Childhood Friend of the Zenith

"……."

Our eyes met, and for a brief moment, I froze. Personally, I had been trying to avoid any chance of that happening.

There was my father to consider. And besides, if I ended up facing my mother in this era, I could already foresee nothing but trouble.

If possible.

Since I was trying to leave this place, I wanted to avoid creating any unnecessary complications.

And yet.

I never expected to run into her.

I never thought I’d end up meeting my mother in a place like this.

Her hair wasn’t entirely white—it had a faint tinge of crimson. And her eyes… they were the same ones I had seen back in Mangye.

She was smiling gently, but there was something about her—an elusive charm that made her presence feel oddly captivating.

I swallowed hard.

Why.

Why was my mother here?

How did I not sense her?

Just like last time, I hadn’t felt her presence at all. Because of that, I had unknowingly allowed her to get this close.

"Hello?"

She looked at me and spoke. Hearing her voice, I hesitated.

What was I supposed to say? How was I supposed to react?

After a brief moment of thought, I forced myself to maintain a neutral expression and replied.

"……Hello."

I tried to sound as calm as possible, but my mother’s smile only deepened.

"We met before, didn’t we?"
"Yes."
"It’s good to see you again. Are you happy to see me too?"
"Yes. Well, I suppose—"
"What are you doing here? Not sleeping? Aren’t you hungry?"

"……."

Before I could even finish my sentence, she moved on to another topic.

What was this? Why did it feel like my energy was being drained just from talking to her?

We hadn’t even exchanged that many words, but for some reason, I already felt exhausted.

"I’m a little hungry."

"Ah… I see."

She rubbed her stomach as if to emphasize her words.