Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: FILE 3.5. Fingernail
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Even after waking up, it still felt like I was in a dream. My whole body felt heavy, as if I'd been crushed under a nightmare all night long. I'd taken a bit of pride in being a morning person for the past few years—one of my few claims to fame—but now it looked like I'd have to surrender even that. It was well past noon.
Kang Ibi sat on the bed, facing the vivid sunlight filtering in from outside the window. The light slipping through the half-lowered blinds sliced her body in two.
She opened the window. It had been nearly ten days since Halloween had passed. The air had grown that much colder. It was still cool enough to call it refreshing, but the season was closer to winter than autumn now.
When she'd first gotten tangled up in all this nonsense and met Nati, it had been summer. And now winter was right around the corner. It left her with an inexplicable sense of unease, like her life was impossible to predict even one step ahead.
Ibi, dressed in a light white short-sleeved top, shuddered as a gust of cold wind rushed in the moment she opened the window. A dry scent, like dust clinging to the sunlight, tickled her nose.
As she stepped back toward the interior of the room, a warm energy rose up through her feet. It was an oddly contradictory sensation.
She went out to the living room and called out her new friend's name a few times. No response. She didn't seem to be in the bathroom either. Had she gone outside? That was unusual for her.
Since the Halloween incident, Kang Areum had been staying at Ibi's place. She'd asked to crash there just until her limbs grew back. The phrasing had been pretty bizarre, but Ibi hadn't minded much. Right now, having someone—anyone—around felt like a good thing.
At first, there had been a bit of awkwardness. She wasn't human, after all.
But after tumbling around with the Ghost Bridge Society for the past few months, Ibi had gotten used to things like fox ears sprouting from people's heads. That much was easy to adapt to.
On Halloween itself, all sorts of outlandish events had exploded one after another, brushing back and forth between life and death, leaving little chance for them to really get to know each other.
Sure, they'd had a fairly deep conversation face-to-face at the Flower Mugwort Tea House, but it hadn't lasted long. And after that, with all the fox transformations and limb regrowth, the distance that had briefly closed between them felt like it had opened up again.
But after spending a few days together, she just felt like a peer—like any other friend her age. Areum was a bit quiet and had a snippy way of talking, so they weren't perfect personality matches, but they weren't at each other's throats either.
"Who would've thought I'd lose a limb or two even after coming all the way here. Your turf's in no position to talk about holy flames or whatever."
That was what Kang Areum had said a few days ago, while they lay side by side on the bed one evening.
Areum had whined about being bored on her very first day crashing there, prompting Ibi to dig out her old Nintendo 3DS from childhood that she'd long forgotten about. Ever since, she'd been glued to Animal Crossing all day.
"Haha... Yeah, you've got me there. I don't have much to say to that. But stuff like this didn't happen until just recently."
As she said it, Ibi fell silent for a moment. A little reflection made it clear how irrational her words were.
The reason she thought "stuff like this" hadn't happened before was simply because she'd been oblivious to this other world her whole life. Even before she'd been attacked by the Guest and started working at the Flower Mugwort Tea House, these things had always been happening.
The Halloween incident was the same. If she hadn't been directly involved, how would she have even known? Come to think of it, even before meeting the Ghost Bridge Society, events like this must have been unfolding nonstop.
Why hadn't it felt real until now? The world Ibi had stepped into was a different one entirely. It looked the same on the surface, but it was completely alien underneath.
"Well, on our side, it's not just ghosts and demons running wild—humans do too."
Areum said that. Ibi couldn't tell if she'd gauged her thoughts first. She rolled over, stared at the ceiling, and continued.
"Came here to flirt with some guys, and look what happens."
Honestly, judging by her appearance at their first meeting, she probably couldn't have even if the city had stayed intact. Ibi swallowed those words without voicing them, but suddenly Areum turned her head and met her eyes.
"Still, I made a new friend, so it's not all bad."
Ibi had always been allergic to this kind of warm atmosphere, but right now, it actually soothed her. Still, holding eye contact felt a little too intimate. Kinda like something out of a yuri story.
Ibi cracked a smile on her own and replied.
"Yeah. Next time, let's hang out together. I've lost touch with a lot of my friends lately, so I've been feeling lonely too."
That conversation had been a few days ago already. Right after, Areum had announced she was taking a bath and abruptly stripped off her clothes. Seeing those underdeveloped arms had nearly given Ibi a panic attack. Looking back now, the sight of new arms growing was really not something to witness stone-cold sober.
And now. Ibi sat alone in the empty living room. Areum, who'd holed up in the bedroom for the past ten days straight, had vanished somewhere.
Ibi had never been particularly fond of being alone in a silent house. But now that the one person who'd been there was gone, it felt even more hollow. Bare tree branches shedding their leaves only amplified the mood.
"...She'll be back before dinner."
Kang Areum, meanwhile, was heading to the Flower Mugwort Tea House. Apparently, Aerin had collapsed after Halloween and was taking a few days off to recover her strength. The tea house had naturally gone into temporary closure, and Ibi was off too.
For a new moon shaman like her to pull off something like that—whoa. As the turf lord who wouldn't tolerate underlings strutting around in her own den, it was mind-blowing. If this had happened in Seonghwa City, it would've been a nightmare.
At first, she'd planned to just peek from outside and not go in. But through the drawn curtains, she spotted two shadows. The silhouettes gave away who they were, more or less.
Areum pushed on the glass door. Sure enough, it wasn't locked. Inside, Mina was doing the Loli God Requiem Challenge while Haewon filmed her on video.
"Oh? You... came."
Mina trailed off upon seeing the newcomer. Her eyes flicked sideways to Areum's arms. The loose-fitting clothes made it hard to tell at a glance, but it looked like her arms really had regrown, just as she'd bragged.
"I still need about two more fingers to finish growing."
"Uh-huh... Sorry."
Areum just shrugged it off.
"It's fine. Guess your arms packed some good nutrients. They're looking pretty normal now."
She hadn't meant it as a rebuke—just her personality being a bit blunt—but Mina averted her eyes slightly.
"Wolverine after all..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
Haewon, who had been perched on a table swinging his legs, chimed in.
"What brings you here?"
"Who knows? Curiosity?"
As she spoke, Areum tapped the floor lightly with the tip of her shoe.
"Conveniently, no one's around. Mind if I take another peek at the basement?"
At that, both Mina and Haewon tensed up visibly. They'd fought side by side, close enough to call allies, but they still couldn't fully trust her with everything.
For starters, neither Mina nor Haewon had the authority to let an outsider into the basement. But if this brute-force powerhouse forced her way in...
"...You're some inhospitable folks. Fine, I was just kidding."
The tension eased a bit at her words. Haewon, who had been staring her down, spoke up again. His usual high-pitched tone softened, his demeanor growing a touch more mature. For a moment, he seemed like his old self.
"I thought your clan leader had already passed on."
"Still mooching off Ibi's place for now. But yeah, time to head back soon."
"Pretty free for a turf lord."
"Gotta pay my respects before I go. Why make it so awkward?"
At that point, Mina—who'd been standing there with her arms crossed, listening in—jabbed a finger out and shouted.
"Ah! You came for samgyeopsal!"
"...Well, not exactly, but..."
"If that's it, just say so. Always so timid about this stuff."
"......"
"Great, perfect. I'd forgotten about it too. You beanpole uncle—always talking big but never following through. No escaping this time."
Areum couldn't muster a retort and meekly clasped her hands together, her face flushing.
Truth be told, living paycheck to paycheck meant food budgets were always tight, so any mention of eating out made her eyes light up.
And so, that evening, Ibi got an unexpected call. They'd set up a samgyeopsal group dinner and she should come.
She'd heard similar promises right to her face several times before, so it wasn't all that surprising. But she'd half-dismissed it as a joke and nearly forgotten, making the sudden invite a bit bewildering.
Calling her out so abruptly like this—what if she had other plans?
"......"
Well, she didn't.
Even so, Ibi lingered on the sofa for a while, languidly gazing out the window. The sun hadn't set yet. A fleeting worry crossed her mind.
Ibi stood up, grabbed some clothes, got dressed, and headed to the meetup spot.