“Ah, the writer is here too!” PleaseShakeACarrot seemed to already know the woman. She smiled and waved back at him as he approached us.

PleaseShakeACarrot trotted up to us and stood in front.

“Are you not busy anymore?”

“Would that ever happen? I have to go back to the office soon.”

“I want the next book—”

“Ha ha.”

The woman laughed off PleaseShakeACarrot’s nagging.

But at that moment, I had something else I was curious about.

I cautiously asked PleaseShakeACarrot.

“PleaseShakeACarrot, by any chance…”

“Hm?”

“……”

It was evidently a delicate subject. According to Hans, PleaseShakeACarrot’s story had also ended tragically.

Noticing my hesitation, the woman next to me smiled and spoke for me.

“It seems Jiha is curious about Joshua’s story.”

“My story?”

“Yes, your love story.”

Fortunately, PleaseShakeACarrot didn’t seem upset. He was just genuinely perplexed.

“Why all of a sudden?”

“Well, you’re probably the closest to having experienced love with a human, right?”

“Ah— I was young when that happened. Now it’s embarrassing to talk about it.”

PleaseShakeACarrot scratched his neck, seemingly just feeling shy.

Considering PleaseShakeACarrot looked barely in his early teens now, how young was he ‘back then’? Curiosity got the best of me, and I asked.

“When you were young, how old were you?”

“About twenty?”

“…PleaseShakeACarrot, how old are you now?”

“317 years old!”

So it was during his youth. It was practically cellular level compared to his current age.

“That was indeed a very youthful love…”

“Why are you suddenly putting distance between us?”

“You mean me? Not at all.”

“Look me in the eye, Nuna.”

Though PleaseShakeACarrot always seemed cute, he was, of course, vastly older than me. I had heard his age from OnlyFinley, but hearing it from him directly made the age gap feel suddenly profound.

“Here, sit in the middle.”

The woman scooted over a bit. PleaseShakeACarrot hopped onto the chair.

“You seem to have a lot of concerns about your issue with Hans. Didn’t your conversation end well earlier?”

“We had a serious discussion, but that only led to more thoughts piling up…”

“Would hearing my story help you untangle your thoughts?”

“…Maybe?”

Truthfully, I was also just curious to hear it.

With crossed arms and a solemn demeanor, PleaseShakeACarrot began his story.

“When we first ventured to the human world for entertainment, all angels were cautioned not to get too deeply involved with humans. Especially the younger angels.”

The woman and I listened intently.

“I ignored those warnings. I mean, how foolish would you have to be to fall for a human?”

PleaseShakeACarrot said, laughing softly. It seemed like a self-mocking jest.

“So I was taken by surprise in an instant, just like that. The process of falling in love was no different from anyone else’s. But it ended with parting ways.”

PleaseShakeACarrot glossed over the details of that event, seemingly not wanting to delve too deep into it. I casually asked,

“Do you still love her?”

With a smile, PleaseShakeACarrot responded,

“Of course. What a question.”

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his reply.

PleaseShakeACarrot slightly tilted his head and smiled with his eyes closed.

“I don’t really mind those memories. It did make my life a bit heavier, having someone to hold in my heart forever. But it doesn’t mean those times were all suffering.”

His point was valid.

Just because the ending wasn’t happy didn’t mean the memories were tainted.

“I was happy. She was happy too. Isn’t that what matters?”

PleaseShakeACarrot grinned at me.

“I don’t see it as a tragedy at all. We had really good times.”

Whether I find a way to stay with Hans forever or our days together become just a beautiful memory, one thing was clear: I wanted to start with Hans.

The woman was smiling at me too.

“You look like you’ve figured something out.”

“Yes, I think so.”

Sometimes you really need someone to talk to. My thoughts, which had been so muddled, seemed to have cleared up.

“I should go now.”

“To Hans?”

“Yes.”

“I hope it goes well.”

They both saw me off.

My steps toward Hans felt lighter than before.

I entered the building without really thinking, and I wasn’t quite sure where Hans’s office was. I didn’t even know if he was in his office.

As I was walking, my gaze unintentionally drifted outside through a window.

I was on the second floor, and there was Hans, on the walking path in front of a building on the first floor.

It seemed to be lunchtime; the place was bustling with people. I immediately opened the window.

“Hans!”

As I called out, not just Hans but the other angels looked up at me too. Some of them were faces I knew.

“……?”

Hans looked perplexed. Regardless, I started talking.

“I took some time to think, really think. And I’ve sought advice from various people.”

“…….”

“I admit, my thoughts were shallow. I was taking our relationship too lightly. But… my love for you is sincere.”

I continued speaking, keeping eye contact with Hans.

“I won’t take the end of our story lightly anymore either. But I’m not sad about it. Even if we are headed for a tragic ending, we’re happy right now, aren’t we?”

That was what PleaseShakeACarrot had said. And I agreed with him.

“I think that’s enough.”

It might be easier to say when you’re the one leaving, not the one left behind.

So, you know, that thing. What do you call it?

“…….”

I had so much I wanted to say but lacked the words to express it fully.

Eventually, I just blurted it out.

“Ah, I can’t figure it out, but you’re just too wonderful! Let’s put thoughts aside and just love each other, Hans!!!”

I shouted with all my might, drawing murmurs from the surrounding angels.

“…….”

Hans buried his flushed face in his hands.

Then, he rushed into the building. I couldn’t see him anymore.

“……?”

While I was gazing out the window, puzzled, I heard the sound of rapid footsteps.

“Ah.”

I immediately turned and started running in the opposite direction from where the sound was coming, but of course, Hans was chasing after me. I yelled in panic.

“I surrender, I surrender!”

“What surrender? Will you stop?!”

My running was inherently slow, so it didn’t take long for Hans to catch up to me.

We both were gasping for breath, exhausted from the chase.

Hans spun me around to face him. He looked furious.

“Are you trying to spread rumors on purpose?!”

“You were far away, so I had to shout!”

“Just because you have to shout doesn’t mean you say such things where everyone can hear?!”

Hans pulled my cheeks out of frustration, but it didn’t hurt. Even in his anger, he was careful not to hurt me.

“We’re going to be together anyway! It’s not a secret, so what’s the big deal?!”

“Don’t you think you’re being too shameless?”

Hans looked utterly dumbfounded. Regardless, I stood my ground.

“If you’re going to reject me, do it now. I’ve been waiting long enough!”

“…….”

He immediately shut his mouth at that.

See, he couldn’t even reject me. I smiled triumphantly.

“…Was what you said earlier true?”

“I don’t lie to you, Hans.”

“Ha…”

Hans sighed.

“Alright, I’m tired of fretting about it too.”

He looked me straight in the eye.

“Let’s give this love thing a try.”

“……!”

I immediately beamed with joy and hugged Hans tightly.

Caught off guard by the sudden embrace, Hans seemed perplexed.

“Hey, this is a workplace. Get off!”

“No.”

Hans pressed down on my head, but the more he did, the tighter I hugged him. Eventually, Hans chuckled and gently stroked my hair.

It was the end of a not-so-long ordeal.

* * *

Since the decision was made, and Hans no longer needed to stay in the Celestial Realm, we returned to the surface together.

Indeed, Shailo was by our side, keeping an eye on us. This person had indeed endured a lot. Between duties as a shrine maiden, espionage, and cleaning up after us, it was quite pitiable.

As soon as I woke up, I sprang to my feet.

“Where’s Davi?”

“Excuse me?”

“Davi, I’m talking about Davi.”

“If you mean the shrine maiden, she should be in her room by now…”

Hearing that, I dashed out, gripping Hans’s hand tightly.

Hans was dragged along bewilderedly.

“Where are we going now?”

“To Davi!”

“Why her?”

I paused for a moment.

Then, I looked seriously at Hans. Hans flinched at my expression.

“Why, why…”

“Where’s Davi’s room?”

“How should I know?!”

Hans shouted as if the question was absurd.

Eventually, we managed to find Davi’s room by asking a passing shrine maiden.

“Davi—”

I knocked on Davi’s door.

Soon after, Davi appeared, seemingly just woken up from sleep, her hair even more tousled than usual. It was already past lunchtime, and she was still asleep. Quite the sleep enthusiast.

“……?”

Davi looked confused to see us at her door.

Briefly, I could see the state of her room behind her.

Despite the daily cleaning by the maids, the room was quite messy. The pink wallpaper and the numerous dolls scattered around seemed to reflect Davi’s tastes.

“What, what is it? Why suddenly…”

Davi asked, bewildered.

I lifted Hans’s hand, which I was holding firmly, as if to show it off.

“We’ve decided to date.”

Davi’s expression seemed to say, ‘So what?’

Then, as if she suddenly woke up completely, her eyes widened.

“Wait a minute. You’re not human!”

Davi’s words were directed at Hans.