"Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?"
The boy's voice trembled as he questioned back. Kang Sihyun suppressed a chuckle, stifling his emotions.
It was a question that could have been overlooked, passed by without mention as had always been the case, maintaining a comfortable relationship with the boy. However, feeling a sense of urgency as if opportunities were dwindling, he asked—only to have his heart weigh heavier with the anticipated response. He resolved not to feel betrayed, yet disappointment was an inevitable sentiment.
"So, you did make a bet."
"......"
The boy offered no rebuttal to the conclusive statement. He neither called it a rash assumption nor a lie. At this, Kang Sihyun swallowed his sense of emptiness.
"What was the bet about?"
Now that the existence of the bet was acknowledged, it was imperative to inquire further. As he let out his depleted voice, the boy, usually wrapped in jest, clutched at Kang Sihyun's shoulders, his expression pitiable.
"It wasn't meant to harm you."
It sounded like an excuse. Whether out of earnestness or the firm grip on his shoulder, Kang Sihyun frowned and shook the boy's hand off.
"I suppose not."
Kang Sihyun knew he wasn't a bad person; he was foolishly kind as he had always claimed.
This question, then, was nothing more than a form of self-harm.
A reminder of forgotten things. A realization that he had been played by the gods. It was just a question, and the kind Kang Sihyun was merely a boy caught up in the same scheme. Knowing this yet feeling emptiness was inevitable. The realization that his life had been altered entirely by a bet between a human and a god was unsettling.
It was both hollow and disheartening.
Pushing the boy away harshly, he gripped Kang Sihyun's arm with a stubborn hand.
"I'll say it again, it wasn't meant to harm you."
"I've never argued against that."
"Then why that look?"
"What kind of expression should I have, then?"
"......"
At the cold reply, the boy bit his lip, falling silent. There was a time constraint, urging Kang Sihyun to ask more, yet the will to proceed was absent. He regretted not saving this for last when the boy finally spoke.
"...I wished for your happiness."
It was an unexpected remark. Kang Sihyun recalled a time when the boy had asked if he was happy. Contemplating the connection between the two statements, the boy sighed and released Kang Sihyun's arm.
"There's no one born destined to be unhappy. That's why I did it."
"...What are you talking about?"
"I can't explain in detail. It's not my place to say."
The rest would be explained by 'him.'
The conclusion was once again evasive, a tiresomely familiar refrain. Yet, Kang Sihyun, now accustomed to it, deduced that 'he' was referring to a god. This realization prompted further contemplation amidst the confusion and distress.
To summarize:
Kang Sihyun had made a bet with a god involving him, sacrificing his own body to save him in the process. By wishing for his happiness, it was unlikely that the bet was meant to harm him.
If anything, the boy had lost the most from this bet.
That much Kang Sihyun could believe.
Realizing this, he looked at the boy with incomprehension.
Both had lost their lives as they knew them, yet contemplating what was left behind, it was the boy who had lost more. Yet, the notion that Kang Sihyun had initiated this was unfathomable. Who would welcome misfortune?
As he calmed his breathing, his energy drained. The strength to be angry had faded.
Feeling as if he had no one left to blame, Kang Sihyun glanced down and then spoke.
"...If you win the bet, what do you gain?"
If it meant regaining his lost life, that would be somewhat troublesome. Too much had been built here to consider returning to his old life. They were attachments, chains holding him back.
Or perhaps, it was also greed. Sneaking a look at the boy, who had worn a face of guilt just moments before, Kang Sihyun saw him smile gently, a mix of affection, poignancy, and perhaps even triumph. The emotions in the smile were overwhelming, causing him to avert his gaze slightly. Kang Sihyun, nevertheless, shone when he smiled. Sadness and his name did not align.
"Just now, you thought it would be regretful to return to your old life, didn't you?"
Not responding to the question that seemed to read his mind, Kang Sihyun remained silent. However, Kang Sihyun did not erase his smile, seemingly finding his answer in the silence just as Kang Sihyun had.
"Don't worry. Even if I win the bet, you won't have to return to that body."
"Then what do you gain?"
"Perhaps, the happiness of the person I've been rooting for?"
"......?"
"Or maybe that person not crying too much?"
I'm not sure myself. Anyway, one of the things I wished for might come true.
He added nonchalantly, making Kang Sihyun feel as if he too was being drawn into a labyrinth the more he listened. The boy’s casual stretching seemed to clear the heavy air.
“Let’s leave it at that for this subject. Shouldn’t we start asking about something else now? Time seems to be running out.”
Kang Sihyun, encouraged to pose new questions, inquired about mana collision, to which the boy reassured him not to worry too much, as it was something he could handle, just like before when there was an overload.
Fortunately, it seemed they had avoided a finite life.
Thinking he should inform Ruth as well, Kang Sihyun proceeded to his next questions.
“Are all the dreams Pia shows prophetic?”
“I’m not sure myself. It’s just what I’ve heard. Since Pia is a fantastical species involved in dreams, not all can be definitively labeled as prophetic.”
It was a simple yet reasonable explanation. Kang Sihyun, nodding, was about to ask about a dream involving a giant eye when suddenly, the space trembled without warning. The dream was ending.
“So soon?”
It was unexpectedly early. Realizing he had wasted too much time on questions related to the bet, Kang Sihyun looked at Kang Sihyun desperately, who smiled regretfully and waved his hand, showing no intention of holding back.
“It seems I won’t need to escort you this time. Farewell, Kang Sihyun.”
We might see each other at least once more.
With those words, the boy sent Kang Sihyun off. Before Kang Sihyun could ask what he meant, the ground beneath him gave way, plunging him down. It seemed there was no other way to wake from this dream without falling through strange holes every time.
Only as the dream was ending did Kang Sihyun remember the many questions he had wanted to ask. If he could only see him once more, where would he be after that, when could he dream of him again, how did the god treat him, and so much more he wanted to ask, but no voice came out. It was as if someone had forcibly stolen his vocal cords.
As Kang Sihyun struggled to speak, Kang Sihyun approached the edge of the hole he had fallen into and peered down. Usually cheerful in his farewells, today, his face bore a look of regret. "Take care," he said, and with that, the space crumbled, obscuring Kang Sihyun's view. He felt himself being sucked into somewhere amid familiar darkness.
When he gasped and opened his eyes, what filled his vision was something like a white cotton ball.
“……?”
And it was incredibly heavy. Startled and without a moment to reflect on the dream, Kang Sihyun reached out and grabbed the cotton-like object, feeling its warmth before it started to bounce on his face.
“Pfft!”
“…Pia?”
Hearing an unexpected cry, Kang Sihyun sat up in bed, throwing off the covers in surprise.
“Pfft, pfft, pfft!”
The small fantastical creature, startled by Kang Sihyun's sudden movement, flew around the room in a panic.
Pia was supposed to be undergoing various tests at school during the vacation, so how it ended up in his room was a mystery. Calling out to it in confusion, Pia, recognizing its owner's voice, flew to him with a cheerful cry.
Stroking its soft fur, Pia sang a little tune. As Kang Sihyun, still baffled, checked his phone for any school contacts, he found 17 missed calls and 3 text messages, all from the school.
[Kang Sihyun. Has Pia come to your house by any chance? It seemed anxious, and in a moment of carelessness, I left the cage open, and it escaped. If Pia is not with you, please contact us. We have launched a search team to find it.]
The urgency in the message was palpable. Holding the escaped fantastical creature, Kang Sihyun looked down at Pia.
“Did you run away?”
“Pfft?”
Asking half-heartedly, Pia tilted its head, fluttering its wings innocently, which Kang Sihyun found utterly adorable. After petting it a few times, he replied.
[Yes, it’s at my house. It seems to be anxious without me at school. Since it's come to this, I'll take care of it. If needed, I'll bring Pia to school.]
Sending the message, Pia cried out as if pleased, making Kang Sihyun wonder at its reaction as if it had understood his text.
“It seems like you understand everything I say.”
Muttering his rational suspicion, he received a reply from the school to proceed as he suggested. From Hamin to Kang Sihyun and now Pia, the first day of vacation was filled
with relentless events.
It was about a week into spending the vacation with the cute fantastical creature that understood human speech well.
December 24th.
Lying on the bed, still unable to respond to Hamin's confession, Kang Sihyun was spending Christmas Eve when his phone buzzed. Wondering if it might be a message from Hamin, he guiltily checked his phone only to be taken aback by the message.
[We’re having a Christmas party at your place tomorrow, want to come?]
It was from Daun.
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