Chapter 28.2 ?

Sometime later, in front of the hotel rooms.

Yoo Sung-woon handed the key card labelled ‘Room 4501’ to Gio.

“Here, this is yours.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be in the room next door, so call me if you need anything.”

“Yes.”

“Dinner is reserved for 6:30, so… seems we can just meet around 6.”

Gio asked in response.

“What’s for dinner?”

“French. It’s a restaurant with a set course, so we can just go and eat.”

“I understand.”

“Then, rest well.”

As Yoo Sung-woon entered his room alone.

“……”

He was sweating coldly.

“…Earlier, for sure….”

Back at Cheonggyecheon.

“…That wasn’t ‘Gio.’”

Something had changed.

Whether he was aware of himself being in Korea, Gio would usually introduce himself as ‘Seo Gio.’ Even though Yoo Sung-woon had pointed that out, he had defined himself as ‘Gio’ in Cheonggyecheon.

‘So what exactly changed?’

Yoo Sung-woon still remembered the black cloak at Cheonggyecheon.

It began from the moment Gio’s bare feet touched the stream’s water. An inexplicable sense of discomfort appeared, something oddly rippled, and Gio’s eyes—which had been plain black the whole time—transformed into the colour of the sea.

When Yoo Sung-woon spoke to him after realizing the change, Gio, who had smiled slowly, seemed as if his entire personality had changed.

‘What colour was his hair…? Was it silver? Or platinum blonde? I couldn’t see clearly because of the hood.’

Slowly here and there, he began to get dyed, and soon his body transformed to the point where his feet were indistinguishable from the water. His form remained the same, but those were clearly not human feet—they belonged to the water.

When a minnow naturally climbed up his transparent ankle, Yoo Sung-woon couldn’t help but call out to Gio.

That was.

“……”

Not human.

It didn’t seem alive, but he could tell that it wasn’t dead either. It wasn’t breathing, but it had life.

What had been a human he could talk to and touch a few minutes ago had transformed into something more… akin to nature, and was certainly not something that could be handled with a clear mind.

“… Haa… .”

How foolish.

‘Did I lower my guard just because his aura seemed weaker?’

A being of the origin could never become human. Especially for someone like Gio, who couldn’t even be defined as a monster.

‘No matter how similar he made it to appear humans like us, it can never be the same.’

However, Gio was too human and kind to be wary of.

“I need to get a grip.”

At this rate, he’ll going to lose his status as a gardener.

“…Still, well, it went much smoother than I expected.”

He exhaled for no reason.

Yoo Sung-woon threw the bag of basic supplies onto the bed and sat down next to it. Then he reviewed everything from the start of the day until just now.

“……”

There were no problems.

‘…Though a few things felt awkward, perhaps it’s because he has human memories. Gio is skilled in the rules of human society. He’s at a level incomparable to other monsters.’

Most monsters, no matter how intelligent, wouldn’t understand why they had to give something to receive something in return.

‘Actually, that’s normal. When a human observes an anthill, do they spare the ants any consideration before digging it up?’

It was the same logic. From the monster’s perspective, it made sense to simply take whatever food or items that were openly available.

If it didn’t exist, they wouldn’t notice, but if it existed, there was no reason not to take it. That was their natural everyday life and rule.

So, from Gio’s perspective, Yoo Sung-woon’s act of paying for food must have been incomprehensible.

“But since it went smoothly, it seems like he’s trying to imitate humans in his own way ….”

Strictly speaking though, there were still many immature aspects.

“He’s clearly curious about a lot of things.”

Things humans would either already know or just pick up on intuitively. Gio asked Yoo Sung-woon about each and every one of them.

What is this, what is that, can I have this, how was that made….

“Though it’s hard to call Gio a monster, he’s definitely similar to humanoid monsters in this regard.”

They were always curious about human objects and rules.

“…Hmm, another reason was probably his lightness compared to that of a human.”

Though he had lowered his aura to almost human levels, it didn’t seem like his body had completely transformed into that of a human. On the way to the hotel, Gio had almost been blown away by the wind.

‘Even if he only floated for just a moment, it made no sense for someone of his height and build.’

Originally, Gio had always been so light that one couldn’t hear his footsteps. Today, perhaps thanks to his shoes and clothes, he seemed a little heavier—but even then, he was still too light to be considered human.

“……”

Even though it was indeed a bit windy, recalling how Gio was nearly blown away by the wind for a moment….

Honestly, it was a little eerie.

“…He really isn’t human.”

Gio wasn’t human.

‘His usual lightness, and also that at Cheonggyecheon.’

Humans couldn’t be that light.

The weight of the clothes worn, the weight of one’s internal organs and bones, and the weight of blood circulating inside. If one were human, they wouldn’t be as soundless as a leaf falling softly, like Gio.

And tiny minnows couldn’t have climbed up his body, either.

“……”

The sight of his pale skin slowly turned into transparent water as his feet touched the stream.

The scene of fish and air bubbles slipping through him was such a mystical and bizarre moment that it was hard to process with his mind.

“But he’s not even a monster….”

Nature imitates humans.

“……”

That seems like a more accurate description.

“…Scary.”

Though beings of the origin were considered as nature with consciousness, for some reason—something about Gio felt different, evoking a baseless sense of fear.

It felt like he was receiving kindness from a being that shouldn’t exist.

***

Meanwhile, Gio.

“It’s the 45th floor.”

“Coo coo!”

He was enjoying the top floor of the five-star hotel with Honey he had secretly smuggled in.

Indeed, he had no thoughts.