Project-1004 (1): The Melting Halo
Drip... drip...
The halo floating above my head was melting away, dropping droplets of golden liquid one by one.
I stared at it, feeling my mind go completely blank.
"Wh-what... Why is it melting...?"
The halo was like the symbol of an angel.
If this halo was melting...
"Am I... gonna die...?"
It was more than enough to make me worry that I had some serious illness.
As I stood there in a daze, chats started scrolling up.
Angel, figuring out the cause can wait. Report it first.
Notify the Agency as soon as possible about the current situation.
"Ugh... Okay."
I decided to take RatPT's advice first and scrambled to my feet.
Then I waved my arms frantically at the CCTV camera.
Night shifts are magical work that can put even insomniacs who can't sleep after lying in bed for an hour to sleep.
The Agency staff, who take their jobs seriously, were probably watching with wide eyes, but just in case, I worked hard to draw their attention.
Even if they were dozing off, they'd spot something was wrong at a glance.
—Zzziiing.
Fortunately, our Agency staff were as diligent as could be.
The moment I waved, the cameras whirred and all swiveled toward me in unison.
I pleaded desperately with them.
"M-my... my halo is melting!"
Thank goodness it wasn't melting away at the speed of a popsicle stick on a summer sidewalk,
but this anxiety—like Baskin-Robbins ice cream with just five minutes' worth of dry ice that's been sitting for thirty...!
"We'll report to upper management immediately."
Even the Agency staff's emotionless voice carried a hint of bewilderment.
They were probably calling Han A-young.
I grabbed the cold cola I'd been sipping and held it up to the halo as a temporary fix.
Then another chat popped up.
Angel, your halo has always been melting a little. Bit by bit.
I'd noticed it melting drop by drop.
It was fine most of the time, but occasionally a drop would plop onto my head.
Even so, the halo's size never shrank, and it didn't hurt, so I'd chalked it up to a natural phenomenon and not worried much.
But now I was reacting because the melting speed was way faster than usual.
Try wiping the halo first.
"Hmm... Think that'll work...?"
I'd never touched the halo floating above my head before, worried it might hurt if I poked it.
I hesitated, then gingerly touched the halo.
Thankfully, it wasn't hot enough to burn—just nicely lukewarm.
I scooped it up carefully and examined it.
"..."
[...]
The moment RatPT and I checked its detailed status, bewilderment hit us hard.
"...Wh-what the heck is this..."
A tiny part of the halo had turned... ever so slightly black.
Didn't this make me look like a fallen angel...?
[...Just wipe it first]
Even the superintelligent RatPT seemed thrown off—there was a slight delay in his response.
Still, I followed his advice and wiped it gently with my clothes.
"Whoa, it actually wiped clean..."
The halo was pristine again.
But it was still melting drop by drop.
"RatPT... Why is this happening?"
Hmm... Probably... because you've been living like such a total slacker.
"Gasp!"
From now on, cut back on late-night gaming and make more effort to live right, don't you think?
"...I thought I was living pretty good...?"
Angel, your recent average wake-up time is 11:43 AM.
"Hmm..."
You've hidden and tossed fern salad, water dropwort, and soybean sprouts under your rice 13 times from the cafeteria meals.
"Ugh..."
Your bedtime, which used to be promptly at 10 PM, has been getting later and later lately.
"Y-yeah... Come to think of it, I've been staying up late recently..."
Ever since my body turned into an angel's, this little frame couldn't fight off sleep at 10 PM.
But with the smartphone and computer, and hanging out with RatPT... yeah, my bedtime had slipped—a little? No, a lot.
Live right from now on.
"Yesh..."
Well... there might be other reasons too.
"Huh...? Like what?"
Just my guess, so get the full analysis from the Agency's checkup.
"Oki!"
A moment later, the containment room speaker crackled.
"Angel... h-how's... the situation...?"
And the voice that came through was Han A-young's.
Her voice was hoarse and breathless—she must've bolted out of bed after an emergency call.
'Sorry...'
I knew Han A-young barely slept, working like a workaholic.
Feeling bad for waking her after so long, I said,
"My halo's drip-drip melting awayyy..."
"Hmm..."
I hesitated—should I mention this?—but added,
"And it got a lil' black too..."
"Pfft!"
From the speaker, I heard Han A-young spit out her coffee.
"Uh... can you show me?"
"Ah... I wiped it squeaky clean, so it's fine now..."
"Yeah... got it. We'll rewind the footage."
Rumbling sounds came from the speaker—like something clattering.
"Hmm... this gonna be okay...?"
If my guess is right, it's fixable. Don't worry too much.
He sometimes acted ditzy, so I didn't fully trust him, but RatPT was my precious friend anyway.
I plopped down, believing him, and waited for Han A-young's reply.
Creak... creak...
I rocked the gaming chair back and forth while waiting.
Then came the sound of Han A-young tapping her keyboard, and she spoke up cautiously.
"Angel."
"Yesh."
"Remember recently pulling out any dark energy?"
Dark energy...?
I pondered.
Had I pulled out any dark energy lately...?
Not even from RatPT, the most recent one I'd dealt with.
Before that, no dark energy from the hell visit either.
"Doesn't seem like it..."
"Hmm... Feel any dark energy from Dangdangi?"
I squeezed my eyes shut and sensed for dark energy.
I hadn't pulled any lately, so a bit had grown back on Dangdangi.
But it wasn't threatening yet.
"There is some, but not dangerous...!"
"Wanna try pulling it?"
"Hmm... That'd wake Dangdangi up."
"I'll give Dangdangi super-special snacks."
Super-special snacks, huh.
If it was the Agency promising them, Dangdangi would be thrilled.
I nodded and approached Dangdangi, who was pre-warming the bed I sleep on.
I ruffled his fluffy fur wildly to wake him.
—Merrng...!
Dangdangi jolted awake in surprise.
I told him,
"Gonna pull off a lil' dark energy real quick."
—Kkirng...
Dangdangi, now super friendly toward me, still dreaded having dark energy pulled.
I stroked his head soothingly.
"Hold still super tight, and big sis'll give you super-special dangdang snacks."
—Merrng...?
"Super duper yummy ones, so get excited~."
—Hek hek...
At "snacks," Dangdangi's tongue lolled out long.
I didn't know exactly what snacks, but I trusted the Agency.
They'd bring something paw-sitively epic.
—Hek... hek...
Now rubbing his face on my hand with tongue out, signaling it was okay to proceed.
I gently petted Dangdangi's head and closed my eyes.
Then I felt the dark energy wriggling inside him.
Unlike other dark energies thrashing to survive, Dangdangi's were obedient.
Not super friendly to me like he was, but they knew I wouldn't yank their core.
Careful not to touch the core, I gathered the dark energy in my hand.
"Hup..."
And yanked hard.
It came out smooth as butter.
Into the perfect trash bin Han A-young sent—done.
I checked my halo again.
"Phew..."
Thank goodness—pulling the dark energy stopped the rapid melting.
Not a full fix, but good temporary measure.
I breathed on the halo like cleaning glasses, wiped it squeaky clean,
and plopped it back on my head.
"Angel revived...!"
But a chat immediately killed the vibe.
Put out the fire for now, but go to bed early from here on. In my view, your sloppy lifestyle is contributing to the melting.
"...Yesh..."
No more hiding veggies under your rice to toss 'em, eat your carrots every time,
"..."
and get up bright and early every morning.
"I'll tryyy..."