However, even as Eddie realized someone had quietly entered his room, he wasn’t particularly startled.
He quickly recognized the large figure. That now-familiar scent, distinct and subtle, told him exactly who it was—even in the dark.
“Ket?”
Eddie called his name, but Ketron didn’t respond.
He didn’t know when the boy had come in. Eddie hadn’t heard the door open at all. Ketron hadn’t woken him either. He simply sat silently in the dark, watching Eddie sleep.
Eddie reached toward the enchanted lamp beside his bed. It wasn’t as bright as modern lighting, but it was enough to illuminate the room—and Ketron, sitting quietly by the bed.
He was seated on the floor, directly beside Eddie’s bed.
“Is something wrong? What’s going on?”
“……”
Ketron shook his head silently. But Eddie could still read the subtle emotion on his face.
It only flashed across his features for a moment, but it looked like… relief. As if he’d been reassured by Eddie’s reaction.
Something occurred to Eddie then, and he asked,
“Ket, did you have a nightmare?”
Silence, but the lack of denial was answer enough. Ketron stared at him in his usual taciturn way, and Eddie, letting out a quiet “ah,” pulled back the blanket covering him.
The bed was still warm. It would definitely be cramped with Ketron’s huge frame squeezed in beside him, but if it meant comforting the protagonist, there was nothing Eddie wouldn’t do.
“Wanna sleep together?”
When a kid has a nightmare and goes to the person they trust, they’re not asking for explanations. They’re asking to be comforted. They’re saying, ‘Can I sleep next to you?’ And Eddie obliged that unspoken request.
But Ketron’s face twisted slightly, clearly unprepared for that suggestion. He even leaned back a little.
Oh. Not that, then?
“…No, thank you.”
Ketron shook his head. It was the first time he’d spoken since that incident at lunchtime. His voice, though slightly subdued, was his usual self.
Rejected, Eddie sheepishly pulled the blanket back over himself. After everything earlier—how Ketron had clung to him so desperately—this sudden formality was almost ridiculous. A bit baffling… but also oddly cute.
It was so obvious that Ketron felt awkward about it.
There wasn’t much more to say, so silence fell between them again. But it didn’t last long.
“Oh, right.”
Eddie suddenly remembered the round chocolate he had planned to give Ketron earlier, before all hell broke loose. He’d forgotten about it in the chaos, but now he dug into the pocket of the clothes he’d worn that day and pulled it out.
“Ket, come here.”
As he unwrapped the packaging with a faint crinkle, the nut-studded chocolate came into view.
Like a well-trained child, Ketron moved closer without protest. Eddie held the chocolate out to him.
“Open up.”
“…Ah.”
Whether because he was used to Eddie feeding him things by now, or because he was just too tired to question it, Ketron obediently opened his mouth, even in the middle of the night.
Eddie popped the Ferr**o Rocher into his mouth. Ketron slowly began to chew, quietly savoring the treat as it melted on his tongue.
Sugar helped in dark moods. Any faint guilt Eddie might’ve felt about feeding sweets to a kid before bed disappeared the moment he saw Ketron’s cheeks puff up with chocolate.
Eddie reached out and tapped his cheek gently.
“Brush your teeth after this, okay? Then get some sleep.”
“……”
“See you tomorrow.”
Ketron looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated. In the end, he stayed silent and stood up.
With cheeks puffed like a squirrel stashing acorns, Ketron left the room.
He didn’t look nearly as fragile now as he had earlier.
“……”
Eddie had told Ketron to sleep, sure.
But he was now wide awake.
He pushed his bangs back with a sigh.
Sure, the fact that Ketron had unlocked and opened his door without asking was technically an issue. But Eddie couldn’t bring himself to scold him—because the expression Ketron had worn in the dark, before Eddie said anything, had been too raw, too uneasy.
That same face—so tense and guarded—had only softened once Eddie recognized him and called out his name.
“…Phew.”
Eddie buried his face into the pillow with a long sigh.
He could probably guess exactly what Ketron’s nightmare had been.
* * *
The next day.
“……”
Normally, Eddie was a good sleeper—early to bed, early to rise. But today, he felt like he’d barely waded out of a half-dreaming fog.
He had woken up in the middle of the night and struggled to fall back asleep. It left him more fatigued than usual.
“Yaaawn…”
After a long yawn, Eddie washed up, got dressed, and stepped out of his room. His gaze immediately fell on the door beside his.
Ketron’s door was shut tight.
It felt like they’d gone back to how it was when they first met.
After a moment of hesitation, Eddie turned and headed down to the basement convenience store. In its ever-pristine condition, he wandered through the snack aisle and found what he was looking for.
“Hmm.”
Original, Nude, Almond, Oreo.
Eddie tapped his cheek with a finger. Personally, he preferred the almond kind, but the classic was probably the safest bet.
After a bit of unnecessary deliberation, Eddie grabbed a pack of Original Pepero, Almond Pepero, and Nude Pepero all at once.
He hurried back up to the first floor and placed a Nude Pepero stick in front of Gerold, who had already started working.
“Gerold! Make sure you eat this later.”
Having responsibly taken care of his one and only employee, Eddie ran up the stairs with the other two packs.
Just like he’d done before with the banana milk and ointment, Eddie placed both Pepero boxes in front of Ketron’s door. He even brought sticky notes and a marker from the convenience store just in case someone else might try to take them.
He scribbled in bold letters:
[Ket’s]
He neatly wrote the same thing on two notes and stuck one on each pack. He hovered in front of the door for a moment, debating whether or not to knock.
But in the end, he didn’t.
Things were a bit different now. Eddie didn’t have to force the door open and drag Ketron out anymore. He believed that, this time, Ketron would open it on his own.
He trusted that.
Back downstairs, Eddie caught a glimpse of Gerold tearing into the Nude Pepero package.
At some point, Gerold had stopped questioning the strange things Eddie brought up from the basement. It used to be weird. Now, it was just routine.
No matter how suspicious it looked, Gerold never said a word. Because to him, Eddie was his master.
Honestly, Eddie still didn’t have many answers—only more questions—but one thing was certain: Gerold’s loyalty was real.
So for now, Eddie decided to trust him.
After all, in this strange new world, Gerold was the only one truly on his side.
“What are you planning to do with that?”
Gerold asked, still munching his Pepero, as Eddie brought out the whiteboard he used in his old life to jot down emergency contacts and staff memos.
“I’m going to make a menu board.”
The cap of the marker popped off with a satisfying pop as Eddie pulled it off with his teeth.
One day, he’d make a real, permanent menu. But for now, their modest offerings didn’t require anything fancier than a whiteboard.
Without hesitation, Eddie began writing. The language patch was so seamless that he could write in the Reneba Empire’s script just as fluidly as his native Korean.
He even drew pictures of the menu items beside each one. Lee Jeong-hoon had always been decently good at little artsy things like that, and the result was surprisingly solid.
“Ta-da.”
He turned to Gerold with a proud smile. Gerold clapped with a completely deadpan expression.
…It kind of felt like one of those bosses who made their employees applaud them just because they were in charge.
Maybe it wasn’t far from the truth.
When Gerold offered the remaining Pepero to him, Eddie didn’t hesitate to take it. Sharing snacks like this made him feel like he was actually bonding with this emotionally-constipated man.
Eddie nibbled his Pepero happily, then placed the new menu board near the entrance—where customers could easily see it. Feeling pleased, he started heading back to his room on the second floor—only to pause.
The Pepero he’d left at Ketron’s door was gone.
“……”
Eddie stood there for a second, blank-faced, then slowly lit up with a grin.
In his mind, he pictured a big black cat cracking open the door, stealthily extending one paw, and swiping the Pepero box inside.
Sure, that cat might be a bit… oversized, but still.
Smiling to himself, Eddie looked once more at the closed door, then turned toward his room. His steps felt lighter than before.
* * *
[Ket’s]
Ketron lay on his bed, staring at the two small boxes Eddie had left for him.
Knowing Eddie, they were probably food. Sweet food, at that.
The sticky notes attached to the boxes had a strange texture—easy to remove, but sticky enough to stay on. Odd and unfamiliar.
And the handwriting, so neat and deliberate.
[Ket’s]
“……”
There was truth in that saying, that a person’s personality showed in their handwriting. Ketron quietly peeled the notes off the boxes.
He carefully folded back the sticky edges until all that remained was a clean slip of paper that simply read: [Ket’s].
After a moment of silence, he opened the bottom drawer of the bedside table—empty until now—and placed the note inside.
Then, without a word, he closed the drawer.
Flop.
Ketron lay back down, pulled the curtains shut, and closed his eyes in the dimly lit room.