Chapter 101
Dawn arrived.
While everyone else was asleep, Yeoreum alone moved towards the dungeon where Gyeoul might be.
'I was mistaken.'
As Gyeoul said, the present, not the past, was what mattered.
I should have let Gyeoul know that her life ahead wouldn't be terrible.
I should have told her she would live happily with family and friends.
Blinded by stupid vengeance, I stepped out without telling her anything, even though Gyeoul was the most important.
'How lonely she must have felt on her own.'
Even now, in the dead of night, she would be sitting all alone.
In that dungeon where not even monsters exist.
How many years had Gyeoul harbored her grudge all by herself?
Entering the dungeon, Yeoreum took a deep breath and knocked on the glass door where Gyeoul was sitting.
"···Hello."
Thump-thump-
Despite tapping on the glass tube, Gyeoul did not lift her head.
She just sat there, embracing her knees, looking as forlorn as a child who had given up all hope.
"Ah···"
She realized then that this child's name wasn't Gyeoul.
I shouldn't have called her Gyeoul when I first entered the dungeon.
Who would lift their head if their name was changed arbitrarily.
"I'm sorry. I was such an idiot, wasn't I?"
Haah.
Yeoreum let out a sigh.
A sigh directed at her own pathetic self.
"Could you tell me your name···?"
"···Saebyeok[1]."
Saebyeok gently lifted her head.
Her pitch-black hair and eyes matched the name well.
Despite being separated by a glass barrier, they could communicate.
Instinctively, Yeoreum knew that Saebyeok wanted to talk.
"Yes. Saebyeok, I'm really sorry."
"For what···?"
"For leaving after saying I'd take revenge on your behalf. I never even asked what you wanted."
Yeoreum knew from the Guild master.
That Gyeoul had worried about Park Min-kyu, who had tormented her almost to death.
She was more benevolent than any saint.
Would such a child want revenge?
She couldn't be certain, but it was highly unlikely.
"I ran away saying I'd avenge you, without talking about it with you, Saebyeok."
"···Yes. I prefer talking over revenge."
"Ah···"
Just as she thought, Saebyeok was a kind child who didn't think of revenge.
Only then did Yeoreum understand what Saebyeok's 'grudge' was.
"Saebyeok, do you know?"
"What?"
"You're going to be incredibly happy soon. You'll have a family and lots of friends."
Yeoreum decided to tell Saebyeok about how happy she would become in the near future.
What Saebyeok really wanted wasn't revenge, but a happy life.
Concerns about level 6 dungeons or laboratories were adult matters, not something a child should worry about.
"Family... Sophia and Levinas...?"
"Huh? You know them?"
"I've been watching through her eyes."
"···I see."
Yeoreum placed her hand on top of the glass barrier.
She wanted to pat her head, but she couldn't.
This glass barrier was likely the 'core' of the dungeon.
It would only disappear when the dungeon was cleared.
'It must have been frustrating just watching.'
She would have wanted to be held and to play.
Yeoreum felt sorry for Saebyeok, who was content with just that.
"Thank you for becoming my family."
"Thankful? I always make mistakes."
I should have done better.
She regretted several times a day.
Yeoreum wrapped her arms around herself in bitterness.
"But you tried your best. It's the first time anyone's been so good to me."
"Yes···"
"I was happy to talk. I should disappear now. I shouldn't be here, right?"
"No, no! Saebyeok, I wish you could stay forever···!"
Yeoreum frantically tapped on the glass barrier.
For the first time, Saebyeok showed a surprised emotion, having been expressionless all this time.
"You don't dislike me···?"
"I like you a lot. I'll come to visit every day. Won't you stay?"
At those words, Saebyeok bowed her head, feeling bittersweet.
She instinctively knew that she was an existence that had to disappear.
"It's okay. I'm still out there."
"Ah···"
Right.
Fundamentally, they were the same child.
Yeoreum understood with her head, but her heart still ached.
"Saebyeok."
"Yes···?"
"I'm really sorry to ask this, but how did you lose your memory···?"
Saebyeok had to pause at Yeoreum's question.
She couldn't easily reveal that Gyeoul was originally a man from another dimension.
The one with 'the strongest mental strength.'
"To survive, I had to change into a completely different person···"
"···Was the shock that great?"
"Yes."
Gyeoul was a child who had lived a life even more difficult than her own.
Saebyeok decided to pass on the hardships she had endured so that the child could be loved.
The good girl in front of her would embrace the child's suffering even more.
"I was too weak. To survive, I erased all memories of my past and created a new me."
"Is that Gyeoul?"
"Yes. Unlike me, she's very strong and can overcome anyone."
"Ah···"
Gyeoul was like that.
Despite her appearance, she was incredibly tough.
"This is really the end. I'm leaving."
"···I hope we meet again."
"Me too."
Yeoreum raised her hand over the glass barrier.
In response, Saebyeok reached out towards Yeoreum.
Crack-!
The glass barrier shattered.
Yeoreum hurriedly tried to grasp the child's hand.
"Ah."
Before she could feel her warmth, Saebyeok disappeared along with the dungeon's core.
<+>
The next morning.
I cautiously opened my eyes in bed.
"Umm···"
Levinas was holding me tightly in her sleep like a doll.
It was a bit suffocating, but not bad to be with her.
"Hehe."
I needed to carefully get up without waking Levinas.
As I slowly extricated myself, I felt something alien.
"Huh?"
Levinas was clearly in front of me, but who was holding my tail from behind?
My senses, now heightened, sensed something was off.
A presence that was familiar yet unfamiliar.
I quickly turned around and was shocked.
"Huh?"
A girl who looked exactly like me was sleeping.
Even the shape of her ears and tail were identical.
The only difference was her color was black, and I was white.
Apart from the color, she could be mistaken for my twin.
"Excuse me···?"
I poked the girl's shoulder.
As she cautiously lifted her eyelids, I ran to a corner of the room with Levinas in my arms.
Levinas was still asleep even then.
"Umm···"
"Who are you···?"
"······?"
Blink, blink
The girl, who was blinking endlessly, looked down at her hand.
Then she looked up at me again and said,
"Saebyeok."
"Saebyeok?"
"Yes."
"···What are you doing here, Saebyeok?"
Could she be someone who, like me, turned into a beast-kin by consuming an item?
I swallowed nervously.
"I was about to leave, but the adults saved me."
"The adults?"
"Yes. The adults I was with said it's okay now, so they told me to play more before going."
The adults saved her.
What did she mean by that?
Although the girl was speaking in riddles, she didn't seem threatening.
"So, who are you, Saebyeok?"
If she was bad news, I'd run right now.
As I made that resolution, Saebyeok dropped a bombshell.
"I'm the original owner of your body."
<+>
A mix of anxiety and guilt kept me silent, just looking at Saebyeok.
She kept a blank expression, endlessly fidgeting with her ears and tail.
"This feels weird."
"Is it your first time?"
"Yes."
"···It will feel strange at first. You'll have to bear with it until you get used to it."
I sneaked peeks at Saebyeok, her expression so cold I wondered if she was angry.
The problem was, her tail was wagging furiously from side to side.
I knew that was an expression of happiness and joy.
"It won't stop."
Saebyeok grabbed her trembling tail.
As the tail wagged, Saebyeok's arm shook from side to side too.
"That's not something we can control with our will."
"Really?"
"Think of it as a natural disaster. It's easier that way."
"I see."
Saebyeok let go of her tail and looked at me.
It was scary, but the wagging tail let me know she wasn't angry.
"Um···"
"Yes?"
"Aren't you mad at me? For suddenly appearing and taking over your body···"
I said this while glancing at Levinas.
Luckily, she was still asleep.
"I'm not mad. Actually, I'm the one who should be sorry."
"Why are you sorry?"
"Because it was I, who brought you here."
"Uh···?"
Saebyeok brought me here?
My tail curled into a question mark.
"Life was too hard, so I summoned someone to live in my stead."
"Ah···"
The first day I woke up in this body, I was buried underground.
This child must have experienced something even more horrific than I did.
Thinking of the hardships Saebyeok must have gone through, I couldn't bring myself to blame her.
All I could do was gently pat her back.
"You don't resent me?"
"No. I don't resent you."
What good would resenting this little one do now?
All I did was comfort Saebyeok, assuring her it was okay.
"But why was your body like that?"
"My body grew big because of an experimental side effect. When I came here, the adults made me small again."
"Ah···"
Human experimentation, huh.
You've been through some terrible things.
But who are "the adults" she's talking about?
Just as I was about to ask Saebyeok,
Click-
The sound of the front door opening made my ears perk up.
It was the sound of Yeoreum's footsteps.
But for some reason, the footsteps lacked energy.
It sounded like someone on the brink of death walking.
'What happened?'
I need to comfort Yeoreum.
But how do I explain Saebyeok?
In this awkward situation, I found myself unable to do anything but stand still.
<+>
Tn: 1. Saebyeok means Dawn
<+>
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