Then it vigorously shook its head. Yoon Tae-ha, who was hanging on, almost flew off to the opposite side. The animal, which had stood up abruptly as if enraged, suddenly changed direction without warning.

Cheon Geon-young’s black truck followed right behind. Yoon Tae-ha grabbed the soft fur of the animal and whispered,

“Let’s go to your owner.”

Surprisingly, it seemed to understand. The animal rushed with fierce momentum towards the leader who had been controlling it.

The hunters scattered in panic and began to flee. The lips of the leader, who was wearing broken sunglasses, turned blue.

He repeatedly pressed the now useless remote control and then threw it away. He tried to escape, but the enraged hamster’s speed was superior.

“Aaaagh!”

The heavy body fell without hesitation onto the man on the motorcycle.

•

Contrary to its name, the Green Sea was a vast mountain range with numerous lakes.

Immediately after the Raven Garden was born, a huge green lake, as endless as the sea, was created, giving rise to the name Green Sea. Now, parts of it had dried up, and free cities had been built on the barren land.

Near the first free city, Acheron, was Ark’s multinational base camp.

A researcher working in the base camp’s glass greenhouse stretched his aching back after collecting plants. At that moment, a research colleague approached and suggested they go out to the parking lot together.

“Is today the day someone’s coming?”

“The dispatch team from your hometown is arriving! Surely you haven’t forgotten? Didn’t you order anything special?”

“The Korean office? Of course!”

They headed to the parking lot with joyful faces. Just then, black cars were entering in succession. Besides them, employees of Korean nationality were gathering in the parking lot.

Baek Sang-ho got out of his car and began talking to the security manager of the base camp.

“Team Alpha is coming themselves? I didn’t know that.”

“I wonder which truck my package is in. Is it that one? Or the one coming behind? I’m dying to open it.”

The last to arrive was a top-of-the-line pickup truck. Behind the truck, the motorcycle of the main culprit who had been disrupting the local security was firmly tied down. The bound person was also with it.

A researcher poked his colleague’s side with his elbow and asked,

“Hey. Isn’t that the crazy monkey leader?”

“Looks like it? That bastard who goes around with a Kuakua?”

“They said it was Team Alpha, but it looks like they took down a thug right from the start.”

Team Alpha’s vehicles were covered in dirt and plants. Soon, the driver’s seat opened and a man got out. He strode over to the passenger side and opened the door. This time, a woman slowly got out of the passenger seat. A small, fluffy animal was on her hand.

The employees who got out of the different cars were relieved to be on solid ground. Many of them offered prayers of thanks for their safe arrival.

Contrary to its notorious reputation as a lawless zone, Acheron appeared peaceful on the surface.

Below the base camp, located on a hill, lay a medieval fortress city. Stone walls surrounded the small city.

Cheon Geon-young was captivated by the unique sight he was seeing for the first time. He slowly turned around, taking in the surrounding scenery.

“Since the base camp is on high ground, you can see the whole city at a glance.”

Yoon Tae-ha took him to a place with a good view of the fortress.

“Doesn’t it feel like a completely different time zone?”

“You said it wasn’t a building built by Earthlings.”

“They say those ruins appeared a long time ago when part of the lake dried up.”

They looked down at the fortress for a long time. Just then, the Kuakua sleeping on Yoon Tae-ha’s hand rustled and sleepily opened its eyes. After capturing the human who had tormented it, the animal had shrunk in size and climbed onto Yoon Tae-ha’s palm, showing no intention of getting off.

“Kua?”

The small hamster curled up into a ball in Yoon Tae-ha’s palm.

This mysterious animal could freely increase and decrease its body size, and the color of its horns changed according to its mood. Yoon Tae-ha lifted her palm upwards, observing the color of its horns.

“Sky blue. Does that mean it’s in a good mood?”

“They say the closer it gets to red, the angrier it is, and the closer to blue, the better its mood.”

“It’s cuter than I thought.”

She looked alternately at Cheon Geon-young and the small animal.

“Why did you chase us so fiercely earlier? You could have returned with teleportation anyway.”

“The hamster kidnapped my esper. I was in a hurry.”

A joyful feeling welled up deep within Yoon Tae-ha’s heart. She felt like she would laugh like a fool.

“Do you want to try putting it on your palm?”

“I’m worried I might hurt it. It’s a protected species.”

However, Yoon Tae-ha persuaded him that he only needed to hold it still. The Kuakua rolled over onto Cheon Geon-young’s palm.

Its horns turned a slightly deeper blue. Cheon Geon-young was nervous, worried that the animal might fall. His gaze was fixed on his palm. Yoon Tae-ha couldn’t take her eyes off his face.

“It likes you more than me?”

“It’s because my hand is bigger.”

“Does it look at faces too?”

After speaking, she realized it was a slip of the tongue. Yoon Tae-ha coughed dryly in a place free of fine dust and pollen to hide her embarrassment. Then she rummaged through her pockets to smooth things over.

Fortunately, two well-preserved flowers came out. Cheon Geon-young, who had been staring intently at her face, raised his eyebrows as if asking what she was going to do with them.

“I brought them on purpose.”

With those words, Yoon Tae-ha placed the soft flowers on the animal’s back. She hesitated slightly before making her next move. She needed courage. But she mustered her courage and reached her hand to a high place.

A white flower was placed in the black, soft hair of the man. A look of surprise bloomed in his eyes. She spoke like a visitor at an art gallery.

“Not bad.”

Cheon Geon-young looked down at Yoon Tae-ha. He had something soft on his palm, but his gaze was fiercer than ever.

“Just not bad?”

“Huh?”

“You went to all the trouble of putting it in, and that’s it?”

It was a mocking remark at her admirable courage. Just as she was about to get angry, he placed the small animal back on Yoon Tae-ha’s palm. The Kuakua’s horns glowed bluishly, as if it was simply happy to be rolling around. Soon, someone called them from the camp on the hill.

“We should go. If we don’t attend when they call our names, it could be troublesome later.”

Yoon Tae-ha spun around. At that moment, Cheon Geon-young gently put his arm around her shoulder, giving her a friendly hug.

Their bodies overlapped about halfway, coming into close contact. A pleasant scent enveloped her once again.

“You’re avoiding talking again, aren’t you? Is it a habit?”

At his sly questioning, she stiffly stared straight ahead. A shiver quickly ran down her spine at the voice right next to her ear.

“You have something else you want to say, don’t you?”

“Are you a mind reader? Can you even read minds?”

“I can see roughly now.”

His weighty arm dangled over her shoulder. She tried to move it to get it off, but only his hand could be touched, and there was no result.

“Heavy.”

“Don’t lie.”

His captured hand shook. Her heart was also pounding. Did he know what he was holding and shaking?

“Do it whenever you want.”

He said in a low voice as the entrance to the base camp approached. At a distance where only she could hear among the many people on this vast site.

“And don’t be scared by things like this. You won’t die just because you have a flower in your hair.”

To think that happiness could be this frightening.

“You’re the one who did it.”

•

The two were assigned the same lodging.

It was a natural outcome. In this place, most espers shared a room with their guides. In a land where no one knew what might happen, it was rare for espers to be separated from their guides.

“This is your room. I’ll give you a bigger one. I’m a very considerate esper.”

Yoon Tae-ha cheerfully dragged even Cheon Geon-young’s suitcase into the lodging and pushed his luggage into the room. Her cheeks were still slightly flushed.

“They said there are three hours left until mealtime. Free time until then. Wash up and change clothes.”

“Why are you suddenly talking like a dormitory supervisor?”

“I’m going to go look around. Get some rest.”

She put even Cheon Geon-young in the room like a suitcase and closed the door loudly from the outside.

Surely this woman didn’t lock the door from the outside?

Puzzled, he turned the doorknob after the sound of her footsteps faded. The door opened easily. The area in front of the door was empty. He poked his head out, lightly surveyed the living room, and closed the door again.

He was covered in dirt, so he had to wash up first. Cheon Geon-young lightly washed his hands and opened his suitcase to take out clothes to change into. He didn’t forget to carefully take out the white flower from his pocket.

The soft flower rested on his scarred hand. He looked down at it for a moment.

It doesn’t suit me.

The traces left by learning how to harm others and the flower Yoon Tae-ha had brought were repelling each other. Of course, the flower she had given was much more valuable. So much so that comparing them was an insult to the flower.

What was she thinking when she gave it to me?

The more he reasoned, the more a subtle anticipation swelled up. It was difficult to easily conclude because she was a woman skilled at retreating. He might be projecting something onto her in the way he wanted.

At least she didn’t give it to me hoping I would fall into hell. He barely drew a line under one extreme possibility.

He put the flower in a glass cup prepared in the room so it wouldn’t wither easily. He didn’t want to rashly press it between the pages of a book while its color was still vibrant.

The time for rest flew by in the blink of an eye. Cheon Geon-young changed into comfortable clothes and carefully opened the door. He hadn’t actually filled the entire three hours. He was curious about what she was doing.

Yoon Tae-ha was checking the security of the window in the kitchen. Cheon Geon-young approached her from behind and suddenly asked,

“Is there anything you can’t break if you try?”

“Ah, you startled me!”

Whether she was genuinely surprised or not, she placed her hand near her heart.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I told you not to use what you learned at school on me. How can someone not make a sound when they approach?”

“I did.”

“You didn’t.”

“I did so.”

While they were having a childish argument, someone knocked on the door.