Chapter 41: Go to a theme park.

It had already been a week since I became the laziest person in the world and lived my daily life.
A week was, of course, a long time,
and quite enough time for me to adapt to my changed state.

For example, like now…

“Angel, say ‘ah~’.”

Even to this act of Lee Hyejin trying to feed me bingsu.

Ah—

I was, to some extent, obediently complying without much resistance.
Of course, the biggest reason was that it was too much trouble to eat myself….

Munch, munch.

Anyway, as I slowly chewed the mango chunks,
my eyes met Lee Hyejin’s, who was immersed in happiness.

‘… What on earth makes her so happy?’

How to describe it, a very questionable sight.
For some reason, she always had that expression these days.

For the record, I had naturally known for a long time that she liked me quite a bit.
Nevertheless, I didn’t quite understand that expression in this situation.

Because, if I had to feed bingsu to someone else like this,
I would certainly have been making a tearful face, unlike Lee Hyejin.
‘Professionalism as a care manager… is that it…?’

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if Lee Hyejin had such a thing,
but as I considered it quite remarkable for now.

“Angel, ah~.”

Ah—

Munch, munch.

Lee Hyejin smiled brightly and fed me bingsu again.

‘Well… she looks fine, so it probably doesn’t matter, right?’

Anyway, on the surface, there seemed to be no problems with the situation.
So, I decided not to think about it any deeper.

Today too, relying on Lee Hyejin’s hand for everything,
I spent my time leisurely as usual.

A life terribly lazy, with not an ounce of self-reliance.
Even thinking about it myself, I instinctively felt that people watching would find it frustrating.

‘… But what can I do? I’m sloth, after all….’

I was just living up to my name.
It was unavoidable, as I was born this way.

That’s when it happened.

Click.

The sound of the door suddenly opening was heard.
I just rolled my eyes and saw that Park Gyutae was somehow wearing a very troubled expression.

‘Hmm… is something wrong…?’

Naturally, concern arose at his appearance.
Park Gyutae was one of the people who had looked after me for a long time and lived with me.
It could be said that we were close, almost like family.

So, it was natural to be concerned at his appearance,
and I immediately asked him the reason… no, I didn’t.

‘Hyejin will ask, right…?’

Yes, I passed because I was bothered.
Did it seem a bit too much? I thought so slightly.

‘… Hyejin will ask.’

Lee Hyejin, who fiddled with my palm all day, was also family,
and I thought if she asked, it would be no different than me asking.

“Huh? What’s wrong with your expression, Senior?”

Anyway, as expected, Lee Hyejin asked,
and Park Gyutae sighed deeply.

“Huh? Uh… how should I explain this?”

“Oh, come on, what is it? Stop building up the atmosphere and just tell me quickly.”

“Hey… you’re saying a bit too much lately, aren’t you…? I’m your senior, after all.”

“Oh, come on! We’re family now. What’s with senior and junior?”

“…….”

Park Gyutae stared blankly at Lee Hyejin with an exasperated expression, then sighed deeply again.
It was a sigh that conveyed a sense of resignation, as if he had given up.

“I just heard from the director that they want us to produce a promotional video to globally announce Angel’s changed appearance.”

“… Huh? Suddenly?”

“Something came up from the higher-ups yesterday, she said? Anyway, they said it’s necessary from now on.”

“Hmm… a promotional video, huh….”

Lee Hyejin stroked her chin, deeply recalling something, then continued.

“But what? It’s nothing special, so why did you create such an atmosphere?”

“…… No, when did I ever create an atmosphere….”

“I thought something really big had happened. Right, Angel?”

Lee Hyejin suddenly asked me.
Because of that, Park Gyutae’s gaze naturally turned towards me,
and honestly, since I somewhat agreed, I nodded slightly.

Indeed, Park Gyutae often overthought things unnecessarily.
Even last time, when he was going to hold me, he hesitated for a long time,
and how embarrassing and humiliating that was for me.

Of course, I wasn’t going to quibble about something that had already passed, but.
At that time, it was definitely Park Gyutae’s fault.

“Th-that can’t be….”

Anyway, as expected, Park Gyutae was greatly shocked,
and at his appearance, Lee Hyejin clucked her tongue, ‘Tsk tsk.’

“Promotional video? Ugh, what’s so hard about that? Just filming Angel’s soft cheeks right now would complete it. Honestly, it’s hard to work with normal people like this.”

… Hmm, right, right… uh… what?
What? Why is my cheek suddenly mentioned?

I had been quietly taking her side inwardly, when Lee Hyejin suddenly hit me on the back of the head.
I had momentarily forgotten that she was a monster, neither friend nor foe.
Lee Hyejin, in a frenzy, began to murmur without stopping.

“There’s so much to film. Her nodding off and swaying every morning, her munching mango bingsu with her small mouth, her gentle smile in the sunlight, her reaching out her arms to be hugged, her tiny teeth, soft skin, light, cute, kind, lovely…….”

A surprisingly long murmur that showed no signs of ending.
Even considering it was praise, it was honestly a bit creepy, so as I listened, this thought naturally came to mind.

‘Th-this person… she must have finally gone crazy….’

Naturally, Park Gyutae and I made the same disgusted expression, as if on cue.
After a long while, when Lee Hyejin finished speaking and wore a proud expression, Park Gyutae immediately conveyed his honest impression.

“Hey, you’re really like a pervert….”

“Huh…? Why me? People usually like her this much.”

“W-what nonsense are you talking about…? Ah! I get it now. You’re actually an assassin from overseas, trying to ruin our country’s image.”

“Oh, come on… what are you saying? Don’t overreact so embarrassingly.”

“…….”

As expected, Lee Hyejin retorted brazenly, completely unaware of her own issues.
At that, Park Gyutae’s eyes widened, and he was seen mouthing words, speechless.

To me, his expression was exactly like, ‘That’s embarrassing, but what you said isn’t embarrassing…?’
So, I gave Park Gyutae a little advice for his sake.

Stop it, Gyutae. She really doesn’t seem to know.
I’ve experienced it; the longer you talk to her, the more we lose.

“…….”

Ah, of course, talking was too much trouble, so I did it telepathically.
I couldn’t actually use telepathy, but since we were family, he must have understood.

Another day passed.
In a groggy state, from morning, I was held in Lee Hyejin’s arms,
and diligently moved somewhere by car.

I heard that today’s schedule was filming a promotional video,
and the destination was the newly created theme park.

‘Theme park…?’

It was a place I had never visited in my life, so for the first time in a long while, I felt a little excited.

It wasn’t that I intended to run around and play, though.
It just so happened that I had barely gone out recently,
so even just sightseeing while being held in Lee Hyejin’s arms seemed quite enjoyable.

Anyway, we arrived at the theme park shortly after.

‘… Huh?’

I had been fully expecting it to be a place similar to an amusement park.
Naturally, I was greatly flustered the moment I got out of the car.

‘…… W-what is this… What on earth….’

That’s because I had never heard that the theme park’s name was ‘Korean Angel Theme Park’.
And I had no idea my face would be on a huge signboard.

‘This… this is 100% Gilsu and Hyejin’s doing….’

Two faces immediately came to mind upon seeing it.
My instincts told me they were the culprits.

However, knowing that didn’t mean I could do anything.
It wasn’t possible to tear down this place that had already been built,
and everyone walking around seemed happy.

This was clearly my theme park, but somehow only I was unhappy….
It was a strange theme park where if I sacrificed myself, everyone would be happy.

Thanks to that, I sighed deeply internally, somewhat resigned.
Lee Hyejin explained while looking at the signboard with a map on it.
As expected, she was the culprit.

“Actually, there are still many unfinished parts, but if I were to tell you about the three main attractions here, the one I recommend most is this, ‘Angel’s Path’!”

Angel’s Path…?
The name itself sounds a bit unsettling….

I felt a bad premonition as soon as I heard it,
but Lee Hyejin, full of excitement, continued to explain.

“It’s truly amazing here, you know!? You can enjoy a maze and also learn about Angel…! It’s even! Even an incredible attraction with the effect of killing two birds with one stone!?”

Then, as if it were expected,
her subsequent words were something I couldn’t understand at all.

Why on earth would I have to study even at a theme park?
And what does it even mean to study about me in the first place?

As I tilted my head, feeling my mind filled with questions,
the explanation continued, as if it wasn’t over yet.
At least this time, it was a somewhat understandable explanation.

“By the way, if you look closely here… there are, like, beginner, intermediate, and advanced courses, you know? The prizes are all different. Is it because it hasn’t been open long? Unfortunately, no one has cleared the advanced course yet.”

I heard Lee Hyejin click her tongue regretfully.

‘Hmm…? What’s gotten into Hyejin…?’

I was slightly surprised that Lee Hyejin had unexpectedly shown such thoughtful consideration.
After all, she was the person who had proposed 300 questions for the quiz show.

So, with the thought that she had finally matured a little,
I read the part related to the difficulty she was pointing at with her finger.

Beginner – Difficulty suitable for those just getting into Angel. (Average escape time: 2 hours.)
Intermediate – Difficulty suitable for those who know Angel to some extent. (Average escape time: 4 hours.)
Advanced – Difficulty suitable for those who know everything about Angel. (Average escape time: 6 hours.)

‘…… What?’

I was startled by the completely unexpected content.

‘T-this… was it a path to actually become an Angel by collapsing while doing it…?’

As expected, this person was out of her mind.