129 – Life of Fall (2)
Han Jae-joong checked the surroundings as soon as he saw the note in the bird’s beak. He would have been in trouble if he was caught, given the content of the note.
Especially for Yun Seol-hwa, who was very worried about today’s attack by a monster, that note must have been extremely harsh.
Fortunately, Yun Seol-hwa was not seen, perhaps because he left immediately after delivering the message. But you never know when your face will show again.
If anyone finds out that the bird, which is clearly a subordinate of a monster, approached him, it is no joke and he may be imprisoned in the future.
Furthermore, if you want to ask a question, you would either have to go to Botis in person or send a letter to the bird, but the latter would be difficult because the frequency of contact with the bird would increase and the risk of being caught by Seol-hwa Yoon would increase. In the former case, it is difficult to go out in the first place.
There is Yun Seol-hwa, who remained here for the reason of protecting herself from monsters. This late-night outing will take place under her watch.
As if he had sensed Han Jae-joong’s worries, Botis’ message continued.
‘I’m not asking you to come visit me right away today. Because it was late at night. After thinking about it enough, come to me. Tomorrow is fine, and even later than that is fine. But I want it to be as fast as possible. There won’t be much time left for us to see each other. -Botis.’
The phrase that there was not much time left was even more painful for Han Jaejoong. Even today, after canceling my transformation, I had to suffer from a headache for a while. Han Jaejoong can no longer ignore a light headache that he would have normally ignored.
Palak. The bird cleverly dropped the paper from its beak. The fallen piece of paper immediately returned to the dirt, and the next note immediately appeared.
‘I’m sorry. Actually, I should have told you this first. As I said before, my memory is also inconsistent. It was only after meeting me that I was able to recall the facts related to the belt. Of course, it sounds like an excuse to you. I’m really sorry. You don’t need to understand. -Botis.’
Before she knew it, the bird had only the last piece in her mouth and placed the long stick-like object she was holding in her paws on the window sill.
‘I don’t care that you cut off my horn and killed my children. Really. So, I hope you don’t feel pressured and come visit us. If you want to find my location, blow this flute. This child who gave me my letter today will guide you. -Botis.’
Botis’ handwriting was neat and the writing style also felt thoughtful. But she felt like everything she did was a lie. She is nothing short of a devil, having caused massacres in the past and driving countless people to death as monsters.
I did not feel particularly grateful for such kindness from such a person. I wonder if there’s some kind of plan going on, but I just have this uneasy feeling.
But I can’t refuse this offer right now, putting personal feelings first. I ignored my sad feelings, opened the window, and grabbed the flute the bird had left behind.
“Jaejoong?”
“Oh, sorry. “I’ll be in soon.”
Han Jae-joong slowly answered Yun Seol-hwa’s question. She even moved her body and stepped into her bathroom. On the way, her eyes met Yun Seol-hwa’s.
“…?”
Once again, I thought she was really beautiful. Her long, blue hair was slightly wet and clinging to her forehead, and her skin, which had gone from white to translucent, was slightly flushed and had a pleasing pink tint. She was wearing a loose-fitting t-shirt and long cotton pants, but her unique voluptuous figure was proudly showing off even among the fabric.
It was both absurd and thankful that a person like this was so embarrassed by her name, Han Jae-joong, so Han Jae-joong suddenly felt sorry for her. He felt as if both her name of happiness and the name of her pain were her own names, and he wondered what would make her happy.
After staring at her for a moment, she seemed embarrassed and made an excuse.
“Oh, no! I’m not trying to steal! “I was just going to my room…!”
“I didn’t think anything of it, but making an excuse like that makes me look suspicious.”
“Oh, you said no?”
Han Jaejoong chuckled. It was nice to be able to laugh, even if it was a silly laugh like this.
**
The day of the next day.
Even though winter had not yet passed, the sunlight was quite strong. The jacket that Jo Ayun gave me was quite thick, so I had no problem withstanding the cold even in winter, but on a day like this, it was a bit difficult.
It wasn’t a complaint. How can you criticize a gift in such a way? Just wear it gratefully.
However, he was criticizing himself for not finding out today’s weather in advance. Han Jaejoong grumbled that he should have looked at the weather forecast and walked into a dark alley.
Even in full sunlight, shade prevailed in the alley. For some reason, there was an eerie feeling in the small passageway between the huge buildings. The inside of the alley was humid and sticky. As the cold air of winter and the discomfort of summer came together, comfort was at its worst.
“I don’t have much time left in my life, but the weather isn’t following me as I want.”
In fact, a sunny day would be a perfect day for most people, but for him who was bothered by everything, it couldn’t be called a very good day. Other bad days included cloudy days, rainy days, snowy days, and windy days.
Han Jaejoong put the flute he received last night to his mouth and made a sound. A high, clear tone like birdsong echoed through the alley.
This alley was used when meeting Botis in the past. In the explanation of the letter, he said that the bird would guide him no matter where it blew, but he felt safer without people. If there’s a guy playing the flute anywhere, he’s crazy. Above all, it will attract a lot of attention.
As the sound of the flute went far away, the sound of an animal, unknown whether it was a bird or a goat, came across as if responding from the other side of the sound.
Soon green grass began to grow beneath his feet. Not like a sprout sprouting, but like it was there originally. In fact, the scenery of the alley changed as if this place was not an alley but a meadow in a high mountain range.
A bird flew low in the center. It was exactly as it was written in the letter. Han Jaejoong followed the bird. He had not transformed. Because my current act of transformation is closer to throwing away my life rather than taking it.
The weather, which was hot and humid in winter, gradually changed to the cold and dry weather of a mountain ridge. Although the weather was pleasant, Han Jaejoong’s mood did not improve.
“You made a decision quickly. “I’m so glad.”
At the end of following the bird, I saw a person sitting on a checkered mat wearing a meaningful hood.
“It’s been a while.”
“…Botis.”
“Hey, don’t do that, just call me ‘Bo’ in a friendly way?”
hehehe, ignoring her laughing voice, Han Jaejoong sat down on his mat.
“Yes, I know everything. You’re not in the mood to listen to such trivial talk right now, are you? “It says on your face, ‘Just tell me what’s on your mind.’”
“If you know everything, just tell me what you want.”
“Oh my, imperative?”
Botis chuckled as he watched Jaejoong Han’s expression become more sour.
“Hey, your expression is so crumpled. Smile. Smile, smile. They say that smiling increases your lifespan. “Isn’t this exactly what you need right now?”
“I don’t have time.”
It had a double meaning. It means that there is no time in the future and that there is not much time to spare right now.
Because Han Jaejoong came out without the two of you secretly.
Yun Seol-hwa is not an idle person. Unfortunately, she had to go to work during the day, as she was unable to take any vacation as she wanted. She has had commercial shoots that have been postponed and has also involved monsters.
I finally went outside after hugging him for a while in front of the front door before going to work.
She left one request as she left. Please contact me every hour.
It was burdensome, but it was impossible to refuse.
Jaejoong Han must leave her contact information to her in the next 40 minutes.
Jo Ayun’s case was even more severe. Still, with her recent suspicions, her desire to always work together has strengthened, and for him now, she is a more difficult opponent than her Yun Seol-hwa.
Unlike Yun Seol-hwa, who was forced to separate due to circumstances, Jo Ayun can stay with Han Jae-joong 24 hours a day as she pleases.
Fortunately for her, Han Jae-joong had the ability to lie easily during her quest, and succeeded in deceiving her and winning her some time.
“So, please tell me quickly.”
He was in a hurry now. If necessary, he could easily change the honorific or title. Botis studied his face for a moment and opened his lips.
“Okay. I was just kidding for a moment. I’ll tell you as quickly as you want. “What you’re most curious about right now is your remaining lifespan and how to extend it, right?”
Han Jaejoong nodded his head.
“For the former, to be honest… I’m sorry. I don’t know either.”
Han Jaejoong felt like he couldn’t breathe for a moment.
“I know that starlight is fatal to an ordinary human body, but I don’t know how much life it took from you. “Because I’m not a doctor.”
It was true. Diagnosing her exact remaining life was impossible for her.
“But the deadline is certain. In the first place, the transformation system in which starlight is directly given to the body through temporary monster transformation is not something that a person with a normal body can accept. Unfortunately, that system was created for magical girls, not ordinary people. For those who were not chosen by the stars…..”
Botis paused for a moment and slowly shook his head.
“…Still, I can answer the latter.”
Botis raised his head again and smiled. There was a moment of anticipation in Han Jaejoong’s eyes.
“Really?”
“Then~ No matter what, I won’t tell a lie at the cost of a person’s life.”
Botis spoke with excitement in his voice.
“You can become a monster!”
“…What?”
“All you have to do is throw away your human body and become a monster! Since the human body cannot accept starlight, you can just throw away the human body! Simple, right? “Just be my child.”
Han Jaejoong laughed. Unfortunately, that was my first laugh of the day.
“What the f*ck are you talking about….”
“It’s probably not bullsh*t, right? Why, you saw it too. “A child who was in the same situation as you and was able to survive until now by making the right choices.”
You saw that person? Han Jaejoong wiggled his eyebrows in confusion. Before long, a hypothesis popped into his head.
“…No way.”
“Look, you know.”
Botis was still smiling innocently.
“The monster of Sagittarius.”
**
“What is your purpose?!”
The location where we were dispatched after receiving the report. Originally, the monster that Red Vega was supposed to defeat was dead from an arrow piercing his neck. The red armored monster sitting on top of her corpse slowly raised its head towards her.
“Hey.”
With something like a chain wrapped around one of his eyes, he smiled frivolously and called out to Red Vega. He inadvertently gave her goosebumps.
“Would you like me to tell you an interesting fact?”
It was an unpleasant feeling that made me vomit.
Red Vega realized once again that most monsters harbor an ominous spirit that is different from that of humans.
