Crew Mission

The beauty that is you

In this village lives a 19-year-old girl named Lee Yeon. She lives with her mother. Sadly, however, she has been given a terminal diagnosis, given only three months to live. Despite such a sad life, she always remains bright.

“Mom, haha, aren’t we going for a walk today?”
“Yeah, I guess we’ll have to skip the walk today.”

“Then, can I go somewhere I want to go today?”
“Where is that?”
“I heard there’s a place with beautiful flowers in full bloom on the mountain behind my house.”

“Okay, go ahead. But you have to be back before sunset. Don’t you need to take your medicine?”
“Yes, I understand, Mom.”

With her mother’s permission, the girl excitedly went to the mountain behind her house, the source of the rumor. As she entered, she was met with a truly beautiful field of blooming flowers. The girl was running around, smiling brightly at the sight of the blooming flowers. Then, wanting to go deeper, the girl passed the flowers and entered a grassy area. The grass there was thick, but it looked fresh and green, and the girl felt even happier as she gazed at it, and she felt like lying down there. So, as she had planned, she lay down among the grass, gazing at the sky, closing her eyes and resting for a while. Then, from somewhere, a boy's voice came.

"Who are you to come into my forest?"

The girl was startled by the voice.

"Whoa!!! I'm surprised!!!!"

Yeon-i opened her eyes to find the source of the voice, and before her was a frowning boy. No, a fairy.

“I was more surprised!!”
“A fairy…?”
“Why is this your first time seeing a fairy?”

Yeon-i saw a fairy before her eyes, and the fairy spoke as if it were a given.

“It’s not common… But fairies actually exist?”
“Yeah, they’re right in front of you.”

Then Yeon-i remembered she hadn’t explained herself, so she started to say her name.

“That’s true, but… Oh, I didn’t explain it properly. I’m Lee Yeon.”
“Oh, I’m Lee Ji-hoon. I’m a fairy, just like you see.”
“Ah… If you’re a fairy, what kind of fairy are you?”
“Do you want me to tell you right now? No, I don’t want to tell you right away. I’ll tell you later. But I have a condition.”
“A condition…? What condition…?”
“No human has ever been here before, and no other human can see me.”
“Yeah… But?”
“So, no other human can see me, but you can somehow see me.”
“Yeah, right, haha.”

Yeon-i began to grin, seemingly surprised that she was seeing a fairy. Jihoon, the fairy, blushed slightly at Yeon-i's smile, perhaps finding it beautiful. But as if trying to hide it, he spoke curtly to Yeon-i.

"What's so great about you, human, that you're so beaming? ///"
"Hmph... You're smiling because you like it..."
"What's so great about you?"
"I just like seeing fairies, and you like it too, haha."
"Hey!! Human! How can you say something like that so casually?! ///"
"Hey, what's wrong?"

Jihoon, the fairy, blushed at Yeon-i's casual remark, seemingly unfamiliar, and forgot to mention his condition. Then, remembering it later, he spoke again.

"I forgot my condition because of you!!"
"Hmph..."
"That's right, my condition is..."
"Yeah!! Haha."
"If you keep coming to see me and playing with me because you see me, then I'll tell you. I'm bored."
"Hmph..."
"What's wrong? Girl: "
" I'm not a girl, I have a name! I'm Yeon."
" Okay, Yeon-ah, what's wrong?"
" I can't play with you for long..."
" Why?"
" I'm going on a really long trip later... haha."
" Where...?"
" Yes, haha. You'll find out later, haha."
" Okay, okay. In return, you have to play with me after we go on a trip together."
" Haha... I'll try..."

Yeon-i couldn't tell Ji-hoon, the fairy, that she would no longer be alive in three months. She felt like telling him would make Ji-hoon sad. So, from now on, whenever she came to see Ji-hoon, Yeon-i planned to give him a bright, grassy smile. At that moment, Ji-hoon started shaking Yeon-i, who was dazed.

" Hey! Yeon-ah, what are you thinking about?!! "
" Ah...! No, I wasn't thinking about anything. I was just spacing out for a moment, haha.

Yeon-i gave Ji-hoon a cheerful smile, just as she'd imagined. Ji-hoon, seeing that smile, didn't suspect anything and just let it slide.

"Oh! I thought you were thinking something big."
"Haha, it's nothing."

While playing with Ji-hoon, the sun was starting to set. Yeon-i saw this and remembered her mother telling her to come before sunset, so she jumped up.

"Ah!!"
"What's wrong?"
"I remembered my mother telling me to come before sunset, haha."
"Oh, then I guess I should go now... Too bad."
"Yeah, I should go now. I'll come back tomorrow, haha."
"Yeah, I'll take you."
"Yeah, thanks, haha."

Ji-hoon also got up and followed Yeon-i's path, manipulating the grass in her path to clear a path for her. Yeon-i was amazed at this.

"Wow~ Did you do this? Haha “
“Yeah, it's my ability. I'll tell you later what kind of fairy I am, as promised.”
“Yeah, haha.”

Thanks to Jihoon clearing the way, Yeon-i was able to descend the mountain before sunset and arrive home safely. Yeon-i waved at Jihoon, smiling brighter and more cheerful than anyone else.

“Jihoon, bye, haha.”
“Yeah, I'll go. Your smile is prettier than any flower, more beautiful than any other. Show me that smile tomorrow too!”
“ //// Yeah… haha.”

That's right. Jihoon had developed feelings for Yeon-i, but Yeon-i had also developed feelings for Jihoon. Yeon-i didn't wait, but she looked forward to tomorrow. She went home, ate breakfast, took the medicine her mother gave her, and smiled.

“ Hahaha.”

Yeon-i's mother saw her daughter's smile and wondered if something good had happened. She looked at Yeon-i and asked with a smile.

“ Haha, did something good happen to our daughter on the mountain? "You seem happy."
"Yes, I was, Mom. Haha."
"What happened? Haha."
" Haha. It's a secret. You'll find out later. Haha."
"Okay, haha. You must be tired. Go to sleep."
"Yes, haha. Mother."

And so Yeon-i fell into a deep sleep. For a while, Yeon-i took her medicine at home, went up the mountain, played with Ji-hoon, and came back down the mountain to take her medicine at home. This lifestyle lasted for nearly three months. There was one day left until the three months were up. Yeon-i had lost a lot of weight. Ji-hoon could tell right away. Again today, Yeon-i took her medicine and went up the mountain to see Ji-hoon. She met Ji-hoon.

"I'm here... haha."
"Yeah... haha. I'm here... haha."

Ji-hoon couldn't help but feel uneasy watching Yeon-i grow thinner and thinner, so he couldn't always give her a bright smile. Then, Yeon-i looked at Ji-hoon and, as always, forced a bright, cheerful smile and revealed the truth about her illness.

"Ji-hoon... haha."
"Yeah... Why…? Haha “
“I told you before I was going on a very long trip… I’ll tell you about it… Haha “
“Yeah… What is it…?”

Ji-hoon had guessed that it wasn’t a good place for him, even without Yeon-i telling him. But for now, he wanted to hear Yeon-i’s voice, so he put that aside.

“I… am going on a trip to heaven… Haha I have three months left to live… Haha “
“ … … Yeah “
“ Since it’s just one day, I’ll die today… Haha “
“ … “
“ Since it’s only today… Can’t you at least tell me what kind of fairy Ji-hoon is…?”
“ Yeah… I’m a fairy who governs the grass in the forest… “
“ Ah… I see… Thank you for telling me.”
“ … “
“ I have two requests… Haha “
“ What is it…?”
“ First, when I die, please don’t tell my mom that I’m dead… Haha “
“ Why…?”
“ My mom will be sad if she finds out… Haha “
“Okay… Okay… What about the other one?”
“When I die, turn the other one into grass in this forest you rule… Haha “
“Yeah… What kind of grass do you want to be…?”
“Jihoon, I want to be the greenest and most beautiful grass next to you… Haha “
“ … Haha “

Ji-hoon seemed to agree to Yeon-i's request, as he gave her the prettiest smile in the world and gently stroked her hair. And soon after, Yeon-i smiled the most refreshing, bright, and radiant smile and passed away in Ji-hoon's arms. Ji-hoon, looking at Yeon-i, shed tears and, as Yeon-i had requested, kissed her forehead and used his power to turn Yeon-i into the greenest and most beautiful grass. Ji-hoon immediately brought a flowerpot, filled it with the best soil, planted Yeon-i in it, and held it in his arms, crying. From then on, rumors spread that in that mountain and in that forest, there was another being who carried a flowerpot full of grass every day.