episode_0002

Staying at the pension was more enjoyable than expected. In my previous life, I didn’t have much interest because I mostly stayed at home even if I had to use annual leave, but it was different when I actually experienced it.

As I walked the nearby trails and had a barbecue party, I couldn’t help but smile. What was even better was the bench in the pension yard.

The bench was under the shade of a large tree, and the location was picturesque. I happened to have a book with me, so I went to the bench and read it. It made me feel better, so when my dad wanted to take a picture, I posed appropriately.

However, I only tasted the reading atmosphere and could not actually read the book properly. It was because Do Yoo-geon was the child of his parents’ friend.

The adults’ plan was to have fun with Do Yoo-geon, but they had no intention of acting on that wish. That was originally the case.

The reason I don’t want to hang out with him is because it’s obvious that it won’t be fun. This guy wasn’t reincarnated and he’s not a genius, he’s just a kindergartener. A 6-year-old kindergarten student who is about to enter elementary school. What can you argue with a guy like that?

Still, as someone who is aware of my past life, I have a responsibility to take care of my preschool child, but I knew this would happen and decided on a policy in advance.

Apart from using the merits of the previous life, the policy is to calculate age only using the current life.

So, I am a kindergarten student. This means that there is no such thing as responsibility to take care of others. It’s shameless, but that’s what I decided.

But just because I made up my mind, things didn’t go the way I wanted.

He kept following me around and talking to me, so I felt uncomfortable dealing with him casually. Even though he didn’t do anything for Do Yoo-geon, the guy approached him with a smile, making it even more so.

After holding on and holding on, I had no choice but to quit reading on the bench and hang out with him. Ugh.

It didn’t go as planned, but Do Yu-geon was still happy, so I guess it’s okay.

The stay at the pension went well.

And soon I entered elementary school. It was not a coincidence, but as if it was planned, we were in the same elementary school as Do Yu-geon.

Since we were not in the same class, Do Yu-geon came to visit us every time we had a break. I tried several times to tell him to stay with his classmates, but he didn’t listen, so I decided to just go to the station and visit him. He’s an ordinary elementary school student, so if he falls out of class, he won’t do very well.

It wasn’t until I was in 4th grade that my daily life changed. This guy must have been made fun of the fact that a girl came to his class every time, so he declared not to come.

“Ok, fine.”

I heard it was good, but it was too much of a hassle to visit every time, so I gladly stopped. Do Yu-geon clearly looked embarrassed, but did not say anything. However, it only came half-way sometimes.

And as time passed, I graduated from elementary school and entered middle school.

* * *

When I became a middle school student, I didn’t think much about my past life, but I became aware of it every time I looked at the sky.

What on earth are the patterns drawn in the sky?

Something that exists as if covering the sky, and you don’t know if it’s a language or a picture. Historically, it exists in the oldest records of mankind, but scientifically, it is an unidentified pattern for which there is no proper theory to date.

It seems like people in this life are like that, but I feel uncomfortable every time I see it. This feeling doesn’t help much, so I should shake it off, but it doesn’t work out the way I thought.

The subway door opened and Do Yoo-geon came in. The guy looked around and came this way.

I went to middle school differently from him. So, when we run into each other briefly on the subway during school and drop off time, or when he calls us to play, we play together.

I asked the guy.

“Did you study properly for the exam over the weekend?”

“Why are you suddenly asking such a thing?”

The guy stood next to me.

“I was confident so I asked.”

“Well, I did well in elementary school, so I guess middle school will be the same.”

“Hahaha, that’s right. Then I guess it’s worth the test today?”

“of course.”

When I was in elementary school, I got good grades even without studying, so I developed an unnecessary sense of pride.

It seems like it was only yesterday that he received his first middle school textbook and was scared by its difficulty, but he must have finished rationalizing it in the meantime.

The guy frowned.

“Aren’t you ignoring me too much?”

“Well, you didn’t study too much. Does it make sense for you to ask to play so often?”

“It’s not my place to tell anyone about that. Why are you always showing up when I invite you to hang out? Are you worried about me first? Aren’t you losing your title as an honor student?”

It was so absurd that I laughed.

“Really? It’s been a while since I finished my middle school course? Didn’t I tell you that last time?”

The guy was embarrassed.

“Huh? That wasn’t a joke?”

“What, you didn’t believe me? I don’t know who is ignoring whom.”

I shook my head.

“Don’t lie. It’s been a while since I first enrolled. There’s not enough time.”

“Of course I studied it when I was in elementary school.”

“We played together back then too.”

“At home. Apart from you. Alone.”

The guy became thoughtful and then became quiet.

Could it be that the reason you were so confident until now was because your childhood friend didn’t study as well? this. This might be a bit of a liability.

I patted the guy on the back.

“It’s okay. I might screw up.”

“I can’t comfort you at all….”

The guy wiped his face and continued speaking.

“What should I do? I promised my mom that I would get good grades.”

“Did you even make a promise? Oh my, I can’t keep it.”

“I decided to go to academy if I couldn’t keep my promise….”

This is absurd.

“You made that promise and didn’t study?”

“It’s not that I didn’t do it very much, I did a little bit.”

“Well, I hope it comes out well then.”

“Yes, yes, honor student. That would be easy.”

Contrary to his words, his expression clearly improved.

After passing one of the stops, the guy spoke again.

“Have you heard any rumors?”

“What rumor?”

The guy looked at his surroundings and cleared his throat. It’s like bringing up something embarrassing.

“It’s about slime popping out.”

“What slime?”

Suddenly we’re talking about slime.

“I guess it hasn’t come to your school yet. I also heard that there are slimes running around the city sometimes these days.”

“Wait a minute. What are you talking about? So, when you walk around, you see a slime toy that someone threw away?”

“No. Fantasy slime.”

“Slime model?”

“No. Alive.”

It’s absurd.

“Oh, okay. Our school probably doesn’t know.”

“Listen seriously. I didn’t believe it at first, but I heard this is somewhat credible. It’s not a rumor that only circulates around our school.”

He went to Facebook on his smartphone and searched for “slime infestation.”

Several articles started popping up. There were many posts that were unspecified and even had photos attached. There was something blue that looked like slime in the photo.

I don’t use social media, so I don’t know if this is a joke or real.

“Isn’t this an internet meme?”

“no.”

“Hmm.”

I wonder if this guy is tricking me just to make fun of me.

The guy shrugged his shoulders.

“If you don’t believe it, don’t believe it. The reason I told you this is that after today’s exam, we can go look for slime.”

“They said you don’t have to believe it.”

“I’m talking about looking for something for fun. It’ll end quickly anyway so there’s nothing else to do.”

Cha Ha-neul blinked.

“Were you worried that you might fail the exam just now?”

“Are you going to play anyway?”

“I’m going to play. But I can’t do it today because I have a prior commitment, so let’s play tomorrow. And don’t blame me if you fail the test.”

After deciding on a place and time to meet, we arrived at the desired stop. I said hello to Do Yu-geon and got off. Since the stop is closer to him, I usually get off first during school hours.

When I arrived at school, everyone in the class was talking about the slime that Do Yu-geon had mentioned. It seems like there was a lot of talk on social media over the weekend.

I heard an explanation from the kids. It’s normal for slimes to appear in the city, and if you catch them, you get experience points and level up. The experience points and leveling up were jokes, but the talk about slimes appearing was serious.

However, while I was in the middle of listening, my classmate at the window shouted to me to look out the window. The kids in the class crowded around the window, making noise.

Cha Ha-neul went to the window. When I looked outside, the sky was strange.

The sky was blue and white clouds were floating. The only thing that had changed was that the unidentifiable pattern that had existed as if it were natural had disappeared. Just like the familiar sky from my previous life.

The kids picked up their smartphones and took pictures. Sounds of admiration were heard here and there.

* * *

The next day, Cha Ha-neul finished school and took the subway.

The place I’m going now is a neighborhood where office workers mostly live because housing prices are low and the location isn’t that bad.

Maybe that’s why the neighborhood is empty after rush hour, and people only return after work time.

It is said that slime is mainly found in places with few people, so I decided to look for it in this neighborhood.

It’s a good situation because it’s exam period and I can move around before work time.

I got off the subway.

When I looked inside the station, I saw Do Yu-geon sitting on a chair and looking at his smartphone. The guy raised his head and stood up.

“Are you here? Listen, I thought of something important.”

It’s an excited voice.

“What?”

“Slime is popping up in the city, right?”

“Maybe so, maybe not.”

“Anyway, it sticks out, right?”

“Okay, let’s say it sticks out. But?”

“Then this is a foreshadowing of fantasy.”

Do Yoo-geon’s voice rang throughout the station. The guy had a serious expression.

… … ?

I took a quick look around. Several people were looking this way. Some people smiled when we made eye contact.

I grabbed Do Yoo-geon and walked towards the exit from the station.

“Uh, why, why?”

“It’s all good, but let’s move places first.”

Honestly, I’m a little embarrassed about this guy right now. Do Yu-geon grumbled, but didn’t say anything embarrassing until he left the station.

I happened to find a fresh fruit juice store nearby, so I went in.

I asked the guy.

“What are you going to drink?”

“Hmm… it’s either mango or melon.”

“I just choose?”

“No. Just wait a moment.”

While I was thinking about it, customers came in and left the store to pass the order.

The guy who was thinking looked at the blue sky and said.

“There must be a connection between the appearance of slime and the change in the sky.”

“What, are you thinking about that right now? I’ll hear about that later, so for now, just pick some juice. What do you want to drink?”

“I’m still thinking about it.”

“I’m proud.”

After much deliberation, Do Yu-geon chose mango juice. I bought mango juice and strawberry yogurt and left the store.

“Okay. Now explain. What is a fantasy foreshadowing?”

“Hmm, listen. Slime has appeared in the city and the sky has suddenly become strange. Plus, if you catch the slime, you will be given experience points.”

“Wait a minute. That talk about experience points is a joke.”

“It was like that until yesterday. Today, people came forward to verify it, and a few people succeeded. When you catch the slime, it turns into golden powder and is absorbed into the body.”

I don’t know if this guy is joking or being serious. The expression is very serious, but the content is not meaningful.

“So that golden powder is experience?”

Do Yu-geon avoided eye contact.

“I don’t know if it’s experience, but it’s almost a given, right? I caught a slime, so what do you give me? Of course it’s experience.”

“That’s what games are like. This is reality, right?”

“Now that slime has appeared, we’ve reached the point of reality.”

“Slime seems like a lie too.”

He pointed to the blue sky.

“Then what about the sky? The sky has changed too.”

To be honest, although an unidentifiable pattern has disappeared from the sky, I don’t feel much because it is in an ordinary state by the standards of my past life.

“Yes. The sky has changed.”

“Okay. What I’m saying is that this current situation is a harbinger of fantasy. The world has already become fantasy-like. So, an even bigger incident will occur in the future. A fantasy-like incident that destroys common sense.”

“Oh, okay. If there really is slime, I might consider it. But I think it’s a lie.”

The guy took a gulp of juice and said.

“You can check that today.”

“Hmm… Okay, let’s do that. If you drink like that, won’t you get a headache?”

“It’s ding.”

Do Yu-geon frowned and looked distressed.

I said I was looking for slime, but I didn’t have any plans, so I just wandered around the neighborhood.

I ate snacks on the street and took a walk in the park. I happened to see some art on display in the park, so I took a look. But even though I walked around for a while, I couldn’t see any slime.

Cha Ha-neul sat on the playground swing and waved her legs.

“Tell me honestly. Is this just an excuse to use slime and just have fun?”

“It’s not an excuse, it’s because I don’t really know where slime comes from.”

The guy was sitting on the seesaw and looking at his smartphone.

“Yes, I guess so. Then, let’s quit and go to the PC room. My legs are starting to hurt.”

The guy said nothing. It doesn’t seem like he’s using KakaoTalk, but rather searching to find slime.

I pushed the ground with my foot. The swing was pushed back and then moved forward.

As I was pushing the ground again, I saw something blue in the corner of the playground. When I looked closely, I saw that it was blue, round, and translucent slime. The slime moved like a slide. A leaf in its path was swallowed.

“…….”

It really exists, right? Does this make sense?

The slime moved towards the seesaw where Do Yoo-geon was sitting.

“Hey, Do Yu-geon, hey.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s quit and go to the PC room.”

Do Yu-geon stood up, shaking his head.

“Not that, over there.”

The guy looked back in the direction pointed and found slime.

“uh!”

“It’s real.”

The slime had already come close to Doyugun. Do Yu-geon cheered and came towards me.

Cha Ha-neul came down from the swing.

“I thought it was ridiculous, but it really happened. So now, should we stick to the plan?”

The guy took a picture of the slime with his smartphone.

“That’s right.”

“I don’t think catching that thing will really give you any experience points.”

Do Yu-geon smiled and rummaged through his bag. A rubber mallet came out of the bag. While looking for slime, I went shopping at Daiso.

Do Yoo-gun held a rubber mallet and crouched down in front of the slime’s path. As the slime approached, I hit the hammer. The slime exploded and blue liquid splashed everywhere.

And in a moment, it turned into golden powder and flew towards Do Yu-geon and was absorbed.

“omg.”

“See? Look what I said! I’m right!”

Do Yu-geon jumped up and shouted in an excited voice.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

I don’t know if what I absorbed was really experience, but I applauded anyway. It looks like something truly fantasy is about to begin.

The guy even shouted.

“Now the adventure begins!”

Don’t shout something like that out of nowhere… … .