A Day in Another World
I leaned weakly against the rooftop railing, a half-empty soju bottle clutched in my hand.
The cold wind brushing past me momentarily cleared my head as I lifted my blurry gaze toward the sky.
Stars embroidered across a beautiful purple veil... One of them was drawing a faint arc as it fell.
They say making a wish on a shooting star will make it come true.
Recalling the words my little sister had once said, I formed a bitter smile.
I closed my eyes and repeated the thought to myself.
I hope I can find the sister I lost because of my past mistake.
For that, I would pay any price.
For some reason the light in front of my eyes kept growing brighter, so I opened them.
A meteor, shining enough to blind me, was hurtling straight toward me.
Just before the collision, the last thought that crossed my mind was—.
Why are there cat ears?
"Hiek—!?"
When I regained my senses, my hand had reflexively shot out and was gripping the wrist of the uninvited guest who had slipped it into my pocket.
I slowly raised my head from where it had been lying on the table and turned my gaze toward the source of the shrill scream.
Frowning as I identified the wrist's owner, what came into view was....
The face of a younger sister, utterly terrified.
Wearing a school uniform, trembling pitifully as she looked at me—.
Damn.
I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, then opened them again.
The scene before me sharpened, and the illusion scattered like hazy mist.
"......Who are you?"
"S-s-s-s-sorry...."
A kid who looked maybe nine years old was staring at me with fear-filled eyes.
The rabbit ears atop her head stood erect as she trembled all over.
I shifted my gaze from the kid and slowly blinked my heavy, alcohol-laden eyelids as I surveyed my surroundings.
The space was enclosed by faded wood permeated with a sticky alcoholic scent.
Dim lighting fell over the sparsely arranged wooden tables, and the only thing filling the silence of this isolated space was the indifferent sound of the news coming from the old TV.
In the middle of this world-secluded place, an inappropriately young child was trembling in fear, her wrist caught in my grasp.
I slowly looked her over from head to toe.
It was late at night for her to be alone, her clothes were filthy, and her limbs were covered in fresh blue bruises that looked recently made.
She was probably a kid abandoned by her parents and taken in by the local punks to work as a pickpocket.
Rabbits really breed without a care. At this rate the whole country will be overrun with them.
So that's how this scrawny little kid had gotten into the bar. The bartender had just put up a sign for the restroom and vanished somewhere.
"That old fart."
No matter how dead the bar was, how could he leave a single drunk customer behind to go to the bathroom?
I clicked my tongue and released the kid's wrist, thin as a twig.
Even then, she was so scared that she couldn't run away and remained frozen, as if surrendering her fate to me.
Then a loud rumbling came from her stomach. The kid frantically clutched her belly, trying to muffle the sound.
I can imagine what kind of treatment she's used to.
I watched her for a moment before pulling out my wallet.
"Even if I gave you money, the bastards who put you up to this wouldn't feed you properly anyway...."
I placed an appropriate amount of money on the inner side of the counter, then retrieved a simple sandwich from the bar's refrigerator.
It was supposed to be the old man's dinner, but consider it compensation for leaving a customer alone to run errands.
The kid stared at the large ham and cheese sandwich, drool practically pouring from her mouth. When I nodded, she grabbed it with her tiny, shaking hands and took a careful bite.
Her eyes widened, and she began wolfing it down.
She gulped down the milk I'd taken out to prevent her from choking, as if there was no bottom to her.
After polishing off the huge sandwich and three full glasses of milk right there, the kid finally glanced at me nervously. Fidgeting, she brought her hands together politely.
"Yeah. Hands are for things like that, not other people's pockets."
"......Th-thank you."
"No need to thank me."
The sandwich and three glasses of milk I'd bought her would only grant a brief moment of fullness.
That was all there was to the story.
While I was dealing with the kid, the old man returned from the bathroom.
With neat gray hair and drooping dog ears on top, he was the old man skilled at making the world's least appetizing cocktails.
"What's with that child?"
"Can't you tell by looking?"
"...Ah, I see."
The old man seemed to have caught on from the kid's appearance.
With the adult who appeared to be the shop owner now present, the kid didn't know what to do and subtly sidled closer to me.
Not that I'm on your side or anything.
Then something occurred to me, and I clapped my hands.
"Oh, right. Mister, now that I think about it, didn't you say this place was short-staffed?"
"......I did mention that."
"There's an empty room, too."
"It's currently used as storage, but if I move the junk elsewhere, it could be emptied."
The old man went along with me, his dim eyes carefully scanning the kid.
"Just hypothetically. What if there was a kid who ate and slept in the empty room and helped out with work? Then you could go to the bathroom without worry. Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Well... that would depend on how the 'kid' herself handles it."
Finally realizing what was going on, the kid's eyes widened to their limit as she stared at me.
The old man seemed to have gotten the general idea, so this was probably enough.
If she showed promise, he'd take her in. If not, back to the streets she would go.
"I'll be heading out now, mister. I left the money for the sandwich and milk on the counter."
"Hold on. What about your drink tab?"
"Hmm, can't we settle it as an introduction fee?"
"......I'll add it to your tab."
As expected, that didn't fly.
I let out a small chuckle and readily handed my card to the old man.
While the old man processed the payment with his wrinkled hands at a leisurely pace, I crouched down in front of the fidgeting kid and looked her in the eyes.
"How about it? Think you can handle it?"
"Eh? U-um..."
"You can't act so lacking in confidence. Say that you can do anything, that you'll work hard even if you're not perfect yet."
"I-I'll work hard...!"
"Yes, good. That's the spirit."
I grinned and ruffled the kid's hair.
"Mister, I'll make sure to sell a lot more drinks from now on. You'll have expenses because of this kid, after all."
"No need. It's not like I'm short on cash, and if I let you drink any more than this, I'm scared you'll pass away before me, young one."
"Even then, I won't go before you, mister."
After exchanging a few light jokes with the old man, laughing all the while, I waved goodbye to the pair and left the bar.
"Whew...."
Standing at the bar's entrance, I let out a long sigh heavy with the smell of alcohol and slowly drank in the street scene that looked so much like Seoul.
Brightly lit signs and countless concrete buildings... Numerous people enjoying their respective nights.
A scantily dressed rabbit clinging tightly to the thick arm of a massive bear.
Wolves with heavy makeup that couldn't hide their youthful faces, wandering around in groups.
Hyenas huddled in dark alleys, shooting fierce glares at passersby.
It was a familiar yet alien sight, with beastmen simply occupying the places where humans would be.
"Hey, pretty lady over there—."
"Buzz off."
I flipped off the wolf who approached trying to hit on me and sent him packing. Just as I was about to head home, my phone rang from inside my pocket.
As soon as I answered, an annoyingly clear voice came through the receiver.
"Hello, Woo Yeo-eun. I called earlier as well, but it seems you were busy."
"......Hasn't the psychiatric clinic's business hours already passed?"
I narrowed my eyes at my wristwatch. It was nine oh two in the evening.
No matter how I looked at it, this was no time to be hearing from a psychiatrist.
"That's true. But since you didn't show up for your appointment today, I can't leave work."
"You can skip me once. It's not like you'll actually listen to what I say anyway."
"Oh my, isn't listening to people's words my job?"
"I suppose. Except for the words of crazy people, that is."
When I grumbled, the doctor let out a bright laugh.
"Aha ha, of course in that case I do filter it a bit."
"So even a crazy person will filter the doctor's words for a day."
"That won't do. I'll be waiting until you come, so hurry up. Okay?"
"Okay my ass—. Hello? Hello?"
The doctor who had unilaterally summoned me hung up without waiting for my reply.
What a bothersome woman.
"Taxi...!"
I stared at the phone screen for a moment, then flagged down a passing taxi.
Leaning my alcohol-soaked head forlornly against the window, I rode along the night roads until I arrived at the now-empty psychiatric clinic where all the staff had gone home.
Beyond the darkened hallway where the lights were off, the only room with its lights still on came into view.
What awaited me inside was.
A fox wearing a loose-fitting doctor's coat.