After finishing my outdoor activities, I didn’t have any significant plans.
I was simply attending school and enjoying a peaceful daily life.
But ti decided to ignore my wishes.
“Uh... So, you’re saying you’ll arrive in the afternoon?”
[Yes. It’s a bit earlier than scheduled, but I should prepare in advance.]
As my teacher ntioned, I also had to prepare for the [Angel]’s visit. But even my teacher coming early felt like a bit much.
[What, is it inconvenient for you?]
“Of course not. Please take care on your way here.”
[Alright.]
After the call abruptly ended, I felt a headache coming on.
The school term had barely started, and we were already heading into sumr vacation.
‘Why does it feel like my ti is flying by so quickly?’
I didn’t realize that three months could pass so fast.
With a sour expression, I stared out the window.
The scenery whipped by as I sat in the vehicle.
Technically, it was a bus, but it was still transportation, so who cares about the details?
Resting my head against the window, I fell into deep thought.
Was there really a need for to visit the place I was heading to?
Still, I wanted to see it with my own eyes.
My previous life... The neighborhood where I had lived before I died.
All of my paintings had co from there, and it was the foundation of my life.
Thankfully, it wasn’t too far from my house.
A 30-minute bus ride.
If soone asked why I hadn’t gone sooner, I wouldn’t have much of an answer.
I just wasn’t interested. It was already a place disconnected from —why bother?
And since this was the world of a novel, anything related to Sanya had probably been erased.
Sighing, I continued watching the passing scenery.
Hearing that the [Angel] would soon arrive made feel like I needed to do sothing, so I had moved.
But I hadn’t expected to return here.
Before long, the bus stopped, and the door opened.
Stepping off at the bus stop, I looked around.
Even in Seoul, there were a few underdeveloped places—like hillside villages.
And those hillside villages included where I used to live.
This was that place.
I glanced at the retreating bus for a mont before I began walking.
It couldn’t help but feel a little rural.
The first place I visited was my old studio. Unsurprisingly, soone else lived there now.
I could tell by the packages stacked outside the door.
I couldn’t go inside, but it looked better than when I had lived there.
The next stop was the park. This place also held many mories for .
“Sigh. Do I need to fix this again?”
It was vastly different from where Sara lived. It made stop and think for a mont.
Walking a lap around the park, I eventually paused at a certain spot.
A lone tree stood in the corner of the park.
The ground was flat, and grass had grown over it. I stared at that spot for a long ti.
It wasn’t a particularly aningful gesture, but my thoughts grew complicated.
‘I shouldn’t have buried that guy here.’
Cerberus, who was probably now at the National Museum in Beijing.
I hoped he wasn’t sulking just because my teacher and I were gone.
Raising my head, I approached the park exit. This was where I had t that girl.
The girl who was now dead and had beco a painting.
Sitting on an old bench, I took a mont to catch my breath. My body was healthier, but I still couldn’t walk long distances.
The sumr sunlight made the shade under the tree feel like paradise.
Surprisingly, it even felt like a cool breeze was blowing.
After resting for a bit, I glanced around.
In the past, I would’ve laid on this bench, lifelessly staring at the sky. But after eting Sara, I had started moving my body regularly.
‘Who would’ve thought I’d die drinking too much?’
I laughed quietly to myself in disbelief.
Still, without that girl next to talking, sothing felt empty.
“...I should go.”
Rising to my feet, I left the park without hesitation.
The next stop was the hospital. I didn’t go inside.
Instead, I left a dandelion I had picked at the park in front of the hospital entrance.
No one looked at strangely.
Instead, their gazes seed filled with pity.
I didn’t care. I was too busy to care about that today.
I imdiately moved to a place where people rarely went.
This was the hideout I had run to as a child in my previous life.
The sign that warned people not to enter the mountain was now mostly damaged after years of neglect.
“Uh... Student, are you going into that mountain?”
Hearing a voice from behind , I turned around.
An elderly man with a thin fra smiled kindly and asked.
“Hmm. Is it dangerous?”
Pretending to hesitate, I replied, and the old man shook his head.
“Well, maybe in the past, but there aren’t even wild animals these days. People just use it as a hiking trail.”
His eyes seed to ask why I was ignoring the proper trail.
“Haha. I must’ve gotten confused. Thank you.”
I smiled and answered casually, and the old man chuckled.
“No problem. Just be careful—so paths are rough.”
Leaving with that, the old man walked away.
But I had to go this way. I didn’t know where the hiking trail led.
At least the path I rembered wasn’t dangerous.
As I climbed the mountain, my stomach growled.
I pulled a calorie bar from my pocket and bit into it.
I didn’t particularly like it, but it was good enough to fill up.
“This should be around here sowhere…”
Mumbling, I looked around and spotted a familiar place in the distance.
There it was.
This mountain, devoid of human presence, felt comfortable to .
If I had to compare it to sothing, it was like my own bedroom.
The layout of this mountain was still imprinted in my mind.
So it was easy to find.
This was where I had first co into the mountain and cried.
That night, standing by a tree, pouring out my sorrow beneath a small dirt hill.
This was where I had first t my teacher.
Rubbing my chin, I recalled the past. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant mory.
I moved my feet toward another spot.
It was a slightly larger clearing. This was where I had first t the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Naturally, there was nothing here now. Just a flat area.
I turned my feet again and after a short while, I spotted a shallow puddle.
There were no fish, only a few water striders.
I stared at the puddle for a mont and then took a photo.
[: Do you rember this place, teacher?]
The reply ca quickly.
[Teacher: ??? Why did you go there?]
[: I was bored.]
[Teacher: ?????]
I stuffed my phone into my pocket and turned my body. There was only one place left.
This mountain wasn’t small, so it wasn’t surprising that my teacher had built a house sowhere in it. Of course, they hadn’t gotten permission.
Though that was all in the past, anyway.
I had thought that there wouldn’t be anything here since this place and my previous life were completely different, but...
When I arrived at the location, I saw a house.
A traditional tile-roof house.
The house from my mories. It was still there.
“What the hell.”
I hurriedly checked my phone, but there were no ssages from my teacher.
When I took a photo of the house and sent it, I got a response right away.
[Teacher: Oh right. I forgot.]
It felt strangely familiar.
Anyway.
[Teacher: It was a place I stayed in briefly before I died. This ti, I made sure to get permission.]
So, that’s what they had in mind. I lifted my head and stared at the house, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
It had been decades since anyone lived here, so it was natural that it hadn’t been maintained.
‘I guess I’ll have to clean it…’
The reason I ca here was because of this place. Originally, I just ca to check if there was sothing left behind, but...
I didn’t expect my teacher’s house to be standing here so clearly.
Sighing, I entered the house, and dust greeted . I was glad I’d thought to wear a mask.
Three hours of cleaning later. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, since the house was surprisingly intact.
“This old house is still this sturdy?”
Where exactly had my teacher entrusted this place?
For a brief mont, I thought about that, but my vision suddenly lowered.
My legs gave way. I had been cleaning for so long that it was no wonder.
Others would have struggled too, but I really had no strength left.
Thankfully, I was in the main room of the house.
A cool breeze blew through the room.
‘Sigh. I need to take a shower.’
But my body wasn’t cooperating. I just resigned myself and closed my eyes.
I’d sleep for a little while and then get up to shower.
I’d already gotten permission from my family for today.
It was a sowhat bittersweet feeling.
After taking a short nap, when the sun had almost completely set, I was finally able to shower.
‘Why there’s water, I have no idea.’
It was surprisingly nice that electricity was working too. What kind of house had my teacher made here?
After showering and erging, a quiet hallway greeted .
“…It reminds of the old days.”
Whenever I ca to my teacher’s house, I would always eat there.
Of course, I was the one who cooked.
Looking around, it seed like it was just about dinner ti.
But before that...
“I should look around a bit.”
Maybe sothing from the past would still be here.
Sothing my teacher had left behind. Sothing about [Angel] or Sanya.
Yeah. [Angel] was a painting based on a young Sanya.
It had nothing to do with arrogance. Just pure love for painting.
That’s why the arrogant, adult Sanya longed for the past.
The Sanya that hadn’t been tainted yet.
“Well... it’s not like that anymore.”
The past is just the past. It doesn’t matter now.
Now, I need to think about sothing else.
Just as I was about to move, a sound echoed.
What was it called again? The threshold?
A sort of entrance area opened, and an unexpected figure appeared.
“…Teacher?”
What was he doing here? Did he co straight from Korea as soon as he arrived?
“Looks like you were here after all.”
With a slightly complicated expression, my teacher looked at , then turned his head.
“You all co in too.”
At those words, figures that had been behind him entered one by one.
“Hey! You could’ve said sothing before coming!”
“Eun is bad.”
“Sigh. We can’t even handcuff him.”
Choi Ye-Seo, Ha Soo-Yul, and Hong Ye-Hwa.
...Why were these guys here?
I looked at my teacher with a bewildered expression.
“You asked them for help, didn’t you? They ca right away.”
“Ah, yeah.”
I was a bit moved, honestly. Thanks, teacher.
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