I thought I was just filming a video, but it turns out I had started a live broadcast. Blinking in disbelief, I retraced the steps of what I had done.

'Let’s see…'

I went outside, counted the fish in the pond, picked up trash and empty bottles. I even ran around the lawn chasing after a grasshopper. Although I didn’t do anything particularly embarrassing, a wave of uneasiness started to rise within me.

"Did I do anything weird?"

"No, you were just cute!"

"C-cute…?"

Me, cute? The idea seemed ridiculous. If they thought I was cute, it definitely meant I had looked strange. Feeling despair, I raised my hands to my head, and my ears drooped.

"Shall we turn off the broadcast first?"

"Yes…"

I carefully lowered my hands and lifted the smartphone. The screen was filled with unfamiliar chat messages scrolling by quickly.

- Do beast-kin normally eat bugs?

- I know the reptilian types do, but I don’t think the mammal ones do.

- Yeoreum, please take care of our Gyeoul ㅜㅜ The poor thing is eating bugs ㅜㅜ

- Ugh, Yeomyeong Guild…

- Still, her catching bugs was cute, admit it.

Was eating bugs really that weird? I sighed deeply and pressed the button to end the broadcast.

*Click.*

The screen turned off, but the chat messages continued to linger for a bit.

- Bye-bye, Gyeoul.

Someone’s farewell message flashed on the screen before I put the phone down. I sighed again, feeling a bit deflated.

"Why is Gyeoul sighing so much?"

"I'm worried that people thought I was strange."

"Hmm? I thought you were just cute. The scene of you catching that grasshopper was so interesting."

"I can’t imagine why…"

Me? Cute? Horrifying. I shook my head, rejecting what Yeoreum was saying, shoulders slumped.

"Why? What was weird?"

"I've never been called cute even once in my life…"

I wasn’t someone who could be described as cute. How ridiculous must I have looked for them to call me that? Feeling utterly drained, I started walking back toward the guild building.

'Well, whatever…'

Being ridiculed was part of my everyday life. I straightened my back and tried to walk with confidence, even though my ears and tail remained drooped. I decided to just ignore it.

"So, uh… did you enjoy taking pictures?"

"It was… alright."

"Oh, I see."

I could feel Yeoreum’s gaze on my back. After a moment of standing still, she quickly walked toward me.

"Gyeoul, how about trying a hobby next time?"

"A hobby?"

"Yeah. How about drawing?"

Drawing. It sounded like a typical hobby someone might enjoy at home. I nodded at Yeoreum.

"Okay."

"Alright. I’ll be back in ten minutes after I finish up something. You can go upstairs first if you like."

"Okay…"

---

"Phew."

Yeoreum, now sitting on a bench, wiped her face with her hands. She couldn’t help feeling a bit saddened, even though she thought she was already used to this.

"Ugh…"

How could an eight-year-old, who should be growing up surrounded by love, have never once been called cute? Despite many people telling Gyeoul she was cute, she kept insisting it couldn’t be true. Knowing what Gyeoul had been through, Yeoreum could only feel despair.

'This is all my fault.'

*Smack!*

Yeoreum slapped both of her cheeks, as if to snap herself out of it. The sound was loud enough to attract the attention of nearby people, including Jung Yu-na and Choi Jinhyuk.

"Yeoreum, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Jinhyuk, Yu-na, you’re here too."

Yeoreum considered keeping her guilt to herself, but then decided to share everything with them. She knew she would need everyone’s help to support Gyeoul.

"Well, you see…"

Yeoreum explained everything that had happened with Gyeoul, including how she reacted when people called her cute.

"She said it was the first time she’d ever heard that?"

"Yeah."

"...Considering what she’s been through, I guess it’s understandable that Gyeoul might react like that."

Jung Yu-na nodded, showing she understood the situation. Choi Jinhyuk, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

"So, what’s the plan now?"

"I’m thinking of helping her find something she likes. We’re going to try drawing together later."

"Drawing?"

Jung Yu-na and Choi Jinhyuk exchanged glances. After a moment, Jung Yu-na cautiously suggested something.

"Should we join you?"

"Join us?"

"Yeah. The more people who tell her she’s doing well, the more confident she’ll feel, right?"

"That’s true."

Everyone praising Gyeoul together—it was a bit obvious, but also the simplest approach. Yeoreum decided to go along with Jung Yu-na’s suggestion.

---

Drawing with someone as wealthy as Yeoreum… The idea made me shiver slightly.

'...If it feels too overwhelming, I should probably turn it down.'

I’d heard before that some paints could cost more than ten million won. And since Yeoreum was incredibly rich, she might use those kinds of paints without a second thought.

If it felt wrong, I’d just stick to using paper and pencils. As I resolved this in my mind, I heard footsteps approaching from outside. Not just one set—there were three.

'Who’s there?'

I perked up my ears, feeling tense. Someone opened the door, and I peeked around the corner to see who it was.

"Gyeoul."@@novelbin@@

"Oh."

It was Jung Yu-na and Choi Jinhyuk. The tension I felt slowly eased. They were comrades, people I had fought life and death battles with.

Excited, I ran toward them. For some reason, Yeoreum and Jung Yu-na exchanged silent smiles at my reaction.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Oh, it’s just nice to see a friend."

"A friend?"

Yeoreum being my friend made sense, but was Jung Yu-na my friend too? Overwhelmed with joy, I clasped my hands together as if in prayer.

"You’ll be my friend, right?"

"Of course, we’re already friends."

Yeoreum and Jung Yu-na. I now had two friends. Feeling emotional, I stood there in a daze until Yeoreum, who had already taken off her shoes, led me inside the house.

Sophia, Levinas, Jung Yu-na, Choi Jinhyuk, and Yeoreum were all there with me. The house was large, but with everyone here, it felt a bit cramped.

"Wow, there’s a lot of people…"

To think that all of these people were close to me—this was something I couldn’t have imagined a year ago.

As I gazed around at everyone with shining eyes, Yeoreum nudged my shoulder.

"Here, your drawing tools."

"Oh, thank you."

I took the tools Yeoreum handed me. They weren’t luxurious paints, as I had feared, but children’s crayons, colored pencils, and a sketchbook.

Wasn’t this a bit too childish? I held the tools in my arms and looked up at Yeoreum, but she just smiled, unaware that anything was wrong.

"What are you going to draw, Gyeoul?"

"Uh… I’m not sure."

Now that I thought about it, I wasn’t very good at drawing. Maybe I should just scribble something and call it a day. I sat down at the table and opened the sketchbook.

"Levinas wants to draw too…"

"Sure, Levinas can join us."

"Yay!"

"Is everyone going to join in?"

With a ripping sound, Yeoreum tore pages from the sketchbook and handed them out to everyone. This sudden art club was a bit unexpected, but I didn’t mind it.

I didn’t particularly enjoy drawing, but doing something with everyone like this was a new feeling for me.

'Maybe I’ll draw something I like.'

What did I like? I used to enjoy survival genres, especially zombie apocalypse stories.

Surviving day by day, not knowing when you might die, and using all kinds of survival knowledge to get by. That genre had fascinated me, and it helped me survive in this world too. There was something romantic about living deep in the wilderness under a tent.

'I’ll draw a zombie apocalypse.'

I started drawing a ruined city, with collapsed buildings on fire. I added some twisted zombies around them. Of course, my drawing skills were terrible, so it ended up looking like something a child might draw with crayons.

"Hmm…"

Finally, I drew myself as the lone survivor in the middle of the scene. I even included my white ears and tail to make it clear who it was.

'...Not great.'

Had I lost some skill after becoming a child? Or was I just rushing too much? My drawing skills seemed even worse than before.

I decided I would need to focus more and redraw it. Just as I was crumpling the poorly drawn picture, Yeoreum’s eyes widened.

"Why are you crumpling the picture?"

"It’s terrible."

"Come on, show it to me. Maybe it’s better than you think."

"...It’s really not."

Reluctantly, I unfolded the crumpled paper, feeling shy as everyone’s attention turned to me. I did it slowly, embarrassed by all the eyes on me.

Maybe it was because the paper was

 wrinkled, but the ruined world in my drawing looked even more chaotic. It was like a child from a zombie apocalypse had drawn it.

This was actually a pretty cool effect. Should I crumple it more? As I was thinking that, Yeoreum dropped the colored pencil she was holding, as if startled.

"There’s blood… and is that you in the middle?"

"Yes, that’s me."

"And the buildings are all destroyed…?"

"Yes. The world’s collapsed."

Everyone was staring at my drawing with their mouths slightly open. Even the usually stoic Choi Jinhyuk and Sophia seemed surprised. Maybe I was better at drawing than I thought.