“Three hundred million per person, so six hundred million should be enough.”

“That’s a bit pricey.”

“The higher the price, the fewer the consequences. You won’t have to worry about the cops catching your tail either.”

“If there are no consequences… fine. Let’s settle the deposit with this, and we’ll handle the remaining balance tomorrow or the day after. How’s that?”

Cha Sang-hyun handed over the ring he was wearing.

It was an artifact imbued with magic.

The value of such an artifact depended on what kind of magic was enchanted into it.

Jang Ho-cheol examined the ring.

Two types of magic had been enchanted into it.

‘This must be worth at least five hundred million.’

Artifacts were strictly regulated by the government.

It was similar to how firearms were managed before the upheaval.

However, despite the strict regulations, artifacts were frequently traded on the black market.

Especially ring-type artifacts, which were easy to carry and often twice as expensive.

“Thank you!”

“Make sure to handle it properly. I’m paying good money.”

“Of course. You can leave first.”

“Good work.”

As Cha Sang-hyun left the shack, Jang Ho-cheol shrugged and approached Lee Ae-seon.

“Don’t hold a grudge. I’ve got to make a living too.”

Terrified, Lee Ae-seon shielded Hui-min behind her and spoke.

“Just… just spare my daughter. Please, I’m begging you.”

“You heard him, lady. That’s not gonna happen.”

“Please… please. She’s just a poor child. I’ll do anything you ask. Please, I beg you.”

Jang Ho-cheol shook his head and pulled a machete from his subordinate’s waist.

He could use a gun, but that would give the cops a lead.

With a machete, it was different.

When the police found the decapitated bodies, they’d assume it was the work of a gang and drop the case.

“Alright, let’s make this clean. If you struggle, it won’t come off in one swing. That’ll hurt more.”

Suddenly, the mother and daughter collapsed.

“What the hell?”

“Looks like they fainted.”

“Lucky them.”

For them, it might have been a blessing.

If they died while unconscious, at least there’d be no pain.

Jang Ho-cheol raised the machete over the unconscious pair.

“Looks like the kid hasn’t finished eating.”

Jang Ho-cheol turned his head.

A scrawny young boy stood there, staring at them with an unimpressed expression.

Jang Ho-cheol frowned and spoke to his subordinate.

“Didn’t you post guards outside?”

“I did… How did he get in?”

“Damn idiots. Once this job is done, gather them all. Looks like they need a refresher on discipline.”

“What should we do about this kid?”

“Take care of him.”

“Understood.”

The subordinate swaggered toward the boy.

“You from out of town? If you saw something, you should’ve just walked away. Why step in and rush your own death?”

“……”

“When someone talks to you, you should answer—huh?”

Suddenly, the subordinate’s eyes widened.

The boy had vanished.

Literally disappeared.

As if he had evaporated into thin air.

Just as the subordinate darted his eyes around in confusion, a strange sensation spread through his neck. His breath was cut off.

“Kuhh!”

“Are you with the 47 Gang?”

“Keuk, keuk!”

“When someone asks a question, you should answer.”

The subordinate struggled and nodded frantically.

“What the hell?!”

Jang Ho-cheol shouted.

“Who the hell are you, bastard?!”

“Shitaro.”

“W-what?”

Jang Ho-cheol never got to hear the answer.

His consciousness faded right then and there.

The one who took him down—or rather, Seo-jun—glanced at the fallen man before turning to the unconscious mother and daughter.

Everyone had a story.

But few had one as tragic as these two.

That made him curious.

What exactly was their story?

Seo-jun reached out his hand.

The moment his hand touched Lee Ae-seon’s head, black mist rose and was sucked into his palm.

Fragments of unfamiliar memories streamed into his consciousness.

“Hmm.”

In the past, Lee Ae-seon had been in a relationship with Cha Sang-hyun, the third son of the Ohkyung Group.

Or at least, that’s what she thought. Cha Sang-hyun likely saw it differently.

The moment he heard she was pregnant, he discarded her like trash.

And not just that—he tried to erase her and the unborn child, seeing them as stains on his reputation.

Lee Ae-seon barely escaped with her life and wandered from place to place, eventually ending up in District 12 a few years ago.

That was the story her memories told him.

“Mmm… Shitaro.”

The little girl mumbled in her sleep.

Was her name Hui-min?

Seo-jun decided to enter Hui-min’s dream.

Typically, the stronger a person’s sense of self, the more vivid the colors in their dreams.

Even those who had lost themselves still had some degree of color in their dreams.

But Hui-min was different.

Her dream was nothing but pitch-black darkness.

Yet, in that abyss, she seemed to be looking at a character named Shitaro.

“Shitaro?”

Hui-min reached out and grasped Seo-jun’s pant leg.

Even in her dreams, unable to see, she relied on her sense of touch just like in reality.

“Are you Shitaro?”

Seo-jun hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Yeah.”

“Wow! Shitaro, you finally came to my dream!”

“Was I late?”

“No! I didn’t wait that long!”

“I see.”

“Mhm! Thank you for coming, Shitaro!”

“What did you want to say to me?”

“If I met Shitaro?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm… I wanted to ask if you could make my mom stop hurting. When you go on adventures, you heal your friends’ wounds, right?”

“Where is your mom hurt?”

“Her heart.”

“Her heart?”

“She cries at night. She tries to hide it, but I can tell. When she sniffles at night, I start crying too. So, I wanted to ask… Can you make my mom stop hurting?”

“I’ll try my best. Anything else you wanted to say?”

“Thank you for the delicious food!”

“Delicious food?”

“Mom told me. She said Shitaro always made delicious food. Thank you!”

So that’s why you took it in a plastic container

Seo-jun let out a quiet sigh.

At that, Hui-min flinched.

“Shitaro… What’s wrong? Do you not want to be my friend?”

“No. I want to be friends with you, Hui-min.”

“Right? I want to be friends with you too, Shitaro!”

“Aren’t you curious about what Shitaro looks like?”

“I am! I’m curious, but… but I can’t see.”

“Shitaro will make it so you can.”

“Really?”

Seo-jun placed both hands over Hui-min’s eyes.

A soft white glow seeped from his hands and flowed into Hui-min’s eyes.

Then, something miraculous happened.

“Huh?”

Hui-min instinctively squinted.

It had always been dark, but now, suddenly, there was a stinging brightness.

Once the sting faded, she saw someone smiling brightly while holding a balloon.

“Shitaro?”

“Can you see now?”

“Yeah!”

“A gift.”

Holding the balloon, Hui-min spoke.

“I don’t have a gift for Shitaro…”

“That’s okay. Instead, can you make a promise?”

“A promise?”

“Be brave. And listen to your mom. Can you promise that?”

After thinking deeply, Hui-min nodded.

“Yes!”

“Then I’ll watch to see if Hui-min keeps her promise.”

“Are you leaving now?”

“It’s time to go.”

“You’ll come back later, right?”

“I will.”

In that moment, the dark and gloomy world inside Hui-min’s dream transformed into a brilliantly colored meadow.

Having seen that much, Seo-jun withdrew from Hui-min’s dream.

Seo-jun opened his subspace. If Park Yeon saw it, he would be shocked.

Subspace represents nothingness.

It is a void where space and time hold no meaning.

As such, it was believed that no living being could survive in subspace.

But Seo-jun’s subspace was different.

A person was inside, alive and breathing.

“Damn! I thought I was going to suffocate in there!”

It was Cha Sang-hyun.

He had gone through something unbelievable.

Just as he had stepped out of Lee Ae-seon’s shack, a man appeared.

With the man’s arrival, Jang Ho-cheol’s subordinates, who had surrounded the shack, suddenly collapsed unconscious.

Then, out of nowhere, Sang-hyun was sucked into a pitch-black void.

It was utter darkness.

He could neither see nor hear anything...

And now, he vaguely understood that the man standing before him was the one who had thrown him into that abyss.

“You bastard, do you have any idea who I am? If I say just one word—”

“If you do?”

“What?”

“If you say just one word, then what? Do I die just like those two mother and daughter?”

“Of course! So get me out of here, now!”

“People… Especially those from the continent, assume that all beings of the Demon Realm are evil.”

“What the hell are you babbling about? Just get me out!”

“It’s a misconception. There are plenty of people in this world who are worse than demons. People just like you.”

At that moment, the subspace began to close.

Realizing something had gone terribly wrong, Sang-hyun’s face turned pale.

He shrieked in desperation.

“S-Spare me! I-I’ll give you as much money as you want! Just let me go!”

“In there, money is meaningless.”

With those words, the subspace shut completely.

Inside, Sang-hyun would now spend an eternity, neither dead nor alive.

As soon as Hui-min opened her eyes, she looked around.

“Shitaro?”

He was nowhere to be seen.

Disappointed, Hui-min’s eyes caught sight of something— a balloon, just like the one in her dream.

“It’s Shitaro!”

She beamed with joy.

It had to be a gift left by Shitaro.

And now she remembered something he had said.

That he would come back again, and that she had to make a promise.

“Shitaro! I’ll be brave and listen to Mom! So you have to come back, okay?”

There was no reply, but she felt happy. Because she had finally become friends with Shitaro.

Around that time, Lee Ae-seon also opened her eyes.

The moment she regained consciousness, she bolted upright and scanned her surroundings warily.

Huh?

She distinctly remembered the gang, hired by Cha Sang-hyun, closing in on her with menacing energy.

Then suddenly, she had lost consciousness. And when she woke up, they were gone.

Was it a dream?

She shook her head.

There was no way a dream could feel that vivid.

Just then—

“Mom!”

At Hui-min’s call, Ae-seon let out a relieved sigh.

Dream or not, it didn’t matter.

As long as Hui-min was safe.

“Mom, that’s a cloud, right?”

“Huh?”

“That thing, floating up in the sky.”

“…Hui-min?”

“Why? Isn’t that a cloud?”

“Y-Yeah….”

“I bet it feels like cotton candy! Hehe. Oh! Mom said the sun is warm, just like my heart. Since it’s warm, that must be the sun, right? And that’s a tree…”

“Hui-min… C-Can you see Mom?”

“Yeah! I can see! Mom, you’re so pretty!”

“H-How…?”

Ae-seon was at a loss for words.

Was this a dream?

If it was, she never wanted to wake up.

She had always wished, even if only in a dream, that Hui-min could see the world.

“Shitaro fixed it!”

“Shita… ro?”

“Yeah! He even gave me this as a present!”

Hui-min held out the balloon and continued.

“Shitaro healed me in my dream.”

“Hui-min…”

“Mom, are you crying? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, you did nothing wrong, Hui-min.”

“Then why are you crying? If I did something bad, I’m sorry, Mom. Please don’t cry…”

“No, Mom is just happy. I’m just so happy. I’m happy that you can see Mom… that my Hui-min can see the clouds, see the sun….”

Ae-seon hugged Hui-min tightly.

“Ack! Mom, I can’t breathe!”

“I love you, my dear daughter.”

“Me too!”

Right now, Shitaro or anything else didn’t matter.

She didn’t even care to explain the miracle that had happened.

A miracle was just that—a miracle.

Thank you… Thank you so much. Truly… Sob.