It was that time of year when the stifling summer heat finally cooled off, and mornings and evenings became pleasantly cool. The once-blaring mosquito population seemed to die down, and crickets started to chirp as the refreshing autumn season approached.
Perhaps because of this, Byeol woke up earlier than usual.
The clock read 9 AM. Yong-Yong and Karsiel were still lost in their dreams. As Byeol wriggled in her summer blanket, she felt a cool breeze through the slightly open window. Though tempted to go back to sleep, she threw the blanket aside because she couldn’t resist the pull of fresh air.
It was Monday—the start of a new week. On Mondays, Byeol always took a walk around the neighborhood to greet people.
She blinked her wide, curious eyes at the ceiling before sitting up. After changing into her outdoor clothes, she grabbed her cute chick-shaped wallet and headed out.
For Kiriel, Earth had become more familiar and endearing than the Deep Realm, which was supposed to be his home as a Transcendent. Unlike the Deep Realm, where constant battles and indifference to life were the norms, Earth felt peaceful. Sure, Earthlings had their own struggles due to the Fissures, but they were nothing compared to the Deep Realm.
“This planet should have disappeared long ago if not for...” Kiriel trailed off.
The powerful beings of the Deep Realm had tried to conquer Earth multiple times, with Kiriel being one of them. As he reflected on the reason for Earth’s continued peace, a faint smile crossed his lips.
Kiriel was lying under the pavilion near the supermarket. As he started to think it might be time to head back to the Deep Realm, he saw a familiar figure toddling along the path toward the villa entrance.
It was Byeol, who had gotten out of bed at 9:20 AM, which was earlier than usual.
Kiriel chuckled to himself and closed his eyes again. Meanwhile, Byeol, who had been walking toward the supermarket, spotted Kiriel and ran over in surprise.
“If you sleep out here, your mouth is gonna become cwooked!” she said, concerned.
“W-what?” Startled, Kiriel sat up and stared at Byeol, whose scrunched-up expression seemed to criticize him for being reckless.
“You were going to fweeze to death, Mistah!”
Freeze to death? Kiriel, a Transcendent?
He laughed in disbelief, his lips twitching as he patted Byeol on the head.
“What are you doing out this early?” he asked Byeol.
“Today’s my ‘hello’ day!”
“‘Hello’ day? Hello to whom?”
“The people in the neighborhood!”
“I see. Then shouldn’t you say hello to me first?”
At Kiriel’s “sharp” remark, Byeol’s eyes widened, and she quickly gave him a deep bow.
Kiriel chuckled and stood up. Before heading back to the Deep Realm, he decided to enjoy Earth’s scenery one last time—with Byeol.
Mondays were always busy.
After a relaxing weekend, students returned to school while workers headed to their offices, all feeling the “Monday Blues.” However, in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, some residents eagerly looked forward to Mondays because of the “Monday Fairy.”
Choi Ye-Rim, who ran a hair salon, opened her shop at 8 AM, much earlier than usual. She swept the street in front of her shop incessantly, quite different from her habit of giving it a quick five-minute clean.
“Hmm...” She looked left and right, wondering when the Monday Fairy would arrive. Then, she saw a little girl toddling toward her in the distance.
“Hello!” Byeol greeted her with a deep bow, and Choi Ye-Rim couldn’t help but smile.
“Hello to you, too, Byeol!”
Suddenly, Choi Ye-Rim noticed Byeol’s hair. Her long, light brown hair, which reached her waist, was messy and unkempt, sticking out in every direction. She must have skipped washing it this morning.
“Come inside for a moment. I’ll fix your hair for you,” she said to Byeol.
She also glanced at Kiriel, who stood nearby. His hair was poorly maintained—long and dry. Choi Ye-Rim had been itching to fix it for a while and decided today was the perfect opportunity.
“You too. Come in. I’ll take care of your hair,” she said to Kiriel.
“Me? But I don’t have any money...”
“It’s free, of course,” Choi Ye-Rim said with a warm smile.
After washing and drying her hair, Byeol had it beautifully braided. Looking at herself in the mirror, she beamed and remarked, “I have angel hair!”
It looked just like the hair of a pure white angel she had once seen on TV. She grinned ear-to-ear, marveling at her reflection.
Meanwhile, Kiriel was less enthusiastic, even somewhat confused, as he inspected his newly trimmed hair since he wasn’t used to something at all. His long hair had been cut short into a style that resembled those of male celebrities on Earth.
“D-does it look okay?” he asked nervously.
“It looks great! Hair is very important for men. You were already handsome, but this makes you look even better,” Choi Ye-Rim assured him.
“T-thank you. I won’t forget your kindness.”
At a clothing store in the Banpo-dong central shopping district, store owner Park Deok-Bae hurried out barefoot to greet his visitor after hearing the long-awaited greeting.
“Haha, Byeol, you’re here!”
“I came to say hello. I’ll come again next time!”
Park Deok-Bae couldn’t just let Byeol leave like that. Ever since the rabbit pajama incident, he had been eagerly waiting for her to visit again. He brought out a yellow dress he had set aside especially for Byeol.
“This is a gift—” Park Deok-Bae stopped abruptly.
He had prepared a small gift for the little fairy who brought life to the start of the week on Mondays. It was a dress he bought for twenty thousand won at Dongdaemun Market, but he was more than happy to give it to Byeol for free. However, knowing that calling it a “gift” might make her feel burdened, Park Deok-Bae changed his approach.
“I forgot to mention last time—when you buy the rabbit pajamas, this dress is included as a free gift. I just forgot to give it to you then. So take it now!”
Byeol’s eyes sparkled at his words.
“Really? So this is free?” she asked in disbelief.
“Haha, yes, it’s free.”
Byeol broke into a bright, happy smile and eagerly accepted the dress.
Then, Park Deok-Bae noticed a strange man standing beside Byeol. Curious, he asked, “And you are...?”
“Ah, well... you could say I’m Byeol’s brother. Or maybe her next-door neighbor, I don’t know. I’m just accompanying her on her neighborhood round today...” Kiriel trailed off, recalling Do-Jun’s warning to be careful of revealing his true identity on Earth.
Thus, whenever he needed to introduce himself to strangers, he always kept things vague.
“Ah, I see!” Park Deok-Bae said.
He examined Kiriel’s outfit—a peculiar set of clothes made from unusual fabric, with signs of burns and tears scattered across it.
“This outfit would suit you well,” he said, holding up a pair of jeans and a cotton T-shirt.
“Sorry, but I don’t have any money...”
Kiriel looked taken aback. “Again...?”
Back at Changshin Villa, Kiriel examined his new look in the mirror. Although it was hard to get used to his changed hairstyle and clothing, it wasn’t too bad. He then thought about the people of Earth he had met while accompanying Byeol. All of them had seemed genuinely happy, and it was fascinating.
The final hello of the day went to the elderly woman who ran the local store, Kim Ok-Soon, someone Kiriel knew well. She had just been about to eat her late lunch—a cup of instant ramen.
“Ohoho, hello, Byeol.”
“Hi Gwanny! Are you eating ramen?”
The kettle was boiling, and the seasoning powder had already been poured into the cup. Byeol stared at the scene absentmindedly, and her stomach growled in a timely manner.
Byeol placed her hand over her belly and looked into her small, chick-shaped coin purse. She unzipped it and checked its contents—three thousand won in total. With a cheerful smile, she ran to the shelf of instant ramen, picked up two cup noodles, and placed two thousand won on the counter.
“Gwanny, can you pour hot water in these? One’s for Mistah and one’s for me.”
The kettle boiled, and Kim Ok-Soon poured hot water into three cups of ramen. Steam rose from the noodles as they sat on the makeshift table. To trap the steam, Kim Ok-Soon placed a book over the lids.
“By the way, Byeol, do you know how to use chopsticks?” she asked.
Byeol flinched at the question. “I’ll go home and get my fork!”
Kim Ok-Soon smiled as she watched Byeol run off toward home.
In the Deep Realm, food was scarce.
Most monster meat was toxic, and the toxin didn’t disappear even when cooked. Only a few kinds of meat were safe to eat, but they were difficult to obtain and not particularly tasty.
Wei Zhongqi often relied on his Sustenance Pills, which he had used during his solitary training in the Martial World. One pill could keep hunger at bay for days. Although larger than the pills he took in the Martial World, they didn’t truly fill his stomach—they only suppressed the hunger.
A dimensional portal opened near Wei Zhongqi’s home. By now, he already knew it was Kiriel.
“You were gone for a while this time, Kiri—” Wei Zhongqi froze mid-sentence.
Kiriel’s look had totally changed—middle-part hairstyle with bangs, jeans, and a cotton T-shirt. If not for the Gungnir strapped to his back, Wei Zhongqi might have mistaken him for someone else.
“What happened to you...?” he asked the transformed Kiriel.
“Oh, this? What do you think? This is called the ‘middle part,’ a popular hairstyle among Earth’s men. And look at my outfit—quite trendy, huh? Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know.”
Kiriel shrugged and placed a black plastic bag on the table. “You should be grateful. I brought you something amazing.”
“Yes. First, go prepare some hot water.”
With a curious look, Wei Zhongqi complied, boiling water over a fire. Meanwhile, Kiriel opened the bag, revealing instant ramen and wooden chopsticks. Puzzled, Wei Zhongqi watched as Kiriel tore open a ramen cup, poured in the seasoning powder, and added the boiling water up to the marked line.
“Now we wait three minutes,” Kiriel said.
“Is this food from Earth...?” Wei Zhongqi asked curiously.
The three minutes went by quickly. Kiriel separated the wooden chopsticks and handed them to Wei Zhongqi. He opened the lid, revealing the hot, steaming red broth and cooked noodles.
“Now, watch closely...” Kiriel picked up a generous portion of noodles with the chopsticks, blew on them, and slurped them up. “This is the key—blow on it before you eat. Puff, puff. Go ahead, try it.”
Wei Zhongqi imitated Kiriel, slurping the noodles. The unfamiliar taste made him pause.
“It’s... unusual. But...”
After blowing on the noodles again, he took another bite, this time sipping the broth as well. “The taste isn’t too bad.”
As Kiriel thought back on his day with Byeol, a smile spread across his face.
“That’s what you call warmth,” he said.