BOPE 101

Chapter 101 …

As soon as Taechang appeared, the waves of unease subsided instantly. Just by being there with him, it felt as if the Grace Territory would be forever safe, unchanged, always at her side.

“What’s the matter?”

When there was no answer, Taechang repeated the question.

Donghee gazed at him for a moment before shaking her head. In this surreal Grace Territory, the most surreal being of all was Taechang himself. He emerged from a transparent blue window that couldn’t even be touched, and by consuming something called “MP points,” he extended the time he could manifest.

She knew that even if she asked, he would never explain what his real circumstances were, or what he truly was. But every time she saw Taechang, she couldn’t help but wonder. Asking would only end with him demanding absurd points, so Donghee pressed down her curiosity. Like biting at fruit she could never eat, it would only leave her fingers sticky.

“It’s nothing. Just… stay with me for a while while you’re here.”

“Why?”

It was the first time he had heard such a request, and suspicion flickered in Taechang’s eyes. Perhaps those words carried some hidden intent he hadn’t caught yet. Not too long ago, he had been treated as something less than a hot pack, left lying on the bed.

“Actually…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Donghee told him in detail about the dream she had had earlier that day. About how, when she was thrashing inside, unable to wake, it was Taechang who had called her phone and woken her up.

She thought he might scold her for calling him over something as trivial as a dream. But Taechang kept his mouth shut and simply listened in silence. At first she was just relieved that he wasn’t teasing her, but as time went by, she began to suspect he wasn’t even listening at all.

“Are you listening?”

“In the dream, did you eat anything?”

The question was so out of the blue she blinked. So he had been listening after all.

Donghee nodded with a look that said he was asking the strangest things.

“I had no time for that. Do you know how terrified I was? I thought Grace was all just a dream. It was terrifying.”

“What was so terrifying? If it’s only a dream, you just forget it and move on.”

“I don’t want to forget.”

At his cold question, her voice sank heavy. Taechang quietly observed Donghee, who now sat with a sorrowful expression.

“What is it you don’t want to forget?”

“Everything… all of it. Delma, Scrooge, and all the townsfolk who smile at me.”

A heavy silence hung between them.

“I never knew how happy it could feel to have people who need me. My days were nothing more than gasping, struggling just to get by, barely able to breathe. I survived on hollow hopes that someday, someday, good days would come. And then the unbelievable happened to me. I became Chloe Grace.”

She continued:

“Even now, when I look in the mirror, it feels strange, like I’m wearing someone else’s clothes I stole. Sometimes I feel guilty. What if the real Chloe shows up and demands her body back? Then do I have to hand it over and leave? Back to my basement room, to scraping by each day as Ha Donghee? What if I don’t want to give it back—what happens then…?”

Taechang hadn’t thought that the usually cheerful user would harbor such thoughts. Unsure how to respond, he simply kept listening.

“I’m not afraid of going back to that room. What I’m afraid of is never seeing my people again.”

“They’re Chloe Grace’s people, not yours. You’re Ha Donghee, not Chloe Grace. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

Donghee glared resentfully at him for stabbing right into the sore spot.

“I haven’t forgotten. But you don’t forget either. I never once begged you or the status window to take me to Grace. You’re the ones who showed me hope, who got me used to hearing kind words. If you ever take that away from me overnight, I’ll do whatever it takes to utterly destroy the both of you. So don’t even dream of stealing my family from me. I really won’t let it slide.”

Her voice was calm, but it trembled faintly. Taechang exhaled a quiet sigh that she couldn’t hear and gripped the can she handed him. It was still ice-cold.

“If you ever have that kind of dream again…”

The sudden words made Donghee’s heart drop.

“…don’t eat anything.”

“What do you mean?”

Even as she asked, fear prickled at her. The way he said it made it sound like those dreams could truly happen.

“Just what I said. Nothing. Not even a sip of water.”

“In the dream?”

“Yes.”

“Then… you mean I could have that dream again? If I eat something there, I won’t be able to come back to Grace?”

“This is as much as I can tell you.”

“What if I don’t realize I’m dreaming? What then? I just drank beer—what if this is a dream? Will I not be able to return?”

Her eyes quivered in panic at the sudden wave of fear.

“Wait—this isn’t a dream, is it?”

A tear slipped from her eyes. The woman who just moments ago had spoken firmly about her precious people was gone; what Taechang now saw was a child, lost and trembling as if she had lost her mother.

He let out another sigh at the uncomfortable emotions he couldn’t suppress.

“It’s not a dream.”

“Really, not a dream?”

“Yes.”

“If this is a dream, I might just kill you.”

The words were so absurd Taechang couldn’t help but laugh. Who did she think had saved her so many times?

“Do as you please.”

Donghee stared at him, then suddenly grabbed a fistful of his long hair and yanked hard.

“Argh! What are you doing?!”

As he yelped, she tugged a few more times, then released his silvery hair with a satisfied look.

“Not a dream after all. Sorry. But wow, even your hair comes out. It’s so weird. And since it’s silver, it looks like fishing line.”

Taechang stared at the strands in his palm, then at her nonsense, utterly dumbfounded. In all his years, with all the users he’d met, none had ever been like Donghee.

Suddenly feeling thirsty, he eyed the unopened beer can she had left on the table.

“What does beer taste like?”

“It tastes like washing away fatigue.”

Donghee answered with a bright grin, so cheerful it was hard to believe she’d been tugging his hair moments before.

“That kind of taste exists?”

“Try it.”

She gestured at the can with her chin. But Taechang only fiddled with it, showing no intention of drinking.

“What, do you have some rule—no drinking on the job?”

“No.”

“Then why not? Don’t tell me you don’t know how to open it.”

At her offhand remark, his shoulders twitched.

“…Don’t tell me, you really don’t?”

“I’ve watched you do it. I just wasn’t certain.”

It was deeply humiliating to admit ignorance in front of such a trivial human. He had even tried fiddling with the little tab, spinning it around, but it hadn’t made the sharp psshh sound she had.

Donghee looked at him, then said kindly:

“I’ll show you. To really enjoy it, first you have to grip the can tight.”

Reluctantly, Taechang did as she said, clutching the cold can.

“Now shake it.”

“You didn’t shake yours.”

When he looked at her suspiciously, she just shrugged.

“I’ve had plenty before. But you—it’s your first time, right? So you’ve gotta taste it properly.”

He couldn’t tell if she was being serious or not; he’d never shared food-talk with any other user. But what reason would she have to lie about something like this?

So Taechang shook the can. The cool sensation, the liquid sloshing inside, was oddly pleasant.

“Good job.”

She smiled brightly, praising him. He snorted.

“Who couldn’t manage this?”

But his shaking grew faster.

Yes—praise could even make Taechang shake a beer can.

Satisfied, Donghee went on:

“Now hook your finger in that little tab—like this—and snap it open. Like this.”

She showed him with an empty can.

“This one?”

“Yes. That one. You have to do it in one motion. Got it? It’s harder than it looks. A lot of people mess it up. Think you can do it?”

Her condescending tone stung his pride. If foolish humans could do it, he surely could too.

Taechang hooked his finger in the tab and flicked it open in one motion.

And then—

Fssshhhh!

Foam and beer erupted like a fountain, blasting across his pale face. Donghee burst into helpless laughter.

“Pfft—hahaha! Oh my god, you actually did it! You’re such an idiot!”

As she doubled over in laughter, Taechang pressed a finger over the can’s opening, and the beer geyser stopped. It still hissed through his fingers, but no longer sprayed everywhere.

“Wow, quick thinking. Not bad.”

Donghee teased, but Taechang fixed her with a steady look—while still plugging the can’s mouth—and began to shake it again.

“Hey—hey! What are you doing? Why are you shaking it?!”

“You said it tastes better shaken.”

He shook it even harder. Alarm rising, Donghee backed away until she was pinned in front of the fridge.

Beer can in hand, Taechang strode straight toward her.

“Don’t you dare! Stay right there!”

But by then, he was already standing before her, less than a step away.