Baepkkiyaaaak!!!
(screenshot of the Gate emergency text)
A Gate just opened right in the middle of Seoul?
Someone I know works over that way and said they got dispatched to a university.
There's gonna be a ton of students there — hope everyone's okay
(image of the Association statement)
(link to the Association statement)
If you're curious, go read it yourself. Three-line summary below:
Gate type: D-Rank.
Wrapped up faster than expected.
No fatalities, thankfully.
After a few days in the hospital, Gaeun was cleared for discharge with nothing more than a routine checkup.
She was a Hunter with Gate resistance, and she hadn't shown any unusual symptoms to begin with. An Association staffer had stopped by midway through to ask a few questions, but she'd managed to brush those off without much trouble.
Gates were still places beyond the reach of human prediction, after all. Anything could come out of one, and nothing would be strange.
She was turning those thoughts over when—
"Yes, Crow Tit. We've arrived."
"Hm? Arrived where?"
"My place."
Oh. Does this mean I finally don't have to sleep rough?
Ever since becoming a crow tit, I'd been living as a vagrant. I'd already had my fill of homelessness back in the other world — more than my fill. And now, at last… a house. The crowning achievement of modern technology.
"Hurry, hurry, open it."
"Huh? Y-yes, just a moment—"
"Heheh, air conditioning…! I need some AC on me right now."
I beat my white wings with everything I had. Just sitting still outside on a day this hot had nearly killed me. Covered head to toe in feathers, a crow tit's body was especially helpless against the heat. I'd been one roast away from becoming crow-tit steamed bun.
A moment later, Gaeun unlocked the front door.
"Come in, Crow Tit."
If I had to put Gaeun's home into words, it was simplicity itself. Everything inside was neatly arranged — and even that was limited to the bare essentials of daily life. The whole place felt like a model house.
"Ehh, boring."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that…?"
"Just… mm. No fun."
Wasn't there a cliché for this? You open the door and the place is a disaster — or some embarrassing piece of clothing or personal item is sitting out in plain view — and the person panics with a Wait, just a second!! and boots you right back out. That kind of scene showed up in comics all the time. Apparently not here. Mildly disappointing.
Then again, given Gaeun's personality, of course she lived like this — tidy, organized, nothing out of place. I hadn't really expected otherwise, but still…
"Tch. Still a shame."
"What exactly is so disappointing?"
"Never mind. Moment's gone."
"Is that so?"
Gaeun looked at me with an expression that said she had no idea what I was talking about.
"More importantly, can you turn on the AC?"
"You're right — I'll put it on right away."
"Somehow it feels hotter in here than outside."
"I left with the door closed, so the warmth probably got trapped inside."
"Crow-tit steamed bun, round two…"
The heat rolled over me and I melted onto the floor like a soft rice cake. Help. Hot. On top of everything, this body had far too many useless feathers, which meant heat didn't escape well either. The only real option was to spread my wings wide open.
I was still plastered to the slightly cooler floor when, without warning, something like a hand closed around me and my body lifted farther and farther from the ground.
"Hey — what are you doing all of a sudden."
"Crow Tit, you've just entered my home, correct?"
"…Yeah?"
"Even if you are Crow Tit, now that you're in my house, would you mind following the house rules?"
"Well, sure, that's only natural…? But why?"
Gaeun tightened her grip and headed for the bathroom.
"You've been rolling around outside all day. I can't have you rolling around on my floors like that."
"W-wait, I can clean that with magic—"
"No. It bothers me."
What kind of nonsense is that?
It wasn't that I hated getting wet. No, really. No matter how thoroughly you washed with water, magic was cleaner. So how about we put me down and talk this through like civilized people?
"No. I won't back down on this."
"Come on, why. I'm telling you it's fine."
"Because I'm not fine with it."
A knife-edge answer with zero room left on the negotiating table. Sensing that words weren't going to work, I started thrashing — twisting and wriggling with everything I had.
But I hadn't used this body for anything physical since becoming a crow tit, and I had no idea how little strength a fist-sized cotton ball actually possessed. She pinned me with one hand like it was nothing.
"Baepkkiyaaaak!!"
"Just stay still, Crow Tit. I'll wash you myself."
"Crow Tit, you're not still sulking, are you?"
"Who's sulking."
"I didn't have a choice. Could you please understand?"
Ha. Who asked to be force-bathed like that?
I whipped my head away from Han Gaeun and faced into the air-conditioning breeze. A crow tit's body was water's natural enemy. All those excess feathers took forever to dry once they got soaked — layer upon layer of plumage that trapped moisture and refused to let it evaporate. And it was the middle of a sweltering summer. The dampness left behind was pure clammy misery.
"Hmph."
Someone might think, Just dry yourself with magic. And sure, that was true. Magic would dry me more thoroughly than any physical method. But it left a weird feeling behind — like something had dried without quite finishing the job. Not refreshing. Unpleasant, even. Either way, I was not pleased.
"Crow Tit? Crow Tiiit?"
"What."
"Well… I was wondering if you might like something like this."
"Like what."
"Sunflower seeds."
Gaeun pointed to a bag of sunflower seeds sitting on the table.
You little—! Just because I turned into a crow tit doesn't mean I'm an actual bird!
I glared at her, seething on the inside.
"Didn't I tell you I was a great archmage in the other world?"
"Yes. I heard you clearly at the hospital."
"Then what is this supposed to be?"
Han Gaeun had been told I'd been human in another world. And she was offering me sunflower seeds — the kind of thing a real crow tit would eat?
Get over here!!
I took off and started pecking her on the head with my beak.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Ow — that stings…!"
"I pecked you so it'd sting. What, you wanted it soft?"
"P-please stop."
Once the pecking started to actually hurt, I dropped back to the floor.
"Never look down on me again."
"I wasn't looking down on you…"
"Quiet."
I spread my wings at her in what I hoped was a terrifying display. The threat display of a thoroughly enraged crow tit. She had to be scared.
"Then what should I do with the sunflower seeds?"
"Just deal with them however—"
I was about to say dispose of them when the bag tipped over and a spill of seeds poured out — and they looked incredibly delicious. That rich smell I'd been catching for a while… it had been coming from here? I'd assumed it was something a neighbor was cooking. No. The sunflower seeds themselves were putting out a deeply savory aroma that snagged my gaze and wouldn't let go.
"W-wait. Just one. Let's try one and then decide."
"Huh? But just a second ago—"
"Still, you have to try at least one before you decide."
"Then why exactly was I getting pecked until just now?"
I ignored her and picked up a seed that had fallen near the mouth of the bag.
"Oh… that's good…?"
Why does this taste good?
It wasn't spectacularly delicious or anything. How to put it — nutty, mild, and dangerously moreish. The kind of flavor that made one seed feel painfully insufficient.
Right. If you bought them, you finish them.
I looked up at Gaeun.
"Give me a little more of these."
"………"
Without a word, Gaeun opened the bag, poured sunflower seeds into a dish, and set it in front of me. What kind of look she gave me in that moment, I couldn't say. I wasn't a crow tit brave enough to meet her eyes under the circumstances. I just buried my face in the dish and ate.
"Om nom nom."
These are really good.