Side Story: IF. Butterfly x Spider
It’s the law of nature: predators consume prey.
Occasionally, beings appear who defy that law—but those anomalies only break the chain, disrupting the order in strange, unnatural ways. That was never how things were meant to be. Yes—nature. The orderly, cyclical law of the wild.
From that perspective, the prey’s life tends to evoke sympathy from outsiders. But if you stood in the predator’s place, such crocodile tears and feeble pity would be laughable. After all, it was a brutally simple rule: if you don’t eat, you die. A rule felt constantly, without pause, down to the very skin.
Blaine understood this, and thought it over alone as he hurried through the forest. He was on his way to check one of the webs he’d spun earlier.
Being so large meant he used more silk—although maybe that wasn’t a scientifically proven correlation—so he’d set up webs here and there. But for the past few days, they’d all come up empty. If he went any longer without food, he was seriously going to have to start worrying about his future.
With a sigh, Blaine gradually shifted from a fast walk to a light jog, silently hoping just for today, something would finally be caught.
When he reached his destination, Blaine muttered a quiet curse he wasn’t used to saying aloud.
Everything was stark white.
At first he thought it was just a pebble caught in the web instead of prey, and sighed in disappointment. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the dazzling reflection of the early summer sun and squinted irritably.
What the hell…?
Was it a jewel, not a pebble?
He didn’t really care for valuables, but if it was worth something, he could bring it to Panthiana. Maybe she’d give him a pile of cricket cookies in return. If he was really lucky and it was something rare, maybe even a whole cake.
And though he didn’t know it yet himself, Blaine actually had a weakness for things that were shiny and pretty.
Yes. Pretty and shiny.
“Uh…”
He always spouted nonsense like how appearances didn’t matter to him or how he wasn’t picky—but from the time he was just a helpless little larva who couldn’t even hunt properly, Blaine had been hanging around Panthiana, the cobalt-blue tarantula. So really, his standards were sky-high.
What had snared his gaze now was a pure white cocoon-like thread, just about the length of a fingertip at the end, tinged with a shade like it had been dipped in ink.
Looking closer, it resembled the fine fuzz lining the inside of magnolia petals. Looking even closer—it was hair.
Each time the strands swayed in the breeze, they revealed a smooth forehead the soft, creamy white of kneaded milk dough.
His entire face was so pale and milky that the full, raspberry-colored lips—like wild berries crushed and stained onto the skin—stood out even more starkly.
Blaine didn’t usually like red. And yet here he was, completely entranced.
Speechless, Blaine approached the prey caught in his own web—entangled, drenched in transparent droplets like silver beads, the creature lay collapsed in the most delicate, sorrowful pose.
And he—world’s biggest fool—opened his mouth and said:
“Uh… are you okay?”
Why the hell did he say that? Even if he tried scolding himself now, it was way too late—the water had already spilled and soaked into the dirt.
“Ugh… please help me…”
It happened in that instant.
A soft rustle, and the white hair stirred.
The silver bead hidden beneath it came into full view.
It wasn’t gaudy or showy, but it glowed with a subdued, elegant light—made all the more mysterious by the tear welling inside it.
As if butterfly wings had fluttered, the trembling of long, fine lashes finally let one dewdrop slip—tracing a clear path down the snow-pale cheek.
On a face so pristine it looked like even a speck of dust or a smudge of soot would defile it, the tear left a vivid trail. Watching it made Blaine feel a deep, inexplicable guilt.
That soft, smooth cheek that looked like it would melt at a touch, the small but defined nose tip that was flushed red—Blaine burned every detail into his retinas, not missing a single moment.
And at last, he could understand.
Understand the prey caught in his web, who could only wait for death.
Being captured—was a feeling of such overwhelming despair and helplessness.
At that moment, Blaine was caught too—by those silver irises.
He couldn’t even twitch a finger. He couldn’t take a single step.
“P-please, I’m begging you…”
As Blaine stumbled closer like he was under a spell, the pale creature began to cry harder, trembling. But there was no ugly contortion of the face, no shaking shoulders.
Only large, glistening tears falling silently down his face. And it was so, so beautiful.
It wasn’t the bright, radiant smile of a blooming flower—but this sorrowful, tear-streaked expression had Blaine’s heart pounding, breathless with excitement.
To think he’d want to keep watching that crying face.
He didn’t even have time to be shocked at his own twisted emotions.
“Hhhk…”
The already-pale face of the trembling creature turned even more bloodless with fear.
Gently, Blaine began removing the webs from his body with his own hands. Then he slipped an arm under his prey’s shoulder and carefully pulled him upright.
The man, who’d had his eyes squeezed shut, opened them wide in shock and stared at Blaine.
Blaine, half deaf from the sound of his own thundering heart, swallowed hard.
“Can you stand?”
“Ah…”
The man stared at Blaine in a daze, his beautiful face wet with tears.
Then, in a thin, trembling voice, he said he’d hurt his leg and couldn’t move.
As Blaine wrapped the man’s arm over his shoulder to help him up, a wave of wet wood and fruit scent hit him hard enough to make him flinch.
It was dizzyingly strong—enough to numb the nose—but strangely, not unpleasant.
“Ugh…”
The man winced in pain and leaned more heavily into Blaine.
When the man’s soft skin brushed against Blaine’s bare shoulder and neck, the contact sparked a feverish heat, his pulse racing wildly.
It felt like his whole body might just explode.
Even the way the man’s face twisted in pain from his injured leg was so breathtakingly beautiful that Blaine could hardly breathe.
Some strange force had wrapped around him completely.
Then, swept up in the moment, Blaine blurted out—without thinking:
“Pardon me for a moment.”
“……?”
Before the man could react, Blaine slipped one arm under his legs and another behind his back, lifting him up in one swift motion.
As he straightened his knees and stood, the unexpected weight hit him like a truck—shit. But there was no turning back now.
The man looked delicate enough to float away on a breeze, so Blaine had assumed he’d be light. But apparently, he had some solid bones under there.
“Just hang on a little.”
Tears still clinging to his lashes, the man gazed dazedly at Blaine’s face—at the sharp lines of his jaw and the tightly pressed lips.
Every spot his eyes touched felt like it was burning.
Blaine cleared his throat hard and forced his gaze away, focusing ahead.
But even if he could block out the man’s eyes, he couldn’t shut out the scent tickling his nose or the soft rustle of hair brushing against him.
Blaine prayed desperately that the man cradled in his arms wouldn’t hear the thunderous pounding of his heart.
***
After three days of starvation, Blaine had finally caught something—only to discover it wasn’t food.
His vision spun from hunger, but even in his dizziness, he weighed his options.
Maybe he should go beg Panthiana for help? But that thought vanished the moment he shook his head.
Panthiana was infamous among the tarantula world’s “Big Three Bitches,” and even among them, she was top-tier for her attitude.
Sure, she treated Blaine better than anyone else ever did—but that didn’t mean he hadn’t had to dodge her flying hammers and crowbars on occasion.
Maybe… if he added some flakes from the deep cupboard into cream soup, it’d at least calm his raging hunger a little.
With that thought, Blaine opened the lid of a tiny, palm-sized jar Panthiana had given him long ago.
He scooped out a spoonful of the thick, semi-transparent syrup and poured it onto a plate, then ladled on a generous helping of cream soup.
It was honey—a sweet treat from Panthiana, who, despite being a spider, had a massive sweet tooth.
“You must be hungry. Try something warm first.”
Wrapped snug in a fluffy blanket stuffed with cotton, the pale creature lifted his head from where he sat dazed.
Blaine smiled, looking so kind and harmless he couldn’t possibly frighten anyone—let alone prey.
“Are you just fattening me up to eat me later?”
At last, Blaine sighed, starting to understand how it must feel to be a victim—ensnared in a spider’s web and dragged away.
“I’m not going to eat you.”
