Once again, while heading deep into the park to find cherry blossoms, I realized the true purpose of the festival.
When I reached the vast expanse of grass where the blossoms were in full bloom:
Just beyond the low fence, a small sign caught my eye.
[Please stay off the grass. It hurts!]
Next to a cute picture, a short guide note read not to step on the grass.
Regardless, many people had already ignored the signs and set their picnic mats inside.
They should have planted flowers here instead of grass.
With one leg lifted, I nonchalantly hopped over the sign and joined the crowd.
From outside the fence, Shiyeon hesitantly asked:
“Can… can I come in?”
Inside the fence, the grass was already trampled flat, leaving no room for guilt.
“It’s all trampled anyway.”
I dismissively replied, subtly creating an atmosphere that her joining wouldn’t be a problem.
Sliding the strap of my bag to the front, I unzipped it with my fingers and pulled it open.
I took out the rolled-up picnic mat and spread it on the barren grass.
A plain silver-colored mat, without any special patterns.
I plopped down on it to keep it from flying away in the wind, and immediately took out the lunch box.
With a distinct “tick” sound, I separated the wooden chopsticks provided by the store.
Three rolls of kimchi rice, wrapped in crisp aluminum foil.
In a black plastic bowl and a transparent plastic container, fried tofu sushi was neatly arranged in the same direction.
Feeling like an elementary school field trip, I couldn’t help but continually use my chopsticks.
“It’s delicious.”
“Hmm, indeed.”
Each time a strong wind blew, the cherry blossoms swirled and fell like snow.
The romantic scene I envisioned wasn’t quite right – there were just too many petals.
With one gust, hundreds of cherry blossoms scattered dramatically…
“Ehehe…”
If there were only about ten petals in my line of sight cartoon-style, it would be fine, but this was far too many.
Before I realized it, I let out a sigh of annoyance. When they rained down this much, it was a different story.
Dozens of petals fell on the picnic mat, the kimchi rice rolls, and the fried tofu sushi. It was hard not to feel irritated in such an environment.
Looking around, other people seemed to be comfortably resting in these conditions.
In no time, I finished the set of fried tofu sushi and the three kimchi rice rolls.
Having come all the way to the park and spread out our mat, it felt somewhat disappointing to just go home.
Amidst the lively chatter nearby, I laid down on the aluminum mat.
“Ugh…”
Joining me, Shiyeon stretched out with a contented sigh.
Breaking free from the monotonous routine of just going back and forth between home and school, it seemed to be a mood booster for her.
Using her bag as a pillow, she gazed blankly at the sky while blinking her eyes.
Something about this feeling of just lying down and doing nothing…
More restful than fidgeting with a smartphone, this felt like true relaxation, calming the mind.
If only it weren’t so noisy nearby, I could have easily drifted off to sleep like this.
But after just a moment, I snapped back to reality.
“It’s kind of awkward with classmates, isn’t it?”
In the middle of relaxing, I was about to ask Shiyeon how things were going with our classmates…
“Ah!”
Just as I opened my mouth, a cherry blossom petal flew into it.
Spitting out the petal that had soaked in saliva onto the mat, I heard a muffled snigger from the side.
“Phahaha…!”
It seemed Shiyeon had been watching the whole time, as her laughter showed no sign of stopping.
I get that it’s funny, but is it really that hilarious?
“Ah… Hmmph.”
Even though it was just a petal, having something unwanted in your mouth isn’t a good feeling. I gathered my saliva three more times and spat onto the grass.
That question I was about to ask ended up backfiring.
After spitting a few more times, I wiped the corner of my mouth with my sleeve and sat up cross-legged from the mat.
With half-lidded eyes, I noticed an ant exploring our mat, having emerged to enjoy the spring.
Placing the side of my middle finger nail on my thumb, I flicked it with force, sending the ant off the mat.
After chasing away the ant, I began gathering the trash while tidying up our eating spot.
The park’s trash bins were already overflowing with waste.
“Let’s just look around a bit more before leaving.”
“Okay.”
At the mention of looking around a bit more, Shiyeon quickly stood up, slipping on her shoes while collecting the mat.
The pleasant time spent without a care.
Before folding the mat, we shook it a few times at the spot, then rolled it up neatly and placed it in the mat bag, which was slipped into her bag.
After tidying up our spot, we wandered around the park some more, feeling a bit reluctant to go home just yet.
As we moved away from the chicken shop and convenience store, both the number of people and trash gradually decreased.
Capitalizing on the leisurely spring outing atmosphere, we strolled around the park trails, taking pictures of the spring flowers.
After fully enjoying what amounted to our private cherry blossom festival beyond expectations, we began retracing our steps to the entrance we came in.
After heading home and wrapping up a pleasant day…
“Ugh.”
“Ack!”
…If only the story had ended there, it would have been wonderful.
Just as we were about to head back to the entrance from the center of the park, a powerful pressure jabbed into my abdomen and side.
At the same moment the pressure hit my stomach, Shiyeon’s sharp scream of “Ack!” instantly revealed what was happening.
Shiyeon’s side must have been pressed by that sea serpent fellow.
‘A monster is scheduled to appear, it seems.’
Following the mascots’ signal, we looked around for a quiet, empty spot.
Even though it was late, this was the prime cherry blossom park in full bloom.
From the grassy areas to the public restrooms, there was no place suitable for transformation in sight.
Finally, while wandering around the park holding hands with Shiyeon, the alarm began to sound.
It wasn’t like the usual faint sound from afar.
“Citizens, please be advised. A monster has appeared in Lake Park within the Greater Park. Please evacuate quickly and safely. We repeat…”
After the blaring alarm, the evacuation announcement echoed clearly through the park’s loudspeakers.
The park visitors, initially hesitant at the alarm, began looking around nervously with the following announcement.
Some hastily collected their mats, others carried their children to evacuate.
There were those meticulously gathering their belongings, while others simply ran off leaving everything behind.
Normally, when the monster arrived at the scene, all citizens would be evacuated and gone. Seeing it here at the same time somehow felt strangely fascinating.
While people were evacuating in one direction, Shiyeon and I had a brief conversation looking at the park map.
“Where did the broadcast say?”
“It said Lake Park…is that over there?”
“Our position is here…ah, must be.”
Estimating the monster’s appearance location and our position by pointing at the guide sign.
Conversing while looking at the sign in the deserted park that had just lost all its visitors felt like a scene from a horror movie.
Today was my day to handle monster extermination.
Scanning the area for the gleaming lenses of CCTV cameras, surprisingly none seemed to be watching this particular spot.
It was the perfect environment for encouraging theft.
While it was fortunate for our need to transform, was this really okay?
“Sun.”
With a slightly uneasy feeling, I uttered the incantation.
For some reason, Shiyeon also confidently said the incantation she usually felt awkward saying in front of peers who were around her age.
“Power of the Door, transform!”
“Planning to go together?”
Oddly enough, it was Shiyeon’s turn to transform and fly up alongside me on this odd day.
While she had been thoroughly dividing the dates as her own responsibility, I asked curiously.
“What would I do there alone?”
To that question, Shiyeon blinked and replied in a way that suggested it was obvious to question such a thing.
Right, we could just transform together and sneak back home afterward.
Possible savings on transportation costs.
“That’s true.”
Without much distance to fly, we quickly arrived at Lake Park.
In an open environment without any obstructions, an odd shape writhing in the lake immediately caught our eyes.
The monster, like swimming, was causing ripples in the calm lake.
The lost duck family was nervously paddling their webbed feet outside the lake, having nowhere else to go.
“Oh, the ducks! Poor things…”
“Since we’re here, maybe it’ll go back.”
A monster resembling a fish with four long blade-like legs.
We were looking down silently from above at the rather sizable monster.
The creature rolled to its side, glanced at the sky with its eyeballs, seemed startled, and splashed back into the water.
Assuming it would return directly to its spaceship, surprisingly it resurfaced.
“What’s this guy doing?”
With movements resembling a monster greatly confused by some malfunction, Shiyeon and I descended to attempt a conversation.
Through the dialogue, we learned a shocking fact.
“That… I dropped the device in the water… it’s broken.”
“Such an idiotic guy.”
The monster’s awkward movements seemed to indicate something had gone terribly wrong.
Together, we approached it for a conversation.
And through the conversation, we learned a shocking fact.
“That… I dropped the device in the water… it’s broken.”
“What a moron.”
