Chapter 93

Since he had worked in Korea, he could understand the language quite well even if he couldn't speak it fluently.

At first, he thought he had misunderstood, but it was a few years later.

"The coordinates of the Republic of Korea and Aso are becoming identical. Within a few years, variants will appear on Earth."

"W-What do you mean? I don't understand."

"Oh, Nizam. Your Korean is still clumsy, right? I won't speak difficultly from now on. Nizam, we need to go to Korea."

"That's strange. How do I know Korean?"

"Nizam, I am your assistant. I found you. If we don't enter before the variants are created, we will all die."

"I'm not afraid of death."

"Nizam, the reason you're not afraid of death is that you will get a new life in the afterlife. But who will arrange your afterlife path? Your descendants will have to hold a grand funeral. But if you don't listen to me, your descendants will all die. Humanity will be erased."

Whenever this happened, the child's tone would become strange, but the problem was that when the child came to his senses, he couldn't remember his delirious words.

At first, Nizam asked the child why he acted that way, but later he accepted it. The child who appeared in the cave tomb was different from others. The child repeatedly prophesied future events as if possessed by something.

These were events happening all over the world, and some were terrifying, but Nizam had no power to stop them. Moreover, the child would prophesy the future the day before or a few hours before the events occurred, making it impossible for Nizam to take any action. The place the child pointed to as where they needed to go was Korea.

After years of deliberation, Nizam chose to go to Korea with the child. Besides, the money he had saved was running out. The child didn't know why he had come to Korea. He had learned Korean as quickly as he had learned Inniere. Fortunately, after coming to Korea, the possession phenomenon did not occur again.

Nizam thought of the child as his nephew but planned to make him independent once he became an adult. The child, now a young man, seemed to know this and worked part-time jobs, barely sleeping.

One day, when Nizam was reassured that everything was just a false alarm, the child returned home covered in black fluid, just like the first time he appeared. The only difference was that his body had grown.

Wiping the fluid from his wet eyelids, the child's eyes revealed a universe with nebulae.

Only then did Nizam realize that what he had seen long ago was not an illusion.

The first day he found the child in the cave, the child had eyes filled with countless stars. Nizam thought countless lights were contained in the child's eyes. The child was light itself, Chahaya.

Nizam wouldn't have been surprised if Chahaya had become a manseongjong or if he wasn't unfamiliar with the variants. He even suspected that Chahaya had returned to his true form.

Holding the can Chahaya handed him, Nizam didn't even open the lid. He was worried because he hadn't seen Chahaya's expressionless face in a long time. It reminded him of Chahaya's face before he gave him advice as a child, a face that didn't show much emotion. More precisely, it was the expression that disappeared after Seo-eun joined the guild.

[What happened with Seo-eun?]

The only one who could shake Chahaya like this, as far as Nizam knew, was Seo-eun. To Chahaya, Seo-eun was like his first true friend.

In high school, seeing Chahaya with Seo-eun, Nizam realized he had given the child more affection than he thought. He was genuinely happy that Chahaya had a real friend. Therefore, Nizam liked Seo-eun very much.

A good friend, he hoped Chahaya would always be close to him. He felt sorry for the child who couldn't even feel loneliness because he didn't fit into the world.

[Even friends can fight sometimes.]

Nizam comforted the silent Chahaya.

[We're not friends anymore.]

Nizam's eyes widened.

[Not friends? Did you have a big fight?]

"We're not friends."

Chahaya's voice, now more familiar with Korean than Inniere, came from his throat.

"Because I like Seo-eun."

However, his voice lacked confidence, perhaps worried that Seo-eun might hear.

***

Seo-eun froze, gripping the doorknob. She had been on her way to Chahaya's room because of what the messenger had said earlier.

<'Elephant shrew Seo-eun' is upset. Now 'Chahaya' is secretly meeting 'uncle.'> She was already angry with Chahaya and even more so after drawing a conclusion about the kiss incident.

For some reason, Chahaya had kissed her at home and wanted to try it again on the plane, but it turned out to be nothing special. So, she decided to run away, making an excuse about her thumb.

"We're not friends."

She heard this not at the entrance but as soon as she opened the connecting room door.

"Because I like Seo-eun."

The surroundings were so quiet that she didn't even doubt her ears. Seo-eun took a step back without closing the door.

Holding the doorknob tightly to avoid making a sound, she grabbed a portable lamp with her other hand. After carefully placing it on the floor, she took several steps back.

"Because I like Seo-eun."

It was a calm and monotonous voice, but Seo-eun could tell he was sincere because there was no hint of playfulness in his tone.

Listening to the two of them talking, Seo-eun couldn't deny that she had become a eavesdropper. She slowly closed the door, following the uncle's louder voice. The click sounded like thunder, but it was probably just her imagination.

Seo-eun's heart pounded fiercely.

It was no longer a question of whether Chahaya liked her but a fact that he did. After all, Chahaya wasn't the type to kiss someone just for fun.

She hadn't taken his kisses seriously because he had been known for casual relationships. But if he really liked her, why hadn't he been honest when she asked about the kiss?

Seo-eun almost blamed Chahaya but then realized she had never confessed her feelings to him either. She had kept her distance, afraid their friendship would be ruined. Why hadn't she thought Chahaya might feel the same?

Suddenly, everything Chahaya had done made sense. It was so simple. She could sense a kind of resignation in his voice when he said he liked her. It was a feeling she had experienced countless times while secretly loving him. Stupid kid. What good is being a top-tier species if you can't even confess? Seo-eun admitted she was just as much of a fool.

Seo-eun lay down on the bed, her heart still pounding, and her lips involuntarily curling upward.

Really, the same feelings as me...?

<Kimchi soup slurp. 'Delusional elephant shrew Seo-eun.' Not the same feelings? No delusions allowed.> Then, was it a slightly deeper affection than friendship? Seo-eun, who felt like she had been doused in cold water, pushed herself up with her arms. Her purple eyes, looking at the white bed sheet, were filled with doubt.

Could the messenger really deduce Chahaya's feelings? It seemed as if they were connected by telepathy, but Chahaya didn't even know the messenger's identity. Could the messenger read Chahaya's inner thoughts?

<Then confess. And despair.>

Despair? Shouldn't it be joy if their hearts connected?

<You will definitely despair.>

Seo-eun lifted her head sharply. This time, it wasn't her voice. It was indistinguishable in gender and pitch, just a word signal. It felt like the messenger's thoughts were directly transferred to her mind.

<This is 'Sunga.' 'I' am not a prophet. Just someone standing at the predetermined conclusion. I miss you so much.>

Seo-eun sat up, frowning.

<Oh no! I said too much.>

The messenger suddenly changed its tone and spoke in a frivolous manner.

<Leaking secrets! Sob, sin. Now I have to go 'hunting'! Busy, busy.> The messenger seemed to be deliberately making a fuss to hide something. Hey, what did you say? Come back and say it again. Seo-eun called the messenger several times, but after saying it would go hunting, it went silent.

<I miss you so much.>

For some reason, this sounded like longing rather than curiosity about who she was.

Even though it was just a cold, emotionless string of words, her heart, which had been racing, felt squeezed. Suddenly, her throat tightened. Maybe the messenger wasn't an all-knowing system but a person. But if it was a manseongjong with telepathic abilities, predicting the future wouldn't make sense.

<'I' am not a prophet. Just someone standing at the predetermined conclusion.> Someone standing at the predetermined conclusion.

The conclusion, which could mean the future rather than the present. While it might be better for her mental health to filter the messenger's words, this time the messenger seemed more serious than usual. She also realized that the messenger's thoughts could be transferred directly, not just through hearing.

I miss you so much.

It was like the wish of someone she could never meet.