I don’t know if it’s a dream or something else.
Kang Hana was chasing after something cute in reality.
“Stop right there…!”
Do-do-do.
In front of Kang Hana, there was a cute penguin, Lulu, waddling away with short steps.
No matter how many times she was slapped in the face, Kang Hana didn’t give up and kept trying to catch up, dodging every opportunity and Lunning away.
Even while Lunning, Lulu’s cute little flippers flapped and wiggled, looking very mischievous, resembling someone, though Kang Hana wasn’t sure who exactly.
Kang Hana made up her mind to catch that adorable creature and hold it tight.
“Gyao?”
At the distance where it seemed like she might almost catch it, But in the end, Kang Hana, with her overwhelming stride advantage, caught up to Lulu and reached out her hand.
Flailing.
Kang Hana’s hands slipped under Lulu’s armpits and lifted up, but no matter how much he kicked, his feet didn’t touch the ground.
She had succeeded in capturing him.
Kang Hana gave a very satisfied smile.
“Hehe, I’m gonna squeeze you and shake you all around, lalalala! Just once, no, twice, three times…!”
That’s when it happened.
Suddenly, two antlers popped out between the arms holding the penguin, Lulu.
***
A white crown appeared between them, followed by eyes like jewels meeting hers.
This time, it was really Lulu.
Surprised by the most adorable being appearing right in front of her, Kang Hana dropped what she was holding.
Do-do-do.
Lulu ran away.
“Aah, aahh… aah…”
Kang Hana gazed with eyes full of regret.
But it didn’t matter.
Lulu stretched out something from his tail towards Kang Hana.
Kang Hana took it without thinking, only to be shocked.
“Lulu? What is this?”
It was a blood-soaked corpse.
It had feathers, so it was probably a bird… but it was much bigger than the sparrows or pigeons you’d normally see around.
Lulu’s body, however, was completely clean and dry, with no trace of blood, so it was only then that Kang Hana realized this.
“Is it something like a crane? Where did this come from…?”
Kang Hana wondered.
But above all, she felt a sense of joy.
She had read somewhere online that when a cat brings its prey and offers it as a gift, it’s the greatest sign of affection!
Kang Hana, full of anticipation, asked.
“Is this a gift for me…?”
Zzzzt.
Looking at Lulu’s expression upon hearing that question, Kang Hana quickly realized it was a foolish fantasy.
They weren’t that close yet.
She thought they were, but…
Swallowing her tears, Kang Hana felt a sudden sadness.
Lulu made a cute noise.
Compared to when he just slept and didn’t want to move, now, his emotions were clearly visible through his entire body.
Originally, just watching him made Kang Hana feel tired, but now, it felt different.
Kang Hana chuckled as she watched Lulu.
She was disappointed not to see that subtly cute expression she couldn’t figure out, but she liked the way he was right now.
Kang Hana realized Lulu’s intention and nodded.
“You want me to cook, right?”
There could be no other reason for Lulu to bring the bird to Kang Hana.
She had never formally learned to cook, and was entirely self-taught, but somehow, from a young age, she had a knack for it.
Looking at Lulu’s relaxed expression, it was clear that this was the right answer.
Kang Hana’s eyes lit up.
The idea of making food for Lulu was enough to spark a fire of enthusiasm in her.
But there was a problem.
Looking around, there were no cooking tools—just Luins.
It looked like the world had collapsed while she had briefly fallen asleep.
The research facility was rusted, decayed, and deserted.
The only living beings here were Kang Hana and three cute kids.
It was a very surreal scene.
‘That didn’t matter to Kang Hana, though.’
Even if the world had ended, she could not miss the chance to feed Lulu with a dish she made herself.
“What should I do? At least I need fire…”
Kang Hana frowned, her mind racing.
With desperation in her heart, she prayed to a god she didn’t even believe in, hoping she could cook.
Somehow, her heart was burning with feeling.
“Please, just stay still…”
***
The researcher from FPL, Giselle Hartmann, nervously watched the scene unfolding in front of her.
Her foolish junior, Kang Hana, is surrounded by anomalous phenomena.
IF-017 “Dragon” was dangerous enough, but IF-098 “Tsuchinoko” was also a dangerous venomous snake, though that wasn’t the issue.
Giselle silently observed the entire event from a distance.
And that’s when she realized.
The tiny dragon-like entity Kang Hana was desperately chasing was IF-108 “Nessho.”
Although it was now revealing its shocking true form, it was originally a high-grade anomalous phenomenon.
In its normal state, protected by a field, it would distort physical resistance as though immune to it.
Giselle couldn’t understand why her junior was provoking and chasing after it.
She didn’t dare to step in and stop it.
At that moment, IF-017 approached her junior.
Giselle opened her eyes wide.
“That’s…”
It was hard to see clearly from a distance, but IF-017 was handing something to her junior.
It wasn’t exactly clear, but it looked like a crane, a heron…
The silhouette resembled IF-114 “Jimjo”.
“Crazy.”
‘When did that appear, and when did it get killed?’
Seeing that her junior accepted it without hesitation, she was relieved, knowing it probably wasn’t IF-114.
‘Then, was it just a bird?’
‘Even though it had rained heavily, could such birds really appear inside the research facility?’
Her junior seemed completely unfazed as she plucked feathers from the bird and started prepping it, but Giselle was staring at the scene, puzzled.
“…”
“What’s this?”
Giselle Lubbed her eyes, wondering if she had seen it wrong.
But what she saw didn’t change.
Suddenly, flames erupted from her junior’s body.
It was a small flame, similar to the one she had seen from IF-017 not long ago.
Giselle frowned.
She had suspected anomalous phenomena might be involved since her junior survived the fall from such a height, but this…
This was blatantly showing, “I’m an anomalous phenomenon!”
Giselle was irritated.
‘Did her junior not realize what would happen if such a thing was discovered?’
“Is she not even trying to hide it?”
What frustrated Giselle the most was that her junior didn’t seem to think that even by lying, she should report this to the headquarters according to the regulations.
Instead, she was more focused on how to hide it.
Giselle sighed as she watched her junior, Kang Hana, perform her own little “flame show” while cooking the bird.
“Much easier than a frying pan.”
Kang Hana was roasting the bird that Lulu had brought her to a nice golden brown.
Flames were swirling around her.
For sure.
Just as Kang Hana silently prayed to the sky.
Suddenly, she felt heat from her heart.
It was a familiar warmth.
Although it was a dream, it was a heat she had felt hundreds of times until just a moment ago.
This time, however, the heat seemed to be pressing outward, as if knocking on a door rather than radiating inward.
This was the result of allowing it.
‘Does that mean I’ve become an anomalous phenomenon?’
‘If so, isn’t that a huge problem?’
She thought for a moment, but the sensation of heat spreading from her chest made her head go blank, and it was hard to think about for long.
Kang Hana focused on cooking.
As Kang Hana stared intensely, the flames around her moved through the air.
At first, she thought maybe it was Fire Lulu, but soon realized it was just a flame, which made her a bit disappointed.
Of course, this flame felt somewhat familiar, but it didn’t compare to Fire Lulu from her dream.
“I wish this were real…”
She regretted not getting to say goodbye properly.
It was in that moment, when Kang Hana was absentmindedly recalling Fire Lulu, that she heard a crackling sound.
While she wasn’t looking, the fire began to spread.
“Hmm?”
Finally snapping back to reality, Kang Hana was startled.
Lulu had been right next to her.
‘Could it be that Lulu got hurt because of me?’
She thought, and a chill ran down her spine.
Kang Hana quickly turned to look.
Of course, Lulu wasn’t hurt by such a small fire.
“Phew, thank goodness…”
Kang Hana let out a sigh of relief.
However, when Lulu met her gaze, he tilted his chin as if asking what she was doing.
“Gyaoo….”
“Huh…? Ah!”
Kang Hana looked ahead again and was horrified.
The bird she had been roasting was now on fire, and that wasn’t supposed to happen.
If the flames didn’t stop, the precious meat that Lulu had brought her would be completely burned.
No matter how much she silently wished for the fire to fall off, it had already clung on and couldn’t be controlled.
“This is Lulu’s…! No, please, cool down…!!”
Kang Hana was on the verge of tears.
Pop.
A round object opened next to Kang Hana, and suddenly, a cold wind blew.
The flames weakened immediately.
“Ugh, eww… What is this?”
Kang Hana shivered from the cold and turned to look.
Inside the round hole, which twisted like a funhouse mirror, was a passageway to somewhere.
To her surprise, Penguin Lulu was peeking his adorable face out of the passage!
His expression wasn’t great, possibly because of what had happened earlier, but as their eyes met, he waved his flipper-arm toward Kang Hana.
Kang Hana waved back at the cute penguin Lulu.
“It was you…! Thank you!”
Thanks to Lulu’s amazing ability, she had narrowly avoided disaster.
Kang Hana patted her cheeks and refocused.
It was Lulu’s meat and food for Lulu, so she would cook it as if her life depended on it.
With that determination, she went back to her cooking.
However, for some reason, she felt a gaze from the side.
When she glanced briefly at the side before reigniting the fire, a smile spread across her face.
It seemed like Lulu was staring curiously at the round hole.
She didn’t know why he was looking at it like that, but his serious gaze was incredibly cute.
I’m looking at the passageway where Nessho’s flames came from.
‘Could this passage lead anywhere?’
‘If it’s Nessho, can it even lead to a lake?’
‘I can only go to places I know!’
Well, that’s unfortunate.
But it was okay.
Even so, this ability was incredibly useful.
Her heart raced as she thought about testing “it.”
Because, whatever it meant, the memory from her human days told her.
“Blankets and air conditioning” were paradise…!
“Gyaa…!”