031 – My Lime Golden Apple Tree #2
Letter.
This was the first time I had received a letter from a woman since I entered training for my alternative service in the crack suppression for about a month.
At that time, my younger sibling and mother had sent me letters.
Now, it was Yu Ara.
I slowly read the letters wondering what Yu Ara had written along with the package.
“Senior, did I surprise you by suddenly sending a package? You’ve finally been promoted to C Rank, but I feel like I haven’t done anything for you. This is my congratulatory gift.”
Indeed.
I was curious about what the package was, and it turned out to be a congratulatory gift.
Suddenly, I felt a twinge of guilt.
I had never given Yu Ara a gift when she achieved C Rank or B Rank.
I wasn’t the type to take care of someone affectionately in the first place.
“This Inoi wants to see what’s in this package…!”
At that moment, Inoi showed interest in the box.
Yu Ara, although scared, seemed not afraid of the package she sent.
“Okay, go ahead and open it.”
“Nymph-style, tear the package open…!”
Rip, rustle-.
Inoi tore at the tape of the square package roughly. It was supposed to be Nymph-style, and I had heard that Nymph-style was a special technique used by Nymphs.
And just to say this now─
It felt like they had just labeled ‘Nymph-style’ on any action.
Why, if you make a problem out of something, it becomes a problem, and if you think of it as something special, it really becomes special.
Maybe Nymph-style was something like that.
The skills I would develop for awakened ones also had that aspect.
While I was thinking this, Inoi had completely torn the package open.
“Ah! This Inoi…! I thought something delicious would be inside, but I’m really disappointed…! This is paper…! I can’t eat it…!”
As Inoi said, the package contained paper and some strange kit. It looked like a small science kit, and inside it was another letter from Yu Ara.
“It’s a self-examination and diagnosis kit. You can diagnose your aptitude or the direction of your efficient ability by yourself. Originally, I wanted to do it for you, but I got a bit busy for a while!”
I see.
I examined the paper.
There was a kit to measure one’s internal magical power, similar to litmus paper, and a strange beaker and pipette labeled ‘aptitude test.’
In other words, it was a device to measure whether my magical power control as a C Rank was manipulation like telekinesis or ignition, or if it was enhancement type that boosts physical abilities.
Swoosh-.
I pricked my finger with the needle as indicated in the kit, dipped it into the beaker, and mixed it with the magical solution. After shaking it well, I drew it up with the pipette and dropped a drop onto the paper.
Ssssssss-.
The paper began to spread strangely.
Soon, a blue light shimmered in the result section.
“Manipulation type. Really? Surprising.”
Manipulation type.
This referred to the category of awakened ones who manipulate magical power to cause anomalies, like Lee Joon-Hun’s telekinesis or Seo Ye-rim’s pyrokinesis.
And I had heard that such manipulation abilities had a picky development process─.
“Surprising. I thought I’d be enhancement type.”
Since I liked to move my body, I thought I would have enhancement abilities that would boost my physical capabilities and create explosive combat power.
But it wasn’t.
It seemed that I had a more delicate aspect than I had thought.
“This Inoi also wants to test it…!”
“Oh, really? Well, there’s plenty of paper. Here, give me your finger. I need to prick it.”
I became curious about Inoi’s category too.
Elves, as outsiders, possessed inherent abilities as awakened ones and were all excellent warriors. I wondered if Nymphs were like that, so I wanted to check.
“Hyek…! I suddenly don’t want to do it…!”
However, Inoi, not wanting to be pricked with the needle, rushed into the room.
Well, I could always test it later.
Woof woof…!
At that moment, Kkungkkungi returned.
His fur was all tangled, but he had no injuries, showing how fierce and glorious the recent fight must have been.
Bang bang…!
A loud cry could also be heard outside the house.
I imagined a large squirrel in my mind and named it “Bang Bang.”
“Kkungkkungi, did you win or lose against Bang Bang?”
Swoosh-.
I held the needle and gently poked Kkungkkungi’s body.
Grrr…!
Kkungkkungi swiftly jumped and ran away.
I wondered if my intimacy with Kkungkkungi had slightly decreased while I carefully mixed his blood with the solution for the test.
This time, the results turned bright red.
It meant enhancement type.
“Kkungkkungi is enhancement type.”
Well.
In a way, loading magical power into his fur was enhancing his body, so it made sense.
Anyway, thanks to Yu Ara, I was able to quickly perform that peculiar test.
It was truly surprising that I was a manipulation type.
However, since I now knew the direction to go, I shouldn’t lose my way.
With gratitude, I left a message for Yu Ara.
# # #
“Yoon Do, the senior is saying to me, ‘Thank you for the gift, Ari.’ What should I reply? When should I respond?”
In the dark room.
Yu Ara switched on the light and asked the air.
“You’re a guy too, right? What do you think I should say?”
Then, a man who had followed Yu Ara flinched.
He was the S Rank awakened one Lee Joon-Hun, who had caused quite a stir in the past few days.
He discreetly glanced around while being mindful of Yu Ara.
Yu Ara’s workshop.
This place, looking like an operating room, had numerous glass showcases filled with all sorts of figures and dolls still wrapped in their packaging.
‘Why are they still in their packages?’
Lee Joon-Hun was curious but decided against asking.
It was a luxury to ask questions to them, including Yu Ara.
Yu Ara, looking at her phone, started humming, “Hee-hee,” and Lee Joon-Hun decided to speak the necessary words while sitting still in the chair.
“I did everything you all asked.”
“I know. More importantly, tell me what would be a good way to reply.”
Lee Joon-Hun was not in Yu Ara’s heart at all.
She was solely focused on how to reply.
Watching her, Lee Joon-Hun felt puzzled.
“I’m one of your colleagues now too. On that note, may I ask you something? Is Haildo someone you’re keeping an eye on? Are you thinking of making him a colleague?”
“No. I’m working here to keep the senior Yoon Do from being monitored. I can’t put senior Yoon Do into such a messy business. If he dies without being praised, he’ll just become a star.”
“I’ve felt this for a while. Yu Ara, do you like Haildo?”
“……”
Yu Ara didn’t answer.
Instead, she opened a drawer and picked up a rather shabby-looking doll.
It was a Barbie doll.
“You see, I wanted to play with dolls when I was little. But we were so poor at home that I never got to have a doll. So I bought one as soon as I started earning money as an awakened one?”
“……”
“But dolls break and get dirty more easily than I thought. So my cherished doll ended up like this. And I realized, ah, I shouldn’t touch something I like too much.”
Swoosh-.
Lee Joon-Hun glanced back at the display case at Yu Ara’s words.
He felt like he understood why the dolls and figures were still left in their packaging.
He also solved the mystery behind the bunch of photos of Haildo stuffed beyond the display case, though he had no idea when or where they were taken.
“Are you planning to stare at them for life without unwrapping them? Is that enough?”
It was a question of whether he could convey his true feelings.
Upon hearing Lee Joon-Hun’s question, Yu Ara chuckled.
“If I touch them, they’ll get dirty. That’s better than breaking. But honestly, I was a little surprised when you actually came to find me after becoming C Rank. It felt like fate. So I might have been a little greedy.”
Yet, as she had just said, it was all just greed.
Yu Ara now thought to be satisfied by simply putting them back on the shelf and watching over them again as she closed the phone messages.
Replying would indeed be greedy─just as she thought when Lee Joon-Hun asked.
“By the way, Yu Ara, what if someone else unwraps the package of the treasured thing you’ve kept? What would you do if I opened the display case and unwrapped the doll?”
“……”
# # #
“This Inoi…! I’ve been deceived until now…! This Inoi thought it was a game called Minesweeper, which meant finding mines to win…! I see now that I shouldn’t step on mines…!”
7 AM.
Inoi realized the truth of Minesweeper and got angry.
What had I thought the game was until now?
With clenched fists, the shaking seemed just like how Caesar might have reacted when betrayed by his most trusted friend.
“And people have also been lying to Inoi…! This Inoi heard that the Korean Peninsula resembles a tiger, but it looks like….”
Swoosh-.
Inoi pointed to the Korean Peninsula on the monitor.
“No matter how I look at it, it resembles a cute rabbit…! This Inoi likes cute and nymph-friendly rabbits more than scary tigers…! I’m glad to be in Korea…!”
“I see.”
Listening to Inoi’s chatter from the morning, I woke up completely. Indeed, as Inoi said, I too thought the Korean Peninsula looked like a rabbit no matter how I looked at it.
Why do they insist on calling it a tiger?
Isn’t a rabbit cuter and better?
If they sold rabbit character goods, it would probably elevate national prestige.
Thinking that, I set out early in the morning.
“Inoi, I’ll go get that sunstone or whatever it is. With that, it’s more helpful in growing that apple tree, right?”
“Ah, that’s right…! As expected, the master of the house…! This Inoi will grow the golden apple tree beautifully and make sure to let you taste it…!”
Golden apples.
I heard they were really good for awakened ones.
I was eagerly looking forward to when the fruits would blossom.
I thought about finding the sunstone quickly.
“Kkungkkungi, let’s go.”
Woof woof…!
Zzzzz-.
“Are you going along, Ahn Ahn?”
The honey ant Ahn Ahn seemed just as enthusiastic about growing trees as Inoi. It had been a while since I brought Ahn Ahn into the crack, so I was also feeling good.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Bang bang─.
As I left the house, a truck was parked in the yard.
Daldaldaldal-.
It looked like it would burst at any moment.
I felt quite surprised.
“Lee Jin-A, what brings you here so early?”
“You said it, right? You were going to the fixed crack and asked if anyone wanted to go.”
I had said that.
In the C Rank group chat.
My recent friend Seol Myung-Hun replied, “Unfortunately, I have work tomorrow.” and Jo Jang-Hee said, “I have business back home….”
Lee Jin-A must have ignored it or just didn’t answer.
So I thought I’d be going alone, but it was quite a shock to see her here in the morning. Nonetheless, having a car was a good thing.
Lee Jin-A asked through the half-open window.
“Are we going to Sejong City?”
That was right.
The fixed crack I was heading to was located near Sejong City.
Tap-.
As I sat in the passenger seat, Lee Jin-A casually buckled her seatbelt.
Then she asked me.
“Have you been to a fixed crack before?”
“No.”
“Do you know what it is?”
“It’s a crack that is left open under control without closing it intentionally. That’s why it’s called a fixed crack. I know at least that much.”
Vroom-.
The car started.
At that moment, Ahn Ahn the honey ant popped out of my pocket.
Soon, Lee Jin-A furrowed her brow.
“What? You brought a bug into my car?”
“This isn’t a bug; it’s Ahn Ahn the honey ant.”
“Ahn Ahn….”
Lee Jin-A seemed like she wanted to say something but shut her mouth.
She didn’t seem to like talking much.
Am I supposed to sit quietly in the passenger seat and be bored the whole time?
No, I thought that wouldn’t do, so I decided to blurt something out.
“By the way, Seo Ye-rim told me something yesterday. To act like my girlfriend, I should have a clean past.”
“I’ve never had a boyfriend.”
Lee Jin-A stated immediately.
What I meant by past was not that kind of past, but rather the kind that appears in a record, though to be honest, I was surprised.
From just looking at Lee Jin-A, it seemed she must’ve had about four or five boyfriends during her school years.
With sharp-looking guys who played soccer.
When I realized it was a prejudice, Lee Jin-A said.
“I thought it was pathetic to see my sister change boyfriends every day.”
