episode_0382

My usefulness has been exhausted.

A dirty wet wipe, wiped clean, is thrown into the trash.

So too was the old woman.

( Run away. The Guild will report you as eliminated. )

( …… )

( Live. If life has no meaning, then live until you find it. )

A lifetime spent under surveillance as a ‘Rare Hunter’.

At the end of her life, she met a kind fate and escaped the Guild’s confines.

The old woman, freed from her cage.

But she no longer had the time to fully savor the freedom she had finally reclaimed.

An aged woman.

What had she wanted freedom for?

She pondered deeply.

In the end, the old woman arrived at a quiet countryside, untouched by the Guild’s eyes,

And made this place her final resting ground, taking the few steps she had left.

( This… what is it? )

( Yaang…? )

Meeting that child

Was the greatest fortune of the old woman’s life.

…….

( Halmeoni~! )

A precious family.

A small child with fluffy pink hair, running toward her,

Nuzzling her tiny horns against the old woman’s embrace.

The child gazed up at her grandmother with bright, beautiful eyes,

So she named her Soah.

( Halmeoni~! Halmeoni~! )

( Yes, yes. What is it? )

( Pee! )

( You’re a bit late telling me that now, aren’t you? Let’s go change your clothes. )

( Sheep! Sheep! )

To the old woman, who had lived her entire life with nothing to call her own,

The soft cotton-like bundle known as you was nothing but a troublesome little creature.

But when she dragged her weary body to bed at night…

Only the time spent with you sparkled like a jewel.

( Halmeoni~! )

( Halmeoni~! No! No here! )

With only a few footsteps left,

She wanted to walk to the end, hand in hand with her beloved Soah.

If nothing else, she prayed this child would grow up embraced by love.

Even as she rubbed her aching knees, whenever Soah came running, she greeted her with a smile.

( Halmeoni~! No caught it! )

( Did… Soah do this? It’s a Skill.)

Yes, that’s why.

When Soah used her ‘Skill’ to catch her grandmother as she stumbled, her legs giving way.

Even knowing how dangerous the child’s ‘Skill’—the manipulation of nearby ‘fibers’—could be,

( It’s a wonderful ability to protect people. )

Because she wanted the child to live a life different from her own,

She deliberately said those words.

For a life spent cowering in fear held no meaning.

She wished for those bright, beautiful eyes to explore the world freely.

( Sheep! Yaang! )

That’s why.

Because she shone so brightly, smiling innocently,

Wanting to help others, running around and using her Skill in front of people—

She was dazzling.

“Long time no see. You found quite the treasure, it seems.”

“We’re here for the kid. Might as well let us manage her.”

“Gave her a jujube I picked on my way here… Who’d have thought you’d be in that kid’s house.”

That’s why.

My child.

This is not your fault.

…….

…….

“If you have any last words for the child, say them now.”

​

Beloved family.

A reason to live, found only at the very end.

Please, resent me—the one who left without doing a single thing for you.

“…It’s okay to make mistakes.”

“…….”

“You’ll meet many precious people, find many things you love.”

She bid farewell.

To you, who would never hear it, soundly asleep.

But still, she spoke.

Words she wanted to say, countless and heartfelt.

“Someday, if you meet someone precious…”

Yes, later,

When you find someone you cherish—

“Share just one small jujube with them.”

At lunch today,

The face you made when handing me that jujube—

Was brighter and more beautiful than anyone else’s.

Whoever meets you for the first time will surely be illuminated.

And also…

And… and…

…….

……Always loved.

My child.

……

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

— You had a lot to say. Seems you really cherished that kid.

— Of course. She’s family.

— ……An abandoned child with such a strong ‘Skill’… I should build an orphanage someday.

She remembered.

Yang Soah’s past.

In the memories left behind by the departed grandmother.

There, the silver bell brooch of the ‘Hanbit Orphanage’s’ nun remained.

“…….”

The woman who cared for children alongside the ‘director’.

She didn’t know why.

It was too long ago.

Fluffy…

The only truth Yang Soah wanted to know was—

Who had harmed her grandmother?

Hidden stories,

Complicated circumstances—

None of it mattered.

“…….”

The woman’s silver bell brooch seared into Yang Soah’s pupils like a scar.

And then…

“Ah…”

Slice—

A single moment.

The ‘woman’ strode toward the ‘old woman’, finishing her final words.

The ‘Silver Bell Woman’ reached out, grasping the ‘old woman’s’ filial piety cane.

Crrack!

At that moment, the ‘old woman’, mimicking Yang Soah’s ability with [Imitation] Skill,

Strangled the ‘woman’s’ throat with floating yarn—

Click—

But a switch-like sound echoed,

— Ghk…!

And something strange happened.

The ‘old woman’, manipulating the threads, collapsed limply.

A thin cord was tightly wound around her neck.

As if something had been reversed.

— Hah…

The ‘Silver Bell Woman’, releasing the cane, staggered back, panting.

Seemingly drained of all mana from a single Skill activation.

“…….”

The fallen old woman did not move.

Fluffy…

The past, reproduced by Do Jong-ha’s Skill.

Though it was merely a mannequin of mana—a ‘red manikin’—that fell,

He couldn’t bear to show her more.

Before the manikin’s neck snapped, someone behind Yang Soah covered her eyes.

Crrk… Squish…

Only the sounds seeped through the cold darkness.

“…Hyaang… Yaang…”

Only then did Yang Soah realize she had been holding her breath.

Facing the death of a loved one, forced to endure such unbearable pain,

Her barely-begun steps forward now felt as small as a child’s stride.

Like slowly sinking into a bottomless swamp.

Her blood ran cold as ice, emotions swirling violently.

‘…Silver… Sunbae…’

She was cold.

The ball of fluff that still needed warmth craved it desperately.

“It’s okay… It’s okay…”

“Hyaang…! Hyaang…!”

“I understand how you feel. I have many mothers too.”

Fortunately, thanks to the warm hands covering her eyes and the drowsy whisper in her ear,

Yang Soah slowly calmed her ragged breaths.

A single curled-up fluffball.

Like watching a newborn cub thrash until its eyes are covered, then quieting instantly.

‘Behind me… Who…?’

Someone warm.

Yang Soah entrusted herself to them quietly.

— Good. Aside from the strangulation, no visible wounds.

— Must’ve been hard listening to pointless chatter. Handle the rest yourself.

— ……It wasn’t pointless.

Meanwhile, the past marched on.

The rest was a story Yang Soah already knew.

A young girl waking from a fluffy dream, discovering her grandmother strangled by thin threads.

— Rare Hunter Yang Soah secured. Returning now.

Just then, Guild members stormed in, clamping cuffs on the girl’s wrists.

— She used her ‘Skill’ unconsciously.

— [Thread Manipulation]… Since it controls threads, mana consumption is minimal. Undetectable by sensors.

— No wonder this runt was designated a Rare Hunter.

— It’s an ability meant to kill people.

Fluffy…!

Kim Yoo-hee, watching from the side, stepped forward and hugged Yang Soah.

Soon after, people from ‘Amryongdae’, their orange cat ears twitching, surrounded the fluffy cotton candy.

Perhaps because others had arrived,

The hands covering her eyes vanished.

Yang Soah turned hurriedly, but saw only Kim Yoo-hee’s tear-streaked face and her ‘siblings’.

No one else was there.

…Whose hands were they?

“Like Eun-ha’s misadventures, don’t you have at least one bright, wholesome story?”

“Did you call?”

“You again? Shoo, ‘Mouse’.”

“Got it.”

While this unfolded, the dazed ‘girl’ was led away by people, disappearing beyond the ‘hidden room’,

And cleanup began.

— The kid’s handled… What about the corpse?

— Bury it nearby. Can’t risk getting caught.

Red manikins bustled about.

Carrying the stiffened corpse away from the house.

— Tch… Who reported this old hag’s death?

— Someone trustworthy. That woman who came in with Go Yeong-in.

— Ah, her?…… Dispose of her by today.

— Things’ll be hectic for a while… Didn’t Go Yeong-in say he was confessing this weekend? Last time, he even bought some weird necklace as a gift.

— Exactly why we off her today. Go Yeong-in won’t have to worry about rejection now.

Fluffy… Fluffy…

Yang Soah, freed from the cats’ embrace, chased after them.

They who were taking her grandmother away.

‘The burial site… Must find it…’

She crossed the wooden floor into the yard.

A few more people there collected dead bodies and erased traces left by the ‘old woman’.

No sign of the ‘Silver Bell Woman’.

Thud! Thud!

She moved forward.

Leaving the yard, imprinting tiny footprints,

Chasing after her departing family.

( — You had a lot to say. Seems you really cherished that kid. )

( — Of course. She’s family. )

Words you failed to say.

Your heart only now reaching her—

( It’s okay to make mistakes. You’ll meet many precious people, find many things you love. )

As fleeting footsteps fade,

May my heart reach you too.

“Halmeoni…!”

And so,

At the end of chasing the past…

Whoosh…

The ‘red manikins’ replaying the past story

Began to crumble like sandcastles…

“Ugh…!”

Along with Do Jong-ha’s retching behind her,

The magic ended.

“Ah…”

The ‘Skill’ stopped.

The world returned as it was.

Fluffy…

A dark weight settling in her heart,

It was time to wake from the dream.

…….

…….

Splat…!

Thick blood hit the floor.

Had she forced herself too far into the past?

Do Jong-ha, spewing clotted blood, hastily muttered an apology.

“Ugh… S-sorry! I-I’ll use the ‘Skill’ again!”

“Kim Yoo-hee. Put him down so he can’t recklessly use it. He’s overdone it.”

The ‘Skill’ dispersed, restoring the ruined house.

Like memories fading as time passed, Yang Soah and her grandmother’s nest reverted to a weed-choked ruin.

Vines smothering the tiled roof.

A yard cracked like drought-stricken fields.

Amid the overgrown garden, a lone jujube tree thrived.

“Hold… on! Let’s talk first! Cough…!”

“Stay still. If you move any mana, you’re getting kissed.”

“What about potions?”

“This jerk used them all maintaining the ‘Skill’.”

Kim Yoo-hee paced, having sat Do Jong-ha on the porch.

His body, wrecked from mana depletion, vomited blood.

“Is there a hospital nearby?”

“In this backwater? Also, why’re you suddenly speaking formally?”

“You too.”

“Both of you shut up.”

The clamor resumed.

Yang Soah stood dazed in the yard.

“…….”

Bzzzt…

The ‘stakes’ embedded nearby stopped functioning.

The grey veil shrouding the house dissolved, letting autumn wind sweep through the broken hidden room, rustling fluffy hair.

Fluffy… Fluffy…

Above, the sky blushed ripe as jujubes.

Clutching the ‘old mirror’ in her arms.

‘What… do I do now…’

The quiet countryside stretched before her.

Mountains and fields were all she could see—a rural nowhere impossible to search.

Creak…

Beyond the low wall, their parked cars were visible.

Ban Ha-rin’s sedan. Do Jong-ha’s import. A large ‘blood donation bus’.

Clatter…

The sun began to set.

Like crawling insects, the encroaching shadows felt suffocating.

『…….』

In a corner of the yard sat a worn-out ‘doghouse’.

She never had a dog. Maybe the neighbor’s.

The shape of it made her expect a happy country mutt to bound out, wagging.

The ‘doghouse’, too shadowed to see inside.

Before it, a chocolate cake topped with a birthday candle.

Only one candle.

For a one-year-old?

Clatter. Tap.

Too cold for autumn,

A chilling air.

Was October always this cold?

Yang Soah hugged herself.

“…….”

Regret.

Just a little more—had there been just a little more time—

She wanted to know where her grandmother was buried.

Or at least, which direction they took her…

“Urgh…!”

Then, the stench of blood wafted from behind her.

Yang Soah, blankly staring at the sky, turned.

Do Jong-ha seemed in bad shape, having recklessly overused his Skill.

Orange cats scrambled around him fretfully.

Why had he pushed himself so hard?

This wasn’t even his problem.

Fluffy…

Yang Soah approached Do Jong-ha.

“Cough…! Ugh. My stomach’s a mess.”

“Internal bleeding is severe. ‘Mouse’ will buy us time—we’ll head straight to the hospital.”

“Got any more potions?”

“How many times must I say this idiot drank them all?”

“Why the attitude?”

Fluffy.

Tufts of fluffy pink passed between them.

Do Jong-ha, leaning exhaustedly against ‘No. 1’, struggled to breathe.

“Ah, Yang Soah… Was it?”

“…….”

“Sorry. I kinda… pushed too hard, wanting to see where your grandmother went too… Playing detective.”

Why?

What was in it for him?

“Self-inflicted suffering, so don’t look so guilty.”

Why only now,

Did kind people come swarming?

She couldn’t comprehend.

( It’s okay to make mistakes. You’ll meet many precious people, find many things you love. )

So, Yang Soah spoke.

From the heart.

“Th… Thank you…”

“…….”

“Thank you… for sharing… precious memories…”

A life spent surviving, not wanting to die.

Though the path ahead was dark, she lived clutching precious scraps of warmth.

( It’ll be okay. )

Finally, her lost heart found light in the darkness,

Grateful for the story that gave her closure.

“Really… thank you…”

An unchanging guiding star, shining steadfast.

Please, keep shining.

Buzz…

Yang Soah placed a hand on Do Jong-ha’s body and activated her ‘Skill’.

[Thread Manipulation].

A Skill to perceive and control nearby fibers.

( — It’s an ability meant to kill people. )

Buzz…

Thin threads fluttered, weaving into Do Jong-ha’s body.

Fluffy… Fluffy…

Like when she explored the halls of the ‘Guiding Star Church’,

The threads delved within, mending internal ruptures caused by mana depletion…

( Any Skill is just a tool—depends how you use it. )

Like sewing stitches, the threads sealed wounds.

( Did… Soah do this? It’s a Skill.)

( It’s a wonderful ability to protect people. )

Precious family.

The words ‘I love you’,

Too shy to voice, remained buried.

“Thank you… Really…”

To whom were these words directed?

She still didn’t know.

“……Much obliged.”

The grinning gratitude returned to her,

Warmer and softer than strands of her own hair.

Only now she realized.

…….

…….

Evening in a forgotten rural ruin.

The hometown of a girl whose ‘Skill’ could save lives.

“…….”

As Do Jong-ha exhaled in relief, wounds sealed,

As Ban Ha-rin scooped up Yang Soah wordlessly, spinning her with muffled thanks,

The woman with perked orange cat ears—

Kim Yoo-hee’s ‘No. 1’—

Surrounded by silence, gazed across the overgrown yard.

The tangled garden.

Nameless vines choking the roof.

Cracked stone paths and the ‘doghouse’ in the corner.

“…….”

‘No. 1’ stared at the jujube tree in the garden.

Planted squarely amidst the wilderness.

By October, the tree bore fresh fruit.

In season.

( — Right. Jujubes are delicious in October… Why not plant one now? )

( — Halmeoni will buy lots tomorrow for us.)

Something felt off.

The grandmother had promised to plant jujubes ‘tomorrow’—

But was attacked ‘that very night’.

So what was this tree before them?

“…….”

Brief contemplation.

‘No. 1’ looked back at Yang Soah.

“……Yang Soah.”

“Ya…ng?”

“Did your grandmother… swallow a jujube seed?”

Fluffy.

Yang Soah turned to the jujube tree in the garden.

…….

Quietly grown.

Its meaning—‘first encounter’.

Saaa…

One step closer to your embrace.

All she needed… was that single step.

“……Halmeoni?”

Twenty years of waiting, pure and unbroken,

Now greeted Yang Soah as she took that step forward.