The reflection of my past face in the puddle.
It started to flow like a video, constantly changing its appearance.
It wasn’t just showing my past face; it reflected the traces of my life, the moments I had lived through.
– Mr. 00, could you help me with this?
– You’re a good person.
– Do you not like me, senior?
That was my previous life.
The life I had even forgotten about was unfolding in intricate detail on the surface of the puddle in the cave.
The peculiar thing was the speed at which it was happening. It felt like the scenery of the past was being fast-forwarded, one by one.
It was like watching a movie.
I wasn’t being sucked back into my previous life, nor was I stepping back into my old body; I remained in the cave, watching the footage reflected in the puddle like a screen.
In many ways, it was a relief. If I were to be suddenly thrown back into my previous life, back into my original body, that would have been terrifying.
Thinking back, I realized how complacent I had been to have come all the way to this paranormal spot.
This bizarre phenomenon could take everything I had lived for, yet what had given me the nerve to step foot here?
“But I couldn’t help it.”
Should I call it fate? It’s a cliché, but it felt like the most fitting expression for my current situation.
The very act of coming here seemed like someone’s design, as if it was a divine arrangement. Just like a butterfly is drawn to a flower, I too had been led here.
Who called me here? Who is showing me my past under the guise of a phenomenon? Are they really a god or something?
Even as I pondered these questions, the imagery in the puddle kept flowing without pause.
– …Are you not dating?
– I’m sorry if that upset you. But 00, you are too…
– Congratulations, 00. That’s a rapid promotion!
A dark history from my school days, graduation, military service, work life.
It was an utterly mundane life. There couldn’t be a more perfect example when trying to understand the life of an average man.
And then, the footage that continued to flow suddenly began to show me scenes I didn’t know.
“What is this…?”
The Abyss, which I had taken as my driving force, was crashing down. I cursed Eonix and drunkenly wrote in the gallery. However, the video did not proceed according to the original history.
Waking up to find myself transformed into Camilla and the Abyss becoming a legendary game was impossible in the man’s world inside the puddle. It was something that couldn’t happen logically.
At this point, I realized. This was, in fact, my original future.
The puddle was indirectly revealing how I would have lived had I not become Kayak.
“….”
I adjusted my posture and focused on the video.
Unlike the past I just watched, this was an unknown territory.
Because this is an unknown realm that I didn’t know before, unlike the past.
The puddle seemed eager to show this, quickly stopping the fast forward and starting the video at normal speed.
After that, the original me lost the drive to live.
I was someone who hardly ever engaged in outdoor activities. The abyss collapsed, and he fell into despair, drowning in alcohol and lamenting at the gallery…
“Are you going to die alone? Just like that?”
It was indeed a ridiculous ending, but it wasn’t entirely out of the question. At that time, I was really on the edge.
A lonely person living without forming relationships. A solitary soul rotting away while playing a dying game in the corner of a room, where it wouldn’t be strange to perish at any moment.
Like a girl who thinks she’ll die when the last leaf falls, I too felt that if the abyss fell, there would be no reason to continue this life.
However, I never expected to truly give up on life. From an observer’s perspective, I couldn’t help but feel a bit surprised.
Was the original me, not yet a kayak, going to die like that?
The puddle’s video began to reflect my loneliness one last time, then my face, the face of the kayak.
“Is this it? Really?”
No response came, even when I waved my hand over the water and spoke. There was no change. What exactly did this cave — and the one who brought me here — want to convey to me?
“You’ve been given a new life that you would have normally lost, so live it well?” Or was it just simple curiosity? It was unclear.
It’s quite ambiguous. Whatever interpretation I give, does that fall on me? They say even divine revelations are subject to interpretation.
In that regard, having experienced the puddle’s bizarre phenomenon, I…
“Mm.”
Came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t worry much about it.
To be precise, I resolved to live in the way I originally intended, free from the grasp of the video. Maintaining the status quo is also a countermeasure, right?
There’s no guarantee that the video I just saw was the future I truly reached.
That should be seen as a sort of possibility. After all, ever since I crossed over to this different world, it has lost much of its meaning.
It was a bit shocking, but it seemed unnecessary to worry about it. I could just continue to live, valuing life while doing broadcasts like I did before.
Having made my decision, I turned around with a lighter heart, heading back to the entrance. To the place where I truly belong.
*
“Is it delicious?”
“Um, it’s delicious!”
Dahee replied with a happy expression, giggling. A small ice cream spoon was lodged in her mouth.
Yes, it’s an ice cream shop. Dahee was currently visiting an ice cream specialty store, enjoying a refreshing ice cream with her best friend, Kayak.
“Kayak? What does that mean, Dahee?”
“Kayak? What do you mean, Dahee?”
“Huh?”
“But my name is Mun Ah. What’s a kayak?”
“Um….”
Dahee suddenly looked dazed. Right, kayak? What does that even mean?
She was engulfed in a strange sense of unease. There’s no way a person’s name could be Kayak. Not when she wasn’t even a foreigner.
That felt more like a nickname than a name. Like her gaming nickname, Riri.
“…?”
Something flashed in her mind again. She felt like she was forgetting something important.
Dahee started to clutch her head while groaning, having paused mid-ice cream.
“What’s wrong? Headache?”
“Just a bit. It’s like something’s on the tip of my tongue.”
“See, I told you not to eat so fast. I warned you that icy stuff would give you a headache.”
“Hehe….”
Mun Ah took Dahee’s spoon, probably signaling her to take a break.
Her friend had a tendency to fuss over her like a mother. They were definitely the same age, but she felt oddly like an older sister.
With her nurturing gaze, the generous bosom that radiated maternal vibes, and her ebony hair resembling Dahee’s mother—she was truly perfect.
“Um….”
That same sense of unease washed over her again. Ebony hair? Kayak, no, Mun Ah was definitely—
“Um?”
“You’re thinking something weird again. Just eat your ice cream.”
“Uuummm….”
But as the sweet icy mass invaded her mouth, Dahee ignored the ringing in her head once more.
Forget the unease. What could possibly be wrong—right?
*
“Dahee.”
“Uh, huh?”
How did it end up like this? Dahee was struggling to hold onto her dizzying mind.
When she came to, this was the situation.
An empty classroom after all the classes ended in the evening.
Despite it being study time, nobody was in the classroom today except for Dahee and Mun Ah.
Mun Ah was looking at Dahee with a strangely sticky gaze.
“Dahee.”
“Why do you keep calling me….”
Dahee felt the heat rising to her face. Her school uniform tie felt constricting. She was hot and couldn’t bring herself to meet Mun Ah’s eyes for some reason.
With the dying sunset, the empty classroom, and a corridor so quiet it felt like both the teacher and students had clocked out for the day.
Gulp—
Dahee swallowed hard. Her gaze was spinning in circles.
This… she hadn’t exactly imagined this day but it was all too sudden. Yes, too sudden. Wasn’t it a bit quick?
“W-we’re students… and students are supposed to study— Aaaah!”
Crash!
Unable to hold back while staring at Dahee with fiery eyes, Mun Ah suddenly pounced on her!
“Are we students?”
“Uh… yeah… we’re high school girls. We shouldn’t be doing this…”
“What do you mean by ‘doing this’?”
Dahee felt a bit awkward saying it, but that wasn’t what’s important right now.
Dahee was struggling to escape from the weight of Mun Ah sitting on top of her.
“This is what you wanted, right? Don’t play innocent.”
“What I wanted? What do you mean-.”
Gah-
Dahee’s words were cut short. Mun Ah’s lips came down and blocked Dahee’s mouth.
Dahee, too surprised, tightly closed her eyes. Someone once said a first kiss should be like this.
They shared their breaths. It wasn’t just a simple kiss.
The slippery tongue of the other party began to invade her mouth. It was like a moist and cold tongue, running wildly in Dahee’s mouth.
‘Cold…?’
Dahee’s body jolted as if she had been splashed with ice water. In an instant, her mind was clear.
Right. She wasn’t a high school student nor had she gone to the same school as Mun Ah or Kayak.
They weren’t even classmates; they were merely colleagues who met through a broadcast, and now they were on a trip together to a haunted spot in a cave. Just for a unique experience.
“You figured it out.”
When Dahee opened her eyes after regaining her composure, she saw something in front of her.
“Ugh, AAAAAAH!”
It was something so horrifying it was hard to recognize. A ghost, yes, a ghost.
“AAAAAH! HEEEEEELP!”
“Since you figured it out, there’s nothing I can do. The illusion is over now—time to head back to the real world.”
“WAAAH, MOOOOOM… Mun Ah, where did you go? I’m scared….”
“No, I just showed you the scene you wanted to see—no need to make such a fuss.”
Dahee trembled all over and wept on the spot, blocking her ears as if to ignore the ghost’s words, curling up like a bug.
“Seriously, what a crazy girl… enjoying it and still acting like this—.”
How much time passed while Dahee wailed? She felt herself being shaken and lifted her head.
“Dahee, Kang Dahee! Get a grip!”
“Is she just sleeping? She’s drooling.”
“Should I just carry her out, ugh.”
Just as the face she longed to see, Kayak, was about to pick her up, Dahee finally woke up.
“Mun Ah… I was so scared. I saw this weird ghost and it just-.”
“Oh dear, is that so? Let’s get outside first; don’t squirm. Hold on properly.”
“Wow, did you see a ghost? Awesome.”
Dahee buried her face in Mun Ah’s neck and whimpered like a child as they exited the cave.
“What happened with the ghost that made you so scared?”
“Umm… that’s a secret.”
“What? Come on, that’s not fair.”
The question about what happened with the ghost was something she could never reveal, no matter how much she tried.
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