CH 39

“It’s not here.”

“Here, too….”

Returning to the store, I began to search the warehouse for a hand mirror.

As I checked the pile of junk for a long time, Ki Yoohyun’s voice suddenly came to mind.

“Lucky.”

“Aaargh!”

“What’s the matter! Kyaooooo!”

“Kyuuuu!”

“How many times already!”

Next to me, Mieum and Lime criticized me. But the more they did that, the clearer my memory became.

Long eyelashes that created shadows in his face, gently curved lips, white cheeks, and a pair of lively clear eyes. Ki Yoohyun’s face from up close was so destructive. I thought I got a little used to that face because I saw it often, but apparently I wasn’t.

His fingers tickled against my hair….

The time it took to put the hairpin on must have been brief, but it felt like a long time. In the meantime, I couldn’t move my body because I was nervous.

As soon as the finger fell off, a faint smile crossed his lips.

And a voice that gently touched my ear,

“Lucky.”

“Aaaargh!”

“Waeooong! This human, are you going to surprise me again and again?”

As I screamed again, Mieum threw her front paw and punched me.

But … the more I tried to forget, the more the strange word kept floating around in my mind. It seems that the stimulation was too great for me, who did not have the good-looking-immunity. Anyone who hears that kind of voice right in front of their eyes won’t be able to snap out of it.

Besides, what’s lucky? Don’t omit the subject and object!

No, let’s calm down. Perhaps it was a meaningless word. After all, he’s a bit of a weird person.

I struggled to get rid of my thoughts and concentrated on finding the requested item.

The warehouse was very spacious and complex. I cleaned it once last time, but it was impossible to completely organize all these things. It was filled with items from the store that are no longer in use, various miscellaneous items, and my grandmother’s belongings. This was also the place where I found many things I needed, such as the coffee mix and vinyl sheets.

Newspapers and magazines from 10 years ago were also piled up in boxes.

Hmm, there’s news of a famous hunter’s wedding. I used to play this cafe tycoon game … it came out at this time.

Hekh, I almost inadvertently read the magazine. For some reason, If I find a book while cleaning, I always ended up reading it. I put down the magazine and focused on searching again, but I couldn’t even see any hand mirror.

“Cough, cough.”

Furthermore, there was a lot of dust, so I kept coughing.

“Kyaoooo! How long do I have to do this!”

“Kyuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

Mieum and Lime, who were searching the inside together, protested.

“Until you find it.”

“This is ridiculous! Waeoong!”

“Kyuu!”

I ignored their protest and pointed to a box in the corner.

“There. Take a look inside that box.”

“There is no mirror. Meong…..”

Then, Mieum tried to sneak out of the warehouse.

“Where are you going!”

“Kiyaooo?!”

I grabbed Mieum’s tail. I couldn’t see Lime because it had already escaped. Lime, even you….

I continued to search the warehouse with Mieum, who kept trying to escape, but I couldn’t find a hand mirror.

Meium, who had turned into a ball of gray fur because of the dust, grumbled.

“Those who want to get back things that are years old have no conscience. Just say that the statute of limitations has expired!”

“Umh, but….”

Kim Deokyi said that she would give up if I couldn’t find my grandmother’s hand mirror, but I was concerned about Grandma’s expression.

She had a very sad and lonely expression, like she’s longing for something.

It seems to be a very important item, so I really wanted to find and return it.

But….

“Huk, huu … cough, cough!”

No matter how hard I try to find….

“That slime runs away alone … waeoong!”

The result was zero. I only saw a mountain of junk.

I wonder if it’s not here. When I was exhausted and about to sink to the floor, Lime, who had run away alone, returned and bounced in front of me.

“Kyuuu!”

“Oh, what?”

“Kyu, kyuuu!”

“Wow, did you find the hand mirror?”

“Kyuuu…..”

I have no idea what you mean.

Lime headed out of the warehouse, bouncing up and down as if urging me follow it. There’s no clue left anyway. I quickly followed after Lime.

“Oh, is it here?”

“Kyu!”

The place where Lime took me was the entrance to the space.

Hey, there’s no way it’s here. My grandmother was not an Awakened. Has my grandmother ever been in here?

However, there was no hand mirror in the warehouse or in the other room. The only place left is this space. I thought I should check it out rather than leave a feeling of frustration.

I entered the space. The blue sky, the dazzling sunlight, and the large Yggdrasil tree greeted me. There was a well-grown dungeon sugarcanes on one side and a field of dried coffee fruits on the other.

I looked around, but I couldn’t see anything like a hand mirror. As expected, it’s not her either.

As I was about to hide my discouragement and go out, Lime called me again.

“Kkyu, kkyuu, kkyuuu!”

“Uh, why? What?”

Lime bounced its body, pointing to one corner of this space. The place Lime pointed to was the slope where I rolled last time.

At that time, as I fell off that slope, I got the skill ‘A Bond of a Cup of Coffee‘.

“Are you talking about that place?”

“Kkyuuu!”

It was unlikely that the hand mirror was hidden in the empty ground beneath the slope. Still, as Lime was bouncing its body with a lot of effort, I decided to check the bottom.

I took my steps carefully and went down the slope. Immediately, the animals followed me.

“Slow, human! You’re the reason why I’m walking this slowly!”

“Woah, Mieum is good at coming down slopes. She’s amazing.”

“Ahem!”

“Then you’d be good at climbing up the slope, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course, meow!”

Thud.

Mieum, who ran up the slope again to the end, came to her senses.

“Kiyaoo! Are you teasing me!”

Ah, I got caught.

The bottom of the cliff was empty land, just like the last time when I fell. The ground was covered with grass, and random piles of stones piled up in front of us.

“…..Huh?”

Then I noticed something and was startled.

I didn’t notice it before, but there was a small path in the crevice of the pile of stones. It was a difficult location to find unless you look closely because it was blocked by a stone.

What’s there?

I quickly approached the crevice in the pile of stones.

Inside, there was a bigger space than I expected. There was also a small cabin in a place covered with bushes and not easily visible.

A cabin in a place like this?

Is it a reward from the system? However, even after waiting for a while, the system remained silent.

Fortunately, the door was not locked.

I noticed as soon as I opened the door of the cabin.

This is where my grandmother used to be.

Compared to the old exterior, the inside of the cabin had a cozy atmosphere. There were thick carpets on the floor, curtains on the windows, and even a small table in front of it.

It was all my grandmother’s taste. It was clear that my grandmother had decorated this place.

Still, how did a cabin like this exist in this space? Could it be that my grandmother was an Awakened?

But there was no more time to think about it.

“Human, look at this!”

“Huh? ……Ah.”

Because on the table in the cabin, there was a small hand mirror. From the round shape to the flower-shaped decoration, it looked exactly the same as the mirror that was described by Kim Deokyi.

“This is it!”

I quickly picked up the hand mirror and tried to lift it up. Now….

Crack.

The moment I touched it, the hand mirror cracked.

“Oh, no!”

I hurriedly let go, but it was already too late. The hand mirror was completely shattered then.

“…..”

“…..”

It seemed like a very precious thing, but it broke….

Lime and Mieum approached me, who was in despair.

“Kkyuu….”

“It’s not your fault.”

Somehow the cat comforted me.

“Looks like this item is modeled after The Mirror of Nitocris. It is a tool that reflects the existence of the other world.”

What, and it wasn’t an ordinary hand mirror?

“It was broken because it’s out of effect. Even if you left it as is, it would have broken anyway, meoong!”

“But….”

“It’s a mirror, can’t you just put it back together!”

Yes, even if it’s broken, it’d be better to return it. If you put the pieces together well, you might be able to put them back together.

I gathered up the mirror pieces and came out of the space. I was going to return this hand mirror to Grandma right away.

I hope she is happy.

***

It took quite a while to search through the warehouse. When I found the hand mirror, it was almost evening.

Since it was late, I thought about going to the workshop tomorrow for a while, but I changed my mind. It would be better to deliver it as soon as possible.

“Then, I’ll go. Take care of the house.”

After giving Mieum and Lime plenty of dinner, I headed to Grandma Kim Deokyi’s workshop.

When I came with Ki Yoohyun, it was easy to find, but the road was complicated to find alone.

I wanted to ask Ki Yoohyun to accompany me, but I gave up on the idea. I’m the only one who has business with Grandma, so I felt bad to ask him to come with me every time.

“Lucky.”

“Aaargh!”

I stopped to scream a little. It was fortunate that no one was around.

His burdensome handsome face and strange atmosphere have not yet left my mind. It seems that it still takes more time for the good-looking-immunity to develop.

Instead, since I found the hand mirror for Grandma, I just left a KakaoTalk message informing him of my visit.

“Um, this is probably the right way….”

The ‘Cheonggye 3-ga Workshop Street’, covered with a red sunset, had a more gloomy atmosphere than during the day.

Even the noise of work hours does not come into this alley. The faded signboards and tightly closed shutters looked like the beginning of a horror movie.

Ugh, I’m not good at horror movies.….

At this rate, an unwanted development would suddenly appear.

“Ah, there it is.”

After wandering for a while, I finally found the signboard of Grandma’s workshop.

However, the atmosphere was a little different from when I came before. The arrangement of the junk placed in front of the entrance has been changed. It looked like someone had ripped it apart.

In addition, the floor was damp.

Did it rain? But the weather was sunny today.

There was a strange smell came from somewhere.

‘Can I go in?’

As soon as I pushed the door open, someone jumped out from inside.

‘Are you a guest?’

Bugh!

He looked at me and paused for a moment, then shoved me hard on the shoulder.

“Ouch … Excuse me!”

I called him angrily, but he had already run away.

There are really all sorts of weird people. I sighed inwardly and entered the workshop.

Then, a sound came from inside.

I quickly turned towards the sound.

“Grandma, I’m here. Are you there?

I shouted loudly, but there was no answer.

The lights were brightly lit in the workshop.

As if Grandma had just been here, there was a teacup left over from drinking on the table. It’s still warm when I touch it. However, Grandma was still nowhere to be seen.

‘Where are you?’

As I headed towards the back room, I heard a low groan.

“Ugh….”

There was an old lady lying on the floor.

“……Grandma!”

I ran quickly and got Grandma up.

“Are you okay?”

It must be difficult for her to speak. As I hurriedly examined her condition, something damp touched my hand.

….. Blood.