The Extra Decided to Be Fake

efore you knew it was forged sharply.

”I’m sure he said he would set up a substitute for Swan.”

Who knows who will that be?

After tonight, it will already be three days since Swan died.
At the nursery school, all the belongings of the departed child are thrown away on the third day.
Regardless of whether it belongs to the dead or not.
And that was why Lillian refused to eat dinner and came to the small room.

This small room connected to the attic was Lillian and Swan’s hideout.
Originally, it was a space where cleaning tools and stuff were crammed in and rats roamed around a bit, but after Lillian and Swan started cleaning and using the room, it became that way.

A small box in the corner of the room was packed with the biggest luxuries a poor child could have, such as dried maple leaves and pretty pebbles, and on the wall were large marks of places they would like to visit someday.

When I turned my head, the days I spent with Swan were vividly drawn, just like yesterday.

The day we shared a blanket and whispered.
The day we couldn’t even see each other’s eyes in a small room after a big fight, the day we split and ate an apple we had secretly hidden, and the day we held hands saying let’s go find our parents someday.

This was a space containing the childhood and dreams of the two girls.

‘And when dawn breaks tomorrow, everything will be thrown away without a trace.’

It’s as if Swan’s existence had completely disappeared from this orphanage.

With Swan gone, Lillian could no longer rest into her childhood.

Lillian’s hand slowly reached out and touched the painting on the wall.
A rough charcoal drawing hung from her fingertips.
Due to the painting materials and the artist’s skill, it was difficult to recognize the shape of the painting.

— Look at this, Lily! Swan!

— What kind of swan is that?

— A swan! Look here Here is the beak, here are the wings…

— Wasn’t that a raisin?

After that, it had become a custom among them to make fun of the raisins by making a fluttering sound whenever they saw them.
Lillian, thinking for a moment of the happy days, held the end of the paper.

Bu-wook.

The paper was torn roughly.
The next picture, then the next picture.

It’s not just the pictures hanging on the walls.
Everything in the room, including a map and a ballerina folded in a napkin, was quickly disfigured beyond recognition.
Lillian smashed all her memories with Swan with an expressionless face.

If it’s something that should be thrown away anyway, no one dares to imitate Swan using it.

Lillian finally got up after breaking the last thing.
Her gaze, looking down into the ruined room, was chillingly still.

‘Swan.
I’ll make your wish come true.’

I’ll be you, and I’ll do everything you ever wished for.

I won’t let anyone replace you

No one else…

“…”

Lillian stood there for a while, looking down at the messy room.
Lillian’s still-wet cheeks reflected the faint moonlight.

It was a bitterly lonely and hard winter night.

Picture*

***

Warr, with a loud bang, the rubbish spilled into the garbage cans in the backyard.

Lillian looked at the traces of her childhood that she had ruined, then suddenly picked up something from among the discarded papers.

It was an old, crumpled newspaper.

[Duke Maynard ends the 10-year conflict with Halo… Report on his return]

The newspaper, which featured the biggest story it could do, rustled in Lillian’s hands.

Perhaps the teachers thought the children wouldn’t be able to read, and casually threw away these pieces of paper, but Lillian could read.

While reading fairy tale books read by teachers alone, at some point, she was able to recognize the text.

Of course, I couldn’t read many texts because my level of knowledge was limited to children’s books.

Stuttering, Lillian’s hand pointed out the largest letters one by one.

‘Duke Maynard… Halo.
10 years, finally.
Return.’

I didn’t know what the return was, but luckily the newspaper was kind.
In the article below, it was written in words that Lillian could understand that Duke Maynard would return.
As a bonus, even about Duke Maynard’s achievements.

‘This is what the teachers said that the war with Halo was over.’

Duke Maynard, saying Swan’s father is coming back soon.