Prologue Story

“Where should we go first?”

“I like the beach! We can build sandcastles and all~.”

“I want to go to the amusement park. What about you, Eun-ha?”

Sandcastles, amusement parks, both sound good. I smiled warmly.

Honestly, anything that could blow away this mood right now was fine.

My chest felt tight. My eyes burned. I felt like crying.

I suppressed those feelings and recalled what I wanted to do most since coming here.

“I want to ride a really tall slide!”

“But aren’t you afraid of heights?”

“There’s no time to look at the view on those! It’s fun, totally unrelated to a fear of heights!”

Just as if we were about to challenge the tallest slide, Chunho oppa stepped in to stop us.

“Nope. The tall slides have height restrictions. And you can’t just go on that right away. Play in the pool for a bit before you ride it, or you’ll get a heart attack.”

“Ugh, that’s so unfair.”

My friends grumbled, but since what he said made sense, I agreed and tried to calm the two down.

“He’s right. Let’s do that.”

“Ugh… fine.”

It seemed like there was also a separate wave pool with large waves, but we decided to start in the shallow area first.

We planned to enjoy ourselves slowly, beginning in the spot with the lowest water level and weakest currents.

The area was crowded with kids far more than adults.

Just as we were about to step into the water, Ji-hyun oppa grabbed In-ha’s shoulder.

“Wait, shouldn’t you take off your accessories before going in? I mean, items on your hands are one thing, but that necklace, for example.”

“…Ah.”

At his words, In-ha touched the silver necklace dangling along her pale neck.

Ji-hyun oppa extended his hand toward In-ha.

“If you wear something like that in the pool, it might float away. It’s just metal, right? It doesn’t seem enchanted, and it could rust.”

“You’re right. Ji-hyun oppa, could you hold onto it for me?”

“Sure.”

I sat at the edge of the pool, splashing my legs in the water, watching the two talk.

Wow, the vibe between them is so… icy, like a “cold-blooded couple” or an “ice duo,” maybe?

Apparently, Chunho oppa thought something similar, as he chuckled quietly while looking at them and whispered in my ear.

“Hey, look at that. Everyone, boys and girls alike, are just staring at those two.”

I nodded absentmindedly.

Everyone playing in the water was gazing at those two, regardless of gender.

“I can hear them whispering. They must think they’re models or celebrities.”

“Well, both of them are exceptionally good-looking.”

“Exactly. Even though In-ha’s still young, or maybe because she’s young, she’s as pretty as a doll. And Ji-hyun’s looks are better than most models. If they were wearing swimsuits, it’d be game over.”

Even Chunho oppa was attracting quite a bit of attention himself.

I glanced up at him briefly.

He was already in swimwear. His lean yet toned muscles stood out, and the tips of his hair were strikingly white.

Curious, I pointed at the white streaks in his hair and asked, puzzled.

“Why is just the side of your hair white? Is it dyed? Can hair even turn out like this from dye?”

“Hmm? No, it’s because of magic power. You probably haven’t learned this yet, but depending on the person, their body changes due to magic. Eye color or hair color can change, healing speed might improve, or they develop unique traits. My hair changed because of it.”

“Wow…!”

That was news to me.

Come to think of it, Chunho oppa’s magic color was silver and light green.

Like me, he was a rare magician with two magic colors.

Even the shape of his magic was unique—it looked like a storm of light green lightning encircling grayish silver magic.

It must be because of his magic colors that his hair turned this way.

“Is it fascinating?”

“It’s so fascinating!”

While I was marveling at this, In-ha handed her necklace to Ji-hyun oppa and came over to me.

In-ha smiled at me.

“Eun-ha, could you tie my hair for me?”

“Sure. Sit here.”

I sat her down in front of me and moved behind her.

When I asked if anyone had a comb, Chunho oppa nonchalantly pulled one out from a Pocket Dimension and handed it to me.

I carefully combed In-ha’s hair, being cautious not to let it fall into the pool.

As I was considering tying it up high, I hesitated for a moment.

With her wearing a white dress… braiding it would look best, wouldn’t it?

Thinking so, I asked her.

“In-ha, what do you think about braiding your hair?”

“Braiding it?”

“Yeah. It would suit your outfit perfectly.”

“Hmm… okay.”

“Great!”

It took a bit of time, but I diligently braided her hair.

People were still watching us.

Finally, I secured the end of her braid with a hair tie.

“Wow. You have an eye for this, kid! It looks really good!”

“Right?”

I beamed at Chunho oppa’s compliment.

Seriously, she looked absolutely beautiful!

In-ha blushed, smiling shyly at my praise.

Oh, some guy over there just got a nosebleed and fainted.

I shot a disapproving glare at the pervert before gently patting In-ha’s hair.

“Yep, this is perfect! It might get a bit messy while we play in the water, but that’s okay. Let’s head in now!”

“Okay.”

“Are you ready? Let’s go!”

“You three, don’t dive in. Get in slowly.”

“Yes!”

We carefully stepped into the kids’ wave pool.

The water only came up to an adult’s thighs, but for us, it reached our waists.

We were splashing in the wave pool, diving underwater, and enjoying ourselves for quite a while before we remembered our original purpose.

Min-hee pointed to the tall slide visible nearby and shouted.

“Then let’s go ride the slide now!”

“Alright!”

“If we find something fun on the way, don’t skip it—play with it!”

“Got it.”

As In-ha and Min-hee climbed out of the pool and began running across the wet, slippery path, I stopped them.

Don’t run! Wet paths are slippery! You’ll fall!

Hearing my warning, Ji-hyun oppa and Chunho oppa burst into laughter again, saying they had nothing to do.

“Min-hee mentioned it before, but wow, this kid really is a babysitter for the little ones.”

Ji-hyun oppa laughed and placed his arm on Chunho oppa’s shoulder.

I scratched my cheek in embarrassment.

That day, we conquered the entire pool area.

Through the Warp Hole, we visited every swimming pool on the island.

From places like the crocodile lake, the long wave river, and the big wave pool to the zero-gravity pool where water floated around.

We fully enjoyed the tall slides and even participated in a few events we came across along the way.

What was slightly awkward, though, was the constant attention we drew wherever we went because of how impressive our group looked.

Although I had grown somewhat used to this kind of attention from strangers after hanging out with In-ha and Auntie Suna, it still felt unpleasant.

Most of the time, Ji-hyun oppa would handle it by dismissing the attention.

But the truly outrageous moment came when a grown man boldly tried to flirt with In-ha.

Of course, Ji-hyun oppa and Chunho oppa scared him off with terrifying expressions.

After meeting up with our parents for lunch, parting ways, and playing some more, we finished our fun and returned to the Sky Island by sunset.

We decided to have dinner at the luxurious hotel we were staying in.

“Oh, right. Ji-hyun oppa, my necklace.”

“Your hair’s still wet.”

“But my hands are dry. I’ll just hold it in my hand.”

“Okay.”

With our parents around, the stares from others subsided somewhat.

When Auntie Suna went out for personal errands, she used perception-interference items, which was a huge relief.

Ji-hyun oppa pulled the necklace out of his Pocket Dimension and returned it to In-ha.

Jingle—it was the necklace I had crafted and gifted to In-ha two years ago.

Though I had been quite proud of it at the time, now that I looked at it, it seemed a little rough in its design.

I should refine it again someday.

The dark blue circular magic crystal dangling from it jingled softly.

Looking at it brought something to mind.

It was something I had never thought about before, but perhaps because I had recalled “that person” earlier today, it had resurfaced.

‘Here, take it. It’s your birthday gift.’

‘Hey, isn’t this the kind of thing people usually give on anniversaries? Like, for their 100th day together?’

‘I wanted to give it to you. Is that a problem?’

‘Why would it be a problem…? Wow, it’s pretty. It’s totally my style.’

‘I thought it would be.’

Then, sometime around my third year of high school, we had been forced apart due to unavoidable circumstances.

When that person suddenly disappeared, I assumed we had essentially broken up.

But I couldn’t forget.

I still loved him and kept the couple ring we shared with me.

Not that I openly wore it or carried it around.

I strung it on a necklace chain and kept it hidden close to my heart.

Later, we reunited—he, the son of an incredibly wealthy family, and me, a successful novelist.

I can’t forget.

Even after so much back and forth, we ended up dating again and were almost on the verge of marriage.

Even then, I continued to wear the ring on the necklace out of habit.

Ah, that necklace…

Realizing this, I suddenly felt a strange emptiness around my neck.

In my past life, I hadn’t gone a single day without wearing it.

Why had I completely forgotten about the ring until now?

I placed my hand over my chest and gripped tightly.

Once I realized it, a flood of longing and sorrow surged uncontrollably through me.

I walked silently, lost in thought.

Since I was usually quiet, no one seemed to notice anything unusual about me.

When I returned to my room, I changed my clothes and took a shower.

I tried to soothe the aching emptiness in my heart.

The dinner at the hotel was incredibly delicious.

The Western-style course meal was luxurious, melting in my mouth with each bite.

But even as I laughed and ate with my friends, the hollow feeling in my chest refused to go away.

I couldn’t sleep.

Eventually, I gave up and got out of bed.

Moving quietly, I slipped on my shoes and stepped outside.

The night sky greeted me as I emerged from the building.

Surprisingly, many people were outside.

I wandered around the area slowly.

Then, when I happened to look up, I was captivated by the countless stars filling the sky.

‘Beautiful? I’m glad to hear that.’

‘You’re acting strange today. Is it because I look cool?’

That was something from a dream!

A fleeting illusion that would disappear upon waking, yet even that refuses to fade.

The night sky seen from up here was so beautiful it brought me to tears.

I had loved stars in my past life too.

I loved them so much that I even included them in my dreamscape world.

That’s why I often went to places with great stargazing views on dates.

Poking his side playfully as he teased me about being flirtatious…

Drip, drip.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, gathering at my chin before falling to the ground.

Startled, I quickly wiped away the tears.

Not here. I couldn’t let myself cry here.

I needed somewhere private.

I needed a place to open my Pocket Dimension.

Mom was sensitive, so doing it in my room wasn’t an option.

In that case…?

But there was no way I could descend to the island below at this hour.

I scanned my surroundings for a secluded spot where no one was around.

How about over there…?

I crouched down behind a bush.

Even the starlight filtering through the trees felt romantic.

Carefully, I opened the goddess’s Pocket Dimension.

It had been such a long time since I last opened it.

I felt an unfamiliar yet peculiar magical energy emanating from the Pocket Dimension.

I focused on recalling a familiar shape within.

Moments later, I held the necklace with the ring attached in my hand.

‘Yes. This is enough.’

I whispered silently to myself as I placed the necklace around my neck.

The chain clasped together behind my neck.

I held up the ring hanging from the necklace and tried slipping it onto my finger.

Although well-maintained, the old and slightly worn ring was far too big for my current left ring finger.

“Ahaha. It’s so different…”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Without the Pocket Dimension, without this object, how could I believe that everything from my past life was real?

Because of this, I can still hope for you now.

I know.

For reasons I don’t yet understand, I know you must exist in this world.

I believe firmly that I’ll meet you again someday…

“I’m sorry…”

It must have been me who was wrong first.

It was also me who left first.

And yet, I miss you so desperately it feels cowardly.

But even so, I’ll wait.

For the moment when I’ll meet you again—I’ll keep waiting.

Because I still love you.

I looked up at the sky and shut my eyes tightly.

Once again, tears trickled down my cheeks and fell to the ground.

I swallowed the sobs threatening to escape me.

Taking a deep breath, I counted to myself.

One, two, three…

Eventually, my pounding heart settled down.

I stood up, brushing off the bits of fluff stuck to my clothes.

Parting through the bushes, I stepped back onto the path.

The night sky was still brilliantly lit with countless stars.

Perhaps because this was Sky Island, the stars were much clearer than usual.

As I walked, I tucked the necklace with the ring back under my shirt.

As I continued walking, I spotted a familiar figure not far away.

It was a man who seemed perfectly suited to the darkness.

As soon as I saw him, my expression twisted with unease.