Chapter 67

After chugging down half a bottle of water, Seo-un finally realized how parched she had been. Still feeling hoarse, she moistened her throat with the remaining water. As her dry throat became moist, a long-held sigh escaped her.

Not only had she shaken people up, but she had also gone into hiding, reappeared, and started making strange noises, and now she had become a child. Her soul seemed to have left her, and with her energy drained, she pressed her eyes with her hand.

Thinking that Chahaya might be stirring, she turned around. Young Chahaya was sitting up with a dazed look in his eyes. Just as she was about to approach him as usual, his eyes, which seemed to be dotted with stars, blinked.

The moment he saw Seo-un, Chahaya's eyes widened, and he sprang up from his seat.

"Chahaya Seo-un."

The moment he opened his mouth, he quickly covered his neck with both hands.

What? His voice sounded quite like a chick. He then made an "ah" sound again and extended his palms forward. Young Chahaya tried turning his hands back and forth.

"Hey! Where are you going!"

He leaped out of bed and moved swiftly. Thinking he might be trying to go outside, Seo-un hurriedly followed, but his destination was the bathroom.

Unable to see his face clearly in the tall mirror, he climbed onto the toilet lid and turned his body toward the mirror. The child, shocked, was speechless.

"...Don't be scared, listen. You've been poisoned by a variant toxin."

Chahaya turned around sharply. When he opened his eyes, it was as if a doll had come to life. His delicate eyes and nose were so adorable that if they were her child, she would want to kiss and cuddle them every day.

"...Damn."

If only he could speak nicely.

***

"Hey, don't worry too much. The poison will be gone, and you'll return to normal."

Even after explaining that she had called Jo Gyeong-min and about the polyp state, Chahaya was lying on his back with his back turned. It was a rare sight to see Chahaya, usually so spirited, in such a dejected state.

"Are you hungry?"

"I'm fine, so go away."

The kid, who had pulled the blanket over his head, seemed to not want to show this side of himself. Normally, she might have been hurt by the "go away" comment, but seeing him as a child, she was more worried.

"I'll go get some food."

"I'm not hungry."

"Listen. You can't go out looking like that."

"I'll come to your place when I'm better, so just go."

"Our place is because of you. I don't have a home either, so I'll stay here for a while."

Chahaya suddenly threw off the blanket and sat up. Finally showing his face, Seo-un smoothed his messy hair and tried to comfort him.

"Did I fight with Geun and get kicked out?"

Fortunately, even though he had become a child, his core remained the same.

"Yeah, so the residents chased me out."

Why did you kiss me? Was it because my lips looked kissable?

She couldn't bring herself to ask him, given his angelic face. Besides, once the poison was neutralized, he would return to his original form, so she could ask him then.

"Why did they kick you out if I fought with that guy?"

His voice was high, making him sound like a pouting child.

"I just didn't like that apartment, so I left. And Geun admitted he was wrong. He said he got mad because you didn't recommend it, so we fought."

"Chahaya Seo-un."

"You're speaking informally."

Seo-un pressed his forehead as if scolding him.

"Am I a trash kid?"

"What? I said it's not because of you. And it's weird for you to say that in this form. You look really like an angel right now."

"Like an angel?"

His eyes, looking up, were wide and innocent. It seemed as if the stars in his eyes would spill out if touched.

"Yeah. How did such a disgusting kid grow up to be so handsome?"

"You said I'm handsome."

Chahaya pulled the blanket back over himself and lay down. The shape of his body under the blanket was quite cute, but Seo-un didn't show it.

"Hey, I'm going to get some food. What's the password?"

Since she had used Chahaya's fingerprint to enter, she didn't know the password. Seo-un, about to leave, raised her voice again.

"Tell me the password."

"9585."

His chick-like voice was quite endearing.

"I'll get the food myself."

Seo-un, about to leave, paused.

9585... It was the password for the basement of his old home and the last four digits of the phone number she used to have. At the time, she thought it was a coincidence, but now it had been a long time since she changed the number.

Unlike her, Chahaya seemed unchanged from then until now. While she had moved away from his domain, he had always remained in the same place.

She was the one who had always changed. She had developed feelings beyond friendship and had to distance herself because she couldn't be true to her emotions.

Still, Chahaya was like a star in her life. Just as a fixed star is called a star that doesn't move, she could only orbit around the unchanging Chahaya, like a planet around the sun. Just as the Earth cannot leave the solar system even if it doesn't like the sun.

If Chahaya were the sun, she would want to be Pluto, a dwarf planet that has been expelled from the solar system. A weak and distant dwarf planet seemed to fit her perfectly.

Her emotions, growing from unrequited feelings, were twisted and immature. Seo-un closed the door gently before her core was destroyed.

Should I buy him some mild food since he's a kid? She was engrossed in a worry she had never had before as she went down to the second floor. However, she was clearly relieved that she hadn't asked him about the kiss immediately.

If she had no feelings for him, she could have grabbed his cheeks and demanded to know why he had done such a crazy thing. But the truth was, she was afraid of the answer he might give.

It seemed unlikely that the answer would be in the direction she wanted.

'You just looked so kissable.'

The words he said before passing out kept echoing in her ears.

If he said he kissed her just because she looked kissable... It would be more than just disappointing; it would be heart-wrenching. But what was even more despairing was the fact that Chahaya might do something like that.

***

Chahaya pulled off the blanket, which was filled with his breath.

What a despicable kid.

He muttered, looking down at his small hands. Unintentionally, he had taken on the form of a child and was avoiding the situation. He needed to confess to Seo-un about the trashy things he had done, but seeing Seo-un, his lips had gone dry.

He just wanted to kiss him again as soon as he saw him. He already knew the feel of those lips. If he hadn't been in a child's body, he might have run to Seo-un and bitten his lips the moment he saw him in the room.

'You look really like an angel right now.'

What kind of angel? Chahaya pressed his forehead with his small hand, lost in thought.

As expected, the answer was with Seo-un. The conclusion he couldn't reach while in hiding came to him the moment he saw Seo-un.

Like those dog-like site kids...

He was looking at Seo-un that way too.

Chahaya looked down at his hands again. A body that was pure but contained something impure.

He took off the shirt he had tied at the bottom and headed to the bathroom. The mutant smell had gone away, probably cleaned by Seo-un while he was unconscious, but his hair felt uncomfortable. If he looked like an angel, he should at least be clean.

He looked up at the showerhead hanging high above, crossing his arms. Since he couldn't reach it, he pulled the shower hose and tapped it up.

Damn, is it because my body hasn't grown enough that my movements are so slow?

He squatted and stuck his head under the faucet. At least the shampoo bottle was within reach. A small mercy. The shower didn't take long because of his small body.

Chahaya lifted his heels and pulled the towel from the towel rack to dry himself. He then took out a new T-shirt and tightly tied the loose bottom.

He sat on the bed, crossing his legs like someone who had just cleaned themselves before meditation.

He closed his eyes and focused his mind, trying to find the poison that had seeped into his body. However, the image of Seo-un drinking from a water bottle suddenly appeared. Her worried eyes looking down at him were also there. Chahaya blacked out the scene and started searching for the poison left by the mutant.

If the poison were clearly present, he could just remove it, but currently, it was mixed with his cosmos, making it difficult to filter out. If he forced it, he might release his healthy energy as well. You can't burn down the house to kill a flea.

If he had known about the polyp and the poison, he wouldn't have let himself be poisoned in the first place.

'If I can do this to a friend, imagine what I'd do to my own child.'

While his physical changes were making his mind waver, the sensation of someone rubbing his arms and legs was vivid. Knowing it was Seo-un's touch, he didn't guard himself, but the unpleasant voice made him refocus his mind. Normally, he didn't think much of Jo Gyeong-min, but he was as annoying as Geun.

Click, the door lock unlocked, and Seo-un returned. She must have bought something, as a shopping bag with a luxury brand logo was in her hand.

"I asked the manager to bring something."

She took out a box from the shopping bag and handed it to him, saying he should try it on, though she wasn't sure if it would fit.

Inside the box Seo-un opened were cargo pants and a white sleeveless T-shirt.