When I was lost in thought looking at the high, high ceiling, the door opened and Bihyeon entered inside. What he held in his hand was a very small table with food on it. He placed the table in front of me and sat beside me.
“Eat before it gets cold. Hyeonwoong told me to make sure you clean your plate.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and looked over what was on the table.
Wow, how many side dishes are there? Even a king’s royal meal table wouldn’t be this splendid. I picked up a spoon first and scooped up soup that looked like galbitang.
By the way, how did they make this so small? When I saw him carrying it earlier, even the table size was smaller than his palm.
“Hyeonwoong-nim’s eyes are okay, right?”
“Ah, that. I had him prepare the meal and shrunk it with my power.”
“Aha.”
I thought so. I wondered how they made the bones in the galbitang small.
After scooping up the soup a few more times, I raised my head.
“Did you eat, Bihyeon-nim?”
“Dinner time passed a long time ago.”
Ah, that’s right. Before leaving home, it was way past midnight.
I scratched my head, scooped up a big spoonful of rice and put side dishes in my mouth. It’s been a while since I had namul. Is the meat samgyeopsal? Ah. I’m eating it with minari. It’s delicious.
“I can go back, right?”
“Since I called Seodam, you’ll be back within a few days.”
Munch munch. Eating meat, namul, and soup alternately, I’d already emptied half.
I thought I wasn’t hungry, but it went down better than expected.
Only the sound of dishes clinking echoed in the room. I glanced at Bihyeon who sat beside me silently drinking tea.
“Put me in another room and sleep.”
“I’m a being who doesn’t need to sleep unless I’m severely sick.”
“…You must be lonely.”
So deities don’t need to sleep. It must be lonely spending those long nights alone. That thought came first, so my inner feelings unconsciously slipped out.
…Huh? I had a strange sense of déjà vu as if I’d said this before.
Had I said something like this to someone?
Coming to this place, I kept getting these strange and odd feelings.
At my words, Bihyeon, who had been fidgeting with his lips, turned his head. So I couldn’t see his face and what expression he was making. Is he making those longing eyes again?
My appetite disappeared, but I forced rice into my mouth.
Clatter.
And when my stomach really seemed to hurt, I finally put down my spoon.
“Um, I’m going to get scolded by Hyeonwoong-nim.”
I finished the rice, but half the side dishes remained. Bihyeon, who had been looking straight ahead the whole time, laughed lowly.
“Don’t force yourself and leave it.”
“They say you’ll receive Heavenly Punishment if you leave food?”
“Giving too much in the first place was the mistake.”
What’s that. Haha, I laughed and patted my stomach.
Still, if I rest a bit and then eat, it should be fine. As I pondered and tapped my chopsticks, Bihyeon reached out and cleared away the table. I stared blankly at the table being lifted, then got up from my seat. It’s a bit much to lie down right away, so should I look at books? Since I don’t have my phone either.
I waved to Bihyeon who said he’d go bring back the table, then headed to the study.
Don’t tell me all these books are models? With ominous eyes, I took one out and roughly opened it.
‘Oh, they’re not.’
The one I opened was a book in Chinese characters, so I put it back and took out another book.
Surprisingly, many modern books were stocked, so I took out various ones and examined their contents.
Before entering university, I think I saved money from my part-time jobs and bought books to read once a month. Though they were mainly mystery novels or comic books.
As I smiled slightly at the nostalgic yet bitter memory, the door opened and Bihyeon entered again.
“You’re going to read without sleeping?”
“Yes. I need to digest too.”
Come to think of it, I passed out and slept all day today without even washing. I think I need to wash up. Will there be water in the bathroom?
After agonizing over choosing one book, I went into the room, grabbed any comfortable-looking clothes, then went down to the first floor.
“So I absolutely can’t get out of here?”
“Not that, but in many ways that place is the safest. The curse doesn’t work inside there.”
I should try not to go out if possible.
“Um, will there be water here?”
“There will be.”
I nodded, placed the book on the first-floor sofa, and entered the bathroom.
Wow, the bathroom seems bigger than my studio apartment. And such a spacious bathtub… Moreover, inside it was already filled with steaming water.
It’s like I came to a really luxurious bathhouse. It would be perfect to soak in.
When I went to the sink and turned on the water, it came out with a whoosh. There was even temperature control, so I made it hot and picked up a toothbrush.
Mm, it seems new, but it’s okay to use this, right?
“Um, it’s okay to use what’s here, right?”
“Use everything. If there’s anything lacking, I’ll make it small and give it to you, so just say so.”
I don’t think there’d be anything lacking even if I used everything here. Rather, wouldn’t there be plenty left over? Looking around the room, it seemed like everything necessary was there.
“Can I soak in the bath?”
“Why wouldn’t you be able to? Anyway, right now only you can use that house.”
Oh, I got permission.
Standing in front of the mirror, I saw a pure white face that looked a bit tired.
I’ve been sick lately, so I’ve become quite ghost-like. Muttering, I finished brushing my teeth and washed my face. A towel was hanging there, so I wiped my face with it and glanced at Bihyeon. Our eyes met immediately.
I was about to ask if he was going to keep watching, but thinking this man would say he would even as a joke, I took off my top in one go.
Since my body became this small, the scars probably won’t be visible, right?
Bothered for no reason, I quickly washed my body roughly and entered the bathtub with a towel wrapped below. Since this was my first time using such an expensive-looking bathtub, I felt strangely odd.
It’s nice, but thinking this is a dollhouse item makes it a bit strange, should I say.
“…Aren’t you scared? Your body shrunk and you were almost kidnapped while trapped in some unknown place.”
After wetting my face with water and blinking, I leaned back comfortably.
Feeling a bit languid, I blinked slowly.
“If I get kidnapped, will I get dissected or something? Does that exist here too?”
At my words, he laughed. But it wasn’t a particularly pleasant laugh.
“Even if that happened, you don’t seem scared.”
“I guess… I do hate pain though.”
After no answer for a moment at my words, he spoke quietly.
“For someone who says they hate pain, you seem to have a lot of scars.”
Even though I became this small, did he see them again? If he can see this, how good are his eyes…?
Well, the other party is a deity.
“I had accidents… and was bullied a lot.”
Though only one person tormented me.
Bihyeon, who seemed to be reading a book as he leaned against the wall with a book open, sighed quietly. Though it didn’t show, his eyes looked complicated. I watched him while sitting in the bathtub, with eyes that seemed determined not to get involved anymore.
Why am I thinking of what the sheep said now? What if he gets hurt like back then?
…Was Bihyeon-nim hurt by that small child?
What if that child betrayed him and sold him out to humans?
‘No. If that were true, he wouldn’t have those longing eyes…’
No, I can’t be certain of that either. Non-human beings are so kind and affectionate.
Much more than I thought.
Ah, I should quickly wash up and go out to lie down comfortably. I’m not sleepy but my body is drooping.
After spacing out, I stood up in that state, quickly washed my body, put on clothes and came out. Both the underwear and everything fit perfectly as if prepared for my body.
I went to the sofa where I’d left the book and lay down. Staring blankly at the ceiling, I fumbled to pick up and open the book.
Rustle.
With the conversation cut off, only the sound of turning pages echoed in the room.
Something… this silence felt awkward and uncomfortable. But I don’t know what to say right now. I sighed quietly and closed my eyes briefly. It was never my intention to sleep.
Someone tapped my head.
Is it Bihyeon? Thinking that, I recalled it couldn’t be and opened my eyes. A small child was crouched in front of me looking at me. This child… I saw them in my dream. Like the child who was preciously held by Bihyeon-nim in that mountain.
A child who really resembled my face a lot. No, it was to the degree where you could just say we were the same.
When I stared blankly upward, the child gazed at me, choked up, then slowly shook their head.
– We shouldn’t have met.
What?
I fidgeted my lips but no voice came out.
– We shouldn’t have met again…
So who do you mean?
Are you talking about you and me? My body didn’t move either, as if suffering from sleep paralysis.
– It’s because of me. Everything’s because of me… If only I hadn’t met them.
The child reached out and firmly grasped my hand. Eventually tears began to drip from those eyes.
– It will repeat… I hate it. That person being hurt again…
Ah… this child isn’t talking about me but about Bihyeon. I could be certain of that.
I blinked and wriggled my fingers. Though I could move little by little, I still couldn’t do any actions.
What kind of dream is this again?
To just call it a dream, what the Mountain God said before caught me. That everything seen in this place has meaning…
– Even if I had completely disappeared back then, this kind of thing wouldn’t…
“That child” whom the palace household kept saying had their soul annihilated. But the words of this child saying they couldn’t disappear. Which one is correct?
Why do they keep showing me things about this child since before? What on earth are they trying to tell me?
I understand that I’m related to this child.
No, maybe I’ve actually been pretending not to know because I didn’t want to know.
I barely moved my lips and muttered quietly.
“…You are…”
Are you perhaps me?
I wanted to ask that, but it seemed I was gradually becoming distant from the child.
When I raised my head, the child was staring at me intently. With eyes full of tears, they smiled sadly and miserably.
