An hour passed, and Aeryun remained fast asleep inside the giant fish structure.

Eventually, a crowd of children gathered outside it.

At the same time, Rin was passing through the park. Earphones plugged in, as she headed home from a study session at Liora's house.

Curious about the commotion, she made her way toward the crowd.

The moment she looked inside the fish structure, her eyes widened.

Aeryun was lying motionless.

Several children were gathered around her.

Some were sprinkling water on her face.

Others were trying to shake her awake.

One child even leaned closer to check whether she was still breathing.

Nothing seemed to work.

“I think she's dead!” one boy screamed.

“Let's call the police!”

“I already did!” another child exclaimed.

Rin was mortified.

She immediately pushed through the crowd.

“Move!”

Grabbing a water bottle from one of the children, she splashed water across Aeryun's face.

Aeryun jolted awake with a loud gasp.

“What the—?!”

By then, a police officer had already arrived.

He looked between the crowd and Aeryun.

“What happened here?” he asked.

Aeryun blinked.

“What happened?” she repeated.

The officer frowned.

“Do you remember how you got here? Did you lose consciousness?”

Aeryun opened her mouth, then quickly leaned toward Rin and whispered,

“I got locked out of my house and decided to take a nap.”

Rin stared at her.

Then she turned to the officer.

“Maybe she fainted from dehydration,” she suggested. “It's really hot today.”

Aeryun nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes, exactly. It's way too hot outside. I came here for the shade, and I think I passed out.”

The officer seemed satisfied with the explanation.

“Do you need a ride home?” he asked.

“No, thank you,” Aeryun replied quickly.

Once the officer stepped aside to speak with the children, Aeryun turned to Rin.

“Thank you for helping me out.”

She lowered her voice.

“If everyone found out I was just sleeping and not actually unconscious, I'd become the talk of the town.”

Suddenly, the police officer turned around.

Both girls froze.

Rin leaned closer and whispered,

“Do you think he heard that?”

Aeryun swallowed.

“No clue.”

Then she paused.

“I hope not.”

Another pause.

“He can't arrest me for lying, can he?”

The officer raised an eyebrow.

Aeryun immediately looked away.

“Just make sure you carry a bottle of water with you at all times,” he said. “And take care of yourself.”

Aeryun nodded obediently.

“Sure. I will.”

Rin let out a relieved laugh.

“Well, that felt like a close call.”

Right on cue, Aeryun's stomach growled loudly.

Rin glanced down.

“You can come to my house if you're hungry.”

“Please don't worry about me,” Aeryun replied. “I'll manage.”

“Just come with me before you faint for real,” Rin shot back. “Besides, my mom is an amazing cook. You'll love her food.”

Aeryun immediately straightened up.

“Let's go eat some food!”

Then she paused.

“But wait... are you sure about this?”

“About what?”

“Myeora.”

Rin sighed.

“I knew you'd say that.”

“I mean, she'll probably be upset if she sees you talking to me or helping me,” Aeryun explained. “I don't want you getting into trouble because of me.”

“I'll manage,” Rin replied calmly. “And I'm not doing anything wrong, so I have no reason to be scared.”

Aeryun smiled.

“Well, when you put it like that, let's go.”

As they walked out of the park, they nearly crossed paths with Liora and Kang Kyuri.

Liora noticed them first.

A smirk appeared on her face.

“Oh,” she said. “Your new friend.”

Rin nodded.

“Yes.”

“Well, Kyuri and I were about to grab coffee,” Liora replied. “Want to join us?”

“Not today,” Rin said apologetically. “I need to get home. You guys go ahead.”

“Suit yourself.”

The two girls continued walking.

Before leaving, Liora glanced at Aeryun.

It wasn't exactly a hostile look.

More like she was evaluating her.

Calculating something.

Then she walked away.

Aeryun watched her disappear into the crowd.

“Wow.”

“What?”

“She talked about me instead of to me.”

Rin laughed.

“I find her kind of mysterious.”

“Well,” Rin replied, “that's Liora for you.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, sacks of ingredients were being weighed, packed, and loaded into the truck.

After taking the bus, Aeryun and Rin got off near Rin's neighborhood and began walking down the bustling market street.

The two spent most of the journey laughing and chatting.

While helping workers load sacks into the truck, Tae suddenly heard a familiar laugh.

A very familiar one.

The kind of laugh that was impossible to ignore.

He instinctively looked up.

Aeryun.

She was walking beside Rin, completely absorbed in whatever story she was telling.

Tae found himself smiling.

How is she always laughing?

Then he shook his head and returned to helping divide the weight between the sacks.

Aeryun stared at the endless rows of shops around them.

“So,” she asked excitedly, “what are we shopping for today?”

“Nothing,” Rin replied.

“We're heading home.”

Aeryun stopped walking.

“Wait.”

She looked around dramatically.

“There are homes here?”

Rin blinked.

“...Yes?”

“That's crazy!”

Aeryun pointed at the stores.

“I've been coming here for years and never knew people actually lived here.”

Rin laughed.

“Well, our entrance is at the back. We basically live above the shop.”

“That's the coolest thing I've ever heard.”

A few moments later, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed above the store.

Aeryun and Rin raced up the stairs together.

Hearing the noise, Noh Taesung looked up from the loading area.

Mr. Mansu and Tae did the same.

Taesung chuckled.

“That's my daughter.”

Tae looked impressed.

“Wow. You have a house on top of your shop?”

“Of course.”

“That's so cool.”

Mr. Mansu laughed.

“He's a city boy. Everything is new to him.”

“Ah.”

Taesung nodded in understanding.

The three men resumed loading ingredients into the truck.

Upstairs, Rin called out,

“Mom!”

No answer.

“Mom?”

Still nothing.

Rin sighed.

“Looks like she's not home yet.”

Then she turned to Aeryun.

“Do you want to see the shop? I need to talk to my dad for a minute.”

“Yes!”

Aeryun replied instantly.

“I love seeing places I'm not supposed to be in.”

“You're allowed to be here.”

“Even better.”

The two headed downstairs.

“Hello,” Aeryun greeted Taesung politely.

“Hello.”

He smiled warmly.

Rin immediately asked,

“Where's Mom?”

“She went to the store a few shops down the street,” he replied. “She'll be back soon.”

As they spoke, Aeryun noticed one of the workers struggling with a heavy sack.

Without thinking, she rushed over.

“Need help?”

Before the worker could answer, she grabbed one side of the sack.

Instant regret followed.

“Wow.”

She nearly collapsed.

“This is much heavier than I expected.”

The worker laughed.

“You don't have to—”

“No, no.”

Aeryun gritted her teeth.

“I've already committed.”

Together, they carried the sack toward the truck.

Unfortunately, it was far heavier than Aeryun had anticipated.

Halfway there, her arms began shaking.

“Okay.”

Strain.

“A little help would be nice.”

More strain.

“A lot of help would be nice.”

The sack suddenly slipped.

“Move away!”

Aeryun shouted.

“Make way!”

The sack lurched forward.

Just before it could crash to the ground, a pair of hands caught it.

Tae.

He steadied the weight with ease.

At that exact moment, Rin's mother returned carrying bags of vegetables.

The moment she saw the scene unfold, the bags slipped from her hands and landed on the floor with a loud thud.