"Great work today, everyone! Have a wonderful weekend~"
The homeroom teacher's closing words had barely left her mouth before the scrape of chairs erupted across the classroom.
Three days into school life.
Only three days, and already she felt completely drained.
I slumped forward onto my desk and closed my eyes for a moment.
*Heh. Can't wait to get home and rest.*
My mind was already fully occupied with the thought of getting home and doing absolutely nothing.
I stood up and, with lightning efficiency, shoved my pencil case and textbooks into my bag.
"Mila, have a good weekend. See you next week!"
"Ah… wait… um… hey…?"
I called out my goodbye and walked out the classroom door without looking back. Mila's thin voice seemed to trail after me, but my feet were already carrying me down the hallway.
Left behind, Mila let her outstretched hand hang in the air, her whole body drooping.
"I was going to ask if we could… hang out after school……"
Was it because Shin-a moved like a bolt of lightning? Or was it Mila's own way of speaking?
Every time Mila worked up the courage to open her mouth, Shin-a had already vanished.
Mila gripped her bag straps tight and muttered to herself, deflated.
"Next time… I'll have to speak up faster……"
***
Outside the school gates, sharp sunlight drifted through the streets.
A peaceful walk home.
The same conclusion every day — there's always somewhere you have to be.
Gates, school, whatever it is — it's all exhausting.
"……"
The walk home was utterly quiet.
The occasional murmur of passersby, the distant sound of a car horn.
I was letting the peacefulness carry me along when the morning's events drifted back into my head.
***
The anchor's voice from the TV filled the living room's silence.
[Our next story. It has now been a full week since S-class hunter 'Flame Emperor' went missing. The last confirmed sighting was at the funeral of hunter Kim Shin-woo…]
I turned away from the news and slowly pushed myself up from the sofa.
"Shin-a, are you all ready?"
Jang-mi walked in with a soft voice.
I turned to look at her — and caught my breath without meaning to.
"……!"
Because her complexion was far paler than usual.
Dark exhaustion had settled beneath her eyes like a shadow, and the smile on her lips looked almost fragile.
"Hmm…? What is it, Shin-a…?"
She noticed my stare and tilted her head.
*Mm…*
I hesitated for a moment, then carefully spoke up.
"It's just… you look a little tired."
At my worried words, Jang-mi blinked blankly for a moment, then waved her hand and laughed it off with an awkward smile.
"Ah… I suppose… haha. Maybe it's because there are so many troublemakers in the guild lately? I'm running a bit low on energy."
"You should rest."
My blunt reply made her eyes widen slightly.
She looked at me with eyes that had gone soft and a little wet, then stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug.
"No, no… I'm fine. But really, Shin-a's the only one who ever thinks about me… You're an angel, aren't you? How can you be so sweet? Goodness, goodness!"
She buried her face in my shoulder and whined like a child.
I could feel the warmth of her body and the faint trembling in her breath.
I gently pushed her away and headed for the entryway.
"I'm off to school."
"Are you really sure you don't need me to walk you…?"
She reached out to stop me, her voice full of worry. I slipped on my shoes and answered flatly.
"You're tired. It's fine."
"Mm… okay, but don't follow any strangers on your way to and from school. And contact me right away if anything happens, understood?"
"Yes, yes. I won't follow anyone. I'm off."
I answered quickly and opened the door.
I shut it behind me, leaving her fond nagging on the other side.
*Click.*
The heavy front door closed, and cool air settled over the hallway.
Exactly five seconds later.
From beyond the firmly shut door came a voice in a completely different register than before.
"Ohhhh…! Our Shin-a's all grown up, she really is! Saying something that sweet just so she doesn't make me worry… Is she actually an angel? How can she be so good? Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!"
The vibrations traveling through the wall, the high-pitched voice — I stopped dead in my tracks.
"……"
*The soundproofing is worse than I thought…*
*I can hear everything…*
***
*Right, that happened…*
Recalling the morning's little episode, I let out a small, dry laugh.
Right. It's a peaceful world these days. This isn't a movie. Kidnappers and bad people aren't exactly lurking around every corner.
I was just taking another step forward when —
"Oh…! We finally meet, little one."
A voice, low and clear as a bell, reached my ears.
I stopped reflexively and turned my head.
"……?"
At the end of the alley stood a strange figure.
A girl with dazzling golden hair that fell all the way to her waist.
But the clothes she wore were a white funeral dress — anachronistic, out of place.
She had the outward form of a slender girl, yet the overwhelming presence radiating from her body was nothing remotely human.
*Not a bad person…*
*But someone I shouldn't be meeting.*
*'If you ever run into her, just pretend you didn't see her and ignore her. Don't exchange a single word.'*
Jang-mi's warning echoed through my mind again.
"……"
"……"
Silence. Her jewel-like golden eyes swept over me from head to toe.
*R—*
*Run—!*
***
I was caught.
"Quite quick for such a tiny thing."
Dangling by the scruff of my neck like a kitten.
*You're about the same height as me, you know,* rose to my throat — I barely swallowed it back down.
Besides, I was going to grow plenty taller eventually.
"My, my… you're quite composed, little one. More to the point — what is your relation to our Jang-mi?"
The golden-haired girl in the white funeral dress —
Cheon Do-hwa narrowed her eyes and looked me over with evident curiosity.
I pressed my lips shut.
*Say nothing. I am a well-behaved, obedient child.*
"Not inclined to speak…? Then I suppose I'll have to use somewhat rougher methods…"
"……!"
A cold, strange light flickered in her eyes, and goosebumps raced across my skin.
But then she burst out laughing, playful and bright.
"Ahaha…! I'm joking. I wouldn't do that to a child like you, so there's no need to look so frightened."
She clicked her tongue, then muttered to herself for a moment.
"Still… reminds me of someone… hmm…"
Then she suddenly stopped mid-sentence and pressed her fingers to her temple.
She clutched her head as though in pain. Still dangling from her grip, I looked up at her with a puzzled expression.
*Why is she doing that?*
"Ugh……"
A pained groan escaped her, and I couldn't stay still any longer.
I spoke up, keeping my voice deliberately flat.
"Could you put me down?"
"Hmm…?"
While she was distracted, I slipped free from her grasp.
Then I reached out and took her unsteady hand first.
"Here. Take my hand."
"Ah…"
I led the bewildered-looking girl to a nearby park bench.
***
I handed her the water bottle from my bag.
"Here, drink this."
"Ah… thank you, little one."
As she drank, a faint crease still lingered between her brows.
*Is she in a lot of pain somewhere?*
I'd gone and helped her, ignoring Jang-mi's warning entirely.
But I couldn't help feeling concerned.
My past self had owed her a debt.
"Aah… I feel a bit better now. Thank you for worrying about me. What a kind little soul you are…"
She gently patted my head.
Then she tilted her head down, seeming to think hard about something — and suddenly clapped her hands together.
"Ah…! I remember now!"
"……?"
"Yes, yes… Shin-woo…! I thought there was something about you that reminded me of him. That was it! Haha!"
*That would be me.*
I answered silently and smiled, a little bitterly.
But then she said something that froze me in place.
"Ah, I wonder what that Shin-woo is up to these days. Haven't heard from him in a while."
"……Pardon?"
"Ah, there's someone a bit like you. A good kid. Willing to spend time with an old woman like me."
*Surely…*
*She doesn't know I'm dead?*
*No, she can't not know…*
*Does that mean she really didn't come to the funeral? Truly?*
"…Haven't heard from him either, so I've been terribly bored, haha. Jang-mi and Ha-yun have both gone quiet on me lately too."
The more I heard her bright, cheerful voice, the colder my chest grew.
*Something is wrong.*
Just then.
Her eyes lit up as though she'd made a decision.
"This won't do…! You — you're the little one Jang-mi's been looking after, aren't you? Then…!"
She scooped me up again like a parcel and tucked me under her arm.
"Shall I drop in on Jang-mi's place after all this time? I need to see that girl's face!"
"……Pardon?"
***
"Jang-mi~! Your granny's here! Open up, won't you…?"
With Do-hwa's cheerful shout, the front door swung open.
Jang-mi appeared, her hair disheveled.
"Do-hwa… -nim?"
"Do-hwa-nim! Still so stiff with me. We're indoors, not outside — can't you be a little warmer?"
Jang-mi's eyes shook with visible bewilderment.
She seemed startled by the unannounced visit.
But surprise quickly turned to alarm.
"……!!!"
The moment she spotted me, dangling like a parcel from Do-hwa's side.
Jang-mi let out something close to a shriek, yanked me free, and hid me behind her back.
"What on earth do you think you're—!"
"Oh my… Jang-mi, why such a sour face? Could it be… things aren't going well with Shin-woo lately…?"
Do-hwa blinked wide, innocent eyes and asked with guileless curiosity.
The moment those words landed, Jang-mi's shoulders visibly stiffened.
"……"
Jang-mi said nothing.
The color drained from her face in an instant, and something unnameable — grief and fury tangled together — surfaced in her eyes.
That cold shift in her expression made even the buoyant Do-hwa shrink back, step by step.
"Alright, alright. I went too far. But… Jang-mi, you are still in contact with Shin-woo, aren't you? I haven't seen him around at all lately."
"……Do-hwa Grandmother."
Jang-mi's voice dropped low.
Not her usual lively tone — something heavier.
"Hmm…? Yes, my Jang-mi… has your temper cooled a little?"
Do-hwa brightened at the change in address and asked.
But —
"Shin-woo… is dead."
Silence.
A cold stillness fell over the apartment.
As though time itself had stopped.
The playfulness drained slowly from Do-hwa's face.
The brightness in her eyes lost its focus and faded, little by little.
Then her lips moved.
The earlier confusion was gone. What came out was a quiet, flat voice — as though she were recalling something she had simply forgotten.
"Ah… that's right…"