"Are you sick? Your face looks red."

Looking concerned, Jimin squeezed the cub in her arms, stepping toward me and causing me to step back in turn.

What do you mean I look red?!

Of course, I am!

I'm looking at my own beautiful creation!!!

"Hello? Are you still there?"

Hearing Jimin's worried voice, I quickly shook my thoughts away and looked at her, trying not to squint due to the strange shine enveloping her body. Knowing she's one of the most breathtaking characters, it must've been the work of this webtoon world.

I didn't want to look more messy than I already was, so I took a deep breath and calmed down before speaking.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I felt dizzy after roaming around for so long looking for my friends. I got separated from them in the aquarium area."

"Oh... We..."

Jimin paused mid-sentence, causing me to tilt my head to the side slightly. She went silent all of a sudden and when that silence went on for good three seconds, I felt like a rock hit me at the back of my head for remembering—

"Right, you're the quiet type for a reason..."

"...Did you say something?"

"Oh, nothing."

Ugh, that just came out of my mouth. Good thing Jimin didn't think anything about it and stared at me confusedly before continuing to care for the white cub in her arms. She's probably still aware that I'm in front of her watching but couldn't care less.

After all, she has that kind of personality.

I know her from the inside out!

Just as I was enjoying myself too much, reveling in the fact that she was real, Jimin stopped petting the cub's head the moment the cub growled cutely and nibbled on Jimin's hand.

This happened in her special chapter... but of course, with me out of the picture.

"She's hungry."

Letting the cub nibble on her hand, Jimin raised a brow, "She?"

Doing my best not to reveal I already knew the cub's gender beforehand, I nodded calmly and pointed at the cub's tummy, "I noticed it when I saw you approaching and picking her up."

"I see."

"Yeah..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Is that all you're going to say?!

Haaahhh... calm down, Minjeong. It's kinda your fault that you made her like this.

I couldn't help but turn my head away, discreetly releasing a long sigh. I didn't want to escalate the awkwardness, so I studied Jimin's expression carefully, recalling the entire story behind this special chapter.

Something definitely changed since I'm here disrupting the original storyline.

After coaxing the cub into staying in her arms, Jimin struggled to admit to herself that she didn't want to let the cub go, despite its hungry state. In the original story, she was supposed to hide the cub behind a bush for a few minutes, letting it go so she could grab food outside.

But now? She's not showing it with her face, but her eyes seemed a bit sad while staring at the cub continuing its growls. It doesn't look like she's going to do something about it too.

And she's still ignoring my presence.

I sighed thinking about the current situation and unwittingly scratched the back of my head—Fine, just this once, I'm going to mess with the original storyline and help Jimin get back on track. I wouldn't want to alter things further.

"Hey, J- I mean, you."

Almost blurting out her name, I kept a calm face and waited for Jimin to look at me. When she did and stared at me suspiciously, I told her to wait for a few minutes so I could get food for the cub, and quickly fled the area.

Luckily for me, there was a meat skewer stand inside the zoo not too far from the secret garden. I distinctly remember that this particular food is the cub's favorite.

Anyway, I don't want to keep referring to her as "cub" in my head, so I'll call her "Jinju," (meaning, pearl) the name Jimin is going to give her in the future.

As soon as I returned safely without alerting the zoo keepers with ten skewers, Jinju wriggled out of Jimin's arms and ran toward me, growling hungrily. I had drawn her cutely on my tablet, but I never expected her to be this adorable in person.

With that in mind, I crouched down and placed the plastic plate on the grass in front of Jinju. Knowing she had health problems, letting her eat on the ground is unsafe.

After removing the meat from the skewers and placing it on the plate, Jinju growled at me and began eating with elegance. At the same time, she was purring, and I couldn't help but let out a faint smile.

"Huh, you do look like a Jinju."

"Jinju?"

Jimin questioned, suddenly crouching beside me as she watched Jinju eat.

Ahh, I blurted out my thoughts again.

"If you think about it, her fur shines like a pearl when the light hits it," Jimin hums. "Jinju... I like it."

I wasn't looking directly at her, but I could see the smile on her face in my peripheral vision. We remained crouched in place, frozen, feeling the soft winds soothingly pass by our skin as we watched Jinju finish the plate of meat.

This serene feeling.

It feels nice.

...

I feel like I'm forgetting something though.

"You know, I rarely talk to anyone. But you look reliable despite your appearance."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Unaware, I asked in an offended tone since I was to