Earth’s Doom Starts with… Me?

Chapter 29: New mission (3)

"Hey, what is going on here?" I looked at each one of them one by one, confused by what was happening.

"Ho ho ho! I'm afraid you're becoming pretty dangerous lately, young Miss," the headmaster stroked his beard, "after all. no one does the fusing like it's just another normal Tuesday, you see. It's kinda rare around here."

I bit my lower lip. From their point of view, I was a stranger who suddenly appeared and who could suddenly use magic. And then, now I suddenly got myself a snake companion. I would've done the same if I was in their place, so I couldn't protest.

"How did you find out about fusing?" The headmaster questioned.

"...I didn't really know. I just heard Eli said something about eating it."

"Eli? I didn't know you guys are on a nickname basis already." He smiled at me.

"I'm also on an animal nickname basis with that eel." I gestured towards general Zhang.

Great, now I was suspicious because I accidentally called him by his nickname. I was careless. I mean, it was kinda hard to suddenly act like I didn't know someone that I've known for years...

"Don't worry, I won't kill you yet," he chuckled a bit, "but before I give you a verdict, do you want to come clean?"

"Be more specific, old man." I remarked. So he knew my lies already. But to what extent?

"Tell us everything. I know you didn't lose your memory. And your prophecy is a lie. That said, will you do a little storytelling for us about yourself? Hmm?" He smiled and took a sip out of his wine glass.

I hesitated for a moment. Would it be smart to spill everything? Which information should I keep and which information should I spill?

"Go on, we're waiting~" The headmaster cheerfully said as he plopped down on a chair behind the desk.

I've made my decision.

"Yes, it's true that I didn't lose my memory. But, that prophecy is real." I looked straight into his eyes.

"Let's take things slowly and start with the 'prophecy', shall we? Tell us more about it." He leaned back on his chair.

"All I know is I just suddenly woke up here with that message." I started explaining.

"How did you know about the message? Did someone tell you, or did you see it somewhere?" He inquired more.

"I just kind of got the message in my head... Or something like that." I didn't think I should reveal my RPG-like window to them yet. But, I wasn't completely lying, either.

The room fell silent as the headmaster studied me with his eyes carefully, making me nervous enough to hold my breath.

"Acceptable answer. And what about your memory? Where were you before this?" He stroked his long beard again.

"In Korea." I answered short and simple to avoid oversharing.

"Hmm... I feel like I've heard it somewhere before," he took a moment to pause and think, "and what were you doing in Korea, that made you suddenly appear here?"

"I was just going about my day as usual, and then went to sleep, and that's about it." I looked straight into his eyes again.

It was completely true. Except, I didn't tell him about the most crucial part.

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That day started with a gloomy rainy morning.

I woke up earlier than most young adults my age. The birds haven't sung its morning calls, and the sun hasn't even peeked its face yet.

After turning off my phone alarm, I looked at the time.

"It's 4 a.m... I need to wake up," I murmured to myself in a tiny voice as I forced myself to get up and stretch my whole body.

After taking a quick, cold shower that I've always hated, I picked out my old hoodie that has lots of threads sticking out of it.

Once I had finished dressing myself, I walked out of my small truck house and took out the trash as usual. Then, I filled the bird feeder that was sitting on top of an apple tree branch near my truck.

"Alright, let's begin preparing." I tied my long hair into a bun and put on a pair of gloves.

As I went inside my truck house, I started to prepare the ingredients for today like usual. I started by making my mandu fillings and the dough for my chapssal donuts, and then making the batter for bungeoppang. Lastly, I whipped up my secret tteokbokki recipe, and I was ready to really start my day.

I opened my truck and converted it into a food truck.

"Let's make some money today, okay, truck?" I patted the inside of my truck playfully. Over the years, my loneliness had driven me to make small talks with the truck and the animals.

I've been living alone inside a modified food truck for years now. It wasn't the best, but at least I had a roof over my head.

"Good morning, young lady!" A sweet-looking old man who was holding a yellow umbrella greeted me as I went outside to finish setting up my food truck.

"Ah, morning, Kim-harabeonim!" I greeted back with a huge smile.

"Always on time, I see. It's rare to see young-uns like you being so hardworking. Ho ho!" He laughed.

"Well, I need to work so I can afford to live. Haha!" I took out a foldable chair for him to sit on, "here, Kim-harabeonim. Sit down for a bit while I get you your food."

"Thank you, my back has been hurting a lot lately," he sits down with a satisfied sigh while rubbing his back, "sorry for the trouble, but my wife really loves your tteokbokki, you see."

I smiled at him while I set up 2 other sets of foldable chairs and tables with parasols for customers to sit on, "don't be sorry, you're basically keeping me alive by buying my food, haha!"

"You know, young lady, if you want to, you can always come live with us. My wife and I will be glad to have you around." The wrinkly old man said to me with a sad gaze.

I said nothing and went inside to fetch some tteokbokki that I had made earlier, and turned on the stove.

"You don't have to struggle alone like this. You can rely on us, you know?" He kept talking as I began to cook.

"I don't want to trouble you guys, Kim-harabeonim." I politely replied with a smile while I continued cooking.

"Silly kid. You won't trouble us. In fact, we would be happy to have company!" He laughed loudly at my remark.

"Then I'll visit you some time. How does this weekend sound?" I offered.

"Don't just visit, come live with us. You know how lonely we get since Woojin died..." His face suddenly got solemn.

I kept my mouth shut, and packed up his tteokbokki in a paper bag. Once I've secured the bag, I stepped out of my food truck and sat beside him.

"Here, harabeonim. Your and your wife's favourite tteokbokki. I made sure to make it extra spicy, with extra sesame seeds," I tapped his shoulder and smiled warmly in an attempt to comfort him, "and of course, more portion, special for both of you."

He smiled back at me like he always did, almost every day for the past two years. Never have I seen him smile without reaching his eyes.

"Thank you so much, young lady. But, do consider my offer, will you? Think of it as helping a dying old man. Ho ho!" He jokingly said.

"You're not dying, Kim- harabeonim. If you die, who will buy my food?" I joked back at him, relieved that he had gotten his spirit back.

"Those people will." He pointed at a group of students that were gathered in front of my truck, waiting for me to take their orders.

"Excuse me, are you open?" One of the students who was wearing a raincoat with a red umbrella called out to me.

"Ah, yes, of course!" I ran inside my food truck, "what can I get for you today?"

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My phone's alarm rang loudly, alerted me that it was already 7 p.m. The alarm had a note saying 'finish up, and don't forget to clean the stovetop' on it.

I let out a relieved sigh, "alright, time to close the shop."

As I closed my shop and packed up my things, I noticed that the rain didn't show any sign of stopping yet.

"Why does it rain for so long?" I wondered as I looked up to the sky while I let myself get soaked by the rain.

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs and nose with a pleasant smell that I had always loved, and hated. I used to hate it when it rained during my times in the warzone, because it meant less visibility and more unforgiving terrain, but the rain had saved me many times from my enemies' fire, too.

But now, I've grown to love rainy days like this one.

I smiled bitterly and stepped into my truck. After cleaning up, it was time to prepare for tomorrow's sale.

"Alright, time to relax for a bit." I hummed happily and turned on some music using my phone. After that, I began preparing the ingredients for tomorrow until it was approximately 11 p.m. It wasn't really how I like to relax, but this was the best chance to relax with the little time I had.

Once finished, I stretched out my back, "hnggg--now it's time to go hunting for real money."

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*harabeonim: an honorific used by younger people to call a grandpa.

*mandu: Korean dumplings, usually stuffed with meat and veggies, and also pan-fried until they get crispy on the outside.

*tteokbokki: spicy rice cake, a popular street food in Korea.

*bungeoppang: a fish-shaped pastry, often filled with sweetened red bean, but not always :D