NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Eunha (3)
A day like any other.
A day that was nothing special.
"Great work today~!"
"You too, Bangwool."
At 5 PM, after closing the café and finishing the table cleaning, Eun Bangwool and Eunha sat across from each other at a table near the register, just as they had in the morning, enjoying a brief coffee time.
The start and end of the daily routine—precious moments spent with the adorable rabbit, Eun Bangwool.
The bittersweet scent of coffee lingered in the air, and the girl's light humming filled the quiet café.
Perhaps this was what it felt like to have one's heart cleansed. Even the lingering gloom from failing the Hunter Promotion Exam gradually melted away.
Eunha leaned back into the soft chair, savoring the warm atmosphere of the café.
On the table sat a caramel macchiato and an Americano.
Sipping the sweet caramel macchiato, Eunha casually chatted with Eun Bangwool.
Naturally, the topic was yesterday’s "Hunter Promotion Exam."
Thanks to the girl, Eunha's mood had improved somewhat, and their conversation remained lighthearted.
"In the end, even the gym didn't help. And you even hired a Hunter-specialized trainer, didn’t you?"
"He ended up giving me a refund, saying there was no point. No matter how much weight training I did, my muscles wouldn’t grow. He told me to go to a hospital first."
"As expected, the [Self-Healing] skill is the problem. Whether you like it or not, your body always returns to its 'original state,' so you’ll never be able to move past being soft and squishy."
Eun Bangwool pouted, kneading Eunha’s palm, which lacked even a single callus.
Her hands had been torn and blistered countless times before.
Yet, the [Self-Healing] skill never allowed Eunha to develop any calluses.
Her skin always remained soft and smooth.
So much so that it was hard to believe an adult's skin could be this tender.
That was how she had earned the nickname "Soft-Fist of Euncheon District."
And this fact left behind a different kind of callus—one on Eunha’s heart.
A callus in her heart.
The kind that made her keep standing up, no matter how many times she fell.
…Though, after failing the promotion exam 30 times, maybe it was time to stop getting back up.
But since she still had the strength to stand, she had no reason to stay down.
At the very least, stamina was something she could be proud of.
Eunha chose to think positively.
"Thanks to [Self-Healing], at least I never gain weight. Isn’t it great that I can eat whatever I want?"
"Oh! That’s actually kind of nice! To be honest, I like it too. You're perfectly soft and plush, so hugging you is really comforting!"
"Are you treating me like a cuddle pillow?"
"Wasn’t I supposed to?"
"Pretty sure you weren’t."
Eunha chuckled as Eun Bangwool laced their fingers together, her small hands warm and gentle.
As Eunha smiled and held them in return, the girl's pure white rabbit ears twitched excitedly, sending the light brown baker's hat she was wearing flying off her head.
The exhaustion from failing the promotion exam seemed to fade away.
Eunha picked up the fallen hat and handed it back to her.
……
…… Flicker. Flicker.
How much time had passed?
Suddenly, the café lights flickered, cutting their conversation short.
Frowning, Eunha looked up at the ceiling.
Flicker. Flicker.
A cold draft brushed against the back of her neck.
Whether it was because of the wind or something else, the café windows rattled noisily.
Eunha shifted her gaze away from Bangwool and glanced around.
Flicker... Flicker...
The once-cozy café now flickered between darkness and light, like a scene straight out of a horror movie.
A chilling air swept through the space, lowering the temperature.
Eun Bangwool, now on edge like a wary rabbit, perked her white ears and scanned the surroundings anxiously.
…Tinkle—♪
And then, just as Eunha furrowed her brows at the strange, creeping chill…
The café door suddenly swung open.
Something clad in black strode inside, its heavy footsteps echoing through the room.
Thud… Thud…
The footsteps were heavier than those of dress shoes—closer to the weight of military boots.
The figure was like a blot of ink on a pure white canvas.
A stain of unease spreading across the once-peaceful café.
'A customer?... But I’m sure I locked the door.'
Eunha set down her now-cold coffee and frowned.
The café had closed at 5 PM. She had locked the entrance and even hung up the "Close" sign.
Yet someone had walked right in…
They must have really wanted a cup of coffee.
Trying to shake off the unsettling atmosphere, Eunha forced herself to think about something trivial and put on a sleepy-looking smile as she turned to face the visitor.
『…….』
A strange person.
Glossless black shoes, a perfectly pressed black suit.
Under the suit, another black shirt—topped off with a black tie.
And on their head, a black gat.
Hanging from the edge of the hat was an upside-down *white cross*, swinging gently like an ornament.
It was impossible to determine their gender. A woman, perhaps?
The shadow of the gat concealed their face entirely.
Strangely, the darkness beneath the hat was deeper than it should have been, as though someone had spilled ink beneath it.
It was so pitch-black that not even a hint of facial features could be seen.
Like a beautiful ink painting intentionally ruined by an intrusive blot of ink—
Everything about this person was black.
Flicker. Flicker.
Under the eerily flickering lights, the figure stood still.
Staring directly at Eunha.
Their face was obscured, yet Eunha could *feel* the gaze.
It was the kind of look one would give a tiny hamster resting in the palm of their hand—
The gaze of someone watching a small, insignificant creature.
A strange customer.
"…We’re closed for the day. Could you come back tomorrow?"
『……….』
"Haa... *cough.* Are you here to order something?"
Her chest felt tight, forcing her to take a deep breath.
Cold. It felt like winter had suddenly arrived.
The café windows were now coated in a thin layer of frost.
Rubbing the goosebumps on her arms, Eunha kept her eyes fixed on the figure.
Was this what it felt like to come face-to-face with a ghost from a horror movie?
She didn’t dare look away.
Something told her that if she so much as blinked, that thing would lunge at her with some bizarre, unnatural movement.
‘What the hell is happening? A villain attack? But I was supposed to play with Bangwool after finishing my coffee. What even is that? What am I supposed to do…?’
In the eerily darkened café, Eunha’s mind raced.
Just moments ago, everything had been peaceful—what kind of sudden disaster was this?
*Crunch…*
The frost that had formed on the windows painted them white, blocking out the view of the outside.
For the temperature to drop this much in May was far from normal. Someone was using a *skill* to lower the café’s temperature.
Could this be a villain attack? Just like that, out of nowhere?
She had seen news reports about the rise in random villain attacks lately, but she had hoped those incidents would stay confined to the TV screen.
Now that it was happening right in front of her, her mind refused to function properly.
‘…First, Bangwool.’
The first thing that came to mind was the girl’s face, her white rabbit ears twitching.
Snapping out of her daze, Eunha bit down on her lip.
Whatever was happening, she had to protect Eun Bangwool.
She was precious family.
With a sinking feeling in her chest, she moved.
It wasn’t that she had overcome her fear—rather, desperation had momentarily pushed it aside.
Without taking her eyes off the black-clad *thing,* Eunha reached across the table for Bangwool.
*Grab.*
Fortunately, her hand found a wrist.
A slender, delicate wrist.
Desperate to anchor herself, she clutched it tightly, hoping to push the fear away.
……
But the wrist she grabbed was—
Hard.
Cold.
Like a corpse frozen to death.
"…Who are you?"
『Finally, you’ve reached me.』
The *thing* that Eunha had grabbed spoke.
Sitting across the table, it exhaled a breath as cold as a winter wind.
A voice that rose from the depths of a dark well.
A sound more like an animal’s cry than human speech.
Something *not human* had wrapped itself in human skin, mimicked a human voice, and was now speaking to Eunha.
She hadn’t noticed at all.
*Clench…*
Unable to suppress the shudder crawling up her spine, she balled her hands into fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
If she clenched her teeth, she was sure they would chatter, so instead, she pressed her lips tightly together.
She had no idea what was happening anymore.
Eunha decided to stop breathing.
Maybe if she passed out from lack of oxygen, at least she wouldn’t have to deal with this.
『Little child. Lost child.』
『You, too, have strayed from reason.』
The *thing* whispered into her ear.
Its cold breath trailed along her cheek, clinging to her skin like thick, sticky blood.
*Grab—*
She was the one who had grabbed its wrist—
But before she realized it, the *thing* was now holding *her* wrist.
Was it amused by her shock? The *thing* chuckled.
Its laughter carried the scent of blood.
*Squelch— Squelch— Squelch—*
The sound of something wet and heavy slapping against the windows.
Against the frost-covered glass, transparent handprints appeared.
One by one… until the large café windows were covered in them.
As if pleading to be let inside, *they* pounded relentlessly on the glass.
The windows, on the verge of shattering.
The fluorescent lights, flickering so intensely they hurt the eyes.
The overwhelming cold, enough to make one’s stomach churn.
All of it disoriented Eunha’s senses.
The overwhelming stimuli blurred her vision, deafened her ears.
『…….』
Yet, amidst the growing chaos, the *black figure* standing at the café entrance—
As if it were the very center of the world—stood unmoving, its gaze fixed solely on Eunha.
*Crack…*
Beyond fear, there was something almost reverential about the presence of that *thing.*
And behind it, the faint outline of an inverted cross seemed to flicker.
‘That black figure… I saw it. In the déjà vu from my accident yesterday… At the very end…’
She didn’t know anymore.
She just wanted them to hurry up and place a coffee order and leave.
Eunha, still held by the *thing,* kept her eyes locked on the black figure standing by the entrance.
The *black figure* at the café door.
The *thing* sitting across the table.
Who were they, and why the hell were they loitering in a closed café?
She was on the verge of tears—this was a whole new kind of nightmare customer.
*Grab. Grab. Grab.*
Cold hands reached out.
One seized her other wrist, another wrapped around her waist.
Then more—gripping her thighs, ankles, knees, shoulders.
Before she knew it, the *thing* had slipped behind her, its arms closing around her.
Countless hands held her down.
And from behind, something *not human* whispered—trying to sound human.
『Finally, I have reached you, child.』
Cold hands.
Like the silent snow piling on rooftops. Like quiet drizzle soaking into the earth.
Before she even realized it, *they* had drawn close—making their presence known.
*Grab—*
And then,
The *thing’s* cold hands reached forward—
And covered Eunha’s eyes.
Darkness fell.
『We have been waiting for you.』
Darkness was always the same.
There was nothing.
……
……
"…Hey. Hello? Are you listening?"
"…?"
Eunha snapped back to reality.
Blinking in confusion, she found herself staring at the rabbit girl shaking her shoulder.
Eun Bangwool’s warm hand rested against her.
Eunha’s own fingers, still trembling, had turned as cold as a corpse.
"…Huh? What was that just now?"
"What was what?"
"I don’t know."
Eunha, still dazed, sat blankly at the café table.
She only managed to respond to Bangwool’s voice a few moments later.