It had been a fun day.
After going around the amusement park once and luckily riding a few rides, it was already late in the afternoon.
To be honest, the restaurants inside the amusement park were all quite expensive, but I decided not to complain. After all, I was wealthy enough now not to worry about the cost of food.
In reality, I didn’t really have a proper meal but filled up on snacks. My companions showed interest in street foods like hot dogs, churros, and waffles.
Even in Irrelcia, there were street foods. However, we couldn’t freely enjoy festivals there, so we didn’t have the chance to casually eat such street foods.
Moreover, most of those street foods were grilled meats. While there were ways to preserve dairy products for a long time, the magical tools to do so were often expensive and not commonly used in daily life. Maybe it was different during festivals, but dairy products weren’t frequently used in everyday street foods.
Perhaps that’s why the most popular food among the four of us was the waffles topped generously with whipped cream.
“Truly, refrigerators are incredibly useful inventions. If we go back and study the production of magical tools, that’s the first thing I want to work on. The more they spread nationwide, the more the quality of life will improve. Especially since it’ll drastically reduce the number of people dying from food poisoning.”
As she ate a waffle loaded with cream, Dana shared her conclusion.
In truth, the whipped cream in the waffles sold in places like this was more likely made from vegetable oil rather than actual milk, but I didn’t want to burst their bubble, so I decided to just keep quiet.
*
Their plans didn’t end with just the amusement park. The itinerary included the top of the nearby skyscraper and even a large aquarium. It felt like a classic “Seoul sightseeing” tour designed for foreign tourists spending a day in the city.
It wasn’t just to celebrate my birthday but also, I suppose, to broaden their horizons. After all, wherever we went, it would be their first time experiencing it.
“Hm.”
Finally, sitting in what looked like a very expensive restaurant high up in the skyscraper, Kalia cleared her throat awkwardly.
“…It seems like we enjoyed ourselves too much under the pretense of celebrating your birthday.”
“No, it’s fine. Honestly, the fact that I can even enjoy a birthday like this is thanks to you all, and watching you have fun was plenty enjoyable for me.”
And I meant it.
It was my first time visiting this place, too. Honestly, the feeling of looking down at Seoul from the top of a skyscraper was refreshing in many ways. Walking between buildings at ground level, it’s hard to feel the city’s vastness because of its density. But being up here, seeing an endless sea of buildings stretching out, gave me a whole new perspective.
Plus, it was late October. The weather was cold, and the skies were clear. The dust had settled, leaving a view that stretched far into the distance.
When the sun set, the city lights were even more dazzling than the ones I usually saw from my apartment. I took countless photos with the camera I had brought.
Even though it was all new to me, I found myself surprisingly calm. Probably because, while I’d never been here in person, I’d seen it several times through videos. It’s entirely different to expect this kind of view and experience it compared to someone like them, who had just started exploring the world beyond their own.
Kalia, Dana, Fia, and Arna were all speechless, simply staring at the view outside.
They even nervously walked across the glass-floor section, trembling slightly, and slowly wandered from one end of the observation deck to the other, as if they were trying to etch the scenery into their memories.
When I pointed my smartphone at them, they awkwardly smiled for the camera. By the end of it, my phone was filled with countless pictures of them.
“Did we really look that excited?”
Dana, who had earlier been enthusiastically asking me about the engineering of the building, blushed as she asked. When I told her it was too technical for me to know, she realized the oddity of her question and had gone quiet for quite a while.
“There’s no need to feel embarrassed. Remember how amazed I was when I first saw magic in Irrelcia?”
I said while cutting into my steak, and Dana’s expression brightened a little.
“Oh, that’s right! I suppose magic isn’t part of everyday life here.”
The restaurant we were dining in was private, with no other patrons nearby. We only had to be mindful of the staff coming in and out, so we didn’t need to worry about mentioning Irrelcia in our conversation.
Apparently, this restaurant required reservations months in advance, but somehow, Dana had managed to book the one open spot left.
…Maybe it was all thanks to the goddess. I should consider praying with Fia when we get back.
“Even the World Tree isn’t this tall.”
“The World Tree is still growing, though. It’ll probably get taller in the future.”
“Even if it grows taller, getting to the top would be a whole different challenge. Still, if someone managed it, I’d gladly welcome them,” Arna added with a laugh.
“…Still, the fact that we could spend a day like this is all thanks to you, Shihyun.”
“Huh?”
Since I had no hand in planning today’s schedule, I tilted my head in confusion. Fia smiled and explained.
“If you hadn’t come to our side, we might not have survived defeating the Demon King, let alone had the chance to visit this world.”
“Ah…”
“She’s right. It’s all thanks to you. We can’t thank you enough,” Kalia added.
Hearing this, I felt my face grow warm. No, “felt” isn’t the right word—it wasn’t something I chose to do. My face simply turned red, whether I liked it or not. Not that it made much of a difference.
After that, we ate in silence for a while. But it didn’t feel awkward or strange.
For some reason, it felt entirely natural having them by my side like this.
Maybe it was because, over the past five years, I had come to rely on them so much.
“…Thank you. Truly.”
Though I said it softly, I was sure they all heard me.
They glanced at each other and then at me before simply smiling, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
*
Two days later.
On the morning of my actual birthday, I left for work after receiving birthday wishes from my companions. I usually felt good heading to work, but this morning, I was in an especially good mood.
Even though I knew it would be difficult to receive birthday wishes from my sister today, I was still grateful for the kind words from my companions.
If things had gone as they once had, I would still be living alone in that apartment, suffering from those irregular nighttime seizures.
“Good morning!”
“Oh, hey, Shihyun. You’re here.”
I walked into the store with a smile, and my sister greeted me back with a tired smile of her own.
…It was the same face I’d seen before, the one that spoke of sleepless nights.
“Uh…?”
I almost asked her if she hadn’t been able to sleep again, but before the words left my mouth, the reason came to me.
Today is my birthday.
And to my sister, I was someone who had already died.
“…”
Because of that, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. The soaring mood I’d been in just moments earlier came crashing down.
My sister still hadn’t been able to let go of me…
It left me with a storm of emotions. How is a dead person supposed to address the ones they left behind? Should I tell her to forget me? Or ask her to remember me? Forgetting isn’t something you can simply will into being, but asking her to remember might just leave her with permanent scars.
For now, I simply lowered my head in a silent bow and slipped into the changing room behind the register.
*
By the time the morning shift ended, my sister still seemed a bit out of it.
I was extremely worried, but knowing the situation, I had no idea what to say.
How do you ask someone if they’re okay when you already know they aren’t?
“…Shihyun.”
But before I could dwell on it any longer, my sister spoke to me first.
“Ah, yes?”
“Um…”
She hesitated for a moment, as if considering her words carefully, then slowly began to speak.
“There’s something I want to give you.”
“…What?”
“Well, it’s, uh… a gift. I bought it because I wanted to give it to you.”
…
Wait, what…?
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