Chapter 9: Have a first meeting

The first thing I learned when I arrived in Japan was that I could understand Japanese.

It was the same feeling as when I was at the zoo.

So, just in case this was also a special ability, I subtly mentioned it to Lee Hyejin.

“Oh, Angels can naturally understand and speak all languages.”

“What…?”

I was told something truly extraordinary.

What? You should have told me that beforehand…

As I stared blankly at Lee Hyejin with a dumbfounded expression, she scratched the back of her head with an awkward laugh.

It seemed she had completely forgotten.

‘Sometimes she’s reliable, but then at other times, not at all…’

I let out a small sigh and got into the car, guided by the group.

A total of 15 of us had come from Korea, and I still couldn’t understand why such a large number had come.

Anyway, we immediately headed to the location where the Japanese Angel was.

Honestly, since it was my first time in Japan, I really wanted to explore various places.

However, this wasn’t a pleasure trip but a situation where I had come to learn.

There was a set schedule of what needed to be done first, so I couldn’t throw a tantrum like a child.

“H-perhaps… when I’ve learned everything, can I look around?”

So, just in case, I asked the older man sitting next to me, who was part of the group from Korea but whom I had never met before.

“Hahaha! Of course! I’ll show you around the whole country wherever you want!”

He grinned broadly and promised generously.

He was a very grateful person.

Thanks to him, I smiled happily and gazed leisurely out the window.

New places and new encounters.

I felt my heart pounding.

What kind of person would the Japanese Angel be?

No, since it’s an Angel, is it not a person?

Anyway, I continued to gaze at the rapidly passing scenery outside, full of excitement.

Inside the luxurious black sedan, only silence flowed.

Lee Hyejin fidgeted uneasily in the suffocating atmosphere.

She really didn’t like the current situation.

Because there were only herself, Park Gyutae, and two Japanese Angel handlers present.

‘How dare they take my small, cute, adorable, precious Angel…!’

Her fists trembled involuntarily with anger.

It was a situation where the Angel, whom she naturally expected to be in the same car, had been taken by the higher-ups.

‘To have to travel with these three grim-looking men, leaving the Angel behind…’

She let out a small sigh and glanced at the Japanese handlers.

Both looked quite exhausted, thoroughly worn out by fatigue.

Their eyes were lifeless like frozen fish, and deep dark circles hung beneath them.

‘Does Japan not let its employees sleep?’

That thought spontaneously entered her mind.

Just looking at them made her feel gloomy.

She sighed deeply again and shifted her gaze to the window.

After a long while again.

The Japanese Angel handler, who hadn’t spoken a single word until then, suddenly opened his mouth.

The language that came out of his mouth was surprisingly Korean.

“… Did you read the handling precautions we sent in advance?”

Korean with the distinctive slurred batchim pronunciation unique to Japanese speakers.

Despite that, there was no hindrance whatsoever in understanding, and Park Gyutae replied from beside her.

“Ah, yes. I read them.”

Handling precautions.

They were methods of response based on the Angels’ desires.

Since each Angel had different desires, what needed to be heeded varied by country.

Anyway, she had already read them, as the Japanese side had requested her to familiarize herself with them and sent them over.

However, the problem was…

‘Huh, I-I can’t quite remember…’

It was quite difficult to memorize everything in such a short period.

‘Does Senior Park remember everything…?’

She subtly glanced at Park Gyutae, then urgently tried to recall the time she had read the handling precautions.

When the Angel fell asleep and she returned to the care staff office, Park Gyutae picked up an envelope on the desk and said,

“Oh? What, this came?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“This? Angel handling precautions.”

“Huh? We don’t have anything like that yet.”

Lee Hyejin tilted her head in confusion.

“Ah, this is Japan’s.”

“Japan’s?”

“You know, we’re going to Japan this time. They sent it so we could familiarize ourselves with it beforehand.”

“Ah~”

Rip-

As Lee Hyejin nodded slightly, Park Gyutae tore open the envelope and pulled out the contents.

“What are you doing? Sit next to me. Let’s read it now.”

“I’m tired, can’t I read it tomorrow…?”

“……”

“Oh~ Of course, I’m just kidding.”

And so, the two began to read what was called the precautions.

[ Japanese Angel Handling Precautions (Ver. 4) ]

• This is a compiled version of content analyzed from XX date to XX date.

• The contents listed may be adjusted or revised at any time.

• Please strictly adhere to the listed contents.

[ Jealousy ]

First Principle: Prevent elements that could cause jealousy/envy as much as possible in advance.

• Do not laugh and talk friendly with others more than with the Angel.

• Absolutely do not act stiffer or more awkward with the Angel than with others.

• Do not carelessly bring up stories of others.

• If there is a comparison object, always elevate the Angel.

• When explaining or talking about something, talk centered around the Angel.

At the contents, they looked at each other with extremely bewildered expressions.

“T-this… Isn’t this just a Neapolitan horror story…? Or is it…? SCP, perhaps…”

“… Y-yeah. I heard rumors, but I didn’t know it would be this much…”

“Ugh… What is this…!”

Lee Hyejin let out a small shriek, and the recollection ended.

“You didn’t just fall asleep, did you?”

Just as Lee Hyejin emerged from her recollection, Park Gyutae asked from beside her.

His gaze was full of suspicion.

“No, what do you take me for…”

“It’s because it’s you that I’m saying this.”

“Me? Honestly… that’s really absurd.”

Lee Hyejin glared subtly at Park Gyutae, then suddenly curious, she asked the Japanese handler.

“By the way, about those precautions. What happens if you can’t follow them?”

Of course, it wasn’t that she couldn’t remember everything and felt she couldn’t follow them, so she wanted to take out insurance.

It was pure curiosity. Probably.

Anyway, the Japanese handler pondered for a moment and then muttered softly.

“… You die.”

“What!?”

“Yes!?”

At that, both Park Gyutae and Lee Hyejin’s eyes widened in alarm, and then the Japanese handler suddenly let out a small laugh.

“Haha, just kidding.”

“Oh, n-no, what kind of joke is that…”

He was a man whose sense of humor was as dull as his face.

As Lee Hyejin glared, dumbfounded, he continued.

“Well, you could still be tormented to the point of wanting to die if you’re not careful, so it would be good to be cautious.”

“Ah, yes…”

Tormented to the point of wanting to die… What is this again?

What on earth happens to make someone feel that way?

Lee Hyejin tilted her head.

Then, this time, the Japanese side asked back.

“But, the Korean side didn’t send us the Angel’s precautions. Was it omitted, perhaps? We requested it twice.”

“What? Ah, we informed you that we don’t have precautions yet… Did you not receive that communication?”

“… Yes?”

When Park Gyutae replied, the Japanese handler looked surprised.

It was a face as if a small question mark was vividly floating above his head.

“… Wasn’t it simply that information was lacking because the Angel hasn’t been awake for long?”

“No…? It was truly just that there aren’t any. Not yet, anyway.”

“……”

For a moment, an immense multitude of emotions flashed across the Japanese handler’s face.

But among them, one emotion was particularly vivid.

It was ‘envy.’

“Wow…”

I looked up at the building before me and unconsciously let out an exclamation.

It felt like I had just been exclaiming all day today.

But there was no way I wouldn’t be surprised by a palace-like building that seemed to reach the sky.

I truly never thought I would come to a place like this in my life.

It was a building that exuded such overwhelming majesty, and because of it, I felt completely intimidated from the entrance.

I was being utterly overwhelmed by its grandeur.

And so, I, completely shrunken, began to move, guided by the Japanese handlers.

Soon, an incredibly massive door, as huge as the entrance, appeared, and the Japanese handlers knocked “knock-knock” on the door and said,

“Angel~! The Korean Angel has arrived~”

The voice was unexpectedly very cheerful.

‘Huh…? That wasn’t the image at all…’

Because of that, I was a little flustered.

Both Japanese handlers had seemed quite calm and composed.

They didn’t seem like the type to use such cheerful voices, or so I thought…?

‘It’s probably just my prejudice…’

Judging people by their appearance was definitely a bad habit.

I quickly realized my mistake and shook my head.

“Come in~!”

At that moment, a clear, ringing little girl’s voice came from inside the room.

Following that reply, the Japanese handlers began to open the door.

“Oh~!? You’re the youngest, aren’t you!? Hello~!?”

For the first time, I came face to face with another Angel.

A girl with silver hair and silver eyes, just like mine.

With an Angel ring and Angel wings, she looked exactly like a twin.

If I had to find and list some differences, she appeared to be a bit older than me, around 10 years old in appearance, and her hair was tied in low pigtails.

“Ah, hello.”

Since the other party greeted first, I also bowed my head and greeted in return.

Even though the other party was clearly a child, the aura I felt from her was so immense that I unconsciously used formal language.

‘But she’s calling me the youngest…?’

Meanwhile, that suddenly bothered me.

Hearing myself called the youngest by a child felt strangely peculiar, more than I had expected.

Well, I heard that I was the last Angel to awaken, so it wasn’t wrong.

‘The Japanese Angel has been awake for 5 years, they said…? So, 5 years old…?’

Anyway, the girl approached me with large strides, clearly very excited.

As I swallowed hard, feeling a little nervous at her demeanor,

Thump.

The girl, who had come right up to me, placed her hand on my head.

“……?”

W-what is it…?

I looked up at the girl, bewildered by the sudden situation.

Then, the girl smiled brightly and began to vigorously stroke my head from side to side.

“Aw, how cute~!”

“……”

This was my first meeting with the Japanese Angel.