Bloodsucker I
Since the previous story mentioned <The Metamorphosis>, let's talk about another bug today. The most beloved bug for Koreans. The ruler of summer. A quantum mechanical bug whose existence cannot be confirmed until observed. The vampire pilot currently flying noisily in front of my eyes.
Bzzz...
That’s right.
Today's main character is the mosquito.
“Hyah! Ha! Heeyah!”
One day, I returned to the hideout to find Sim Ah-ryeon dancing in the lobby. Of course, if you can define ‘making strange noises and clapping in all directions’ as dancing.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Sim Ah-ryeon clapped her hands repeatedly in the empty air. As far as I knew, she had never reached the level of Sword Heart in any of the cycles and wasn’t likely to. It didn’t seem like her movements held any special meaning unless she was summoning Cthulhu or Nyarlathotep in a cult ritual.
“Ah-ryeon, what on earth are you doing?”
“Oh, guild leader! Catch the mosquito for me!”
I blinked.
“A mosquito? We have mosquitoes in our hideout? Did it get through the Inunaki Tunnel?”
“Yes, yes. It feels like one mosquito has been following me since last night. It keeps buzzing around my field of vision, but I can’t catch it at all…”
Upon closer inspection, her wrists and forearms indeed had plump mosquito bites like pimples.
“Ah-ryeon, you're a guild member who received aura training from me, and you're losing sleep over a mere mosquito…”
“It’s not my fault! It’s super fast!”
She twisted and turned her body, clapping her hands.
Bzzz...
All her attacks missed. The mosquito flew gracefully and leisurely, mocking her feeble attempts.
“See? Guild leader! This damn mosquito is mocking me!”
“…….”
“Don’t look at me like that! Seriously, this summer’s mosquitoes are weird. They’re super fast and tough… Didn’t you notice?”
“Of course not. I wear aura protection 24/7, so mosquitoes can’t bite me. It’s been hundreds of years since I last got bitten.”
Sim Ah-ryeon’s jaw dropped.
“No way… Sometimes I wonder if you’re really human. You’re so inhuman…”
It was a strange coincidence. I often thought the same when looking at Ah-ryeon.
But maybe this time I should have listened to the defeated Ah-ryeon. Even a broken clock is critical for two seconds a day.
It was summer.
A particularly hot summer.
- Anonymous: Mosquitoes are driving me crazy lately...
└ Anonymous: Right? No matter how many I kill, they keep coming. I built my hideout in the middle of the void, but these crazy mosquitoes still show up. I killed 15 just yesterday;
- Anonymous: Damn bloodsuckers, lay off!
Two weeks after Ah-ryeon’s whining, posts titled 'Crazy Weather' and 'I Want to Kill These Damn Mosquitoes' flooded SG Net. At the time, I thought nothing of it. I even scoffed at the MZ-generation awakeners for their weakness.
‘These young folks. Can’t they raise their aura level to keep their bodies cool?’
The rapid rise in mosquito hatred in summer on Korean forums was not unusual. It happened in every era. It wasn’t something to make a fuss over.
Especially since the apocalypse era, humanity had lost its close relationship with air conditioners and fans. Every summer, people faced the grim choice between ‘closing windows and experiencing a sauna’ or ‘opening windows and donating blood to mosquitoes.’ Most chose to donate blood.
Even the privileged awakeners couldn’t escape the Korean summer.
“Dang Seo-rin, are you okay?”
“Huh…?”
“You don’t look well. If you’re tired, you can go back to the hideout and rest. You don’t have to eat with me if you’re not feeling well.”
Sitting across from me, Dang Seo-rin looked like she hadn’t slept all night. We usually dined together at least once a month. But today, she seemed unusually drained.
“Ah… Thanks for worrying. But it’s nothing.”
“Is something bothering you?”
“No, it’s just that mosquitoes have been so noisy at night, I keep waking up. I can’t get a good night's sleep, and it’s making me tired.”
Dang Seo-rin yawned.
I blinked.
“You? Losing sleep over mosquitoes?”
“Yes? Oh, yes. I developed a magic spell to repel insects, but it doesn’t work on mosquitoes. I might need to improve it.”
“How long have you been losing sleep?”
“Let’s see… Haah… About a week now.”
“…….”
From that point, a sense of alarm crept up my spine.
It was hard to believe that even Dang Seo-rin, a top-tier awakener, had been tormented by mere mosquitoes for a week.
After our meal, I immediately contacted the Korean Peninsula Science Vessel.
“Saintess.”
[Yes.]
The response came quickly. A good example that privacy was a luxury a regressor couldn’t afford. “Are you also troubled by mosquitoes lately?”
[Ah, many people are suffering from mosquitoes. The summer heat has weakened people’s energy compared to last year.]
[I stop time when I sleep, so I’m not disturbed like others.]
However, the Saintess added.
[When I’m awake, mosquitoes constantly bother me.]
“Do mosquitoes cling to you unusually often?”
[Yes. It wasn’t always like this. But after you told me the story about the ‘Potato Robots’ from another cycle, mosquitoes have become very aggressive.]
I couldn’t see the connection between the Potato Saintess story and mosquitoes, but it became somewhat clear.
“This is likely an anomaly.”
[What?]
“Dang Seo-rin has been tormented by mosquitoes for a week. She even used an insect-repelling spell.”
[I didn’t know. I intentionally avoid listening when you talk to others.]
“This hasn’t happened before. It might be an abnormal situation emerging after other Outer Gods were defeated.”
When an Outer God was defeated, ‘things that didn’t happen in previous cycles’ always occurred. Like aftershocks following a major earthquake, these abnormal events arose from the disruption of a delicate balance among the Outer Gods.
“This ‘Mosquito Anomaly’ likely appeared due to such disruptions.”
[An anomaly with mosquitoes.]
Bzzz...
A mosquito flew in front of me. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but given the suspicion of an anomaly, it was very irritating.
[But if an anomaly spreads through mosquito bites, how can we stop it?]
There was a hint of perplexity in the Saintess’s otherwise emotionless voice.
[Unless one is an awakener with perfected aura like you, is it possible to avoid mosquito bites in the Korean summer?]
[Is there a solution?]
I reached out and lightly slapped the mosquito in front of me.
Smack! The mosquito exploded, splattering dark blood all over. I wiped my hand.
“I’ll find that solution.”
I immediately sought out Sim Ah-ryeon and explained the situation.
Naturally, she was shocked.
“What? An anomaly…?”
“Yes. And you were the first to notice it. I need your help.”
“Eek…”
As we talked, I noticed something strange about her appearance.
She looked haggard, with sunken eyes. It seemed she hadn’t slept well for weeks due to mosquitoes.
But at the same time, there was a peculiar sense of satisfaction. A strange calm and tranquility.
“Actually, I did find it odd.”
“What exactly?”
“I was extremely tired from lack of sleep, but recently, I’ve started feeling better…”
Feeling better?
I felt a chill run down my spine.
“You mean like the feeling you get from drugs?”
“Huh? No. Not like drugs. My mind remains clear. It’s more like I don’t get stressed, even when I recall embarrassing memories… Oh.”
Bzzz...
A mosquito landed on her hand.
Sim Ah-ryeon smiled weakly. A while ago, she would have clapped frantically. Now, she looked at the mosquito affectionately.
“Ah-ryeon?”
“Look, guild leader. Normally, when I recall my dark past, I’d scream and squirm, right?”
“…You did.”
“I’m thinking about my middle school days now. I thought I was a genius greater than Da Vinci and embarrassed myself countless times. Like setting up an easel at art exhibitions and hanging my paintings there. Haha. Just remembering it makes me want to roll on the floor in embarrassment…”
Sssuck.
The mosquito inserted its proboscis and sucked her blood. It was so practiced it could outdo a veteran nurse’s injection skills.
“Ah…”
She shuddered with pleasure.
“It doesn’t bother me anymore.”
“…….”
“Yes, I might have been wrong in middle school. But wasn’t seeing the world that way a privilege of youth? Maybe I’ve been too harsh on myself…”
Unbelievable.
“Ah-ryeon.”
I put on a serious expression.
“You were the vice president of your high school’s student council, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. Back then, I was very stormy… How do you know that? Oh, the other me from another cycle told you.”
“Yes. And you threw your prepared speech on the stage and said, ‘Everyone! I can’t express my feelings for you with these poor words!’ trying to give a live speech, but you stuttered the whole time since you had no experience――”
“Aaaah!”
Sim Ah-ryeon convulsed.
“Stop! Please stop! How do you know that? Which cycle’s me told you that? Why are you telling me this? Ah, ah! My dark past! My dark past! Aaaah!”
Sssuck.
The mosquito sucked her blood again.
“Ah.”
Then an astonishing thing happened.
Her face, twisted in convulsion, suddenly relaxed.
Like a monk reaching enlightenment.
“Ah… That did happen. But isn’t that also a privilege of youth? Pretending to be special… No one starts out special.”
“…….”
“Pretending to be special, acting special, gradually building one’s uniqueness… And realizing that being special isn’t as happy as one thought, letting go of the obsession with being special, and cherishing the connections around you. It’s just an inevitable part of youth…”
At that moment, I remembered what the Saintess had said.
-Yes. It wasn’t always like this.
-But since you told me the story of the Potato Robot from another cycle.
-Mosquitoes have become very aggressive.
Indeed.
The mosquito anomaly this summer wasn’t just about drawing blood.
Incredibly, these mosquitoes were also sucking out people's 'dark pasts.'
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