“Ah…”
Jumping out of the blanket, Bom lifted her hands and touched her cheeks. She touched her eyes and touched her ears.
Everything was vivid.
The tiny and soft hair surrounding the body that mimicked a human as well as the eyebrows and the soft earlobes. But since everything was strangely realistic, it added to the awkwardness of her unrealistic senses.
“…”
It’s been a few days already.
Bom couldn’t see Providence.
“…”
She couldn’t see anything no matter how much she tried, and the things that were shown against her will were also no longer visible.
The ‘Eye of Providence’ became hazy.
As if something big and dark was covering the lens of a telescope, something was blocking the third eye of a green dragon that could gaze into the distance, even when she was meant to be seeing Providence.
Bom bit her lips.
It was the first time that she was unable to see Providence like this ever since the dimensions got distorted.
Worries got the best of her before anything.
Was something dangerous coming right now? Something that detested Yu Jitae like before? But as that continued for more than 2 days, Bom started to realise that she was not in the position to worry about others.
She opened the [Ahjussi Observation Diary].
[?. Doubt: Maybe I’m trying to make ahjussi into something different?]
ᄂ[53. I think this is a correct assumption.]
It was the doubt she wrote before and after Yu Jitae’s birthday party. She found her answer to this back when Yu Jitae was trying to find her dream for her. Thanks to that, she was able to find her goal.
Bom.
She was trying to make Yu Jitae into something.
To her, Yu Jitae was a piece of artwork. A type of artwork that was to be filled with Bom (Spring) colours.
He was a human whose heart had been crushed and locked. Like a child who was starting to learn emotions, he had an innocent and naive side to him.
Easier put, he was like a black canvas. Since he was pure black without any marks, it could in fact turn into a starry night with white stars here and there.
‘Maybe filling that up is what my Amusement is for?’ That was the thought she had while she was lying down on his favourite sofa on a bright spring day.
Something interfering in her process of creating a precious artwork and adding different colours to it could perhaps be an uncomfortable experience. However, Bom didn’t feel bad even when someone intervened with her artwork. No, to be completely true to her feelings,
She was able to endure it, and stop herself from feeling bad.
Whatever the case, she was the only existence that could perfect Yu Jitae into ‘something’ within the great flow and that was within this world line’s Providence which could never be interfered with. In other words, the result was clearly set no matter the process.
So even when Yeorum hugged Yu Jitae in excitement or he patted Kaeul’s head in her sleep, and even when Bom saw Gyeoul rub her head on his chest regardless of the time, she could suppress the bad feelings.
Even when he cold-heartedly stated that he was thinking about ‘someone like you’ in the cafe, Bom was able to withstand it.
After all, the result was already there.
The only thing she was curious about was the process that led up to the predetermined result. To green dragons, ‘relationships’ were always that superficial.
“…”
Bom knew herself that she was a young and immature dragon that lacked experience. The fact that she was able to pretend to be normal in front of Yu Jitae, and the fact that she was still able to induce him into doing what she wanted him to do, were all possible only because she had seen the future through Providence.
Not just one or two, but dozens and hundreds of the future.
And because she was so ‘mentally prepared’, Bom was able to paint the dried values and thoughts of the man with her own colours, and could shake him without being shaken herself.
In other words, because everything had originated from Providence,
Now that she couldn’t see Providence,
Bom wasn’t able to do anything.
“…”
Still, she thought it would be fine at the start.
In her opinion, relationships could be in a lot of different shapes and forms, and the relationship between Yeorum, Kaeul, Gyeoul and Yu Jitae had a different shape to the one she had with Yu Jitae.
So it should be fine right? I’ve been doing it well till now. Since the result is already out, even if the answer sheet were to be dumpstered in ink, I’ve already seen the answers so isn’t it fine to do what I’ve been doing so far?
She was somehow able to deal with things while thinking that.
But yesterday, she happened to see Yu Jitae who was hugging Kaeul from behind. She hadn’t been mentally prepared for it at all, because she wasn’t able to see Providence.
“…”
The dark sky which had been embroidered by her stars until now, could only have her stars and stars that she had predicted and allowed.
That was because the sky wasn’t for her, but for Yu Jitae.
But yesterday, Bom had an abrupt thought that a star she hadn’t predicted could be sparkling somewhere in the sky.
And thinking about that moment vividly with her unforgetting memories…
…It made her slightly afraid.
Heaving out a deep sigh, she buried her head into her hands. As an existence that always mentally prepared itself, the fear she felt towards the unknown was slightly bigger than others.
She was like a plant in a greenhouse but the greenhouse that had been protecting her was no longer there. With trembling fingers, she picked up a pen.
[61. I messed up]
Her hand was saggy and the words appeared depressed.
[61. I messed up. I wasn’t trying to force us to be alone.]
She was too emotional, rash, impulsive.
[…Now is the time to look after Gyeoul. Something like this is not what I wanted.]
Turning her head, Bom stared at the blue-haired child lying down next to her. The pulsing dragon heart that should be calm when sleeping was fluttering unstably in front of a turning point. Due to that, the child was unable to sleep with ease and was dropping cold beads of sweat.
Bom was trying to make him into something, and in order to make him into something, she needed ‘his daily life’. And for his daily life, Gyeoul had to shed skin without a problem.
“I know.”
And yet due her fearful heart, she had accidentally caused a not-so-positive influence to his daily life.
It was clearly a mistake.
“Sorry Gyeoul…”
Bom wiped the sweat off for the child and kissed her on the forehead.
Nothing would happen and it should be fine.
It should be fine…
It was time to go back to sleep. Bom closed the diary but soon realised that this was Ahjussi Observation Diary instead of her own diary, and drew a scribble over number 61.
“…”
When she laid back down and covered herself with a blanket, she became disturbed once again.
Is it fine to go on a dispatch with just him in a situation like this? Despite wanting to do so, Bom wasn’t confident.
***
Day broke on the day of the dispatch.
That morning, she checked the items she packed for the dispatch over and over again. She looked slightly distracted and it reminded him of how the children got excited before going on a camp.
But they weren’t going on a camp right now. The guardian decided to set that straight with the child.
“Bom. Are you really doing this because you want to?”
“Yes? Of course.”
“There will be monsters and infected people. Even if we aren’t in danger ourselves, we might have to kill something to remove the source of the epidemic. And that might not be a monster.”
“I’m a dragon you know. I eat humans when I’m hungry…”
She made a joke but Yu Jitae had to nail it in.
“I’m asking you if you really want to go.”
“That’s what I already said.”
“You did. But I’m just wondering. A dispatch is usually in the process of trying to become a soldier, but you weren’t interested in that before.”
“Hmm… But I am going because I want to.”
“Are you serious?”
She nodded with an expression that was hard to read. At this point, Yu Jitae couldn’t stop her and the two of them headed to the warp station of Haytling.
*
North of Africa, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Inside the desert that could spot the ocean on the horizon was a small warp station that was being operated 24/7.
Previously, there was a country in this place called People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. After hearing of Africa, some might often think of desert and sand but there was a time when the coastline had been filled with beautiful, well-designed cities built with cutting-edge technology.
However, now it was the very depiction of what those people thought of.
There was no longer a country, nor citizens. But, there were people and this place was therefore being referred to as a lawless area.
The two of them headed to the nearby office from the warp station. Inside the large tent was a fat superhuman sitting in front of a small desk. He was a soldier from North African Nations United (NAN).
Just like any other, the superhuman became surprised after seeing Bom but quickly and intentionally turned his gaze towards Yu Jitae.
Superhumans in the battlefield were no different to scoundrels and bandits, and that was especially so in lawless areas. Those without connection were subjected to plunder.
However, when the opponent wasn’t a random person and was instead a cadet from Lair with unknown level of connections, the best course of action was to avoid them altogether.
Bom and Yu Jitae were like bombs to them.
“These are the record, mission content and map.”
Thus, the soldier treated them apathetically and didn’t say anything after giving them the documents.
Yu Jitae opened his mouth.
“What’s with the attitude. At least tell us what to do.”
“It’s all written in the mission content. You just have to follow that through.”
After glancing at the insolent soldier, Yu Jitae gave the papers over to Bom.
“Do what you want, apparently.”
The dispatch was an individual mission and Yu Jitae was just there to support her. He was but an aide that protected Bom, that was to help her complete the task. That was the nature of a dispatch and she clearly stated it out herself that she wanted to volunteer for the task.
Therefore, she had to be the one in charge of the mission from here.
“Hmm…”
Bom examined the mission content in detail and referred to the map.
‘Warp stations’ were under the Warp Station corporation. In the era where humanists had disappeared, they were a monopolising international business under the Association. Despite the country having vanished, there were a lot of people who couldn’t leave the area because of a lack of money.
Those people grouped up and lived together as a tribe in the sandstorm.
The contents of the mission was simple.
Once a month, the tribes had to report to NAN about their survival.
The reports had to be in person. Ever since the Great War, the North African areas were filled with filthy mana and those seeped into the sand itself. Due to that, there was now difficulty with long-range transmissions in this area and there weren’t any base stations to send or receive radio transmissions either.
“We don’t have enough manpower. We can’t send someone there ourselves.”
And there hadn’t been any contact from the Kahoom Tribe that was in the southwest area despite 2 weeks having passed from the deadline, and they wanted an investigation of that place about the problem.
“Well, I think they’re all dead but…”
The soldier said as if it had nothing to do with him.
“If they weren’t killed by a monster and were instead killed by the epidemic, we need to prevent it from spreading.”
“How do you prevent it from spreading?” asked Bom and the superhuman shrugged his shoulders. The method used to prevent Ancient Beast Epidemic Ef-014 from spreading was simple.
“We have to burn them. The tribe, the infected and the corpse. All of them.”
“Hmm…”
“That’s why there’s a lot of fire-type superhumans here. It’s troublesome though, that we are not allowed to deal with it before it happens.”
The soldier laid out a miraculous theory that there won’t be any epidemic if the people were killed beforehand. Bom went through the paper once again without saying anything in response.
Until then, Yu Jitae was indifferent.
Bom could look ahead without seeing anything, and could find out secrets. She was smart and was the type that he could entrust things to.
Besides, she was a dragon. Although it was the worst environment for a dragon that empathised with other organisms with mana…
Even then, she was a dragon.
She should be fine even when she’s left to her own devices.
That’s what he had been thinking but as soon as they started with the mission, he heard something he had never expected. “I have no idea,” murmured Bom while staring at the map.
“What?”
“Nn?”
“No. What did you say?”
Bom stared at him before giving an awkward smile.
“I don’t know where to go…”