Chapter 33: Beneath the Box: Secrets and Snacks

Udadada!

Raxy Bora watched as Harang ran ahead of her.

Is it really that great?

It must be nice, considering she’s a cat.

Raxy Bora smiled and tried to chase after Harang, but Jinhyang appeared out of nowhere and blocked her path.

“Raxy, come here.”

“Huh?”

Jinhyang looked so haggard that Raxy Bora had never seen her like that before. The seriousness of her expression was palpable.

“What’s wrong, unnie?”

“Because of her.”

“Harang?”

“Yeah.”

As Jinhyang weakly sat down on the sofa, Raxy Bora followed suit, worrying about what might be wrong.

“Do you know why she’s acting like that?”

“You mean the way she’s acting like a cat?”

“Yeah.”

“…Well, she’s a cat person, isn’t she?”

Of course, a cat person would act like a cat. Raxy Bora thought it wasn’t that strange—until she heard Jinhyang’s words.

“Then before she had the syndrome…”

“Huh?”

“Do you think she acted like that even before she had the syndrome?”

“…Probably not.”

Now that she thought about it, Harang wouldn’t have acted like a cat before having the syndrome.

Realizing something she had never considered before felt strange. She couldn’t imagine Harang not being like a cat.

“She probably didn’t even like things like churu before she had the syndrome. She wouldn’t have stretched like a cat or liked boxes.”

“So you’re saying her personality changed because of the syndrome?”

“Yeah.”

Raxy Bora felt like she understood what Jinhyang was trying to say, but she decided to listen for now.

“She suddenly became unable to control her own body. She even started acting cute, which she never did before.”

“That’s…”

Raxy Bora’s gaze fell to the floor.

What if everything about me changed against my will…

Her personality, appearance, preferences, and behavior—all of it could change in an instant, and that wouldn’t be her in any true sense.

All the elements that constituted her would be gone.

Come to think of it, Harang hated her appearance.

She thought it was disgusting and gross.

Maybe that was largely due to losing her true self.

This…

Raxy Bora clenched her fist tightly.

She had been thinking that being sick might not be so bad after all.

It wasn’t for no reason that the syndrome was classified as a disease.

“Unnie, should I be more careful with Harang?”

“No, just treat her like you usually do.”

“Huh?”

Raxy Bora looked at Jinhyang with a puzzled expression. She had thought Jinhyang wanted her to take some special measures.

“Right now, all she can do is adapt to her own appearance.”

“Of…”

Instead of being overly considerate, just living an ordinary life would be enough. By spending time together like a family—laughing and crying—that would become their new normal.

Nothing could help her adapt faster than that.

What Jinhyang probably wanted was just that.

“Is that why you treat Harang like a child?”

“Yeah? What do you mean?”

“To reduce her burden and shame as an adult.”

“Uh, umm. That’s right.”

Ah.

Raxy Bora realized her sister had just lied.

She stared intently at Jinhyang’s face for a while.

There was a box sitting on the floor of her room.

—Harang’s house.

Decorated with colorful paper, it had flowers and butterflies on it.

Did Raxy make this?

When she sniffed the box, it smelled like the sea.

It seemed she had put in a lot of effort to make this for her.

Wow.

I licked the churu once before settling down inside the box.

“This…”

The coziness and warmth.

The feeling that the world was protecting me was overwhelmingly good.

“Ah.”

I was savoring the blessings of the world inside the box.

Later, Raxy Bora and Jinhyang opened the door and came in.

“Where’s Bora?”

“She went to training.”

“Oh, I see.”

That was the right time for it.

As I nodded to myself, Raxy Bora approached me.

“How is it, Harang?”

“It’s so nice. Raxy, do you want to come in too?”

“…No, if I go in too, the box will tear.”

“Oh, right. Raxy, you can’t come in?”

“Uh, yeah.”

When Raxy Bora nodded, I felt relieved.

My home wouldn’t be in danger now.

“Hehe. Harang, do you really like it that much?”

Raxy Bora asked while petting my head.

“Yeah. My original home burned down. So I’m glad I can feel at least a little bit of comfort here.”

Upon hearing my words, Jinhyang approached and said, “What are you talking about? Why is your house…?”

“Uh, unnie!”

But before Jinhyang could finish her sentence, Raxy Bora covered her mouth.

“Raxy, you…”

“Uh, unnie, I’ll explain everything later, but please just stay quiet for now…!”

Even while blocking Jinhyang’s mouth, Raxy Bora kept glancing at me.

What’s going on?

It was fascinating to see Raxy Bora flustered for the first time.

I was surprised that Jinhyang was letting it go without saying anything.

“Tsk.”

Jinhyang just clicked her tongue and looked at me, making it hard to believe.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“How many of those have you eaten today?”

“Churu?”

How many had I eaten?

I counted the number on my fingers.

“Six today.”

“…Isn’t that too much?”

“No? It feels like too little to me.”

I could eat two or three times that amount.

I was just being patient and holding back.

But it seemed Jinhyang didn’t like that I was holding back. She frowned at me and said, “You should only eat three a day from now on.”

“…Huh?”

“Only three Churus a day.”

Only three a day?

There was no way I could live my life like that.

“I don’t want to. I’ll eat ten a day.”

“L…”

Jinhyang glared at me for a while before squatting down in front of me.

Is she going to pull my cheeks again?

I quickly folded the box flap and hid inside.

“Please go away.”

This was my home; surely she wouldn’t just come in without permission.

As I held my breath, I heard a knock from above.

“Open the door.”

It was Jinhyang’s voice.

I slightly lifted the box flap and peeked out.

“I’ve given in to everything, but I can’t give in on the Churus.”

“Hmm…”

“I’m an adult too, and I have the right to choose my snacks.”

“You’re an adult?”

Jinhyang asked so confidently that I momentarily lost my words.

“…Well, I am an adult, right?”

“I thought you were just a kid since you can’t control your impulses,” she said.

“W-well…”

I had nothing to say, having hit the nail on the head.

I knew I wasn’t very mature.

“I know you want to act like an adult.”

“Ah, no! I’m really a proper adult…”

“How about coming out of the box for now?”

I didn’t want to do that.

The moment I stepped out, everything would get really scary.

The only reason I could confront Jinhyang was because of the sense of security the box provided.

“…Sigh, I’ll just be a kid then.”

“Really?”

Suddenly, Jinhyang lifted the box flap.

As my whole body was exposed, I felt the sense of security vanish.

“Why are you doing this? You shouldn’t just mess around in someone else’s house.”

“But you said I’m still a kid!”

“S-so?”

“Don’t you need an adult’s help?”

Saying that, Jinhyang reached into my pocket and pulled out a bundle of Churus.

“Ah!”

My treasure. My life.

Without realizing it, I sprang out of the box and clung to Jinhyang.

“Are you going to let go?”

“P-please give it back.”

I bit her arm, which was holding the Churus.

I didn’t bite down hard enough to hurt her, but it was my way of resisting.

“Are you really going to do this?”

“Mmmph.”

I couldn’t speak because I was biting Jinhyang’s arm, so I could only nod.

“Let go quickly before your teeth break.”

“……!”

Even so, breaking my teeth would be terrible.

I quickly pulled back at her words, covering my mouth with both hands.

D-did she really get mad?

As I looked up at her in surprise, Jinhyang let out a deep sigh.

“…I’m not saying I’d break them, but you could break your teeth because you can’t control your strength. You’re a Hunter, after all.”

“Ah.”

That was true.

Just a slight shake of her arm could make my teeth fall out.

That could have been a disaster.

I nervously fidgeted with my lips and looked up at Jinhyang.

“Why are you acting so mean? What’s wrong with eating a Churu?”

“It’s not being mean. Don’t you remember what I said this morning?”

“…What did you say?”

“You said you’d learn to control your instincts. But what if you get devoured by your instincts?”

Jinhyang shook the Churu in her hand.

“Ah…”

Now that I think about it, that was the purpose of getting the Churus.

“Then can I have six?” I asked.

“Five.”

…Five, huh.

That was still more than three, so it wasn’t bad.

For now, I had no choice but to be satisfied with this.

“…Okay. Then give me five.”

I reached out my hand toward Jinhyang to receive the Churus.

But she only shook her head.

“You already ate six today.”

“…That was before we reached an agreement.”

“Still, what’s eaten is eaten.”

“Uh?”

So today was the end of the Churus?

I turned my head toward the half-eaten Churu.

Is this all I get for today?

I blankly looked between the Churu in my hand and the bunch of Churus in Jinhyang’s hand, nodding slightly, then shaking my head.

…This is a revolution.

Now was the time to fight for the rights of workers.

I lunged toward Jinhyang once more.