The Bunny Girl Handing Out Chewy Rice Cakes (4)

I skipped the part where the rabbit ran off claiming it would find some honey.

There was no need for it.

As Hoewolsan's The Brother and Sister Who Became the Sun and Moon had already proven, the "rice cakes" did not have to be actual edible rice cakes.

What the tiger desired. Something so tempting it became an object of craving, just like rice cakes.

Had I not already gifted the tiger plenty of those things?

I raised my voice once more and shouted.

"Tiger-nim! I've given you delicious, chewy stone rice cakes!"

"Aigoo, it's hot!"

At that, fierce flames erupted from the casino's exchange booth.

All the credits I had offered up until now—the chips that had been their physical form—turned into balls of fire.

I had definitely recovered every last chip in this casino.

And I had personally exchanged them and handed them out to people.

Sangun had greedily gobbled those chips down with relish.

In a narrow sense, you could call it an exchange.

But Sangun had even taken back the escape tickets it had put up as rewards.

In the end, Sangun ended up with both the chips that had been mine and the escape tickets.

I, on the other hand, had nothing left, and inside this casino there was only me and Sangun.

I will say it again: this casino was clearly on my side.

The natural order of the world had ruled in my favor.

Sangun had no choice but to say this to me once more.

"You bastard! How dare you deceive me! Awoong!"

One of the staff members shoved its face right up to mine.

It was a face covered in blood from slamming its own head into the floor over and over.

The thing glared at me as if it wanted to kill me, but I answered by flipping it the middle finger.

So what if you glare at me?

Want to forget the ghost stories and just fight it out?

Fine by me. I'm ridiculously confident at that.

Once again, Sangun took a step back.

I did not.

"Tiger-nim! I've been looking for you this whole time too!"

"You were looking for me?"

"While I was gone getting honey, you ate the stone rice cakes, didn't you? Stone rice cakes are only hard stones unless you cool them down first—hoo. You should have waited for me."

"Grrrrrr……."

"Oh, right, Tiger-nim. Have you ever tried sparrows? Just close your eyes tight and I'll catch some sparrows for you!"

This time flames began to roar through the casino in earnest.

The staff writhed on the floor in agony as if the fire had caught on their own bodies.

This is fun. Feels like I've become ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a mage or something.

I'd heard that sorcery and magic worked on similar principles.

I never thought I'd get to try it myself.

With a single word from me, fire ignited and inflicted irreparable damage on the anomaly.

The flames I had created spread through the entire casino before long.

Something fell from the ceiling and shattered with a crash.

The cracks were painted only in ink-black, yet for a moment it almost looked like a waning moon was visible through them.

The labyrinth was collapsing.

"Awoong! You're done for! I won't fall for it today!"

There was no spirit left in Sangun's cry.

Desperation and misery mixed haphazardly into something that sounded like a single scream.

Did even Sangun have feelings of its own?

That was truly fortunate.

It meant it had felt, even a little, what the people it had killed must have felt.

I could take comfort in the fact that I had not granted it a peaceful death.

"Tiger-nim! Where were you? I've been looking forever. Would you like to try some fish?"

"You're trying to trick me again! How are you supposed to catch fish in this freezing winter!"

"If you dip your long tail into the stream, the fish will hang on one after another. All you have to do is wait until then."

As if by a lie.

The flames that had been devouring the casino died out.

The space that had been filled with heat and soot was now filled with cold.

A chill that sank into the bone. A wind so sharp it felt like it could cut skin.

The things that had worn the forms of staff had, at some point, become enormous tigers and collapsed.

A tiger looked up at me and asked.

It was a pitiful, ugly plea.

"Rabbit……. My tail…… is so cold. Please…… please. Can't I pull it out now?"

"No. The fish are about to bite your tail right now, Tiger-nim."

"Rabbit……. Rabbit. This is bad. My tail…… seems to have frozen solid. It won't move."

Originally, the next line I was supposed to say was set.

You foolish tiger!

Getting tricked once wasn't enough, so you fall for it three times?

Stay there and wait until spring comes!

But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had no intention of leaving the tiger to wait for spring.

As is often the case with folktales, the ending of The Rabbit and the Tiger has many variations.

Sometimes the tiger freezes to death in the cold winter; sometimes a passing hunter catches and kills it.

Sometimes it thrashes until its tail snaps off; sometimes it endures all the way to spring and survives.

Leaving my work to an uncertain future is not my style.

I waited a little in front of the tiger, and the labyrinth, drained of power, completely collapsed.

The casino scenery vanished, and what returned was a mountain under a waning moon.

I had come back to Hoewolsan.

"Hm."

I considered saying something, just a word or two.

I decided against it.

I did not want to let this thing leave any last words.

I clenched my fist and drove it down into the tiger's head.

A road under the settling air of dawn.

A black sedan raced along as if fleeing.

The man had been forced to wake after barely an hour of sleep, yet he was grateful it was still dawn.

There were no other cars on the road, so it was good for driving fast.

He wanted to ignore the traffic lights too, but he had a passenger, so he refrained.

Of course, his passenger felt much the same way.

She could not sit still, fidgeting restlessly.

She kept lifting and lowering her legs for no reason and chewing on her lip.

Even the silence had grown uncomfortable, so her hand naturally went to the radio.

The light turned green.

At the same moment the man stomped hard on the accelerator.

Only when the engine roared fiercely did he seem to feel a little relief.

Meanwhile, the passenger in the next seat kept scanning the surroundings, searching for something.

Soon her finger pointed somewhere.

"Honey. Isn't that it over there? There!"

"Yeah, I think you're right. We're here."

"Drop me off up ahead first. I'll go ask around even if it's just me."

The car door opened and closed for a moment.

The woman who stepped out began to run in a frantic hurry.

How long had it been since she last ran like this?

She ran with all her strength, as if she might never have done so in her entire life.

Past the noisy main gate, toward the place she had memorized by heart.

She did not stop for even a second until she found a civil servant in a uniform that looked like it might know something.

Her breath felt ready to burst, yet thankfully the question came out first.

"Hah… Han Yeseo. I'm here for Han Yeseo. Hah… I'm Yeseo's mother."

"May I check your ID first?"

"Here. Here it is. Please… is our Yeseo okay? She's not hurt, is she?"

"Confirmed. Miss Yeseo has no major issues according to the doctor's opinion. She's currently undergoing detailed examination."

"Thank goodness……. Thank you, sir. Really, thank you."

The civil servant looked uncomfortable, saying it was nothing he deserved thanks for.

But Yeseo's mother could not hold back without expressing gratitude even to the empty air.

Even if a hideous demon had been standing there instead of a civil servant, she would have offered the same thanks.

"Miss Han Yeseo is not a long-term missing person, so you should be able to see her soon. If you wait over there, I'll pass along any news."

"Thank you, sir. Do you happen to know which hunter rescued Yeseo? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I really, truly want to thank them in person."

"The codename hasn't been released yet… but well, it's only a few minutes until the announcement, so it should be fine."

Only then could Yeseo's mother sit down with a somewhat easier heart.

Soon her husband came running up in a fluster and asked exactly the same questions she had.

By then Yeseo's mother even had the leisure to smile.

The couple sat on the chairs holding each other's hands tightly and waited.

The people who had already arrived and were waiting.

The ones who had just gotten there were not so different from the couple.

"You found my dad, right? Ah, his name is Lee Cheol-jung."

"May I check your ID first?"

"Ah, sorry. Here. My dad is missing his right leg so he should stand out right away. Have you seen him?"

"Confirmed. Mr. Lee Cheol-jung has been diagnosed with malnutrition and is waiting for detailed examination and treatment. You can meet him once the examination is finished."

It is a world full of missing people.

And a world where going missing often means death.

When contact is lost, people deny it while quietly digging a grave in one corner of their hearts.

That is why a missing person returning carried a special meaning.

A heart that had been torn away came back.

A house that had been empty and lonely grew warm again.

Words they had desperately wanted to say could finally be spoken.

People called things like this miracles.