Chapter 193
Chapter 193
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: Episode 64. What Happened That Night (1)
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As dusk fell.
A certain man who couldn't sleep would transform his body to mimic those who could.
Closing his eyes. Blocking his ears. Lowering his blood pressure and slowing his heartbeat. Slightly dropping his body temperature. Slowing his metabolism.
As he grew stronger, the inefficient parts of being human had been optimized. Sleep was the most inefficient act of all, so he could no longer do it.
Like that, in the darkness.
He would cautiously open his ears.
Listening to the sounds from Room 301.
The kids slept incredibly well.
Snore... snore... Even breaths came steadily from beyond the wall. They were all sleeping soundly. Or maybe not quite all of them. After hearing some rustling for a moment, Yoo Ji-tae closed his ears again.
When he closed his eyes and opened them again, morning would have arrived.
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door right then.
"Huh."
The door slid open quietly. It was Yeoreum, dressed in loose-fitting pajamas.
She looked like she'd bitten down on a rock while eating.
"...Were you sleeping?"
"Why."
"......"
Unlike the other three earlier, this was the one who hadn't been asleep.
What's gotten into her all of a sudden? He amped up his hearing a bit. She seemed displeased about something. Her expression was sour, and even her heartbeat had quickened.
"What's wrong."
"Just... wanna hang here a bit."
"What happened."
"Dunno. Don't ask. I'm fucking pissed off..."
Yeoreum pouted as she headed to his desk chair and flopped into it. The backrest swung back with a whoosh, leaving her comfortably reclined.
As he tried to tune her out and close his eyes again, Yeoreum spoke up.
"Hey. Could you kill someone for me?"
What the hell is this now?
"Why. Who."
"Some total asshole."
"Name."
"Dunno."
"Why kill 'em."
"'Cause they're an asshole..."
Was this twenty questions? Yoo Ji-tae opened his eyes and sat up.
"Gender."
"Probably a girl."
"Why don't you know the name."
"Carrot Girl..."
"What?"
"N-no, nothing."
"What makes you wanna kill her so bad."
"......"
Yeoreum scratched at her red hair in frustration. Moonlight streamed in through the window, making the red strands sway.
"Listen. Hear me out?"
"Yeah."
"Say it's butter potato."
"What kinda butter potato."
"Just go with it. The butter melts into the potato, right?"
"......"
"Right?"
"Yeah."
"If it's potato butter made from potato, then it's potato butter. Right?"
"Sure."
"So in horror romance, the horror should be mixed into the romance, yeah?"
"...?"
Yoo Ji-tae, who had been listening seriously, felt the wind go out of his sails. What was this sudden tangent?
"Why—why do they act all lovey-dovey like they're about to kiss, then bam, fucking ghost jumps out and shit? Why? If that's how it's gonna be, it should be romance horror, not horror romance."
Now he got it.
Yeoreum often watched something at night. Squeezing it in for a couple hours when she should've been sleeping. She was too busy with training and classes during the day.
He'd figured she was reading something smutty, fitting for her. But this time, it seemed she'd picked a scary book.
"So you want me to kill the author?"
"Yeah."
"Nah."
"I know. It's ridiculous... I was just so pissed I said it..."
The Red Dragon wouldn't fear ghosts, so she'd probably been startled by an unexpected scene.
"What book."
"Huh?"
"What's the title."
"W-why do you wanna know?"
"Curious."
"Th-the house... No. Doesn't matter."
Yeoreum clammed up after that.
Then she eyed Yoo Ji-tae slyly, scanning him up and down. Face, body, feet, back to face.
"What."
"Hey. You got any secrets you haven't told me?"
"...No."
"Hm. Stay still."
She crept toward the bed cautiously. He stayed quiet as she reached out and poked his face. No clue why, but she seemed a little tense. He decided to humor her and stay put.
She tapped his nose, tugged his earlobe, pinched his cheek. It was getting annoying.
He spoke.
"Hey."
He'd been playing dead, then moved. That startled her. Yeoreum jumped.
"Ah, fuck, you scared me...!"
"...?"
"I said stay still...!"
It was nighttime, so she didn't yell, but Yeoreum pinched his cheek hard in annoyance. It didn't hurt.
Once her heartbeat calmed, she headed back to her room.
He had no idea what her deal was.
Back in her room, Yeoreum carefully picked up the book.
[The Landlady's Dangerous Secret]
[Author: Carrot Girl]
She'd expected something risky and steamy(?). But it was a ghost story. A really scary one...
Yeoreum tossed the upsetting book aside and glanced toward Yoo Ji-tae's room.
"Hm..."
Fortunately, it wasn't their house.
As he tried to close his eyes again, just before dawn's twilight. Something knocked on the door again.
Knock knock.
Who this time? He looked beyond the door.
A baggy black T-shirt and shorts. Golden hair gleaming even in the dark clothes, reflecting faint light.
"Come in."
The door slid open, and Gaeul poked her head in.
Her golden eyes looking at him weren't as bright as usual. As Yoo Ji-tae sat up, Gaeul greeted him.
"H-hi...?"
"Hey. Hi."
Gaeul still hesitated to enter.
"What. Something to say?"
"Y-yeah..."
"What."
"Ppi-yung sneaked out."
"Huh? The chick did?"
"Yeah... Through the window secretly."
"Tonight?"
"Yeah. About three minutes ago... Oh, and it's been happening since last week too..."
Since she was just peeking in, he told her to come inside. Gaeul entered carefully and closed the door.
Since last week...
That spirit chick had been fooling Gaeul for quite a while. It had been sneaking out two or three times a week for nearly half a year.
Gaeul sat on the far side of his bed.
"Actually, last week... I scolded it once...?"
"Yeah. How?"
"Like, if you wanna go out, we can during walks... Don't sneak out at night."
"Hm..."
"But today, this little punk went out again..."
With a gloomy expression, she clasped her hands and fidgeted with her thumbs.
To Gaeul, chick Ppi-yung was someone to protect.
And Gaeul was its protector.
"What do I do? Why does it keep going out? I told it not to... It runs away every night... Should I scold it...?"
"How would you scold it."
"Hm... Like, you're gonna get punished? Spanked?"
"That'd scare it real good."
"Hm, then should I get serious...? Like..."
Gaeul bit her lip and closed her eyes briefly. As if remembering something. Thinking.
When she opened them again.
"Hey."
A decadent gaze undreamt of by 7th-cycle Gaeul flickered in her eyes.
"You think I'm joking?"
No wonder the chick would faint.
He shook his head.
"No. Don't."
"Gasp... That's no good?"
"Don't do it."
"Ah, o-okay..."
Someday Gaeul would have to learn. What the chick was doing behind her back. And what it wanted.
That was always his thought. But the regressor realized today was that day.
"Gaeul. Come sit here."
He pondered briefly.
4th cycle.
The momentarily deranged Baby Yellow had strangled the parrot. Afterward, she'd felt guilty and treated it well.
But soon the parrot opened its cage and flew away.
And never returned.
He, the observer back then, had watched Baby Yellow's every move.
The Gold Dragon hatchling who only received care and love from others.
The only one she'd shared love with was that parrot. So when it vanished, Baby Yellow was devastated. She canceled concert plans and shut herself in her room crying for a day or two.
But after a week. Then a month. Something miraculous happened.
Having experienced farewell, Baby Yellow matured rapidly.
Recalling that time, long memories flashed through his mind.
But that farewell had been too sudden for Baby Yellow then.
Unprepared emotions carve deeper wounds.
These events approached by chance. They were part of life. No one wanting normalcy could live forever in a greenhouse.
If this cycle's Gaeul needed to mature, he wished for her to hurt a little less.
Having thought it through, he spoke.
"Gaeul."
"Yes..."
"Suppose. Just suppose."
"Yes."
"If the chick wants to leave us. What would you do?"
Gaeul's eyes widened.
"Wha—why...?"
"Don't freak out. Just suppose."
"I don't like it. Ppi-yung's family. Why? Why would it wanna go?"
"If it has a home. Or a place it must return to. A reason it absolutely has to go?"
"If I don't wanna let it go...?"
"If it must?"
"If I really, really don't wanna let it go...?"
"If it wants to?"
"Uh... That..."
Gaeul couldn't hide her confusion.
"...Do I have to let it go?"
"Just suppose. If."
"......"
The child covered her mouth with her hand. Her gaze soon drooped sadly.
This far-too-young child wasn't ready for farewell at all.
"...If Ppi-yung leaves, will it be happy?"
"Probably."
"Isn't it happy with me...?"
"No. It would be happy with you too."
"Then why leave...? I just, I just can't understand..."
"Just suppose."
"Yes..."
Her confused feelings carried in her voice.
Her sunken golden gaze. Gaeul was silent for a long time.
When she spoke again, she'd suddenly lain down beside him.
"I thought about it. It's too hard..."
"What is."
"I love Ppi-yung... If it wants to leave, and that's best for it, I should let it go... right?"
"Right."
"But I don't wanna let it go..."
Thinking alone, Gaeul realized the inevitable choice.
If there's a being that must leave.
If you love it, must you let it go?
You don't want to because you love it.
Baby Yellow had no choice but to let it go suddenly. Yet because she loved it, she cheered its freedom with a song.
The story behind "Parrot," the mega-hit that moved the world and BY's signature song.
"No. I miss Mom..."
"......"
"Pet my head, please..."
He placed his hand on the child's head. Then, with slow strokes in her favorite way, he petted the golden hair.
Lost in gloomy thoughts, Gaeul stayed there for hours.
At some point, she seemed to fall asleep without realizing.
Steady snores followed her calm breaths.
Yoo Ji-tae carefully carried the child back to her room.
Tonight felt a bit long.
Now he could finally rest a little.
...No sooner had he thought that than someone knocked.
Tap tap—.
The sound came from lower down than the others.
"Huh."
As he called, the door slid open quietly. Blue eyes looked at him.
Winter was peeking through the gap.
"Why."
What's this one's deal?