Bom was lying down on the sofa.

She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a tie and a brown checkered skirt beneath. Her grass-coloured hair was scattered about while her hands were neatly placed on top of her stomach with her fingers interlocked.

Since she was blankly staring at the ceiling, he asked.

Arent you going to class?

She raised her head.

Yes.

Why.

Why?

Theres class today. You should go.

Blankly, Bom thought about something before giving a response.

Why?

That day, he didnt follow any of the kids.

Ill go by myself today.

Yeorum left by herself,

Me too, me too! Im going to do a group task with my friends!

And Kaeul also left.

Eating, well.

Gyeoul smiled in satisfaction as the protector lifted the bag of feed once more.

Let me feed it a little bit more.

More, than this?

Yes, young lady. We have to do that so that this guy turns juicy I mean, grow bigger, right?

Gyeoul and the protector stayed behind in the kitchen, feeding the baby chicken. The chicken chirped out loud, Art thou trying to test my limit? with a voice filled with joy.

Thus, the living room was quiet for the first time in a long time, but

I thought deeply about it.

Sitting down while hugging her knees, Bom opened her mouth.

But I cant find the reason to go to class.

The reason?

Like Yeorum and Kaeul enjoy attending lectures and meeting friends, right.

They indeed did.

But Im not really interested in that.

Is that so?

Going there and listening to the professor speak, studying, sitting tests and meeting new people. Theyre all fine. Its good, but I thought to myself that there was no need for all that.

Your grades were quite good though.

Last semester, Bom received A for all her subjects. Considering that Kaeul had an average of B+ and Yeorum B-, it was a fairly decent score.

However, Bom shook her head with a dull pout.

I got a few of the questions wrong on purpose.

Why.

Because there was no reason to get good grades.

Thinking about it, the fact that Bom only received A despite studying from time to time was strange considering that Kaeul, whom he never saw study and Yeorum, who slept throughout the class, had such results. They were dragons who remembered whatever they saw for eternity.

Looking back, he hadnt been very interested in Boms school life. It was because he thought she would be doing a great job at school, like how she always did elsewhere.

When he remained standing in silence, Bom carefully pulled on the sleeves of his cardigan and gestured for him to sit down.

The Regressor sat next to her.

Can I ask a question?

Yeah.

Why do humans go to school?

To be educated.

Then why do they try to get good grades?

Because a better future awaits them once they win the competition.

What is a better future?

Who knows. Wealth, good connections and a happy household. Something like that.

Did you compete with others for those things too, ahjussi?

The Regressor couldnt respond for quite some time. As the regressions stacked on top of another, he rarely ever thought about anything in the standards of a normal human. Thus, he needed to think for a bit.

No.

Looking back, the only opponent he competed with was himself.

Hmm Bom fidgeted with her bangs. They were now slightly longer than her eyebrows and were at an awkward spot.

Because Im a dragon, I dont need money. I can earn whenever I want.

I dont really need connections either. I dont get lonely so I dont need relationships.

And I cant really imagine what a happy household would be like. Because my family wasnt like that.

It was his first time hearing the story of the green race. Regardless, her values and standards were different from humans as a dragon.

Why do you live, then.

Hmm, to be happy?

What makes you happy?

Im already happy though.

Why are you happy.

Its just Unit 301 is just enjoyable. Even without anything else in particular, staying with Yeorum and Kaeul and watching Gyeoul grow are fun. Ahjussi is funny as well.

And thats why theres no reason to go to class?

Yes.

He reflected on the Green Dragons of the previous iterations.

The first time he discovered its existence was in the third iteration where the Green Dragon had been a painter, staying holed up in its room.

In the 4th iteration, it became a sculptor.

In the 5th iteration, it was drawing somewhere in Europe.

In the 6th iteration, it was writing a novel, likewise in Europe.

The dragon had to give up mid-way in the fifth and the sixth iterations because it was caught by Yu Jitae, but Green Dragon did not achieve much in the third and the fourth iterations in the first place.

It was very different from the current Bom. She looked like she could do anything perfectly but had not succeeded a single time in the past.

How could this be?

By the way, I dont think this is my problem alone.

That was when Bom slightly changed the topic.

What?

Ahjussi is the same right. Apart from taking care of us and catching demons, you dont do anything.

Just a NEET.

Or a kidnapper.

She giggled Hihi. Her gentle chuckle reached his ears.

Why do you live, ahjussi?

Because of the atmosphere, the Regressor was slightly caught off guard from her sudden question that delved deeper into his circumstances

It was a troubling question.

There was a time in the past when he had assigned meanings to life; that he would do something, and that he would become something. However, due to the repetitive failures, his life lost a lot of its purposes. The only remaining purpose was an abstract and distant goal that persisted throughout his lives.

And that wasnt a suitable conversation topic with the baby dragons. When she didnt receive any replies, she turned her body and stared directly into his eyes. Although her expression was still hard to read, her gaze was evidently requesting for a response.

You dont need to know.

Look. Look. Becoming all serious again.

Bom smiled.

Same as last time

Is it?

Nn. Im used to it now.

He decided to change the topic.

Then should we do something together.

Hn?

If you try something new, wouldnt there be something interesting that catches your attention.

Will something like that exist?

Itll be better than lying down and doing nothing.

Bom nodded before going into her room. Soon, she walked out of her room wearing a sweatshirt on the top and a pair of shorts on the bottom.

Since youre a green dragon, how about you try making something.

Ill try. What should we do?

He knew of three things that had failed for sure. It was drawing, writing a novel and sculpting.

The Regressors intention was to now look into the reasons behind those failures.

Lets try drawing.

*

Inside Boms room, on a table.

Bom turned the lights off and used the magic [Light (D)] as a lamp. A white canvas shone brightly beneath the light source.

Next to it was watercolour paint, coloured pencils and crayons. Those were gifts for Gyeoul that Bom had bought in the past.

While biting on her hair tie, Bom gathered her hair to one place before using the band to tie her hair up. Her white neck was revealed by the light within the darkness.

What do you want to draw.

One second.

Bom held onto Yu Jitaes wrist. When he tried to slightly pull his hand away, she held onto it with a tighter grip.

Stay there.

She then folded his sleeves up until it reached his elbow.

So what do you want to try drawing.

No idea. A person? Or still life?

What about something like a flower or a scenery. Its spring now.

Im okay with that, but you cant draw flowers or sceneries, can you ahjussi?

But arent you the one drawing?

We have to do it together. So we cant do flowers or landscapes.

She sounded as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

I can draw.

Reallyy?

A flower isnt that difficult.

Try drawing it then.

Yu Jitae placed his hand on top of the crayons.

A flower

The last flower he saw was the flower that bloomed in the crumbling world inside Noahs dream. Thus, he picked up a gray crayon. He could sense Bom grinning on the side.

The finished version of the flower had its gray head lowered.

Like, what is this.

Bom laughed under her breath. It didnt really look like a flower even in his eyes.

Reaching his hand forward, he grabbed onto a new canvas. When he tried to push the original drawing away, Bom stopped him.

What are you doing. Thats a waste.

Its not a flower.

Noo, its still a flower. Its gray, has its head lowered and dark but it still is.

Wouldnt it be better to draw again from the start. I think its a fail.

Hmm

She pondered slightly before shaking her head.

I feel bad for the flower.

At least give it a name please.

To the flower?

No? Every drawing usually has a name right.

Yu Jitae thought for a bit before opening his mouth. The flower had bloomed whilst Noahs world was crumbling down so its name would be

Apocalypse.

Bom shook her head with a sour look.

Is it weird?

Yes.

Ill try to make it better. Lets name it after that.

Alright.

Bom wetted her brush with watercolour paint and began drawing a new flower behind the gray flower. Her fingers began creating a stem, leaves and flower petals. She was so absorbed into the task that she didnt even realise that her tongue was sticking out.

Before long, a new flower was drawn behind the gray flower. The petals were coloured pink.

How is it?

As he had expected, Bom wasnt that good at drawing but it was nonetheless a lot better than his.

Looks good.

Nn.

Name?

Umm, astral projection?

She giggled.

When he looked at the painting again after hearing that, it did look like the pink flower had a gray soul sticking out from it.

Sounds good.

It was a joke.

Then whats its name?

Should we think while we draw the background?

Alright.

Yu Jitae began filling the canvas up with Bom. He didnt know how to draw grass, but copied Bom and created sharp, jagged lines with a green paint that resembled grass.

While drawing, Bom blankly opened her mouth with a mutter.

Im a green dragon right.

Yeah.

So I tried growing a lot of flowers.

You know, flowers look very small and fragile but are actually very strong. They tend to grow anywhere, from barren wastelands to piles of ruin.

I see.

Even for a short period of time, they prove their existence. That they were alive at that place.

He gave a random nod back and drew a yellow sun in the corner. When he did, Bom went Ohh and nodded with satisfaction.

Its spring, ahjussi.

It is.

Do you like spring?

Who knows.

You dont?

I havent thought about it.

Nn. I see.

The first draft version of the flower was soon finished.

Whats its name?

Flower.

Too insincere.

Please do it earnestly like when you were giving us our names.

He didnt tell her how that was also cursorily done. While applying another layer of gray over Yu Jitaes strange flower, she asked.

Lets try again. Whats its name?

Flower.

Her eyes twitched.

I dont like that. Its way too insincere.

Astral projection.

Cmon, seriously.

Flowers astral projection?

Discontent, Bom flicked her body towards him but the gray paint on her brush splashed onto Yu Jitaes face.

Aht.

Sorry. It was an accident.

He nonchalantly shook his head and wiped it. If he so desired, he couldve blocked or dodged it anyway.

However, he sensed playfulness rising up in her expression. Come to think of it, all the conditions were already fulfilled they were close enough to have their legs touch and the atmosphere was suitable for a prank.

Right when he was thinking that it might be coming any time, Bom flicked her wrist and splattered the paint.

Oi, oi.

Bom did not stop splashing the paint while chuckling out loud.

Yu Jitae covered his face with his hand and took the brush away from her hand. Then, Bom closed her mouth and stopped giggling but looked into his eyes with an undisguisable trace of enjoyment in her eyes.

Knock it off.

So scary.

Without a word they remained still. The air became heavy as the atmosphere turned tense. That was when he began shaking the brush he stole.

Kyaaa!

Gray watercolour paint scattered without mercy as Bom escaped to the living room in surprise. Left alone inside the room, Yu Jitae slowly raised his body and wiped the paint drops that had gotten on his face and the floor.

***

Gyeoul, who had been taking a nap inside the living room, opened her eyes from the sudden commotion.

?

She saw Bom-unni. There was something gray like a mole on her cheek.

What is that? In curiosity, she stood up from the sofa and carefully followed after Bom. Then, she gazed at her unni from behind the door as she entered the toilet.

Bom was standing blankly, staring at her own reflection on the mirror. She tilted her head a few times, before moving her fingers to spread the paint stain on her cheek into five paths.

Something appeared when she did that.

It resembled, and looked just like a gray flower.

Only then did Bom give a gentle smile and wipe the paint off.