“Crescent... Moon.”
I had so much to say that I couldn’t say anything. Words tumbled in my throat, their sharp edges seeming to prick and sting inside .
“You see as you know ,” the Crescent Moon said gently.
“In my mory, there is no such thing. Yet you ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ know . Do you not?”
I coughed, trying to breathe. She was quick to notice. I struggled in the net before forcing words out.
“I—I didn’t know you’d have pink hair.”
“Ppiyak!”
“Well, I knew roughly, but didn’t expect this look.”
She felt completely different from the Crescent Moon I had known. With a wave of her finger, she brushed her hair.
“It’s your favorite color.”
“...Excuse ?”
“I am the lowest moon that opens the night. Moonlight faint through dark woods is the dream you longed for. In sunlight now, only my hair color shines as your eyes desire.”
“...I don’t actually like pink.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly. The silver gloss on her pink hair darkened and spread like spilled paint until every strand glowed silver mixed with gold. Moonlight deepened under the sun.
“It was my original hair color.”
“.......”
“But pink suits too.”
She laughed and changed her hair back. Then she plucked a strand and examined it.
“I’ve seen green or sky-blue hair among water-dwelling folk, but never pink. It’s novel.”
“...I’ve seen dyed hair too, but really, I don’t like pink.”
“Greens and blues are common among water tribes and forests and skies reflect those hues. But pink stands out everywhere.”
“It’s on rose lakes, flamingos live in it. Still, I don’t like pink.”
“It grows on . So you must like it too.”
“No, I said I don’t.”
Please just listen to . Still, our pointless chatter cald my racing thoughts. I inhaled deeply to gather myself.
“Um, Ms. Crescent Moon.”
Why on earth—
“Why did you ddle with another’s life as you pleased?”
This Crescent Moon was not yet a Transcendent. She had never t Seong Hyunjae, probably didn’t even know of him. Yet those words escaped first. Her eyes, the moonlit eyes, widened then softened again.
“Is that the you know?”
“...Excuse ?”
I expected her to ask what nonsense I was talking about, but she rely tilted her head. She took a step toward , the brush of foliage beneath her feet audible. Her pale fingertips lifted and touched my cheek. It felt cool.
“You once offered yourself to .”
Twice. But I did not offer. I t her silver gaze squarely.
“One ti I caught you, and the other you attacked . At soone else’s wedding, no less.”
“A wedding?”
“It was your betrothed’s wedding, and also the kidnapper’s.”
Putting it all together, it was a lodrama. But every word was true. She cocked her head in confusion.
“Your carefully raised fiancé was my business partner. He was suddenly abducted and forced to wed, so I went to the ceremony with a gift. We all entered in our finery. Then you attacked , your bride-to-be overturned the ceremony, and I drove out the groom-to-be... roughly.”
“Please consider finding soone else.”
Her silver eyes blinked. Her expression remained inscrutable.
“You must cherish your fiancé greatly.”
“‘Cherish’ implies closeness. We know each other and have a material bond, so I could not watch him forced into marriage. But he hates it, so dear Crescent Moon, why not renounce the wedding now?”
What if I made a contract binding the Crescent Moon to break off her engagent with Hyunjae? Even a vanished mont of the past might sway things.
“I do not know why I nurture a child groom, but I have reasons you cannot answer on your own.”
“Because the person involved hates it.”
“Explain in detail and try to persuade .”
I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it. She intended to grow Seong Hyunjae to replace the Origin and save countless worlds by sacrificing him. The risk to my loved ones was too great. No truly benevolent person would condemn my family to danger for an unknown purpose.
“However the reason, forcing soone who hates it is wrong.”
Could I sneak past her? She grasped inputs quickly. Not by force—that would fail. Should I plead?
“What about you?”
I mulled it over, and she spoke out of the blue.
“You yourself are bound, unnad child.”
Her hand passed over my eye, and my vision flickered. I blinked reflexively.
“Silver eyes. Dark-blue moon.”
“...My eyes?”
“The folk here display what binds them in their eyes.”
I touched my eyes, but I could not see changes. Silver eyes ca from her influence, but what was the dark-blue moon?
“A cold, sharp fire like the new moon.”
In shock, I squeezed my eyes shut. I stumbled back but her grip saved .
“Enshed in fla and bathed in moonlight, you stand opposite . Is it not so?”
She spoke like reading an on. I dared a peep. She still wore a gentle expression.
“If uncomfortable, you need not speak. Many seek to harm this race, so your eyes shall stay as they are.”
“Ppiyak!”
Ppiyak hopped onto my head. She turned slowly, and I followed her gaze.
“Please say you will release Seong Hyunjae, even one sentence.”
“Impossible without just cause.”
“Forced marriage is a cri!”
“I cannot trust your words alone. Perhaps you lie to ensnare or your betrothed.”
“I’d refuse even a truck! Hyunjae truly is held against his will!”
But I had no proof. I should have gotten a signed note from him rejecting the marriage.
“Actually, if he married, he would die by fate.”
“It would not suit you to accompany .”
She asked where she was going.
“I ca looking for you. So how about this: if Hyunjae does not wish marriage, then you too renounce it. If my words are false, it becos blank. Marriage requires mutual affection—”
Wham!
A branch brushed past . A stone dropped at my feet. I whipped my head toward its origin. Between thick branches sat a boy with braided green hair. In his black eyes, tiny leaves gathered.
“That must not happen.”
The Crescent Moon said softly. The boy flushed and vanished.
“You should stay away from .”
“...Because I am an outsider?”
“No. Because you are with .”
“If you sign a note, I will leave imdiately. I cannot remain long.”
I didn’t know when Myeong-woo or reinforcents would arrive. A narrow path had suddenly widened with tire tracks. Ahead, a person of ambiguous gender approached. They bowed politely to the Crescent Moon then stared fiercely at . I hoped they would not throw stones as the boy did.
“Who are you?”
A cold voice sounded from behind. “I don’t recognize your face.”
More figures appeared—three, four, five—each glaring. Their cold gazes felt familiar. I reflexively pressed close to the Crescent Moon and heard a hiss of gritted teeth. Jealousy. I’d seen such looks from Haeyeon and Sesung: “Who are you to mingle with S-Rank Hunters?” But now I was only walking beside the Crescent Moon.
“Could you please say we are not romantically involved?”
She turned to , smiling warmly enough to make my heart pound.
“I find you lovable.”
My heart raced in two ways. Thankful, but this was not the mont. The piercing gazes of the crowd hurt. Old mories stung.
“And so does the thicket, you too.”
The first to appear exchanged a warm smile with her as though no animosity had ever existed.
“Seifari, Kangmuldol, Blue Horn.”
Their faces softened at her loving address. It was no re word—each gaze held tender affection. One could feel it even blind.
“All living beings alike.”
She resud walking, her gaze set on each of us like a beam.
“I cannot help loving life itself.”
“...We’ve just t, though.”
“Yes. Since the mont you encountered , you live on—that alone suffices for my love. There is no condition to be loved by .”
Unconditional love. Sweet words. To be so cherished by one so extraordinary—how many would reject that? Any discomfort would fade, and one would simply bask in love like an unworried child.
I glanced around. The crowd still stared.
“But.”
She paused, narrowing the path again. A lone house stood on the western hill under a faint red sky. The followers halted like on cue.
“But humans have desire.”
“So are content. But so yearn to be special.”
She led us toward the house.
“Unlike , they want only my love and expect it in return.”
“Before an entire land reddened, I stopped them. Yet I still loved that one.”
She stood on the low steps, sunshine warm in her eyes.
“Because even their madness was part of life—lovely even in ruin.”
To be smothered by love—what that must feel like. Loving the one who loves you in return is natural. But when love reaches all equally, you beco indistinct. You drink and drink but thirst persists. Would one not rather be hated? To remain unique. Those who refused to leave and went mad—they perished for love.
“So you remain in this lonely place?”
“I had three fates: leave, kill , or destroy what surrounds . Those who stayed went mad.”
This was not unrequited love—but love that changes nothing in the beloved.
“What will you do?”
“I would love you too. I cannot push away one who loves . But I will leave—others love more.”
She smiled at , adoringly. She seed no killer here, since she singled out one. Or perhaps Hyunjae had been her first special one. But that was not the point.
“Please sign this note!”
The space trembled. She did not notice—perhaps rescuers approached. I had little ti. I produced the note and thrust it before her.
“I, the Crescent Moon, shall not demand unwanted marriage of Seong Hyunjae. And I shall not harm Han Yujin or his friends.”
“Han Yujin.”
“You love , right? Let us live peacefully, without harm. Peace is good—love ans peace!”
Ppiyak!
Ppiyak spread his wings atop my head. The space shook violently. No ti! Her eyes flickered over the fluttering note.
“I cannot take only your side. But I will grant a favor.”
“A favor?”
“Do not force marriage.”
A pen appeared in her hand. Instead of signing, she wrote a brief phrase in unreadable script.
“...I doubt you will honor that.”
Still, better than nothing. I bowed deeply.
“Thank you.”
A deep rumble split the ground and the space cracked open. Crescent Moon and the scenery blurred as gleaming tentacles crawled from the chasm—flowers on them, so likely the newcor. Should I catch it? It looked sticky.
Just then—
Ppiyakppiyak!
With a flap, Ppiyak struck the tentacle with his wing, and the blurred surroundings collapsed in a cascade of dust and light.
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