Chapter ss44: Side Story 44 - The Third Zone (4)

Side Story Chapter 44 - The Third Zone (4)

"Argh, I can't hear anything they're saying." Sesha tried to eavesdrop on the conversation on the first floor with her magic, but it kept on being deflected.

Yeon-woo and Edora's love story was definitely something of interest to Sesha. When she heard about their story of a lover who waited for Yeon-woo until the very end...Sesha had mixed feelings. Would she ever be able to find such a person? She found it difficult to ask that question. She herself agreed that she was a very prideful person, so she couldn't imagine ever waiting for someone that long.

Based on how similar Yeon-woo's and her personalities were...love could be something that was only attainable through killing one's self. Love seemed extremely difficult. Still, finding one's true love was something every teenage girl hoped for, and Sesha had no intention of giving up on it.

Just then, it occurred to Sesha that Min Chae-young had been deep in thought for a while now. "...Chae-young?"

「Hmmm? Huh?」Min Chae-young realized Sesha was staring at her and widened her eyes.

Sesha asked with a face of concern, "What is it? Is something wrong?"

「No, no...! The thing is, well...」Min Chae-young stuttered, unable to respond properly, and she squeezed her eyes together when she knew she was going to have to give an answer.「W-W-Well...!」

"It's okay. You don't have to be uncomfortable around me."

「The thing is...your...uncle...」

"Uncle? Uncle Yeon-woo?"

Nod nod.

"What about him?"

「I was...wondering what kind of person he is...」

"...?" Sesha didn't understand what Min Chae-young was saying. Why was she suddenly asking about her uncle? Was she curious about him because it was the first time they met? Then, she recalled how Min Chae-young jumped in surprise and hid behind the banister when she met eyes with Yeon-woo. She seemed like she was...shy.

Even now, as she asked about Yeon-woo, Min Chae-young wasn't able to look Sesha in the eye. But she kept sneaking glances to see Sesha's reaction...

Sesha suddenly felt dizzy, as if she had been smacked on the back of her head. Of course, even Sesha herself agreed that Yeon-woo was handsome and tall. It was understandable he was popular. But still...! Sesha tightly gripped Min Chae-young's shoulders. "Chae-young."

「Hm?」Min Chae-young blinked, taken aback.

Sesha had a steeled gaze for some reason. "You can't."

「...?」

"Do you know how much of an age difference there is between you and Uncle? What you're feeling is just an infatuation that a lot of teenage girls feel at that age."

「...??」

"You still have a bright future in front of you! What I'm saying is, there will be many people much better than my uncle."

「...???」Min Chae-young looked confused. She didn't understand what Sesha was getting at.

Upon realizing this, Sesha bit her lower lip. Min Chae-young wouldn't understand if she kept on beating around the bush like this. She would have to use shock therapy on Chae-young. She only wanted her kind and soft friend to not get hurt. "Listen up, Chae-young."

「Yeah...」

"Someone's already staked a claim on my uncle."

「...Huh?」

"She's very pretty. Veeeeeeery. So you should give up on—"

「T-That isn't it!」Min Chae-young finally realized Sesha's misunderstanding and shouted with a red face.

However, Sesha was still serious. "You shouldn't be embarrassed of falling in love at first sight...!"

「It's really not that!」

"It's not?"

「Yes!」

"...Really?"

「Yes!」

"Then why did you..."

「I felt something strange from your uncle, so I was just wondering what that was!」

"Hm? You felt something...?"

「Yeah...」Min Chae-young explained the strange sensation she had when she saw Yeon-woo. Her heart beat faster, and it felt like her blood was being slowly leached out...

"...Aren't those the symptoms of being lovesick?"

「Argh, it's really not! It's like...」Min Chae-young debated her word choice and spoke carefully.「My eyes keep searching him..」

"Huh?"

「Then when I make eye contact, my heart throbbed.」

"Umm...?"

「So I can't get him off my mind...」

"...That's love sickness though?"

「It's not!」Min Chae-young punched her adorable fists in the air.「I! Like someone else!」

"What?" Sesha looked beyond stunned, even more stunned from when she thought Min Chae-young liked Yeon-woo.

「T-That isn't something to be so shocked about!」

"I don't you were so naive that you wouldn't have those kinds of feelings for anyone...!"

「You're making fun of me right now, aren't you?!」

"Oops! You caught me."

「Hey!」

Min Chae-young clenched her fists angrily, but Sesha just laughed louder. 'She's too cute. How can I not tease her?' Sesha suddenly realized this might be how Park Yoo-min felt, but she pushed that thought far into a deep crevice of her mind.

"Then can you speak in more detail? Exactly how did you feel after seeing Uncle? If you felt any magic power flowing, was it different than normal? Were you nervous, or did you feel repelled by him? Things like that." Sesha couldn't continue to tease her friend forever. At this rate, Min Chae-young might really get mad, so Sesha decided to lend a serious listening ear.

Min Chae-young still looked sulky, but she nodded and continued.「So...」

* * *

"Isn't that the thing called a 'fragment?"

「Fragment?」

After listening to Min Chae-young's explanation, Sesha concluded that the various emotions Chae-young felt wasn't from love sickness but nervousness. It was the same kind of nervousness a mouse felt in front of a snake.

'I made a mistake...' Sesha apologized to Min Chae-young. She had teased Chae-young, but Chae-young had actually been feeling fear. She couldn't believe she teased a friend without properly knowing the situation first. She had no excuse even if Chae-young was mad.

However, it seemed Chae-young didn't realize those emotions were nervousness and fear. If the level of her soul was any higher, she would've felt threatened upon realizing Yeon-woo was a being who shouldn't be resisted. Right now, she just didn't feel the danger because there was too wide a gap between their strength.

Just like how a blind man didn't know an elephant's leg even when touching it, Min Chae-young didn't take the danger for what it was. However, apparently, the star fragment had realized this. The fragment and her soul were somewhat synchronized, so those feelings had been conveyed to Chae-young.

Min Chae-young told Sesha it was all right, but her head was still muddled. She was now able to start understanding what this star fragment was. 'Is the reason why I exist all because of this?' Min Chae-young rubbed the part of the chest where she could feel the throbbing. When she felt her heart beating earlier, that had been the star fragment. The thumping of her heart was just the fragment vibrating.

Even now, because Yeon-woo was nearby, the star fragment was vibrating. When Min Chae-young closed her eyes and focused, she could feel the shape of the fragment, as well as the magic power slowly circling it.

'There's so much.' Min Chae-young was only a beginner, but as a result of a few magic lessons, she grasped how incredible the energy of this star fragment was. If she could digest it all, how powerful would she be? Could she really be one of those stars sparkling in the sky? After she digested it and more, could she reach the level of Sesha's grandparents, Kronos and Rhea? And if so...

'...Can I meet him?' At some point, after learning magic, Min Chae-young began to want to find the boy who had been her warm spring breeze. She was fine with seeing him from afar, and it was okay even if he had forgotten her. She just wanted to see him once.

In the beginning, it was just a faint desire, but now she had hope that it might really be possible. Kronos and Rhea, who offered to help, weren't able to find him easily, however. But Min Chae-young thought that made sense.

'He was definitely different from other children.' At the time, Min Chae-young had been exhausted mentally and wasn't able to spare him much thought. In retrospect, he had definitely been a mysterious child. He was different from the other kids their age...as if he was living in a different world by himself...

Even when Chae-young looked at it from a magical point of view, he was different from normal people. It was before dungeons and gates opened, but it was possible he was like Kronos and Rhea, a holy being who had been hiding his identity on Earth. Or perhaps he was closely related to one... Whatever he was, it was most important to Chae-young that she had hope. If she had some ability, even if Kronos and Rhea couldn't help, she could search for him around the universe.

'Of course, I'll have to learn how to control this fragment first...' Min Chae-young clenched her fists. She decided to think optimistically. All her life, she had been on the receiving end of wrong treatment and lived passively. Even now, she was being chased by those stars or whatever, but she wanted to stand tall over it all.

Unlike in the past, she now had Sesha, as well as Kronos and Rhea. She had these grateful family-like people by her side...so she could do it. Her flow of thought turned to Yeon-woo again. The mere thought of him instilled fear in her. 'But wouldn't someone like him know how to control this fragment?'

"But you know..."

Min Chae-young was broken out of her reverse as Sesha spoke up.

「Hm?」

"You said there's a guy you like."

「T-T-That's...!」Min Chae-young's face flushed.

"Is that the guy you talked about before? That Son—"

「Ahhhhhhh! Don't say it! I can't hear you! Ahhhh! Ahhhhhh! Ahhhhhhh!」Min Chae-young covered her ears and paced around the room shouting in an attempt to block out Sesha.

Sesha burst out laughing at her friend's cute reaction. At the same time, a part of her began to wonder. Yeon-woo and Edora, Jeong-woo and Ananta, Kronos and Rhea. And even Min Chae-young and the boy named...Son Jae-won. What was love, and how did it feel? Sesha wanted to know.

* * *

Allforone... Vivasvat... Son Jae-won... No, the shell of all those beings...was currently in the middle of the long dream tightly bound in emptiness that Yeon-woo had put him in. He was dreaming of the old days, the days when his mom and dad loved him dearly, the days he stressed them out because he didn't know those were the happy days, a time before stepping foot into this damned world filled with pain and suffering.

...Jae-won. In the dream, he was listening to the voice of a friend who only smiled at him. The voice of the one he realized was his first love too late.

...Hi. It was a short greeting he'd wanted to hear but was never able to. The word was deeply imprinted in his heart.