noisier day by day?

I don’t know. It’ll work out somehow.

Eunha touched the corners of her swollen lips.

… … .

… … .

September 13th.

The day after the holiday, an ordinary day with no incidents.

A passing day, just a bad dream.

“Hmm… Is this the orphanage?”

and,

While Eunha was taking a coffee order from an unknown woman.

In a remote mountain valley somewhere,

[Detective] Do Jong-ha, who has fixed his fancy detective hat,

He was looking at the ruined building with subtle eyes.

Swish…

A rainy day.

Raindrops fall steadily, landing on the abandoned, burned-out building.