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Yerin was dreaming.

It felt like she was swimming upstream against the river of time, tracing the fragments of forgotten memories from long ago.

It was like flipping through an old film.

Fuzzy and unclear, but at the same time, powerful and vivid emotions crashed over her like waves.

Scenes flowed by that weren’t in Yerin’s memory, yet she instinctively felt that these visuals were pieces of her long-lost recollections.

‘…’

Yerin, who was clever and had an excellent memory, strangely couldn’t recall her childhood memories, as if they had been completely chopped out.

The first scene was an unfamiliar landscape.

The people walking down the street wore outfits unlike anything seen anywhere in the world.

The cold winter air brushed against her cheeks, and strange buildings filled her vision.

The buildings sparkled, adorned with colorful glass.

Looking at those structures, a young Yerin was smiling brightly.

Though she couldn’t hear the laughter of her dream self, that expression conveyed happiness all the same.

It seemed she was having a conversation with someone.

The scene resembled a moment from an old silent film.

Perhaps the reason she saw this long-forgotten memory in her dream was due to a conversation she had with a doll that looked exactly like her.

A past she couldn’t remember.

A doll dressed in clothes similar to what she wore when she was found at the orphanage.

And the object that introduced itself as a doll modeled after a “Saintess.”

The Saintess doll asked Yerin many questions, but there was nothing she could answer.

After all, she didn’t remember anything at all.

‘…’

The peaceful flow of the dream landscape suddenly changed.

Like a joyful Christmas, the initially cold yet warm and cozy atmosphere vanished, replaced by endless darkness.

Yerin was now writhing in pain.

Surrounding her was an ever-burning white flame.

The flames were burning her, but she wasn’t turning to ash.

Only the endless pain repeated itself.

“…!”

“…!”

Little Yerin opened her mouth to scream, but her burned organs and tongue couldn’t produce a sound.

No one heard her faint whimpers, and only torment came to her.

As if embodying the absence of hope, everything around her was filled with endless darkness.

In that despair, the small girl, Yerin, could only wish.

That someone would save her from this pain.

Writhing in unescapable agony.

At that moment, a miracle happened.

The darkness surrounding Yerin began to crack.

Like shattering glass, the darkness fragmented into pieces.

And through the gaps, golden light seeped in.

At first, it was a faint ray, but gradually, the light grew stronger.

As if dawn were breaking, the golden light began to drive away the darkness and illuminate everything.

A golden light resembling the sun.

After a long time of burning in the flames, Yerin felt as if she was seeing warm sunlight for the first time in ages.

If the darkness embodied despair, then this golden light appeared to symbolize hope.

The golden glimmer gently caressed the burned Yerin, healing her in an instant.

At the same time, the white flames that had burned fiercely lost their strength and dwindled before the golden light.

And that place was replaced by golden flames.

“Ah….”

Seeing the flames, Yerin flinched, expecting another wave of pain, but the golden flames felt entirely different.

It wrapped around her softly.

Warm and comforting.

The pain vanished, replaced by an indescribable peace and comfort filling her up.

Within the golden light, Yerin could smell the fragrance of the sun.

It felt like the first rays of dawn, the scorching heat of a summer afternoon, and the gentle warmth of an autumn sunset, all blended into one.

As she reveled in that feeling, something suddenly nestled in her embrace.

At first, it was a vague form, but it soon became clear.

Looking down into her arms, a gray reaper was gazing up at Yerin with a playful grin.

The moment she saw that, something resonated deep within Yerin’s heart.

It was a feeling of relief and joy.

‘What does it matter, as long as I have the Reaper?’

A past she couldn’t remember?

A story related to the object?

This other world displaying unfamiliar culture and environments?

None of that mattered anymore.

In her world, only the presence of the Reaper had significance.

Thinking that, Yerin hugged the gray reaper tightly.

In that instant, all traces of the nightmares tormenting her shattered and disappeared.

Like mist clearing under morning sunlight, all anxiety and fear melted away.

‘…’

Slowly, very slowly, Yerin opened her eyes.

The familiar scenery of her bedroom came into view.

As always, it was the space where she slept and woke up.

And in her arms, the gray reaper was nestled just like in her dream.

Yerin smiled as she noticed the reaper’s squished face from being hugged too tight.

‘My guardian angel, the Reaper.’

This mischievous reaper, always warm and soft, who protected her.

Yerin gently relaxed her grip and patted the reaper’s silky hair.

The content of the nightmares was already fading from her memory.

That didn’t matter.

Tomorrow, the day after, and beyond, joyful days with the Reaper would continue.

That was enough. She needed nothing but the Reaper.

Yerin closed her eyes. This time, she felt as though she could fall into a peaceful sleep without nightmares.

A small smile graced her lips.

*

Junior No. 2 got off the bus, and as she walked down the desolate road, she felt a bit giddy with excitement.

After a long time, she was returning to a place she could call “hometown.”

The Golden Horn Reaper seemed affected by her emotions, rolling around above her head.

Something soft rolling around up there gave her a slightly ticklish feeling.

‘It’s been a while… Isolation Zone.’

Unfortunately, no one she knew remained in the Isolation Zone, but merely passing by the nostalgic restaurants felt like it would be enjoyable.

In truth, Junior No. 2 hadn’t planned to return home yet, but since she played the most crucial role in resolving this incident, Detective Sunbae forced her to take a vacation.

Meanwhile, the other members of the detective agency were busy preparing for the reopening of the Yellow Detective Office.

‘The Isolation Zone should be the same, right?’

The Isolation Zone in her memory was slow to change since only those with the Golden Horn Syndrome could enter.

So she hadn’t bothered to check for news about any small changes there, wanting to experience it firsthand by visiting.

‘I wish all the detectives could have come together…’

Even though the procedures to enter the Isolation Zone were complicated, Junior No. 2 would get approval.

But Detective Sunbae and Hammer Sunbae, along with her juniors, refused, insisting they needed to finish prepping for the office opening quickly.

It was unfortunate, but it couldn’t be helped.

When she arrived at the Inspection Post of the Isolation Zone, the checks were much stricter than before.

The procedures to enter the security areas of the research institutes, excluding Sehee Research Institute, were complicated and time-consuming.

It took so long that the Golden Horn Reaper began to doze off in her pocket!

“Hey, why has the inspection process become so complicated?”

Junior No. 2 couldn’t hold back and asked.

“There are more people trying to get in these days.”

“?”

Not understanding what that meant, Junior No. 2 widened her eyes, and the inspection staff replied with a tired expression.

“Apparently, word got out that there are a lot of Golden Reapers here.”

Then, with a small sigh as if the thought was unimaginable, they continued speaking.

“While inspections are strict now, just a few days ago, there were people trying to bring in fake horns made from kilograms of solid gold.”

Kg?

How much is that?

Hearing that, Junior No. 2 thought it was absurd.

There were plenty of Golden Reapers in Songpa District, so there was no need to come to the Inspection Post of the Isolation Zone.

Finally, the inspection concluded and Junior No. 2 could step inside the Isolation Zone.

“Finally… Huh?”

Right after flexing her arms to relax as she entered, Junior No. 2 froze in disbelief at the unbelievable sight.

???

Just like the inspection staff mentioned, there were a plethora of Golden Reapers.

Not just many, but a LOT.

“Wow, there are so many….”

In fact, it seemed like it was on the level of the Courtyard of Sehee Research Institute?

The slowly changing Isolation Zone had disappeared.

Perhaps because of the delightful scent of the Golden Reapers, the place was filled with vitality and dynamism.

The once dreary, slightly depressed mood, as if trapped like those in jail, was now gone, replaced by joyful laughter and the aroma of sweet treats.

Junior No. 2 walked around the Isolation Zone, now turned into a Golden Reaper theme park, feeling like a tourist.

She petted the wandering Golden Reapers.

Waved back at the Golden Reaper smiling brightly.

And bought some squishy cookies made for Golden Reapers from a nearby shop to feed them.

‘Feels oddly like I’m in Sehee Research Institute… I think I’m gonna gain weight.’

While sharing sweet cookies with the Golden Horn Reaper, Junior No. 2 suddenly thought that.

‘Ah!’

While wandering around, the Golden Horn Reaper nestled in her arms suddenly stood up with a surprised expression.

‘Horn!’

And began to dash off somewhere at quite a fast pace.

Turning her head, she saw the Golden Horn Reaper facing off against a huge deer horn, both cheering excitedly.

‘So big!’

‘So big!’

They began to admire each other’s horns.

After staring at each other’s horns for a long while, the two Golden Reapers bent down and rubbed their soft horns together.

Then they laughed together.

‘Hehe, that tickles.’

Next to the deer-horned reaper stood someone with truly magnificent antlers.

It was a predictable outcome, but the Golden Horn Reaper indeed resembled an attached human….

Junior No. 2 thought blankly like that.

*

The detective agency, once filled with dust, regained its original appearance after a thorough cleaning.

All the “Holmes” who had been so focused on solving cases had thrown away all the useless appliances and furniture piling up indoors.

Of course, the heavier items were moved by Junior No. 1 swinging a hammer head as big as a human head around.

Seeing the cleaner detective agency, the Yellow Detective smiled.

“Now, without any ‘Holmes’ cases, I can take requests at my leisure.”

“Really relieved about that.”

Saying that, Junior No. 3 placed a warm cup of coffee in front of the Yellow Detective, telling him, “Good job cleaning.”

The Yellow Detective lifted the cup to enjoy the aroma and took a sip.

Having gained his freedom from the object’s grasp, it was a notably more aromatic coffee.

Just as he was about to take another sip of his coffee.

Clang.

Startled, the detective dropped the coffee cup.

“W-why?”

Sitting on the yellow detective’s table was a vintage lamp, standing awkwardly by itself.

Hehe.

It felt as if a playful laugh whispered in the Yellow Detective’s ear.