The young man wearing the scholar’s uniform and Gio’s gazes met.
'Was I staring too much?'
Although Yoo Sung-woon seemed to find Gio's sudden action strange, he didn't say anything.
The scholar looked Gio up and down as if sizing him up, nodded slightly, and then walked away. He had the expression as if he thought he had picked a fight with him.
“Coo.”
“Oh, you scared me.”
Yoo Sung-woon was startled by the sudden appearance of Honey.
“...Huh? Waterfowl? Wait, Gio, this... the one you showed me last time....”
“It's Honey.”
“You could bring a few of them out?”
“I haven't tried with other birds, so I'm not sure.”
“Hmm, I see, uh... got it.”
Yoo Sung-woon had a somewhat resigned expression.
“It's about time the Earth falls apart.”
“It seems to be holding up well, I don't know why you're suddenly saying something so random.”
“It was definitely a sandcastle that would crumble with a light push....”
Yoo Sung-woon, who had been smiling with a resigned face, soon returned to his usual expression and asked.
“So, what about that person? Is it bothering you?”
“He seemed dangerous.”
“...Really?”
“He didn't seem to like me.”
A scary person.
“I didn't want to start a fight.”
He had forgotten for a moment that when you make eye contact for more than 3 seconds, it boils down to either 'Is that guy into me?' or 'Does that guy want to fight me?'
‘I should have politely and kindly spoken within 3 seconds, but their impressive background made me miss the timing to act friendly. It's clear that the intuition of Seo Gio, once called the Pokémon Trainer of the 21st century, has dulled.’
This was the so-called battle if eye contact is made. Whether in a good or bad way.
'That guy just now seems to have taken it in the bad way.'
In this tough era where businesspeople in suits fight off monsters, what was he thinking, provoking a fight with a five-star danger guy?
'No, isn't it a problem if the danger level of a random passerby is this high?'
Gio, feeling frustrated by this mad hellish Korea, spoke sincerely.
“I’m scared.”
“Even if you say you’re scared, it’s hard to take that seriously... Are you being sarcastic?”
“I think it's best if we return to the hotel.”
“If that's what you want.”
Gio gently tucked Honey, who was trying to peek out from his scarf, back in and left Gyeongbokgung Palace. Honey seemed pleased with the shiny fish lanterns, as he had already tucked one into his belly.
And then, when he woke up at 3:32 AM after passing out in the hotel bed.
Gio confirmed that Honey was gone.
“Please.”
Can't you leave me in peace now?
He might just start crying.
***
In a dark, desolate alley in the slums.
“... So what on earth was that guy earlier?”
The man, now rid of his scholar's robe, roughly ran his hand through his hair.
'I had a strange feeling.'
It was a man dressed in a pitch-black hanbok. He was so heavily bundled up that his face was obscured.
He seemed about 190 cm tall, but guessing the person's identity from just their gender and height was difficult.
“Something feels off.”
His hand.
Was gone.
Inside the bird's transparent body, his hand was visible. The squirming fish swam around his severed hand.
And soon, the two slowly melted away.
“...Ah.”
“Coo.”
“Fuck.”
The man wasn't incompetent.
“Cooor?”
“This... this damn....”
“Ccoooooorrr?”
“...This is ridiculous.”
“Cocooor.”
As a priest of the Sun, a rank that couldn’t be taken lightly, he had the right to be arrogant.
However, from a common-sense perspective, all of this was a situation where things that shouldn’t exist piled up and realized like a disaster rather than a miracle. It wasn't a difficulty that a single person could handle.
The once-tiny bird’s body began to swell in an abnormal way.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
“Cooorr?”
Feathers shimmered with a light that was hard to tell if it was the moon or the sun.
Strong claws and long legs resembling hooks.
And a massive beak.
“No...!”
Gulp—
There was the sound of water flowing.
“Ugh, gag...!”
Then the sound of swirling was heard.
“
Soon,
There was silence.
The man was nowhere to be seen.
“Coor.”
Only a tiny bird, fluttering leisurely, remained.
***
“Honey.”
Gio likes things that are small and harmless.
But the children of origin are skilled at shaping their appearances.
“Where have you been?”
“Coor.”
“You're cute, so it's fine.”
Then.
What exactly is their essence?
“There's some fish-shaped buns over there.”
“Coo!!”
“You're my son after all.”
“Cooool?”
“You've got a taste for the good stuff.”
—Even the children of origin themselves didn’t know that.