Chapter 109

“Who are you?”

Excuse me?

“…What should we do?”

“…….”

About what?

Jio thought.

‘What did I do wrong?’

He couldn’t understand how the conversation had flowed this way at all.

‘Weren’t we just talking about what’s going on in the world until a moment ago?’

What kind of thunderbolt was this, right when I was feeling burdened by my own self that had become famous without my permission.

Jio, who was suddenly faced with a philosophical question about ‘who am I,’ fell into unexpected self-reflection.

Even for a thoughtless person like Jio, he could tell that the question just now was quite serious.

‘But that makes it even harder to understand.’

It was as if parents were sitting across from their child and lamenting, ‘Son, how should we treat you.’

And Yu Seong-un was not Jio’s parent.

Jio was an adult male who used to have a job and now doesn't.

‘Why? Why me? Suddenly, career counseling?’

He couldn’t figure out at what point Yu Seong-un had become so serious.

“…….”

“…….”

As the silence lengthened, the confusion and anxiety Jio felt also grew.

‘…He asked with such a serious posture, so it would be my duty as a human to give a serious answer with a serious posture, but since I know nothing, there is nothing I can say. To think I would learn like this that my crisis response ability, the epitome of the harm caused by cramming-style education during my school days, is lacking.’

Don’t I have to understand the situation to be able to give an answer?

‘Who… who am I…’

You got me there?

‘If I had to say, a haunted portrait…?’

That would probably be the word that could most accurately express Jio’s current identity.

However, Jio, who felt it was a bit much to call his not-dead self a ‘ghost,’ answered after a moment of thought.

“I am a portrait.”

“…A portrait, you say.”

“I know what you are worried about, Mr. Yu Seong-un.”

“…….”

“But I cannot understand it.”

He was being sincere.

‘Where else would you find a haunted portrait as harmless as me?’

It was true that Jio had been managing his image a little lately out of a sense of crisis that ‘if I look like a pushover, I’ll be captured by a laboratory.’

Jio didn’t think it had ever produced a result great enough to make Yu Seong-un feel greatly threatened.

‘But seeing Mr. Yu Seong-un’s reaction now, he is clearly afraid of me.’

To be precise, it wasn't that he was afraid of Jio himself, but he seemed to be concerned about an accident he might cause someday.

For Jio, who only knew how to stay cooped up at home painting and eating, it was a bewildering situation.

He asserted his own jobless bum-ness.

“I am just an ordinary person who enjoys painting, enjoys meals with my family that I cook myself, and repeats the act of sleeping in a bed filled with the spring breeze.”

By any chance, do you know Po○mon?

‘I’m Snor○ax. Just Snor○ax.’

A lazy, healthy, and harmless beast that repeats the cycle of eating, sleeping, and shitting.

“That is a fact that does not change even if I am a portrait.”

“…Really?”

“I believe you know that well, Mr. Yu Seong-un.”

How could my own big brother, of all people, have such a misunderstanding.

‘You know that no matter how I’m known to the world, I’m just a talking portrait, hyung. Believe in my insignificance.’

It was Yu Seong-un who had been with him since the early days, but it seemed he was momentarily confused about Jio’s risk level due to the buzz of the people of the world.

It meant his image management had been a success, but a situation like this was not welcome.

For reference, his risk level converged at a whopping 0.

It was a value less than even a fire ant’s. If you compared a fire ant that shoots formic acid that can even blind a person with Jio who couldn’t even bite down hard thinking of his dental health, he would definitely lose.

“I understand why you have come to have such worries.”

Jio thought this was a problem that arose from a lack of communication.

“We have lacked the time to understand each other.”

If only Yu Seong-un had exchanged KkaeTalk messages with Jio himself day in and day out and knew how much of a jobless bum he lived like inside the house.

He would never have harbored such a ridiculous worry, like a tiger worrying about a rabbit’s violence, in the first place.

“Just as countless humans ponder and explore their own identities, I am the same. I, too, do not know exactly what I am.”

“…….”

“So, would you not like to check for yourself?”

Jio said this with the pure intention of really wanting to clear up the misunderstanding.

‘Mr. Yu Seong-un ran barefoot and found the Void, not even knowing where it was in Seoul. He even worked on Christmas to save a person named Park Eun-gyeom, who I didn’t even know existed. This means he is a truly pitiful and competent working professional.’

And such a person had to be fed until they were plump.

Originally, a full person doesn’t think futile thoughts and doesn’t speak futile words.

This was all the harm brought on by a society weary with fatigue.

Therefore.

“I will invite you, Mr. Yu Seong-un.”

There was no reason for Jio not to feed Yu Seong-un until he was full.

***

Yu Seong-un was drawn inside ‘Jio’s Portrait’.

***

“…….”

The first thing he felt was.

‘Ah.’

It’s warm.

It was a gentle spring breeze.

“…….”

Yu Seong-un, who had raised his head, looked at the sky.

“…It’s blue.”

It was a clear sky that was hard to see these days.

Above that sky, large clouds stretched out as if sleeping, and above them was a transparent atmosphere from which dew seemed ready to pour at any moment.

A sky that held both silence and tranquility was here.

“It’s a sight that’s hard to see on Earth.”

“Seoul’s air was certainly acrid.”

“…Not particularly Seoul, but, well….”

Yu Seong-un found himself blankly fixing his gaze on the sky.

“Where could you see a sky this blue?”

A very, very long time ago, Earth was said to have had such a transparent sky.

That was quite unfamiliar information for Yu Seong-un, who was born right before the Great Catastrophe.

It was amazing to think that Earth had ever been like that, though it wouldn’t be strange for a dungeon.

‘Come to think of it, this place is a dungeon too.’

Yu Seong-un’s head tilted.

‘…Why doesn’t it feel unfamiliar?’

It was not normal to feel a sense of longing for a sky one has never seen in the past.

“…It’s a really pretty sky….”

“Do you like it?”

“Do stars come out in the evening too?”

“Enough to see the Milky Way.”

“The Milky Way, that’s amazing.”

To think that in this cabin, one could freely appreciate the Milky Way, which is now said to be invisible on Earth even if you go to the desert.

Yu Seong-un’s head, which had been looking up at the sky as if possessed, slowly came down.

“…….”

A forest of soft colors filled his eyes.

“So this is the forest you were talking about.”

“If you go a little deeper, you can meet my friends.”

“You mean the beasts of the forest, right?”

Just then, a deer with a long neck revealed its face from between the bushes.

“Oh.”

It was a fairytale-like, beautiful deer with eyes that sparkled like jewels.

When he listened closely, he could hear the chirping of birds.

When he turned his gaze, he saw a few birds sitting on a tree branch, looking down at him.

Following the tail feathers that flew away with a flutter, he saw a narrow, shallow stream of water flowing gently along the ground.

When he took a breath, it seemed to carry a sweet and nutty scent like that of flowers or nuts.

“…….”

The stream, where the sunlight shattered, shimmered like jewels, and the fish passing through it occasionally added to the sound by flicking their tails.

The pebbles laid under the glass-like transparent water shone like polished marble that radiated light.

“…This is true….”

Peaceful.

“It’s understandable why one wouldn’t want to leave.”

It was a peace like the tomb of a wise old man.

“I was always looking at it through the portrait, but I didn’t know it would be this wonderful.”

“Are you enjoying the view?”

“I’m really enjoying it. I’m curious about what’s inside the forest, and I’m also curious what it would feel like to take a nap.”

A tranquility that makes a person lazy exists here.

“It might be dangerous.”

There wasn't much of a sense of pressure, but separate from that, the tranquility was so deep that the feeling was like a swamp.

If a person with no backbone were to be dragged here, they would forget their own ego and wish to become a sculpture of this forest.

‘That said, it’s not that Jio has any ill will.’

This forest too had no ill will, not even goodwill.

‘It just exists like this.’

That was nature.

This was a nature that held a longing so great that a human could not bear it.

It was like a feast of the gods that humans could not handle.

To enjoy this peace without preparation would be to lose one’s everything.

“…….”

…Somehow, the F-Class Hunter Cha Ara endured this place.

‘It seems her eyes weren’t turned because her affection for her family on Earth was that great.’

With every breath he took, his eyes tingled with fondness and his fingertips tickled with happiness.

It was a peace that was hard to endure for those who had no lingering attachments, lacked courage, and had a weak ego.

“…What should I look into here?”

“I did not invite you because I wanted you to look into something here, Mr. Yu Seong-un.”

“Then what’s the reason you invited me?”

“I just hoped we would enjoy it together, without any great meaning. Because the more we get to know each other, the less we’ll be afraid.”

Jio, who said so, had taken off his cape at some point. The youth with a strangely expressionless face continued.

“There was no reason not to share what I have with a friend.”

“…A friend…”

The portrait called Yu Seong-un a friend.

“…Do I look like a friend to you?”

“…Was I mistaken?”

“No, if it’s okay with you, I wanted to have a friend like you too.”

He wanted to communicate with the Source.

“Because I am a gardener.”

A Source that could be conversed with existed here.

“I get mesmerized when I see such a wonderful garden.”

“…It is troublesome if you like it that much.”

“I just meant that I really like places like this.”

“Then that is a relief.”

“You live here, right?”

Yu Seong-un looked at the portrait.

“Did you make this place?”

“I drew it.”

“How come?”

“It just happened.”

“That’s peculiar.”

“I think so too.”

“…….”

Soon, Yu Seong-un asked.

“Did you know? This place, it’s connected to you.”

“Because I am the master of this place.”

“I know you’re the master of this place.”

But that’s not what Yu Seong-un was talking about.

‘This garden is Jio’s Portrait itself.’

This frighteningly serene world and ‘Jio’s Portrait’ are not separate entities.

But that was a matter of course.

Jio is a portrait, and this world exists inside that portrait.

It meant that everything in the portrait centered on the ego of Jio couldn't be anything but his very self.

“Can only things you drew exist here?”

“No, things that are not so also grow naturally without my knowledge.”

“I see. I thought so. And can those be taken outside the frame?”

“Yes, they can be taken outside the frame. Is there something you need?”

“No, I’m just… looking into this and that.”

Clatter.

“…….”

Transparent water birds sat on a tree branch.

Among them was Honey, whom Jio called his son.

“…Because there are many strange things here.”

Yu Seong-un could not read their gazes.

It seemed like they were warning him not to harm this peace, and it seemed like they were welcoming Yu Seong-un, who was invited by their parent, Jio, or it seemed like they were just cameras watching without any emotion.

They had no ill will or goodwill. Or perhaps they had both.

“…….”

Where is this embarrassingly tear-jerking longing coming from?

“…That must be your cabin over there.”

“That is correct. Student Cha Ara came straight inside, so I was unable to show her the forest.”

“May I take a look?”

“My apologies, I failed to mention that you may appreciate it as you wish.”

“Alright, thank you.”

With Jio’s ready permission, Yu Seong-un swept his hand across the cabin’s wall.

‘…It’s warm.’

And he felt a faint vibration.

It was the sound of a dead tree’s heart beating.

“…This place.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“It’s breathing.”

This was a living creature.

“Or maybe not.”

It was also an inanimate object.

“Am I saying something a little strange?”

“To my ears, yes.”

“Still, thank you for inviting me, it’s because I like it so much.”

“I believe it is because you have been very tired lately.”

“It’s certain that if I were to die, a place like this would be nice.”

A Gardener is bound to be buried in a garden.

“This is really a wonderful garden.”

This place is the Source.

That became the definite answer to his question.

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