Flowers began to bloom, and the season steadily turned toward spring.
Though it had no color, the spring-specific scent of fresh greenery drifting warmly through the air carried a ticklish feeling that even faded hues could not erase.
At the same time, the point in time we had to act through gradually moved farther back... In a park fragrant with flowers, I came to my senses.
...A park? Why was there a park here? Up until a moment ago, I had been in Guhinhoe's research lab...
Whoooosh—
Faded petals fluttered through the air, and a sweet fragrance brushed past my nose.
After the violent wind that had blown my thoughts away died down, I realized it instinctively.
It was my part.
The lines I had glanced at earlier in the script all came back to me. I probably wouldn't have any trouble acting.
Quickly gathering my thoughts, I began acting as this person named Seosan.
His first line was... a light call.
"Yi Sang."
"...Speak, Seosan."
"I wasn't exactly asking for permission, but... anyway. Have you settled in at T Corp? I've been busy lately, so I haven't heard much news."
"...Everyone in Guhinhoe is doing fairly well. We all smile more often than we used to."
As Yi Sang said that, he was avoiding my gaze a little. Was he hiding something?
A faint, meaningless discomfort rose in my chest, but I ignored it and kept acting.
Was this discomfort... the emotion of the person I was acting as?
"What about you? How are you?"
"...I."
Yi Sang stopped speaking and fell into thought for a moment.
"Still, I think I've been doing well enough. Lately, the days I spend here have even been a little enjoyable."
"...That's a relief. I worked hard to help you move your residence to T Corp, so I was worried you might say you wanted to go back."
"You needn't worry about that. It seems everyone has little complaint about life here."
With that, a brief silence settled in.
Not an uncomfortable silence, but a comfortable one, like a short rest.
As I looked over the park scenery around us, the next line slipped from my mouth so naturally I didn't even notice it.
"Nangsulhoe... was that what it was called? The place where you present each other's techniques. If your turn comes up next time, wouldn't you invite me?"
"...If I consider the kindness you usually show us, I suppose I could. However... it seems difficult to decide that on my own. May I consult with Youngji-hyung and contact you afterward?"
"I don't mind. There's no need to be so greedy about it anyway. Even as they are, you all already inspire me."
"We are always grateful. Without your support, the situation would have been a little more difficult."
"It's not like I'm doing it purely to cheer you on. And it's not that meaningful an amount, either."
"Even so, the fact that you have helped us remains unchanged, does it not?"
"...If you put it that way, I've got nothing to say."
With every exchange, something began to seep in.
Probably... the emotion of this Seosan person I was acting as.
Warm, soft, and pleasantly buoyant, as if if I got too absorbed in it, my mind would go hazy.
Was this also the power of the Golden Bough...?
As I was sinking into that gentle atmosphere, the background changed again at some point.
Soon, Youngji-hyung's voice, spoken through Hong Lu, roused my foggy mind.
"The reason I called you all here is that I wanted to show you something interesting I made this time."
Then Hong Lu touched the hose connected to the glass window on the table, and above a faded, dead chrysalis, a brightly colored... living butterfly began to appear.
"Youngji... what is this?"
At Dongbaek's question, Youngji-hyung chose his words for a moment.
What came out of his mouth was something rather abstract, yet intuitive.
"There are too many things in this world that wither away, aren't there?
A butterfly only wanted to rise lightly into the air, yet to have to leave life forever for that sin... I thought that was far too tragic."
"Could it be... you revived something dead...? Such technology is strictly tabooed by the Head..."
"No. The corpse remains as it was, but something has been overlaid upon it."
Yi Sang cleanly denied the possibility Dongbaek had raised.
Right, right. If that had been the case, the Claws would already have flown in and torn Guhinhoe apart the moment he started experimenting with it.
Immediately after hearing Yi Sang's words, Youngji-hyung affirmed it and continued his explanation.
"That's right. To be precise... it's a glass window.
Inside the window, the butterfly can now be free.
Even if its wings get wet while trying to cross a pond, even if it's seized in a hand and crushed to powder, even if it withers because it can't find flowers... the butterfly won't stop. And then, at last... someday in the distant future..."
"It will cross the sea as well, then. If that happens, will the butterfly no longer fear even the sea?"
Huh... was that Faust speaking just now?
Was that even possible?
No, rationally I knew it was just acting, but still, something about it...
My mind was briefly thrown into confusion, but what did that matter to everyone else?
Starting with Dongrang, the story continued.
"Amazing, Youngji. At this level, this technology could be used in countless ways."
"Youngji... is this technology really... something you made just for Nangsulhoe?"
At Dongbaek's oddly out-of-place question, Youngji-hyung asked back.
"What do you mean?"
"Sharing the techniques you've made after finishing your work in your own livelihoods, making time here and there as a hobby, and exchanging impressions with one another... wasn't that the meaning and romance of the Nangsulhoe our Guhinhoe had?"
"But this technique... doesn't seem like something made as a mere hobby."
Dongbaek's eyes, which had been steadily pressing him, suddenly widened.
"You... could it be... still because of what happened back then..."
"...Dongbaek... sees it that way... I'd like to hear your opinion too, Yi Sang."
"..."
Youngji-hyung shifted the target of his question to Yi Sang.
...What was he thinking? After keeping silent for a moment, Yi Sang soon opened his mouth.
"As Dongrang said, it would not be an exaggeration to call this a great first discovery.
However... if frost gathers on the glass window... the reflected subject will also appear equally blurred.
Therefore, the bars of the glass window... must be made sturdier and straighter."
"...Yi Sang, you saw this only once, and yet you have already pierced through its essence.
But I cannot think of a way to do that... so how about this?
Yi Sang, remake it in your own way."
"My own way..."
"Yes. At the next Nangsulhoe."
"Is it all right for me to handle a valuable... technique like a glass window?"
"That's not it. I'm suggesting it because it has value."
So this was the background behind the birth of the Mirror.
It was fascinating. To think a small group that was basically just a hobby club had two geniuses at that insane level in it.
A glass window that reflected possibility, and a mirror that could even interact with it... neither of them was normal.
Even so, somehow...
"That was warm and friendly."
Yes. Just as Ishmael said, it was warm and friendly.
As I was wondering how such a group had come to be that way, Dongrang's explanation came in at just the right moment.
"For a little while, it was good. Like we were on a trip. We thought that if we abandoned our homeland and set out for a new place, everything would be fine... but in the end, wherever you go, a place where people live is all the same."
...A place where people live is all the same? What was that supposed to mean...
Dongrang, having dropped that suspicious remark, turned toward the direction where Otis—Sangheo—was standing, as if to tell us something.
"Today... I saw something strange at the market."
Something strange. At that word, Dongrang reacted immediately and dramatically.
"Now I'm really curious. What is it, Sangheo?"
"This invention. Wasn't it something you made in Guhinhoe, Gakryong?"
"R-right... But why... are you even going around the market? Weren't we Guhinhoe, all bound together by trust and faith?"
"You seem to have forgotten Guhinhoe's nine rules."
Guhinhoe's nine rules?
However much Guhinhoe might be a hobby group, it couldn't possibly have no rules at all.
Those nine rules were probably the only rules Guhinhoe had.
"(Gu. A. Gu. Pfft. Nice.)"
"(Ryoshu! If you say something that isn't in the script, we're in trouble!)"
...What are these people doing?
Whether we traded banter through the gaps or not, Heathcliff kept up his clumsy acting.
"Tch... I know. You think I'd forget after making me memorize it word for word?
No technique made within Guhinhoe is to be distributed outside. Especially not so it gets stained by the smell of money.
But... if we don't pay the lab rent within six days, they'll seize everything, so what are we supposed to do?
We have to do something. With the money we make at the factory, we can barely keep food on the table.
We came over from S Corp with nothing but our empty bodies, all for the sake of research! What money are we supposed to use to pay the rent?"
At Gakryong's words through Heathcliff's mouth, I scratched my head, feeling a little awkward.
I mean, Seosan. Even without him, the one who moved to T Corp first, they probably would have crossed over to T Corp anyway, but it was true that he helped in the process, and I couldn't deny that post-move support had been lacking.
I, who was sharing his emotions, felt my stomach turn a little at the sight.
Soon after, a stiff, monotonous voice delivered the final blow.
"That is not incorrect. The reason we are taxed so heavily is precisely because we came over from S Corp.
In effect, they are demanding an amount we cannot possibly pay on a regular basis."
"...I can pay the money. So can we not simply bury this matter?"
With Yi Sang joining the serious discussion, Dongbaek jumped in surprise and asked, "Wait, why is this the first I'm hearing of it? Seizure? You knew too, Youngji? Say it yourself."
"I know you're excited, but mind your words with Youngji-hyung, Dongbaek."
"I'm fine, Sangheo.
Dongbaek, I was going to tell you as soon as it was settled. I figured you'd be the first to fly into a rage if it involved Guhinhoe.
And Yi Sang, I'm very grateful that you'd do that, but how could I accept it?"
"It is fine. What is accumulated is fleeting anyway. Please use it for Guhinhoe."
Oh... so Yi Sang was quite rich, then. If he could cover the research costs for nine people by himself.
Well, I could obviously do it too. How much money had I saved up after working there for more than a third of my life?
Most of the prisoners seemed to let their surprise pass in silence because of the rules of self-awareness depth, but one unexpected prisoner couldn't hold back and veered off course.
The bus's smart one. Ishmael. Come to think of it, this person can be a bit of a fool sometimes.
"Ehh? Wait, Yi Sang! You were that rich?"
"Haha, you should memorize your own lines properly, shouldn't you? The enemies will attack again."
"There's an idiot here who can't even read what's plainly written on paper."
"Ha..."
As Dongrang and Heathcliff gleefully mocked her after finding an opening, Ishmael glared at them with an irritated expression.
That was the end of it, since she had nothing to say back.
...But I do have something to say.
"...You're already certain a battle is coming, so what exactly are you laughing about? The three of you should go out there holding hands and raise your arms together. One person making a mistake doesn't mean the rest of you get to do whatever you want, you idiots."
"Ugh..."
"Ah, was that the issue?"
Heathcliff grimaced as if he'd been caught out, and Dongrang asked back with a pure expression.
...No matter how I look at it, he knew exactly what he was doing.
Is there no way to hit him once? How can a person be that infuriating?
"Hm? Why are you glaring like that? Did I do something wrong?"
...Should I just pretend it was an accident and smack him hard?
"..."
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