"It's kind of chilly."
[Let's finish quickly and go back, it's cold.]
[This feeling is familiar.]
She arrived at the abandoned hospital where she assumed they had gone, passing through darkening streets. The wall surrounding it looked oddly tall, and was covered in graffiti that made her frown. The barbed wire strung up to prevent entry looked tattered and worn.
She passed through the entrance, which creaked like the door to her rented room.
...A front door that makes the same sound as an abandoned ruin—can that be a good sign? If someone breaks in while I’m gone... Ah, not like there’s anything worth stealing anyway.
At best... maybe the sugar?
Now that she thought about it, there were also the crusts of sandwich bread.
This was making her nervous for no reason.
...It’ll be fine, right?
"Quiet."
[It really is.]
She looked around and compared the surroundings to what she'd seen on the livestream. Couldn’t she just turn it back on and check again? someone might wonder.
But the reason was nothing special.
Her smartphone, without a Wi-Fi connection, was just a glorified cordless telephone.
And unfortunately, there was absolutely no one who would ever call her.
Even back when she crossed over to Entera, it wasn’t like anyone would’ve contacted her, so she didn’t feel much about it now either.
Should she be grateful or angry that her ID and smartphone, now matched to her new body, were still intact...?
Anyway.
Compared to her memory, it seemed right. That pile of trash over there—she remembered it.
A slightly musty, unpleasant air hung in the atmosphere.
As she headed for the hospital entrance, something bumped against her foot. When she looked down, she saw something familiar.
A black plastic bag.
Looking closer... there seemed to be something inside. When she nudged it with her foot, a packaged snack popped out—still unopened, it seemed.
The nitrogen inside had all leaked out, and it was shriveled, but the blue packaging was familiar...
"...."
It was a snack she remembered.
They say familiar tastes are the most dangerous, right? That flavor she'd tasted long ago, now exaggerated by nostalgic memory, filled her mind.
She could almost hear the crunch in her mouth already. The salty scent tickled her appetite, and saliva began to pool in her mouth.
"Tsk..."
Get a grip. She hadn’t fallen that far yet, had she?
The expiration date had definitely passed. And if it had been left in this damp place with holes in the packaging, it had to be spoiled.
...Or was it?
Maybe she should just check the expiration date...? Maybe only the nitrogen had leaked out and the packaging was fine...?
Swallowing hard, she stared intensely at the snack bag. Because it was dark, the expiration date was hard to make out. Just as she was about to lean down—
[What are you doing?]
Ignis’s voice snapped her out of it.
Right. No matter what, she couldn’t be picking things up off the ground in a place like this.
She’d definitely get sick.
"Nothing."
She casually moved her limbs and stepped away.
Not long after, she spotted a glass door that was surprisingly still intact. She pushed it open cautiously and stepped inside.
"It's cleaner than I expected in here."
[Didn’t you see it earlier?]
"Honestly, I wasn’t paying attention."
She had only watched because of the money involved... Why would she waste time watching some coward flail around? That wasn’t her kind of hobby. If it were a cute girl, maybe.
She fiddled with the salt shaker in her hand and set off to find the guy. He probably wasn’t far.
She hadn't really thought much of it, but as she kept walking... something felt off.
Without realizing it, she was sticking close to the wall, moving as if on alert in every direction.
Old habits die hard... she thought. There shouldn't be anything here that could actually threaten her.
[Impressive, my master.]
"..."
Aslan's praise made her inner contrarian flair up, and she started walking more recklessly, tossing caution to the wind.
But then, every time she entered a new section, she was right back against the wall.
...Maybe she still needed a little more time to adjust.
As she passed a broken window, she saw a person lying on the ground. It looked like someone who had briefly appeared on screen while the guy was running around like a madman.
She shook his shoulder to wake him, but there was no reaction.
She brought her finger to his nostrils—he was still breathing. At least he was alive, so she decided to leave him be.
Just in case, she sprinkled a little thick salt—like dried blood—around him and moved on.
...This feels like seasoning.
Speaking of seasoning, she really wanted meat. It was as if puberty had hit her all over again—whenever something happened, her thoughts turned to food. It was honestly kind of depressing.
Or maybe it was just because she hadn’t eaten?
Even back in Entera, she was always daydreaming about Korean food. She never imagined that even after returning, she still wouldn’t be able to eat it.
But... does ramen count as Korean food?
It was actually kind of a valid topic to consider. Korean-made ramen... should count as Korean food, right? Forget about origin—nothing else came close in terms of spice.
If it’s been localized, then it’s Korean.
Just like California rolls.
Or maybe not? Whatever.
She was walking while pondering this mix of serious and useless thoughts, when she heard a faint clicking sound.
Unless someone was playing castanets with their dentures, it probably meant someone was chattering their teeth.
It was close.
Following the faint sound, she came to an ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) old wooden panel with partially faded letters: Ward Mu? The door was firmly shut, but the clicking sound was definitely coming from inside.
Once she opened the door, the sound became crystal clear.
As she closed in, the sound stopped.
But the position had already been confirmed, so there was no problem.
Soon, under a desk... what was this guy’s name again? Seemed like he used his real name. Not that it mattered.
"Hey."
Their eyes met—he was trembling, his hand in his mouth.
The guy foamed at the mouth, eyes rolling back before collapsing in a dead faint. His face, twisted in fear, slumped down onto the floor.
...What the hell is with this guy?
"Why did he faint?"
[Good question. That’s... surprising.]
[He seems to lack spiritual fortitude.]
Tch. Coming here with nerves like that? Was he brave or just stupid...?
Ah—maybe that’s why they were offering 200,000 won.
That would explain a lot.
She nudged him a few times with her foot, but he showed no sign of waking. She figured she had no choice but to wait.
Grabbing him by the leg, she dragged him to a more open space. Something told her that if she left him crammed back there, something bad might happen.
She had to prevent some accident, like him smashing his head and passing out again.
It wasn’t easy moving someone bigger than her, but she managed with a bit of technique.
She’d moved heavier things even in her old body.
Getting a little sweaty was inevitable.
Anyway, after relocating him, she dusted off the top of an empty desk and sat on it to wait for him to wake up.
By the time she’d finished counting all the stains on the ceiling in the moonlight—
"Ugh... h-huh?!"
He woke up.
With a confused face, he sat up, then pointed at her and shouted.
"You—you're...! Don’t tell me... y-you’re really a... g-ghost?!"
...What the hell was this idiot talking about now?
She felt like the vast ocean of her patience was starting to hit low tide.
In other words, her tolerance was wearing thin.
"Cut the crap. I’m here because you looked like you were in danger, so pull yourself together and get ready to move."
"A-a person?"
"Of course I’m a person."
Once he confirmed she was human, his face crumpled and he clung to her legs, sobbing with snot and tears. She hadn’t even said anything about leaving him behind—why was he reacting like this?
When he said it was because she hadn’t seen “that thing,” she asked where, and it turned out to be somewhere she’d already passed.
When she looked in the direction he pointed... sure enough, something was there.
They made eye contact—or so it felt—but whatever it was vanished like smoke.
"There’s nothing there."
"I-I swear it was there..."
"Pull yourself together."
There was no need to freak him out unnecessarily. And if it was just observing from a distance, there was no reason to stir it up.
Now that she thought about it, his smartphone wasn’t in his hand. Wasn’t he in the middle of a stream?
"Where’s your phone?"
"Oh."
His face crumpled again. For a guy, he sure cried a lot. Was this just how kids were these days?
...Or maybe the situation really was just that overwhelming.
Anyway, they decided to look for his phone and his friend.
As he cautiously followed behind, he asked her in a mosquito-like voice:
"Um... thanks for helping and all, but... how old are you, exactly? You talk down to me, but... you don’t look older than a high schooler..."
Was that really something to worry about right now? He was clearly steeped in Confucian ideals.
Without a word, she pulled out the ID from her pocket and showed it to him. His eyes widened.
"Whoa, you look so young for your age."
It was nice that he quickly adjusted his attitude, but the compliment didn’t exactly feel good.
[Kekeke, you’ve rejuvenated.]
"I’m not that old!"
"Huh?"
Apparently he couldn’t hear Ignis’s voice. He shrank back.
"...I was talking to myself."
"R-right..."
His face twisted into a weird expression.
Then, in a gruff voice, he asked:
"So... what do you do, exactly?"
Unemployed.
She was about to answer that but stopped herself—it didn’t feel quite right.
What should she say?
It was the greatest question she’d faced since returning.
Suspicion and wariness began to fill his face.