The Bug Princess (1)
"Haa... I'm so tired."
It was 12:20 p.m., right in the middle of lunchtime. Eunha let out a frustrated sigh as she trudged heavily out of the convenience store. Dr-r-r-uk— Due to her feeble strength, the black suitcase she'd bought from a home shopping channel dragged behind her. Inside it, as if aware of last night's events, were all sorts of salts packed heavily—rock salt and more. This should last her several months without running out.
Eunha hauled the salt-stuffed suitcase with grunts, leaving the convenience store behind.
...Why the convenience store all of a sudden? Because she'd been kicked out of the cafe.
(Eunha, are you okay?)
(What happened? You almost fell just now!)
While heading to wipe down a table left by a customer, her whole body suddenly went limp, and she nearly collapsed. For a split second, it felt like the thread of her consciousness snapped. Luckily, regular customer Banharin caught her, so she didn't get seriously hurt, but then Eunbangul came striding over with a machine-gun barrage of nagging.
The girl had been so startled that her snow-white rabbit ears were perked straight up toward the ceiling!
Eunha wanted to escape the endless scolding from Eunbangul, but the regular customer hugging her from behind in a back hug wouldn't budge.
(I do not recommend resisting. You need to hear this scolding, Eunha.)
(You can't live like this! Were you trying to stop my heart—and Unnie Harin's—on purpose?!)
(No, I...)
Normally, she would've brushed it off like nothing, but after nearly dying yesterday, she'd failed to manage her condition. She was so exhausted that... well, it reminded her of last year, maybe? In a desperate bid to build muscle somehow, she'd gone over a week without sleep, exercising nonstop. The plan was to keep pounding workouts before the gained muscle reverted due to her Self-Regeneration skill, forcing her muscle mass up artificially. But in the end, a brain aneurysm burst, and she passed out.
The fatigue felt just like that time. Things had been a mess back then too. She'd blacked out mid-bench press, and when she woke up, she was in a hunter hospital room. Eunbangul was crying by her bedside, the doctor said her brain vessel had burst but reconnected in 20 minutes... total chaos. Later, even Hunter Association folks came asking if she'd consider letting them study her Self-Regeneration skill in depth. That soured her mood instantly, so she yanked out the IV and left the hospital with Eunbangul.
(...This won't do. I'm giving you three days of paid leave starting today—go rest properly! Boss's orders!)
Anyway, she'd somehow ended up with three days off and got chased out of the cafe. Is this really okay? Of course, she'd initially refused the leave. If she was gone, Eunbangul would be running the place alone. It wasn't swamped with customers, but she couldn't leave the girl to handle it by herself.
(Eunha, are you worried about the cafe? In that case, I shall work as a temp part-timer. I drink coffee quite well, appearances notwithstanding.)
(Yes! Temp hire!)
(An honor, Eunbangul. Might I touch your cheeks a bit on this occasion?)
(Heehee~, no way!)
But then, the regular hugging her from behind pulled a cafe uniform out of her briefcase, declaring she'd do the temp work. What the heck is with this woman? She'd said she was an office worker at some hunter-related company. Doesn't she have a job? And why's she carrying our cafe uniform in her bag? They'd known each other for about three years as regulars, but was this okay? Three years was enough time for even a temple dog to recite poetry, but she'd never seen a regular turn into staff before.
(There, no worries now, right? Go rest!)
(Leave Eunbangul to me and rest easy. I recommend heading straight home for deep sleep today.)
And so, pushed out by Eunbangul and the regular, she'd been booted from the cafe. On the way home, she'd suddenly remembered she was out of salt and rushed to the convenience store. She had a lot to say, but... good things are good. As Eunbangul said, her condition was dire if she didn't rest.
I just worried them for nothing... After the vacation, I gotta make it up to them. And once I sort my thoughts, I should come clean about suddenly turning into a woman.
Ignoring Eunha's feelings, she looked up at the clear blue sky and made a small vow. In the end, Eunbangul hadn't pried—just asked if she was okay. Despite the scarf and gloves wrapping her up tight, her noticeably larger chest, her more feminine voice... Even though there were clearly more serious issues than just her condition, the girl had tactfully not asked. She was being considerate, pretending not to notice until Eunha could open up on her own. Proof of how much she trusted Eunha.
...How can someone be that kind? With gratitude toward the cute rabbit girl, Eunha dragged her suitcase back to Saetbyeol Apartment.
.....
Still, what to do during these three days off... Alright. Sleep all day today, then starting tomorrow, look into the Black Book.
Saetbyeol Apartment was a five-minute walk from the cafe. She somehow dragged her staggering body there, barely arriving. So tired. Gotta get home and crash. As she entered the apartment grounds, she glanced at the guard booth—empty. Probably in the bathroom. Eunha didn't think much of it and hummed lightly as she passed by.
Dr-r-r-uk... Crossing the apartment parking lot toward the building, she spotted a woman dragging a large travel trunk out. A neighbor from the same ninth floor. 901, right? They chatted sometimes when taking out trash.
"Hi~."
"………I have to move out."
Eunha greeted first while pulling her suitcase. The woman emerging with her trunk stared intently at Eunha and said that. Her face was expressionless, like someone possessed.
"Pardon?"
"I have to move out."
"Oh... uh, moving out? Take care~!"
"I have to move out."
The neighbor bowed blankly to the flustered Eunha waving goodbye and left. Just with the trunk... something urgent must've come up.
"……Just a coincidence."
Feeling a chill, Eunha brushed off her shoulders and entered the building. The apartment felt colder today—hope it's just her imagination.
『Hello, little one.』
Then, arriving at the ninth floor via elevator, Eunha locked eyes with the 'black girl' standing in the middle of the apartment hallway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm gonna bolt from this apartment soon.
Saetbyeol Apartment, ninth floor. Fresh out of the elevator, Eunha spotted 'that thing' in the hallway, spun around, and jabbed the elevator button. But no matter how many times she pressed—ta-dak ta-dak—it wouldn't budge, like it was broken. Glancing up at the indicator, the elevator was at the impossible '10th floor' beyond the top ninth. When did they expand this place... Fast work.
Plan B: flee down the stairs. But the downward stairs were unnaturally pitch-black, visibility zero. And next to them loomed new stairs to the '10th floor' that hadn't existed yesterday. Going down those dark ones would spell disaster. She might never return to reality. Can't go up to 10 either...
……Fine. More people in the building means more bustle, right? Eunha sighed softly, deciding good was good, and pulled a packet of rock salt from her suitcase, clutching it like a talisman.
Sa-ga-gak...Sa-ga-gak...
The straight, elongated hallway. Sunlight streamed warmly through the long corridor windows, but a girl in a gothic frilled dress blocked the path. They called that style 'goth loli' or something. Elegant black fabric with pure white frills. Height about Eunbangul's, but the flared skirt hem dragged long enough to hide her feet completely. Doesn't that get inconvenient? Dust must stick when she walks.
The girl held a black lace parasol. It hid her face, showing only her lower half. But the bright red lips peeking below curved in a seductive smile unfit for a child.
Thump.Thump.
An otherworldly dissonance dominated the hall. Just facing her numbed her senses, primal survival fear surging from instinct. Like confronting a beast bare-handed... No, more like already bitten on the head, helpless. No doubt. Same breed as the Red Woman from yesterday. Two days in a row? Really?
Sa-ga-gak...Sa-ga-gak...
Eunha froze by the elevator clutching the salt packet. The girl twirled her parasol with a bewitching air and approached.