"I didn't really think that much about it."
"I just wanted to find him..."
Then I'd smile and tell him—
I found you.
Just like my sister had every time she found him in the past.
The Boy in a wool hat had always loved the smile his sister wore when he found her.
He'd also loved the smile she wore when she found him.
So he thought that if he found the other person...
They'd be happy, too.
"Xiao Zhen..."
The Woman in a white down jacket looked conflicted. "I never thought..."
"You were this childish."
The Boy in a wool hat: ...
He lowered his eyes, an awkward smile crossing his face.
All right.
It wasn't as if he hadn't expected his sister to react that way.
To be honest...
His reason really was pretty childish.
"...So, I'm free to do whatever I want..."
The Boy in a wool hat muttered under his breath.
"I just care a lot..."
"Besides, it was only by chance..."
When he heard people talking about monsters on the street, he'd get excited and go ask them about it...
And tell them he thought they were monsters...
Just as his sister had said earlier, she hadn't expected him to keep at it for so many years.
He hadn't expected it either.
He hadn't expected his sister to deny it for so many years.
His sister had begun to question whether what he said was true.
And so had he.
Besides, as her younger brother—as someone who'd been frail since childhood and had always been looked after by his sister—her influence on him was even greater.
He'd long been thinking back to and reflecting on what had happened that afternoon.
And on the things his sister had said.
His sister