Going outside was a big decision for Ajin at the moment.
With both courage and confidence lost, she felt like she was carrying a mental disability.
Still, in broad daylight, she waited anxiously, dressed in an outfit that made it clear she had tried her best to look presentable.
‘My hair… is this okay?’
She had been postponing going outside, so with her naturally curly and frizzy hair, there was no way she could go out like that.
That’s why she spent the morning straightening it with a curling iron.
The outfit she was wearing was from a shopping mall, the one Sehee had bought her.
Since she was meeting Sehee, Ajin went out with her best attempt at dressing up, something she usually wouldn’t do.
Thanks to that, in this short amount of time, she found herself facing an unexpected difficulty in the middle of the street.
“Ugh!”
Feeling a passing gaze from the side, she instinctively shrank back and pressed herself against the wall.
Perhaps because of how much her personality had changed, she now reacted very sensitively to the gaze of others.
If anyone were to notice her, it would be easy to make fun of her for being overly self-conscious.
‘How many times had this happened already?’
‘Sehee… when will she arrive?’
She checked her watch out of impatience, but there were still 10 minutes left until the meeting time.
Every time someone glanced at her, she felt an overwhelming urge to scream and hide in a mouse hole.
Stupid Ajin.
Like a fool, she had come out early, excited for no reason, and now look at her.
She could’ve arrived just on time.
Mentally scolding herself, she groaned in frustration.
***
Sigh.
Despite it being dyed, her pink hair fluttered in the spring breeze, clearly standing out.
“Ah!”
The wind, which was unusually strong for spring, blew hard enough to undo the curls she had carefully styled for an hour with a curling iron.
“Ugh!”
Unable to hold back her frustration, she stomped her foot in a gesture that was more meek than angry.
Ah, this is so frustrating.
So annoying.
She couldn’t even cry in the middle of the street.
Her insides felt like they were boiling.
The wind messing up her hair was irritating, and feeling so upset over a simple meeting was just pathetic.
Looking back, she had gone through something similar when going to Sehee’s house.
‘I envy them.’
As she watched the crowd passing by, Ajin stared blankly, her energy drained.
Before being summoned to this world, she could walk around the streets like that with confidence.
A hero who had accomplished feats that no one could challenge, now suffering from a curse, reduced to having extreme social anxiety.
It would probably be laughable to those passing by.
“Ha.”
With a short sigh, she tried to calm her gloomy heart.
At least she was meeting Sehee, so there was hope for some sort of salvation.
‘And wasn’t this a meeting with Sehee?’
After hardship comes joy, she thought, just a little longer.
Only a few minutes remained.
In that short time, Ajin stubbornly held her ground, determined not to lose.
‘How many people would be suffering like me in this situation?’
She thought this while looking around.
Ajin’s gaze stopped at a certain point as she looked around.
‘A school uniform?’
‘If it had been just a regular school uniform, it wouldn’t have caught her attention.’
‘It was a school uniform, but strangely, it seemed too tight, as if the body was bursting out of it.’
‘No, maybe it was because the person’s body was so fit.’
‘It’s still daytime, though.’
‘The vacation season should have ended by now, and everyone should be at school, right?’
‘So why was this person lying on a chair like a homeless person?’
At first, she thought it might be a student with some kind of problem, but there was something oddly captivating about this person.
Something that stirred an unfulfilled thirst in her, keeping her gaze locked.
Then, it happened.
“Yup.”
“…?!”
At the sudden but familiar voice from behind, Ajin quickly turned around.
“Ah!”
Sehee’s finger, which lightly pinched her cheek, shared its warmth with Ajin’s skin, bringing more comfort than pain.
Looking back, it was funny.
Such light physical contact turned out to be the key to saving a cursed hero.
It was really just a cliché, one of those typical third-rate settings.
“What are you staring at?”
“Yeah, Ah!”
‘Was it the physical contact?’
Ajin felt that the usual stuttering caused by her social anxiety was gone.
As she regained her former lively self, she smiled brightly.
“There’s a weird person over there… Huh?”
The person Ajin had pointed to, who had been lying miserably on the chair earlier, was now nowhere to be found.
It was strange.
Well, that wasn’t important.
Turning her head back to Sehee, Ajin continued to babble at the shining goddess in front of her.
“Well, thank you. I have something to say… and, like… well…”
Her words, though filled with nothing of significance, failed to filter out any meaningful phrases from her heart.
Yet, Sehee calmly smiled and listened.
When Ajin finished speaking, Sehee nodded, empathizing with her.
As expected of Sehee, so full of sensitivity.
Though she rambled on, the conclusion was clear.
She was hungry, so they should go eat.
Lunch was soon, and eating first seemed like the priority.
With the destination set, the only task left was to walk there energetically.
Before they started, Sehee casually extended her left arm to Ajin.
Ajin praised herself for not asking a foolish question like “Why are you doing this?” as she carefully wrapped her arm around Sehee’s.
It felt like a display of friendship and loyalty, like two close sisters showing off their bond.
It made Ajin’s chest puff up with pride.
“Your hands are so cold.”
“Uh, hmm… Maybe it’s because I came out a little early and stood around.”
“Mm, I see?”
Perhaps it was the cold wind, but now that she noticed, Ajin wasn’t just cold in her hands, but her whole body seemed to have gotten chilly.
Sehee glanced at Ajin and began searching her mind for a suitable place to eat.
Not just any indoor place, but somewhere a little cozier, a place with more substance.
Soon, she thought of the perfect place.
‘Ah, this might be the place.’
It was a place she had never been before, but from the reviews she had seen in videos and photos, it seemed to fit their current situation perfectly.
“I know a good place. They have rice bowls and udon. Is that okay?”
“Yeah! I love that!”
Seeing Ajin’s excitement, Sehee smiled softly.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes!”
The light radiating from the hand Ajin held seemed to soothe her broken heart, the one shattered by the curse.
It was so kind, and yet, it felt like something she could become addicted to…
Like a baby koala clinging to its mother, Ajin tightened her grip on Sehee’s arm.
It was only now, by being here together, that she realized how much Sehee meant in her life.
She was so important, a central figure.
Ajin had to admit it again.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like it.
It was just… her resolve for the future, which was already strong, became even firmer.
‘Stupid head, I’ve been with her this whole time.’
So now, it’s my turn.
Just for today, I want to be with Sehee.
This arm I’m holding…
‘Please, let it last forever.’
Amidst the deep wounds in her heart, Ajin felt the healing with every moment spent with Sehee.
Even if more challenges came her way, ‘it didn’t matter’, she thought.
Still… somehow, I’ll keep going.
A day filled with exhaustion of both body and mind.
All hope shattered, living in resignation for months, just barely hanging on.
No longer conscious of the gazes around her, she lay down on a bench by the street, taking a rest.
The reason she chose this place, despite the embarrassment, was simple.
The music flowing out from the shop, a ballad-style song, reached her ears.
When she turned her back to the bench, no one was in her view, and she could simply enjoy the music.
As she lay there, her tired body slowly relaxing, she suddenly felt a strange sensation pricking her back.
She realized that someone was staring at her intently.
Normally, she would ignore it, but for some reason, it was impossible to overlook.
A small curiosity bloomed within her weary heart, and she turned her head slightly to look behind.
At the end of her gaze, she saw a woman with pink hair staring directly at her.
‘Why is she looking at me like that?’
‘What? Am I a joke?’
Her frustration rose, but that anger was quickly suppressed by the reality before her.
Hunger, the harsh reality…
- Gurgle.
“I’m so hungry.”
“No, now it’s starting to feel like stomach pain.”
“How long has it been since I ate? Maybe three days?”
She dug through her pockets, but there was nothing left.
“Ha, haha…”
The laughter that came out from not being able to quench her thirst only deepened her misery.
As a minor, finding a proper job was hard, and the world seemed so cold to her now.
Still, her survival instinct was strong.
Even though she felt full of despair, her body moved honestly.
She got up and started moving, determined to find a place to eat.
Even though she had saved many people, she couldn’t even save herself in her sorrow…
Still… somehow, I’ll keep going.