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The time when my younger sister was alive.

For the man of those days, the blessing of the stars truly felt like a blessing.

Before there were blessings, he often encountered objects just by walking down the road.

There were times when an object would suddenly pop out in an empty house, so it was truly a blessing.

Even the somewhat ambiguous ‘Choice of the Stars’ was a blessing for the man.

The reason was profoundly personal.

He thought the blessing of the ‘Choice of the Stars’ was granted to his younger sister.

He had a younger sister who was fearful, shy around people, and could not go outside.

However, after receiving the ‘Choice of the Stars’, all those symptoms disappeared.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

It could really be considered a blessing.

There was a rumor that those who received the ‘Choice of the Stars’ became anti-social, selfish, destructive, and hedonistic.

In reality, most ‘chosen ones’ fell into occupations that regular civilians would avoid, like contract killers.

Thus, there was a widespread rumor that anyone who received the ‘Choice of the Stars’ would become a completely different person, as if they had changed.

But at least for the man’s sister, she seemed to be an exception.

She was still the kind and gentle sister he knew.

She had merely gained a little courage.

And she had merely developed a dream, where she was no longer afraid of everything in the world and her formerly listless self.

“Brother! One day, I want to leave this city and travel to another country.”

It was a dream she would mention like a habit.

Of course, the man could only smile awkwardly and let it pass.

Leaving Southern Italy was absolutely impossible as long as the blessing of the stars was present.

And the man was afraid of losing the blessing, of waking from this dream-like happiness.

But.

Wasn’t it true that dreams are meant to be broken?

The moment he saw his younger sister return home, covered in blood, their blessing-filled everyday life was turned upside down.

That moment felt like it was still stuck in his retina.

Strangely, all the wounds were inflicted by his sister herself.

And she seemed to be attempting to say something, but in that instant, she transformed into a blue light and disappeared.

What on earth was she trying to say?

In pursuit of finding that answer, he plunged into contract work, chasing after his sister’s traces, but he still hadn’t found the answer.

All he had discovered was that his sister had been chasing the source of the ‘blessing of the stars’ until the very moment she died.

There were still no clues, but it felt like her death was somehow related to the ‘blessing of the stars’ itself.

“….”

As something soft brushed against his eyes, the man slowly began to awaken from a shallow dream.

Amidst his hazy vision, he saw purple and a wriggling shadow.

Though blurry, it looked as if his sister had returned, and he tried to say her name, but there was no response.

“!”

Something feels off.

As he fully regained his senses due to the discomfort, the man was startled and grabbed the gun beside his head, aiming it at the mysterious entity before him.

“What are you?”

Is it an object?

This was an object that could never be seen here, where the blessing of the stars had descended, but it was the only way to describe it.

A size smaller than a palm.

Purple skin.

A shadow that moved as if it were alive.

The uninvited guest, who looked like an object, wrapped itself in shadows like a cloak and tilted its head slightly to look at the man.

However, its completely pretentious posture and charming gaze seemed somewhat skewed.

*

The Golden Reaper tilted its head at the very old, black-and-white clothing.

‘An object?’

It was a worn-out piece of clothing that had some mysterious energy but was neither beneficial nor harmful to humans, causing the Golden Reaper to quickly lose interest and rush towards Yerin.

In Yerin’s house, where she had been eagerly awaiting the Golden Reaper’s visit, all kinds of toys emerged, from little trampolines to items that the Golden Reapers would surely love.

In fact, Yerin had wanted to bring them to Sehee Research Institute much earlier, but there were limits to secretly bringing things in, leaving everything behind at home.

As they happily played, it was already past 10 PM.

Then, the Golden Reapers, as if they were incredibly sleepy, started to wiggle their heads and began to cling to Yerin, one by one.

As the drowsiness suddenly spread like a yawn contagion, Yerin quickly turned into a Christmas tree.

A tree adorned with all the Golden Reapers clinging to her!

“It would have been nice if the Reaper had come too…”

How great would it be to take a photo of everyone in their water deer pajamas, sleeping soundly in her room?

As she pondered this, Yerin began to get ready for bed, when the Golden Reaper that was clinging to her cheek woke up, looking incredibly sleepy, and rubbed its eyes.

“Ah, did I wake you up? Sorry.”

Yerin apologized, thinking she had disturbed its sleep, but the Golden Reaper was merely reacting to Yerin’s fleeting desire.

‘Do you need Mom?’

The Golden Reaper tilted its head, exuding a sense of need, and began to call out for Mom with a gentle light from its antenna.

Having called out for Mom, the Golden Reaper stared intently at Yerin, smiled brightly, and once again buried its face in her cheek and fell asleep.

“Hey? Why are they doing this?”

As one of the antennae began to glow, all the Golden Reapers clinging to Yerin started to flicker gently.

Did something go wrong?

In that flustered moment, a Gray Reaper with a very displeased expression suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of Yerin.

“The Reaper suddenly appears before me?”

Yerin, who looked very flustered, instantly smiled brightly like a child who received a Christmas gift.

*

In the Isolation Room of Sehee Research Institute, past 10 PM, where all the Golden Reapers had fallen asleep.

I was comfortably lying on the bed, watching TV in the dim isolation room.

‘Mom…’

‘Great.’

Around me, the sleeping Golden and Black Reapers were clinging to me, mumbling in their sleep, becoming quite a nuisance.

If they were going to cling on, they should create an Attached Human to cling to instead of bothering me every time.

If it were normal, I would have tossed each one out of the bed, but I decided to just leave them there.

Though the Golden Reapers still seemed to really like me, their attitude seemed a bit off, so I decided it was time to start ‘Gentle Mom Week’.

The duration of ‘Gentle Mom Week’ would continue until the Golden Reapers regained their innocence of not questioning what I said!

Having made up my mind, I began to feel a tiny will start to emerge.

‘Mom.’

‘I need you.’

Though faint, it felt like a will that could break at any moment, yet it was overwhelming in number.

What on earth is happening?

Expecting some major incident, I teleported, only to discover a situation utterly different from what I anticipated.

Yerin, looking quite surprised.

Golden Reapers calling me while wearing mini water deer pajamas in their sleep.

Clearly, it didn’t appear to be an urgent situation.

‘…’

Since it’s not an emergency, I should return.

But before I could think it, the sleepy Golden Reapers began to run towards me.

‘Mommy!’

Perhaps they were sleepy, they couldn’t run properly and just rolled over, yet the Golden Reapers began to clamor all over me.

Usually, I would have spun like a top and thrown them all off…

However, it was ‘Gentle Mom Week’, so I simply couldn’t do that.

Just then, Yerin came rushing at me.

“It’s the Reaper! They must have come to have a pajama party!”

In Yerin’s hands was a cumbersome water deer pajamas that covered most of her body.

‘Mom also wears pajamas!’

‘Mommy!’

The Golden Reapers, perhaps feeling sleepy, were acting more clingy than usual.

Yerin was filled with emotions of excitement and happiness.

Moreover, it was ‘Gentle Mom Week’.

I had no choice but to wear the water deer pajamas.

Hehe.

*

Hmm.

The man walked through the night streets with a slight discontentment.

Inside the coat he was looking down at, a small purple face was looking up at him.

‘No answer, huh.’

The purple object that had suddenly appeared before the man was something he could not shake off.

Even when shot with a gun, it remained unharmed, and no matter how fast he ran away, it followed him as if it were teleporting.

That little purple face.

With its pretentious movements.

When it held a cigarette or took out a gun, its eyes would sparkle.

Furthermore, perhaps having quite the powerful mental pollution, lately, such actions were starting to seem somewhat cute.

It wasn’t particularly harmful, so he even began to wonder if it was a reincarnation of his sister.

His sister loved purple and had manipulated shadows since receiving the ‘Choice of the Stars’, so it felt even more so.

Since he couldn’t shake it off anyway and it didn’t seem to disturb him either, the man was now outside, suited up.

The man slowly walked out of the alleyways that had become very dangerous since the ‘blessing of the stars’.

Though it didn’t look like there were any people around, it felt like he was being watched from somewhere.

He entered a shabby store located deep in such alleys.

“You’re here. Gunman.”

An old man with white hair greeted the man.

The old man, whose head was covered with a huge hat hiding his white hair, wasn’t even giving the man a glance as he slowly read a newspaper.

As the man plopped down on the counter seat, the old man merely shifted his eyes to glance at the man and spoke.

“Is it for this time too?”

“Right.”

The old man’s nonchalant question and the response.

Something seemed to be hidden within the exchange, and the purple Reaper’s eyes began to sparkle even more.

The old man was a member of an organization called ‘Blue’ and played a role in providing the man with jobs.

He was also the old man who was gradually helping the man dig into his sister’s death.

Whenever the man would ask why he was helping, the old man would simply say ‘debt’, making him quite suspicious.

“Tell them I’ll take about three weeks off due to my injuries.”

As the man was about to leave the shop after his brief statement, he heard the old man’s small voice from behind.

“Take care.”

Then the man briefly turned to look at the old man, nodded slightly, and stepped outside.

The old man felt he wanted to say something more, yet those words turned into mere vapor within his heart.

[‘It’s fine to dig into the “organization”, but be careful.]

It was information he couldn’t voice out loud, fearing someone might overhear.

*

The Purple Reaper was bouncing excitedly in the shadows of the man’s coat.

‘So cool!’

As the Purple Reaper waved its hand, the shadows within the coat started to expand erratically.

It was like the shadows opened another dimension at the entrance, starting to create a new space.

The shadow space completed looked just like the quiet shop where he had talked with the old man.

Only the White Hungry Ghost was sitting instead of the old man, and the Purple Reaper took the man’s place.

The Purple Reaper stood at the door, not turning its head, and exuded its will.

‘Tell them I’ll take about three weeks off due to my injuries.’

Then a line of dialogue appeared above the Hungry Ghost’s head.

[Take care.]

The Purple Reaper only slightly turned its head and nodded, then dramatically swished its cloak and stepped outside.

At that moment, the stage made of shadows vanished like bubbles.

‘So cool!’

The Purple Reaper was giggling and repeating ‘so cool!’.

 

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