#151
“Huh…?”
Ju-hee’s eyes grew round in surprise. The necklace, deliberately held up at the child’s eye level, immediately captured the attention of all the children.
“You’re giving this to me?”
“Is that an item?!”
There were quite a few children in the park besides Ju-hee and Saerom. When Saerom exclaimed in surprise, the children who had been hovering nearby rushed over all at once.
Every single one of those children had that ominous necklace hanging around their necks. Seeing this, Yoon Pa-ran thought to himself.
As I suspected, she asked me to buy it because everyone except Ju-hee has the necklace.
But Yoon Pa-ran soon felt puzzled. The gender and age range of the children wearing the necklaces were quite diverse. He had thought it was just a trend among Ju-hee’s close female friends of the same age.
How did this trend spread so quickly during winter break?
“B-but, this must be really expensive.”
“Ju-hee, you don’t need to worry about that.”
Yoon Pa-ran patted the worried-looking Ju-hee’s head. Then he firmly placed the necklace in his sister’s small hand, which hadn’t taken her eyes off the fascinating necklace.
Ordinary people usually can’t see status windows. The only time such people can see a status window is when the item affects them directly—things like wide-range shields or potions.
So right now, a hologram-like status window must have appeared before Ju-hee’s eyes. Her face was flushed with excitement at this fascinating phenomenon.
Despite Yoon Pa-ran having shown her this a few times with potion bottles before, she still looked quite thrilled. Perhaps because this was a real item used by hunters.
I should have gotten one for her sooner.
“If a bad person tries to scare Ju-hee, this necklace will protect you.”
“Wow…”
The curious gazes of the children converged on Ju-hee’s palm.
Once again looking at the black crescent hanging around each child’s neck, Yoon Pa-ran carefully spoke up.
“I was going to buy the necklace Ju-hee mentioned earlier, but my friend gave me this as a gift first. If Ju-hee is okay with it, would you like to wear this instead?”
“Yes!”
Fortunately, the plan seemed to be working well. Ju-hee now appeared completely unconcerned with the necklaces her friends were wearing.
“C-can I see it too?”
“I want to see it too, sir!”
The other friends were the same. Unless they were in special cases like Ju-hee, ordinary people rarely had opportunities to encounter status windows.
Since this reaction was expected, Yoon Pa-ran thought it was for the best. It was better for them all to look at it together in front of him than for Ju-hee to be alone.
Taking the necklace back from Ju-hee, Yoon Pa-ran first gave a cautionary note.
“Sure. But don’t touch items like this carelessly elsewhere. This one is safe because all curses have been removed. Understand?”
“Yes!”
The brightened children lined up one by one in front of Yoon Pa-ran. It was quite adorable how they maintained order without being told.
“Wow!”
One by one, they came forward and placed their hands on the necklace in Yoon Pa-ran’s palm. It was pleasant to hear the voices of children laughing as they gazed into the empty air.
While deliberately giving the children enough time to view the status window, Ju-hee quietly approached Yoon Pa-ran’s side again.
This time she had a serious face, as if worried about something else.
“But who’s your friend…?”
“Hmm… I’ll tell you about it later.”
Yoon Pa-ran casually promised to explain later. It didn’t feel right to mention Dan Joo-hyuk’s name here. Simply possessing a D-grade item was quite different from appearing to be friendly with Dan Joo-hyuk.
However, for some reason, Ju-hee nodded with a strange expression on her face at Yoon Pa-ran’s words.
“…Okay.”
Why did she have that look as if she understood everything? It somewhat resembled the director’s expression when she told him to stay out and play longer on Christmas…
Come to think of it, he hadn’t really talked about having friends to Ju-hee before. Dan Joo-hyuk wasn’t exactly a friend, so what he said wasn’t incorrect.
“…”
After briefly reflecting on his relationships, Yoon Pa-ran deliberately turned his attention back to the children’s necks.
He was still concerned. Even looking closely, they didn’t give off an ominous feeling, but somehow it didn’t feel right. Was it because Dan Joo-hyuk had warned him in advance?
Moreover, it bothered him that the overwhelming majority of the necklaces worn by the children were black. As someone with several younger siblings, it was strange that all the children had chosen such a dull color.
“You must all like Hunter Kim Min-ji. Her necklace is trending too.”
After some deliberation, Yoon Pa-ran casually asked the child who had approached him, hoping it was just a temporary trend of admiring an S-class hunter.
“Hunter Kim Min-ji is cool! But why do you mention her?”
However, the boy, slightly taller than Ju-hee, merely asked back with sparkling eyes.
“Isn’t it trending because it’s the necklace Hunter Kim Min-ji usually wears?”
“Does Hunter Kim Min-ji really wear this necklace?”
Another girl abruptly interjected. Her eyes were especially sparkling, suggesting she was a fan of Hunter Kim Min-ji.
Instantly judging this wasn’t the case, Yoon Pa-ran quickly amended his statement.
“Ah, I must have been mistaken. Sorry.”
“It’s okay!”
The child answered with a bright smile before placing her hand on the item.
Although nothing was reflected in the child’s eyes as she stared into empty space, a mysterious scene she had never seen before must be unfolding in her vision.
“When did that necklace become popular? Do they sell it near our neighborhood too?”
Yoon Pa-ran asked the surrounding children again. Their friendliness toward him had increased thanks to the item, and they all chattered with excited faces.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. But everyone’s been wearing them since last week!”
The trend had spread much faster than expected.
“My mom bought it for me yesterday.”
“My younger sibling got it a week ago from in front of the bus stop!”
It was puzzling that someone was apparently just giving out necklaces. Although only one child mentioned receiving one, Yoon Pa-ran made sure to ask about it in detail just in case.
As they continued talking, eventually all the children had taken turns looking at the necklace.
“But Ju-hee’s necklace is cooler!”
“Thank you.”
Yoon Pa-ran stood up, leaving the children squealing with excitement.
After properly fastening the necklace around Ju-hee’s neck, he told her to return before sunset.
“Hmm…”
Waving goodbye to Ju-hee, Yoon Pa-ran left the park alone. He had thought it was trending due to Hunter Kim Min-ji’s influence, but apparently not.
While chatting, he had examined several children’s necklaces more closely by holding them in his hand, but found nothing strange. No status window, no strange energy—they were all just simple models made of plastic.
“…”
Yet some indefinable uneasiness lingered, causing Yoon Pa-ran’s face to gradually harden as he returned to his studio apartment.
❖ ❖ ❖
The next day.
Yoon Pa-ran got out of bed around sunrise. Though it was quite early, his first thought upon opening his eyes was that he was late. Originally, he had planned to rest briefly at his apartment before heading to the orphanage in the evening.
But his body must have been more exhausted than he thought. Having slept deeply until the next day, Yoon Pa-ran stretched his stiff body and prepared to go out. Though it was still bedtime for his siblings, he intended to head straight to the orphanage.
Stepping onto the street, the cold air of winter dawn filled his lungs before returning to the void, pale white.
“Hoo…”
It suddenly occurred to him that this was a rare moment of tranquility. Savoring that silence, Yoon Pa-ran walked slowly toward the orphanage.
The phone in his pocket rang.
The caller was Dan Joo-hyuk. Wondering what he wanted at this early hour, Yoon Pa-ran answered.
“Hello.”
—Yoon Pa-ran, what are you doing?
At the soft voice penetrating his eardrum, Yoon Pa-ran instinctively shrank his neck. It was as if the winter wind, which had been gently circling around until now, had suddenly pierced his body.
Unconsciously stroking the nape of his neck, Yoon Pa-ran replied.
“I’m heading to the orphanage.”
—Then can I see you today?
“Why?”
Yoon Pa-ran asked for a reason in response to the naturally flowing suggestion. He also glanced at his phone to check the time.
It was indeed very early—was he going to a gate?
—Are you free?
Dan Joo-hyuk didn’t answer the question of why. He just asked naturally again.
Since Yoon Pa-ran wasn’t actually busy, he ended up answering reflexively.
“Yeah.”
—I’ll come pick you up.
With those words, the call ended. Looking at the darkened screen, Yoon Pa-ran scratched his cheek.
When is he coming? Did a gate break occur somewhere?
For now, Yoon Pa-ran continued walking toward the orphanage. He had clarified his destination, so Dan Joo-hyuk would probably call again when he arrived nearby.
“Hunter, you’re here.”
After exchanging greetings with the security staff guarding the orphanage entrance, Yoon Pa-ran went inside.
It was still early enough that all his siblings would be sleeping, so the inside was extremely quiet. He was slowly heading toward Min-woong’s room through that silence.
In the middle of the orphanage courtyard, Yoon Pa-ran suddenly stopped walking.
“…”
There was a strange sensation, as if something was pulling at the back of his head.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
