"It's really small and cute, right, hyung?"
"Yeah, it is. Riceball, calm down."
Peep!
"This isn't a feast laid out for you to eat. Stay still."
Peep, peep!
Yoon Seo firmly held the small bird in his hand, which was flapping its wings, trying to escape. It would definitely sulk, but a mealworm later would quickly cheer it up.
"Myam, do you know the language?"
"It's a language I don't know, myam. Wait a moment, myam. I have a translator that works based on neural signals, myam."
Myam, who roams the entire universe, carries many translation devices. Luckily, among them was one that could translate unfamiliar languages by interpreting the chemical signals released from the user's neural pathways.
Myam gave one each to Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo, and also handed one to the slug representative.
[Hello! Alien species! Please help us! Please help us!]
"Of course, we'll help, myam. But first, calm down and tell us who you are, myam."
[We are the Ttyulkkyak. We don't have a planet and wander through space.]
As expected, this spaceship was an Ark.
According to the slug representative, when the blessing god warned them that the black dungeon would reappear, the slugs decided to escape their planet. They barely managed to build one Ark before the deadline, and the entire population boarded it, starting their journey to find a new planet to settle on.
"How long have you been wandering like this, myam?"
[It's been 720 years.]
It was indeed an Ark, but one that had been adrift for 720 years since leaving its home planet.
Their average lifespan was about 100 to 120 years, so no slugs remained who remembered their home planet. For them, the Ark had become their home.
The original awakened ones had all died of old age, and because they had no native planet, they hadn't been tested by the Gaia System, meaning all of them were now non-awakened.
"Finding a planet or moon to live on wouldn't have been easy. Even if they found one, if there were native life forms, they'd face competition. These little ones would easily be overpowered. And even if they tried to colonize a new planet, they'd eventually have to undergo the Gaia System's test. Until they stockpiled enough strength to face that, maintaining and repairing the Ark seems like the easier choice for survival."
Kwon Jihan looked around with a serious expression. From the outside, the spaceship had seemed small, but compared to the slugs' tiny bodies, it was enormous.
"There are levers and buttons on the ceiling. How do you reach those? Do you have a ladder?"
[We used to have one, but after it broke, we can't reach them anymore.]
"So what do you do if something breaks up there?"
[We send out a distress signal. Then alien species like you come to help us. About 100 years ago, some passing aliens fixed it for us.]
"Ah, I see."
Kwon Jihan lightly expressed his amazement and smiled warmly at the gathered slugs.
"Well done. If you need help again, just send out another distress signal."
[Thank you!]
The representative slug trembled its antennae with joy. The other slugs followed suit, trembling as well.
Peep! Peeeep!
"Riceball, calm down. No, hold on."
Yoon Seo was preoccupied trying to calm down the overly excited Riceball.
Kwon Jihan took the flapping bird from Yoon Seo's hand and asked.
"So, what broke this time that made you send out a distress signal?"
[We were traveling with minimal fuel by using the gravity of nearby stars and planets, but when we moved into interstellar space, a strong magnetic field knocked us off course.]
"If you were doing a swing-by past the N-4 star system, then you're already way off. You'll have to take the space highway."
[But the space highway is bombarded with heavy radiation. We don't have enough F-energy to withstand it.]
"We can help with that."
F-energy, which can shield against radiation bombardment, is known as warp particles in Earth's language. They had brought a good amount of it before leaving Earth this time.
Squeeeeak!
Kyarubba!
Kiakkkyeop!
When Kwon Jihan took out a tiny bottle containing warp particles from his inventory, the slugs were overjoyed.
Peep! Peeeep!
Riceball, too, got excited, squirming in Kwon Jihan's hand. His hand was larger than Yoon Seo's, so he was able to hold the bird down easily with one hand.
[Thank you so much. We will never forget this kindness.]
"Right. We're from Earth. Don't forget this favor, and if you meet any Earthlings, treat them well. Got it?"
[Of course. We won't forget. Earth!]
When the representative slug shouted "Earth," the other slugs joined in with their clumsy pronunciation:
"Earth!"
"Earth!"
"Say Kwon Jihan! Like this: Kwon Jihan!"
"Kwong Jihang!"
"Kwong Jihang!"
Kwon Jihan proudly handed over the F-energy, as the slugs, trembling their antennae in delight, surrounded the large bottle almost as big as their own bodies.
"Then, I'll help with the spaceship repairs, myam. I'm a pretty famous engineer in space, myam. Since it's been over 700 years, I'm sure there are a lot of problems. Is there any part in particular you want repaired, myam?"
Myam, who had been watching fondly, stepped up to help the slugs who had lost their home. The slugs trembled their antennae again, indicating that there was hardly any part of the ship that was still in good condition.
With a buzzing, clicking, whirring sound, a tiny robot the size of a fingernail popped out from Myam's chest. The little robot sparkled as it spoke.
"I'll take care of the repairs, so you two can explore the spaceship, myam."
"Alright, good luck."
As Myam left to repair the spaceship with the slugs, Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo explored the small yet spacious ship. The excited slug representative guided them around.
The spaceship was large enough for the two to walk around without having to bend over.
However, since they couldn't shrink like Myam, they had to be careful not to step on any slugs or let Riceball peck at them.
They toured the small and neatly arranged areas, from farms and orchards to factories, markets, hospitals, and schools, before taking a break by a window overlooking space.
"Hyung, let's take a picture. When we get back to Earth, we need to brag about meeting this alien slug species."
"Do as you please."
"Riceball, I'll let you go, but you absolutely can't eat anything. You've grown up now, right? You're a cool bird who knows that today's struggles will be rewarded with more mealworms in the future."
Peep!
After sternly warning him, Kwon Jihan released Riceball. Riceball flapped over to Yoon Seo's head and perched on his crown, diligently preening its feathers with its beak. Yoon Seo gently praised the well-behaved Riceball.
"Alright, let's take a group photo. Everyone gather around. We're a famous couple from Earth called the II Couple. There are 6.3 billion people who want to take a picture with us."
[There are 6.3 billion Earthlings? That's as many as the asteroid belt!]
"There used to be even more. Okay, ready? One, two, cheese!"
The slugs were captured with confused expressions, wondering what 'cheese' meant. As usual, Yoon Seo had a cynical expression, Kwon Jihan was smiling brightly, and Riceball puffed out its chest in the photo.
Kwon Jihan printed the picture on the spot and gifted a copy to the slugs.
It took three slugs to carry the thin photo.
As Yoon Seo watched them busily carry it, he suddenly felt a chilling sensation brush the back of his neck.
"Hyung?"
Yoon Seo quickly scanned the area with sharp eyes and saw several screws coming loose from the ceiling. More accurately, they had just fully come loose and were now falling—and beneath them, the slugs were huddled together.
"Watch out!"
Yoon Seo reached out his hand and used
The screws stopped mid-air.
Phew, Yoon Seo let out a light sigh.
"There's a lot to fix arou-."
Screeech! Beep! Screech!
The slugs started screaming.
There was one thing Yoon Seo and Kwon Jihan hadn't fully understood about them yet.
Slugs were incredibly prone to panic.
Especially when they were in large groups.
Screech! Yikes! Bam! The panicked slugs scurried around frantically, bumping into each other, falling over, and even stepping on or being stepped on by others. With that much chaos, Yoon Seo and Kwon Jihan had to be extra cautious.
"Everyone, please be careful! You're going to get hurt. Hey, wait a second. Be careful…."
The slugs, completely overtaken by panic, didn't listen to Yoon Seo at all. Kwon Jihan carefully picked up the slugs that had fallen over and placed them gently on his palm.
Yoon Seo decided to return the screws to their original positions on the ceiling. While looking up and trying to be mindful of his footing, he stumbled a bit, prompting Kwon Jihan to grab his waist with the hand not holding the slugs.
Kwon Jihan then swiftly unfolded his black wings and floated into the air.
"Kwon Jihan."
"Let's just stay like this until they calm down."
"I can fly too, you know, with
"Ahem. That's not something you should say in a situation like this, boyfriend."
Yoon Seo quietly stayed in Kwon Jihan's embrace as he restored the ceiling.
Riceball, observing Yoon Seo's actions closely, enthusiastically helped by pecking at the screws with its beak. Yoon Seo thought to himself that he would reward Riceball with a feast of mealworms later.
It took the slugs another ten minutes to fully calm down. Kwon Jihan gently lowered the slugs he had been holding. The slugs, still a bit dazed, bowed their antennae in gratitude toward Kwon Jihan—or more precisely, toward his large hand.
The slug representative, on the verge of tears, also bowed its antennae.
[Thank you so much. The screws in the ceiling have been a problem for a while.]
"Are there more loose screws?"
[There are quite a lot. If it's not too much trouble, could you take a look at the ceilings in the other areas too?]
Even if the slugs had said no, Yoon Seo and Kwon Jihan wouldn't have felt at ease unless they tightened every screw in the ship.
note: in the original korean, the ttyulkkyaks always end their sentences with "ng". however, since it's difficult to convey this in english, i've chosen to translate their lines directly without trying to imitate that tone.