In a dark room where the only light comes from the monitor.
“Haiya! Huh huh! Hiyay!”
“Kiaaaah!”
The character on the screen mercilessly beat down the enemy.
With swirling blue flame effects, Saetbyeol raised her hands high.
“Hey, that won’t do. If you challenge me, you’ll get hit!”
“Oh, come on! Just one hit left…!”
“You’ve been defeated, Ms. Monica. Your speed is really slow. Next opponent, Druid!”
“Am I really slow? No way!”
While Monica bit her thumbnail nervously watching the replay…
Saetbyeol’s gaze shifted to Na-me, who was daydreaming in the corner.
“Na-me Unni?”
Seeing there was no response, she called out again.
Finally, Na-me looked up, realizing Monica’s character had already died.
“Is it already over? You guys have been playing for a first to 10 wins.”
“We’ve already finished the 10 wins. Hmm… If this game is not fun, should we play something else?”
“Cheon Saetbyeol, let’s race in Formula One!”
“Oh? So you’re confident in racing, huh?”
Na-me awkwardly crawled over to sit between the girls.
But she still seemed completely unfocused during the next game.
Running off-course became a common occurrence.
“Buuuuuuuuuuum!”
Rushing to overtake recklessly, her wheels lifted off the ground, crashing onto Saetbyeol’s vehicle.
“Going ahead, adios!”
“What are you doing, Unni?! We should team up to take down that Italian bourgeois!”
“Hey, Na-me has more money!”
“Sorry.”
Saetbyeol put down the controller and shot a glare at Na-me.
She had suspected Na-me’s odd state for a while now.
Even while staring into her vacant eyes, Na-me wouldn’t give her attention.
“Is something wrong?”
At the worried question, Na-me shook her head.
Na-me had promised herself to completely forget anything related to her past life.
‘Could it just be a coincidence?’
If dragons were indeed interdimensional beings, there would be no reason for them not to exist on this Earth.
But doubts filled her mind.
Why had humanity never found credible data regarding dragons until now?
And if Luri existed in this world, was she truly the same Luri she knew?
The child who had commanded the warrior party polluted by greed to take their own lives.
With a jumbled head, Na-me couldn’t think straight.
‘Do I want to find Luri? What do I really want…?’
She was so lost that she didn’t even know what she desired.
Meeting her would bring sadness, not meeting her would nag at her, remembering her would plunge her into guilt, and forgetting her would drown her in regret.
Her chest felt unbearably stuffy.
Clap!
“…?”
Saetbyeol clapped right in front of Na-me’s face.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Na-me rubbed her eyes.
“Hehe, Na-me Unni looks sleepy rubbing her eyes. Want to go to bed with me and take a nap?”
At Saetbyeol’s sudden comment, Na-me immediately wore a sour expression.
Monica snickered.
“She hates that. Just look at her expression when you say you want to sleep with her. Hehe.”
“No way! Na-me Unni loves me so much! Right, Unni? Pleeease!”
Saetbyeol puffed out, forcing Na-me’s lips into a joker-like smile.
“Th-th-that’s…”
“Hmm?”
“Christmas is coming soon!”
“Ah, right! This Thursday, three days from now.”
The year 2053 was passing, and the Year of the Blue Dog, 2054, was rapidly approaching.
Na-me stretched and then flopped onto Saetbyeol’s lap.
“I am a little tired.”
“Should I move you to the bed?”
“Saetbyeol, what are we going to do for Christmas?”
“Um… eat something delicious and party? But I kinda miss the festive atmosphere in Korea these days. Compared to Italy, there seems to be nothing fun here…”
Just then, Monica quickly interjected.
“What are you talking about! There’s plenty to enjoy here in Italy! Let’s just have fun together at least until Christmas!”
“Ugh, Italy isn’t fun. No-fun city Milan, ugh!”
“But we have the Duomo Cathedral…!”
Much like Daejeon’s Seongsimdang, Milan, the no-fun city, didn’t have much to boast about except the Duomo Cathedral.
Saetbyeol, riding on Na-me’s back, peeked her head over her shoulder.
“I want to go to a ski resort this winter.”
“For ski resorts, Yongpyong or High One—”
“Ah! Italy has so many beautiful mountains! The Alps and the Dolomites. Especially Sestriere, a place with a rich history where the Winter Olympics were held three times!”
“No way, Monica! That’s unfair!”
“Then let’s go there. Ask Ruohan and Long Yangyang if they want to join us.”
“Wait, are that Chinese duo still not back in their country?”
Saetbyeol exclaimed, looking surprised.
“They popped in and out of the living room a few times earlier.”
“Oh, I didn’t even realize they were here in this huge house.”
“They’re on vacation until January.”
“Didn’t they say they had been locked away on Mudang Mountain all year long except for ten days…?”
“Ha-ah… that’s just them not using their vacation days and enduring it, hmmm…”
Na-me’s chin settled comfortably on Saetbyeol’s shoulder.
The girls watched in silence as Na-me’s breathing became calm and steady until she finally fell asleep.
Poke!
Monica’s finger poked Na-me’s soft cheek.
“Hey, what are you doing? You’ll wake her up!”
“Whoa…! So cute! Look, she just stuck her tongue out!”
“Really? Where? Ooh, no way! Quick, get the camera, the camera!”
That day, Na-me ended up with a total of 300 photos taken and could finally lie down on the bed.
*
“You know, it seems like a meteor fell similar to that in our village?”
“A meteor fell in Mohe City?”
“Not sure if it was a meteor. There was a place I worked part-time in Beijicun, and a rock fell into a greenhouse.”
“Right right.”
“The lady owner insisted it was definitely a meteor when it fell.”
“Really?”
“But they just said it was an ordinary composite stone. After a day, it just naturally disappeared.”
“Ah… then that was definitely made of composite material.”
“Na-me, do you think so too? Even if reported to the police, no one would believe it. Who drops a meteor in such a rural area? The owner seemed deeply troubled, waiting for them to find the culprit to pay for her greenhouse.”
What was the possibility that some wizard named Bill Gates bombed private properties in northern China with rocks?
Slim, but not zero.
However, after the international research team analyzed the meteor that was orbiting Earth,
It was presumed to have broken apart into several fragments after colliding in space months ago,
And that one fell somewhere near the border of China and Russia.
Could it all really be a coincidence?
‘It might be good to drop by China once.’
It was essential to have Ruohan, the only informant, as a guide.
Thus, on Christmas Eve,
We all headed to the Sestriere ski resort, listening to crazy carol songs in the car.
Entering a secluded rental shop attached to the resort, we suited up with all sorts of equipment.
“Do you have any short skis here?”
“All we have here are for children. What’s your height?”
“Why?”
“Well, we need to know your height to determine the right ski size for you.”
“Oh…”
“Hey, Unni, why do you seem so grumpy?”
Saetbyeol slapped my back.
My face flushed in embarrassment.
I quickly mumbled a justification for what I just said.
“It’s not that; I just want to ride shorter skis. Super short ones.”
“Oh, so you want short skis! We do have some for kids, but they’re for advanced users; is that okay?”
“Yes, I ski well.”
“Alright, just tell me your shoe size.”
“I’m a 190mm.”
Ruohan and Monica rented skis, while Cheon Saetbyeol and Long Yangyang got snowboards.
“Abeoji isn’t going to ski?”
“He’ll be enjoying coffee in a warm place.”
“Noname Wizard! Leave it to me; have a great time!”
Monica’s big brother, Marco Ricci, waved his hand.
He had been showing a great deal of interest ever since he learned that their dad participated in the Middle Eastern wars.
“Abeoji!”
“Hmm? Hahaha, take care and have fun, Na-me.”
“Yes!”
Quickly raising my hand to make a huge heart with my arm, I waddled out of the resort.
Putting on light short skis and a helmet at the entrance leading directly to the ski area.
I spun my twin tail with my hands and stepped out into the white snowy field.
“Whoa, my breath is showing!”
“Na-me! Should we have some fun skiing together?”
“But you’ve never snowboarded before, Saetbyeol. I’m worried if you can do it.”
“Eh, once I get the feel for it, I’m good from there!”
With groundless confidence.
Together, we all hopped onto a five-person lift toward the top of the mountain.
The endless snowfield and the dynamic sight of skiers gliding were all in one view.
When going up, we slowly admired the surroundings; coming down, we sped down without hesitation.
I thought it might be a lesson on life as we entered the beginner’s course.
In the woods, snowflakes gently settled down.
“Uhhh…!”
“Are you okay? Can you ski?”
“Yangyang Unni, catch me! I’m scared!”
Saetbyeol trembled like a newborn deer.
She fell forwards and backwards on a slope that was practically flat.
“Yay! I got the hang of it!”
“Then we’ll go ahead; don’t hit the brakes and just go straight down!”
Could she not hear Yangyang’s advice?
“Hurry up!”
She reached a flat area in the middle of the slope without gaining any speed.
While others zoomed past her, her snowboard just stopped in its place.
Regrettably, Cheon Saetbyeol had to run hundreds of meters carrying her snowboard, panting.
“Ha… Ha! Na-me Unni, water… I need water!”
“Here.”
She completed her endurance training solo and gulped down the water.
While Luohan was carefully studying the holographic map, suddenly a light bulb went off above his head.
“We took the wrong way.”
“Huh? Aren’t we supposed to go this way, Luohan?”
“We shouldn’t have traversed the flat area. Going this way will lead us back to where we rode the lift, and the beginner course is that way.”
“Oh no, Saetbyeol is going to be so mad.”
“Wait, what? We have to walk back hundreds of meters? You gotta be kidding?”
Luohan and Monica glanced at Saetbyeol.
The red course was a bit steep for beginners to come down.
Each started to formulate strategies.
“After the red course, it’s all blue from here. After falling about three times, the slope should end.”
“I don’t want that…!”
Upon hearing Luohan’s suggestion, Saetbyeol was horrified.
After some brainstorming for a more reasonable solution.
[Casting: Arabesque Knot – Gold]
Saetbyeol wove a magical web around her board.
“Want to try sitting here? Direction is vertical.”
“Like this?”
Then she distributed the ends of the threads to the four of us, handing them each one to hold.
“You just need to steer like sledding, Saetbyeol. The four of us will act as brakes.”
“But is it safe…? I feel like I’ll topple over…”
“Yup. Don’t worry.”
“Then let’s get going!”
Sliding—
Saetbyeol pressed her bottom onto the snowboard and moved her feet forward.
Because we were tightly holding the magic threads, we began slowly descending even on the slope.
“Oh, this is surprisingly nice. I’m okay! Let’s keep going like this!”
With this fascinating sight, people began to take notice, but it was okay since Saetbyeol loved being in the spotlight.
I thought we would make it down without problem.
But it was the moment we all turned in an ‘S’ shape that things went haywire.
“Oh! Aahhhhh!”
The magic thread snapped tight, sending the snowboard tumbling.
Saetbyeol got tangled in the web and rolled down in the snow.
“Hold on, everyone! Stop!”
“Hey, are you okay, Cheon Saetbyeol?”
“Who’s idea was this?! I told you I’d fall, Na-me Unni!”
“Are you hurt? Hmm, this feels wrong… Why isn’t this working?”
“I was so scared! I felt my heart drop! I’ll just ride by myself!”
Tears flowed as Saetbyeol vented her frustrations.
She stood tall on the icy slope.
Momentarily, her board went down smoothly, tracing a soft ‘S’ path.
“Hey, what the? You’re doing well!”
Accidentally, she learned how to snowboard.
I stood next to her, thumping my chest proudly.
“Thank me for it.”
“?”
“It’s all thanks to me! I made you brave enough to ride the slope!”
“Say something that makes sense, you shameless Demon King!”
Swish—
Dodging Saetbyeol’s incoming punch lightly, I exclaimed,
“Ha, too slow.”
I dashed down the snow with rapid footsteps.
At the time, I regretted only riding twice due to exhaustion.
