September 24, 2088

  One month ago, the teacher who had been so kind to Jinyo died from cardiac ischemia. He was a gentle, compassionate old man who had hired Jinyo to work as a tutor at the tutoring center. The person who took over was a son from the big city. Wearing a brown suit with slicked-back hair, perfectly neat from head to toe. A pompous young master who wouldn't allow a single stain.

  The first thing he did on his first day of taking over was to fire employees.

  "You're a botanist—how can you teach mathematics? My father was really careless. I'm sorry to say this, but our institute won't continue to employ you. You can stay on as a teaching assistant if you want. But I recommend you go home and sell vegetables instead." That bastard gave him that ultimatum. Even though it was only a short time, just one year, Jinyo loved this tutoring center like a second home. The old teacher had been kind to him. But if he continued as an employee in the position of teaching assistant, Jinyo saw no bright future at all. That jerk was right. Going home to grow vegetables had more of a future than a tutoring center without the old teacher.

  He walked into town to the employment office. Sadly, Richchester had no jobs suitable for his education level. The title [Doctor] and his doctoral degree didn't help Jinyo find work more easily. It was like a ceremonial cup kept on a shrine shelf while the worshiper withered away to skin and bones. He wanted to work in education or in the field he had studied. But this town was too small. If he didn't become a farmer, he would just be a teaching assistant earning minimum wage. Worse than that was being a teaching assistant paid at half the minimum wage.

  The employment office couldn't help Jinyo. Their system didn't accommodate Jinyo staying in a small town. The country believed that people should work in positions appropriate to the education they had fought to obtain. If you have a doctorate, you should work in a job befitting a doctorate. They recommended Jinyo work in the capital or a major city. But Jinyo wanted to stay in Richchester that he loved.

  He loved this town and wanted to stay here forever. Unless he truly had no other option, only then would he consider moving to the capital or a major city. Even though his academic work wasn't outstanding, finding work in education shouldn't be too difficult for him.

  Jinyo hadn't given up hope. He walked all over town looking for job postings. But Richchester wasn't an economically prosperous town. Finding stores with job applications was as hard as winning the lottery.

  "Sigh," Jinyo sat dejectedly at a roadside coffee shop, letting out a huge sigh, floating like a melting marshmallow. Walking around for half the day hadn't helped him find a new job. They rejected Jinyo with the reason that they had no suitable positions. Even though truly, whatever job it was, Jinyo was ready to do it. As long as the wages were reasonable. As for places that would hire him, they pressed the wages down so brutally it lost all humanity.

  Jinyo watched a butterfly fly by and land on a flower in a decorative pot at the shop. Sometimes he envied it for being able to live by sucking nectar from flowers. Flying wherever it wanted to go and having its moment to shine. He pulled out his poetry collection notebook from his bag while savoring his honey-flavored americano. But the voice of a lady calling out demanded his attention.

  "Oh no! Dangerous!" Jinyo looked up to the top floor. This roadside coffee shop had three floors. The top open-air deck only had an old fence that had been painted to look new. The small, compact figure of a little girl backlit by the sun created a shadow that made it impossible for people below to see clearly. She was doing something amazing—using her small feet to stand on the railing, balancing there. The clamor of adults trying to stop her didn't make her scared in the slightest.

  By some miraculous force, Jinyo moved, getting up from his chair and running straight to the door. The small railing that should have easily supported an adult's weight broke loose and gave way. The little girl lost her balance and fell before everyone's eyes. A woman's scream rang out from upstairs and no one could move in time.

  Except for one man.

  Jinyo jumped with arms outstretched, catching and cradling the little girl's body in his embrace. In that split second when they made contact, a strange feeling overflowed and flooded his heart. His heart pounded as if coming back to life again. He didn't know if it was from relief at saving a life or if his brain was releasing adrenaline in that critical moment, pumping his blood.

  The faint floral scent soothed the little girl in his arms, calming her down. She didn't cry or panic. Perhaps she was still in shock, or the aura of the strange man soothed her, making her feel as safe as when she was with her mother.

  "Hey you! Are you okay? Is the child hurt?"

  "Ambulance! Call an ambulance!"

  "You idiot! Whose parents are you? Show yourself right now!" Someone shouted up to the third floor. Everyone at the viewing corner turned to look at each other. Looking for who the child's parents were.

  "I'm fine. I'm safe. The child is safe," Jinyo turned to speak to the concerned citizens who ran over to check on them. The little girl in his arms was released. She seemed confused and very guilty. She stared at the face of the man who saved her life without blinking.

  "It's okay now, sweetie. You're not hurt anywhere, right?"

  "No."

  "It's dangerous. Don't do it again, okay? Your mom and dad will worry."

  "I wanted to find Mama. I couldn't find Mama."

  "Where is your Mama?"

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  "I don't know. Mama left me. Mama doesn't love me anymore." The little girl's tears fell in drops. Jinyo heard from the coffee shop staff that this child wasn't a customer's child. But a lost child who came to rest in the coffee shop waiting for a guardian to pick her up. She seemed to have gotten separated from her guardian, and the guardian was busy and not ready to pick her up yet. During this time of day, the shop was especially crowded, so the staff wasn't available to look after her.

  "What's your name, sweetie?"

  "Hazel."

  "Hazel is a very beautiful name. Hazel has to be a good girl and wait for Mama, okay? Don't go near fences or balconies without an adult. Do you understand?" Jinyo reached out to stroke the little girl's shiny black hair. He slowly stood up, dusting off the dirt on his pants. He thought he had been at this coffee shop too long already. Everyone was treating Jinyo like a hero, which made him uncomfortable receiving special treatment. Just as he was about to walk out, the little girl's hand reached out to grab his dusty pants.

  "Is something wrong?"

  "..." The little girl didn't answer.

  "She's probably scared and wants to stay with you," one of the female customers in the coffee shop spoke up. Jinyo scratched his head, not knowing what to do. He needed to continue walking around looking for job applications, but leaving this pitiful little girl made him feel awful. The look in this child's eyes reminded him of himself as a child.

  Jinyo himself also had a time when he said his mother had abandoned him. It was lonely and desolate. For this child to reach out and pull at a stranger she just met—how much did she need someone to rely on? His heart understood completely.

  "Can I get the guardian's number, please?"

  "Hello, my name is Jinyo. Your child is very startled and wants to stay with me for a while. But I can't stay at the coffee shop. Can I take her somewhere else? When you come to pick her up, I'll bring her back." Good Lord, what was he doing? A stranger calling you and saying you can trust me, I'll take your child out and bring her back when you come to pick her up. Even if a demon twisted his neck, if Jinyo were a parent, he would never allow this suspicious person under any circumstances. He didn't know what possessed him to make such a foolish decision.

  "Yes. Let's meet at the fountain square at 6 PM."

  "Huh? Really?"

  "Yes. See you then." The guardian hung up.

  Only the flat beep of an empty line sounded in Jinyo's ear.

  God help me, what a terrible mother. Jinyo didn't want to meet the face of this irresponsible mother at all. Even though her voice was very pleasant.

  But the voice sounds strangely familiar. Do I know her? Jinyo shook his head dismissively. He extended his pinky finger for the little girl to reach out and hold hands.

  "Your mom will come pick you up at six o'clock. Until then, stay with big brother, okay? My name is Jinyo. You can call me Brother Yo." Jinyo introduced himself. He himself had a younger sister who often called him Brother Yo. It was more convenient for him to be called that.

  "No. Not Mama."

  "Not your mother?"

  "Mmm, both yes and no. My Mama left me. Not coming back. Everyone says that. I wanted to find Mama and ask if Mama really left me. If I went up high, I could see clearly. But then boom—very scary."

  "Going up like that isn't good. You might never see Mama again. But if you're still alive, someday Hazel will definitely meet Mama again."

  "Really? Really? You said it, okay?"

  "Really. If you're still alive, you'll definitely meet her."

  Jinyo took Hazel walking all over town. His original purpose was to apply for jobs at stores with postings. In the end, it became taking a strange little girl sightseeing around town without realizing it. Jinyo wasn't one to interact much with strangers. He would run out of energy like a dying battery. But he took Hazel walking through shopping centers to markets. Taking the little girl to search for her Mama from afternoon until evening without getting tired at all.

  Jinyo didn't know who Hazel's Mama was. Why did she say Mama had abandoned her? This world had selfish mothers. But Jinyo believed that mothers who loved and cherished the children they gave birth to far outnumbered terrible mothers. He didn't judge that Hazel's mother had such a terrible nature as to abandon her own child as the little girl claimed. It might be a misunderstanding or the distorted perspective of a seven-year-old.

  Jinyo scraped together the little money in his wallet to buy Hazel ice cream. When it was close to the appointed time of six o'clock, they went to stand and play in front of the statue at the fountain square.

  "Brother Yo, why are you so kind?"

  "Am I kind?"

  "You helped me. Took me to find Mama. Brought me here. So kind. I wish everyone in the world was like Brother Yo."

  "I'm sorry, because there's no one like me." After Jinyo finished speaking, he was silent for a while. Looking at the adorable, chubby face of this child clearly. Memorizing this moment because he probably would never cross paths with this little girl again. She was a cute and innocent child like a little princess. It was then that he realized why Jinyo felt that spending time with Hazel made him happy.

  "I have a daughter your age. But we don't live together."

  "Brother Yo has a daughter too?"

  "Yes. Seven years old, just like Hazel. Her name is Ryse. But since she was born, I've never met my daughter even once. So I'm glad to take care of Hazel. Because if I got to be with my daughter, I wonder how I would take care of her. I think that way."

  "..." The little girl buried her face in Jinyo's hand. He could feel the moisture on his thin shirt. Her chest and shoulders trembled as if suppressing something from pouring out.

  "Name... me too."

  "What?" The little girl's voice was muffled, and he couldn't hear.

  "Will I get to see Brother Yo again?"

  We won't see each other again.

  But he couldn't say that. To a child who felt abandoned by the world, Jinyo couldn't speak such cruel words.

  "Of course. If you miss me, you can call, okay?" Jinyo waited until the appointed time. He observed the figure of a young woman in a black coat. Long hair flowing to her hips. Skin as white as snow. Sharp ruby-red eyes radiating deadly intensity in every step. What contrasted with the fierce lioness image was the little lion cub. A boy she was holding hands with.

  The moment Jinyo saw her approaching, his eyes widened as his heart froze. Memories stretching back to childhood were excavated from the depths of his hippocampus. He recognized the source of the familiarity from hearing that cold voice like a bullet when talking on the phone. Something in his heart was burning hot yet so chillingly cold he wanted to avoid her gaze.

  "Rina," Jinyo stared at her stunningly beautiful face that any man would have to turn and look at, with a face as white as paper. Paper that had been stapled.

  "Mama Rina," Hazel called the name of the woman before them. Jinyo turned to look at the little girl, then alternated looking at the young woman he knew well, and the boy who looked at him with curious eyes wondering who he was. But it seemed Jinyo knew well who this boy was. Including the identity of the little girl he was currently holding hands with.

  "Seven years have passed and you're still the same, unchanged. You heard my voice and still didn't know it was me. Unbelievable, really." Rina looked at Jinyo while using piercing words. The young man was deeply wounded.

  He had never felt it before.

  In truth, the little girl he had coincidentally saved wasn't named Hazel.

  Her name was Ryse Palmer.

  She was truly his daughter.

  [You have connected with your daughter, Ryse Palmer]

  [The hidden system has been activated]

  [Your true bloodline [Ancient Flora] is being awakened]

  [A god from another universe has extended a special offer to you. The path you are moving forward on is to end your life as a human or face all of heaven as an enemy]

  [Choose your future yourself]