“…E-Eunyul-ssi?”
Madojin spoke with a startled expression.
“Guh!”
Then he clutched his head and bent over.
“Dojin-ssi! Are you okay?”
I reached out and placed a hand on his back.
“I-I’m fine,” Madojin replied through gritted teeth. “Just—memories rushed in all at once…”
At the same time Madojin winced in pain, the crowd bustling around us froze in place.
And then—
Crack—! Rip—!
The very air began to tear with jagged lines.
“Huff… haa…”
Madojin gasped for breath and straightened up.
“I’m fine now, Eunyul-ssi. All my memories have returned…”
He looked around slowly.
“Now I understand. This world is an illusion.”
“That’s right.”
I nodded.
“…In this world, you were living my life. That’s why I couldn’t return in my own body—I used yours.”
Enoch had crafted a space that mirrored reality and made Madojin live as me.
Which meant the role of the original Madojin—who lived his own life—was left vacant.
I had exploited that gap to return, and had been living as Madojin ever since.
“…It must’ve been hard, right?”
Maybe due to the shock of returning, I’d completely forgotten my identity until I saw Madojin again here.
But now I remembered.
Though Madojin had been living as me, he was still the same person as in the original world.
And because of that, I could finally understand.
Just as Madojin had known my life, I had now come to know his.
“It wasn’t hard.”
Madojin averted his eyes.
“…Because in the end, I put you in danger, Eunyul-ssi.”
“Oh, that’s…”
He must have been tormented by guilt during the CYB audition process.
“You really don’t have to worry about that. I’m right here, aren’t I? I’m safe.”
I tugged hard at my own cheek.
“Hmm… Or maybe not? Doesn’t hurt at all.”
Since this was a heaven Enoch created for Madojin, maybe we were technically “dead” here.
That “ancient ancestor,” as Enoch had jokingly called himself, was probably manifesting in the real world using Madojin’s body by now.
So then—how much time had passed in reality?
“…How long were you here?”
“I’m not sure,” Madojin replied, expression hardening. “Until I met you, Eunyul-ssi, I didn’t realize this world was fake. I was just… living your life.”
“Hmm…”
I crossed my arms.
So Madojin had spent nineteen years in this world?
I figured I’d been here a few months at most.
Did time flow the same here as in the real world? That couldn’t be—Madojin had spent too long here for that to be true.
“Dojin-ssi, what happened to your Constellation contract?”
By this point, I had already ended my contract with the Star Hated by All.
If this world truly mirrored reality, then Madojin should’ve also concluded his contract.
But…
‘That can’t be.’
Enoch wasn’t The Savior Who Is One and All. He couldn’t have replicated the Star—or any of the Constellations—perfectly.
Besides, Enoch probably wasn’t influencing this space anymore.
Case in point—the Tutorial Quest window Enoch had issued:
[Tutorial Quest: Error]
ErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorErrorError…
Completely shattered.
‘Ah, come to think of it…’
Madojin seemed to remember something. He pulled off the hood he’d been wearing.
“…After saving a child from a car accident, I formed a contract with this one.”
From inside the hood, a butterfly emerged.
“Holly?”
That name surfaced in my mind.
The butterfly looked just like the yellow pansy butterfly Madojin had once raised.
<It’s been a while, creation who once contracted with the King of Hell.>
Suddenly, a voice echoed.
<I’ve been waiting for you to arrive in this space.>
“W-Wait… no way…”
With trembling fingers, I pointed at the butterfly.
“That voice—I heard it in the sanctuary…”
“The Archangel Who Cast Down the King of Hell.”
The voice from the butterfly—it was unmistakably the Archangel’s.
<You remember me. I ask your forgiveness for my past rudeness. I let my anger toward ‘The Star Hated by All’s’ arrogance get the better of me.>
With that, the Archangel alighted on the back of Madojin’s hand.
<And you, my creation—>
“…Yes.”
Madojin answered.<You have finally recovered all your memories.>
“It seems so…”
<That is a relief. I intervened in this world to save you. As a fellow angel, I apologize on Enoch’s behalf. After voiding your contract, Enoch abandoned you here. But you have now re-contracted with me.>
“So… this was all Enoch’s doing?”
<Exactly.>
The Archangel answered my question.
<Do not worry. The fact that I’ve intervened means The Savior Who Is One and All intends to correct Enoch’s deviation.>
The Archangel fluttered its wings.
Suddenly, I remembered the Star’s disdainful words—that only angels liked butterflies.
<This world is a heaven constructed by Enoch for Dojin-ssi. Heaven is a system composed of countless parallel worlds—replicated spaces where the dead may rest until reincarnation.>
“Rest assured,” the Archangel said, flitting around my face.<Time in this space flows much slower than in reality.>
“I figured.”
I shrugged.
“Because if I’d been here for months and the Star hadn’t shown up—there’s no way he’d just sit still.”
<Hah?>
The Archangel let out a disbelieving noise.
<What could that fool do, when he doesn’t even know basic healing magic? He’s probably fluttering around you like a helpless fly. Just twitching his front legs like some offering to the seven deadly sins. Remember this: only I can save you. I repeat—I am your savior!>
It seemed the Archangel got especially agitated every time the Star was mentioned.
“So… you can return us to the real world?”
<Of course! With the permission of The Savior Who Is One and All, I will send you both back.>
Crack—! Rip—!
As the Archangel spoke, the rips in the air grew sharper and brighter.
“Then send us—now!”
I urged, unable to hide my impatience.<One thing first.>
The Archangel fluttered toward Madojin.
<My creation—I have a question for you.>
“…What is it?”
Madojin extended his finger toward the Archangel.
<If you wish to stay here, I will only return the Star’s contractor to the real world. Though you now realize it was wrong, didn’t you once desire this place?>
Yes.
Having lived as Madojin, I knew: before we met at the CYB prelims…
‘…he wanted to live as me.’
He wanted to take my life—even if it meant killing me.
“That’s true.”
Madojin admitted.
“There was a time when I wanted to take Eunyul-ssi’s life. I believed it was salvation meant for me.”
He looked down at the Archangel.
“…But that was a mistake.”
His gaze turned toward me.
“I didn’t really want your life, Eunyul-ssi. I just…”
He paused, then continued.
“…wanted to be part of it.”
He thought he wanted to take my life—but what he really wanted was to share in it.
He wanted to be there when I grieved my father.
To protect me when I was bullied.
To stop me when I tried to end my life.
“…That’s all.”
He’d realized it all too late.
And I could see he felt guilty about it.
“In that case, Dojin-ssi—you can’t stay here.”
I gripped his wrist.
“You want to be by my side, right? Then come back with me.”
Now I finally understood.
Why Madojin had told me he didn’t want me to die.
Why he wished I would survive.
Knowing everything about my life, Madojin must have wanted—more than anything—for me to live.
And me?
“This is a world for the dead. Dojin-ssi, you don’t belong here.”
I didn’t want Madojin to die.
“Don’t stay in a ‘heaven’ like this. Come back—with me.”
I hoped Madojin would survive.
Maybe he understood what I meant.
“…All right.”
He nodded.
Just then—
<Then let’s get to work. I am a workaholic, after all.>
CRASH—!
The space shattered completely, and Madojin and I plummeted into endless darkness.
“Waaah?!”
My ridiculous scream escaped in panic.<I will now dispose of this uninhabited world and return you to the original one.>
I looked at Madojin.
Clench!
I tightened my grip on his wrist.
<All of this is by the power of The Archangel Who Cast Down the King of Hell!>
“Couldn’t you take us back a little more gently?!”
I shouted with all my might.
But no reply came.
Only the sensation of endless falling, with Madojin and I hurtling through the void—
Clink.
Something cold touched my face.
Clink, clink—
Tiny, cold particles tickled my skin.
“Uugh…”
I squinted.
For a brief moment, Madojin’s face blurred into view.
And then—
FWOOOOSH—!!
A fierce wind slammed into my body, so intense it gave me chills.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’
I cursed inwardly.
We’d woken up in the sky.
I could see the world I knew far below, trembling in the wind.
I gripped Madojin’s wrist with all my strength.
We looked at each other.
And we shouted—not sure if they were screams or songs.
Even though our voices were swept away in the wind, reaching no one—
We were merely snowflakes scattered in the air, drifting among countless frozen fragments.
‘Are you scared?’
Madojin’s voice seemed to echo in my heart.
‘Yes. I’m scared.’
I answered with all my heart.
I feared this world.
‘Eunyul-ssi… I fear the sky.’
He once feared the people etched across the earth.
‘I feared the sky that could trample my life at any moment.’
Even so—
‘Even so, we…’
There was someone out there who wished for my life to continue.
And I, too, wished for someone else’s life to continue.
We sincerely hoped for each other to live.
To keep going.
To stay alive.
That wish—
Flap—!
Madojin pulled me into an embrace.
In that moment, I saw them—wings.
Madojin’s two wings blossomed into the gusting air.
As they unfurled, the raging wind died away.
“Dojin-ssi, those wings…”
With the wind gone, I could finally hear clearly.
I stared blankly at the wings on Madojin’s back.
They were nothing like Enoch’s wings that had once torn through his back.
“…Do they look weird?”
Madojin asked, embarrassed.
“Not at all.”
I shook my head.
“They don’t look weird at all. It’s just that these new wings…”
They didn’t look painful.
That alone made me smile with relief.
Little Pink Starfish 
Leave a comment