To Wales

Kansai International Airport, Japan.

Yu Jinhyuk stepped up to the first-class counter.

"Welcome. This is the Korean Air VIP check-in counter."

He swallowed hard. Even in a foreign country, they had built the place to look extravagantly high-end, and it was his first time coming alone. He was nervous.

"Hello, sir. Is there anything I can help you with? I'd be happy to point you toward another airline's counter as well, so please don't hesitate to ask."

Yu Mira, the ground-crew attendant, offered the words with a smile. She had naturally assumed this young man had wandered to the wrong desk. Today's first-class cabin was booked by a party of twelve, after all.

"Hello."

Jinhyuk greeted her with a bright, sunny smile and held out his passport.

"Check-in, please."

Puzzled, Yu Mira took the passport anyway. The moment she checked it, her eyes went round. The name matched the person who had reserved all twelve seats.

I look weird, don't I?

Jinhyuk put on the most wholesome, innocent smile he could manage. It's fine. I'd react the same way.

When he had booked the tickets so freely, he had been operating under a serious misconception: that his companions — Kancho aside — would be able to check in with him. On the way here, though, he had realized that was impossible. His friends did not have passports. They did not, in fact, possess anything resembling a legal identity. Take them along, and they would be hauled off to some windowless interrogation room long before they ever saw Wales.

"Ah… Mr. Yu Jinhyuk. You did reserve all twelve first-class seats for today, is that correct? If there was a mistake with the booking, I'd be happy to assist you."

A reservation like this was not unheard of. Celebrities and executives did it from time to time — people who wanted a quiet flight and so bought out the neighboring seats in one go. Even they, however, did not buy out all twelve.

"I prefer being alone. Please check me in as reserved."

"Y-yes, of course! I'll check you in right away."

Yu Mira stepped back behind the counter and explained the situation. Staff eyes swung toward Jinhyuk, and behind those stares a dozen theories were already running wild. A chaebol grandson, maybe. Or a crypto millionaire.

Well, I'm already the weird one. Might as well lean into it.

He approached the counter and opened his mouth, choosing his words with care.

"Would it be possible to receive in-flight meals for every seat? I eat quite a lot."

Being something of a homebody, saying a thing like that out loud was genuinely painful.

"O-of course. We'll bring you every in-flight meal prepared for the first-class cabin, without exception."

She answered with practiced kindness, hiding her fluster as best she could. Unusual customer or not, he was a VIP, and making him even slightly uncomfortable was out of the question.

"Thank you."

He gave a light bow, then turned to gaze at the distant hills beyond the window. Honestly, he did not have it in him to check in under this much attention every time.

How much does a private jet even cost?

He pulled out his phone, genuinely intending to find out.

Excuse me?

Jinhyuk rubbed his eyes. People had been saying AI had grown at a terrifying pace lately, and apparently it was true. It had even learned how to mess with humanity.

That aside, he was a little sad. He had figured that once he was pulling in forty million a year, there would be nothing he couldn't buy — and then they hit him with a billion. Private jets were content from a realm beyond realms.

Time to climb harder.

He made the resolution again. Keep climbing the Tower until the day he could buy an ultra-luxury private jet.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Check-in is complete. If you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head inside, you can complete first-class processing, and the VIP lounge is located just beyond that — please use it as much as you like."

"Thank you."

Passport and ticket in hand, Jinhyuk walked in the direction he had been shown. The first gate — check-in — was done. Time to enjoy first class to the fullest.

He sank into the plush seat.

"Hahh."

Maybe he had eaten too much. The sigh came out on its own. He had meant to take it easy, knowing a mountain of in-flight meals was on the way — but he had picked at this and that, and overeating had been the inevitable result.

"Supreme Commander. I'm hungry, sir."

Kancho, manifested on his lap, put on a pitiful face.

"I'm so skinny I'm gonna die."

Momo chimed in right after, her voice faint and feeble. Those glossy, dumpling-round cheeks were far too plump and well-fed for anyone dying of starvation, but still.

"Just hang on a little. The in-flight meals are coming."

"Is the in-flight food any good, sir?"

"It's good."

"Is there gonna be a LOT?! Momo likes lots even if it doesn't taste that great!"

"There's going to be a ton. It's food for twelve people."

"Yay! Momo's gonna eat it all and become a pig!"

He squished her puffed-up cheeks with both hands. A little piggy Momo would only be cuter.

"Ohh. Much better than the sofa at home."

Darc, seated across the aisle, wore a look of deep satisfaction. Seira, manifested in another seat, seemed equally pleased with hers, shifting and pressing herself into the cushion to test it. He was probably going to have to buy a sofa — a top-of-the-line recliner even better than first class.

"Master. Is this all right? Even if we dismiss our manifestations, traces of our presence will remain."

"They'll just think I moved around by myself."

"Oh… you're right. Well, it's fine. They'll write it off. You're already a weird customer."

He had already chartered the entire first-class cabin and arranged to receive twelve portions of in-flight meals. Shifting between seats at this point was hardly going to make him look any stranger.

"Someone's coming, sir!"

His companions dismissed their manifestations in a flash.

"We'll be taking off shortly. Is there anything that might make you uncomfortable?"

"No. It's perfect."

"I'm glad to hear that. We were told you prefer to be alone, so cabin crew will only be present in this cabin during takeoff, landing, and meal service. Please press the call button whenever you need anything."

"Thank you."

He had been wondering whether he would have to request that himself, and they had already arranged it. He smiled and shot her a double thumbs-up. That settled it — a free-range feast all the way to Wales.

He buckled in and tapped at his phone.

The plane left the runway and climbed into the sky.

Snowdonia National Park, huh.

They would land at Cardiff Airport in Wales. The park itself was a five-hour trip from there.

Rental car or train, looks like.

Jinhyuk's nostrils flared. He didn't have a license anyway, so a rental was off the table — but riding an antique European train had been a dream of his since he was a kid.

Does Britain even count as Europe?

He wasn't sure, but it was in roughly the same neighborhood, so close enough.

A short while later, the plane leveled off at cruising altitude.

"We'll begin serving in-flight meals now."

The attendants vanished — and then, one after another, the carts began to roll in. Rattle. Rattle. Piled high on top of them: twelve portions of first-class meals. An absolutely staggering amount of food. It was a slightly random thought, but he found himself thinking that being a flight attendant was a hard job. You had to look at a sight like this and keep your face perfectly composed.

"Thank you! I'll serve myself from here on."

"Of course. Please enjoy your meal."

The attendants gave a light bow and left the cabin. Not long after—

Chomp, gobble, inhale—!

The feeding frenzy began. His companions had clearly been holding out for a long time; they demolished the food at a terrifying speed. Darc, throat apparently parched, was pouring champagne down in straight from the bottle.

They'll probably just assume I'm a big mukbang YouTuber.

He nodded to himself and reached for a plate. He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was full, but there was no universe in which you skipped in-flight meals. Until they reached Wales, he was packing it away on principle — eat now, store for later.

Waddle, waddle.

Jinhyuk shuffled out of Cardiff Airport with a belly swollen into a small ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mountain. From the VIP lounge through the in-flight meals, he had gone on an absolute binge.

He paused and glanced back.

They looked pretty shocked.

Probably because every last meal had been cleaned off without a crumb remaining. The attendants who had returned just before landing had worn expressions of unmistakable bewilderment.

Might be the biggest pig in Korean Air history. Anyway — thanks for the meal.

He flashed a thumbs-up and headed for the train station. Momo and Kancho, who had gorged themselves until they were ready to burst like balloons before dismissing their manifestations, probably wouldn't be complaining about hunger for a while.

"Hhhhhhh."

He stepped into the station and drew a great lungful of air.

Ahh. That antique smell.

He had no idea what an antique was actually supposed to smell like, but for a basement-dwelling country bumpkin, it was the kind of air that made your chest swell.

He went to the window he had looked up online and bought a ticket for Snowdonia. If they hadn't shared a language, even this would have been a headache. He felt a flicker of gratitude toward the Tower of Despair for making communication possible in every tongue.

Hm?

On his way to the platform, Jinhyuk glanced at a small group standing off to one side. A girl with her hair falling in long, multiple braids, and a man and a woman flanking her. The middle-aged man had the look of a noble butler straight out of a comic or a drama. The woman, around Jinhyuk's age, had a razor-sharp cast to her face.

Stomachache, maybe?

Unlike the girl, who stood perfectly still, the man and the woman were scanning their surroundings without rest — busy enough that he wondered if he ought to go find them a bathroom.

Jinhyuk shrugged and headed for the platform. The train left in ten minutes.

Ohh.

Now that was an old European train. It looked exactly as full of atmosphere and romance as he had hoped. He found his seat and sat down. After first class, the chair itself was uncomfortable — but even that felt like part of the romance.

Even the name is cool.

He nodded, satisfied — and the girl and her two companions from earlier stepped into the same car. They took the seats diagonally across from him.

Someone chasing them, huh.

Even after sitting down, the man and the woman could not shake the anxiety from their faces.

Only once the train actually started moving did they seem to breathe again.

Ah.

He must have been staring too long without realizing it. His eyes met the girl's. Hoping to smooth over the awkwardness, he put on a smile and gave a small wave. He had been quietly worried she might ignore him or frown — but luckily, she smiled faintly and waved back.

She's nice.

Those eyes, though. Extraordinary. A green so deep you could feel the depth of it even from here.

He finished the little greeting and turned his gaze to the window. The Tristar was picking up speed.

So peaceful…?

He drew in a breath of the crisp air, ready to enjoy the calm — and that was when a strange presence began to make itself felt.